Chapter 11
Page 169 “Does the student have a skill he is not using when he reads? If so, how should I mediate learning so that he incorporates the skill, using his strengths?
I always consider the student and his reading strengths when considering what approach to use to help him with his reading deficiency. Building on the strengths theyhave gives them confidence.
Page 173 “Writing and reading are supportive processes that can enhance each other. Writing about what was read facilitates reading. … Writing also facilitates reading because it reinforces the constructive process. Reading and writing require similar processes: “
I think that students can respond to what they read at any level. Even in kindergarten and grade 1 the students can read their short books and write in a reading notebook something about what they read. It can be Today I read _____(insert title)_ . It was about __________________, or Today I read_____(insert title)__. My favorite part was ___________________. This can get more complex the higher their reading level is. But I definitely like to use a reading notebook to respond to their reading in.
Page 174 “Social interaction facilitates reading, therefore, because it provides a vehicle for talking about the strategies, plans, and processes of meaning construction. In other words, thinking about what is read is facilitated by conversations that encourage students to elaborate and explain their thinking. Within the social situation, the teacher also explains and elaborates on her thinking.”
I try to celebrate reading as often as I have time for. The students will write a response to what they are reading in their notebook, and I will pick a few to come to the rug and sit in the “author chair” and read what they wrote to the class sitting on the rug being their audience. They can talk about why they wrote what they did and discuss the book. I don’t give them very long usually a minute or two at most. I then let the “author” chose one or two students to give them a response about what they liked or didn’t like about what they wrote in their notebook. The students enjoy this.
Page 177 “As they read, effective readers remain tentative and revise their predictions frequently, using a variety of reasons for their revisions. They intertwine the sources of information for revision and the strategies for revisions. .. These actions are called monitoring reading.”
This is a strategy that I use with my students. We are always making predictions and then checking our predictions to see if they need to be changed. I have always said to the students, “if you were going to write the next part, what would you have happen in this story/” then they understand that a prediction is never wrong, and they are more confident in discussing what they would do if they were writing the next part. I get very good predictions. We discuss why we make the prediction that we did also.
Page 192 “In explicit instruction, the diagnostic teacher precisely states what is to be learned and models the thinking process that accompanies this new strategy or skill. Students are given reasons why the new strategy or skill will help them read better. Minilessons are constructed to show them how to use the reading strategy or skill, with the teacher modeling the steps of the task.”
I do use explicit instructions in my teaching when I am tutoring below level students in my school. I start off with the minilesson on what it is that we are trying to accomplish, and then model it for them. The rest of my time with them, is them showing me how they can apply it to the reading.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Chapter 10
1. Page 161 “Reading is a construction of meaning with text. It is an active process of using background knowledge along with the text.”
If the reader is reading the words and not getting any meaning out of it, if the reader can’t answer questions then I would have to say the level book is too hard for that student. If they can read it, they are just calling out the words and not getting the message of the story.
2. Page 162 “As literacy coaches visit teachers’ classrooms, they establish themselves as part of the classroom milieu. They learn the students’ names and become an extra set of eyes to observe students’ responses and learning in the classroom.”
Where I am, the literacy coach is not a classroom teacher. She has not ever been a classroom teacher; she has only been a literacy coach to the teachers. She makes sure we have everything that we need, and she does the professional development meetings for us, but she does not work with students, and she is not a certified teacher. I would like the job as literacy coach if it followed what is described here in the book, but not the way it is in my building.
3. Page 164 “Within the learning community, literacy coaches provide the ongoing leadership and expertise for teacher development. When an entire group of teachers are involved in a learning community, both teacher and student learning occur. The literacy coach, along with others … uses reflective discussions within a learning community.”
I do agree with this. When we get together at my school to have professional development, I almost always take more away from the meeting than the literacy coach teaches us. I do this by paying attention to other groups at other grade levels around me. I do steal what they have done at their level and modify it for my level. I love reflecting in the professional development for this reason.
4. Page 165 “In other study groups, the literacy coach organizes book clubs to help teachers use deeper thinking, discussion, and strategic processing in their classrooms.”
Because I get so much out of the discussions in professional development I try to have student groups that discuss the books the students are reading together. As we have discussions about the book there are many times when students will see things differently from others in their group. I think it is important to share those differences so we can understand the way someone else might see the story compared to the way we see it.
5. Page 166 “Teachers plan how they will investigate the issues or questions and what information they will gather. They collect this information during and after teaching. After instruction, teachers review and analyze both their observations and the informational data. Finally, teachers reflect on how the instruction improved or hindered student learning."
This was the way I was taught to approach an objective. I plan what I want to do to reach the objective, then I will check to see as we do the lesson how they are doing with it. Then I usually check the work that I have them hand in, or we go over it together. Finally I will reflect on what went well in the lesson, and what I should do differently next time.
1. Page 161 “Reading is a construction of meaning with text. It is an active process of using background knowledge along with the text.”
If the reader is reading the words and not getting any meaning out of it, if the reader can’t answer questions then I would have to say the level book is too hard for that student. If they can read it, they are just calling out the words and not getting the message of the story.
2. Page 162 “As literacy coaches visit teachers’ classrooms, they establish themselves as part of the classroom milieu. They learn the students’ names and become an extra set of eyes to observe students’ responses and learning in the classroom.”
Where I am, the literacy coach is not a classroom teacher. She has not ever been a classroom teacher; she has only been a literacy coach to the teachers. She makes sure we have everything that we need, and she does the professional development meetings for us, but she does not work with students, and she is not a certified teacher. I would like the job as literacy coach if it followed what is described here in the book, but not the way it is in my building.
3. Page 164 “Within the learning community, literacy coaches provide the ongoing leadership and expertise for teacher development. When an entire group of teachers are involved in a learning community, both teacher and student learning occur. The literacy coach, along with others … uses reflective discussions within a learning community.”
I do agree with this. When we get together at my school to have professional development, I almost always take more away from the meeting than the literacy coach teaches us. I do this by paying attention to other groups at other grade levels around me. I do steal what they have done at their level and modify it for my level. I love reflecting in the professional development for this reason.
4. Page 165 “In other study groups, the literacy coach organizes book clubs to help teachers use deeper thinking, discussion, and strategic processing in their classrooms.”
Because I get so much out of the discussions in professional development I try to have student groups that discuss the books the students are reading together. As we have discussions about the book there are many times when students will see things differently from others in their group. I think it is important to share those differences so we can understand the way someone else might see the story compared to the way we see it.
5. Page 166 “Teachers plan how they will investigate the issues or questions and what information they will gather. They collect this information during and after teaching. After instruction, teachers review and analyze both their observations and the informational data. Finally, teachers reflect on how the instruction improved or hindered student learning."
This was the way I was taught to approach an objective. I plan what I want to do to reach the objective, then I will check to see as we do the lesson how they are doing with it. Then I usually check the work that I have them hand in, or we go over it together. Finally I will reflect on what went well in the lesson, and what I should do differently next time.
Chapter 9
1. Page 150 “…readers engage with a text to see whether the stories the author tells ring true in their own lives. This engagement becomes an inner conversation between the author and the reader. Thus, chapter books are often used in literature discussion groups so that students can share their experiences and interpretations, creating shared understanding of the world.”
I am always asking the students to give me a connection that they can make with something that they read. We call them text to self connections. We also have the students tell us text to world or text to text connections. I like when they connect what they are reading to something else that they know whether it is another book, or something that they know about the world, or the best one being a connection to something in their own life.
2. Page 151 “…many sing along videos or compact discs can provide support for the beginning reader. Using these forms of technology, young students can sing along and learn the words and the sounds in words.”
At West Street School, the kindergarten teachers there use a song to teach the alphabet that gives the student the letter and the sound that it makes. The progress I seen in those students in reading and writing in the short time I was with them was so great. I have used song to teach a lot of different things to my students. It makes it so much easier for them when it is sung.
3. Page 152 “Series books are often easier for readers because the authors use the same characters and same language structures in each book. … The chapters provide the predictability that the patterned language of predictable books did for the younger readers. Many adults remember reading books in the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys series. These series books helped them gain fluency in reading.
I agree with that statement. Students who have a series of books that they read are more into what they are reading and will read more. That helps them gain the fluency that they need. I always encourage students to try new series of books when they are choosing their own library or personal reading book.
4. Page 159-160 “Interest is crucial in selecting books. If the topic and/or story line is interesting and engaging, then the book is usually easier to read. Students can be drawn into a text when characters are interesting and readily befriended … One of the best ways to determine interest is by letting the student choose the book. When students believe they can make choices about the books the read, they are more likely to be interested in the books and activities surrounding them. “
When I give a DRA I always let the student choose the story that they have to read to me. Giving them a choice is the first step to helping them be successful in their DRA test.
5. Page 160 “Closely tied to both choice and interest is the background knowledge of the reader. A reader’s interest in a particular textual selection may show a growing knowledge about a topic … The attention span of many struggling readers is relatively short; therefore as the diagnostic teacher selects books, she looks for texts, such as chapter books that are short. Reading two short books instead of one long book will be more appealing to the struggling reader.”
I agree with both of these ideas. We need to give the student choices that will be something that they have a background knowledge on, and if they are struggling I always try to make sure the chapter book is not too long, so they will not be discouraged.
1. Page 150 “…readers engage with a text to see whether the stories the author tells ring true in their own lives. This engagement becomes an inner conversation between the author and the reader. Thus, chapter books are often used in literature discussion groups so that students can share their experiences and interpretations, creating shared understanding of the world.”
I am always asking the students to give me a connection that they can make with something that they read. We call them text to self connections. We also have the students tell us text to world or text to text connections. I like when they connect what they are reading to something else that they know whether it is another book, or something that they know about the world, or the best one being a connection to something in their own life.
2. Page 151 “…many sing along videos or compact discs can provide support for the beginning reader. Using these forms of technology, young students can sing along and learn the words and the sounds in words.”
At West Street School, the kindergarten teachers there use a song to teach the alphabet that gives the student the letter and the sound that it makes. The progress I seen in those students in reading and writing in the short time I was with them was so great. I have used song to teach a lot of different things to my students. It makes it so much easier for them when it is sung.
3. Page 152 “Series books are often easier for readers because the authors use the same characters and same language structures in each book. … The chapters provide the predictability that the patterned language of predictable books did for the younger readers. Many adults remember reading books in the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys series. These series books helped them gain fluency in reading.
I agree with that statement. Students who have a series of books that they read are more into what they are reading and will read more. That helps them gain the fluency that they need. I always encourage students to try new series of books when they are choosing their own library or personal reading book.
4. Page 159-160 “Interest is crucial in selecting books. If the topic and/or story line is interesting and engaging, then the book is usually easier to read. Students can be drawn into a text when characters are interesting and readily befriended … One of the best ways to determine interest is by letting the student choose the book. When students believe they can make choices about the books the read, they are more likely to be interested in the books and activities surrounding them. “
When I give a DRA I always let the student choose the story that they have to read to me. Giving them a choice is the first step to helping them be successful in their DRA test.
5. Page 160 “Closely tied to both choice and interest is the background knowledge of the reader. A reader’s interest in a particular textual selection may show a growing knowledge about a topic … The attention span of many struggling readers is relatively short; therefore as the diagnostic teacher selects books, she looks for texts, such as chapter books that are short. Reading two short books instead of one long book will be more appealing to the struggling reader.”
I agree with both of these ideas. We need to give the student choices that will be something that they have a background knowledge on, and if they are struggling I always try to make sure the chapter book is not too long, so they will not be discouraged.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
1.“The goal is to determine how instruction improves reading performance, a text that is moderately difficult (90% oral accuracy and 60% comprehension) provides a more appropriate measuring tool. Using a moderately difficult text allows the teacher to assess the student’s change in reading as a result of instruction.” Page 121
I do try to pick a book at the level for the student that is not too difficult for them. Using a book that is not too difficult can show you how your instruction is improving their skill of reading. You should see an improvement rather easily if the text is not too difficult. If you don’t, then I would pick an even easier text to try the instruction strategy with, so the student gets confident with it. After seeing the confidence build, then move up to the moderate text again and see if they are improving.
2.“Having the student read the first section at sight and without assistance serves two functions: (a) to add Information to the diagnostic hypotheses and (b) to establish baseline behaviors so that the effectiveness of instruction can be evaluated. The section should be about 100 to 200 words long and may be read either orally to evaluate print processing or silently to evaluate meaning processing. The data are analyzed by computing the percentage of comprehension and error rate as well as evaluating the patterns of the reading performance.” Page 125
I have not tried to have the student read the first part silently, I have only used oral reading. After they read the first section orally, you will know if the text is at their level and you should continue. I count miscues and time them during the oral reading. I have the students read silently and give them their questions that evaluate meaning processes after the oral reading.
3.“When using repeated readings with Ted, a second grader, for instance, the diagnostic teacher found that simply discussing the miscues did not result in decreased miscues, so she modeled her own self-correction process by saying, “Oops, that doesn’t make sense; let’s see what would make sense and start with a g. Oh, girl starts with a g. The girl hit the home run. Yes, that makes sense and sounds like it looks,” Then Ted read the passage again, and the teacher recorded the miscues and evaluated the amount and kind of change evidenced in the reading performance. Because the number of miscues decreased and fluent reading increased, the teacher recommended the procedure with the modifications be tried during the diagnostic lesson.” Page 125
I have used this type of teaching but a little differently. I do not allow those in group or round robin reading to help the other readers by giving them the words. So if someone makes an error they know that they need to catch it themselves. If they do not catch the error they made, I will say oh, wait, did that make sense to you? Then they go back and reread and sound things out and work on it themselves until they can get the word. I do give encouragement if they are stretching or chunking the word correctly so they have more confidence.
4.”The degree of task modification becomes a key factor in determining future instructional interactions. If a high degree of task modification is required, a less difficult test or a different technique should be selected. If a low degree of task modification is needed, however, a more difficult text or task can be employed.” Page 128
I agree with this. If the teacher is really trying to modify something in the way that the student is reading, we need to choose a lower level book for the student, one that is very easy to read. Modeling the strategy on a lower level text will build confidence in the student. If the modification is making minor adjustments then a harder to read text for the child would be better.
5. Bobby could not recognize the word skated in this sentence: :The girl skated around the rink.” … Another student had the same difficulty, … Fred read to the end of the sentence but could not recongnize the word rink either. In this case, the teacher had to probe further. She asked Fred to think about the story and what the girl might be doing. Still there was no response. The teacher then said, “In the picture, there is an ice rink. Now what do you think the girl is doing?” “Skating” was his reply. The teacher instructed him to read the sentence again. Fred now read, “The girl skated around the rink.”
I don’t think I would call attention to the picture and then tell the child the miscued word. I would give clues, but I would not have just shouted out the unknown word. Tell the student to look at the picture for clues to figure out the unknown word.
1.“The goal is to determine how instruction improves reading performance, a text that is moderately difficult (90% oral accuracy and 60% comprehension) provides a more appropriate measuring tool. Using a moderately difficult text allows the teacher to assess the student’s change in reading as a result of instruction.” Page 121
I do try to pick a book at the level for the student that is not too difficult for them. Using a book that is not too difficult can show you how your instruction is improving their skill of reading. You should see an improvement rather easily if the text is not too difficult. If you don’t, then I would pick an even easier text to try the instruction strategy with, so the student gets confident with it. After seeing the confidence build, then move up to the moderate text again and see if they are improving.
2.“Having the student read the first section at sight and without assistance serves two functions: (a) to add Information to the diagnostic hypotheses and (b) to establish baseline behaviors so that the effectiveness of instruction can be evaluated. The section should be about 100 to 200 words long and may be read either orally to evaluate print processing or silently to evaluate meaning processing. The data are analyzed by computing the percentage of comprehension and error rate as well as evaluating the patterns of the reading performance.” Page 125
I have not tried to have the student read the first part silently, I have only used oral reading. After they read the first section orally, you will know if the text is at their level and you should continue. I count miscues and time them during the oral reading. I have the students read silently and give them their questions that evaluate meaning processes after the oral reading.
3.“When using repeated readings with Ted, a second grader, for instance, the diagnostic teacher found that simply discussing the miscues did not result in decreased miscues, so she modeled her own self-correction process by saying, “Oops, that doesn’t make sense; let’s see what would make sense and start with a g. Oh, girl starts with a g. The girl hit the home run. Yes, that makes sense and sounds like it looks,” Then Ted read the passage again, and the teacher recorded the miscues and evaluated the amount and kind of change evidenced in the reading performance. Because the number of miscues decreased and fluent reading increased, the teacher recommended the procedure with the modifications be tried during the diagnostic lesson.” Page 125
I have used this type of teaching but a little differently. I do not allow those in group or round robin reading to help the other readers by giving them the words. So if someone makes an error they know that they need to catch it themselves. If they do not catch the error they made, I will say oh, wait, did that make sense to you? Then they go back and reread and sound things out and work on it themselves until they can get the word. I do give encouragement if they are stretching or chunking the word correctly so they have more confidence.
4.”The degree of task modification becomes a key factor in determining future instructional interactions. If a high degree of task modification is required, a less difficult test or a different technique should be selected. If a low degree of task modification is needed, however, a more difficult text or task can be employed.” Page 128
I agree with this. If the teacher is really trying to modify something in the way that the student is reading, we need to choose a lower level book for the student, one that is very easy to read. Modeling the strategy on a lower level text will build confidence in the student. If the modification is making minor adjustments then a harder to read text for the child would be better.
5. Bobby could not recognize the word skated in this sentence: :The girl skated around the rink.” … Another student had the same difficulty, … Fred read to the end of the sentence but could not recongnize the word rink either. In this case, the teacher had to probe further. She asked Fred to think about the story and what the girl might be doing. Still there was no response. The teacher then said, “In the picture, there is an ice rink. Now what do you think the girl is doing?” “Skating” was his reply. The teacher instructed him to read the sentence again. Fred now read, “The girl skated around the rink.”
I don’t think I would call attention to the picture and then tell the child the miscued word. I would give clues, but I would not have just shouted out the unknown word. Tell the student to look at the picture for clues to figure out the unknown word.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Chapter 4
Diagnostic Teaching of Reading
Barbara J. Walker
Chapter 4
Before reading with a student for guided contextual reading or diagnostic assessment, the teacher should get a few books together for the student to choose from. Allowing the reader to choose what they read will increase the students reading engagement. Before we read the book, we should look at the title, the front cover, and maybe do a picture walk depending on the reading level to help the student make predictions about the text. The teacher should go over any vocabulary words that they think the student may not know before they begin reading. During the reading the discussion should focus on the main theme of the text. After the story is finished, the student should analyze the text and answer questions.
Whether reading to a whole class, in small groups, or one on one this is the model that I have always followed. If the reading is not too long I have the students peruse the book quickly to find any words that are unfamiliar to them so I can add them to their vocabulary. During reading we check their prediction and modify it if the story takes different turns than we predicted. I always stress that predictions are not ever wrong. When we are writing our own stories, these predictions can be the stories that we write about during writing. It is a great way to encourage writing.
The students I work with always have 2 or 3 reading books in their reading folder that are at or just below their independent reading level. These books provide the successful reading that they need to give them confidence in themselves. When they pick out these books, all of the classroom books are visibly leveled so they know what bins to pick from for these independent reading books. The classroom library has a wide variety of genres to choose from to please every reader. I think that is very important to have enough books for them in the classroom library. If they get bored of the choices they will not be very engaged when reading.
Barbara J. Walker
Chapter 4
Before reading with a student for guided contextual reading or diagnostic assessment, the teacher should get a few books together for the student to choose from. Allowing the reader to choose what they read will increase the students reading engagement. Before we read the book, we should look at the title, the front cover, and maybe do a picture walk depending on the reading level to help the student make predictions about the text. The teacher should go over any vocabulary words that they think the student may not know before they begin reading. During the reading the discussion should focus on the main theme of the text. After the story is finished, the student should analyze the text and answer questions.
Whether reading to a whole class, in small groups, or one on one this is the model that I have always followed. If the reading is not too long I have the students peruse the book quickly to find any words that are unfamiliar to them so I can add them to their vocabulary. During reading we check their prediction and modify it if the story takes different turns than we predicted. I always stress that predictions are not ever wrong. When we are writing our own stories, these predictions can be the stories that we write about during writing. It is a great way to encourage writing.
The students I work with always have 2 or 3 reading books in their reading folder that are at or just below their independent reading level. These books provide the successful reading that they need to give them confidence in themselves. When they pick out these books, all of the classroom books are visibly leveled so they know what bins to pick from for these independent reading books. The classroom library has a wide variety of genres to choose from to please every reader. I think that is very important to have enough books for them in the classroom library. If they get bored of the choices they will not be very engaged when reading.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Chapter 5 & 6
Diagnostic Teaching of Reading
Barbara J. Walker
Chapters 5 & 6
The ultimate goal of reading is to construct meaning with text. Meaning processing involves predicting, monitoring, and elaborating on the author’s intended meaning. When the text meaning becomes unclear, the reader cross-checks his own knowledge with information in the text. As a teacher, I must figure out if the student is having trouble with recognizing the words, understanding the content, or both.
An informal reading inventory is done to determine the independent reading level, the instructional reading level and the frustration reading level. I have only worked to move students to the next independent reading level, and worked with them at their instructional reading level. I have never done any work with figuring out the frustration reading level or using it for anything. In the informal reading assessment, questions are asked about the main idea, supporting details, inferences and vocabulary. The comprehension questions need to be answered at 90% or above to move the student to this level as an independent level for them. Oral reading accuracy must also be above 95% for this to occur. In addition to analyzing the reading accuracy and comprehension a good teacher also has to listen to be sure the students is reading smoothly in meaningful phrases. There should be pitch variations, with stress placed on the right words and intonation to help convey the meaning of the text. These are all things that I listen for when working with students on their reading. Modeling these things helps the students to learn them as well as pointing out the differences when you are done modeling the reading for them.
When the students do have miscues, it is the teachers’ responsibility to try and figure out why. Were they just reading too fast, did they notice if the sentence does not make sense because of the miscue? Does the miscue change the meaning of the sentence? Does the reader go back and correct the miscues or are they left uncorrected. Is the student reading to make sense of the text, or just pecking out the words one by one. Is the student using the strategies that have been taught by the teacher to figure out unknown words and aid in their fluency? I watch the student to see which strategies are being used, and re-teach those that are not being used by the student. arbara J. Walker
Chapters 5 & 6
Barbara J. Walker
Chapters 5 & 6
The ultimate goal of reading is to construct meaning with text. Meaning processing involves predicting, monitoring, and elaborating on the author’s intended meaning. When the text meaning becomes unclear, the reader cross-checks his own knowledge with information in the text. As a teacher, I must figure out if the student is having trouble with recognizing the words, understanding the content, or both.
An informal reading inventory is done to determine the independent reading level, the instructional reading level and the frustration reading level. I have only worked to move students to the next independent reading level, and worked with them at their instructional reading level. I have never done any work with figuring out the frustration reading level or using it for anything. In the informal reading assessment, questions are asked about the main idea, supporting details, inferences and vocabulary. The comprehension questions need to be answered at 90% or above to move the student to this level as an independent level for them. Oral reading accuracy must also be above 95% for this to occur. In addition to analyzing the reading accuracy and comprehension a good teacher also has to listen to be sure the students is reading smoothly in meaningful phrases. There should be pitch variations, with stress placed on the right words and intonation to help convey the meaning of the text. These are all things that I listen for when working with students on their reading. Modeling these things helps the students to learn them as well as pointing out the differences when you are done modeling the reading for them.
When the students do have miscues, it is the teachers’ responsibility to try and figure out why. Were they just reading too fast, did they notice if the sentence does not make sense because of the miscue? Does the miscue change the meaning of the sentence? Does the reader go back and correct the miscues or are they left uncorrected. Is the student reading to make sense of the text, or just pecking out the words one by one. Is the student using the strategies that have been taught by the teacher to figure out unknown words and aid in their fluency? I watch the student to see which strategies are being used, and re-teach those that are not being used by the student. arbara J. Walker
Chapters 5 & 6
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
POST 2 - chapter 3
EDU572
Diagnostic Teaching of Reading by Barbara J. Walker
Chapter 3 - Roles of Diagnostic Teachers
I have always done reflecting, but I never thought about it like this before I read this chapter. I have always written down my reflections after a lesson about what worked and what didn’t, and what I would do differently next time. Until I read it, I never realized that I also reflect when I am preparing a lesson with all my prior knowledge of what worked and what didn’t. I have reflected during a lesson and changed things in the middle of it if it wasn’t going well and the students weren’t “getting it”. It was in math, and the students were clueless, so I had to think on my feet and change my approach. So I am definitely a reflective teacher from beginning to end, I just never thought of it like that.
The students need to come together and discuss the readings and share their thoughts. The teacher should be connecting these students’ comments to each others thinking. In this way the students get more connections in their readings. (There it is again, that important word, “connections” in another chapter of our book!)
We will not get students to share their thoughts if they aren’t reading though. So we have to make sure that every student has reading success. The author states a good motivating factor is reading successfully. I think this is why it is important for all students to have their own personal reading book in the class that is at or just below their reading level. Reading these on their own is going to provide these successes in reading that they need. When the student is in guided reading with a teacher, it is very important for the student to have time to figure things out so that it makes sense to them. In guided reading the level of the text is one that the student needs guiding in, so there are going to be words the student will stop at because it is unknown, or there will be word recognition errors. Teachers need to be patient, and if in a small group, make sure the other students are also patient and are not shouting out the unknown word to the reader. All students need time to work through their strategies and figure out the word on their own, which is another success, figuring it out on their own. I know I have been guilty of this before, giving the word to the student. Lately I have been, and will continue to use more wait time, and correct the "helping members" of the group to give the reading student more time. This type of success is going to help the readers to build their independence and they will see themselves as a reader which is important.
The author talks about using check sheets where the student marks off when they have talked about main characters, settings, etc in a written retell. I have used check sheets for other things, but this seems like a really good idea to try. Maybe it could be a chart on the wall in an area where they go to proof read. I will have to give this more thought, but it is a really good idea that the author calls self assessment.
Diagnostic Teaching of Reading by Barbara J. Walker
Chapter 3 - Roles of Diagnostic Teachers
I have always done reflecting, but I never thought about it like this before I read this chapter. I have always written down my reflections after a lesson about what worked and what didn’t, and what I would do differently next time. Until I read it, I never realized that I also reflect when I am preparing a lesson with all my prior knowledge of what worked and what didn’t. I have reflected during a lesson and changed things in the middle of it if it wasn’t going well and the students weren’t “getting it”. It was in math, and the students were clueless, so I had to think on my feet and change my approach. So I am definitely a reflective teacher from beginning to end, I just never thought of it like that.
The students need to come together and discuss the readings and share their thoughts. The teacher should be connecting these students’ comments to each others thinking. In this way the students get more connections in their readings. (There it is again, that important word, “connections” in another chapter of our book!)
We will not get students to share their thoughts if they aren’t reading though. So we have to make sure that every student has reading success. The author states a good motivating factor is reading successfully. I think this is why it is important for all students to have their own personal reading book in the class that is at or just below their reading level. Reading these on their own is going to provide these successes in reading that they need. When the student is in guided reading with a teacher, it is very important for the student to have time to figure things out so that it makes sense to them. In guided reading the level of the text is one that the student needs guiding in, so there are going to be words the student will stop at because it is unknown, or there will be word recognition errors. Teachers need to be patient, and if in a small group, make sure the other students are also patient and are not shouting out the unknown word to the reader. All students need time to work through their strategies and figure out the word on their own, which is another success, figuring it out on their own. I know I have been guilty of this before, giving the word to the student. Lately I have been, and will continue to use more wait time, and correct the "helping members" of the group to give the reading student more time. This type of success is going to help the readers to build their independence and they will see themselves as a reader which is important.
The author talks about using check sheets where the student marks off when they have talked about main characters, settings, etc in a written retell. I have used check sheets for other things, but this seems like a really good idea to try. Maybe it could be a chart on the wall in an area where they go to proof read. I will have to give this more thought, but it is a really good idea that the author calls self assessment.
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