Module 1 Learning Summary

Reading Strategies:
I really enjoyed the reading strategies video. It gave great insight into the true struggles of readers. It was excellent to see the progression of struggling readers and the strategies that can be useful in helping their reading development. This video could be beneficial for parents and teachers who are trying to help their struggling readers. Making a game out of reading or phonics can also be beneficial in order to engage students.

Expository Texts:
I absolutely loved all the graphic organizers that were used in this section of the module. All students don't need the same graphic organizers. Graphic organizers must start off very simple and become more advanced as students progress. As a kindergarten teacher, I use the most basic graphic organizers in my classroom. I believe that graphic organizers are valuable instructional tools. They appeal to students of multiple learning styles and give students multiple ways to represent their knowledge.

Module 1: Page 14 Activity

Use Table 1.1 “Summary of Proficient and Less Proficient Reading Behaviors” to observe a reader.  Highlight the characteristics you notice and provide an example of what you see.

 Reading instruction in my classroom uses a direct instruction program that levels all students and groups them accordingly. We take weekly data and record it. If a student is falling behind, they are moved to a group that is working at a slower pace or that is further behind in lessons. Since it is the beginning of kindergarten, many of my students are not reading yet, but working on concepts of print and phonological awareness. 

I chose to observe a student that is already reading. This student falls in the less proficient category.The student is currently reading 18 words per minute. While they identify most of the words correctly, they pause between each word to sound out the next word.  The student sounded words out or skipped them, and used pictures to help figure out the words. Because the student was focusing on individual letter sounds, there was almost no reading comprehension. I believe that as the year goes on, this student will quickly become more proficient.

Module 1: Assessing Reading Skills Video

This video really spoke to me. Reading is pointless without being able to gain meaning from a text. We put so much pressure on fluency and words per minute, but often don't focus as much on comprehension. We know fluency is important because if students are not fluent, then they are spending their time reading decoding words and trying to remember them instead of retaining the meaning of the text. This video was a great reminder to me why fluency is so important and to keep working with my kids on not just being able to read a story as fast as they can, but also constructing meaning.

Module 1: Assessment Powerpoint

Being a kindergarten teacher, I love reading. I am passionate about teaching students to love reading. I have seen first hand how important it is to build confidence and make sure students feel successful. Kindergarten can be crazy sometimes because we have students coming in on different developmental levels. Some are early emergent and may not have attended any school. Those students need to learn concepts of print and phonological awareness. Then there are students that are emergent literacy stage who are ready for reading instruction. I love seeing that direct instruction is beneficial at the emergent literacy stage is beneficial since the program we use is direct instruction based. It was crazy to me to see how many students are diagnosed with disabilities.

Module 1: Article and Book Analysis

As I was reading the text and the article, I was extremely drawn to the part in the text about RTI or response to intervention. I recently had the opportunity to go to a data team training through my county. In data teams we categorize our students into categories of how well they understand a concept. The fabulous part about it is being able to see the growth of students throughout the year. When we see, from the data, that students are not understanding the material, we implement interventions. This is what was mentioned in the text. I love seeing that we've got it right and are incorporating important aspects of reading for our students.
Since I am a kindergarten teacher, it is important to take into consideration the stages of reading as well. Since we have students that come in on all levels, we must take into account that some students may not have attended school before. They may be early emergent or emergent literacy. We must take their levels into consideration, differentiating as necessary.
The article I found was on comprehension and direct instruction. Since we incorporate direct instruction at my school, I am very interesting in the results it returns. According to the article, direct instruction improves reading comprehension. The awesome part of the program that we use is that it puts students exactly on their levels and allows for differentiation. This is where I really saw the book and the article tie together. Direct instruction gives us the data we need to find out the levels of students, see how they are responding to the instruction, and implement an intervention if necessary.

The effects of cooperative learning and direct instruction in reading comprehension strategies on main idea identification.

Stevens, Robert J.; Slavin, Robert E.; Farnish, Anna M.

Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 83(1), Mar 1991, 8-16. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.83.1.8

Final Personal Model of Reading Theory

Sharla Bryant

7/10/2013

Final Personal Model of Reading Theory

            At the beginning of this course, I was so confused on what method was best for teaching reading. There are so many programs out there, all with different methods to the same claim: that they are the best method in reading instruction. After all I have learned in this course, I realize that a comprehensive approach to literacy is the most effective method. There is so much more to reading instruction than I had previously realized.

            In my first model of reading theory, I was struggling to make sense of what I had learned. In my classroom experience, I implemented a direct instruction program, while in college, I learned of the wonderful results of a constructivist approach to literacy. For me, there is no more confusion. What I love about the idea of the comprehensive literacy approach is the inclusion of so many different types of activities that engage all types of learners. The compressive approach includes guided reading, guided writing, shared reading, shared writing, journaling, reading aloud, reading to self, and reading conferences. It also involves working in small groups, whole groups, and individually. Every student is exposed to a variety of activities while still getting just the right kind of instruction to help them thrive.

            In my reading instruction in my classroom, I have always focused heavily on what I now know is called the skills approach. I focused so much on teaching students letter sounds and the process of putting those sounds together to make words. When students were becoming more proficient at reading words, they were able to read texts. When checking students to allow them to move up to the next level, I would time them and count their miscues, but did not ask comprehension questions. I know now that even the most proficient readers miscue. This could be a sign of using context clues or reading ahead. I hope to take what I’ve learned of reading proficiency and miscues back to my classroom and the teachers in my team so that we can better assess the reading levels of our students.

            As a kindergarten teacher, phonics instruction will always be a part of my curriculum. I still believe that the basics of phonics are necessary for reading readiness. Throughout this course I have learned ways to better include phonics instruction. Phonics can be embedded in other activities and not separated from other areas of reading. The more I think about this, the more it makes sense. Why wouldn’t we teach phonics through reading activities instead of flashcards? When phonics is taught separately from reading, students do not relate phonics and reading. When they are taught together, students automatically use phonics skills to aid in the reading process.

            Something that did not change, but only grew stronger throughout this course is my belief that students must be inspired to read. I feel that it is my duty as a teacher to give students books that interest them to create passionate readers. Reading has always been important to me and one of my favorite pastimes. I want my students to feel the same way about reading. Reading can be so much more than an assignment. It can be a source of entertainment and knowledge. Students that are passionate readers often turn into passionate learners.

Module 6 Instructional Challenge

Next year, you will be teaching in a school where the vast majority of students did not meet standard on your state's criterion-referenced test and where more than 75% of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. What are some specific universal literacy strategies you may implement to ensure students success? Include both in-class examples and things you could do outside the classroom.

Even in a school that is socioeconomically disadvantaged and has low achievement, I believe that a comprehensive literacy program would still be best. In chapter 15, we learned that even low achieving students benefit from a comprehensive literacy program.  It would be important for me to put the students in homogeneous groupings be achievement levels to make them comfortable and build their confidence levels. I would be sure to give a lot of positive reinforcement. The strategies that I would incorporate include reading aloud, shared reading and writing, and giving students access to books that interest them. I would also make sure that students had access to books that they could take home with them. If the student had homework, I would make sure they took all necessary supplies home with them.