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.  

Module 3: Activity 2

*What do you think of this? What do such activities and cracking the code contribute to proficient reading? What else might a reader need to become proficient?

 I disagree with the passage on nonsense words.  I believe the one-on-one tutoring in individual letters and sounds provided in the video is a wonderful resource.  Although the student with learning disabilities was creating words that were nonsense, he was proficiently sounding out and blending words.  (I also love how the teachers provided a slide workmat where he could appropriately place individual letters!) In my opinion, this is wonderful practice.  I believe as an educator it is our responsibility to provide students with as much practice creating and blending words as possible.  I would tell students that the words they are creating and blending are "silly fun words" for the purpose of the activity.  A great example of blending nonsense words would be through the use of a Dr. Suess book. I'd love to launch a lesson using Dr. Suess books and create blending and rhyming activities for students to engage in.  All in all, I believe having students create and blend nonsense words is beneifical to their reading acheivement. 

Module 3: Mock Memo from a Reading Specialist

*Erica, a fifth grader, reads grade level passages at a rate of 177 words correct per minute, or 30% faster than grade level norms.  When asked to retell what she has read, Erica struggles and is able to give little to no information from about the text. Many other children in Erica's class also read well above grade level expectations for fluency rate (or automaticity), but the teacher laments that they struggle with comprehension and using appropriate expression and intonation while they read.

**What is going on here? What advice can you offer the teacher? What a memo to the teacher from the viewpoint of the school's Reading Specialist. Give the teacher an explanation for the phenomenon and offer her advice on dealing with the situation. Please keep the memo to no more than 400 words.


Although Erica is a student who reads on grade level and is a fluent reader, Erica struggles with comprehending the text.  As educators, it is important to note the following points Weaver presents in Reading Process and Practice:

* "Fluent reading doesn't guarantee comprehension"
* "Comprehension doesn't require fluent reading"
* "Thoughtful reading is often-perhaps usually-not fluent"
* "Fluent reading may actually mask a lack of attention to meaning"

If I were the school's Reading Specialist, I would explain to Erica's teacher that Erica may need to be re-evaluated in her reading.  I would explain to the teacher that Erica's proficient level of fluency is not related to her level of comprehension.  Weaver explains, "We need to be sure, however, that when we ask or invite students to reread texts until they can read them fluently, we are not sending them the wrong message about what reading is. Fluency must not replace a focus on meaning as the goal of reading" (215).  The advice I would give to Erica's teacher would to participate in a think-aloud procedure where Erica can think aloud as she is reading a text in order to strengthen her comprehension skills.  I would also remind the teacher to consider Erica's background knowledge. Weaver explains, "...we often do not think about students' probable lack of background knowledge for reading simple storybooks..." (227).  As educators, it is important to help students activate prior knowledge before completing a reading.  I would suggest the teacher activate students' prior  knowledge by completing a KWL chart during the reading.  All in all, I believe Erica's comprehension skills will be strengthened through the use of think-alouds during reading and helping her to activate prior knowledge. 

Prominent Research Theorist (Frank Smith) Paper

Catherine Fink

EDRD 7715

Prominent Theorist Researcher Assignment

28 June 2013

Abstract

After researching Frank Smith, I believe his Socio-psycholinguistic theory is very important for educators to be knowledgeable of when teaching literacy in the primary grades.   My beliefs closely align with those of Frank Smith as he presents them in his text, The Book of Learning and Forgetting. I found Frank Smith’s book very interesting and enlightening and my beliefs closely align with his attitude toward school and learning.  In The Book of Learning and Forgetting, Smith relays how people either believe that learning is something which occurs naturally or unnaturally.  In his text, Smith establishes “two ways of thinking about educational practice-the official view of learning and the classical view” (Speaking Out, Stager).  Some of Smith’s suggestions are somewhat unrealistic and unpractical in the classroom. However, Smith makes a valid argument against the “official” view of learning in the classroom.  I also love Smith’s idea of providing students with more responsibility and encouragement along the way. Frank Smith’s beliefs have helped to open my eyes to a different way of thinking, learning and teaching and I am excited to implement them into my own classroom.

Introduction

Frank Smith is a cognitive psychologist and researcher who studies the way people learn to read and use forms of language.  “His graduate work was done at the Centre for Cognitive Studies at Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. in psycholinguistics in 1967, and he has been involved in psychological and educational research ever since” (Comprehension and Learning, Smith 1).   Smith is a literacy theorist who created the Socio-Psycholinguistic Theory.  Smith believes in the social nature of reading and learning to read.  With the Socio-Psycholinguistic Theory, readers draw upon prior background knowledge they process about a topic to gain comprehension knowledge.  The classical definition of learning as a social activity is a new concept to me but after research on the topic, it makes complete sense.   In regards to the social nature of reading, Smith posits that students can encourage (or discourage) each other to engage in reading.   Smith’s point that the amount of background information that students possess about a topic affects the level of comprehension and retention that will occur as well as the social nature of reading and learning are important for teachers to understand.  Frank Smith’s The Book of Learning and Forgetting “explains the history of learning theories and the events that shaped our current educational structure.  Smith establishes two ways of thinking about educational practice-the official view of learning and the classical view” (Speaking Out, Stager).  The official view of learning can be expressed as a theory that learning occurs best when a person is taught; in other words, the only source of knowledge comes from schooling.  On the other hand, the classical view of learning “suggests that people learn all of the time through meaningful experiences and through immersion in a community of practice” (Gary Stager, SpeakingOut).   Both views help readers to understand Smith’s Psycholinguistic Method of Teaching Reading.

   Review and Critique of Related Literature

            Frank Smith’s psycholinguistic theory discusses the process of reading and learning to read.  In an article titled On the Psycholinguistic Method of Teaching written by Frank Smith, he explains the psycholinguistic approach, “…that the key factors in learning lay in the child and the child’s interaction with an informed and informative adult, rather than in the particular materials used” (Smith & Goodman 65).  In other words, Smith expresses how students learn best through previous experiences with informative adults instead of forcing teaching materials on them.  I believe Smith’s theory is correct, that most students who are able to make meaning from a piece of text are able to draw from previous background knowledge and make connections to the text and therefore produce stronger comprehension skills.  Smith explains the importance of interactive experiences with adults in relation to language skills in children, “Together, linguistics and psychology demonstrated how infants can develop a working understanding of language in the first five years of life without knowing or being told the rules they are employing” (Smith & Goodman 63).  Similarly, as proficient readers and speakers of the English language, we read and write without knowing the specific rules of the language.  Smith helps the reader to explore his psycholinguistic theory in his text, Comprehension and Learning.  In this text, Smith reminds the reader of the social nature of reading and learning to read as a natural process where humans process information. Smith explains, “Human learning is rarely passive or accidental; rather, it is always directed towards the purpose of increasing understanding.  Learning is seldom incidental. Human beings are hardly ever content just to let events happen; not even the youngest infant is content to be an unresisting victim of the world’s whims” (Smith 3).  Here, Smith discusses how the process of learning to read is  indeed a process in which will naturally occur by a human’s need to make meaning and gain understanding.  Smith continues to explain how a child’s nature and attitudes toward reading cannot be forced, “Children are not empty vessels into which teachers pour selected skills and nuggets of knowledge. Rather, it is in the child’s nature to express and develop innate intellectual capacities, integrating all experiences…that includes hopes and fears, loves and hates, beliefs and expectations, and attitudes towards other people and towards himself” (Smith 3).  As an educator, I believe students do have preconceived notions and attitudes on reading and therefore it is important that teachers continue to encourage students in the reading process. 

In the text, Understanding Reading by: Frank Smith, Smith explains how reading is a natural activity that should not be forced on students, “If reading is a natural activity, then literacy education should obviously center on aspects of reading that are most natural to us.  The most natural activity for human beings is to engage in interesting experience, the absence of which leads to boredom and withdrawal” (Smith 55).  As educators it is vital to remember not push students too far when teaching reading and to understand that it is a natural process that will occur over time.  Instead, we should find ways to engage students and encourage them to read by planning lessons and activities which interest them.  Smith explains, “People usually accumulate information without trying, in the course of engaging in interesting experiences. The interest is always in the experience, rather than in the information” (55).    With this statement in mind, I am excited to learn the various backgrounds and learning styles of my future students to plan engaging lessons to create meaningful learning experiences for them. 

Contributions to the Field

Frank Smith has made many wonderful contributions to the field of education and has enlightened many educators on his reading theories.  In Gary Stager’s Article, Speaking Out: Meet Frank Smith, Gifts of wisdom for educators, he explains the many insightful works of Smith.  Stager explains, “For those of you unfamiliar with his work, Smith is a 75-year-old psycholinguist, currently living in Ontario.  His many books, including: Insult to Intelligence; Reading Without Nonsense, and Joining the Literacy Club are popular favorites among literacy educators” (SpeakingOut, Stager).  Frank Smith is considered an author of choice and his “beautifully written The Book of Learning and Forgetting explains the history of learning theories and the events that shaped our current educational structure” (SpeakingOut, Stager).  Smith has truly made an impact in the literacy community through his text Twelve Easy Ways to Make Learning to Read Difficult and One Difficult way to make it Easy.  One educator, Ebelechukwu Okafor, posted on his blog “The Pedagogy Garden” comments on Frank Smith’s Twelve Easy Ways to Make Learning to Read Difficult… Okafor explains, “In this essay, Smith ascertains the famous platitude that ‘a man that knows something knows that he knows nothing at all’…When Smith states that the one difficult rule for making learning to read easy is to "make reading easy" I automatically knew that I was going to have to reassess everything that I was taught in the past about chunking, phonics, word association etc...(Okafor, “The Pedagogy Garden”).  As an educator, I too was inspired when I came across Frank Smith’s Twelve Easy Ways…text.  Smith gives educators one simple guideline to teaching reading: “The only way to make learning to read easy is to make reading easy” (Smith 19).  When I first came across this statement, I was humored.  I thought, how can it be so easy? However, after completion of the reading, Smith’s words made perfect sense.  Smith discusses the pressures teachers and parents place on students to read by enforcing rules to reading which make the process more difficult, when reading alone is a daunting task.  I love how Smith compares reading to riding a bike, “Children learn to read only by reading…The skill of riding a bicycle comes with riding a bicycle. We do not offer children lectures, diagrams, and drills on the component skills of bicycle riding…Forcing them to worn-about laws of motion and centers of gravity would obviously confuse them” (Smith 19).  This statement paints a clear picture of how educators and parents can make the reading process much more difficult than necessary by enforcing rules when teaching students to read.  By continuously making critical comments during a child’s reading, forcing students to re-read words how they are pronounced correctly, and forcing a child to slow down or speed up in their reading process is detrimental to a child’s attitude and perspective toward reading. 

Frank Smith beautifully criticizes the rules of reading and offers simple suggestions to encourage emergent readers.  Smith encourages educators to take a step back and let the child take responsibility of their own learning, “…motivation and direction of learning to read can only come from the child…Learning to read is a problem for the child to solve” (Smith 19).  As educators, Smith’s contributions to the field of education and literacy learning encourage teachers to approach reading by his one difficult rule: “Respond to what the child id trying to do” (19).  Smith emphasizes the responsibility of a learner to motivate himself.   In The Book of Learning and Forgetting, Smith challenges teachers, “Students, like teachers, exhibit more responsibility when more is given to them; they take the tasks they are engaged in more seriously and experience far greater satisfaction” (Smith 95).   Smith’s amazing contributions to the field enlighten educators to take a step back and allow students to grasp hold of their learning. 

Conclusion

Frank Smith’s socio-psycholinguistic theory to the social nature of reading and learning to read advises that we can only learn from activities that are interesting and that we are able to make meaningful connections with.  Looking back on my precious educational experiences, I have to completely agree with Smith; when I was enjoying myself and engaged in the learning process where I was making memories and drawing from previous experiences, I retained information.  In regards to teaching students to read in the primary grades, I was inspired by Smith’s approach in Twelve Easy Ways to Make Learning to Read Difficult…As educators it is important to reflect on our teaching and continuously make an effort to allow students to take responsibility of their own learning so they will make meaningful connections.  This research has helped open my eyes and mind to a different approach to teaching reading and I know my students will benefit from this learning experience.  Frank Smith’s theory will serve as a wonderful reference for me as a student and educator and I am grateful for this opportunity to research such a brilliant theorist. 

References

Goodman, K. & Smith, F. (2008). “On the Psycholinguistic Method of Teaching” Revisited.     Profiles and Perspectives, 61-65. Retrieved from             http://andreawiselanguagearts.edublogs.org/files/2008/09/smith-and-        goodman.pdf

Okafor, E. (2010, October 31). “The Pedagogy Garden”: Twelve Easy Ways to Make Learning            to Read Difficult…By: Frank Smith. Retrieved from            http://thepedagogygarden.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-11-           02T10:21:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=7&by-date=false

Smith, F.  (n.d.). Comprehension and Learning.  Retrieved from             http://arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/franksmith3.pdf

Smith, F. (1998). The Book of Learning and Forgetting. New York: Teachers College Press.

Smith, F. (n.d). Essays into Literacy: Twelve Easy Ways to Make Learning to Read Difficult        and One Difficult Way to make it Easy. Retrieved from          http://arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/essaysintoliteracy.pdf

Smith, F. (2004). Understanding Reading. Retrieved from             http://ehis.ebscohost.com.proxy.kennesaw.edu/eds/detail?vid=2&sid=adb234ee-   c21b-42b5-b349-            482350421070%40sessionmgr111&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc            2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=nlebk&AN=109930

Stager, G. (2003). Meet Frank Smith: Gifts of wisdom for educators. Speaking Out.     Retrieved from http://www.districtadministration.com/article/meet-frank-smith

 

 

 

 

 

Module 3: Reading Reflection

*Do you agree with Marilyn Adams (1990, pg. 108) who argued that rather than relying on content, skillful readers of English thoroughly process the individual letters of words in their texts? Why or why not?

 

I disagree with Adams argument that skilled readers focus intently on individual letters when reading a text.  I believe the reading process is so much more than that.  Weaver explains, “These studies, and indeed all the eye movement and fixation studies I have ever read about, show quite clearly that skilled readers do not focus on every word” (106).  Proficient readers do not focus on each single word much less every letter in a passage.  The eye fixation on words in a passage and the speed and fluency also determine how proficient a reader is and how well they comprehend a text.  Weaver continues to explain, “Furthermore-an observation from everyday life-good readers do not read word-for-word or even line-by-line when they choose to read more rapidly than that, as many good readers do, especially when reading for their own pleasure and their own purposes-even when their purpose is to gain information” (109).  When reading, the purpose is to gain information; therefore, I believe people read and look for key words in a passage to gain understanding. 

Module 2: Activity 1 & 2

3 c. We can often get the meaning of a word from context (even though we may never pronounce the word correctly). Try essentially the same procedure again. Write down a definition for these words:

creech:  a small croissant, usually made with egg and bread

droogs: an medical anitbodic

glazzies: a type of cooking glaze

goloss: a high sheer gloss paint

malenky: a thick syrup

messel: a possum-like animal

millicents:  a million pennies

poogly:  a poodle type of dog

razrez: razor

skorry:  a story

splatted: dots spread out, messy

zoobies: babies recently born at the zoo

**Although I did not know any of the above words, I was able to create definitions and gain meaning by referring to how the word sounds an drawing on prior knowledge.  I used this principle by pronouncing all of the words aloud and then creating a definition that made the most sense.

Clockwork Orange: After reading chapter 1 of the text I was able to determine the meaning of the following words:

1. droogs: His three friends
2. glazzies: rainbow stripes, sparkly
3. spatted: associated with
4. messel: image
5. malenky: friend, teammate
6. poogly: confused, questionable

* I finally determined the meaning of the words in the passage by reading the words in the context of the sentences.  Many times, the words presented before or after in the text help the reader to gain meaning when reading a passage.

Activity 2:

1. Who tried to read the words letter-by-letter? Why not?

As readers when trying to decode a word, it is easier to read a combination of letters to break up a word.  When reading a word in chunks, it is easier to try and comprehend and gain meaning.

2. Who tried to read the words mostly by chunking them into syllables?

This is the approach I took when decoding and making meaning from the list of given words.

3. Who tried to read the words by sampling the letters more or less all at once?

When initially looking over the words, it is hard to gain meaning unless you sound them out in chunks to make meanings

4. What words do you know the meaning of, or think you know the meaning of?

I think I know the meaning of extravasate (extravagant)

5. Did pronouncing the words give you insights into their meanings?
Yes, I believe that by chunking a group of letters together, you are able to make more meaning than my sounding out each individual letter.

6. How do you handle unknown words when you encounter them in normal reading?
When I come across an unknown word when reading is continue to read. I look at the word in the context of the reading by viewing the words that come before and after the unknown word.

7. What do you think are the implications of this experiment and discussion for how we should help students deal with unfamiliar print words? 

As educators it is important to constantly encourage students to read and offer positive feedback.  This was a great way to show students that even teachers struggle with unknown words when reading a text but it is important to persevere and continue reading to gain meaning for a word in the context of a text.