Let me give you an example of what I mean by these factors and how they helped me become a quilter - still a beginning quilter, but a quilter. First off, I chose to start quilting - it was not something that was forced upon me by family, friends, or teachers. It was something I'd always had a passion for but never had the skills. I was in awe of those people who could quilt beautiful patterns and tell stories with their material and quilt choices. So when my friend Anna suggested I learn, with and from her, I was eager to give it a go.
Anna suggested we head to Faye's Henhouse, a quilt shop about a 45 minute drive from our homes, so we wouldn't have any household distractions for us. So each Tuesday morning, right after dropping the kids off at school, we met in our alley and loaded up our sewing machines. There was a predictabilty of this - it happened every Tuesday, rain or shine.
Once we arrived at Faye's, we unloaded and got started quilting and worked nonstop for three hours. The only way I knew it was getting to be on three hours was because my stomach started rumbling. But other than that I was immersed in the quilting and everything about it - I had a concentrated period of time to work on improving my quilting.
Now during that three hours I didn't just sit at my sewing machine. There was a whole group of women gathered together sewing and there was lots of talk going on. I mostly listened but once in a while I joined in on the discussion. At other times I took a stretch break and walked around the quilt store - gaining inspiration from any of the number of wonderful quilts on display. Still other times I threw up my hands in despair and asked Anna for help. She patiently listened to the problem I was having and then gave me advice - most often telling me to rip out my seams and start over. But she didn't just tell me - she showed me what she meant and then, even though I thought it quite spiteful it at the time, she undid her work and made me try it for myself. In this way, there was interaction with the other quilters and the quilting supplies and modeling from Anna.
Now you may wonder why I'm bothering to tell you all about my quilting experience when I'm supposed to be talking about reading and writing. Trust me, there is a point. The factors of choice, predictability, time, interaction and modeling were present and all played a large role in my success as a quilter and I would say those same factors, as they play out in a classroom or home setting, will and can have the same result for your readers and writers.
Give it a go - think about your classroom. Think about a specific subject or lesson and how you might better include all these factors. If you're having your students all read biographies, how can you implement the factors of choice into the study? What about providing the students with time - not just a few minutes here or there to read their books, but an extended period of time where they can really dig into the material? Is your classroom predictable? Do the students realize that they will have that time to read every day - and so are they prepared to do so? And how can you help the students help one another? How can you provide modeling for your students and also allow them time to work together and discuss their learning?
There you have it - what I believe can be the foundation for all learning situations. Try it out and see what you think - I'm interested to hear from you.
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