As a first year teacher last year, I was told I needed to do the Junior Great Books (JGB) Program for 2 weeks each quarter. First off, I had no idea what JGB was . . . it was honestly new to me. Then, when I was told what it was, I really didn't want to do it. A 1/4 of my class was below grade level, and I was supposed to implement a program that is meant for advanced (or gifted/talented) students! I really didn't see how it was going to work. In addition, I never had training in how to implement it in the classroom. My reading specialist came in one day to observe me, and she had quite a few complaints and questions about how I ran my lesson. I told her the reasoning behind what I was doing, but she told me, "You should be doing it this way . . ." I informed her I had never had training, and I was reading the lessons straight out of the guide. I thought I was doing everything right, but I didn't have anything to base it on, since I've never seen anyone teach it before. She helped me with some strategies and explained the JGB program a little more thoroughly. After that, it started to get a little easier, and more natural, to teach it.
This is all on my mind currently, because I am writing about, and doing research on, JGB for my reading class. Even though I wasn't too impressed with using it in my classroom at first, I have really seen the benefits over the past year. I have grown accustomed to it and really enjoy reading the stories with my class. It is amazing to see how much the kids understand and how their minds come up with the most creative ideas. Just because a child is below grade level doesn't mean they cannot be a part of this program. I only have 2 students that are below grade level this year in reading, but they enjoy the activities that accompany the readings. I tell my students to follow along as best they can while we are reading the story, because they will be able to learn new words. Also, their listening comprehension is still great, so there is no reason why that won't know what's happening. The higher order thinking questions are very elaborate, but most of my students make sense of it and can share their thoughts. Then their thoughts spark another idea in someone else, and it really gets the ball rolling. Each text spends about 4 days going through repeated readings and activities like drawing, asking questions, and completing a shared writing experience. The stories that are in the JGB series are fun to read, and all of my students look forward to it. I think that JGB has really grown on me, and I definitely think it helps students become better readers AND thinkers.
Do you implement JGB in your classroom? How often do you do it? Do you see the benefits, or not? I'm interested in what others think, because this is still very new to me . . .
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI just started to implement JGB in my classroom this year because it is part of the new curriculum. We have only used one story this year, but we will use 2 more stories in the next few weeks. We were fortunate to have had a representative from AEI come and do a workshop on how to implement JGB at my school. She walked us through the daily lessons and what JGB should look like. She suggested that the lessons go for 4 days. Day 1 focuses on a the first shared reading and reactions/questions to the text. Day 2 focuses on the 2nd shared reading and a directed notes activity. Day 3 focuses on a shared inquiry discussion and day 4 focuses on a written response.
I did like the discussions that came out of the shared inquiry discussions. Students were able to share their ideas think about the text in a critical way. It was interesting to hear how each student interpreted the text. We did have to spend a little more time on the "ground rules" for a shared inquiry discussion because that was the first time that my students were exposed to a JGB discussion. I LOVED the scope and sequence of the lessons and am excited to try a new story with them in a few weeks!