Group Work

Cris Tovani's book "Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?" thus far has given numerous amounts of strategies, concepts and tools for teachers to share with their students as readers.  The second half of this book begins to implement these strategies, tools and concepts.  Chapter 7 is about group work (discussion).  Tovani gives a list of reasons for why she thinks group work is beneficial in the classroom though she tried to steer away from it for so long before mastering the art of it:
Discussion..
stimulates higher levels of thinking
develops social skills
encourages articulation of thinking
honors all learners
holds kids accountable
helps students remember
allows students to make connections
allows others to see different perspectives
promotes deeper understanding
Looking at this list I soon realized that not all of these are always likely outcomes from group work or group discussion.  Tovani herself admits when she first began teaching she disliked group work very much as it often did not go as planned and often involved her running in circles around the classroom.  I think by giving your students the tools they need along with good classroom management techniques group discussion will produce many of the outcomes listed above.  In this chapter Tovani shares many stories of small and large group discussion taking place in her classroom.  It is clear that she has implemented effective classroom management.  It is also clear that her students know how to hold their thinking and they also practice good thinking and reading traits such as questioning, note taking etc.
Tovani also addresses the common issues that occur during group work and gives solutions.  Tovani suggests for those students that talk too much or not enough, that they be given a specific job in the group.  She also states that we should sometimes honor a students wish to listen rather than talk before jumping to conclusion that hey are not participating.  Another common issue addressed is that of the students who have not completed the reading before the discussion takes place, Tovani suggests these students be given quiet time to finish.  I agree with these suggestions however if the reading was to be done during homework I feel the student should not be allotted more time to complete the reading.
My favorite part of this chapter was reading about a tool Tovani uses to monitor and improve her students work during group discussion.  Its an observation form used specifically for small group discussion.  The form is divided into three columns.  The middle column labeled "readers quotes" is for direct quotes from the group, the left column is labeled with a (+) and the right with a (-) to signify positive and negative things the group is doing.  Tovani not only uses this form to monitor the groups but also to share with her students to illustrate good discussion techniques, so that her students can improve.