Kidwatching by Gretchen Owocki

Kidwatching by Gretchen Owocki

This smart, practical guidebook shows preschool, kindergarten, and primary teachers how to refine their literacy evaluation practices through careful kidwatching. By observing and recording children's literacy development, teachers also develop new understandings of the ways children think and learn. Ultimately, through kidwatching, teachers plan curriculum and instruction that are tailored to individual strengths and needs.

Gretchen Owocki and Yetta Goodman are the perfect pair to guide teachers through the kidwatching process. Yetta coined the term in her seminal article in 1978 and has spearheaded the use of miscue analysis as a window into the reading process. Gretchen, Yetta's former graduate student, is an outstanding educator and published author on the ways young children develop literacy. Together, they have written a book that will serve as a professional development tool as well as a kidwatching handbook. In each chapter, they provide

• a clear description of how kidwatching enhances teaching and learning
• specific guidelines and suggestions for kidwatching
• practical tools and resources to be used in documentation and analysis
• empowerment for children--a chance to evaluateand revaluethemselves by partnering with teachers to document and reflect on their knowledge.

Kidwatching provides a framework for engaging in systematic, yet very personalized, data collection in all areas of literacy. High-quality kidwatching gives teachers the information they need to teach effectively and to share detailed, factual information with families and administrators. Kidwatching can also be used to strengthen school reform, to develop a common set of principles and practices that are in tune with local needs and interests. Learn to watch kids and see how effective you can be on these fronts.

Gretchen Owocki highlights the significance of incorporating relevant education into not only classic reading-instruction themes like comprehension, but also contemporary ones like Common Core and RTI. She brilliantly breaks down instructional difficulties and methods into small chunks in the bestselling titles The Common Core Writing Book, 6-8; The Common Core Reading Book, 6-8; The Common Core Lesson Book, K-5; The Common Core Writing Book, K-5; and The RTI Daily Planning Book, which help teachers differentiate teaching, accomplish curricular goals, and progress as practitioners. She has worked with teachers for over 15 years to help them uncover research-based strategies that promote learning by allowing kids to experience curriculum as part of their own growth. She provides instruction that engages children via authentic, meaningful work and challenges them to improve as readers and writers in other Heinemann publications such as Comprehension, Make Place for Literacy, and Time for Literacy Centers. Gretchen is a Heinemann Professional Development Services specialist and a lecturer at Saginaw Valley State University. >> Read Gretchen's piece in the Heinemann PD Journal, Creating a Path to Utilize the Potential of CCSS.