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.