In this article we discussed how our school is
implementing the four blocks reading program this fall. We started guided reading and read to self
through the Daily Five this year.
Writer's Workshop and working with words through Words Their Way will be
added this fall. The article examined what a balanced approach really means. There appears to be different
descriptions of balance , but there are 3 common characteristics: 1. Key components, key kinds of instruction, 2. There is a focus on how to carry out
the program, 3. There is a shared
perspective on what aspects on what aspects of reading is most important. It states that balanced reading is not
a singular approach or practice.
There's not a singular approach or practice and there are many
manifestations of it.
The article discussed balancing inside-out (learning is initiated by the
students) and outside-in teaching and learning (teacher decides what the
students learn). Also, at least
some of the daily instruction should occur in small achievement-level
groups. We do this with our
Fountas & Pinnell guided reading levels. The article also states that
heterogeneous grouping has benefits because poorer readers learn from the
modeling provided by a better reader.
It suggested mixed achievement-level groups during partner reading or
literature circles.
Lastly, we discussed the developmental phases in learning about
reading. Phonological awareness
plays a key role for beginning readers, word recognition strategies is
important through first and second graders, building fluency takes precedence
around third grade. However, this
does not mean that comprehension and response to literature should be
eliminated until fourth grade. A
balanced approach shapes instruction differently for diverse learners. This is what we really like about our
Fountas and Pinnell reading program.
Some of the previous reading programs we had did not allow much room for
differentiation. A balanced
reading approach gives each child
what it needs in their journey to learn to read. I'm really excited teaching the Writer's Workshop component
for K-2 this fall. Reading and
writing go hand in hand and I hope to incorporate the learner's local
knowledge, global knowledge, and love for reading into my class.
Articles On Word Recognition: In Pursuit of an illusion: The Flawed Search for a Perfect Method by Gerald G. Duffy and James V. Hoffman
This article basically stressed that there is no one "perfect method" for teaching reading to all children. Duffy states that "Teachers policy makers, researchers, and teacher educators need to recognize that the answer if not in the method but in the teacher." I think back to when I first started teaching when teaching Whole Language was the trend. Basals were out the door and whole language was going to be the cure-all method of teaching reading. Many said that not enough phonics was being taught so we moved toward teaching only only phonics. Then we moved back toward the basal and not enough differentiation was involved. Looking back, I remember bits and pieces from Whole Language that I really liked as well as the other programs. There were parts I felt were a waste of time and my students already knew. The article said the most effective teachers were adaptive. They integrate new with old in unique ways. What worked should be embraced and expanded. The article said teachers need to be eclectic and modify to the needs of their students. I feel that's what we are doing now with our current reading program. We now are looking at all the components and elements to reading and writing, not just one aspect. We also have ongoing professional development to guide us in our new reading program. Many times we are given a program or an assessment and without the proper on-going training it just fizzles out. "Teaching improves when when we invest in teacher development across the life span of teachers (Darling-Hammond, 1997). I think that's why so many teachers get burnt out over their careers. They get frustrated spinning their wheels in a rut and "chained to a particular method or program for all kids." They are not allowed to be eclectic and don't have access to on-going training.
Articles on Vocabulary: What I've Learned About Effective Reading Instruction by Richard L. Allington
In this article, Allington states that good effective teachers are key to exemplary reading instruction,
not more materials or "proven programs." We talked about the six T's
that he observed in exemplary elementary classrooms.
1. Time- Exemplary teachers routinely had children actually
reading and writing for as much as half of the school day (around a 50/50
ration of reading and writing to stuff.
It was really bothersome to read in his research that in a typical
classroom it is not unusual to find children only reading and writing 10% of
the day! Students did more guided
reading and independent reading, social studies, and science than students in
less effective classrooms. The teachers' instructional planning involved much
more than simply allocating lots of time for reading and writing.
2. Texts-
Exemplary teachers rejected the "one size fits all" approach to
teaching reading. Our group
discussed how our school is doing this through guided reading. Through our grant our school was able
to purchase a rich supply of books leveled for all kids. Allington stated that it was the lowest
achievers who benefited the most.
They could spend their days reaching books on their level
successfully. Shannon brought out
the point that now when she sends her students to read-to-self, she knows they
have a book box on their level and they are actually reading. In the past they would just
"pretend" to read.
3. Teaching- Exemplary teachers uses active teaching instead
of the assign-and-assess. We agreed with Allington talks about the
missing-vowel worksheet assessment.
It really is an assessment of who already knows the vowel patterns, not
an instructional activity that will teach a vowel pattern. They need someone who can actually
model and demonstrate strategies.
4. Talk-Exemplary teachers foster much more student talk. The talk is purposeful, problem-posing,
problem -solving talk.They pose more "open"questions. We how this went along with the book
Choice Words we read last semester.
He states that "thoughtful" classroom talk leads to improve
reading comprehension, especially in high-poverty schools. This really hits home because we are
70% free/reduced at our school. We
talked about how this is a challenge that we must put on the forefront.
5. Tasks-
Longer assignments and less emphasis on filling the day with multiple, shorter
tasks. Students seemed more often
engaged and less often off-task.
6.
Testing-Exemplary teachers awarded grades based more on effort and
improvement than simply achievement.
With this grading, teachers must truly know each of their students well
in order to assign grades. They
have to be able to recognize growth and to track the student effort involved.
We agree with Allington in that the effort-and-improvement grading scheme does
require careful explanation to parents.
We went through this with our standards based report card. Many parents still wanted to see a
"grade." What really is a 90 in reading for a first grader anyway?
In
Allington's conclusion, he again stresses to enhance reading proficiency rests
largely on the teacher to provide expert, exemplary reading instruction.
Fountas, I. C., Pinnell, G.S. (2012). The continuum of literacy learning grades prek – 8, 2nd ed. Portsmouth: Heinemann
Leipzig, D. H. (2000). The knowledge base for word study: What teachers need to know.Scientific Studies of Reading, 11(2), 105-131. Retrieved on February 24, 2013, fromhttp://www.readingrockets.org/article/80/
McGill-Franzen, A. (2006). Kindergarten Literacy: Matching Assessment & Instruction. NY: Scholastic.
McKenna, M.C. (2009) How to plan differentiated reading instruction: Resources for Grades K-3, Guilford Press
Articles on Vocabulary:
Behind Test Scores: What Struggling Readers Really Need by Shelia W. Valencia and Marsha Riddle Buly
This article discussed how the in-depth study on 108 randomly
selected students who scored below standard on the state test supported the
notion that one-size instruction will not fit all children. The six prototypical children that were
examined had different needs and the article stresses that teachers shouldn't
overgeneralize their needs. They
also recommend that we go beneath the scores on state tests by conducting
additional diagnostic assessments that will help identify students' needs. Lara, Shannon, and I agree that time to
do these assessments can be limited.
The article suggests a kind of layered approach to assessment in which
teachers first work diagnostically with students who have demonstrated
difficulty on broad measures of reading.
Then work with other students as the need arises. We were all happy to see that they used
the Woodcock-Johnson Revised (WJ-R) because Dr. Allington trained us on this
assessment a few months ago so we were familiar with it.
Articles On Comprehension:
Proof, Practice, and Promise: Comprehension Strategy Instruction in the Primary Grades
by Katherine A.Stahl
Comprehension Instruction in Content Area Classes by Paul Neufeld
What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Comprehension by Laura S. Pardo
The 3 articles we read this week dealt with comprehension on
how to teach comprehension, recommendations for k-2 teachers, and what every
teacher needs to know about comprehension. The main thing we noticed in every article was that limited
background knowledge or weaknesses in word-level processes are major problems
to comprehension. If students are
spending all their time trying to decode words, they will have less mental
energy left to think about the meaning. Automatic decoding must be present. We
discussed how many of our kids at our school come not having a lot of
background knowledge needed for comprehension of some texts. Pardo stated that some research
indicates that the single most effective way to increase comprehension is
through Read Alouds. We were
pleased to read this because we will be implementing Read Alouds this
fall. He also recommended that one
way to add world knowledge is to use informational books. We discussed
Neufeld’s article stating that teaching comprehension should not be viewed as
falling in the domain of language arts alone, but should be in other subjects. He brought out that there is strong
evidence that students can be taught reading comprehension strategies but
unfortunately this instruction doesn’t occur in many classrooms. He said the best support teachers could
give students to become competent comprehenders is: teach decoding skills,
teach vocabulary words, motivate students, and engage them in personal
responses to text.
My group discussed how teaching vocabulary words is such an important
component in comprehension. We read somewhere how first-grade children from
higher-SES groups knew twice as many words from lower SES children. Seventy
percent of our children are on free/reduced lunches. This is one reason why we are implementing a vocabulary
program as well at our school Research also says that even if a child comes to
school and learns to decode words and progress in reading, if the vocabulary is
not there, it will come back to haunt them in 4th or 5th grade. The texts are harder and they might can
read the passage, but if they can’t comprehend it. Students must actively
engage with the words-use them in written and spoken language in order for the
words to become a part of the students’ reading and writing vocabularies. We
liked the idea of having students create graphic organizers that show
relationships among new words and common words.
We really liked the table of prompts in Neufeld’s article. These are suggestive prompts for
“Getting Ready to Read” and “
While I’m Reading and When I’m Done.”
I plan on enlarging the tables and keeping them handy as I work with
students. Neufeld stressed that question asking and answering can be viewed as
the strategy that drives all the other strategies. We talked about this in great detail in Dr. Anne
McGill-Franzen’s class last term.
After reading Choice Words, the type of text talk, questioning, and what
you say modeling and thinking out loud are so important in teaching kids to
become strategic readers.
In Stahl’s article we thought it was interesting she said Beck and
McKeown’s interactive read-alouds actually limits discussion of background
knowledge and extensive discussions of the students’ prior knowledge often led
students far from the text. I will
have to disagree with Stahl. I am a Beck and McKeown fan and have used their
vocabulary series in my classroom. If students get off on a tangent, I would simply redirect
their attention.
We did
like the literature webbing idea in Stahl’s article. It was interesting that Stahl suggested video was
advantageous for at-risk students.
She claimed that they could re-tell twice as many statements as to the
children who only heard the story and viewed the illustrations. I guess I feel that students watch too
much TV. Maybe it is a powerful
tool, but the challenge as she states is finding quality videos.
for early readers. The Reading Teacher, 63(6), 515-520.
Myers, P.A. (2006). The Princess Storyteller, Clara Clarifier, Quincy Questioner, and the
Wizard: Reciprocal teaching adapted for kindergarten students.The Reading Teacher,
59(4), 314-324.
Pearson, P.D. (2009). The roots of reading comprehension instruction. In S.E. Israel & G.G. Duffy
(Eds.), Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension (pp. 3-31). New York, NY: Routledge.
Pressley, M. (2000). What should comprehension instruction be the instruction of? In M.L. Kamil,
P.D. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (eds.), Handbook of Reading Research, Volume III
(pp. 545-561). New York, NY: Routledge.
Shamir, A. (2009). Process and outcomes of joint activity with e-books for promoting
kindergarteners’ emergent literacy. Educational Media International, 46(1), 81-96.
Stahl, K.A.D. (2004). Proof, practice, and promise: Comprehension strategy instruction in
the primary grades. The Reading Teacher, 57(7), 598-609.
Wiseman, A. (2011). Interactive read-alouds: Teachers and students constructing knowledge
and literacy together. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38, 431-435.
What Can I Say Besides "Sound It out"? Coaching Word Recognition in Beginning Reading
by Kathleen F. Clark
Creating Fluent Readers
by Timothy Rasinski
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