Greetings Readers!
Chapters 7 and 8 introduced me to the most awesome comprehension strategies. These strategies will increase comprehension from my struggling readers to my advanced readers. The strategies I liked best were the Language Chart, K-W-L graphic organizer, I-Chart, and Double Entry Journal. I am also going to incorporate the Literature Circle sometime this year. I have always struggled with this concept so it will be nice to gain a new tool while helping my students increase their comprehension.
I want my students to enjoy reading, so the more I can build their comprehension the more they might want to read.
I chose to listen to the podcast "A Strategic Plan for Creating Strategic Readers." The author spoke about teachers always using the curriculum, instruction, and assessment. It is important for the teacher to always address and include the multiple intelligences. I consistently follow the curriculum for instruction and assessment. However, I need to do a better job of incorporating assignments and assessments for multiple intelligences. This will help me interest all students as well as have them build more critical thinking abilities.
What strategies interested you the most?
Until next time.....happy reading and teaching! :-)
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Reading Is Fun!
Greetings Fellow Readers!
Chapter 6: Helping Readers Build Fluency and Vocabulary discusses my favorite aspects of teaching English Language Arts. Many students across the country struggle with fluency and comprehension. My 8th graders are no exception! However, I absolutely love comprehension and fluency activities. There are so many strategies available that it makes it absolutely fun. I truly believe that fun is the key to taking away the stress and have them learn without realizing it.
This chapter had some great ideas for building vocabulary. I am going to use the vocab-o-gram and knowledge chart. This year my school has a Reading and ELA teacher per grade level. I am the ELA teacher so my entire focus right now is on writing skills in preparation for the 8th grade writing assessment in January. However, my students read an informational article related to each writing topic. I have been searching for quick ways to incorporate the vocabulary piece to increase comprehension and writing abilities. The vocabulary knowledge chart is just what I need to meet this standard.
Fluency is the piece that truly grates on my nerves. I'm just being honest. Hearing students read paragraphs of halting words makes me want to rip out my hair! Thankfully, there are fun ways to increase fluency without putting anyone on the spot. Chapter 6 listed some of the strategies I use: choral reading, reader's theatre, and partner reading. These can be as in-depth as you want to make them. Students become so engrossed that they don't even realize how much they are learning.
My inquiry project is focused on increasing family literacy. Yes, this is a big undertaking. However, by incorporating some of these strategies in family friendly ways can make it possible. By using these strategies I can incorporate them into a literacy quilt, powerpoint, glogster, or prezi. Actually I think a facebook page with pictorial timelines and short explanations will be more engaging for my students.
Happy Reading! :-)
Chapter 6: Helping Readers Build Fluency and Vocabulary discusses my favorite aspects of teaching English Language Arts. Many students across the country struggle with fluency and comprehension. My 8th graders are no exception! However, I absolutely love comprehension and fluency activities. There are so many strategies available that it makes it absolutely fun. I truly believe that fun is the key to taking away the stress and have them learn without realizing it.
This chapter had some great ideas for building vocabulary. I am going to use the vocab-o-gram and knowledge chart. This year my school has a Reading and ELA teacher per grade level. I am the ELA teacher so my entire focus right now is on writing skills in preparation for the 8th grade writing assessment in January. However, my students read an informational article related to each writing topic. I have been searching for quick ways to incorporate the vocabulary piece to increase comprehension and writing abilities. The vocabulary knowledge chart is just what I need to meet this standard.
Fluency is the piece that truly grates on my nerves. I'm just being honest. Hearing students read paragraphs of halting words makes me want to rip out my hair! Thankfully, there are fun ways to increase fluency without putting anyone on the spot. Chapter 6 listed some of the strategies I use: choral reading, reader's theatre, and partner reading. These can be as in-depth as you want to make them. Students become so engrossed that they don't even realize how much they are learning.
My inquiry project is focused on increasing family literacy. Yes, this is a big undertaking. However, by incorporating some of these strategies in family friendly ways can make it possible. By using these strategies I can incorporate them into a literacy quilt, powerpoint, glogster, or prezi. Actually I think a facebook page with pictorial timelines and short explanations will be more engaging for my students.
Happy Reading! :-)
Friday, September 27, 2013
Words Matter
Greetings Fellow Readers!
As literate individuals, we don't often analyze each word that we speak or read. However, these words are very important to our ability to intelligently speak and to easily comprehend written materials. Chapters 4 and 5 focused on lower grades learning to read. Even the resource I chose focused on a kindergarten class. So, I didn't think I would connect with the reading material. But, I did!
As a teacher of students who are several years behind in their comprehension, I feel like I am starting from scratch many days. CCGPS mandates that I instruct learning skills through critical thinking pieces, yet many of my students struggle because of limited comprehension.
Watching a kindergarten class was an eye-opener because I realized that the comprehension skills I am teaching have been given to them all through grades K-7. The teacher went through sentences and a guided reading. We still do this in the 8th grade. The material is harder, but the steps are the same.
I know that so many of my students are frustrated with reading and so often they simply hate reading. So, I always try to the skills appear as simple as I can. It has to be fun for them! I found some great suggestions that I am going to use this upcoming week. Activities like word chant and word reports. This will greatly increase vocabulary which will ultimately increase comprehension.
The book also mentioned writing workshops. I am going to admit that I do not do a "proper" writing workshop. My goal is to find an example so that I can feel comfortable facilitating a workshop.
Happy Reading! :)
As literate individuals, we don't often analyze each word that we speak or read. However, these words are very important to our ability to intelligently speak and to easily comprehend written materials. Chapters 4 and 5 focused on lower grades learning to read. Even the resource I chose focused on a kindergarten class. So, I didn't think I would connect with the reading material. But, I did!
As a teacher of students who are several years behind in their comprehension, I feel like I am starting from scratch many days. CCGPS mandates that I instruct learning skills through critical thinking pieces, yet many of my students struggle because of limited comprehension.
Watching a kindergarten class was an eye-opener because I realized that the comprehension skills I am teaching have been given to them all through grades K-7. The teacher went through sentences and a guided reading. We still do this in the 8th grade. The material is harder, but the steps are the same.
I know that so many of my students are frustrated with reading and so often they simply hate reading. So, I always try to the skills appear as simple as I can. It has to be fun for them! I found some great suggestions that I am going to use this upcoming week. Activities like word chant and word reports. This will greatly increase vocabulary which will ultimately increase comprehension.
The book also mentioned writing workshops. I am going to admit that I do not do a "proper" writing workshop. My goal is to find an example so that I can feel comfortable facilitating a workshop.
Happy Reading! :)
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Reading Overload!
Greetings Fellow Readers!
Who knew there were so many intrinsic pieces to reading! No wonder so many kids and adults struggle and eventually give up on this process. It's hard to believe that the ability for reading proficiency begins before humans reach their first birthday. We all know that research states that babies begin learning their mother language at birth, well actually probably in utero because they can hear the mother's intonations when she speaks. However, I was shocked to learn through Patricia Kuhl's video, The Linguistic Genius of Babies, that their brains take statistics of the mother language up to one year old. Before the age of one humans are able to "learn" any language spoken on a consistent basis to them. And more than one at that! At one year of age they have taken on their mother language and learns to speak it. So, it is imperative that babies are spoken to by parents and adults on a consistent basis. This in turn prepares them for reading because they will have a vocabulary. Any child can learn to read, but the better readers will have a proficient and working vocabulary.
As a teacher, these chapters and video really made me reflect on my students. The ones that have a larger vocabulary really do comprehend quicker. Also, they have the tools to use context clues without having to be prodded. They have a mass of synonyms in their brains to help decipher meanings of unfamiliar words.
But, as I read I was a bit overwhelmed by all the pieces that go into effective reading comprehension. Prefixes/suffixes, vowels, syntax, clauses, sentence structures, and so much more. If I can do all this and am overwhelmed, how must the struggling reader feel? There is so much that goes into reading that children who come in unprepared don't seem to stand a chance at advancement. Because I see this frustration in my students so frequently I take it piece by piece for struggling readers. I incorporate a large amount of reading partners. This allows each student to read and be read to by a classmate, plus time for discussion of the material. They also edit and revise classmates' essays. This allows more reading practice as well as the chance to discuss the content.
We all know that parent and family participation is a crucial key to literacy. In one of the chapters I saw a suggestion to make a DVD of a parent helping a child read. This sparked many ideas for my school's Family Literacy Night in November. This year the department will focus on more tangible, realistic ways to help parents encourage their kids to read. Hopefully, this will have an impact on our student's literacy and overall comprehension.
Did you find any ideas you can take to your classroom or whole school?
Happy Reading!! :-)
Who knew there were so many intrinsic pieces to reading! No wonder so many kids and adults struggle and eventually give up on this process. It's hard to believe that the ability for reading proficiency begins before humans reach their first birthday. We all know that research states that babies begin learning their mother language at birth, well actually probably in utero because they can hear the mother's intonations when she speaks. However, I was shocked to learn through Patricia Kuhl's video, The Linguistic Genius of Babies, that their brains take statistics of the mother language up to one year old. Before the age of one humans are able to "learn" any language spoken on a consistent basis to them. And more than one at that! At one year of age they have taken on their mother language and learns to speak it. So, it is imperative that babies are spoken to by parents and adults on a consistent basis. This in turn prepares them for reading because they will have a vocabulary. Any child can learn to read, but the better readers will have a proficient and working vocabulary.
As a teacher, these chapters and video really made me reflect on my students. The ones that have a larger vocabulary really do comprehend quicker. Also, they have the tools to use context clues without having to be prodded. They have a mass of synonyms in their brains to help decipher meanings of unfamiliar words.
But, as I read I was a bit overwhelmed by all the pieces that go into effective reading comprehension. Prefixes/suffixes, vowels, syntax, clauses, sentence structures, and so much more. If I can do all this and am overwhelmed, how must the struggling reader feel? There is so much that goes into reading that children who come in unprepared don't seem to stand a chance at advancement. Because I see this frustration in my students so frequently I take it piece by piece for struggling readers. I incorporate a large amount of reading partners. This allows each student to read and be read to by a classmate, plus time for discussion of the material. They also edit and revise classmates' essays. This allows more reading practice as well as the chance to discuss the content.
We all know that parent and family participation is a crucial key to literacy. In one of the chapters I saw a suggestion to make a DVD of a parent helping a child read. This sparked many ideas for my school's Family Literacy Night in November. This year the department will focus on more tangible, realistic ways to help parents encourage their kids to read. Hopefully, this will have an impact on our student's literacy and overall comprehension.
Did you find any ideas you can take to your classroom or whole school?
Happy Reading!! :-)
Sunday, September 8, 2013
The Struggle Is Real
Hi fellow readers and welcome to my blog!
As you can tell by my blog name, The Book Whisperer, I feel a deep connection with books. All my life I have LOVED to read. It is my ultimate comfort and indulgence. Without books I feel somewhat lost in life. Yes, I know that it sounds strange in this time of technology. However, there is something safe about books for me. Therefore, it was only a natural flow that I chose to teach English Language Arts which heavily focuses on reading. Yet, imagine my dismay to realize that many of my students could easily go months, even years, without feeling the urge to pick up a book and lose themselves in the pages.
Despite the pleas, gimmicks, and cheap tricks most of my "kids" don't want to read. Sigh....what's a book lover to do? However, I have discovered that many of them do not posses the tools to be effective readers on their grade lever. If you read on a 4th grade level in the 8th grade, you wouldn't want to be "that one" with the small book.
Chapter one from All Children Read addressed the struggling readers of American classrooms. It was like looking into a mirror of my classroom. The number of students reading several grade levels too low. The article I read, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices, correlated nicely with the chapter. The article listed and discussed ways to engage adolescent readers. Thankfully, I discovered that I was doing everything that was stated as important. I need to expand on some areas such as more individualized instruction and interventions for students who are not on an I.E.P. .
This home piece is the section of reading from chapter 1 that resonated and has even stayed with me for the past week. For years we have strived to activate a larger number of consistent parent participation. Yet, we have not heavily focused exclusively on family literacy. This is such a huge task that I was daunted even thinking of ways to implement this endeavor. I initiated a Family Literacy Night at my school a few years that has been very successful. But, it's not enough. How can I engage my parents as well as my students to read at home? If you have any suggestions I strongly welcome them!
HAPPY READING!!! :-)
As you can tell by my blog name, The Book Whisperer, I feel a deep connection with books. All my life I have LOVED to read. It is my ultimate comfort and indulgence. Without books I feel somewhat lost in life. Yes, I know that it sounds strange in this time of technology. However, there is something safe about books for me. Therefore, it was only a natural flow that I chose to teach English Language Arts which heavily focuses on reading. Yet, imagine my dismay to realize that many of my students could easily go months, even years, without feeling the urge to pick up a book and lose themselves in the pages.
Despite the pleas, gimmicks, and cheap tricks most of my "kids" don't want to read. Sigh....what's a book lover to do? However, I have discovered that many of them do not posses the tools to be effective readers on their grade lever. If you read on a 4th grade level in the 8th grade, you wouldn't want to be "that one" with the small book.
Chapter one from All Children Read addressed the struggling readers of American classrooms. It was like looking into a mirror of my classroom. The number of students reading several grade levels too low. The article I read, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices, correlated nicely with the chapter. The article listed and discussed ways to engage adolescent readers. Thankfully, I discovered that I was doing everything that was stated as important. I need to expand on some areas such as more individualized instruction and interventions for students who are not on an I.E.P. .
This home piece is the section of reading from chapter 1 that resonated and has even stayed with me for the past week. For years we have strived to activate a larger number of consistent parent participation. Yet, we have not heavily focused exclusively on family literacy. This is such a huge task that I was daunted even thinking of ways to implement this endeavor. I initiated a Family Literacy Night at my school a few years that has been very successful. But, it's not enough. How can I engage my parents as well as my students to read at home? If you have any suggestions I strongly welcome them!
HAPPY READING!!! :-)
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