tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post191393638148428438..comments2024-03-27T02:13:13.079-04:00Comments on Original Content: This Works For Me, TooGail Gauthierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01673131515563387968noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-9582131108264172312008-09-08T13:18:00.000-04:002008-09-08T13:18:00.000-04:00I'd be okay with the Five Finger Test, and with th...I'd be okay with the Five Finger Test, and with the age banding, if there was just one more step described in the process. After you get to the end of the page, if you have five fingers up, and you know it will be a very challenging book, decide for yourself if you want to read it anyway.<BR/> <BR/>It's all very well to warn kids when they are going to attempt something difficult, but this emphasis on Just Right Books is starting to play out in weird ways in my kid's classroom. It seems to be instilling Free of Failure more than anything else. It would be BAD to try to read a book that doesn't pass the test because then YOU MIGHT (what? decide you didn't want to finish it? and the world would end, why?)<BR/><BR/>I understand that finishing a book is an exciting thing and teachers want to start a feed back loop to get kids reading, but every system can be mishandled by the ham-handed. I've seen too many stories of people who weren't allowed to check out books that were "too difficult" for them. Advice is well and good, but I hope they leave the final decision in the children's hands.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com