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.

Module 4 – Activity 1

Even though this video has strong religious overtones, it is useful for determining strategies that beginning readers use when becoming literate, even at age 50. Watch the video and reflect on what strategy or strategies Robin used most to help him learn to read.

        Wow, this video was very inspirational and shows what a little believing in yourself can do, no matter your age.  At the beginning of this video, Robin was learning word families by utilizing a game that I am familiar with which is called “Chunks”.  He was practicing the word families with different beginning sounds. His teachers made sure that he focused on the phonograms since he tended to add letters that were not written on the blocks.

        Next, he moved to recognizing words with chunks and blends. I think chunking helped him the most because he was able to see smaller words within larger words. When he was reading Stone Soup, I was so excited to hear him say “Is that right?” even though he already knew that it wasn’t correct.  He also relied on context clues to correct himself with the phrase “I’ll give you some when it is ready”.  He tried reading it as “I give…” which did not make sense to him semantically. He also used syntax and semantic clues when he read “what” instead of “when” in the same text.  Robin knew that his miscues sounded odd within the text.  As a result, he reread the sentences and was able to correctly identify the words due to his context clues.
        I think Robin also used a great deal of prior knowledge since he has heard this language all of his life. For example, when setting up his Gmail account, Robin immediately recognized “rat” in the word “Congratulations”. He then started at the beginning of the word to sound out the rest.  However, after sounding out “con-grat”, he was able to draw on his schema to decipher this long word. This demonstrates that readers do not necessarily need to read each individual letter to identify the correct word. 
        Overall, this video clip was very touching and I loved that his teachers presented him with various types of literature such as: comics, bumper sticks, easy readers, newspapers, cards, billboards, and the Bible.  Robin was finally able to read for pleasure and “read the world”.

Prominent Theorist

I chose to do my research on Lucy Calkins because my school is a current "lab site" for Readers' Workshop.

Click here to read my paper! Hope you enjoy it!

Module 4 - Reading Reflection

Which of the following comprehensive literacy programs are you already addressing/doing with your students (or have you done, or plan to do)?

After reading these two chapters, I felt a sense of validation about the strategies that I use in my classroom from the comprehensive literacy program. I teach fourth grade and my school uses the reading workshop model of which I use several components.

I enjoy using the read-aloud strategy with my students. I feel that my students gain a great number of skills and strategies from this part of our day. At first, I thought fourth graders would hate to be read to; however, I have discovered that they still love to have stories read to them. These read-aloud texts are usually a high interest and higher level of reading. However, we still discuss making connections, predictions, inferences, questioning, story elements, etc. I feel that I am able to “dive deeper” with these texts because we are discussing it as a whole group with various points of view.

Reading/strategy groups, sustained reading, and individual reading conferences are all part of my individual reading time during the reading workshop. My students who “struggle” benefit the most from reading/strategy groups because I am able to re-teach or hone in on a specific lesson that they may still have difficulties with completing individually. This allows the students to practice in a small group with me before trying it again individually. Also, I enjoy the reading groups because students learn other strategies that other students are using in their reading which I might not have thought of. My students have their individual “book nook” areas where they complete their independent reading time. You can find my students sitting in beanbags, on the floor, against a wall, under tables, or in their chairs. I want my students to feel comfortable when they read so they can enjoy their texts. Sometimes it is difficult to conference with a student if they are under a table or in a tight space. However, I make sure to conference with all my students at least once a week. I will also conference with some students almost every day because they need constant motivation. I gain knowledge of my students’ growth from these conferences and am able to assess them, if necessary, to move them up a level on the Fountas & Pinnell system. Also, I believe I guide all of my students to be constantly questioning their texts because we can learn an abundant amount of knowledge from reading.

I would like to implement more buddy/shared reading during this time but have found students to be more talkative in the upper grades and tend to not take it as seriously. I do pair up with a second grade teacher for book buddies and my fourth graders gain confidence from this situation. I also will be implementing literature groups/book clubs next year since I was able to observe another teacher in her classroom. I feel that older students gain more reading strategies and extend their learning when they are part of a book club. These book clubs force students to talk about their book using their higher order thinking skills. I really enjoyed how the teacher was able to remove herself from the books near the middle/end of the year so it was more student-focused.

As far as writing goes, I would like to improve the most in this area. Our school is focused mainly on reading and writing and sometimes writing can get “thrown by the wayside”. However, I do implement sustained writing, guided writing, individual writing conferences, and journals in my classroom. Just like reading, I want my students to feel comfortable when writing so they are allowed to move throughout the classroom.  I feel that I have more students who “fear” writing so I do model different samples of writing and practice the mechanics of writing.  My school is implementing the writing workshop with the units of study from the Teachers College of Columbia University next year. It will be interesting to see how this changes my format with writing.  

Module 3 - Mock Memo from a Reading Specialist

Erica, a fifth grader, reads grade level passages at a rate of 177 words correct per minute, or 30% faster than grade level norms. When asked to retell what she has read, Erica struggles and is able to give little to no information from about the text. Many other children in Erica's class also read well above grade level expectations for fluency rate (or automaticity), but the teacher laments that they struggle with comprehension and using appropriate expression and intonation while they read. What is going on here? What advice can you offer the teacher? Write a memo to the teacher from the viewpoint of the school's Reading Specialist. Give the teacher an explanation for the phenomenon and offer her advice on dealing with the situation.

Dear Fifth Grade Classroom Teacher,

            Let me first assure you that you are seeing something that other teachers have witnessed, including me. I have often seen students achieve a high fluency rate yet struggle with their comprehension skills. According to Flurkey’s research, fluent reading doesn’t always guarantee comprehension which is exactly what you are observing in your classroom. He further explains that “fluent reading may actually mask a lack of attention to meaning.” Are you calculating their fluency rate as a whole group or individually? I have noticed in the past that some students might try to improve their fluency score in which case they actually lower their comprehension score.

            As teachers, we must advise our students and parents that fluency is only one small part of reading proficiently. Comprehending a text is the main purpose behind reading. I recommend that students have “stop and jot” moments where they can summarize what they have just read after every page or even after every paragraph if they are severely struggling to hold onto the meaning of the text. Additionally, I would have students keep journals to monitor their own comprehension both in and out of the classroom. They could compare their notes with friends in class. This journal would also help you, if utilized as an informal assessment, to evaluate whether they are improving or need more assistance. Also, please try to avoid all emphasis on fluency rate to parents and students. Instead, emphasize the importance of comprehending a text and being able to connect their individual schemas to the texts.

            Finally, I would utilize small groups or strategy groups with the readers who have a lower comprehension score and are using inappropriate expression and intonation while they read. Reading with partners will help boost their confidence while reading. Also, I believe re-reading familiar texts and using reader’s theater will help students practice appropriate expression and intonation. I would recommend recording your students’ readings if you have access to a tape recorder. This would also allow them to hear their miscues and correct them individually.

            I hope these suggestions will support you in acquiring a better insight into the needs of your students.  I also believe this will allow you to create more lessons that target their particular needs. Please let me know if I could further assist you. Thanks!

Module 3 - Activity 2

What do you think of this video and statement?  What do such activities and “cracking the code” contribute to proficient reading? What else might a reader need to become proficient?

 
       The video focused on a student and how he broke up the sounds within words (phonemic awareness).  It also showed how powerful learning the letter-sounds are to decoding unfamiliar/nonsense words and creating whole words.  The student they focused on had a learning disability but flourished from one-on-one tutoring.  This type of tutoring reminded me of the Wilson Fundations program that the primary grades use at my school.  The students learn a great deal from “tapping out the sounds” then sliding the sounds together to form the word.  I believe that it is important for students to understand the sound of every letter as emergent readers.  However, as proficient readers, we should not rely heavily on the separate letter-sounds within the individual words.
       I feel that nonsense words have their time and place inside a classroom.  I have never taught kindergarten but, I believe nonsense words could help a student understand the basic sounds of all the letters.  I have used nonsense words on informal assessments in second grade to determine the lack of a student’s phonemic awareness.  A student should be able to tap out the sounds to any word (real or nonsense) if they have a firm grip on phonemic awareness.  I don’t think we should solely rely on nonsense words because I think we should give the students real words to practice since that is what they will encounter when they read texts.  Nevertheless, I love seeing the moments of success when a student can decode any word they encounter.  I believe using nonsense and real words will help develop a proficient reader who can read with atomicity (fluency) and be able to monitor their own comprehension.

Module 3 - Reading Reflection

Do you agree or disagree with the quote that “skillful readers of English thoroughly process the individual letters of words in their texts?”  Why or why not?

       I would disagree with this quote based of the information that I read in Waver’s text.  Chapter five of Weaver’s text explained that we do not separately identify each of the letters but rather, we process words in letter chunks and as wholes.  Readers use context clues to create meaning which also reveals that good readers do not read strictly from left to right because they might also read ahead to identify words or clarify their understanding of the texts.  Figure 5.6 further explains that the combination of visual aspects of words and texts, letter sound relationships, context, semantic knowledge, and schemas are all part of the equation in how a reader fully comprehends texts.  Also, I really enjoyed all the activities that Weaver had the reader accomplish to prove that you do not need to see the whole word when reading a text.  
       I thought back to how I was taught to read at school and cannot remember much of those instructions.  Now, as a teacher, I am reconsidering my beliefs in reading.  I am starting to believe in a reading approach that combines phonics, whole language, and most importantly, context clues.  I understand that there are specific rules to follow for phonics, which is helpful unless you run across the exceptions.  I enjoyed reading “Phonics Fun” because I had to re-read it several times in order to focus on the homophones and the exceptions to the rules.  I believe children should use several different strategies rather than just sounding out each individual letter to gain meaning of every word they encounter.

Module 2 – Instructional Challenge

Original Response	Expected Response
It my little monkey here.	Is my little monkey here?
We got to tell.	We've got to tell.
Frog look at Toad calendar.	Frog looked at Toad's calendar.
A word what sounded good.	A word that sounded good.
hisself	himself
I can come to your party?	Can I come to your party?

Overall, upon examination of the responses, I would consider this child to be a proficient reader. The child did not change the general meaning of most of the responses with the exception of the first response where the meaning did change somewhat when the punctuation was ignored. This could imply that this child is a non-proficient reader.  However, the text stated that proficient readers “may actually make as many or more miscues involving pronouns and simple function words” (2002, p. 63).  This is because they are constructing meaning instead of identifying each individual word.  I agree that all proficient reading is not miscueless due to our schema and context clues.  Nevertheless, I would like to see the entire passage so as I could examine the other sentences to see which context clues the student used before they miscued.

            I would reinforce that this child corrects their own miscues instead of me prompting with the correct response. However, I would tell them to try that sentence again if they did have a miscue. I might let them use a ruler when reading so they can follow the words more easily or let them use highlighting tape to emphasize the words they miscued. I would also want us to monitor their comprehension together to see if they can still understand the overall meaning of the passage with the miscues. I would allow the child to read the passage individually, with partners, and with me several times throughout the week. I would pay attention to see how the miscues are fixed and changed throughout the week and keep up with their comprehension.

Weaver, C. (2002). Reading process and practice (3^rd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Module 2 - Activity 1 & 2

Activity 1: Page 58 #3c

Words	My Definitions	Definitions after Reading
creech	A creaking sound	Shout
droogs	To feel sad	Friend
glazzies	Glasses
goloss	Shoes	Voice
malenky	To be bland	Small
messel	A pathway	Thought
millicents	A type of money	Police
poogly	Unbelievable	Scared
razrez	Razors	Rip
skorry	Scared	Quick
spatted	To spit
zoobies	Zombies

            I never read A Clockwork Orange in high school. I recall my teacher saying that it was an advanced book for a proficient reader. Therefore, I had no idea what these words were prior to reading the first chapter. In fact, I feel that the author invented a lot of nonsense words for this book. When one reads them out of context they make absolutely no sense; however, when you read them in context, they make perfect sense. I used context clues within the sentences as well as before and after the sentences to determine the meaning of these new words. I employed the syntactic context to find the meanings of the words, yet I also used the semantic context to understand the grammatical placement of the unfamiliar words.

Activity 2: Page 85 #7

·   I did not try to read the words letter-by-letter because I understand that our English language has patterns and blends.
·   I did try to read the words mostly by chunking them into syllables because most of the words were unfamiliar to me.
·   I did not try to read the words by sampling the letters more or less all at once because this leads to more miscues. Also, I relied heavily on the pronunciation key.
·  I only know the meaning of sarsaparilla since my husband studied horticulture in college. All of the other words are unfamiliar to me which made them difficult to pronounce.
·  I think pronouncing the words did not give me any insight into their meanings because they do not have root words that I am familiar with.
·  I use a lot of context clues (semantic and syntax) when I encounter unknown words when reading. I also use the “read on” strategy to see if the word might be described later on in the sentence or paragraph. If I still cannot figure out the meaning of new words, I use my Webster application on my cellphone to define the word.
·  I feel that this experiment showed that reading is more difficult when the words are in isolation rather than in context. I feel that I would have a better understanding of these words if they were put into context like in activity one.

Module 2 - Reading Reflection

           I do agree with Harper and Kilar’s quote on page 41. I believe that reading is not an exact process because it uses many different strategies. Although a child might read every word correctly, he/she might not comprehend the entire passage. Context clues help readers monitor their comprehension and fluency. Also, we are able to use context clues beyond the text to further our understanding of a passage. It is said that an average elementary student adds more than 3,000 words a year to his/her recognition vocabulary. This shows that students are continually learning and improving their vocabulary to become more proficient readers and writers.

Sometimes our schema can actually cause miscues in specific passages similar to the sixth-grade boy on page 48. As teachers, we should encourage students to self-correct their miscues instead of prompting them with the correct pronunciation immediately. I believe reading is a mixture of phonics and using context clues. Weaver has even stated that “proficient readers use context-based strategies more than less proficient readers, for the most part” (2002, p. 56). I think all proficient readers tend to “think ahead” and predict what is coming next, which can cause omissions or insertions that still make sense in the passage. Overall, I disagree that reading is an exact process because readers strengthen their skills with additional experience and time.

Module 1 - Instructional Challenge

Hocked gems financing him, our hero defied the scornful laughter. “Think of it as an egg, not a table,” he said. Then three sturdy sisters sought proof, forging over vast calmness, and sometimes over turbulent peaks and valleys, until at last welcome winged creatures appeared, signifying monumental success.

 1.    What are the hocked gems?

The word hock means to pawn or exchange items.  Therefore, I think that the “hocked gems” are stolen gems and jewels/riches.

2.    What should we think of as an egg and not a table?

I think this might be an analogy on how fragile an item can be.  An egg is much more fragile than a sturdy table.  The writer might be referring to the gems being like an egg which means they can break easily unlike a table which is more durable.

3.    Who are the three sturdy sisters?

The three sturdy sisters may well be three specific groups that want to prove the hero is guilty of stealing these gems.

4.    What kind of winged creatures appeared?

The image of a flock of birds popped into my head when I read the “winged creatures appeared”.  These could possibly be doves being used to symbolize peace and justice because the hero was caught and brought to justice.  

This activity was difficult for me to complete because I did not have any schema for the passage.  I would first have to build my own schema before using this passage with my students.  After I completed my answers, I decided to Google this passage.  I found out that the passage refers to Christopher Columbus.  It now makes sense to me.  As a fourth grader teacher, I would love to use this after we researched several of the explorers.  I would ask my students to guess who the poem is about based on their knowledge of the explorers.

            I assist the student’s in building schema by offering them pictures to look at from encyclopedias, the internet, textbooks, etc. to match the text’s content.  I feel that it is important to set a strong foundation before diving into unfamiliar settings, time periods, culture, or sports in the various texts students may encounter while reading.  I also like to bring in objects from that unfamiliar topic so the students can manipulate them and fully grasp what we are about to learn.  Finally, I hold open discussions so we can share our ideas and findings about the new topic. 
            I believe that children should not read too much of something that they find neither interesting or relates to their life because they can become frustrated and abandon the book.  Reading should be enjoyable.  It is difficult for a child to comprehend a text if he/she doesn’t have the schema or the interest in that specific text.  This is why I try to use the student’s personal books as much as possible during reading workshop along with conferences, small group work, and strategy groups.  I make sure to develop the background knowledge of new texts by building their vocabulary and looking at pictures during strategy groups or read aloud.  I also try to make my lessons active and fun when presenting the students with new information that they might not find interesting at first.

Module 1 - Activity 2

1.   What is corandic?

A corandic is an emuriet grof with many fribs

2.   What does corandic grank from?

A corandic granks from corite.

3.   How do garkers excarp the tarances from the corite?

Garkers excarp by glarcking the corite and starping it in tranker-clarped strobs.

4.   What does the slorp finally frast?

The slorp finally frasting a pragety, blinkant crankle: coranda.

5.   What is coranda?

A coranda is a cargurt, grinkling corandic and borigen.

6.   How is the corandic nacerated from the borigen?

The corandic is nacerated from the borigen by means of loracity.

7.   What do the garkers finally thrap?

The garkers finally thrap a glick, bracht, glupous grapant, corandic, which granks in many starps.

How is it that you are able to answer such questions?

During this exercise, I felt as if I was trying to understand a different language especially since Microsoft Word informed me that most of the above words were spelled incorrectly.  I wondered if this was how struggling readers feel.  However, I was able to answer these questions by looking for the same wording within the passage.  I do not understand the meaning behind these “nonsense” words, which is why I had to put all of my answers in direct quotations from the passage.  But even though I was confused, I believe I was successful because I merely had to find the answers within the passage.   

What does this experience suggest about the kinds of "comprehension" questions found in workbooks and on standarized tests? 

This experience suggests that you do not truly have to “comprehend” the passage to find the correct answers.  I feel very confident with my answers since I was able to go back in the passage and find a sentence stating the specific questions.  I see similarities between this passage and the workbooks and standardized tests we use in upper grades.  This activity was asking the reader to “find the answers in the passage” instead of reading the passage for full comprehension/meaning.  I believe that a lot of my students (4^th graders) tend to look at the questions first and then just find the answers without fully reading and comprehending a passage.  They also rely heavily on the multiple choice answers.  However, and unfortunately, finding an answer in any text does not show true comprehension skills.

 

Weaver, C. (2002). Reading process and practice (3^rd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.