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.
Using a comprehensive literacy program would be extremely beneficial to ELL students. Reading workshop, writing workshop conferencing, guided reading and writing, listening to book on tape, and shared reading are all great components that would help ELL students develop literacy skills. Reading and writing workshop are great ways for ELL students to engage in group and individual lessons with the appropriate lessons specific to their reading levels. Reading aloud to children is important, especially to ELL students, as they hear fluent reading, they watch and participate in predicting strategies, and they are engaged in discussions about the text. Conferencing would be great as students can work on specific areas of need with the teacher. Listening to books on tape is also another great opportunity for the ELL students to hear words pronounced that are too difficult for them. This is a great activity for them to read along with the tape actually pronouncing difficult words and becoming familiar with the text. Shared reading is great for students to share different connections with the text, based on their background knowledge and schemas. This also allows discussion and opportunities for students to respond to each other's connections and ideas about the text.
I think it is very important, especially for ELL students, to read text that interest them, as well as reading text that they are familiar with and having background knowledge of the content. Placing students in groups with other students with similar abilities is also helpful for them to work together to figure out difficult words and passages.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Module 5: Reading Reflection
Where does phonics instruction fit within a comprehensive literacy program? When and how would you teach phonics?
A comprehensive program is designed to teach literacy skills using both reading and writing together. Many theories support more of a "phonics" based literacy program, not using reading and writing workshops together to teach literacy. Researchers have found that there is a direct correlation between phonemic awareness and learning to read words. Although we do not read words letter by letter and sounds out each individual letter sound, it is important that we have a background knowledge of phonics in order to be able to read effortlessly. Teaching phonics helps children learn how to decode words. When readers are taught phonics they improve their ability to spell words while writing, which means they can read those words easier. When teaching using a comprehensive literacy program, reading and writing workshops are both used to teach literacy. Children are encouraged to write and read their own writing, which is strengthening their phonics skills by sounding out and spelling words. Teaching strategies for decoding words such as "skip it" and "sound it out" are examples of what good readers do. Phonics instruction should not be taught strictly for phonemic awareness, it should be integrated in reading and writing instruction.
I would like to teach phonics during reading and writing workshop. Phonics could be taught during guided reading, guided writing, individual conferences, mini lessons, etc. Even writing aloud with the students would be a great opportunity to incorporate phonics skills instruction, while modeling for the students appropriate strategies and skills. Keeping writing journals throughout the year would be a great tool to have to help students learn phonics rules, as their writing skills progress. It is important for children to be able to take what they learn from phonics instruction and apply it to their reading and writing! Phonics should not be taught in isolation, where children cant make connections between phonics, reading, and writing.
A comprehensive program is designed to teach literacy skills using both reading and writing together. Many theories support more of a "phonics" based literacy program, not using reading and writing workshops together to teach literacy. Researchers have found that there is a direct correlation between phonemic awareness and learning to read words. Although we do not read words letter by letter and sounds out each individual letter sound, it is important that we have a background knowledge of phonics in order to be able to read effortlessly. Teaching phonics helps children learn how to decode words. When readers are taught phonics they improve their ability to spell words while writing, which means they can read those words easier. When teaching using a comprehensive literacy program, reading and writing workshops are both used to teach literacy. Children are encouraged to write and read their own writing, which is strengthening their phonics skills by sounding out and spelling words. Teaching strategies for decoding words such as "skip it" and "sound it out" are examples of what good readers do. Phonics instruction should not be taught strictly for phonemic awareness, it should be integrated in reading and writing instruction.
I would like to teach phonics during reading and writing workshop. Phonics could be taught during guided reading, guided writing, individual conferences, mini lessons, etc. Even writing aloud with the students would be a great opportunity to incorporate phonics skills instruction, while modeling for the students appropriate strategies and skills. Keeping writing journals throughout the year would be a great tool to have to help students learn phonics rules, as their writing skills progress. It is important for children to be able to take what they learn from phonics instruction and apply it to their reading and writing! Phonics should not be taught in isolation, where children cant make connections between phonics, reading, and writing.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Module 4: Activity 2
Which NRP topic area(s) or missing pillar(s) that Allington describes do you find to be most vital for childrens literacy success? Why?
I believe children having the choice to read what they find interesting is one of the most vital components. I think that all of the other topics can be addressed more successfully "if" a child reads something that interest them and something that can make connections with. It has been proven that good readers read more than poor readers and I think this stems from an early age of being able to read texts that interest them. A child who is brought up at an early age reading only text that are boring to them and text that they can not make connections with, sets that child up for "hating" to read. Who wants to read something that is boring? No one that I am aware of and if we are making children read such material before they even build a love for reading, then we are setting them up for failure. I think the more children read and love what they are reading, the more proficient readers they will become and the more they will read on their own!
Module 4: Activity 1
First I want to start by saying watching the video of Robin at 50 years old learn to read was one of the most moving and influential videos I have ever seen. It made me so emotionally to see how the strategies we use to teach our students today can even be used to teach ANYONE at any age! It is so rewarding as a teacher to see changes in people such as I just saw in this video.
Robin began learning to read by using spelling tiles and chunking words endings together and putting them with different letters at the beginning of the words to make all new words such as (p)ick, (st)ick, (t)ick. I also noticed him seeing large words such as "congratulations" and automatically seeing the word "rat" and then pronouncing "congrat" and then he automatically knew that it said congratulations without sounding out any other part of the word. This proves that readers do not read letter by letter! I enjoyed watching him write to read as well. He was writing and reading what he had wrote. He often reread several times without giving up or without the teacher helping him out. he was able to figure out the simple sentences on his own by rereading. Robin was able to use context and picture also to help him read as he did in the newspaper articles, comic book, etc. He saw the beginnings of words and knew what it must say by using the context clues to help him. Robin's passion and dedication for learning to read was so touching to me, and I would like to share this video with my teachers at work.
Robin began learning to read by using spelling tiles and chunking words endings together and putting them with different letters at the beginning of the words to make all new words such as (p)ick, (st)ick, (t)ick. I also noticed him seeing large words such as "congratulations" and automatically seeing the word "rat" and then pronouncing "congrat" and then he automatically knew that it said congratulations without sounding out any other part of the word. This proves that readers do not read letter by letter! I enjoyed watching him write to read as well. He was writing and reading what he had wrote. He often reread several times without giving up or without the teacher helping him out. he was able to figure out the simple sentences on his own by rereading. Robin was able to use context and picture also to help him read as he did in the newspaper articles, comic book, etc. He saw the beginnings of words and knew what it must say by using the context clues to help him. Robin's passion and dedication for learning to read was so touching to me, and I would like to share this video with my teachers at work.
Module 4: Instructional Challenge
Marcus is struggling when reading by substituting words that start with the same letter or first letters of the word in the text, and his substitutions are not grammatically or semantically acceptable.
I would have Marcus reading and conferencing with me at least twice a week. I think this would help him greatly as I could help him when he made errors immediately (immediate feedback being important), and he could listen to me read the same words he is mispronouncing. I believe also if Marcus could hear himself read and listen to the mistakes he was making, he would be able to correct them. I would try having him record himself while reading and listening to himself. When he played back his recording I would have him making notes as to what words he was saying instead of what was printed in the text.
I also think having a peer to read with Marcus would be beneficial just as him reading to me would be. A peer could offer feedback as well but could also read aloud while Marcus read to help him see and hear the words as they should be read aloud. Guided reading and choral reading would also be good approaches to take with Marcus. He would be in a group of readers on or around his reading level, while listening to them read. I think hearing people read aloud is one of the most important beneficial things a reader can partake in to become a better reader. I think by working in a group, he would also not get discouraged as easily as he would if he were reading silently to himself.
Having books on tape might also be an approach that would give Marcus another opportunity to listen to someone reading aloud. His miscues can become less the more he hears good readers read and actively participates in group reading and conferencing.
I would have Marcus reading and conferencing with me at least twice a week. I think this would help him greatly as I could help him when he made errors immediately (immediate feedback being important), and he could listen to me read the same words he is mispronouncing. I believe also if Marcus could hear himself read and listen to the mistakes he was making, he would be able to correct them. I would try having him record himself while reading and listening to himself. When he played back his recording I would have him making notes as to what words he was saying instead of what was printed in the text.
I also think having a peer to read with Marcus would be beneficial just as him reading to me would be. A peer could offer feedback as well but could also read aloud while Marcus read to help him see and hear the words as they should be read aloud. Guided reading and choral reading would also be good approaches to take with Marcus. He would be in a group of readers on or around his reading level, while listening to them read. I think hearing people read aloud is one of the most important beneficial things a reader can partake in to become a better reader. I think by working in a group, he would also not get discouraged as easily as he would if he were reading silently to himself.
Having books on tape might also be an approach that would give Marcus another opportunity to listen to someone reading aloud. His miscues can become less the more he hears good readers read and actively participates in group reading and conferencing.
Module 4: Reading Reflection
In my classroom I have found that I am doing many of the comprehensive literacy program strategies. I implemented the Cafe and Daily 5 literacy approaches this past year in my classroom which involves many of these same aspects such as read alouds, guided reading, self monitoring while reading, independent reading, individual reading conferences, and journals. I did not do as much of the writing strategies as I would have liked to because our school is departmentalized and I was not the writing teacher for my team. I think reading aloud daily is one of the most important aspects of teaching literacy, as children are able to hear you read with expression and listening to more intense plots that they would not be able to read on their own independently and understand. I also think this allows children to see the importance of reading and they learn to read for pleasure and meaning after seeing and hearing an adult love to read and to read for fun! During independent reading time, I allow my students to choose their own books for this time, as long as the books are on their levels. I think this is very important so that children will be motivated to read. I would like to incorporate more writing so students cant write their own reading. I have always had my students read aloud in the classroom using for instance "popcorn" reading. But, after reading Weaver I see that this is not always the best approach as some students are scared f being called on, most look ahead to see what is coming up, proficient readers are usually bored, etc. I also would like to move away from so much phonics instruction as research shows that it doesn't produce better scores on reading comprehension. Overall using Cafe and Daily 5 in my classroom has allowed my students to read more for enjoyment, while still learning how to monitor themselves for comprehension while they read, conferencing weekly with each student to see where they are and how they are progressing, etc.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)