Notice and Note Question 3

I haven't really thought about rigor.  Is that bad to admit?  I have felt like rigor meant making it tougher for students, but I keep getting hung up on the idea that even "easy" books feel tough for some students.  It has been hard for me to switch to the idea in Common Core that we have to go deeper and deeper.  This chapter helped me to see that we don't have to automatically go to harder texts just for the sake of calling it rigor.  We can take on-level texts, or independent level for students who are struggling, and go deeper into the understanding the kids have-- and that is rigor!  Rigor means that students are engaged, and that can't happen if the text is too difficult (or boring) so we can still choose books kids will be successful at reading.  The checklist on rigor and talk (p. 33) was really enlightening, but then it was in my favorite chapter on Talk, so there you go!!

Rigor should bring with it an inherent interaction between student and text and other students. It should be enjoyable and challenging in order for the book to make an impact on a child's life.  I keep going back to the reason for reading: is it for a grade, for a future "college and career readiness" skill?  Or is it because we are shaping human lives to be introspective, empathetic, and considerate?  After all, I believe that the books I read change me and have made me the person I am, as much as people I have met and interacted with have.  I come to books ready to be impacted regardless of the difficulty of the book.