Blog 5

I have been working with my Kindergarten student each week on her reading and writing skills.  Last week I had her do a writing sample, and I was pleasantly surprised with how well she did.  I was expecting her to draw pictures and maybe write her name, but she wrote two complete sentences and even used some punctuation.  I knew that my student was advanced for her class when I first started working with her, but this assessment really showcased her skills.  From looking at what she did last week, I think I want to work on using the correct punctuation at the end of her sentences and work on when to use capital letters and when to use lower case letters.  I would have never thought that a Kindergartener would be this advanced in her skills, but it just goes to show that we as teachers should never underestimate our students and their ability to perform in the classroom.  I am excited to see how my student excels throughout the semester, and I am going to do my best to help her advance. 

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. 

Blog 3

There are many different strategies that can be done in order to teach students how to not only read but to pronounce the words they are reading and make since of the meaning.  In the reading it talked about how teachers use modeling to show how to properly correct mistakes made.  The teacher wrote a sentence on the board and used the word “look” instead of “took.”  She modeled how important rereading is to her students and how once reading the sentence out loud, the mistake can jump out.

In class, we modeled different strategies to use during reading time, which I think closely relates to this reading.  The strategy that really stood out to me in class was the “make a picture or mental image” strategy.  This strategy can be used while reading a book to allow the students to use their imagination.  The teacher will read a page to the students without showing the picture, and the student will then draw an image in their head about what is happening in the book.  This strategy keeps the students thinking during the whole time and using their imagination to draw mental images in their heads.  This is one of many strategies discussed in class this week, but they are all definitely beneficial in their own way. 

These strategies along with the ideas presented in the book are all great methods to use while teaching children how to read.  The book focused a lot on phonics and how to teach students how to pronounce words.  Teaching phonics is not an easy task and there is really no right or wrong answer on how to do so.  Like I mentioned in my previous blogs, every child is different and struggles in different ways.  It is up to the teacher to think of reading techniques in which all children can succeed. 

Blog 2

Often times teachers get frustrated when their students are not learning how to read, and the teachers start blaming the students for not being able to read.  I really do hate that scenario, because some children are just slow readers and have a hard time learning the best methods for comprehension.  A teacher blaming a student for not being an able to read is an easy way out for the teacher in my opinion.  Yes, it is going to be challenging to get every student to the level of reading the teacher wants, but the teacher shouldn’t give up on any student.  It is our job as future teachers to be able to help every type of learner.

I was in a third grade classroom last semester for my field placement, and I really liked the technique the teacher used in order to facilitate her reading block.  She would split the class up by reading levels and have an adult work with each group.  The group would read their books out loud and then answer the questions in the back of the book as a group.   I thought this was a great idea, because it allowed the more advanced readers to read books that were interesting without feeling unchallenged.  This also allowed the lower level readers to not feel intimidated by the books they had to read out loud.  The teacher then asked each adult leading the group how the students did.  If a certain student seemed to be struggling more than others, the teacher would spend some one on one time to catch the student up with the others.  The teacher really did her best to make sure every student felt comfortable in their reading, and she NEVER gave up on the students.  I want to model my future reading block like my field placement teacher did, because I saw the positive outcome by her students in the classroom and I think it could be very beneficial in my future classroom.

Blog 1

How much reading is enough seems to be a common question amongst educators and parents.  The reading states that there is not a precise answer as to how much reading is enough for different children.   Every child is at a different reading level, so the amount of reading that should be done is not always the same.  It is important to engage students in reading.  The more students are interested in their reading, the more they will learn and flourish as readers.  There needs to be about forty five minutes to an hour of a reading lesson each day in the elementary classroom for the greatest improvement of reading for all students.  Obviously young students cannot sit and read for an hour, so the lesson plan needs to be broken up into activities that engage the students and get them to actually want to read.  It is also important for teachers to make sure each student is reading at the appropriate level.  Like I mentioned early, every child reads at a different pace and has a different reading capacity level.  Each child should read books that are easy enough to read, but still challenge them to grow as readers.