Discussion Groups

I really liked the way we did discussion groups today! Like I said in class, I never liked the discussion groups that my teacher set up in 5th grade because it made reading such a chore. We would rotate jobs each day and there were just some jobs that I absolutely hated. I always thought that things like that got in the way of reading, because a lot of the time I actually did like the books we were reading. I especially liked when we were able to pick the book we wanted to read out of a certain number of books and we were put into groups in that way. I remember one time in particular we were to pick out of 5 books that were all about the holocaust. I ended up really enjoying that book because I got to choose the one that interested me. I think if I end up teaching one of the older grades that is something I would like to set up, only in a more open ended way. I think 4th and 5th graders especially are capable of talking about a book they read without it being completely structured. I like the idea of having them talk about the book and then looking at different questions if the conversation comes to a stop. I actually came into class today hoping that we wouldn't be talking about what a good idea discussion groups where everyone has a different job are, so I am glad that we talked about a different way that they can be run. I am really hoping to learn about more ways to teach reading in such a way that kids will really enjoy it, because reading is fun!