Knee to Knee, Eye to Eye: Circling in on Comprehension

Imagine this:
First graders analyzing texts, critiquing ideas, debating points, and making connections.Third graders sharing analogies between slaves' lives in the 1800s and their own.Fifth graders synthesizing elements of foreshadowing before the term is even mentioned.

This is what literature conversations are all about. And this is what Ardith Cole writes about in this book, a comprehensive, inspiring guide to the art and practice of literature conversations.

Cole is committed to literature conversations because she has watched them change lives and perspectives, build confidence and compassion, and produce dramatic consequences, both in and out of the classroom. That's why she wants teachers to understand the importance of teaching children how to talk about their reading. In Knee to Knee, Eye to Eye Cole addresses text, organization, management, assessment, and the tremendous amount of learning that occurs through the powerful, engaging combination of books and talk. Most important, she offers a step-by-step guided comprehension process in which teachers have students:

• observe, analyze, and investigate the workings of a real conversation
• "wonder" with a partner after a read-aloud
• refine content and behaviors in one large literature conversation
• use the process in a small group without the teacher's presence
• read independently for conversation grist that will later drive interactions and assessments.

Because dialogue is critical to this process, the book features plentiful examples to demonstrate the higher levels of thinking and rich discussions that occur as students move into constructing their own knowledge. An appendix includes textual resources to use during read-aloud modeling lessons and sample conversation transcriptions that are handy examples for instruction and assessment.

Create a conversation community in your classroom. Invite your students into this culture of focused talk. Build relationships between and among students. And watch as they develop deep, reflective conversations as reading becomes an adventure in learning.

Ardith Davis Cole is a teacher, author, and literacy consultant with 30 years of public school experience. Her work focuses on collaborative methods. "Getting more dialogue into our classrooms and schools is a key to success." she explains, "I believe that I write and speak from the heart and mind of a teacher. I've spent so many wonderful years in the classroom. I've taught students of all ages and worked alongside teachers and kids as a literacy coach." She has also shared her methods and supported educators in other ways-as a university adjunct, an officer in professional literacy organizations, as well as, an independent literacy consultant for schools and organizations throughout North America and abroad. Several professional communities have recognized her dedication by honoring her with local, state and national awards, including the University of Buffalo's Outstanding Alumni Award. She also holds a Ph. D. in Reading from the University of Buffalo. Many have heard her celebrate: "I love being a teacher!" That love has inspired several books and a number of articles (see the following). To learn more about Ardith Davis Cole and her work please visit www.ardithcole.com as well as her YouTube channel. Books by Ardith Davis Cole: Better Answers: Written Performance that Looks Good and Sounds Smart (2nd ed.) Stenhouse 2009 Right-Answer Writing: The Process and the Prompt, Heinemann 2007 Knee-to-Knee, Eye-to-Eye: Circling in on Comprehension, Heinemann 2003 When Reading Begins: The Teacher's Role in Decoding, Comprehension, and Fluency, Heinemann 2004 Better Answers: Written Performance that Looks Good and Sounds Smart, Stenhouse 2002 Literacy Activities for Building Classroom Communities, Pippin Publishing 1998 Articles by Ardith Davis Cole: "It's the Teacher, Not the Program," Commentary in Education Week Commentary, 2003 "Scaffolding beginning readers: Micro and macro cues teachers use during student oral reading," The Reading Teacher, February 2008 "Writing: An Unexamined Gatekeeper," Education Week Commentary, March 2007 "Essays on Tests: Making Writing the 'Gatekeeper' of Content Areas," Education Week Commentary, January 2002 "The Phonics Network: A Channel for Concern," Language and Literacy Spectrum, September 1998 "What Do You Notice?" Reading Teacher, January 1989