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.