This is REAL Life....

      Watching children engage in reading was an interesting opportunity for me. I brought back so many memories of me trying to learn how to read, decode words and sound things out. I had the chance of observing a small  reading group of a 4th grade classroom who struggled with reading comprehension, rate and fluency. They read The Navajo Nation Fair and each of them began with a paragraph to read on their own.While engaged in their reading the teacher would monitor the child's rate and fluency and after their comprehension of the passage. The teacher asked the students what they thought the Words to Know,ie.vocab, section meant and how each word tied into the reading. After she asked the students to describe what they thought the fair would be like if they were their and to tell their partners in the small group about the fair' persuading them to want to attend.

      The activity overall was great. The teacher let the students think for themselves and draw conclusions from the images and through application of what they already knew. The teacher did a great job with helping the students comprehend just by asking them things they may already know about the Navajos and about Fairs. She made them realize that when reading they can use what they know to make connections to a passage. She also helped them with their rate and fluency by letting them know to take their time and try and decipher a word before getting angry or skipping it. From this I learned that I can use a picture walk and patience with my students to help them become better readers.

      I initially thought this experience was intriguing. Seeing the children sound out the words that seem so simple to me now,deciphering the meaning behind an image or passage that I also struggled with but can now do as if it was second nature was beneficial. I could see them getting nervous when they came to a word they didn't know or become frustrated because their peers would say the word for them without giving them a chance to read it. These were the things I personally struggled with and wondered when I overcame my fear of reading a word wrong and being able to  read through passages smoothly with no struggle. Each child reminded me of myself at their age and how determined I was to get out of the small reading groups and I hope the children that I observed obtain that same passion to want to be a better reader.