Next year, you will be teaching in a school where the vast majority of students did not meet standard on your state's criterion-referenced test and where more than 75% of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. What are some specific universal literacy strategies you may implement to ensure students success? Include both in-class examples and things you could do outside the classroom.
Research has shown that even children in economically disadvantaged communities, benefit from a comprehensive literacy program rather than a traditional literacy program. Children who are given fewer phonics worksheets and actively participate in shared reading, choral reading, and guided reading gained more. Teaching children to figure out difficult words by asking themselves what makes sense, is a better approach than children repeatedly sounding out words incorrectly. Teaching skills out of context and meaning will not benefit children. Basing a classroom around specific skills, rather than whole-to-parts instruction, will not be as successful either in teaching literacy. Children need prior knowledge of what they read in order to gain meaning from text, as well as show interest and engagement rather than frustration. It is very important for age appropriate books be readily available to children. This is difficult in low income communities, where resources outside the classroom are limited. I do allow my students to take books home from my personal library in my classroom, and the school library books are available as well. I encourage my students to keep a reading log at home of what they read and if they liked it or not. I have found that my children enjoy keeping these logs, as I do not grade them on how many "minutes" they read, which is what many teachers require; a certain amount of time per week. I think reading for enjoyment is far more important than tracking minutes.
I agree that it is important to allow students to take home books that interest them. I love your idea of giving students an opportunity to say if they like books or not. This would be a great help in finding other books that may be of interest to them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I feel that we shouldn't grade them on how many words they read. I think that takes away the fun of reading. I also give them a chance to voice their opinion. I feel that will give them a chance to be in control of their learning.
ReplyDeleteI like that you have students complete a reading log at home. I also wrote about the importance of children reading as often as possible. By asking students to be accountable for their reading, it ensures that they are spending time outside of school reading as well.
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