I found another book that really speaks to my teaching
heart. Specifically to my “students should get to read chapter books and learn
their 'thinking for reading skills'” heart. This book is called Raising the Standards Through Chapter Books: The C.I.A. Approach, by
Sarah Collinge. (C.I.A. stands for Collect, Interpret, and Apply.)
In her book, Collinge shares the research behind the C.I.A.
approach. She walks us through the steps for introducing the approach to our classes. I am a huge proponent of chapter books and thinking for reading skills. If you follow my blog, you know my students regularly write thinking stems. Now Collinge has opened an exciting new
avenue of specific turn-and-talk stems.
These stems guide students in the use of thinking skills during reading groups. I am thrilled! This is just the focus my students needed. Of course, there is much more to Collinge's book. This book is must for anyone who knows the importance of teaching students to THINK.
These stems guide students in the use of thinking skills during reading groups. I am thrilled! This is just the focus my students needed. Of course, there is much more to Collinge's book. This book is must for anyone who knows the importance of teaching students to THINK.
So here’s my official review…
Raising
the Standards Through Chapter Books: The C.I.A. Approach is an
important step in engaging and advancing students’ cognitive processes through
text. Collinge breaks the process down into doable chunks for teachers, and
provides thinking stems for students to use in turn and talk routines ranging
from basic to very specific. There is no doubt in my mind that the CIA approach
will lead to much greater student achievement.
The book is available here!
The book is available here!
