This time, I would like you to read the article, "Why reading by third grade is critical..." This is an interesting article and I would like you to do a couple of things for this blog: 1) What is the primary argument/problem/issue being addressed? 2) What key issue is at the heart of the solution(s) discussed? 3) How does this article present both sides of this key issue and how might this approach be applied to our project? 4) Note the type of sources used for this article. How is it a good mix of anecdote and fact?
Due: Sept. 9 @ 5 p.m.
1. This story focuses on whether or not it is beneficial to retain third graders who don’t meet reading standards at the end of the school year. Baker discusses the issue using both examples and experts’ opinions.
ReplyDelete2. After third grade, students need basic reading skills so they can use reading to access and understand information. Low-income students are severely unlikely to learn the reading skills they need to move on to reading comprehension and absorption in time for fourth grade.
3. Baker starts out with Callister’s story and views, and she backs up Callister’s side of the issue with data and the opinion of Professor Timothy Shanahan. However, she treats the issue fairly by discussing conceivable success from retention, including the specific example of Florida’s policy. In our project, it will be important to avoid falling into one side of the story; we need to continually make sure we are seeing the bigger picture.
4. Baker does a great job of sharing data, expert views, personal experiences, and examples from both sides. Callister, who works in the trenches of the issue, is the first point of contact for readers, but then Baker goes through compelling statistics, expert opinion, and Florida’s retention policy (including its possible success). Baker addresses such a solid variety of sources that her story becomes well rounded and credible, but still interesting and human.
1) The main argument is whether to hold back third graders because of lower skill levels or to keep them moving forward.
ReplyDelete2) Some key issues include poverty, race, class and education. There are many underlying themes to this one article, which is what we could do with our class series. We will have many issues to address, but we can place one at the forefront and keep the other issues involved and relevant.
3) The article uses the anecdote-fact-opposition-fact approach. There is a good balance from both sides, which is something we need to keep in check, especially in a multiple-part series like we are attempting to write. The author kept an unbiased voice when she introduced both sides to the argument, acting as a neutral player in the article.
4) I'm liking the story style where one anecdote leads readers throughout the whole piece. Callister isn't used in each paragraph, but readers are led through her story as a solid introduction to facts and the real argument. The articles I've been seeing start out on a micro scale and then open up to larger issues. This shows that readers want that emotional connection right from the very beginning.
1. The primary problem addressed in this article is the debate of whether third graders who do not reach reading standards by the end of the year should repeat third grade or progress anyway.
ReplyDelete2. There are multiple factors contributing to the heart of the problem. One of those factors is whether or not parents are on board with supporting their child's education. Without effort from the student AND the parent, teachers quoted in the article say no progress can be made in reading improvement, regardless of grade level.
3. Literacy specialist Kathy Callister is used to introduce the issue and to establish the importance of third grade in a child's reading journey. The article goes on to debate whether retention actually helps students learn, citing a study from the Brookings Institute and a retention policy example in Florida.
4. When I read the story for the first time, I noticed the author did not just use sources from Utah even though she's writing for Deseret News. Expanding her area for expert sources made me think the article was more credible and not biased by location. The people she interviewed were experts in their fields and the studies she used seem legitimate. I liked that she pointed out the Brookings study might be flawed, that made me believe she was being objective and not trying to manipulate data.
1. The story is about third graders who are not at a sufficient reading level by the end of the year and whether it is better to hold them back or to allow them to move forward.
ReplyDelete2. The article mentions a lot of factors that contribute to the problem ranging from parental support to economic difficulties. When I was reading about the parental support in the article I thought it could be really interesting to tie in the theme of parental support/family support into our article and the role of families.
3. At first when I read the article I thought it was going to discuss how retaining students would be the best solution. But when I continued on it included several people who disagree with the idea and have seen the harmful effects. I thought the article did a great job at presenting both sides of the argument. In our article, I think it will be good to present both people who have found peace with their spirituality and people who have found peace with coming back to church.
4. I agree with what Mandy said about how she expanded her sources outside of the state of Utah. I think that is something that adds great power to her story. She contacts people nationwide. The story is similar to the bread-maker story because it has a single anecdote with facts sprinkled throughout. I like that idea a lot because it presents a sense of continuity through the article.
1. The story focuses on helping children be proficient readers by the third grade. The problem is that not enough children are reaching that goal so the question of whether to hold them back, or promote them comes into play.
ReplyDelete2. The key is issue of the solution is that promoting kids to the next grade level will do more good than to hold them back for another year. Statistics show that struggling kids will benefit more from moving on, even if they are forced to pretend that they are at a proficient level. Kids that are held back often cannot recover from the emotional and social backlash of redoing a grade.
3. It discusses both sides of the issue.Kathy Callister's solution is to have afternoon and summer reading programs, while also seeking professional help. This in conjunction with loving parents that want to help their children. It also discusses what Florida has done, making all (with some exceptions) students that don't reach reading benchmarks in the third grade retake it. In our project we need to remember to include what churches or leaders might be doing to help retain members even if there might not be results yet. Just because an idea is new doesn't mean we can dismiss it.
4. I thought the literacy expert was an excellent source -- definitely a master on the subject. I also thought the numerical statistics were from valid sources and helped lay the foundation to the problem. I think the strong expert voice helps nail down the solution and the statistics helped support the main issue.
1. This story examines whether third graders who struggle with reading standards should be held back or move forward.
ReplyDelete2. Key issues include social/emotional anxieties, income, language barriers, lack of proper parental involvement, and inadequate parent-teacher communication. This article does a good job of addressing multiple contributing factors, rather than pinning problems in one location.
3. The article also does a great job of addressing both sides of the issue. The article starts and ends with literary specialist Kathy Callister's viewpoints, and in the middle it examines retention vs. promotion, using specific anecdotes for each (including Florida as a case study). With our articles, we need to make sure to expose opposing viewpoints without favoring either, and we need to use anecdotes and case studies to back our points up.
4. This article weaves in and out of anecdote and fact. They did a great job of setting up the issue with anecdotes to draw the reader in, but right beside the anecdote lies a fact-laden graph detailing percentages of 4th grade reading proficiency. Throughout the article, the writer shares anecdotes but injects additional facts, such as retention rates and the costs it takes to go through with retention. I like that it ends with a practical bulleted list of steps parents can take to improve children's reading skills.