Sharla Bryant
6/12/13
Personal Model of the Theory of
Reading
Reading is a
delicate process built on a strong foundation of prior knowledge. Through my
practicum and teaching experiences, I have seen a variety of phonics programs
be put to use to ensure students’ reading readiness and success. Students have
come up with motions to help them remember letter sounds, sorted objects into
beginning letter sounds and been drilled on common sight words. Currently at
the school where I am teaching, we incorporate a direct instruction reading
program.
There are so many conflicting answers on the
“right” way to teach a child to read. It is my belief that with the proper
amount of instruction time and diligence to the program, the majority of
children will learn to read. Children are learning to read, but it is my goal
to inspire passionate readers; readers who are constantly reaching for more
books and striving to learn more. To inspire that sort of reader requires that
sort of teacher. Teachers must be a model, using books not only to learn to
read, but as a source of entertainment, a resource, and a way to find common
ground with others.
In college we were always taught to
use a constructivism approach when teaching reading to get the best results. We
were told to use whole body learning, incorporate multiple learning styles, and
use scaffolding until students were reading independently. The reading program
that I am using now in kindergarten definitely scaffolds, but the similarities
to what I learned in college end there. We are using a program that utilizes
direct instruction. It is so interesting to me that I have seen students read
very successfully in my college student teaching experiences and also in my
classroom using direct instruction.
Simply, reading is the process of
decoding letters and sounds to derive meaning. It is not something that one can
perfect in a day. It is a long, cognitive process that one can practice all
their life. Through my experiences, I have learned reading is not a simple
process. Though it may sound simple on paper, learning to read can be an
extremely long and tedious process. When teaching a classroom full of children
learning to read, one must always be aware of the levels of each student. As
part of the process, it is important for students to stay at the instructional
level of reading during reading instruction, the mastery level when reading
independently, and steer clear of the frustration level at all times. This
process allows you to scaffold students into becoming better readers one step
at a time.
As a passionate reader, the reading
process is very important to me, but as a kindergarten teacher, it is even more
important to me. Each year when I get my students, the majority of them come in
knowing very little about reading. They may know a few sounds or sight words.
They leave kindergarten being able to read exponentially better than when they
came in. No amount of reading textbooks or sitting in a classroom can prepare
you for the joy you feel when you hear a child read a book for the first time;
when you see the light in their eyes and they know that they can read.
