Change of methodology

After looking back on my original proposal after much reflection, I have decided that the specific way I was going to utilize repeated readings is a bit ridiculous for a content classroom. I hit on it in my earlier post but today had a great opportunity to see how well my new method works. I have been giving students specific look-fors prior to asking them to read. Today before students read about the African trading kingdoms (there are 3 but each student was given only one to become an expert on) I wrote on the board and verbally told them what their look-fors were. They were to look for and take notes on that Kingdom's religion, economy, and government. They had approximately 10 minutes to read and take notes. Every single student was on task and writing notes, including my lower ability students and behavior issues. Afterwards, before we even started the discussion, I asked them to raise their hand if at any point, they reread any of their section to help them find the look-fors. 16 out of my 23 students raised their hands saying that they conduct self-repeated readings to find their look-fors. I will definitely continue to focus on this aspect of my study with repeated readings. During the discussion over what they found, again I found all students were able to give me specifics about economy, government, or religion on their kingdom. I called on every student and everyone participated with information gathered from their readings. I was really pleased with the effect!