Module 8 - Video

Reading Recovery Video
       This video focused on the Reading Recovery program. It is a short-term program that is low cost and designed to produce outstanding results that last a long time. I agree that without early intervention, students can face a future of school failure and discouragement. It is difficult when I have a student in fourth grade who cannot read because their confidence levels are extremely low and they are close to hating reading and school. As an intermediate grade teacher, I allow my students to choose books they want to read and then I work with them to strengthen their weaknesses. Reading Recovery is a program where a student works one-on-one with and a highly trained teacher. The lessons only last for approximately 30 minutes, which surprised me. However, after a full series of lessons (12 – 24 weeks), children can achieve grade level and leave the program. The training for teachers includes weekly classes where they study with other reading researchers and trainers. Additionally, teachers can teach and observe lessons with students who already participate in the Reading Recovery program. I was really interested in the “behind the glass” observations. It was like an interrogation room because the mirror was actually a one-way window where teachers/trainers would sit on one side and observe the lesson being taught on the other side. This is a great way to observe a lesson and the child can be more at ease. I always find my students become tense and sometimes silly when we have “guests” in our room.  Overall, this program pushes their trainers to think about theory and practice. This program sounds successful for both students, parents of the students, and teachers.

Module 8 - PowerPoint

Factors Involved in Reading and Writing Difficulties PowerPoint
       I thought the very first bullet which stated “Elements of success include effort, drive, health, self-esteem, and parental support” is very true. A child’s success relies on all of those components especially when they are in elementary school. A lot of my students this year have a low self-esteem and/or confidence level, so I am making sure I build up those confidence levels by making them justify their answers and using positive discipline. I feel that it is important for the students to choose a topic they are interested in for their reading books because if they are not interested in the book that you give them, they oftentimes never finish it. The most common difficulties within our students relate to the cognitive, linguistic, psychological, social-emotional, physical and educational areas. Cognitive factors deal with students who have difficulties with retaining information and paying attention. I feel that a large amount of students struggle with this difficulty. Visual processing deficits relate to students who reverse the letters which is actually common in the pre-primer grades when the students are first developing their letters. Language factors correlate to articulation/speech and word-finding problems. A child who struggles with word-finding difficulties will also probably struggle with word recognition and comprehension. Social-emotional deficits affect students’ fight or flight mode and self-efficacy. Parental pressure also has a major impact in a child’s social-emotional area. It is important for parent to be involved with their child’s studies while remembering to not be overbearing. Parents need to remember to set positive role model behaviors for their children and provide a rich-learning environment at home. It is also important for teachers to provide a safe, stable, and inviting learning environment at school where she promotes independence and give student choices whenever possible. Physical causes such as neurological factors, hearing impairments, and vision impairments can also cause children to have difficulties with their academics. I think that it is great that my school requires every first and fourth grader to pass vision and hearing tests. Overall, as teachers, we should support all of our students and inspire them to become life-long learners who enjoy learning new knowledge and accepting challenges. Teachers must effectively instruct their students throughout the entire school day. Also, parents should read to their children or with their children while they are young. Finally, I agree that children should be verbally stimulated throughout the day with rich conversations, explanations, and interactions that will build their language and vocabulary.

Module 7 - Video

Analysis of a Video: Robert Slavin - Scaling Up Success for All
            Success for All is a package of professional development programs for mostly high poverty and Title 1 elementary schools. There is a facilitator located in the school that assists teachers with teaching skills. There is also a solutions team that deals with all of the problems outside of school and integrates with other sources in the community. I agree that you cannot solve just one problem in an education system because everything is interconnected. Success for All is located in 1,000 schools in approximately 47 states. I was surprised how he skipped over the slide on the “research behind Success for All”. I wonder why he did that. I feel that it is important to understand what type of research this program has completed thus far. I like the idea that there is a strong emphasis on coaching within the elementary school. I believe there should be plenty of professional development options, especially since education is continually changing and adding new topics or materials.

Module 7 - PowerPoints

Perspectives for Tutoring PowerPoint
            I agree that it is vital that we attain students’ opinions/views of their reading/writing when assessing them. It helps me understand a child better if I know their opinion on how they feel they are progressing with the different subjects. I love to converse with my students to gain an understanding about their abilities along with their dislikes/likes. I try my hardest to know my students personally since I am with them for 8 hours a day. I love getting to know my students and their families. I take time out of my weekends to visit my students during their extra-curricular activities and show my support for them both academically and socially. I socialize with the parents during the students’ extra-curricular activities which gives me additional insight into my students’ behaviors and overall interests. My students chose/read books that interest them and are on their independent/instructional levels. Reading something they are interested in helps them become stronger readers.

Comprehension Strategies PowerPoint

            I found it interesting that the three common causes for lower reading comprehension is unfamiliarity with the text features/demands, undeveloped attention strategies, and inadequate cognitive development/reading experiences. Many of my students have a wonderful oral reading rate and show great fluency. However, they struggle when they are tested on overall comprehension. Throughout this class I have come to the realization that “comprehension is the reason for reading” and I added more emphasis on this skill in my classroom. My students know that they should read as much as possible and to always read with a purpose so they can make connections with the text and build their schema. I use the “think aloud” strategy when I read any texts to my students to demonstrate the skills necessary to become a great reader. My students use sticky notes and their reading journals to record their thoughts, new ideas, questions, summaries, connections, etc. I pull small groups according to the students’ weaknesses and strengths in order to strengthen their reading skills (i.e., predicting, inferring, synthesizing, evaluating, etc.). I believe writing about their reading helps students think through difficult parts in the text and become stronger readers.

9 Best Practices PowerPoint

            Whenever I introduce a new topic, I always determine my students’ schema and background knowledge of that topic. I then can model and scaffold my students’ learning to best fit their needs. I often have my students take notes or summarize their readings. I agree that this task promotes greater comprehension because they have to write about what they’re reading in their own words and therefore, they are seeing it for a second time. In fourth grade, we take notes in our journals and use two-column notes, outlines, and an abundant amount of graphic organizers or flipbooks. I agree in providing effective praise as well as constant feedback to my students because they look forward to the personalized comments. Effective praise and personalized comments build students’ confidence levels and students in return will be more tenacious and dedicated to the tasks at hand. I like the slide about assigning homework and practicing skills because I believe students need to review notes and extend their learning outside of the classroom; however, I really enjoyed when it stated, “parent involvement should include facilitating the process but not solving problems for their children” (slide 28). I still find parents completing homework for their children in fourth grade and it is aggravating when the students “understand it at home” but then “crash and burn in class”. I stress that the importance of homework is to practice the skills they learn at school and to become more efficient and effective with these strategies and topics. Overall, I use several of these strategies because my main goal as an educator is to increase student achievement and success.

Module 6 - Videos

Why I Flipped My Classroom Video

            I really enjoyed watching this video because our local middle school is a pilot school for the “flipped classrooms”. In fact, one of my team members is currently taking a class on flipping her classroom. I found the research and videos to be very interesting because I oftentimes feel like I am teaching to the middle of class. I do get nervous that students will not watch the videos for homework. However, the teacher said that she allows students to watch videos on the computer during morning or lunch time in order to catch up. I think this is a great idea because we could really use our time wisely to differentiate and meet the needs of all students. I always say that I could teach math centers all day because I need to first model/scaffold my students for a good thirty minutes on a lesson before I have them work individually while I pull small groups and extend or remediate as required. I cannot wait to hear more about my co-worker’s experience or the middle school students’ experiences with the flipped classrooms. I would be interested in the idea of flipping a classroom for all subject areas and how it would work in subjects like reading and/or writing.

Using Assessment to Improve Instruction

            This video was created by an educator who wanted to share his ideas about using assessments to improve instructions and to dispute another educator. I agree that some assessments (i.e., CRCT) can take away from instruction time. A woman name Pat Cross, once called assessment the “zipper between teaching and learning” which makes sense because we teach students then assess their knowledge on that learning. Great assessments really cannot be separated from great instructions. I agree that an assessment is “an act of observing, attempting to understand and provide feedback on the ways the students are grasping, integrating and applying the material/concepts they are learning in the classrooms.” I tend to use students’ work like their journals as a source for assessments because it is authentic. Also, I understand that assessments can take a great deal of time, but it is worthwhile to be able to gauge how much the students grow throughout the school year. I believe that learning does matter!

Module 6 - PowerPoints

Reading Strategies PowerPoint

            This PowerPoint included reading strategies that I will be using from now on! I already utilize a majority of these strategies such as the think alouds during my reading/writing lessons as well as the KWL charts throughout my science and social studies lessons. Additionally, I have my students complete anticipation guides or textbook activity guides during social studies and science lessons. I always want to build on my students’ prior knowledge so they have a strong foundation to support the new knowledge. I use the 3-2-1 strategy in the form of a pyramid or column notes when my students watch an educational video. Although I rarely use RAFTs, I customarily use them during social studies where my students accept a role as a historian or the person we are currently study. I love using graphic organizers, especially spider webs/maps because the majority of my students are visual learners. We often use Kidspiration where the students build their own maps using the computer software. Also, I built my very first word wall this year because of all the readings in this class. This PowerPoint had some great pointers that I will include within my word wall this year and years to follow. I agree that the word wall should be in an obvious spot where the students can easily see it. My students often go up to our word wall throughout the school day. I include vocabulary from all academic areas on this word wall. I make up the word on Microsoft Word and try to include a picture whenever applicable. The only problem I have run into is that I am already running out of room under common letters. I wish I had a much bigger wall! I like the idea of guessing the word which would help build identification of the word and students would also practice the spelling of the words. I think I will use WORDO before the CRCT this year and I will call out the definition instead of the word itself to make it more challenging. Overall, this was a great PowerPoint to refresh my memory about all the wonderful reading strategies that are available. I agree that an effective teacher should teach and model the strategy and then supervise the children so that all students can succeed with the specific strategy.

Differentiated Instruction Goals PowerPoint

            This auditory PowerPoint discussed differentiated instruction goals for a teacher. I agree that differentiated instructions help meet the learning needs of all students. I continuously engage my students in all curriculum areas. I believe it is important for all students to be engaged throughout their school day. I let the students choose their individual reading book because I feel that it is important for the students to be interested in the topic and feel a sense of ownership. I engage my students by designing opportunities that enhance their creativity and challenge their individual needs. I provide appropriate scaffolding throughout my lessons so I can watch my students prosper. I make sure that I provide opportunities for students to work in varied instructional formats. Currently, my students are working on writing a fictional story in my classroom. Yet, in the computer lab, they are currently working on their own podcasts. In conclusion, I agree that one major goal for differentiated instruction is to establish learner-responsive, teacher-facilitated classrooms.

Considerations for Assessment PowerPoint

            This PowerPoint was very helpful because it offered information on assessments that I am not familiar with. I have never been a fan of standardized assessments because I tend to “psyche” myself out and end up making lower test scores than I ever thought possible. I am not familiar with intelligence tests nor have I ever seen the results for anybody’s test. However, I would tend to agree that low test scores cause students to have low expectations. I believe in self-fulfilling prophecies such as where a student believes they are a horrible mathematician and eventually it comes true because that is what they are always thinking about and believing. However, one can have a positive self-fulfilling prophecy (e.g., a student believes that they are the best speller ever and that child will strive to be the best speller he/she can be). I also have never heard of the Wechsler Scales. It seems like poor readers do not score well on the arithmetic, digit span, information, and coding assessments. However, they receive higher scores on non-verbal and visual aspects. I feel that these assessments are used for testing students who are labeled as “struggling students”. Some of these assessments sound similar to the ones that I hear about during my RTI or IEP meetings. I think I would better understand these assessments if I was able to see an example of the questions.

Module 5 - Video & Readings

Rubric Video
       I often use rubrics throughout my entire curriculum. I use a rubric for their interactive journals and the students also grade themselves before turning in their interactive science or social studies notebooks. I feel that it is important that the students understand how I am grading them. Also, I feel rubrics help students see what they need to strive for as well as what they can achieve.  I like that the author used the chocolate chip cookie as an example. I agree that as humans, we are constantly judging events and objects around us.  I never thought of using percentages because as an elementary school teacher, I have always used points since my students do not turn in huge assignments that are weighted differently than other assignments. This school year, my team and I collaborated and developed a rubric for our three topics in writing which was very helpful when I went to grade my students’ narratives last week. I felt like I could use it with every student since they knew the requirements beforehand. This rubric also allowed for teacher comments so I could annotate areas of improvement as well as their major strengths.
 
Chapter 13 - #2 on pg. 335: Some teachers in your school system feel that elementary-grade children are too immature to learn study skill techniques. How would you convince these teachers that this is not so?
       My school is actually going through this scenario currently since we are establishing an after-school enrichment program that focuses on students improving their study skills and organizational skills. We first had to convince the other staff members since there were only 5 teachers (including myself) that felt there was a need for our students to be offered some sort of study skills program. We just held our first study skills workshop where we partnered with Huntington Learning Center. It went well and we had a great turn out. I think teachers are starting to get on board with this program because they are seeing how it is positively impacting their students’ overall grades and confidence levels. However, we are only offering this program to intermediate students (fourth and fifth graders) due to how crucial note-taking is in those two grades. We are taking teacher requests first then parental requests for this program. Our hope is that teachers, parents, and students will see a positive change in their study and organizational skills.

Module 5 PowerPoints

High Frequency Words, and Fluency PowerPoint
      As a fourth grade teacher, I do not teach high frequency words out of context. However, I constantly remind my students when they are reading or when we are completing spelling activities, to remember their vowel sounds (I catch myself saying a short “a” sounds like apple or short “i” sounds like itch). We use “Words Their Way” for our weekly spelling words. They break up the students’ spelling words based on common patterns that we see. This helps the students learn those patterns and experiment which other words that fall into those categories. Once a week they will sort their weekly words just like the PowerPoint suggests, which I believe is a great additional reinforcement. Although I think it is important for students to know the high frequency words by sight, I also like steps 8 and 9 of word building where the students spell and write the words using the specific patterns. I love the idea of including the high frequency words on our word wall. However, I feel like my one word wall would have to turn into several word walls since I already post their curriculum terminology as well as some new vocabulary. I did like the idea of playing “secret word” where the student gets five clues to guess his/her high frequency words. I feel like there are endless games in which we can engage our students that would expand their high frequency words and in turn help their oral fluency.

Vocabulary Development PowerPoint

      I often see students struggle with using context clues to determine a word’s meaning and I focus on this type of strategy a lot. Although intermediate students are able to decode most words, they sometimes come across an unfamiliar word. I have noticed that some students are capable of deciphering the new word’s meaning because of the context clues that the author provides, yet other students cannot determine the meaning and have to refer to a dictionary. I frequently use teacher prompts like, “Does that sound right?” or “Do we know what that word really means?” or even “Do you see parts of this word that you are familiar with from another word?” while my students and I are reading texts. I use these prompts because I am trying to foster strategies based on the semantic, syntactic, and/or phonics of the sentences. I agree that self-correction is proof of reading for meaning but I also believe that some of my higher readers add miscues that enhance and make sense with the text. I never knew that approximately 50% of the words in a text are high frequency words. After viewing this PowerPoint, I am now wondering if using high frequency words with my students who participate in the ESOL program would benefit their fluency and overall comprehension. Those students currently read along with pre-recorded books online with RAZ Kids. My class is paired up with one my best friend’s second grade class, for book buddies. My fourth graders have prospered from these book buddy sessions because they feel that they are setting an example for those second graders. I have seen many of my students’ confidence levels increase. Both classes look forward to their time with their book buddies because they can see the books their partner is currently reading, talk about their books, or alternate reading. One of the last slides really validated my feelings that I have this year with reading, which is “Fluency can be fostered by the amount of reading students do” (slide 22). Several students tell me that they only read at school because they do not have time at home. This saddens me because a lot of my students need that extra practice outside of school with family members or even by themselves. I wish I could impress on parents how important constant reading (at home and school) is and how it can enhance their student’s fluency and comprehension levels.

 Assessing Vocabulary PowerPoint

      I never thought about words being broken into different tiers based on their usage in our language and everyday lives. However, this does make sense to me. I agree that vocabulary is one of the strongest contributors to comprehension because if a human has to stop and think “What does this word mean?” he/she might lose track of the entire picture in order to focus on the unfamiliar words. I have seen students in my class who have a lower vocabulary, struggle with reading comprehension because they are so worried about decoding and making sense of the new words. This is why I implemented read-alouds that use rich language and constantly hold discussions where all students can interact with the texts that we use in mini-lessons. I liked the idea of using the “everyone gets 5” quiz because I can differentiate the vocabulary words for my students and expand their vocabulary based on their individual needs. However, I have difficulty finding these vocabulary words other than in our curriculum. I have used the vocabulary rating scale in social studies, math, and science when I introduce new terminology and this is also helpful when I plan my lessons. I also liked the idea of the “meaningful uses” of vocabulary questions along with the quick vocabulary-checking activities to gauge a student’s overall understanding of new vocabulary.

Module 4 - PowerPoints

Assessment: Formative & Summative PowerPoint

I loved the comic strip that this PowerPoint opened up with because I feel like students should get partial credit if they attempt a problem just like we should get “credit” for facing the world today. I didn’t realize that “assess” was Latin for the verb “assidere” which means “to sit with”. I do not believe that during assessments, we should sit with the learner especially if we want to see the students’ progress and overall growth on a specific topic. I agree more with Harlen, Gipps, Broadfoot, and Nuttal that an assessment is the “process of gathering, interpreting, recording, and using information about pupil’s response to an educational task” (slide 5). I also agree that formative assessments have the greatest impact because it is something teachers can see right then and there. I believe that I formatively assess my students without even thinking about it because I am constantly looking at their work while they are working individually during all subject areas. We, the teachers, can then fix the misconception or confusion quickly or extend the students as needed. I laughed out loud when I saw the comic on slide 11 because I sometimes feel rushed while teaching because there is so much material to cover before we have our summative assessments. I enjoyed reading the “Garden Analogy” about summative versus formative assessments because this created a great visual in my mind about the two assessments and how they differ. I tell my students that they all learn at different levels and speeds because it is more interesting to have different friends and learn from each other. This allows me to put a strong emphasis on the individual student instead of getting caught up in comparing my students which can easily happen. Through formative and summative assessments I am confident that every student will progress at their own individual pace and can improve to become a stronger learner.

Identifying Reading Disabilities PowerPoint

This PowerPoint helped explain and identify reading disabilities. I did not realize that discrepancy actually meant that “students had a learning disability if there was a significant difference between their measured ability and their achievement” (slide 2). However, I was shocked that this approach did not identify students until third grade or later. My school uses the Response to Intervention (RTI) approach which helps students who struggle with various strategies and probes. I am a visual learner and I think the pyramid that was presented to me when I first started teaching is very helpful in understanding the RTI tiers. I have never heard of functional definitions but it is interesting because it provides additional instruction for those students who have the lowest achieving reading scores. I also like that it judges whether or not students’ reading difficulties interfere with life circumstances. I was shocked at the high percentage of fourth graders who are unable to function on a basic level according to NAEP. However, I do notice several fourth graders who do not possess the basic concepts of comprehension, inferring, drawing conclusions, and retelling when entering fourth grade. I was happy to see the scores decrease as the students become older but was dismayed that the percentage did not change between eighth and twelfth grades. I agree that students differ in reading difficulties because they have different schema. I gained knowledge about some basic principles for programs for readers who are low-achieving. I agree that prevention is better than correction and I will continue to build on what the student knows and foster independence. I believe that all students grow when they have personalized instructions that engage them in learning a new topic and continually assess and monitor their progress.

Module 4 - Videos

Running Records Videos

The Running Records video demonstrated how to record Running Records. These videos would be great for a brand new teacher or someone that has never taken Running Records. I take Running Records daily with my students. I use Running Records to determine a student’s reading level and overall fluency level. However, I do not mark my Running Records the same as the teacher demonstrated on these videos. I feel that a lot of teachers find what works best for them on Running Records and stick with those marks. I use similar markings to what the teacher demonstrated. However, I do not use tick marks (checks) above the correctly pronounced words with my fourth graders because there are more words in our passages and sometimes they read faster where I cannot possibly check above each word they read. I tend to use editing marks on my Running Records because they make sense to me. For example, I use a caret and write the word that a child incorrectly inserts above the caret. Also, I circle the word and draw a curly arrow (similar to the proofreaders’ “delete” editing mark) when a student omits a word. I write s/c when a child self-corrects themselves and I do not count those toward their miscues since they were able to self-correct without any teacher prompting. If a child says a different word than what was written, I put one slash mark through the written word and write the word they said above the text. I think Running Records are helpful but every teacher has to find their own writing marks that will work for his/her teaching style and students.

Analysis with Running Records

I enjoyed how the student knew his reading goals and what he is currently working on. Students should always know what they need to work on, especially older students. I also make sure I do this with my students. All students need to learn how to assess their own fluency and comprehension in an effort to become stronger readers.  I also like to show my students where their miscues occur and re-examine their miscues. Students often do not see their miscues while they’re reading, so it is important to draw attention to their miscues so they can work on monitoring their own comprehension and fluency. I often ask my students, “Did that make sense?” This allows them to stop and think about their miscues and self-correct them instead of me saying the correct word. If they are unaware of the new word, I ask if it looks like another word that they already know or if they can they sound it out. My tutee and I are jotting down difficult words on a sticky note and then analyzing what they mean using context clues or the dictionary. This will help build his vocabulary and overall fluency/comprehension levels while reading. Also, I looked around the www.litdiet.org website and really enjoyed the word work video where the teacher played “Wheel of Fortunate” with new vocabulary. The teacher introduced new words for the word wall and math word wall in a “Wheel of Fortunate” and “Hangman” style where the students took educated guesses to find out the new words. I want to try this out in my classroom because I have a word wall that includes all academic words. This would help my tutee and other students since they could refer back to this word wall throughout the school year.

Module 3 - Article

Formative Assessments: Simply, No Additives Article Reflection
            This article opened up by discussing the reading assessments as a whole and then looked specifically at formative assessments. I agree that reading has to do with “frequent, interactive checks of student understandings, and skills to identify learning needs and to adjust instruction” (p. 534). I feel that I glean a lot of information when conducting an informal assessment during reading workshop. I am able to scaffold learning immediately and help my students whom might be confused on a concept when conducting a formative assessment. My formative assessment can be as simple as a “thumbs down if you are still confused” which helps me close the gaps in my classroom of 31 students. Although I did not know the technical term, I find myself using “feedback loops” where I give my students constant feedback, instructions, and modeling to pull my students into achieving their specific reading goal. I give feedback during individual conferences, small groups, and/or strategy groups. I agree that “Formative assessment needs to occur in a culture that cultivates a learning orientation” (p. 538). I think students will strive to do better when they know specifically what to work on individually. I know that over time and with lots of patience, practice, persistence, and purpose, I can develop into a professional reading teacher who is deeply knowledgeable of all aspects of reading.

Module 3 - PowerPoints

Overview of Assessment PowerPoint
          I agree that assessments should be integrated daily throughout our instructional plans so as we can constantly learn about our students’ weakness/strengths and adjust our teaching accordingly. Assessments give me a chance to reflect on my students’ progress throughout the school year. Students can be moved up or down levels according to their levels of knowledge. I record their progress in my data notebook and frequently conference with my students during reading and writing workshop to update them on their growth. Slide eight reminded me that at the beginning of every school year, teachers receive colored-coded (green – exceeds standards, yellow – meet standards, and red – did not meet standards) “spotlight reports” which are based on the students’ previous CRCT scores. I found it interesting that validity and reliability came up during this slideshow because I just studied these two concepts for ECE 7531 and how they relate to my action research. I believe all assessments should demonstrate validity and reliability because they should fair and encourage further learning. I did not know that “According to No Child Left Behind, ELLs who have been in the U.S. school for at least 10 months are required to be assessed in English reading” (slide 15). I have three ELL students this year and two of them have been in U.S. schools longer than 10 months which means they will take the CRCT with the rest of my students. I think this is unfair because they still do not fully comprehend the English language and have difficulty with lengthy directions. Nevertheless, I will work with all my students so they can perform their personal best on the criterion-referenced test in April.

 

Phonics Evidence and Strategies PowerPoint
          I have to be honest and state that I did not know what slide three said or what it meant. It looked like a foreign language which I guess is what students who do not understand the English language see when they try to read an English book. I agree that phonics is important because one must understand how to decode words since there are numerous different integrations of sounds for each alphabetic letter in the English language. I agree that readers decipher words by using decoding, spelling patterns, analogizing, sight words, and context clues. However, I still have students in fourth grade who struggle with decoding because they do not understand basic phonics instruction. I see several of my students struggling with the itemized difficulties that are listed on slide ten. Every Friday, we have a pre-test for our next week’s spelling words and I am always amazed at some of the ways students spell basic words because they are unaware of phonics. In fact, I still see students write “thay” instead of “they” in their writing pieces. We work on the spelling pattern in whole group every week since most of the students do understand the pattern. Common spelling patterns focus on the six syllable types that were featured on slide 25. In fourth grade, we also focus on prefixes and suffixes with basic root words since that is part of our standards. It is also helps the students break apart more difficult words if they understand and know how to pronounce the affixes correctly. I will continue to work on spelling patterns throughout the week by using our Words Their Way sorts along with reviewing affixes whole group.

Module 3 - Videos

Strengthening Students’ Phonemic Awareness, Grades K - 1
          This video showed a teacher in kindergarten/first grade. The teacher focused on building students’ phonemic awareness by showing sounds and the letters that corresponded with them. She worked in small groups and whole group to focus on phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is vital for learning how to spell and read. I agree that it is difficult to understand the smallest units of speech especially since the English language has a large number of different sounds. Students will build their phonemic awareness as they gain more understanding and control of the sounds and language.

 

Phoneme Segmentation Assessment Video Reflection
          This video demonstrated how the teacher used blocks to break up phonemes in basic words. However, within the first minute, I found something that I would change. The teacher used the blocks facing her. The teacher pointed to the blocks from right to left instead of mirroring what the student should do which would be left to right (the way we read). It was almost like the student was spelling the word backwards because she started with a block to the right then built it to the left. I was excited when the student enunciated the second word “shop” and realized that “sh” made one sound because it is a blend. As the video progresses, the child starts to manipulate the blocks to her liking. She started to move them right to left because it is the way we read but the teacher took the blocks back up to the middle of the table. At times, I felt that they could have use a different manipulative that would have been less distracting. The child had difficulties with shorter words that had more blends like “flew”, “chalk”, and “bolt”. This video reminded me of the Fundations program that is offered at my school for primary grade students. Overall, this video helps teachers distinguish if students have the basic phoneme segmentation.

Module 2 - Reading Inventory Demo Video Reflection

       I enjoyed watching this video because it was useful and informational. I will conduct a reading survey verbally using the Fountas & Pinnell questions as a guide. The teacher at the beginning of the video sounded like she was also asking a couple of questions from this survey. The teacher asked the student to read the word list. I noticed that she said that the student can “skip” any difficult words. I would want my students to try out the words instead of just saying “skip” to words they are able to sound out. I think this word list would be her instructional or frustration level because she had to sound out and think about most of the words. She also skipped two words after attempting the beginning sounds of those words. I did like how she corrected herself on the first word “focus”. I could tell that she was breaking the words into syllables or beginning/ending sounds. I would encourage my tutee to try all of the words on the list so I can gather a word automaticity rate along with levels for frustration, independent reading and instructional reading.

Module 2 - Reflections on both PowerPoints

Strategies that Support Emergent Readers PowerPoint Reflection

            The first slide made me smile because I use quick writes with my own students. However, it was difficult when I tried to reflect on my own literacy experiences in my past. I cannot remember anything significant before the fourth grade. I know that I did not like to read or write when I was younger because I had a speech impendent. I had difficulty with fluency and comprehension because of this. I feel that the three predictors of early success in reading are alphabetic/letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and the formation of writing letters. I think all three of these are important for a child to be successful with literacy. I enjoyed the slides that refreshed my memory about Piaget and Vygotsky because I tend to agree with Vygotsky that “language comes out of a need to communicate with others.” I always enjoy reviewing the stages of literacy because it is interesting to observe a child and see which stage they are currently characterized as and see if they move back or forward between the stages. It is vital that all students understand the concepts of print so they can read texts. However, I find the Yopp-Singer Segmentation Test to be difficult because, like me, some students have never learned phonics. I found it interesting to read about the different strategy activities for phonemic and phonological awareness. I still use reading aloud in my fourth grade class to build on the students’ vocabulary knowledge along with reading strategies/skills.

 

Assessment of Reading and Writing Process PowerPoint Reflection

            I appreciated reading this PowerPoint slideshow because it helped me review the different assessments that can be employed for reading and writing. When I assess a child’s vocabulary knowledge, I often catch myself listening to their everyday conversations to hear the words which they are the most familiar. This also allows me to hear if there is a dialect present with the student’s language. I have never heard of the “Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test” but I wonder if that is because I am an intermediate grade teacher. I agree that writing can be an assessment in itself. I often use journals in my class where students complete quick writes which helps me assess their process with writing. I often will use the county rubrics or use a holistic scoring. I frequently let me students see the rubrics before publishing a piece so they know how I will score their writing. The slide detailing the Analytic Scoring Rubric for Expository Prose reminded me of the 6+1 Writing Traits that I use during writing workshop. I make sure to focus on ideas, organization, voice, fluency, word choice, conventions, handwriting, and presentation throughout the entire school year. I have always kept portfolios for students but mine include all academic areas. I want to see my students’ growth in all areas, especially reading and writing. The students even enjoy reviewing their portfolio to see how much they have grown through the school year. This year I am having my students keep a binder of all their writing since I have 31 students. We review their writing samples throughout the school year and I copy any that catches my eye for my personal portfolios.

Module 2 - Emergent Writing in the Primary Grades Article Reflection

            I completed an undergraduate class at KSU that focused on analyzing students’ writings and drawings. I cannot remember the specifics of the class but I remember looking at students’ sentences/drawings and predicting which stage they were exhibiting. Marie Clay wrote a book called What Did I Write? which sounds like a great examination of children and their writing development.  I agree that children (English and Spanish speaking) grow immensely through the primary grades in their reading and writing skills. At times, it can be difficult to decipher their words and sentences but with practice/experience it becomes easier. This article had two tables from the Blackburn-Cramp Development Writing Scale (which we will use in this reading endorsement class) and the Ferreiro-Teberosky model. Blackburn-Cramp is used for English speaking students in grades one and below, whereas the Ferreiro-Teberosky model is used for students learning to write in Spanish. Both of the charts showed similarities. I agree that language is social and we use it to communicate which relates to Vygotsky’s theory. Language activities are vital for emergent readers and writers, which is why building a writing community in the classroom is essential.

Module 2 - Making the Most of Assessments to Inform Instructions Article Reflection

I thought this article about assessing students’ performances was informative. As teachers, we are continuously assessing our students via informal and formal assessments. We need to know our students’ strengths and weaknesses as well as how to improve our instructions so as we meet every child’s need in our classrooms. I agree that there is too much attention on testing and I fear that sometimes I am not collecting data correctly or even using it effectively. My class size increased from 20 to 31 students in the past two years of teaching and collecting/analyzing data scares me this year because of the amount of students and their individual needs and weaknesses has a wide range. I enjoyed reading that Popham and others still agree that formative assessments help with large student gains when used appropriately. I buy sticky notes by the bulk because my students and I use them constantly. My students use them to record their thinking while reading. Also, I use them to record data, their thinking, reminders, etc. However, I am searching for a new method to collect data because I have so many sticky notes and have not found an efficient way of arranging them in a data notebook. I agree with Risko when she explained the design of multimodal assessments. I recently completed a literature review on the “Internet Generation” which included what the students’ elementary teachers are currently teaching. These students need the use of technology throughout their education which means teachers need to utilize and understand technology, also. Overall, the goal for collecting data is to identify our students’ learning conditions and tailor our instructions to meet their needs, so we can promote their highest level of thinking while learning new information.

Module 2 - Chapter 5 & 6 of the Opitz book Reflection

       Chapter five was a great review of several informal assessments that can be used for a variety of ages. The three main questions that need to be asked and answered when selecting the best method are: What do I want to know? Why do I want to know? How can I best discover the information? I enjoyed reading the scenario at the beginning of this chapter because I can relate to it this year with one of my students. However, this student’s teacher from last year experienced the same behavior that I have been seeing and the parents agree that this behavior is present at home. I plan on using some informal assessments on him throughout this school year to help find his strengths/weaknesses since he is already on tier 3 for RTI. I enjoyed reading about the portfolios since I have always kept a personal portfolio to watch a students’ growth. I keep writing samples, tests, e-mails, etc. in their portfolio and share parts of their portfolio with the students at the end of the school year so they can also see their growth. I use observations, checklists, and anecdotal notes the most. I use observations because I want to know how children perform in a variety of contexts. Also, I use anecdotal notes because it is impossible to remember everything I see throughout the school day with every student. My anecdotal notes are taken on sticky notes, ripped out sheets of paper and my phone’s notepad application. It is difficult to organize all of my notes into one area. One of my goals this year is to keep my anecdotal notes on one clipboard so they do not become misplaced or disorganized. Overall, informal assessments offer valid information regarding students’ characteristics.
       I can relate to the opening scenario in chapter 6 because my fourth grade teacher was the reason I wanted to become a teacher. I have always wanted to work with children and make a difference. I am always happy to talk about my teaching profession with others. I initially taught second grade, but in 2011 I became a fourth grade teacher. Fourth grade students have to take the dreaded CRCT in Georgia. This frightened me because there is a lot of anxiety surrounding standardized tests. First, it is problematic for the students because there is a lot of pressure on them to pass the test which may cause test anxiety. And secondly, in addition to feeling as if they failed their students, the teachers are apprehensive about their students’ scores because of the impact it may have on them if their students do not meet the standards. Optiz mentions the TerraNova CAT, Metropolitan Achievement Tests, and the Stanford Achievement Tests. However, I have never heard of any of these tests. In fact, I am still learning about the standardized tests that are given to our students at my current school. I know the students in third and fifth grade take the CoGAT and ITBS but I am not familiar with the scoring or reasoning for those tests. I enjoyed reading the section about criterion-referenced tests because that is what my fourth graders take every April.

Module 1 – PowerPoint Response

I thought the PowerPoint was informational, helpful, yet surprising. This is my third year of teaching. I believe that it will be a fun year but different because this is my first year that I have ELL students. I agree that “ELL students’ achievement in reading is limited by their command of the English language”. It is difficult to translate or relate the materials I am teaching to those students since there is no direct connection with English and their native languages (Japanese and Korean). This can cause the students to become frustrated and they might give up, which is one of my fears.  However, I plan on utilizing my ESOL teacher as a resource and work on our own separate level that will include numerous visuals and explanations.

            I really enjoyed the slide entitled “Nothing Succeeds like Success” because I certainly believe that everyone enjoys life more when they succeed at their tasks. We, as a class, make (realistic) goals at the beginning of the school year and check them off as we reach them throughout the school year. I allow the students to share their goals and successes so we can celebrate the victories. I feel this helps build their confidence as learners. I help build the students’ background knowledge/schema, if necessary, before a unit so we can dive deeper into the knowledge of the specific curriculum.

            I was not surprised by the statistic that “40% of all students are diagnosed with some type of learning disability and 80% of those disabilities are reading related” because in my three years of teaching I have seen numerous students struggling with reading. Reading is a vital skill that is not only required in our everyday life but is an essential part of every subject during school. I believe this statistic might be so high because every school and even teacher employs different methods when teaching and assessing reading. Some of my students, who are new to Georgia, explained that they only read when they had free time at their prior schools. This was disheartening and upsetting. I hope the Common Core Standards will help all teachers get on the same “playing level” with reading so that we can lower this statistic. I want to instill a love for reading with my students. Moreover, I want us to work as a team so they can become proficient readers who use various strategies to acquire new knowledge throughout their lives.

Module 1 – Activity 4

The reader that I observed is a fourth grade male student. I decided to choose this student because he was newer to our school and has had difficulty sticking with a book for more than a couple of days during the first week and a half of school. I know he had difficulties in reading and writing last year. Also, he is on tier 3 for both reading and writing. However, I noticed when I listened to him read his text aloud to me that he exhibits behaviors from both the proficient and less proficient reading behaviors. After reading aloud, he quickly reassured me that he reads better in his head. I believe that he has never been told that he can read well, which he actually can. Additionally, I’ve noticed that many of my students this year are afraid to read to me which makes me sad. We will have a lesson on building reading confidence and stamina this week.

                This student displays behaviors that fall on both sides of Table 1.1. He was less proficient because he was “monitoring what is read for correct letter/sound and word identification”. He stopped and thought about the difficult words before saying them aloud (fear of getting them incorrect). However, he did try a “variety of different strategies when meaning breaks down”. I think his previous teacher(s) might have focused on fluency/getting the words correct rather than comprehension.  I observed him “attempting to identify all of the words correctly” instead of reading to make sense of the text. I stressed to him that we read for meaning of the text and it is okay to miscue as long as it makes sense. I want to implement a couple of mini-lessons that employ this strategy because he as well as several of my other students who have lower reading levels, are still focusing on every single individual word on the page rather than the story as a whole. This made it difficult for him to build meaning of the text and therefore, comprehend the text. However, I see him as a proficient reader when attempting to correct his miscues, chunking words, varying the manner in which texts are read, etc. He enjoys reading nonfiction books about sports which can be a little more challenging. But, we are working on “talking back to the book” this week and I think this will help him focus on making sense of the text as a whole. Also, we will work on monitoring his comprehension since he said that he easily forgets what happens in the text. Overall, I want to organize some strategy groups during reading workshop so I can focus on moving students to the proficient reading behaviors.

Module 1 - “Watch & Learn: Assessing Reading Skills” Video Response

I remember watching several of these “Reading Rocket” videos when I was pursuing my undergraduate degree at KSU. They do help teachers learn what to look for with students. I have noticed, though, that fluency is an argumentative topic between reading researchers/teachers. In our EDRD 7715, our book and much of our research information, we’re led to believe that reading’s sole purpose is to make sense of the text (comprehension). However, the Stern Center places emphasis solely on fluency. I agree that children who read with a choppy pattern will more than likely have a lower comprehension. Yet, I think if a classroom is based solely on improving a child’s fluency rate, it leads to the students “racing” each other during reading which can also cause confusion. This is why I feel that it is important to find a balance between comprehension and fluency. Many of my students who have a lower reading level are those who struggle with decoding and they are in fact struggling with maintaining comprehension.  This is why I model consistently throughout the day with my read aloud texts during mini lessons, read aloud times, and small group instructions.  I evaluated my students on a regular basis last year with individual conferences and DRA assessments. This year will be a challenge for me since I have 31 students and I will be using a new assessment tool. However, I will continue to assess my students’ fluency and comprehension through conferences and small group instructions (i.e., strategy groups, book clubs, and guided reading groups). I always begin my individual conferences by having the student read to me so I can informally assess the students’ fluency after which I follow-up with a few comprehension questions. We also will be working on Words Their Way spelling which will help with students’ word recognition. My goal this year is to assess all of my students on a regular basis as the video stressed.  Continual assessments will be vital to my small group instructions and reading plans.

Module 6 – Instructional Challenge

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 (CRCT) 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 thing you could do outside of the classroom.

       I enjoyed reading about the foundations for universal literacy strategies within a classroom. I agree with Weaver that our success is contingent on universal literacy. Weaver reviewed several different studies that focused on early reading instructions for students who live in lower poverty areas. The studies demonstrated that there were greater gains in contemporary classrooms where they focused on reading for meaning and skills taught in context versus traditional classrooms where they taught out of context and meaning was not emphasized. Weaver included various bar graphs to emphasize this research throughout chapter 15.

       Weaver stressed the importance of the comprehensive literacy program for students in lower economic-status areas to succeed as readers and writers. I would incorporate reading and writing workshops within this type of classroom. I would also utilize guided reading groups and individual conferences during sustained reading time to meet the needs of all my students. Additionally, I would teach reading and phonic strategies during these conferences instead of using worksheets. I would continually encourage these students and build their reading self-confidence and stamina. The students would choose their texts within their reading level so they could improve their comprehension while building their fluency and decoding skills.
       I think it is difficult to monitor what occurs at the students’ homes. However, I would constantly stress how it is vital for children to read both at home and school. Weaver states that “Children and their caretakers at home and at school need access to engaging, age-appropriate books” (p. 374). However, she further discusses how most children in “poor” communities do not have access to age-appropriate texts at home. However, families can check out books at their school library or local library. Overall, the teacher and child’s family should work together to form a relationship where they accentuate the importance of reading for meaning.

Module 6 – Reading Reflection

Does any of the information presented in Chapter 15 influence your personal philosophy of reading? In what ways? How has your perspective changed since you took the DeFord TORP a few weeks ago?

 
       I believe that all of Weaver’s text (especially Chapter 15) has influenced and molded my personal philosophy of reading throughout this semester. I strongly agree with Weaver (2002) when she stated that “[I]n today’s Information Age, our individual and collective success depends on universal literacy” (p. 365). I’ve always believed that reading and writing should be enjoyable and engaging for all students. And as teachers, we should meet the needs of every single individual student in our classrooms.
       Weaver presented information throughout her text and specifically in Chapter 15, which reaffirmed my belief that reading is a holistic approach where the main purpose is to gain meaning from texts. This was validating for me because the reading assessments I administer focus on the children’s fluency skills and then their comprehension skills. Weaver (2002) also stated that proficient readers often miscue more than other readers because of their engagement within the texts. Also, she wrote that children better understand text in context of a story than in isolation.
       The studies that Weaver presented in Chapter 15 focused on students who were low-achieving and low socio-economic status. These studies demonstrated that teachers should teach a contemporary instruction with components from the comprehensive literacy program. One of the studies stated that children in the lowest reading groups gained the most in word reading in the classroom “where they experienced the fewest phonic worksheets, used choral reading, and were taught letter-onset and letter-rime correspondences” (pp. 370-371). I strongly believe in conferences and small group work to focus on students’ weaknesses and strengths. All students need guidance from their teachers in order to succeed in reading, writing, and throughout their lives.
       I did not fully understand the DeFord TORP inventory when I initially took it. However, I have a better understanding and schema about the questions and statements after this semester. One statement (number four) caught my eye because I had answered “strongly agree” and now I think I “strongly disagree” with it. Number four states that “Fluency and expression are necessary components of reading that indicate good comprehension” and after reading Weaver’s text I know that teachers need to truly analyze students’ miscues. The purpose of reading is to gain understanding from the texts. I do not think this inventory is completely accurate because I believe in a mixture of using phonics, skills, and whole language within the literacy instructions. Weaver (2002) wrote that all of the literacy skills should not be taught in isolation but rather integrated within the curriculum. As teachers, I believe we should teach literacy skills to all of our students using the comprehensive literacy program because this allows for differentiation.

Final Personal Model of the Theory of Reading

       The importance of reading has increased for me during these last six weeks of my first reading endorsement class. My love, passion, and understanding for reading have grown throughout my research on the reading workshop model, Lucy Calkins, and the overall readings in Reading Process and Practice.
       My personal thoughts have not changed since I still have the same history with reading. However, I have molded my opinions and beliefs about reading instructions. I still believe in offering an abundant amount of differentiated text for all readers. It is important to have higher-interest texts that challenge readers to use higher-order thinking skills and build their reading skills/strategies. I will continue to set personal goals for all readers because it’s important for the readers to gain confidence, stamina, and interest in reading. After all of my reading and research, I will not use Accelerated Reading (AR) levels in my classroom because of the damage it can do to a student’s reading self-esteem. It also encourages students to finish books faster which can cause a student to misunderstand the text. According to Weaver (2002), the purpose of reading is to understand the texts. Teachers should incorporate a balanced approach where they monitor their students’ comprehension and build their fluency simultaneously.
       During my two years of teaching, I have focused on why some students struggle with reading and then concentrate on how to apply different strategies that will help improve their comprehension and fluency. Although I will continue with this belief, I will additionally pay closer attention to my assessments that I have to administer throughout the school year. I will no longer view the students’ miscues as just an error and nothing more. I will analyze the students’ miscue to understand their language cues and reading strategies. According to Weaver (2002), she emphasized the importance of identifying whether or not the miscue changed the meaning of the text. She also discussed how some proficient readers miscue more often because of their level of engagement in the text. I am interested in analyzing my students’ miscues next year with this new knowledge.
       Furthermore, I want to use more comprehensive literacy program components regarding reading throughout the school day. Even thought my school utilizes the Teacher’s College Reading Workshop, I feel that I am more familiar with the components of the reading workshop after reading Weaver’s text. I will continue to stress the importance of independent reading time, both at school and home. I will read more read-aloud texts to my students since this introduces them to books that they might have not chosen on their own and higher-interest levels. I believe read-aloud texts are vital because a teacher can monitor the class’ comprehension as a whole and employ differentiated strategies. Students can work with partners during this time and deepen their understanding of the texts being read aloud, as well as gain strategies that others are using. Also, I want to incorporate more literature circles and book clubs because they are valuable for the students to deepen their understanding of texts. These components focus on reading for meaning and not just words.
       After reading Weaver’s text, I also want to expand my writing workshop. I have never been trained in writing and feel that writing is a weakness of mine since it a process that is challenging to teach. Research shows that students tend to write more interesting and thoughtful papers when it is on a self-chosen subject. However, this is difficult since the county has mandated specific topics for each nine week period. I previously taught writing workshops with a mini-lesson then supplemented with whole-group guided writing where we composed papers together. Afterwards, I let the students write on various topics referring to the specific writing topic (i.e., informational, narrative, etc.) during their sustained writing time. I walk around the classroom and monitor the students along with conducting individual conferences during this time. I am excited about the Common Core standards that we are implementing this next school year, because I feel that they will allow students more choice and freedom with their writing topics.
       I have read various articles and books about journal writing because I feel that journals serve an important purpose in the classroom. Journals help students organize and clarify their thoughts, discoveries, and misconceptions. Ralph Fletcher (1996) discussed that “A writer’s notebook gives you a place to live like a writer, not just in school during writing time, but wherever you are, at any time of day” (p. 4). Last year, my students enjoyed writing their notes, connections, questions, and responses to their texts inside their interactive journals. I want to incorporate more writing and inquiries into their journals. I think writing a letter to the teacher every week or so would help improve and strengthen their reading and writing skills. I also will incorporate inquiries within the journals because students become passionate to learn more knowledge through their own discovery.
       I believe that I have broadened my understanding of reading instructions and what it means to be a proficient reader. I plan to continue the use of several components from the comprehensive literacy program. I also will feel less timid to try different components of this program since I have more information about them. I am looking forward to what this school brings with this new reading perspective and knowledge.

References

Weaver, C. (2002). Reading process and practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Fletcher, R. (1996). A writer’s notebook: Unlocking the writer within you. New
      York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Module 5 – Reading Reflection

Where does phonics instruction fit within a comprehensive literacy program? When and how would you teach phonics?

       According to Weaver’s figure 12.1, whole-class instruction which includes reading familiar texts as a class or using read-aloud should focus on concepts of print, strategies words, letter-sound chunks (phonics), punctuation, etc. She later discusses that sight vocabulary, letter-sound relationships, and word attack skills can be taught during shared reading. However, I think that phonics could also be taught during guided reading. Guided reading helps the teacher assess and guide students who are struggling with common skills or strategies. I also believe that phonic skills can be taught via demonstrations during mini-lessons in reading and/or writing workshop like Weaver describes on page 286. Teachers want to see their students become proficient readers and writers but they need to assist them with all aspects of reading and writing which includes phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, and decoding. Finally, if one student still cannot grasp skills related to phonics, a teacher can hold an individual conference for that specific student. Conferences are important for teachers to confer with students individually about their reading and meet their individual needs.

       As an intermediate teacher, I do not focus on phonics since most of my students have the basic concepts of phonics. However, I do have less than a handful of students that have difficulties with spelling due to their lack of phonological awareness. I held small groups/guided reading groups during reading workshop to focus on specific rules or strategies that would help those students. We used our Words Their Way books to practice spelling rules and common sight words for intermediate students. It is important that those students received extra guidance with phonics because they were still struggling with some primary grade sight words. I want all of my students to succeed in all aspects of reading and writing. 

Module 5 – Instructional Challenge

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.

        I have never dealt with students who are ELLs during my two years of teaching. However, I believe these three students would benefit from the comprehensive literacy program because it is individualized and focused on the students’ needs. I believe the three students would receive the most help from small group work with guided reading and writing instruction along with individual conferencing. During my guided small groups, I would introduce a skill with modeling. I could also scaffold and guide these students to practice with their peers and eventually individually. I would also pair these students up with not only each other but also some stronger English speaking students who could act as role models or assistants when they need help while they are at school. I would have these students use a “listening center” during independent reading where they could follow the words on the page while they hear someone else read as they read along. This would help the students with their word recognition, fluency, and comprehension skills. Also, I would model even more than usual during my mini-lessons. Furthermore, I would incorporate more visuals so these three students could comprehend the strategies and skills being taught in the classroom. 

        I strongly believe in assessing all students informally and formally throughout the year.  I would consistently assess these three students to show their growth to their parents during parent-teacher conferences, and build their individual reading confidence. I appreciate seeing how much a student has grown throughout the school year. Also, if I needed extra guidance, I could always ask our ESOL teacher who is a full-time teacher at our school. The ESOL teacher might even pull these three students out to be part of her class. This would allow her to solely focus on more in depth strategies and skills that would help students who are ELLs. She would be able to provide extra assistance in making sure these three students become proficient readers and writers.

Module 4 - Activity 2

Which NRP topic area(s) or “missing pillar(s)” that Allington describes do you find to be most vital for children’s literacy success? Why?

        I feel that there are many of these topic areas and missing pillars that are essential for students’ success with literacy. I agree with several of the NRP’s topic areas. However, I chose to elaborate on the top two choices for each article.

National Reading Panel (NRP) Topic Areas:

        I believe all novice readers need to start with the basic use of the “alphabet” which is discussed in NRP’s summary report. I understand that there is no single method for teaching reading that is equally effective for all children; however, phonemic awareness and phonics allow children to explore the sounds within words. NRP stated that “The primary focus of phonics instruction is to help beginning readers understand how letters are linked to sounds” (p. 8). This is important so students can start to recognize words and build their vocabulary at an early age.
         I also agree that comprehension is essential for a reader since that is the basic goal in reading. NRP stated that comprehension is “[E]ssential not only to academic learning in all subject areas but to lifelong learning as well” (p. 13). As teachers, we want to assist our students in reaching these goals. We need to have students excited to read and foster their passion for reading. When a student is interested in a book, they are more likely able to comprehend the book much more easily than if they were reading a book not on their current reading level. Building their comprehension skills along with having the students monitor their own comprehension will only lead to a students’ success in reading.

Allington’s Missing Pillars:

        I strongly agree that students should have an interest in their texts. As I just stated with the NRP for comprehension, students need to have the self-motivation to read. If we do force children to read texts, they might not fully understand them. I also believe that students should chose their “just right books” that are of high interest levels to them. Having an array of various leveled texts and genres in your classroom library is helpful in gaining any child’s reading interest.
         I also agree that teachers need to match students with appropriate texts. As I previously stated, I believe that all students should read their “just right books” which also contain a little challenge within the texts. However, if a text is too difficult, they cannot learn from it. I have noticed that students struggle with nonfiction texts because they must deal with a wider range of vocabulary. However, we must remember to not damage a students’ reading self-esteem by saying “You cannot read this book because it is too difficult for you”. Teachers must remain positive and tell students that the more challenging books can be read with a buddy. I stress to my students that all readers read at a different levels and pace because we are all different and special in our own ways.

Module 4 – Instructional Challenge

Marcus is a student who very frequently miscues by substituting words that start with the same letter or first few letters of the word in the text, but his substitutions often are not syntactically or semantically acceptable (they neither sound right grammatically nor make sense). What possible teaching strategies would you suggest to help Marcus?

        After reading Weaver’s chapter ten, I referred back to her section “Matching Instruction to Readers’ Varied Needs” to identify some strategies that would help Marcus. I was drawn to the “reader doesn’t seem to know that reading should make sense” section. I see that Marcus often miscues and his errors are not syntactically or semantically acceptable which also leads me to believe that he might “sound out a lot of words and settles for words that don’t fit the context, or for non-words” (Weaver, 2002, p. 244).

        I would suggest that Marcus’ teacher use a variety of teaching strategies to build his reading skills. I think Marcus would benefit from previewing a book or using a “picture walk” before reading texts. Predicting the book and “reading” the pictures allows the reader to have their mind ready to read that specific text. This will bring up any discussions about the pictures used throughout the text. Also, previewing a text allows Marcus to preview some vocabulary that he might encounter while reading the text aloud to the teacher.
        I would also have Marcus read the book individually as well as with a buddy. He can build his confidence as a reader when reading with a buddy. Also, the buddy can assist Marcus if he encounters trouble with the text. Partner reading allows students to discuss the book after every few pages and gain more comprehension which is the overall goal of reading. Partner reading could be during a sustained time of reading where Marcus can engage in high interest texts while building his reading skills.
        Finally, I would incorporate the use of voice recording and “Retrospective Miscue Analysis” within Marcus’ reading. Marcus could use a tape recorder to listen to texts but also to record his own readings. If Marcus could hear himself read, I think he might pay more attention to the text so it would make sense. The teacher could comment on his miscues by asking him if it made sense and why or why not. Also, the teacher could guide Marcus to reread the same text but remind him to focus on the literal meaning. I think through the use of the above strategies, Marcus would begin to comprehend what he reads. I also believe these strategies would allow Marcus to monitor his comprehension better and to mentally fix his miscues using context clues.