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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

IN THE ZONE


In February, I heard Nancie Atwell at our state reading conference. Atwell did a two hour workshop on her newest book, "The Reading Zone" which I had actually read and loved a year ago. Before February, I had talked to my kids a lot about engagement. Since February, we've been talking about going into their "Zone." My kids know that when you are in your "Reading Zone" you:
  • Aren't aware of anything going on around you.
  • Feel like you are in the book.
  • Have a movie in your head.
  • Can hear the characters' voices in your head.
  • You want to tell other people about your book.
  • Often want to keep reading, even when time is up.
  • Easily make/exceed  your page goal.
  • Aren't bothering or distracting other readers.
Today, my kids "zoned" with their books for 45 minutes- quite a change from the 15 minutes they could do when we started in the fall. Most of the kids are showing some really good growth in the end of year assessments, I firmly believe that the biggest contributor to this growth has to do with making sure the kids were exposed to great books and spent lots of time in the "Zone." 

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