They Hate Reading... But it's Okay! #busedu

Ever want your classes to read? You assign an article, they sit there and read it, maybe you have them write a short reflection... and you move on. They might have read it. Some read it quickly and others probably never finished. Some understand and others just move on. 

I've even heard teachers say they don't assign textbook reading anymore because they don't read it anyway.

Sound familiar?

I recently read about Reciprocal Teaching (or Reciprocal Reading) in the classroom. I am teaching a Business Communication class and need them to read nonfiction articles in this course and learn how to apply them, but I know that students do little reading these days. And, I also know that they tend to skim over unfamiliar words and zone out when reading (even when reading in groups).

But, I love this idea. And, I borrowed the worksheet from Literacy in Focus. It worked great for my class, too.

Let me be clear:  This didn't require a whole lot of prep (but more than it will in the future because I wanted to communicate expectations) and the students were reading a TWO PAGE ARTICLE. That's it. But, they were really digging into the article. As I told them, to do this correctly, it will take about 30 minutes. And I meant it.

I picked groups today (with the promise they could in the future if they behaved) and they got to move around in the classroom (circles, sit on floor, whatever) so that the group could work together. Each group member got a worksheet to complete (look at my Google Doc for the instructions as I gave it). 

Here's the Google document with the steps for this activity (you'll need the Literacy in Focus worksheet, too) and links to the four articles they analyzed today along with the "vocabulary" words I picked (I printed one article for each group with those words underlined). 

It actually went well. They all participated. Everyone had to lead at some point. Everyone had to speak to their group members at some point. This is a group I struggle with, too. But, I was upfront that at their age, I know they don't read much, I know they skip over unfamiliar words, and that I wanted them to change that. When you aren't taught how to "really read" for comprehension, it's hard. This gave them a process that make it easier to do (and they paid attention and did what they were supposed to for the entire class period).

I plan to do these every few weeks. Take a look and let me know if you've done something like this before in your classroom. 

The Chromebook Curse... #busedu

So, my school district went "one to one" on Chromebooks a couple of years ago. As a teacher in a very nice computer lab, we don't use them in my room, but I think it's a good idea to have in the general classroom. I teach Adobe applications, which don't run on Chromebooks, and a dual credit MS Office class, which must be articulated through the university and must use the full version to meet articulation requirements (so no Google Docs).

But, I am Google Certified and feel like Google Docs is great for students to know.

HOWEVER...

Our Computer Applications team (which feeds into my dual credit class) has had the worst time this year with students not knowing computer basics. Sadly, I have to blame this Chromebook situation. As students must have Computer Applications to take the higher level technology classes, I haven't run into the situation YET (I have Computer Applications next semester, though, so I am prepping myself).

Students are not adept at saving documents, understanding file extensions, basic file management, or even understanding where "Downloads" disappear to when they download something from the internet.

When we meet with our vertical collaboration team, we intend to try to find a method of attack for this issue, but it's been a rocky start to our Computer Applications classes, which use an online textbook/Mindtap and SAM. As students must download starter files, move them to a location other than the Downloads folder, save/rename to upload properly, etc., they are just lost getting through the first unit. And, they aren't struggling with PowerPoint; they are struggling with basic Windows things.

Anyone else noticing this? I guess this is the first year where students in junior high did not learn "the old way" and it's quite apparent. What I assumed were just known concepts are foreign to these students, which would be terrible if they entered business/industry with only knowledge of Google Docs (um... or college!).

Curious to see if any of you are experiencing a similar plight in your classrooms. Head back to my Facebook and let me know!

https://www.facebook.com/tonyabized