Blog 4

Chapter 5 discusses the many different ways in which reading and writing can be done in the classroom.  I want to focus more on the reading aspect for this blog, because I see great modeling of reading using the different techniques discussed in the reading in my current field placement.  Reading can and should involve reading to children, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading.  The reading talks about how all of these different methods of reading are beneficial for students, because students retain information in different ways and each student needs to find which method works best for them using the different techniques discussed above.  I mentioned in class how my field placement teacher has a great set up for her literacy block, and she uses all of the methods of reading during that block.  During that block, the students rotate to different stations and each station has a different activity that uses different reading techniques.  The students love it and it is very beneficial for them, because it increases their reading skills.  

Another topic mentioned in the book was how some teachers feel that reading aloud to students should only be used for entertainment.  It discussed two different types of ways in which teachers can read aloud to students, traditional read aloud and interactive read aloud.  I personally think that if a teacher just reads a book to the students without using any type of comprehension techniques, the reading will go in one ear and out the other.  Teachers should use different techniques like inferring, visualizing, questioning, and ect.  Interactive reading will engage the students and allow for better comprehension of the material read.