I think that several things combine to make embedded readings work:

1. The reps. It has LAYERS of reps built in.

2. The success. They know that there is completely comprehensible input there. It is a great way to build comprehension and confidence. It is also a fantastic way to create a bridge from the totally comprehensible input that we want to give them for acquisition to occasional opportunities to wrestle with less familiar pieces similar to those found on state/local exams.

3. The personalization. It is possible and practical to create our own embedded readings….but there is an entirely different POWER to the readings when they are based on the students’ writings or the students’ story ideas. It doesn’t matter if they wrote it, they came up with the entire outline or they added interesting details. They love looking for, and finding, their own contributions. Those contributions not only make the pieces more comprehensible…they make them IMPORTANT.

4. It is a great way to differentiate.

5. It incorporates a number of literacy skills that good readers use and that our districts are clamoring for. Makes a lot of people happy. But mostly my students, which means the most to me.

6. It works well with technology. Being able to copy and paste makes creating different versions a piece of cake. As Michele showed us above, it can be “written” by , and in the view of, the entire class. We can create stories where additional sentences or details “fly” in and out.

7. One set of structures or one story can be utilized in several levels at once. This is a lifesaver for many of us.

All seven of those topics could be a day-long workshop. :o) There is so much potential in this one process.

Not only can we create and share stories from our own students and our own classes…we could easily share stories between teachers…in different classrooms, in different schools, in different states, in different countries!!

with love,

Laurie