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Eventually, she believes, a student who rarely participates will join the conversation and have something wonderful to say.ĭuring discussion, Ms.

Rief uses writer’s notebooks to see how students are responding to their reading or to the class discussion. Recognizing that sometimes teachers become overly concerned about students who are reluctant to enter classroom conversations, Ms. Language conventions are taught both in the context of the students’ writing and through direct, whole-class instruction. In addition to reading their individual choices, students are asked to read together in small groups, using text sets based on themes and levels of difficulty, or together as a whole class, sharing the experience of a novel, play, short story, poem, or essay. In both reading and writing, they are expected to sample a variety of genres and styles, broadening their experiences as both readers and writers. In addition to making many of their own reading selections, students are given ample opportunities to choose their own writing topics. By respecting students’ choices early, Rief believes they are more open to choices she makes later in the year. For the first part of the school year, students make their own reading selections, either from a well-stocked classroom library, from the school library, or from sources outside school. Rief asks students to read a minimum of half an hour daily. She believes they become informed, clear-thinking citizens by participating actively as readers, writers, speakers, and listeners. Her major goal is to enable students to develop into literate, articulate young men and women who contribute creatively and productively to society by communicating effectively with others, by understanding the world in which they live, and by finding their places in a complex and diverse world. The creation, interpretation, and appreciation of language and literature form the heart of Linda Rief’s curriculum. I want them to say, “Where would I fit and what stance would I take if I were a character in this book? And what is this book making me think about myself and about the world at large? And about where I fit in the world?” I want them to put themselves in characters’ roles. “I want kids to be asking big questions of themselves.