Reading Response #10
Ray (About the Authors)
Two things are essential for children's development as writers: experience and teaching. Understanding the work, understanding space, understanding time, establishing guidelines and finished writing are all experiences and things that they need to be taught in order for writer's workshop to be effective. Writer's Workshop does not just happen one day.
Writer's workshop requires the teachers to prepare and design a set plan and way for the students to write. These teachers explained and modeled before they even began writer's workshop in the classroom. It is important for kids to know the structure of the workshop in order for it to get off to a good start and continue by allowing students to grow and develop as writers. It is always good to remember that there is no such thing as too much writing if you are trying to develop yourself as a writer.
Writer's workshop is a very neat process when watching it done in the classroom. It involves teacher's planning and designing the workshop to produce better writers. As a teacher, I won't just begin with the whole process in one day. For kids to do this effectively and gain from it, I will take my time teaching the rules and the process and modeling the skills they need to know. My favorite quote from the article, "So, first and foremost, the writing workshop is about make a time every day for children to get this experience with writing that we so value, much as we plan for children to have meaningful encounters with books each day."
Ray. Chapter 2: About the Authors: Work, Space, Time
Reading Response #9
Guided Reading
Guided Reading usually begins in Kindergarten. Most children are read at this age, while others are still developing in their prior knowledge about literacy. Book selection is very important when it comes to guided reading. The teacher should asses students interests, , prior knowledge, and competency.
The books that you select should be for a student that can read the book at 90 percent accuracy! If it is below 90 then children begin to struggle with learning meaning from the story. After selecting a book the teacher must set the focus. It may be geared towards framing specific sight words in the story or any other theme. Then, the teacher must introduce the book to the group. Introductions are extremely important in engaging students in the book and stirring up prior knowledge. The first reading is where the student reads aloud at their own pace and uses the strategies of a good reader while reading. Subsequent readings of the story are beneficial by allowing students to make new connections to the story that they did not make the first time in reading.
There are many different students and ages that are involved in guided reading. Therefore, there are many different stages of guided reading fluent reading, early reading, and emergent reading are some of the different stages of developing guided reading.The article emphasized the importance of the reading strategies that we should teach to students as teachers. It is important that children are modeled these strategies so that they can use them when they are actively involved in guided reading. Something that I found interesting that I read and I saw this on the videos of guided reading is the importance of letting the reader do the first reading before correcting them or helping them with tricky words. I found that it is important to wait until after the first reading before discussing the tricky parts. If a teacher waits until after the first reading it gives students the opportunity to meet and overcome the challenges on their own
Reading Response #8
Reading Is Thinking
This article discusses how important it is to think aloud. Read-alouds help to better connect the reader with what they are thinking about that has meaning to them. Teacher's need to emphasize in the classroom the importance of why students should read at all. Comprehension means that readers think not only about what they are reading, but what they are learning.
I really like how the teacher marks the sticky note with T-S. She explains that T-S stands for text to self. Seeing that sticky note will remind her of her connection to when she was a child.
She does this for several other places in the story that make her think and connect with her life. When I was working in a Kindergarten classroom, students would make the connection sign while I was reading a book to them. The connection sign interlocking their fingers together is a good way for students to signal that they are thinking and connecting what they are learning. All of the important key things that are stressed to us for using the read aloud method were discussed in this article. The importance of connecting, asking questions, drawing inferences, activating prior knowledge, compare and contrasting are strategies that are important to remember when reading.
Show the students how to do it. The best way to show them is by reading aloud. And what is more enjoyable than reading your favorite childhood stories to the class and emphasizing the reading strategies? (With consideration for the classes interests in books) I am going to take from this the importance to reflect and let your mind think while you read. Sometimes I say that I get distracted while I am reading, but maybe it is my minds way of connecting to what I am reading.
Goudvis, Harvey. Chapter 1: Reading Is Thinking.
Reading Response #7
Bear et al Word Sorts
This reading covered many word sort ideas and activities. I found that the ten principles of word study instruction to be very important. One of my favorite tips was to avoid telling the students spelling rules.
The obvious objective of this reading is to teach me about all the different types of sorts and ways they can be implemented into reading and writing. Some key things that I got from the reading were that concept sorts are great for being used in open and closed sorts and they can be beneficial for all ages. I also learned from thinking through the reading about how important it is to model the different type of sort for the students. Modeling can allow the teacher to "think aloud" and help show problem solving skills by showing the process of sorting to the class. And in the ten principles of word study I really agreed with number one. Students cannot learn something that they do not already know something about. This really made me think of how important it is to be sure to access students prior knowledge in every teaching situation. The reading sums up all of the rules by saying, "
Bear et al Word Sorts. Chapter 4: Organizing for Word Study: Principles and Practices
Reading Response #6
Phonemic Awareness
In Book Club groups Abby and I met to discuss the reading. We concluded that the reading covered the importance of Phonemic Awareness and Phonological Awareness. One main idea is that phonemic awareness is the ability to play with the smallest speech sounds. Another main idea is that phonological awareness is an awareness of words, syllables, rhymes, and individual sounds.
There were many important ideas that were taught in this article. For example, it is important for children to learn how to rhyme because it helps them hear sounds in words and tell where they occur. It is also very important for children to learn how to blend and segment syllables. Some ways that segmenting is used in the classroom is using teddy bears and having the students push a teddy bear forward for each word in the sentence. Some other activities are sound matching, isolation, blending, segmenting, addition, substitution, and deletion. These activities help children learn how to read and spell. Small groups are beneficial for children who have difficulty hearing or playing with sounds.
Phonemic Awareness and Phonological Awareness can be carried out in the classroom by many different ways. It is important to check students for phonemic awareness. Some ways to do this is by working with small groups of students daily and creating individual folders for each student. Also, look at the phonemic awareness state testing that your school uses to be aware of students progress. A main theme of this article was activities. It really focused on how phonemic awareness and phonological awareness is done by more than a lecture. Activities are what form these ideas in children's brains and it may take several times for the phonemic awareness to "click." Another part of the theme is that it is important to focus on the sound of the letter, not the letter name. It is more important that students comprehend the sound that the letter makes than the name of the letter. When children understand the sound letters make they will become efficient readers.
Reading Response #5
Ray (About the Authors)
Two things are essential for children's development as writers: experience and teaching. Understanding the work, understanding space, understanding time, establishing guidelines and finished writing are all experiences and things that they need to be taught in order for writer's workshop to be effective. Writer's Workshop does not just happen one day.
Writer's workshop requires the teachers to prepare and design a set plan and way for the students to write. These teachers explained and modeled before they even began writer's workshop in the classroom. It is important for kids to know the structure of the workshop in order for it to get off to a good start and continue by allowing students to grow and develop as writers. It is always good to remember that there is no such thing as too much writing if you are trying to develop yourself as a writer.
Writer's workshop is a very neat process when watching it done in the classroom. It involves teacher's planning and designing the workshop to produce better writers. As a teacher, I won't just begin with the whole process in one day. For kids to do this effectively and gain from it, I will take my time teaching the rules and the process and modeling the skills they need to know. My favorite quote from the article, "So, first and foremost, the writing workshop is about make a time every day for children to get this experience with writing that we so value, much as we plan for children to have meaningful encounters with books each day."
Ray. Chapter 2: About the Authors: Work, Space, Time
Reading Response #9
Guided Reading
Guided Reading usually begins in Kindergarten. Most children are read at this age, while others are still developing in their prior knowledge about literacy. Book selection is very important when it comes to guided reading. The teacher should asses students interests, , prior knowledge, and competency.
The books that you select should be for a student that can read the book at 90 percent accuracy! If it is below 90 then children begin to struggle with learning meaning from the story. After selecting a book the teacher must set the focus. It may be geared towards framing specific sight words in the story or any other theme. Then, the teacher must introduce the book to the group. Introductions are extremely important in engaging students in the book and stirring up prior knowledge. The first reading is where the student reads aloud at their own pace and uses the strategies of a good reader while reading. Subsequent readings of the story are beneficial by allowing students to make new connections to the story that they did not make the first time in reading.
There are many different students and ages that are involved in guided reading. Therefore, there are many different stages of guided reading fluent reading, early reading, and emergent reading are some of the different stages of developing guided reading.The article emphasized the importance of the reading strategies that we should teach to students as teachers. It is important that children are modeled these strategies so that they can use them when they are actively involved in guided reading. Something that I found interesting that I read and I saw this on the videos of guided reading is the importance of letting the reader do the first reading before correcting them or helping them with tricky words. I found that it is important to wait until after the first reading before discussing the tricky parts. If a teacher waits until after the first reading it gives students the opportunity to meet and overcome the challenges on their own
.
Dorn. Chapter 4: Guided Reading.
Reading Response #8
Reading Is Thinking
This article discusses how important it is to think aloud. Read-alouds help to better connect the reader with what they are thinking about that has meaning to them. Teacher's need to emphasize in the classroom the importance of why students should read at all. Comprehension means that readers think not only about what they are reading, but what they are learning.
I really like how the teacher marks the sticky note with T-S. She explains that T-S stands for text to self. Seeing that sticky note will remind her of her connection to when she was a child.
She does this for several other places in the story that make her think and connect with her life. When I was working in a Kindergarten classroom, students would make the connection sign while I was reading a book to them. The connection sign interlocking their fingers together is a good way for students to signal that they are thinking and connecting what they are learning. All of the important key things that are stressed to us for using the read aloud method were discussed in this article. The importance of connecting, asking questions, drawing inferences, activating prior knowledge, compare and contrasting are strategies that are important to remember when reading.
Show the students how to do it. The best way to show them is by reading aloud. And what is more enjoyable than reading your favorite childhood stories to the class and emphasizing the reading strategies? (With consideration for the classes interests in books) I am going to take from this the importance to reflect and let your mind think while you read. Sometimes I say that I get distracted while I am reading, but maybe it is my minds way of connecting to what I am reading.
Goudvis, Harvey. Chapter 1: Reading Is Thinking.
Reading Response #7
Bear et al Word Sorts
This reading covered many word sort ideas and activities. I found that the ten principles of word study instruction to be very important. One of my favorite tips was to avoid telling the students spelling rules.
The obvious objective of this reading is to teach me about all the different types of sorts and ways they can be implemented into reading and writing. Some key things that I got from the reading were that concept sorts are great for being used in open and closed sorts and they can be beneficial for all ages. I also learned from thinking through the reading about how important it is to model the different type of sort for the students. Modeling can allow the teacher to "think aloud" and help show problem solving skills by showing the process of sorting to the class. And in the ten principles of word study I really agreed with number one. Students cannot learn something that they do not already know something about. This really made me think of how important it is to be sure to access students prior knowledge in every teaching situation. The reading sums up all of the rules by saying, "
teaching is not telling."
In teaching students about word study it is important to take a child-centered approach. I also believe that it is important to get to know each student individually. Know their readiness, learning profile and interests. This too will help make them a better speller and better at literacy in general. Although, as a teacher I will have opportunities to help the student it is still their responsibility to work to grasp the concept. Differentiation will have to come into play with spelling because obviously not all students are at the same level. This reading really focuses on the importance of stepping back as a teacher and letting the students figure it out.
Bear et al Word Sorts. Chapter 4: Organizing for Word Study: Principles and Practices
Reading Response #6
Phonemic Awareness
In Book Club groups Abby and I met to discuss the reading. We concluded that the reading covered the importance of Phonemic Awareness and Phonological Awareness. One main idea is that phonemic awareness is the ability to play with the smallest speech sounds. Another main idea is that phonological awareness is an awareness of words, syllables, rhymes, and individual sounds.
There were many important ideas that were taught in this article. For example, it is important for children to learn how to rhyme because it helps them hear sounds in words and tell where they occur. It is also very important for children to learn how to blend and segment syllables. Some ways that segmenting is used in the classroom is using teddy bears and having the students push a teddy bear forward for each word in the sentence. Some other activities are sound matching, isolation, blending, segmenting, addition, substitution, and deletion. These activities help children learn how to read and spell. Small groups are beneficial for children who have difficulty hearing or playing with sounds.
Phonemic Awareness and Phonological Awareness can be carried out in the classroom by many different ways. It is important to check students for phonemic awareness. Some ways to do this is by working with small groups of students daily and creating individual folders for each student. Also, look at the phonemic awareness state testing that your school uses to be aware of students progress. A main theme of this article was activities. It really focused on how phonemic awareness and phonological awareness is done by more than a lecture. Activities are what form these ideas in children's brains and it may take several times for the phonemic awareness to "click." Another part of the theme is that it is important to focus on the sound of the letter, not the letter name. It is more important that students comprehend the sound that the letter makes than the name of the letter. When children understand the sound letters make they will become efficient readers.
Unknown. Phonemic Awareness: Chapter 6. Making the Most of Small Groups
Reading Response #5
Elementary Student Reading Achievement
The value of using data to bring change and improve in reading achievement can be what schools need to get them of the NCLB list. Schools should begin to establish a culture of reading improvement even before they are put on the NCLB list. A culture of improvement can be created by employing specialized reading teachers, establishing learning communities, and implementing support systems for teachers, students, and parents.
Professionals are an important part in producing reading achievement. A school needs to hire reading specialists that are highly qualified so that the school community can flourish through their learning. Teachers should also focus on what their students need for improvement in reading and learning in general. Sometimes, a teacher has to focus on a big statewide test that her students will be taking and this may be a learning need. The teachers took time out of their day to asses their students needs. They analyzed the class data and found ways to promote reading achievement. Through all of this the teachers formed a sense of accountability to each other and to their students. The staff at the school worked later hours and formed a sense of unity by working together to produce achievement for their school. It is important that the school community comes together to prevent the school from going under because of their achievement. Unfortunately, some schools do not take the data as seriously as they should and the schools numbers slowly decline. The staff at a school are the key players in promoting achievement for their students.
I really enjoyed this article. It made me think about all of the schools that are dealing with this problem right now. While most schools think that it is impossible, nothing is impossible with God. I really liked how the staff bonded together to see their school succeed. I learned that it is important to be a part of a school that values the staff, culture and communities within it.
Mokhtari, K; Thoma, J; Edwards, P. (2009). How One Elementary School Uses Data to Help Raise Students’ Reading Achievement. International Reading Association.
Reading Response #4
What is Differentiated Instruction
By: Carol Ann Tomlinson
Classrooms are often extremely diverse in levels of learning, special needs and disabilities. Therefore, differentiated instruction is the process of how teachers respond to their students wide variety of needs.
When a teacher goes out of his/her way to help a student, this would be considered differentiated instruction. Content, process, products and learning environment play a major role in shaping differentiated instruction.
In my Education and Curriculum class that I took in the Fall we learned about differentiated instruction. The article is a good summary of what I feel like we learned. The most important parts are that a teacher looks at a students readiness, interests, and personal learning profile. This means that a teacher assesses what would be best for each student before she follows through with a process. The four elements are content, process, products and learning environment. Content is about what the student needs to know or learn. Content makes me think of accessing prior knowledge. As a teacher I would look to see what prior knowledge a student has to see what content needs to be reviewed. The next part is process. If the process is not executed correctly students will not benefit from this. A teacher can use tiered learning, or provide choices like tic-tac-toe that the students need to complete. The process should also take into consideration the students interests. A student should be interested in the activity for differentiated instruction to work. The third part is the product. As a teacher you could encourage students to produce a play, or to work alone. The product step is the step where you can evaluate the student for learning. The last step is learning environment. Children need to feel comfortable while they are working. Produce an environment that feels like home for the students. It is also good to make different sections of the room designated for working alone, etc.
As a teacher I will be using differentiated instruction in my classroom. There is such a variety of students that will come through my classroom and not all of them will learn the same way. Therefore, I will adapt the room and the lessons to my children's needs. As a teacher it is important that differentiated instruction isn't always focused on the class as a whole. Differentiated instruction puts emphasis on how an individual learns best. When I think about using differentiated instruction in my teaching it makes me a little nervous because it sounds difficult. But, when I think about the rewards that it will have for my students I get extremely excited.
Tomlinson, Carol. (2000) What is Differentiated Instruction? Differentiation of Instruction in the Elementary Grades.
Tomlinson, Carol. (2000) What is Differentiated Instruction? Differentiation of Instruction in the Elementary Grades.
Reading Response #3
LEA and Parent Involvement
The LEA focuses the idea, like we have learned in class, what is thought can be spoken, what is spoken can be written and what is written can be read. The LEA for young children are usually 3-5 sentences written. Parents should use questions from the experience to make their child aware of where he or she wrote it in the story.
Parents can also ask questions specifically for their child and what they know that the he or she needs to improve in. Another great part from the article discusses when adults should step in with grammar. They suggest to ask a question back and see if the child answers in the same way. If he/she does then explain to the child the proper grammar for saying what they are thinking. Scaffold writing is also a strategy that parents can use at home. In scaffold writing parents use dashes for the length of words to aid the child in writing. I will definitely remember to make the parents of my students aware of these techniques for parent involvement.
This article describes many ways to train children in becoming literate. As a teacher, I will implement these strategies into my classroom. These were great strategies that will help students improve in their writing. I really liked the idea that they mentioned about correcting grammar. Instead of just telling the child that it is wrong as it back to the child and see if he/she will correct it. For example, "I liked them potatoes." Ask the child back, "You liked them potatoes?" Then explain to the child proper grammar. This strategy is noted as effective for students in understanding proper grammar. I really enjoyed this article and look forward to using the strategies I learned in my classroom.
Douville, P. (2000). Helping parents develop literacy at home: Tips for teaching. Professional Development Collection.
Reading Response #2
Missouri Early Learning Standars for Literacy
The Show Me-Standards are what students and teachers go by to evauluate that students have learned what they need to have learned by grade 12. It is important to remember that students in the pre-k years should be learning and developing in literacy, as well. Therefore, The Missouri Early Learning Standards were created to show what children should know before beginning Kindergarten.
Development is extremely important in pre-kindergarten years. Therefore, symbolic development is part of the literacy standards. Children should be able to represent feelings and ideas in a variety of ways. Acting, playing, and singing are some ways that this standard could be accomplished. Speeking expressive language is the next standard. This standard includes children using language to communicate and using expanded vocabulary. I believe that a good way to teach proper language to a child is by talking the way that you want them to. The article suggests peer interaction, time for students to talk about their interests, and reading and discussing stories. Listening and receptive language is when a child listens for different purposes. A child learns by listening to what the teacher says and should be able to understand better by listening. For a child to have a conversation they must know how to listen to others. You can tell if a child is listening by his/her's response. Active listening is a way that I would implement this standard into a classroom. If students learn how to listen actively, they will be able to listen to a story, or listen to their parents, and most of all be able to comprehend what they are hearing. Another standard is reading, of course! Reading should be used at a very young age. Early reading skills, concepts, and text will increase phonological awareness. Children should even understand reading through illustrations in a book. The last standard is writing. Although pre kindergarten years most children do not know how to write, it is important for them to begin learning the concept. This could include symbols such as hearts or stars and letters, numbers, ect. A great example of implementing an environment for writing is a paint easel. Children can express themselves through painting and understand the concept better because it is "hands on."
It is extremely important to create a safe learning environment for literacy. As a teacher, I would provide students with the things they need to be prepared for Kinderten. Books, pencils, paper, crayons, easels, paint, audio sets, and much more. In my classroom I will have each student find a spot in the room that is best for them while independently reading. I believe that it is extremely important for a student to feel comfortable in order to learn best. Therefore, if they find the best spot for them they will hopefully not be distracted and be able to focus. I would also encourage students to have their parents read to them every night. This is one thing that I do not remember my parents doing and really wish they would have. Reading to pre kindergarteners will only help them because it is familiarizing them to the concept of reading, the text, listening and illustrations.
Literacy Teacher's Guide 1-13.
The author begins by displaying how wonderful the classroom looks, feels, smells and then the students arrive. I realized by reading this part that I may dream about the perfect classroom but, it is important for me to realize that it is a classroom. A classroom is a room where students should feel welcomed and relaxed. It does not have to be perfect. The author then talks about the variety of books in his/her collection. The books that are in a classroom will impact the teaching. The books that this teacher has can be paired with lessons or used to teach a life lesson to the students.
This teacher explains that the beliefs and systems that she used to do her work throughout the day are the same ones that she implements into her classroom. She explains how important it is to be confident in her beliefs. If she is confident then she will be prepared to be able to answer when tough questions arise. It is important that a parent sees how you are confident in what you believe as a teacher. If you are confident in what you believe people will listen.
The writer then leads me to thinking about what type of reader that I am. I would probably say that I usually read to learn information. Therefore, the writer states that we usually read these types of books to our class. It is important for me to think about what kind of reader I am and realize that I need to share other books with different styles to the class.
Reader's workshops should be a 90 minuted period of interrupted time. During reader's workshop there is a mini lesson, time to read, and a time to share. During a mini lesson the teacher "thinks out loud" and models strategies for reading. The time to read allows for students to work in small groups and practice the strategies that they learned during the mini lesson. The last part is the time to share, where students can reflect on what they learned and share it with their peers.
Think about what you are thinking when you read. A group of teachers decided to think about what they are thinking bout while they are reading. The realized what type of readers that they are. They realized that it was good to slow down instead of reading it really fast. They also emphasized that they have a conversation with themselves as they are reading. I would definitely like to work on this area when I am reading. Sometimes, I have trouble staying alert. I believe that it would help me by thinking about what I am thinking about while reading.
The components of a reader's workshop are teacher modeling, guided practice, independent practice and application of the strategy. In a reader's workshop responsibility is gradually given to the students. A teacher needs to use the teacher modeling time to really teach the students about reading strategies. Eventually, after many times of modeling students are given the responsibility of reading on their own instead of being guided by a teacher. For this to be effective, the teacher has to have modeled the strategy numerous times in the past for the students.
This chapter made me think about the parts of preparing a reader's workshop and ways to add responsibility to the students. I learned about the importance of a teacher in implementing strategies into lesson and the importance of the students during guided practice and independent work. If a teacher can prepare his/her students properly and teach them the strategies of reading the teacher can expect a lot from his/her students.
Miller, It doesn't get better than this: Reading with meaning.
Miller, Guiding principles: Reading with meaning.
