tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post2719706244553781455..comments2024-03-22T01:00:38.320-04:00Comments on I.N.K.: Getting Involved with LearningLinda Salzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17217322360480267856noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-58845601664605627512012-04-02T16:17:45.909-04:002012-04-02T16:17:45.909-04:00We love experiential learning! As a parent, I thin...We love experiential learning! As a parent, I think it has far more impact for a child to learn in a hands-on way versus a memorizing facts way. We read Alexandra Siy's Bug Shots and learned a lot about bugs by looking at them with our microscopes in our backyard. We've read books about caterpillars and butterflies, and are now raising our own. Nothing beats an engaging nonfiction text coupled with the hands-on activities they inspire.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-3565879320601508222012-04-02T11:21:49.516-04:002012-04-02T11:21:49.516-04:00Good points, Vicki. It's always frustrated me...Good points, Vicki. It's always frustrated me that in many schools first and second graders aren't allowed to go to the school library and just get books on things that interest them and read and do reports on those. Learning to read and practicing the skill and learning to love the process should be primary at that age.Dorothy Patenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04897049725319745306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-10526896590700490422012-04-02T09:04:55.479-04:002012-04-02T09:04:55.479-04:00Great post, Dorothy! A savvy retired principal to...Great post, Dorothy! A savvy retired principal told me not long ago that children should have acquired the skill to read by grade two so that from third grade on they read to LEARN. One of the problems with NCLB was that the focus on literacy and testing stalled reading into just learning enough to answer test questions, and the lack of exposure to literature prevented many children from learning how to learn from reading. The new emphasis on the Common Core Standards is a HUGE game-changer. Kids will be encouraged to read several sources on a subject before writing a report. Text-book publishers are scrambling, trying to figure out how to cash in on the Common Core by making anthologies--giving kids bigger and better snippets of our work; thinking that a snippet is all you need. This is nothing less than the "scaled-up" factory mentality at work. They are looking for the one-source-fits-all book with the huge market. There's no way that they can meet the CCS as the emphasis has shifted to process, not basic literacy.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07214356318088069618noreply@blogger.com