Singleton Say/Do #2 (Reader Response)

Reader Response
Say: One of the biggest challenges I have had so far in my internship experience is being able to separate the fact that I am in a middle school classroom, and so when I am working with students on thing like RR, I often have to remind  myself that it may look differently for my students because they are not at the same level as my typical high school students. From a book I have been reading on middle school readers, it states, "In independent reading classrooms, students show their mastery of the con- tent through varied means. Written reading responses can be adjusted to meet the needs of the individual learner; book discussion topics can be varied to allow even the most challenged of readers to participate. Individual conferences give students a chance to discuss their understandings and confusions in a safe environment that nurtures their growth. Reading responses, book discussion prompts, and conference questions are all designed to meet each learner at his or her particular point of need." (Heinemann, 57). The students who I work with are all at a different level of reading and to gage their understanding, I often provoke them with simple reading strategies and writing strategies so that I can understand their abilities to make connections. For RR, I decided that I needed to create an assignment that will set us up for taking students where they are and creating a dialogue and open class assignment in which we will all work together. We have finished reading "Wump World". An allegory book about the problems with pollution in the world. To gage students understanding, I have set up a writing prompt that will be able to connect RR to the students, but also help me to pay more attention to the students who are in need. See below for the first part of the do. 

DO: 

Creating Our Piece of Legislation!

Now that we have finished reading “Wump World”, you will be asked to create a letter to our local legislatures who will determine if we should create laws to stop global warming and the mass production of pollutions in the environment. Use specific examples from “Wump World” to back up your points that you are arguing. The letter will be the final product that you will create. Follow the steps below to get to the end piece!

Step 1: Create a summary of “Wump World” (DONE)

Step 2: Compare Wump World to the world in which we live

Step 3: What specific examples can you find in our own state that could be related to what Chief Pollution has done in Wump World?

Step 4: What laws do you think should be created? Why?

Step 5: Create a letter summarizing all the main points and create your letter to the legislation.

See below for a summary from one student:

The Wump World

I read a book called the Wump World, and it was about animals called wumps. Every day they would graze in the fields and wade in the water, it was a nice, peaceful laid back world. Then these people called the Polluters came , and took over the world one day this overwhelmed the wumps. They ran in their caves, and started hiding. The Polluters brought their whole city with them, and built skyscrapers, and buildings. This started Polluting the wump world with all of the noise, the air, and the water. Finally, the world was so polluted that the Pollutions left. Then, the buildings were destroyed, and the wumps found some grass. But, the wump world was never the same again.