Sunday, May 15, 2011
Blog Post 1 (RLL 4430 Spring 2011): Creating a New Mosaic in Changing Times to Help Our Mindful Readers
What is it that helps to remember what we read? As a matter of fact, when is the last time we read something that really left a deep, down-felling of personal transformation, some heart-felt tears, or left us with a laugh so hard it hurt? Do we have these experiences with us when we teach reading to children? Can they feel that deep love and passion for words, language and experiences? I believe on a very basic level we understand that it is essential that we help students to read in our specific content areas but as Chapter 1 presents, its not that our students, particularly those at the elementary grades do not know how to read, its can they have experiences and make connections and build upon what they have read. Can we give students choice in what they read when it comes to teaching topics in U.S. History such as Reconstruction, the Extermination of Native Americans (see: Brother Eagle, Sister Sky) or even, dare I say Algebra concepts? By giving students choice in what they read, we are not only empowering youth but we are also structuring our classroom to incorporate multiple perspectives on a particular topic (see: Literacy Circles). This contributes to what Keene refers to as the "thoughtful classroom" in which students can score high on standardized tests and work is "interactive and conceptual" rather than prescribed and worksheet and text-book driven. We can begin to create these classrooms and environments with by having students continously speak, think, act, write, share what they are reading. The strategies that we learn in this course are really secondary to the underlying pedagogy we employ. If we believe that students should have choice and multiple opportunities and platforms to express their ideas and reactions to what they are reading, then we will see huge returns on the strategies presented in this and other progressive courses. This is when we do need to become aware of the challenges that children experienced when working with reading strategies and how we can best support. In Chapter 2, Keene speaks to "four reasons" why students often "complain" in response to working reading strategies. We must help students to see the value in this work but using a gradual release method and leveraging our personal relationships to motivate and encourage. Students must know that when encountering a text like Jamaica Kincaids, "Girl" or technical manual for assembling a bike, its important for kids to have tools to use. We can teach the tools and we must create the proper environments; our environment must be rooted in a love for reading, proper tools for helping students understand what they are reading and deeply connected to the real-world and the larger community.
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In this first chapter, it really gave me a chance to look at myself, not only as a reader, but as a reading teacher. This chapter sets a real foundation and a set up for success. What i have learned is that reading is not just about being able to decode or spell out words or even so much conprehending, but rather "looking". This is a concept i didnt even think about. My initial feeling was, " geez! I have a hard enough time getting into reading as it is, now i have to multitask and look?" But that is just it. Yes. "Looking at layers of text", as they put it on page 5, just may be that aspect i am missing, as a reader. "Looking beyond the text" was never a phrase in my brain when i was in school. I wish it had been. Now, thinking as a teacher, i need to influence this in my classroom? I read on...
ReplyDeleteI love how on page 7, the story of Rose Blanche, really hit home to the kids. I, myself was amazed, and could picture myself doing this in a classroom. What power it was to "think aloud about different layers of the text". This is what adding tiles to your mosaic of understanding means. This is revolutionary to me. Kids actually listen and ask THEIR OWN questions. This is what reading, conprehension, and retention is all about. Powerful stuff.
With this, a passage i found interesting was the following: "we found that comprehension strategy study needs to be built on gradual release of responsibility from teacher to student". I relate this to my work, and thus will undoubtidly transfer it to my future classroom. I know what it's like to empower people, thats what this says to me. "Encouraging the Heart" is our work term. This means praising good work and taking people from good to great. This is what all teachers should aspire to do. It's so important to do this on a pratical, real, authentic, and early basis. Like the book says: "When immeresed in compelling text and equipped with comprehension stratagies, childeren will reach further, probe deeper, and understand complex material from the earliest ages". (next post ch1 continued).
When you talk about empowerment, we need to model the way, that is, to teach them to replicate the process. This could be as simple as thinking aloud. Childeren are natural copy cats! No matter the student, where they are from, what their disability is or how much money their family makes, they will try to duplicate what you do. Furthermore, if you just hand worksheets out, they are no longer empowered and, as the book puts it, they " check out intellectually".
ReplyDeleteFigure 1.1 is a great frame work for the ultimate goal-What the original idea of adding tiles. What better way to improve comprehension, make it pratical, make it authentic, and make kids LOVE and WANT to read, than to "look" and "question" in their own brain? If we can get kids to "think on two different levels",(context and personal experience), then we have accomplished great things and are setting them up for a very successful school career and life. But how to do this? I read on...
Create the enviornment! Give choice! Experiment with different stratagies. Through this, we will set up a sucessful and rich reading enviorment. Learned from class, reading is and can be integrated into every subject and vise versa. That's a good place to start. When you create this enviornment too, it allows time for the teacher to develop that relationship with every student, everyday; big, small, short, tall, disabled, race, socioeconomic level, etc.(chapter 1end)
I like this chapter for two reasons. First, because it keeps reinforcing that higher reading levels and better comprehension begin with THE TEACHER, saying that higher level literacy benifits from their TEACHER'S skills in a classroom and that TEACHERS must stay informed about what works and what doesn't. This makes a lot of sense to me. I need to experiment, use trial and error, communicate with childeren, and hold myself accountable for their success.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I like this chapter because it has a question/answer section. I took so many little notes in my book that I'm sure I cannot sell it back! The questions weeded out concerns and pointed me in the right direction of what works based on research. I remember in the first reading course at Wayne, one thing I learned was to benifit from research, not just assume your way is the right, or only way.
I fall into the category of the kids who play video games when they come home. I don't read a book when I come home. Nor do I set time aside for reading. I never have, and honestly, I probably never will. Does that mean I will be an unsuccessful reading teacher? No. This chapter talks about how times have changed. It made me realize why the above is true. My teachers focused on and had basal readers and worksheets. We actually spent time prepping for the MEAPS. It makes sense, and based on this reading, that high test scores do not equal improved literacy. Looking back, all I did was rote rehersal, memorization, data going into short term and leaving, not sticking to long term memory. We did not applying to our lives. We did not conceptualize it and make it authentic. Also, the only time we had extensive reading time was on "national read for an hour day", or whatever it was called. They say that you teach how you were taught. I am at a disadvantage and the world is only changing for the worse. For example, we went from an atari to three big video game developers. This will only lead to less focus on reading at home!
Since I don't nessicarally enjoy reading, does that also mean that my students won't? No! I now know that one of the BIGGEST things to take away from this chapter is that "having a JOY for reading" is KEY!
I started thinking. What would I do or say to students to help them get engaged in reading? Personal stories! What book took me away to another place? How did I feel? What make it enjoyable for me? This, I feel, can be a very powerful tool. (contiued on second post ch. 2)
Ch. 2 Part 2.
ReplyDeleteThere seem to be many precautions when working with comprehension strategies. The first, being to use authentic stratagies where they don't make reading less enjoyable. If I put myself in that situation, I would loose focus by using sticky notes and such. However, it depends on the kind of reading. It is important to mix it up! To keep it authentic and enjoyable, I would listen to my students and their needs and sort of "customize" their learning and comprehending experiences, unlike my own experiences. A problem exists: There is an "overwhelming amount and variety of text they must learn to manage". How would I overcome? Give more choice! Choice to me is a huge componant in literacy. I feel that if childeren read material that is interesting to them, it is more meaningful and they have a deeped respect for it. Through this, they will eventually appreciate reading for what it is and explore other texts, without the teacher "forcing" them to read about World War II, they will want to explore and read outside of their comfort zone.
Another caution that stuck out in my mind was being able to differenciate the time used for think alouds and reading aloud for enjoyment. If I am sitting in a class, listening to someone read a bit of poetry to me, I am listening and enjoying the flow and rhythm of the poem. I would not like to be interupted between a stanza to be told by someone else what it means to them. I am listening for ENJOYMENT. I get a WANT to read and listen more. We do think alouds for a reason. I don't want to over use it to the point where childeren are not enjoying and developing a love for stories.
Lastly, I can closely relate to this passage from the book: "If students are taught to gradually extend the amount of time spent in independant reading every day from the begginning of the school year, they will rise to the occasion." I WANT to encourage more reading. I do not want kids to end up like me. I have been playing drums since I was five. At one point I wanted to quit. My dad told me about all the things I would miss out on and told me to practice just a little bit. Minutes turned to half hours, which turned into hours, which then turned to the point of him asking me to stop playing. I hope to use these ideas and my background knowledge to empower and motivate my students the way my father did. Good chapter!
One thing that struck me during the reading was the section in chapter two that is titled The Joy of Reading. It gave the statistics from a Reading at Risk survey given to more than 17,000 people over a 20 year period. The results showed that literary reading in America is declining rapidly among all groups and the rate of decline has accelerated particularly among the young. This section first caught me by surprise. I did not think that there had been much of a negative change, if any, in reading over time. I first thought that reading should have gone up due to the large stress put on reading and especially at a young age. But, then I began to think and it made more sense to me. Students are growing up in a technology filled world. Now, more than ever, children are gaining access to all different types of technology at such early ages. With technologies such as internet, gaming systems, phones and iPods children are more likely to spend their free time indulging in these things than reading. It then seemed to make sense to me as I thought “how can students become better readers if they are not actually reading?” I can remember reading books in elementary school just for fun. I think that my elementary school did a great job of providing quality time for fun independent reading. However, as I got into high school, and more multimedia came about, I began to read on my own much less. I felt that I had so much reading to do for my classes that the little free time I had was spent doing other things, including listening to my iPod or surfing the internet. It wasn’t that I did not like to read, I actually love to read for fun, but it was hard to read on top of all the other assignments I had to complete. With that being said I feel that children need to be reading whenever they can. I think that teachers throughout all grades need to push time for independent reading. I know that it will be a difficult task but, I feel that if teachers can allow time during the day for students to have fun reading then they will grow and become lifelong readers. I think that with more exposure to reading will come more comprehension.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 1, I was intrigued by Ellen’s reflection in regards to the Dick and Jane reading that her teacher had required her to read in her past school days. During my last reading course, my professor used this same book/scenario as an example as to why past educators failed to enrich our readers with “good fit” books to read. “I must have liked Dick and Jane. They no doubt affirmed my small place in the world. My family looked a lot like theirs: mom, dad, one brother. Dick and Jane preserved the status quo. They didn’t encourage me to look beyond the pages into their lives. They didn’t stimulate me to think (Keene and Zimmerman, 5).” Not allowing our students to become independent towards choosing books to read, puts them at a great disadvantage. I think we as educators must supply our students with proper techniques when preparing our students to choose “good fit” books. With these techniques we are guiding our students to become more directly involved in the reading process and encouraging them to enjoy the world of reading. I think that it is extremely important for children to not only enjoy reading, but as Keene and Zimmerman mention, comprehend what they are reading. Currently in my classroom, we utilize the Daily 5 or the Café approach while reading is taking place. Both of these reading strategies have become of great use when focusing on building vocabulary, exploring new words, checking for understanding/comprehension, becoming a fluent reader and being able to approach reading with a passion. By the word passion, I am speaking in regards to the students not feeling as though reading is only a requirement, but also more of a “hobby.” I work with struggling reader’s everyday and I have a particular student that I work with that tries very hard to “get it.” His desire to learn to read extends that of other children, even though everyday is the same day when it comes to his reading progress. Unfortunately, he is CI (cognitively impaired) and does not receive support from home which is in his disadvantage only because we as educators can only give the support during school hours. However, I feel very rewarded when he takes the opportunity to read what he can to me and actually dictate what he read without prompts….that is huge in my eyes! (Small things that matter!) I think that all 3 chapters were very resourceful: especially since they are delivered in a fashion of personal experiences and supported with research based output, along with encouraging tools to utilize in our classrooms. Looking forward to discussion in class!
ReplyDeleteCreating a New Mosaic
ReplyDeleteThis chapter explores the route taken to develop a plan for teaching reading comprehension strategies. It looked at and analyzed the things proficient readers do as they comprehend what they read. It explains the laborious, but exciting journey of using metacognition, which simply put, is thinking about one’s thinking while exploring reading comprehension strategies. It explains that if children were taught how to use these strategies by incorporating the use of think alouds, they would be able to both share their thoughts and use them to help them better comprehend their reading. It emphasizes the importance for children to read deeply and carefully and sharing those thoughts with others. In addition, it acknowledges the importance of students learning the basics of decoding words by starting with letters and sounds, but explicitly states the importance of comprehension taking place simultaneously.
One of the things I loved about this chapter was the open and honest messages Ellin Keene sends. First when she talks about how ill prepared she was in her high school English class and then when she talks about working with students in Claudia’s class. She is certainly giving good examples of times that she is thinking about her thinking, whether she is trying to or not.
I applaud Ellin Keene for being brave enough to indicate that she wasn’t really certain where she was going with Claudia’s classroom after she used the questioning/ wondering strategy in her first think aloud with 5th grade students. I must admit I was a bit shocked that she stated this though. It helped me to understand how the process of teaching reading strategies developed. In addition, I can connect to how she was feeling in her high school English class because I remember feeling the same way when I got in my first college class where we really had to analyze what inferred message the author was trying to convey.
I believe this chapter has relevance for all students from kindergarten through high school. It is important for all types of learners. Although ESL or cognitively impaired students may need extra support, they too should be able to think about their own thinking. The use of pictures/ drawings may need to be utilized for those with limited language. Children from low socio-economic areas may think about things differently because of different schema or background knowledge, but they too can benefit from the use of metacognition, think aloud, and sharing their thinking.
Metacognition is important in our reading program and in our school district as a whole. Our district has aligned its curriculum to incorporate the use of the habits of the mind for over five years now. Students have been exposed to the word metacognition and its implications from the time they start kindergarten and everyday students are encouraged to think about their thinking both across the curriculum and while making behavioral choices. Kindergarteners are exposed to the word schema and have an appreciation for what they already have learned. Pictures are used to help ESL learners. Children utilize the think, pair, and share or turn and talk procedures from the beginning of their education in our district. Starting in our kindergarten program, we celebrate each other’s thoughts by sharing. Children are taught step by step how to be a good listener and what kinds of comments are appropriate to make when they take turns sharing with their partner. We reflect back on how the session has gone at the end of each one. We develop K-W-L charts to help in our thinking about our thinking. Students use sticky notes to help remember what they are wondering both before, as they go along, and after their reading. As one can see, metacognition has a powerful place in our whole curriculum.
Chapter 3 I feel has a good pick up to where chapter two left off, naturally. Being able to read with meaning and ask "self" questions. This chapter takes it to the next phase, if you will, in monitoring. I take this as listening to your inner voice. AS the book says, "Proficient readers listen to their inner voices as they read, make ongoing corrections and adjustments, and are aware of how meaning involves." For myself, the teacher, i would actually do this when i do read alouds, or think alouds. Not only would I say the things that we learned about in chapters one and two, but i would incorporate these new things too. "Muggles? Hmmm...What's that? Let me read a little bit further to find out clues...."
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the dialog on the bottom of page 30 where it shows exactly how she went about explaining what metacognative thinking and monitoring really was and how to use it. I wish someone had told or taught me about this. I think i would learn to appreciate reading more now, than i did. Just reading about these new things makes ME want to read more. How are the children going to feel if i feel the way i do now? Cris talks about giving up and going back to the fact that it is important. I think she is trying to lightly say that ALL reading is important is one way or another. Every text has a purpose. Don't give up. "All students struggle in some texts." Lord knows i do! We as teachers need to MODEL THE WAY, as i said before, in order for kids to "feel" and "hear" what their mind is really trying to say. Imagine how effective their reading would be if Cris did NOT do this out loud with them? They would be lost. I don't want my kids to be lost!
Most of the rest of the chapter is talking, asking, inquiring, probing, conferring, inferring, HAVING MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS. I never remember my teachers doing this! It's SO important to me to do this. How else will their comprehension improve? Model, model, model. Ask, ask, ask! Question, question, question! everyone can be a proficient reader. What i take most from this, is going back to the relationship piece, every student, every time. No matter what issues they have, it's our job to ensure everyone is having meaningful experiences, loving the reading process, and now, monitoring and self questioning. It's the best way to grow as a reader!
Chapter 1- Creating a New Mosaic
ReplyDeleteThe chapter started off with 2 poems.... I hate reading poetry! To me reading poetry is like trying to read a foreign language. I read the poems twice before I read on and I still did not understand them. Even when I read on and they explained the poetry I went back and I still did not truly understand what they were saying. I do not know how to read poetry! I love music and know that it is poetry and maybe if someone was singing the poetry it would make more sense to me but it isn’t. I need to learn how to read poetry.
It is nice to read the trials and tribulations of a first year teacher. I know all teachers in the career have had to use a class as a lack of a better term a guinea pig. And as I myself as learned during my student teaching that what you have planned does not always go as planned and what I thought would work didn’t and what I didn’t think would work really worked. I like her statement that said “most important, I realized that I could raise my expectations far higher than I had imagined. When immersed in compelling text and equipped with comprehension strategies, children will reach further, probe deeper, and understand complex material from the earliest stages.”
As I read on I was suprised to hear the back story on how what I am doing now during student teaching was developed. The process it took to come up with the readers workshop was a lot more difficult then I thought! Another point in this chapter that I could relate to is when Steph Harvey said “they’re writing stories about their dogs, grandparents, their passions.” I had the same problem with another another student so I made a graphic organizer where he had to check off that he would not write about Bozer, Mario or loving his mother.
The final part of the chapter thay stood out to me was the 7 metacognitive strategies. The first 6 seem pretty straight forward but the last strategy synethezing is a little more intensive and I believe tailored to the grades 3 and higher. Maybe the later part the school year would be more appropriate it but still tricky to those struggling.
Chapter 2- Changing times
ReplyDeleteAgain the chapter begins with another poem yet I could read this poem and understand it. Was it beasuse it was simpler or was it because I was there and experienced it myself? Dare I say it was a instructional match? Not sure of the answer but really strying to figure it out.
The chapter goes on to what we know about comprehension strategies and how many students just read the words and take them literally. I was one of those students! It wasn’t until my mid 20’s that I really fell in love with reading and understood how you can get lost in a book and not want to put it down because you want to find out what is going to happen. I wish I could have started to read when I was younger because I feel I missed out on a lot of great stories. I feel that, is what is missing at school and at home. As teachers we need to encourage students to read and discover a different world where anything can happen. When students read for enjoyment is when I believe we can make that connection with metacognition. I understand that the connection is not going to happen over night; that we need to encourage our students. At times we will have to pull it out of our students by asking question after question until they make that connection.
The last chapter in this chapter states that these strategies are “tools”... And that as teachers and educators our goal is to have children become avid readers where they look forward to diving into a magical word that they discovered ina book. The most important fact that should be emphasized more is that “the comprehension strategies combined with a healthy does of common sense and a commitment to classrooms where children’s opinions, passions, and intellectuals, are honored will go a long way toward creating environments in which children will learn to love to read.” Sometimes I think educators forget about using their common sense. I also tink they forget that at one time they were a student and learned the same thing. I guarantee that back then teachers then students were taught one way and one way only.
Changing Times focuses on the importance of students enjoying reading so that they will want to pick up a book and enjoy it during some of their alone time. It offers statistics, which show leisure reading is declining in favor of television, internet, and other electronic devices. Although it is important to instill a lifelong love of reading, it is definitely a sign of the times that this is happening. It has become an important role as an educator to try to reverse some of these statistics, something educators of yesterday would not have had to think twice about. This chapter also focuses on the use of reading strategies to enhance student comprehension. It offers sources of evidence that indicate that comprehension strategies need to be taught. It indicates a need for elementary schools to focus on and the strategies one at a time, but cumulatively. It also suggests that strategies can be introduced to all learners with differentiation being made to the level of text, rather than the strategy. It establishes and emphasizes the need for a large quantity of reading time to be offered throughout the school day, along with a time for students to talk. This is especially important for ESL learners, who have been found to be able to think at a high level, just not able to use language to express their thinking.
ReplyDeleteIt ends by discussing reader’s workshop format which incorporates the use of think aloud in teaching a comprehension strategy, a period of sustained independent reading time which grows as the year goes on, formation of needs based groups, and a time for students to share or reflect on their learning with others.
These techniques are necessary and more important now than ever if students are to learn to love reading. Personally, I see these strategies incorporated in reading workshop each day as I work with children. We begin by utilizing the Making Meaning Reading Comprehension program for a short mini- lesson. It allows the instructor to share sections of predetermined books and indicates when students should turn and talk to a partner about what they are wondering, what they are surprised to learn, or what they’ve learned so far, depending on the genre of the book. It provides opportunity for teachers to teach strategies that good readers use and for students to try them out. It culminates with students being sent to a comfortable spot in the room to independently read. This really works! As students are reading, I as a teacher conduct small group lessons and circulate to make sure books are at an appropriate independent reading level. We call them “just right” books. First grade students have learned to select appropriate books and know they are building stamina as far as independent reading is concerned. We have developed a t-chart together explaining what their role or job is during this time and what mine job is. In addition to turning and talking to a partner, they also keep journals about their independent reading. Students write or draw in their journals (spiral notebooks) as often as they like, but at least three times a week. Some students are so excited about reading that they write in their journals every day.
The efforts in my last blog work well with all types of learners because there are opportunities for both small group instruction and conferring with individuals, in addition to sharing with their peers. The mini-lesson provides opportunities for vocabulary growth, while the drawing/ writing opportunities provide a chance to develop their own thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHowever, a more intensive Reading Recovery program is offered for first and second graders who need more adult-student one on one time, along with a community based Adopt a Reader program. In addition, an ESL teacher pulls students to work on not only developing language, but also other culturally based differences students may have needs with.
As a teacher, I feel this manageable. Students are taught tasks one small step at a time and help to develop a positive reading atmosphere that not only works for everyone, but is an inviting, comfortable environment, which helps to make reading a fun activity. If we don’t instill a love of reading when children are young, each year that passes makes it more difficult. More importantly, I realize after listening to others sharing in this course how lucky the students in our district are to have some of the reading opportunities that they have.
I have four children of my own who have gone through our school district and are all avid readers. It hasn’t always been that way with one of my boys, but through the combined efforts of the classroom teacher and the extra help he received, he is the only child in my family who has stayed up well into the night with a flashlight, hidden under a blanket, to read the new Harry Potter book the first day it came out. He wanted to read it so badly that he traded the cover with an old Harry Potter book. He did this so I would not know he had borrowed the new book from the spot where I had put it, in an effort to save it for part of his birthday present. I realize not all children have the same level of support at home and this can certainly make a difference. At some point, the community must establish mentoring programs to help. In the meantime, we have to work with what we have.
So much information in such a short number of pages..........Teaching children to read and comprehend what they are reading is truly the single most empowering thing that an educator can do. The key in that sentence is "comprehend;" how is it that literacy instruction is moved beyond empty lessons to workshops where students are thrilled not only to open books today because they have to but tomorrow because they want to? If one were to spend time reading but never comprehending the task would become like eating but never getting full. Too often the Basal reader becomes the literacy program because it tells you "everything you need to know" but unfortunately at the end of each unit no one knows anything. The stories are generally not relevant, not cross-curricular and more empty reading calories. Throughout the first section of this book Keene focuses her energy on changing the traditional basal reading program and getting students excited to read through empowerment. There are so many ways which she mentions but the first is through the various metacognitive strategies: monitoring for meaning, using and creating schema, asking questions, determining importance, inferring, using sensory and emotional images, synthesizing. As I read through these chapters I found myself utilizing so many of these metacognitive strategies yet I was unaware that there existed terminology which explained the processes which I was going through in comprehending the text. This really resonated with me on so many levels but especially from my classroom time. As a huge Shel Silverstein fan and a lover of all children's literature, I have read "The Giving Tree" on so many occasions and not for any other reason than the deep underlying meaning that I find in that book. Some days it makes me smile and other times it makes me sad but this fluctuation of emotions is only possible for me because I am analyzing the text on a deeper level. Who is to say this isn't possible for a middle schooler? I am sure that it is but as Keene says, teaching students reading strategies and decoding is very important but without metacognitive strategies in their toolbox students will most likely read but never analyze text; regardless of the difficulty found in the language most literature offers something that isn't always found between the covers. I have always had a passion for stories and poetry but the first time that I was asked to analyze literature on a deeper level and explore symbolism was at Wayne State and it was like a whole new world had opened up to me. In analyzing Jude the Obscure it was a great experience to hang on each of the author’s words and search for a meaning that wasn't explicitly stated and to substantiate my opinions with the essays of scholars. This is not to say that lower elementary students should be analyzing text on this level.......but who is to say they can't be challenged to explore what Shel Silverstein is saying about human nature in The Giving Tree or Dr. Seuss is saying about greed in The Lorax...just a thought. The other thing Keene mentions throughout the first section of Mosaic is how great it is to use think alouds as a way of getting students tuned in to the metacognitive processes which capable readers use. This is another thing which I have tried to do but struggled with; as she points out one cannot simply open a book (even if you know the book) and start thinking aloud, which I did not only with books but also with vocabulary picture boards and not to discount the success of either lesson but reflection allows for improvement in everything we do.
ReplyDeletePart II......
ReplyDeleteFollowing the introduction on comprehension strategies Keene does some Q&A which I found to be very interesting and one of her responses really struck a chord with me. As she answers the question of why do we teach comprehension strategies she says two factors impact student ability: "overwhelming amount and variety of text they must learn to manage, and the fact that many kids start school having had few experiences with books" (Keene 33). How true are those statements? The first part of it I tend to disagree with a bit more than the latter portion but both portions are extremely true. Students for whatever the reason (single working parents, parents who do not care, limited resources, parents who are not literate, etc.) do not get much, if any, exposure to literature before coming to school and this is very problematic in my opinion. In a class of 30 students, if 5 have never read, 10 have minimal experience with literature, 10 are average (reading "at GRADE LEVEL"...whatever that means), and 5 are above and beyond everyone else........what happens next? This is a situation which I have experienced firsthand and with limited or no experience with literature students are generally very frustrated and attention span (another point of Keenes but she references attention span because of the internet and video games) suffers as a result. Throughout the winter I found that when these students would get broken up into groups for workshop and the struggling students would be working with me they had difficulty staying focused, were at times frustrated, and I can honestly say that I understand why. If I were to attend a conference on cutting-edge noninvasive heart surgery I might feel a little bit uneasy, disinterested, and out-of-place to say the least because I would most likely not understand much of what was being discussed. Therefore when a student comes to our class with little experience with literature how much knowledge of metacognition should we expect from these students? How important would it be to introduce these concepts to the students? Finally to look at things from the other end of the reading spectrum what do we do to keep the other students (who are not struggling) challenged and interested without taking their interest away. In Chapter 3 Keene discusses this situation as it occurs in a second grade class with a girl who wants to read a book that is very difficult and even though the child is a very capable reader the teacher was concerned that she might lose interest because it was too challenging (not a just-right book). The conferring process which she discusses that takes place during workshop I found to be an excellent solution to the problem and a great way to prevent the reader from becoming frustrated. As she discusses with the child the many different strategies she can use to better understand the text and to answer any questions which she might encounter I found that to be an excellent way to help the child and keep her motivated. Although the child went on to struggle more with the text, she had the necessary tools to move forward without giving up. The knowledge the teacher possessed was undoubtedly key in helping her thriving reader succeed but the knowledge is only valuable because the teacher cared about her student. Students come to the classroom with many questions about math, reading, science, social studies, but quite often the question that means the most to that student and the question that can make the biggest difference is not content related but instead: "Does the teacher care about ME?" Overall the majority of the text thus far has been a great and easy read because of the way that it was written and the reality which I see in Keene's words.
Mindful Reading speaks about monitoring and revising comprehension and again it shares how to use the think aloud technique to demonstrate this to children. From my experience, the part that the children seem to enjoy the most is the opportunity to think, pair, and share with a partner. I, as a reading teacher enjoy listening in on some of the meaningful conversations that develop. Students have been working on perfecting this strategy, along with others they have learned, the entire year in the first grade classroom I was in today. It is exciting to hear them tell me ways they can monitor their comprehension as young as they are. Today at the end of our mini-lesson, we reviewed ways to get our comprehension back on track if we become mixed up. Even in first grade, many students have developed into confident readers by knowing what to do if they have a comprehension issue. The choices they have learned through the think aloud process have become so comfortable for some of the students that they are starting to use them automatically. It is inspiring to watch these techniques in action. To see their smiles and eyes light up as they figure out what is happening in the story makes every minute spent on teaching these strategies worth the time spent. Most of the children are not at a point where they are able to decide which strategy will work most effectively for them, yet they have enough of an understanding of the options that they feel comfortable trying a few. As they become successful in their efforts, they will develop a clearer understanding of which strategy will work best.
ReplyDeleteSince I work in elementary classrooms, the child who wanted to read The Secret Garden book is one I can make a connection with. Almost every child in first and second grade wants to read a chapter book. The dilemma is the same as in the text; many are nowhere near ready to attempt such a massive undertaking. Their skill level is just too week. This is always a difficult situation because I try hard as a teacher to allow students to make choices, but at some point I feel I have a responsibility to ensure that the reading they are doing during independent reading time is meaningful. I don’t know if I would have been able to support Anne to the same level that Kristin did, but I do know that motivation can be an extremely powerful motivator when it comes to reading. My own daughter learned to read at four years old because she when she found out I was going to have a baby and she wanted to be able to read to him. If it were only so easy to motivate all children, a teacher’s job would be much easier.
Chapter 1- Reading this first chapter opened my eyes to a whole new world of reading. I usually only read for school and that's about it. The rest is just junk and things that I like such as entertainment and other fun things. Before reading this I felt like I only needed to read when I wanted to.This chapter showed me that as teacher I can never stop reading and that there is always room for improvement. I eally liked how Keene shared her concepts and flaws along the way; some worked and some did not. She was willing to step out there and say what she chnaged and about some of the things that did not work.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this I asked myself, what is it that I can do in order to help myself when I start my student teaching. I also asked myself if I could use some of the techniques from this book. This chapter allowed me to get some ideas about how children comprehend what they are reading. Children have to love what they are reading and be able to relate it to themselves.
Chapter 3- Meaningful Reading
ReplyDeleteThe third chapter does not start out with a poem which I was excited so I thought but then I began to read the story “girl”. Midway through essay I stopped and started over and read the words as they were. When I did this it made the reading much easier and smoother. I enjoyed the passage even though it was “unorganized” to me but I am sure to the other it made total and complete sense.
As I continued to read the 1st part of the chapter I found it to be very interesting and helpful except for the fact I will be working with special needs children and not the proficient/ exceptional readers. During the reading I was taking what she did to help her students and adapting it to use with my future students. Yes it easier to help those proficient reader activate their problem solving skills using their prior knowledge of comprehension but what happens when the student doesn’t have any prior knowledge or doesn’t have any problem solving strategies.
The second part in the chapter is again about challenging students who are excelling. As I began this section I felt like how can I again apply this to my future students. I did appreciate the conferring part between the student and teacher and the older peer tutor. I believe a collaboration like that is key in encouraging the students and making them feel successful in anything they try.
AS I began to read the last part in the chapter “key ideas for comprehension strategy study” I was annoyed and with every statement starting out with a proficient reader does this does that but I stepped back and looked and said to myself that is what I am suppose to do. I need to make my students at all different levels a proficient reader. It doesn’t matter if the students is ata level 1 reader or reading chapter books what matters is that they understand and what they are reading!
Kim Mulhern
ReplyDeleteChapter 1
Early in the chapter, as Ellin remembered her own “first readers,” she remarked that Dick and Jane “affirmed my small place in the world.” This reminded me of the idea that children need both mirrors and windows in the texts they read. Every child needs to see him/herself reflected in the texts used in their classroom to “affirm” their presence in the world. If the books used in class never look familiar to students, they might conclude that theirs is not as legitimate as the text’s cultures. Also, students need windows that expose them to other cultures and ways of thinking and living to open their minds to other realms of possibility. Another reflection of Ellin’s reminded me of Louis Rosenblatt’s theory of the “poem,” the unique interaction between the text and an individual reader. When I was a child, we were taught that there was only one correct answer to a reading question, which I found frustrating at times; I’m gratified that reading instruction today includes an allowance for multiple meanings and interpretations of a text. What the reader brings to the reading is just as significant as the text itself. It is an empowering statement to say, “I am the reader” and my thoughts and perceptions have significance. In discussions in my classroom, I avoid telling a student that their idea is “wrong,” but I might ask them to elaborate on what they are saying. This forces students who make casual, careless comments to think about their words and their meaning a bit more. I think if I respond to my students in a thoughtful, respectful manner, they are more likely to do the same with each other.
I agree with the approach of numerous modeling of think-alouds to increase students’ proficiency as readers. I thought the think-aloud example was excellent. Modeling questioning throughout reading is a great way to engage students and get them to use the skill more mindfully. I loved the statement that, “They need to know that reading is an action sport, and that the action takes place in their minds.” I also liked that the authors demonstrated an ability to be reflective about their own strategies and how they can improve them with practice. They worked together to create a teaching method that slowly shifts the responsibilities from the teacher to the student to foster independence. Some reading instruction strategies that they firmly endorse include:
• Students need many think-alouds over time.
• Teach questioning as an essential skill to deepen understanding.
• Ask students to come up with questions as they read.
• Use the best literature you can find.
• Use good fiction and nonfiction texts that have depth and interest for students.
• Read close together on the floor to create a sense of intimacy.
When I reflect on my own teaching using the textbook or a supplementary text, I believe that I use some but not all of these strategies in my current practice. I use a great deal of questioning and encourage students’ questions. I help students to synthesize information in the text by modeling note-taking strategies and methods. I have used excerpts from literature, but have not done an entire novel in my social studies class. I think it would be a great experience to do reading groups based on interest using five or six historical fiction novels. (I also don’t read in a tight group with my eighth-graders, but I do let them read wherever they want in the room). I think I model using the metacognitive strategies as I tackle sections of our content-dense textbook in a modified directed reading-teaching strategy frequently. I think I will copy that list to give myself a “job aid.”
Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteI loved the incredible poem at the beginning of this chapter—it is very powerful in its imagery. It brought to mind the idea that teaching goes beyond transferring skills and knowledge; there is the higher purpose of teaching “understanding, tolerance, and wise decisions” as the authors so beautifully expresses. Helping students to read more deeply and meaningfully can go a long way toward this end.
Again, the authors critique the traditional methods of reading instruction. They note that reading instruction, in the past, was really comprehension assessment—lots and lots of questions. I think of programs like Accelerated Reader fall into this category. Sure, they are encouraging and rewarding students for reading more and more challenging texts, but they also train them to think that understanding all these books can be boiled down to a series of multiple-choice questions (and then they move on). I see the results of this type of approach in my eighth grade students. Many are excellent decoders, but, unfortunately, have very shallow modes of critical analysis. As the authors point out, students need to engage prior knowledge, make inferences, create mental pictures, and monitor their comprehension while actively reading to become proficient readers. This comprehension instruction needs to be coupled with “explicit instruction in skills such as decoding, fluency, word analysis text structures, and vocabulary.”
I like that the authors recommend that we differentiate according to the text, but that all students in a single enclosed classroom can study the same strategy at the same time. Each student can use a text that is appropriate for his/her level and is capable of thinking at high levels. Teaching these strategies can help students at all levels to think and discuss different texts. I also think it’s important to keep in mind that different reading strategies are needed in differing amounts depending on the text. The authors use the phrases “turn up” and “turn down” certain strategies to meet students’ needs when working with different types of text.
Chapter 3
I appreciated the author’s point in this chapter that my experience as a reader has a connection to my students’. It is important to be mindful that I cannot read any text; there are definitely subjects that challenge and even elude me. Just as I have to slow down and work my strategies as I read a challenging text, I need to teach these monitoring skills to my students. As the authors note, “Monitoring is quite simply vital to comprehension.” It’s important to open up to students and let them know that I struggle with some types of text, so that they will be more forthcoming about their difficulties with the texts we use in the classroom. I like the idea of doing a think-aloud of a difficult text so that they can see how I employ my reading strategies The authors suggest chunking information to break it down into smaller pieces, rereading text, asking a friend or looking up information on the Internet, or reading small sections and coming back to it later. These are all good strategies that can be used in my classroom.
Chapter 1- Reading this first chapter opened my eyes to a whole new world of reading. I usually only read for school and that's about it. The rest is of what I read is just junk; things that I enjoy such as entertainment, etc. Before reading this I felt like I only needed to read when I wanted to. This chapter showed me that as teacher I can never stop reading and that there is always room for improvement. I realized that as of today, I only read for school and I only pick up what I really feel like I need to know for a test on an assignment. There are times when I know I don’t understand something and I continue with my reading. I only use comprehension strategies when I feel like I absolutely have to but to be honest, I should be using them all the time.
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter a lot of problems were discussed as to why children do not comprehend when they read and why they are not engaged in reading. In order to find ways to address this problem, the PEBC was formed and got together to resolve these issues. Teachers were able to share experiences about their classrooms as far as reading. They also did lots of research to find ways that would not only help the students but them as well. Many teachers expressed how children did not engage in reading and had a difficult time when it came to comprehending the text. I really like how the teachers were able to come together and talk about the problems and ways to resolve them. The teachers all agreed that children needed to be guided as a way to help them with comprehending the text. They needed to see how some strategies were used.
I found it to be really awesome how everything was shared as far as what worked and what did not work when trying to resolve the issues of comprehension and reading. This chapter gave a lot of insight as to what the problems were; the experiences that were shared really caught my attention. I liked how Ellin got the children to sit in a circle and modeled her thinking while reading, she got the juices flowing for her students. At first they were skeptical but as time went on they really got into it.
While reading this I asked myself, what is it that I can do in order to help myself when I start my student teaching. I also asked myself if I could use some of the techniques from this book. This chapter allowed me to get some ideas about how children comprehend what they are reading. Children have to understand what it is that they are doing in order to grasp the actual lesson or reading. Since I work in an inner city school, I thought about how I could get the students there to engage in reading. I think the strategy where Ellin allows the children to get close together in a circle would be a great way. I think that in order to reach the students in my situation, I would have to get a book that they can relate to.
Chapter 2-
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed them poem that this chapter opened with because it made me really think, it had me reading it over and over again trying to find a meaning for it. Every time I read it I found something different. I wondered what could this be about? What does this phrase or that phrase mean? All I could come up with is that something bad had happened. After reading further along, I learned that it was about 9/1. While reading this at times I noticed how I got confused and it was then I realized that I really needed to start using some of the things that I had been taught about comprehension. As I mentioned before I hardly ever take the time out to use comprehension strategies but this poem made me use one of them and that was rereading. I did not get the meaning that I thought I would get out of the poem but I got something. I realized that it takes more than one strategy. This chapter discussed how more than one strategy needs to be used when trying to comprehend text. Background knowledge, questioning and creating mental images just to name a few are some strategies that should be used. The use of them should shift from one to the other.
I noticed how this chapter discussed how lots of time teachers have students just read the text and then answer the questions about it. I absolutely agree because when I younger that is all we did and by the time I got to high school, it became extremely difficult for me to respond to essay questions because I had not been given the proper instruction on comprehension. I think that today’s children still get the same old read the book and answer the question work. This takes away from the enjoyment of reading. The joy of reading which is discussed, students are lost somewhere along the lines which turn them to dislike reading. I personally think it comes from being forced to read certain things in school. I believe that is what happened to me. We as future teachers who have had these negative experiences should really try to create positive reading experiences for students. One where they not only enjoy reading but be able to comprehend the text as well.
“We explicitly teach the comprehension strategies to ensure children don’t simply become expert decoders but also learn to create meaning naturally and subconsciously as they read, far earlier than in the past”. I really liked this because books are becoming more and more deep and children need to be able to use different strategies and skills. This chapter says that teachers should be keeping up with instruction and the changes that are made and that is true. If teachers don’t make the proper changes and constantly monitor students and educate themselves, then more children will be lost when it comes to reading.
Chapter 3- There is so much to say about this chapter, that I don’t even know where to begin. I must say that Cris Tovani’s story really touched me because she used excellent strategies with her high school students. She made recognition as to how students should handle comprehending the text. She modeled comprehension as she read and allowed students to ask questions when they did not understand what she was doing. I think the thing that attracted me to her story the most was the fact that she allowed her students to share their problems with comprehension. After they shared their problems she modeled what they could do. Cris offered a lot to her students in my opinion. I think she gave the class a sense of community and freedom because they were not afraid to share and ask questions. Her strategy made me think of what I would do in my future classroom. The one question I had was, Could her strategy be used at lower level?
ReplyDeleteI also liked how the beginning of the chapter started when it talked about the two strategies: monitoring and rereading. I find myself always rereading but never monitoring my thinking. In order to become better readers, we have to be able to monitor our thinking while reading. So many times as we read we want to zip right through the text and get done. But when we do this we do not carry anything with us. In order to comprehend a text, we might have to read it over and over again. Then we have to ask ourselves questions and sometimes even do research when we come across something we don’t know or understand.