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.