Final Personal Model of the Theory of Reading

Catherine Fink

EDRD 7515: Theory & Practice in the Study of Literature

Final Personal Model of the Theory of Reading

17 July 2013

            After completion of this course, in addition to the readings and comprehensive literacy approach assignments, my views of teaching reading have truly changed for the better.  Before completion of this course, I knew that it was important to engaged students in literacy lessons and encourage them to want to read, I was just unsure of the best methods to use in the classroom.  After this course, I feel confident that I will be giving my students the best literacy education possible through implementation of multiple reading elements. 

            The comprehensive literacy approach assignment was a true eye opener as an educator.  I was truly unaware of the importance of the multiple approaches to teaching literacy.  In my classroom, I plan on implementing a comprehensive approach to teaching literacy through implementation of the following: reading workshop, writing, workshop, phonics, comprehension, inquiry, social action projects, and literacy for all learners.  After completion of the Wimba presentations, I was able to better understand the importance of these topics and more importantly how to implement them in my own classroom.  Through this assignment, I learned many methods and strategies to teaching reading and gained a variety of resources which will be very beneficial to my future students. 

            As a kindergarten teacher, this class has been extremely beneficial to the success of my teaching and education of my future students.  I was fortunate enough to explore the topic of phonics in the classroom and the importance of a comprehensive phonics approach.  Phonics instruction fits in a comprehensive program in multiple ways including: whole-class instruction, guided reading instruction, individual instruction and in some cases, extra tutoring help. Weaver explains, “…a comprehensive classroom literacy program is absolutely crucial as the major form of organization and instruction” (Weaver 277).  After completion of this course, I realized the importance of incorporating phonics into a comprehensive program and not teaching phonics concepts alone.  Through the use of incorporating phonics into a comprehensive program, students learn literacy concepts including reading and writing workshop, vocabulary, and comprehension skills much more effectively than teaching phonics alone. 

            As an educator, I have been able to experience multiple ways to teaching literacy and I was truly enlightened after our Wimba group presentation on literacy for all learners.  Through this approach, all students’ literacy needs are being met. I was introduced to a wonderful reading approach called CAFÉ or The Daily Five.  Through this program, students are working with multiple elements of literacy in addition to working at their instructional level.  I believe these programs are wonderful examples of a true comprehensive literacy approach.  In this approach, concepts such as reading, writing, phonics, inquiry, and comprehension needs are being met. I have seen the Daily Five rotation in a classroom and it is truly eye-opening.  Students have the power of choice and have the ability to choose which literacy station they want to start in. This 90 minute rotation allows students to truly engage in all concepts of literacy and allows students to take responsibility of their own learning.             

            This class has been extremely beneficial to me as a kindergarten educator.  Teaching reading is vital to students learning and academic success and it is very important for my kindergarten students to learn literacy strategies which will help them in their future academics.  Through this class, I have not only learned the many ways of teaching reading, but how to incorporate the multiple ways into a comprehensive literacy approach where all students needs are being met  in the classroom.  I am very excited to implement the strategies I have learned this semester into my classroom in the fall! All in all, I am very grateful for this course and I look forward to the many ways in which my future students will be successful. 

References

Weaver, C. (2002). Reading Process & Practice. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.

Module 6: Instructional Challenge

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? 

*In the beginning of the year, I would assess each students reading level and place them in flexible learning groups.  Within these groups, I would provide differentiated literacy instruction when they are working with me in a small group.  I love the idea of the Daily Five or CAFE program which are great to teaching literacy for all learners.  After completion of this course, I realized the importance of implementing a comprehensive literacy approach to teaching reading and writing.  Within this approach, students are exposed to reading and writing elements through work in reading and writing workshops, computer/eBooks/iPad stations, reading to self or to a friend, writing station, word work and lastly work with the teacher in small group.  Through this 90 minute literacy block, all learners are able to engage in literacy elements and work at their instructional and independent level.  

Outside of class, I would make an effort to learn about student's backgrounds and families. I would look at their student profiles and test scores to determine the areas of weaknesses.  Throughout the year, I wold continuously assess students reading levels and make sure they are in their appropriate instructional learning group.  

Module 6: Reading Reflection

Reading Reflection Prompt:

Does any of the information presented in Chapter 15 influence your personal philosophy of reading? In what ways? How has your perspective this changed since you took the DeFord TORP a few weeks ago?

After completion of the chapter 15 reading, my reading philosophy has changed for the better.  Throughout the duration of this course, I have learned the importance of a balanced literacy approach through the use of a comprehensive literacy approach. Chapter 15 emphasizes the importance of a universal literacy approach to meet the needs of all learners. Weaver explains the importance of a comprehensive literacy approach, "There is a large body of comparative research that has found that children with comprehensive literacy instruction such as shared reading, shared writing, phonics taught in context, and lots and lots of experiences of being read to and opportunities to read self-selected books and write self-selected topics learn to make sense of print better than children with traditional, parts-to-whole reading instruction" (Weaver 369).  As a kindergarten teacher, it is extremely important to expose students to this type of comprehensive literacy approach where they are continuously engaged in concepts of literacy to enhance their literacy achievement. All in all, I am eager to implement the comprehensive literacy approach in my classroom in the fall.    

Respond to the Reading Reflection Blog Postings of two other members of the class. Discuss any connections between your response and theirs. For information about evaluation, remember to see the Participation Rubric.

Module 5: Instructional Challenge

Instructional Challenge:As your school year starts, you realize that you have three ELLs who are newcomers to the United States. Discuss how a comprehensive literacy program addresses their needs, drawing attention to specific components of the framework that are particularly relevant. Then discuss any additional scaffolding you would offer to support these children's needs.

**If I were to have three ELL students in my classroom, I would enforce the comprehensive literacy program approach to teaching literacy.  Through this approach, students are able to engage in a variety of activities and lessons which will increase their language skills.  Through the comprehensive literacy program, these students will engage in activities such as : Whole-class instruction, guided reading instruction, individual instruction and with ELL's in  most cases tutoring will be very beneficial to their development of language.  Weaver explains, "Providing a variety of learning opportunities, in whole-class, small-group, and individual sessions, is probably the most important thing we do can to ensure good reading instruction that will be effective, in time, for almost all students" (Weaver 277).  Scaffolding and collaboration are important activities to plan for ELL students also.  Through the use of providing students with scaffold activities, "the teacher, another adult, or classmates provide temporary support for the learners" (280).  In a classroom it is important to create a community of learners who work collaboratively together.  Through the use of providing multiple opportunities of learning through whole group, small group, and individual instruction, in addition to creating scaffolding lessons, I believe those ELL students will be successful in my classroom.

Module 5: Reading Reflection

Where does phonics instruction fit within a comprehensive literacy program?

As an educator, it is important to provide multiple opportunities to teach reading in a comprehensive literacy program. Through whole-class instruction, guided reading instruction, individual instruction, and in some cases through tutoring, phonics instruction is important to include when teaching reading. Weaver explains, “…a comprehensive classroom literacy program is absolutely crucial as the major form of organization and instruction” (Weaver 277).  Because learning to read and phonemic awareness facilitate each other, it is important to include both in a balanced reading instructional approach as part of a comprehensive literacy program.  

When and how would you teach phonics?

There are multiple opportunities and settings to teach phonics throughout the day as part of your reading program.  Weaver models how phonics instruction can be part of a shared book experience. When students are exposed to phonics in this setting, they can easily break down letter-sound relationships, recognize letters and letter clusters, and use letter-sound knowledge along with prior knowledge to understand how to read (283).  It is important to expose students to phonics in a variety of ways.  Weaver explains, “Meanwhile, suffice it to say that strategies and skills are often taught through mini-lessons, during various aspects of reading workshop, and within whole-class, small-group, and individual settings” (286).  As an educator, it is important to provide multiple opportunities throughout the day for students to engage in phonics instruction as part of a comprehensive literacy approach.

Module 4: Activity 2

Activity 2:

Take a look at the NRP Report Summary:
http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/Publications/summary.htm
and Allington's response:
http://www.hcd.hr/conference/key_allington_eng.pdf
Which NRP topic area(s) or missing pillar(s)that Allington describes do you find to be most vital for children's literacy success? Why?
Post your response on your blog. Name the posting "Module 4: Activity 2."

After reviewing Allington's response, I believe in order for children to be successfully literate, it is important they are placed in an organized literacy classroom.  A classroom which provides time for guided reading small group instruction, in addition to side-by-side individualized instruction will be most beneficial to an emergent reader. Students who are beginning to read should be exposed to at least 90 minutes of reading daily.  In my opinion, teachers who provide time for students to engage in the following: guided reading, writing center, word work, reading to a friend, independent reading, and a listening center will provide a literacy framework for students to be successfully literate. All in all, I believe a teacher who provides whole group teaching in addition to guided reading and one-on-one instruction provide the most effective instruction.

Module 4: Activity 1

Activity 1:

Even though this video has strong religious overtones, (please let me know if it offends you, and I will provide an alternate assignment), it is useful for determining strategies that beginning readers use when becoming literate, even at age 50. Watch the video and reflect on what strategy or strategies Robin used most to help him learn to read.

**I absolutely loved watching Robin's journey to learn how to read! As an educator, this was truly inspiring to me.  Robin used many wonderful strategies when learning to read.  As I was watching the video, I noticed Robin's most common strategy when learning how to read was "chunking" or grouping letters together to make sense of a word.  Robin also used context clues when reading to make sense of a word.  I loved when he first created an email account and it said "Congratulations!".  Robin first noticed the word "rat" and then "grat" and combined "con" and "grat" to gain understanding of the word "congratulations".  As a teacher, patience is a huge factor when teaching students to read. I believe wonderful educators strive for all students to love to read.  A teacher who inspired me to read provided fun, engaging activities and constantly worked in small groups to get more individualized instruction time with her students.  All in all, as an educator this movie was very inspirational and I am grateful for the opportunity to view it and teach reading to my students each day.

Module 4: Instructional Challenge

Marcus is a student who very frequently miscues by substituting words that start with the same letter or first few letters of the word in the text, but his substitutions often are not syntactically or semantically acceptable (they neither sound right grammatically nor make sense). What possible teaching strategies would you suggest to help Marcus?

Post your response to your blog and name the posting "Module 4: Instructional Challenge." Respond the the Instructional Challenge Blog Postings of two other members of the class. Discuss areas of overlap and disagreement with their ideas. For information about evaluation, remember to see the Participation Rubric.

**Marcus is considered an emergent reader and a teacher should address his needs with a 1st grade reading level in mind.  If Marcus were in my classroom, I would group him with other students who are struggling in this area as well.  I would work with those students in a small guided reading group to closely address their needs and practice working with words using the same letters.  For example, I would choose a letter or chunk of letters to provide activities for these students to engage in. 

I also believe students who are struggling with miscues in a text should work closely in a small group in addition to working in a listening center.  Students who can listen to books on tape while following along with a text work on one-to-one correspondence and following along with the reading in addition to using their picture clues to decode the text.  Weaver explains the importance of using books on tape with emergent readers, "It appears that with repeated readings of familiar texts, readers not only add more words they can recognize on sight but internalize letter-sound "chunks" that they then can use in dealing with print words they haven't specifically learned to identify on sight" (Weaver 239).  All in all, through a combination of close guided reading work with individualized attention, in addition to implementing a listening center and writing rotation Marcus' literacy needs will be met.

Module 4: Reading Reflection

 Looking across Chapters 10 and 11, which of the understandings and strategies in the comprehensive literacy program are you already addressing/doing with your students (or have you done, or do you plan to do)?

In my Kindergarten classroom, I am currently engaging my students in a comprehensive literacy program.  Each day, my students complete 90 minutes of language arts.  In the morning, students complete a Daily Literacy rotation in which students have guided reading small group time with me, complete a writing center, read independently, read to a friend, attend a listening center, and complete word work.  ­Weaver explains the importance of a comprehensive literacy program for students who need additional support, “…students who need support and help with reading will flourish best in a classroom that offers them such a rich array of literacy experiences and learning opportunities …” (Weaver 232).  I agree with Weavers statement; it is extremely important for students who struggle with language arts concepts to be exposed to reading and writing in a variety of ways throughout the day. Weaver continues to explain the importance of literacy for readers in need, “Developmentally, whole-word reading comes before dealing with letter-sound relationships, as children learn to read signs, labels, and other words in their environment” (Weaver 235).  In my classroom, I also conduct whole group read-alouds were students are actively engaged in answering comprehension questions and responding to a text while I read to students.  All in all, I believe it is extremely important for students to be engaged in multiple areas of literacy to prepare for subject content standards presented in the upper grades.