Reading at Trinity... and Beyond
Volume 22 • Fall 2012
Jessica Masanotti, Trinity Voice
I
t all started when I ventured out to Jamie’s Courtyard to catch up with our middle schoolers at lunch. I walked up to a table of eighth-grade girls as they talked. Expecting to hear gabbing about Justin Bieber, boys or fashion, I was immediately struck by the actual conversation happening at the table. The topic commanding their attention was not “girl talk”, but a discussion over their class reading of To Kill a Mockingbird. In fact, the impact of the reading has eighth-graders Anna Low and Oriana Cardarelli now considering the path to become lawyers.
...and whoever does the reading, talking and thinking is doing the learning. - Emily Rietz, MS Language Arts As I sat at the lunch table, I reflected on my own middle school years. I cannot remember ever having a deep discussion with friends that was so focused, intentional and uninitiated by a teacher. Now in my fifth year at Trinity, I find myself constantly, though not surprisingly, impressed with our students. That tenacity and excitement for learning, seen in our students, is a direct reflection of the commitment of our exceptional teachers and the student-centered model they use in the classroom each day. Before Trinity was founded, a group of educators gathered with a common vision for a school that could break out of the traditional teacher-focused model of teaching and adopt one of hands-on, experiential learning where students not only see and hear, but do - participating in and building their own knowledge. Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop have been the backbones of our language arts program since 2000. Studentcentered, differentiated instruction is the norm as we
aim to produce proficient, enthusiastic readers and writers. Using curriculum units of study from the Teachers College Reading & Writing Project (Columbia University), our students immerse themselves in “just right” books and write stories from the heart of their own experiences and noticings. Reader’s Workshop helps our children at Trinity develop strong reading skills through the use of a mini-lesson, read aloud, independent & paired reading and literature response. Providing a supportive environment, Reader’s Workshop involves students in authentic reading experiences that focus on the strengths and needs of the individual reader.
Reader’s Workshop in Lower School Our second-grade classes recently launched their unit of study, Characters Face Bigger Challenges. This unit focuses on helping students read their books in ways to support comprehension and engagement with the story’s characters, pushing students to think outside the text. To begin this unit, our students reviewed the basic story elements and got to know their characters by identifying their physical attributes.
Top: Fifth-grader Alaijah Hoskins reads to her second-grade book buddy Caroline Damesek. Bottom: Ms. Lynah leads her second-grade class in a mini-lesson about how readers visualize their text.
“We had a class discussion about how we don’t befriend people because of what they look like,” explained Second-grade Teacher Ms. Liz Lynah. “We get to know our characters first, just like we do with our friends. After the lesson, one of my students said Of course we don’t judge our friends by what they look like, we go to Trinity!” (continued on page 3)
In this issue... > Exceptional, Beyond Our Walls > What is the Trinity Fund?
> Learning by Doing - Q & A
> Alumni News & Notes
> Math Innovations at Trinity Creating Scholars, Nurturing Spirituality and Embracing Diversity in Charlotte’s Center City