Reading Comprehension

At my main placement as a class we are reading The Cay, in which my master teacher uses think alouds very effectively. She has students use thinkmarks which is similar to the sticky notes or note cards that Routman talks about. As students read they write on their thinkmark if they have a connection to what they just read, a question, prediction, inference or any other thoughts that help students comprehend the story better. The first four chapters my master teacher has been modeling and doing it with students, basically doing the demonstration and shared demonstration of the optimal learning model. I appreciate this technique the most because we have many ELL students as well as behavior disabilities in our class. The combination of demonstration and shared demonstration really helps ALL students comprehend what is happening in the book.

Overall I think Routman would like what my teacher is doing, as once they are done with the first four chapters students then read on their own but can listen to the story on tape while they read. Once the first four chapters are done the teacher uses literacy circles as a way to scaffold to help students and check for comprehension. As this seems to move to the guided practice and independent practice part of the optimal learning model I think Routman would appreciate the transition and level of differentiation that occurs with reading comprehension this way.

Overall Cooper may still have some mixed feelings. My master teacher does use implicit modeling and explicit modeling but I am not sure to what extent Cooper would like the structure that she has developed. Cooper makes a statement that when modeling, most will be implicit. I think my master teacher found a way to make her modeling both explicit and implicit but more on the explicit (think aloud) modeling as she is directly "showing and talking with students about what is being modeled" (Cooper 2007 p. 157). When my teacher transitions to literacy circles would this then be considered part of Cooper's implicit modeling? I think so as students are now more independent but the teacher is not modeling to them unless perhaps they are in their literacy circles for discussions. I think then, the implicit modeling according to Cooper would only be prevalent when students are in their literacy circles. I wonder what Cooper would think about the other students working independently as one could argue that neither implicit or explicit modeling is occurring at that point.

Reading Conferences

Routman writes, "It is our job as knowledgeable professionals to ensure that our students are reading what they are supposed to be reading that means that they are effectively using phonics, word analysis, comprehension strategies, and whatever else they bring to the text to understand it. Otherwise we are squandering precioius time."

The above quote resonates with me as it gives the reasoning behind informal reading conferences. As teachers we are not here to simply get children to read or even teach them to read but help with the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. What I also appreciate about reading conferences is that students could pick their own goal for reading make a picture in your mind to help with comprehension, think about why characters act and behave the way they do and many more. I also like that the idea of reading conferences fits it with an optimal learning model of responsibility slowing switching from the teacher to the student. Reading conferences can help with this transition as the teacher helps students focus on certain skills within reading but giving students the autonomy and some of the responsibility by letting students pic there own goal when reading and working towards that. I also like how in general students just get to share what they are reading and in turn I would think teachers can get to know their students better. Overall I feel that the process would also support more student confidence in themselves as readers as students set goals of their own choice and reach them with perhaps some guided help from the instructor.

Our Learning Lives

In Routman's book Reading Essentials, at the end of chapter two she tells a story of a dear friend who enjoyed life, ending with how her friend reminds her how "important it is to celebrate our learning lives." I want to be constantly celebrating and showing my learning life to my students. Whether we are doing science or art and all the other subjects in between I think it is important for students to see the joy in learning. As a teacher this means, for me, that I will need to know my students, to engage them in things of interest for them and not just do activities of interest for me. In the end students will only be life long learners if they see the joy in learning and are allowed to celebrate it in class and out of class.

Steps to Reading a Video Vignette

By converting my Literacy Vignette to Video, I realized the importance of knowing how you are communicating with your audience and what works best. As humans we can remember a visual image way better than a text but, after about ten minutes of looking at something we can easily loose interest. (For more information check out Brain Rules by Dr. Medina). Photostory3 which is a free software downloaded from Microsoft can be used to help students learn this difference in communication and how our medium can evolve by doing an assignment similar to converting a written story to digital form.

2 out of 5 or 3 out of 5

In the blog, On the Shoulders of Giants had a post titled "Great Expectations and the Disheartened" focusing on a report titled "Teaching for a Living: How Teachers See the Profession Today" in which it was emphasized that 2 out of 5 teachers are disheartened in their profession with other choices being content or idealistic. This to me is not a bad thing. As a pre-service teacher I see this as uplifting and commented so as it means that 3 out of 5 teachers are NOT disheartened, either being content or idealistic about their profession. Moreover I appreciated seeing that even after many years of experience a teacher is still thinking about how she can be a better teacher for herself and her students. This verifies my idea that there is no perfect lesson and as teachers we need to be constantly changing our lesson plans/ideas to fit the needs and development of our students.

In self evaluation as teachers we can add another level to our profession I think, of respectability and accountability not to mention just over all good for our students and ourselves. Furthermore when we self assess AND share (through blogging!!! woohoo!) it can build community between teachers in our profession not limited to only our classrooms, schools, or districts. This kind of community can be very powerful and uplifting for teachers in building a voice in the world of education, as a part of building a professional community.

Death by Powerpoint

Brain Rules for PresentersThis video is great! Not only does it tell us how to use our brains better to communicate (throw away the power point with tons of text!) but it also applies to teaching. If people learn better and remember more through visuals than why in the world as a teacher would I load my power point slides up with text. This is only one application for educators from this slide show embedded from Glen Malone's blog Almost Monday adapted from Dr.John Medina's book Brain Rules.

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Social Context in Literacy

Karen Au writes in Expanded Definitions of Literacy that, “reading and writing are used in ways appropriate to the requirements of a particular social context” (1993, p.24). This made me think of the social context in the classroom and the importance of building a welcoming and accepting environment that is safe for all students. The social context at home may be different at school in terms of which literacy skills are used. This can hinder or help students in their development but also reminds me of the reasoning for differentiation when teaching so that all students no matter how they communicate at home are supported in their strengths of either reading, writing, speaking, or listening, or develop the weaknesses. As the teacher I think it is my responsibility to help each student develop in all areas of literacy.

Furthermore in the section Critical Literacy she writes, “literacy requires not just that teachers accept students’ experiences but that they help students of diverse backgrounds understand their own experiences, as well as the experiences of others in terms of the dynamics of the larger society” (1993, p.33). This really resonates with me in supporting a democratic classroom and helping students to learn about cultures outside of their own and not just that they learn but that there is a level of understanding and acceptance. Social Studies is not the only subject that can help promote the idea of acceptance and understanding for all peoples and cultures. Literacy can do this too. Not only through reading about another culture but exploring our own personal cultural within school, home and the community through writing, I think, would be very beneficial to students.

In conclusion the acknowledgement of social context and what is necessary to communicate is integral to the development of literacy. To ignore this as a teacher would be a grave mistake.