Does any of the information presented in Chapter 15 influence your personal philosophy of reading? In what ways? How has your perspective this changed since you took the DeFord TORP a few weeks ago?
After reading, I gained a better understanding of what all is involved in a comprehensive literacy program. Multiple strategies are need to give students the opportunity to succeed in reading.
Since taking the DeFord TORP and reading Weaver's book, my philosophy has changed a big. I still believe reading is one of the most important skills to learn, but how that skill is taught is what changed. Learning to read is a multi-step process. Comprehension is the goal to reading. Fluency is important, but it just allows the student to be more understanding of the text.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Module 5: Instructional Challenge
As your school year starts, you realize that you have three ELLs who are newcomers to the United States. Discuss how a comprehensive literacy program addresses their needs, drawing attention to specific components of the framework that are particularly relevant. Then discuss any additional scaffolding you would offer to support these children's needs.
A comprehensive literacy program addresses the needs of ELLs because it gradually builds them into reading. Flooding a student with high-interest books allows ELLs and all students to be exposed to many different storybooks. This helps students see the grammatical structure of books. Integrating reading, writing, and listening together helps ELLs see the same information three different ways. Continuous repitition is one way to help these students. ELLs need many visuals as well, because they may see the word apple and know it, but knowing what an apple is helps the students' understanding of a concept.
A comprehensive literacy program addresses the needs of ELLs because it gradually builds them into reading. Flooding a student with high-interest books allows ELLs and all students to be exposed to many different storybooks. This helps students see the grammatical structure of books. Integrating reading, writing, and listening together helps ELLs see the same information three different ways. Continuous repitition is one way to help these students. ELLs need many visuals as well, because they may see the word apple and know it, but knowing what an apple is helps the students' understanding of a concept.
Module 5: Reading Reflection
After completing the reading for the week, consider these questions:
Where does phonics instruction fit within a comprehensive literacy program? When and how would you teach phonics?
Phonics instruction fits within a comprehensive literacy program because the strategies help improve students' comprehension. Teaching phonics helps students learn the fundamentals of words first. Phonics allows students to become aware of the sound units in a language (Weaver, 2002). Students are able to use decoding to determine unfamiliar words. If students know certain onsets and rimes, they should be able to use that knowledge to read new words using those same word parts. Phonemic awareness and learning to read are both reciprocals of each other (Weaver, 2002).
When I taught 2nd grade, we incorporated phonics into our small group reading instruction. These were leveled group. Phonics is something that should be introduced early on and then reviewed throughout the year. To work on phonics, students would trace a word in crayong that focused on our pattern that week, such as week or weak, over knitting board. Then the students would run over the word with their finger one sound at a time while putting the entire word together. This helped the students remember that the sounds blended together.
Where does phonics instruction fit within a comprehensive literacy program? When and how would you teach phonics?
Phonics instruction fits within a comprehensive literacy program because the strategies help improve students' comprehension. Teaching phonics helps students learn the fundamentals of words first. Phonics allows students to become aware of the sound units in a language (Weaver, 2002). Students are able to use decoding to determine unfamiliar words. If students know certain onsets and rimes, they should be able to use that knowledge to read new words using those same word parts. Phonemic awareness and learning to read are both reciprocals of each other (Weaver, 2002).
When I taught 2nd grade, we incorporated phonics into our small group reading instruction. These were leveled group. Phonics is something that should be introduced early on and then reviewed throughout the year. To work on phonics, students would trace a word in crayong that focused on our pattern that week, such as week or weak, over knitting board. Then the students would run over the word with their finger one sound at a time while putting the entire word together. This helped the students remember that the sounds blended together.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Module 4: Activity 1
Even though this video has strong religious overtones, (please let me know if it offends you, and I will provide an alternate assignment), it is useful for determining strategies that beginning readers use when becoming literate, even at age 50. Watch the video and reflect on what strategy or strategies Robin used most to help him learn to read.
Robin used word families with the yellow and green tiles to help create words. He would change out tiles to create new words.
He would also go back and reread his sentences when they didn't make sense. He would reread to make sense of what he was reading and correct his miscues. He would continue to reread until it was accurate. The teacher wouldn't correct him unless he asked for it.
Robin would read things like the paper and signs that were relevant to his life. This was helpful because these were the things he needed to be able to read to get by in life. Reading emails and the paper could keep him caught up in real life. He could now email people to let them know how he was doing.
Robin used word families with the yellow and green tiles to help create words. He would change out tiles to create new words.
He would also go back and reread his sentences when they didn't make sense. He would reread to make sense of what he was reading and correct his miscues. He would continue to reread until it was accurate. The teacher wouldn't correct him unless he asked for it.
Robin would read things like the paper and signs that were relevant to his life. This was helpful because these were the things he needed to be able to read to get by in life. Reading emails and the paper could keep him caught up in real life. He could now email people to let them know how he was doing.
Module 4: Instructional Challenge
Marcus is a student who very frequently miscues by substituting words that start with the same letter or first few letters of the word in the text, but his substitutions often are not syntactically or semantically acceptable (they neither sound right grammatically nor make sense). What possible teaching strategies would you suggest to help Marcus?
To help Marcus, I would suggest that the teacher stop and ask him if what he is reading makes sense within the context. He could start making predictions to think of what might possibly come next related to what he has already read. After he continues reading, he should evaluate his predictions to see if they were correct. Weaver (2002) states "When the reader has become successful at this thinking ahead and is clearly trying to make meaning from texts, select instances where prediction plus the initial letters of the word are likely to enable the reader to predict the exact word; look at the rest of the word and confirm. But keep reinforcing the emphasis on meaning first."
It might also be beneficial if Marcus and a partner use the think-aloud strategy while reading a passage to voice their thoughts of what they are reading. The other student would be able to catch Marcus' miscues and get him to stop and think about what he is reading.
To help Marcus, I would suggest that the teacher stop and ask him if what he is reading makes sense within the context. He could start making predictions to think of what might possibly come next related to what he has already read. After he continues reading, he should evaluate his predictions to see if they were correct. Weaver (2002) states "When the reader has become successful at this thinking ahead and is clearly trying to make meaning from texts, select instances where prediction plus the initial letters of the word are likely to enable the reader to predict the exact word; look at the rest of the word and confirm. But keep reinforcing the emphasis on meaning first."
It might also be beneficial if Marcus and a partner use the think-aloud strategy while reading a passage to voice their thoughts of what they are reading. The other student would be able to catch Marcus' miscues and get him to stop and think about what he is reading.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Module 4: Reading Reflection
Looking across Chapters 10 and 11, which of the understandings and strategies in the comprehensive literacy program are you already addressing/doing with your students (or have you done, or do you plan to do)?
After reading chapters 10 and 11, I realized that I already implement many of the components of a comprehensive literacy program in my classroom.
In second grade, I used shared reading as whole group instruction. We would read our story of the week several times so the students could become familiar with it. I also had guided reading groups to help students with phonics and comprehension. My guided reading groups were leveled so I was able to work on what students needed most. We would also have independed reading every day. Every morning when students came in the classroom and whenever they finished their work early, they had the opportunity to read a book of their choosing. My students really enjoyed this because they were avid readers!
In second grade as well as fifth grade, I used many writing strategies. I would write-aloud whenever we started a new writing unit. This would allow me to model what I was thinking to my students. I would start shared writing to get my students brains working before we would move to independent writing. I am a firm believer in this because the only way to improve anything is to practice, practice, practice. I made my students write a lot and I think it really helped their writing abilities. I would give writing conferences to my students to help them with where they struggled and to praise them where they did well.
After reading chapters 10 and 11, I realized that I already implement many of the components of a comprehensive literacy program in my classroom.
In second grade, I used shared reading as whole group instruction. We would read our story of the week several times so the students could become familiar with it. I also had guided reading groups to help students with phonics and comprehension. My guided reading groups were leveled so I was able to work on what students needed most. We would also have independed reading every day. Every morning when students came in the classroom and whenever they finished their work early, they had the opportunity to read a book of their choosing. My students really enjoyed this because they were avid readers!
In second grade as well as fifth grade, I used many writing strategies. I would write-aloud whenever we started a new writing unit. This would allow me to model what I was thinking to my students. I would start shared writing to get my students brains working before we would move to independent writing. I am a firm believer in this because the only way to improve anything is to practice, practice, practice. I made my students write a lot and I think it really helped their writing abilities. I would give writing conferences to my students to help them with where they struggled and to praise them where they did well.
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