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.
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