Reading Teacher

The article I choose to read was Excellent Reading Teacher and when I think about what that entails I think about my old reading teacher from 5th grade. Shew made reading fun for us. sh e dressed up, she modeled think alouds and even incorporated Social Studies in her reading curriculum. This is the type of reading teacher I would like to be for my students. Someone who helps students learn but also have fun through reading. I will incorporate the many strategies that I read in this article and add a twist to them so that I may tailor reading to my children.

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.

Handy Helpers for Guided Reading

Some reading or children may be to hard or way too complex for them to understand. Most of the time teachers do not recognize this and as a result their students suffer because of it.The article I read Handy Helpers for guided Reading provided five questions that teachers can ask while their students are engaging in reading activities. They consisted of how did the students feel, how did the reading sound, how long was the session, what records did you take and how hard did you work. Theses questions help teachers see when their students are struggling and different signs they can pick up on when a student needs assistance. The second question allows the teachers to see if the reading performed by the student sound accurate or if their needs to be more practice in that area. Each questions gives you guidance of what to focus on when teachers feel as though students need a since of guidance during their reading. In turn teachers can give students a better opportunity to enhance and better their reading.

Follow Link to read more: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/TRTR.01020/full

Vocab and Read Alouds

The emphasis on vocabulary has increased over the years. It is acknowledged that having a wide range of vocabulary knowledge considers you smart. Sadly that has become the case within our society and we need to prepare our students to be able to utilize and expand their knowledge with vocabulary use. One strategy I really enjoyed in the Vocabulary Lessons article was the development of word awareness through word play. The teacher created a word wall and allowed students to add to the wall whenever they discovered a word they did not know. If a child had a word to add to the wall they were rewarded and in turn making learning vocabulary fun. Another strategy I found interesting was engaging students activity with the vocab through reading. Children gain a plethora of information and word recognition through reading. This can be displayed independently, within class instruction, or through a read aloud. You are able to show students how words sound and verbally use them within the context of a reading or passage.

Questions to Consider:
1. What other ways can you utilize and encourage vocabulary use within your future classrooms?

Can you comprehend?

     Reading Comprehension is a very important part of reading. When students read it is important to pay attention to their fluency and other aspects of reading, but it is important to notice if they know and understand what it is that they are actually reading. One thing that stood out to me in the article were that people do not focus on reading comprehension strategies, however, these strategies are very crucial. If we create and implement different comprehension strategies while reading students understanding of the text would increase. I thought it was really creative that Mrs. Hope allowed students in her classroom to make C's, V's, or squiggly lines to signify connections, visuals or questions. By implementing these strategies within her classroom her students will be better prepared for their future endeavors in reading.

Building Word Knowledge

The use of a word is more important than I initially thought. I never considered the importance of words, the ability to recognize words, the context in which the word is used in and the understanding of the word. Word Knowledge is very important in a child's life. They have to be able to recognize a word and understand its meaning when used in a certain context. In order to help a child do this one must think of creative but yet beneficial ways for children to catch on to. In the Ten Important words plus article they have mastered just that. The use of words in this context is interesting because it allows students to read, use and make connections to new words in a reading. I love this concept because it makes learning and studying vocabulary fun and beneficial. this would be an activity that I would utilize in my future classroom because it insures a  building
and enrichment of students’ understandings of words in any subject area, which in turn will support their comprehension of the content.

Questions to Consider:
1. What other ways can foster the study and understanding of vocabulary in your classroom?

Help children become readers at an Early Age by..

There are so many things parents and adults can do to help children become better readings at an early age They can read to their child, help them learn their alphabet, help them spell their names out, utilize phonemic awareness and use word recognition while reading. Phonemic awareness is more important than many adults know. It helps in recognizing and generate rhyming words,count syllables, separate the beginning of the word from the ending and to identify the phonemes in a word. These are all vital when reading and will help children become  fluent readers. They will be able to identify "leg" from "log" or "pack" and "pick" which is important to enhance their reading abilities. When helping children recognize words parents and adults have to be conscious that the child is not an expert reader and that they have to tailor and teach to the child's needs. One should make sure they are going at a good pace and helping the student learn not forcing he or she to comprehend the information. Be patient and allow the lesson learned to be fun and able to be related to their lives.

Questions to Consider:
1. How could you help children become better readers at an early age?