Monday, February 27, 2012

Assessing Understanding


I like to think of reading comprehension as reading understanding. I do not think only reading words is really reading without understanding. To me it is just reciting. As teachers and guardians we can help early readers understand what goes on in a story such as by pointing out key points but how can we assess their comprehension. Here are a few suggestions that will help teachers know where a child is in their understanding of a story.

Ask the children to tell a section of a story through illustrations.

Ask the children to retell the “major” events of a story.

Ask the children to write a section of the story through the eyes of a another character.

Ask the children tell a section of a story using only puppets.

Ask the children to think of a time where something happened to them that was similar to part that happened in the story.

Ask the children to find the “most important” part of a story and explain why they think it is very important. Ask what makes it important.

Ask two children who have two different “most important” parts of the story to talk to each other about why they think it is most important.

Retell the story with parts that you make up and ask the children point out the fallacies. 

Monday, February 20, 2012

Child's Interest


Children get more out of reading books that they are invested in.

Children are more invested in stories that interest them on some level.

Teachers need to be able to adapt their curriculum to their individual child’s needs and wants.

Teachers should know a little about their student’s interests.

            With these points in mind, I would like for teachers to have knowledge of some good children’s books and try to place a book with a child based on interest. I base this suggestion on prior experience. When I was in the fifth grade the whole class was reading a book entitled Weasel by Cynthia Defelice. Right before we started reading my teacher took me aside and said that she knew that I have trouble staying with stories and that fortunately the book Weasel seems like a book I could get into. Before I left she said listen really close when she reads the first chapter. When she did I was hooked. Honestly I feel it is the best book I have ever read even 10 years later.
              I think I will try this suggestion as well.  I have seen a student in this one classroom who is very bright but likes to get attention through his own brand of humor. He would much rather focus on something funny than schoolwork a lot of times. So I am going to try to suggest Louis Sachar’s Wayside School series. The student can handle the difficulty level and I think the humor in these books will be appealing to him as well. 
             Teachers can make a difference especially if they have the child’s interest at heart. In the article “Let’s Start Leveling about Leveling” by Kath Glasswell and Michael Ford, they believe that children have the right to “be engaged” in what they are reading. A lot of time required reading will not spark the interest of every child in the classroom or even meet a child’s reading level. We want children to not only read but also enjoy reading. So teachers can do their best to advise students to look a certain books. Even if the student does not take our suggestion, at least we try to help them find a constructive interest.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Easeyer


[Easeyer] “Is this how you spell easier?” I was asked this question a while ago in a 3rd grade classroom. Here were two instinctual answers I thought about saying:
“Well… no. Here is how you spell it.”
“Does it look right to you.”
I think my answer was: “Yes. I mean… does it say easier to you? Yes? I’m glad.”

I am getting closer to finally becoming a teacher and I realized here that there are still some things that I need to make sure I do.

1.     Figure out what to say. As it turns out not correcting him is something that the teacher did not mind. The student is still young but is showing he understands that letters go in the order of the sounds he hears. There is still enough time to polish these phonemic skills.
2.     Figure out where to go. In my own classroom, depending on the age that I will teach, there are goals that I will have for my students. With this particular student I know that he as well as most of the class is very capable of spelling these words correctly. If I see multiple students having trouble with certain words, there are a lot of techniques I could do. For example I might write words that are often misspelled in my class and pin them up on the wall. Whatever I do should be to strictly benefit my classroom.
3.     Figure out how to talk. There is more to teaching than just knowing what to say or teach. Looking back on how I responded to the student, one thing I would have done differently was sound more confident. That is very important. My class will look to me to have an answer. I can give them the answer or help them find it themselves but I need to sound confident. Inflection, based on experience, can be a difference maker.
4.     Figure out the answers to my questions. Being in a different classroom I do have to try to follow the ways of the lead teacher. However in my classroom I have to know my way. What techniques do I like when teaching literacy? Which ones work? Which ones need to be adapted? How will I do this? Whatever my answers will be, I have to content and believe in them.

The time will come when I have my answers. I know it will be soon and I do have a lot of resources in my repertoire. For example I just read a technique in Catching Readers Before They Fall that would be good for students who have a lot of trouble reading. It has to do with taking a sentence that a student said orally and writing it down. After I do that I will cut and mix the words. Then I will order them in the correct way while saying each word and have the student do the same thing. I like this method and I can see myself doing this. By continuing to acquire more resources, have more experience in the classroom, and figure out my way, I feel figuring out the teaching process will get enjoyably easeyer for me.