Observations Continue!!

I have observed several times at Hurlock Elementary School in a 5th grade classroom.  I have loved every minute!!!  My mentor teacher is awesome, the kids are awesome and I love seeing how public school approaches teaching.  I have spent lots of one on one time with a particular who is struggling with decoding words and inferencing.  She has enjoyed meeting with me and getting some individualized attention.  We have done several activities together and I hope she is benefiting from it.  I do find it amazing that the class has spent so much time on math and science just to prepare for the Science MSA.  For 4 weeks now, they have not had any reading lessons.  I finally was able to see Reading lesson today!  I only have one class left and it's bittersweet!

SEA Data Table

Reading is made up of many different components and skills.  Reading is the combination of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension all rolled together into one.  If you think about it, reading is very complex.  There are many people who struggle with one or more aspects of reading.  As a teacher, it can be frustrating not knowing why a student is struggling and then not knowing how to help them become a better reader. 

            There are many tools out there for teachers to use that can assist in diagnosing a student who may need further help with reading.  There are several formal and informal assessments that can be used to steer teachers in the right direction when it comes to helping their students.

SIT (Slossan Intelligence Test)

            The first test that I researched was called the SIT or the Slossan Intelligence Test.  This test is used to test verbal and cognitive ability in children or adults.  There are several great aspects of this test.  The one I found most fascinating is that it is available to all types of learners… even those with disabilities.  It is also a test that can be given in under 20 minutes so that the teacher and student are not bogged down with a test that takes hours to administer.  The major weakness I found that there is a lack of reliability and validity with the research that has been done on this test.  Basically they are saying that it is outdated.  In spite of that, it is still a widely used test that can be used to test verbal and cognitive ability.

SORT (Slossan Oral Reading Test)

            The second test I researched was called the SORT or the Slossan Oral Reading Test.  This test is used to evaluate word recognition, word calling, and reading level.  This assessment is given in only 3-5 minutes by a student reading lists of 20 words at time.  The student reads until he or she become frustrated and cannot read anymore of the given words.  This test can be given to any person of any age.  Teachers are able to use this assessment to place students into reading levels.  The biggest downfall to this test is that there is no evaluation of other reading skills like comprehension or vocabulary.  This test may need to be combined with another test to be able to assess a student’s overall reading ability. 

BRI (Basic Reading Inventory)

            The next test I researched was the BRI or the Basic Reading Inventory.  This is a more time consuming test than the previous tests but it also covers more aspects of reading.  This assessment can evaluate phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension all at the same time, within the same test.  It begins with a student reading from a list of given words at a certain grade level.  After so many mistakes, the child will become frustrated and then the teacher will know what grade level he or she is on when it comes to word recognition.  The next step is to read a short story and answer comprehension and vocabulary questions about it.  The teacher can also assess their fluency by seeing how many words per minute the child can read.  As you can see, this test can take up to an hour to administer and that might be too long for some children.  I also found from my Practicum student that I am tutoring that the reading level from the BRI is much higher than what it is in the classroom.  I’m not sure if that is a curriculum issue or a BRI issue.  One of the greatest strengths I found with the BRI is that teachers can track progress with their students.  Most of the other tests do not have this option.  The BRI has several different word lists and several different stories for comprehension.  From all the other assessments I researched, I believe that the BRI is probably the most through test and the one that covers the most material.  

WADT (Wepman’s Auditory Discrimination Test)

            The WADT or the Wepman’s Auditory Discrimination Test is an assessment that measures how well a person understands speech and the spoken word.  This test is appropriate for any age group but is most effective when it is administered to younger children.  This test can be used to determine if students will have a hard time with letter sounds or phonics.  It can also discover if a student has communication or speech problems.  The test can be given fairly quickly and it is inexpensive to purchase.  Teachers can use the results from this test to determine if a child might have a learning disability, might struggle with reading, or might have a hearing impairment.

Slingerland (Visual Discrimination Test)

            The final test that I researched was called the Slingerland Visual Discrimination Test.  This assessment tests specifically for dyslexia and language disabilities which are actually visual processing disorders.  In other words, this test targets students who are believed to have symptoms of dyslexia.  In addition to basically diagnosing dyslexia, it can also identify a student’s strengths and weakness in their language development or visual discrimination.  This test is available for everyone; however there are more specific tests to specific ages.  For example, administers would not give a 1^st grader the same test as a high school student when trying to diagnose dyslexia so there are several tests to choose from.  The biggest downfall for the Slingerland test is that it is expensive and teachers have to pay to take a course on how to administer the test.  This test would not be given to every student but only to those who are suspected of having a learning disability.

            After conducting all the previous research, I have come to one conclusion.  I now realize that there is not just one test that can be used to assess a student’s reading ability.  Just like reading itself is complex, so is the assessment of reading.  The SIT can assess a student’s verbal and cognitive abilities.  The SORT can evaluate a student’s word recognition and reading level.  The BRI can assess fluency and comprehension and the WADT can determine how well a child can understand spoken words.  Finally, the Slingerland test can identify specific learning disabilities like dyslexia.

Teachers need to be willing to use all the necessary means to help a child learn to read.  These tests all have strengths and weaknesses but they can assess best when combined with one another.  Using a combination of these assessments and classroom tools, teachers can meet the needs of all learners.

	Purpose	Strengths	Weaknesses	Appropriateness
SIT (Slosson Intelligence Test)	*measures intelligence *measures verbal and cognitive ability	*suitable for any type of learner *can help screen for a learning disability *test can be administered in 10-20 minutes	*can be used for screening but not diagnosis disability *research shows there is not much validity or reliability *outdated	*for infants-adult *appropriate for those with special needs
SORT (Slosson Oral Reading Test)	*measures the level of oral word recognition, word calling and reading level	*quick screening to determine a student’s reading level *test only takes about 5 minutes *can determine if further diagnosis is needed	*doesn’t assess all aspects of reading like comprehension	*for ages preschool-adult *appropriate for all students to be placed in a reading level
BRI (Basic Reading Inventory)	*measures a student’s ability in word recognition, fluency and comprehension	*affordable *can help teachers see where a student is struggling *assesses reading level *can track progress *tests all aspects of reading	*may not meet the same reading level as all curriculums *can be time consuming	*for all ages and ability levels
WADT (Wepman’s Auditory Discrimination Test)	*measures how well a person understands speech and the spoken word	*fast and inexpensive *can assess for communication problems, phonics problems and speech issues	*cannot track progress	*for ages preschool-adult *most effective the earlier a problem is detected
Slingerland (Visual Discrimination Test)	*tests specifically for dyslexia and language disability which is a visual processing disorder	*can a diagnose dyslexia *identifies strengths and weaknesses in language learners	*only targets a specific disability *expensive *educators must take a course in order to administer the test	*for all ages *there are different tests for different age/ability groups

References

Alic, M. (2014). Auditory Discrimination Test. Retrieved on March 15, 2014 from

www.childrenshealth.lovetoknow.com/medical-test-diagnostics/auditory-discrimination-test

Johns, J. (2012). Basic Reading Inventory (11^th ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing

            Company.

McKechnie, J., & Bradley, E. (2001). Test Review: Slosson Intelligence Test Revised (SIT-R).

            Retrieved on March 15, 2014 from http://aac.net.edu/newsnotes/y01win.html

Slingerland Institute for Literacy. (2014). Retrieved on March 15, 2014 from

            www.slingerland.org/educators/dyslexia.html

Slosson Oral Reading Test. (2013). Retrieved on March 15, 2014 from

            www.cps.nova.edu/cpphelp/SORT/html

Critique of Instructional Materials

Instructional materials are essential to an effective reading program.  The given curriculum is not always enough to reach all readers.  The teacher may need to use other materials in order to meet the needs of every student.  There are several, inexpensive ways teachers can use reading instructional materials in the classroom. 

Internet Games

            There is a plethora of internet sources that teachers have right at their fingertips.  These online games can be a fun, interactive way for students to practice reading skills.  Sometimes the students don’t even realize that they are practicing their reading skills because they are enjoying the activities.  The greatest strength for this material is that children seem to respond best to technology, so it’s great whenever you can use it in the classroom.  The only weakness is that not all schools have computers in the classroom or they may not have internet access.  In spite of that, online games can be used by all age groups and skill levels.

            The student I am tutoring, Kayla, seems to struggle with her inferencing skills.  Basically she is struggling with using her prior knowledge to understand what is happening in a story.  I found one website that will help her with this skill.  This website is free to use however, you can purchase upgrades for a minimal amount of money.  The website is full of inference riddles.  All Kayla has to do is go to the website www.philtulga.com/riddles.html and play the riddle game.  The game begins with one clue about a person, place, or thing. Each round Kayla receives another clue until she is able to guess who or what is being talked about.  The goal is to figure it out with only the first couple of clues.  Kayla had fun and enjoyed practicing her inferencing skills.

Targeted Skill Reading Worksheets

            Sometimes the word “worksheet” gets a bad rap.  However, there are some worksheets that can target specific skills.  Teachers can look on the internet for worksheets to help students with a certain skill they may need help with.  The cost of these worksheets is nothing except buying paper and ink for a printer.  Teachers can also purchase books at a teacher supply store that may have a collection of worksheets that target a certain skill.  There are worksheets available for all instructional levels and can be used in any subject of learning.  The benefit of giving worksheets is that the teacher is able to individualize for each student and it is a cost effective way to meet lots of needs at one time.  One major downfall of using worksheets is that some teachers become dependent on worksheets to do all the teaching.  Worksheets should only be used as a review or as a way to focus on a targeted skill. 

            The student I am tutoring, Kayla, and I are working on inferencing skills.  I found several targeted skills worksheets to help with inferencing skills.  There are lots of websites out there focuses on this topic but I found one in particular that I thought was very helpful.  The website I found was www.k12reader.com/subject/inference.   The particular worksheet I found was working on using our visual inferencing.  Kayla had to look at a picture of a snow and ice covered tree and answer questions about the picture.  The questions asked about what season was depicted in the picture, what animals might live in the picture and what time of day the picture was taken.  She didn’t have the stress of having to read a story but was able to concentrate on the simple picture to answer questions.  This helped her to see that we use inferencing skills all the time and not even realize it.  We talked about how these are the types of questions we should ask ourselves while we are reading.  I felt like this targeted skill worksheet was an effective way to practice how to inference.  

Graphic Organizers

            Graphic organizers are used every day in classrooms across the country.  They can be used to introduce a lesson, during a lesson, and to evaluate after a lesson. Graphic organizers are used as a visual representative of a certain aspect of a story.  They can also be used to reinforce vocabulary terms.  Teachers can get graphic organizers off the internet for free or there are books full of organizers for a small cost that teachers can copy for the class.  These can be found for a variety of ages and instructional levels. 

I think the strengths outweigh the weakness when using graphic organizers.  The only weakness I can think of is the fact that most organizers require writing skills.  This could be a problem for very young students or students with certain learning disabilities.  The greatest strength is the fact that the graphic organizer helps students to “see” what they are learning so it is really beneficial to visual learners.  They also teach organization skills to students which is something they will need throughout life.  Teachers should take advantage of graphic organizers during reading instruction.

Word Wall

            A word wall is a great asset to have in any classroom.  They can be used in a K4 room and can also be used in a high school classroom.  The purpose of a word wall is to allow vocabulary words to be visible in the classroom at all times.  This is virtually a free instructional resource.  The only cost might be the purchase of either index cards or sentence strips to write the words on.  Most teachers designate a certain wall or area of the classroom to display the words.  Because this is such an effective method, the only weakness I can think of is that there may not be enough space for a word wall in a small classroom.  There are many benefits to having a word wall in the classroom.  They are the fact that the students will always have new words in front of them; the students will have a reference when they are doing writing activities; and students will be able to practice writing the words daily. 

KWL Chart

            A KWL chart is a reading instructional tool that teachers can use during whole group or small group instruction and can be used for any age group.  The cost of a chart is minimal.  I made my own chart with cardstock and laminated it.  You can also purchase KWL charts from a teacher supply store.  The only other cost would be supplying post-it notes but they are fairly inexpensive. 

The KWL chart is used as a pre-assessment and as a post-assessment activity.  The chart can be displayed in the classroom for everyone to see.  The K stands for “what I KNOW,” the W stands for “what I WANT to know,” and the L stands for “what I LEARNED.”  When a new topic or reading story is being introduced, the teacher can give each student a few post-it notes.  The student is supposed to write something that they know about the topic on the note.  They can then share their idea with the class and post it on the chart.  This is done for each section of the KWL chart.  This could take a day, several days or even weeks.  The greatest strength of a KWL chart is that it is an interactive, easy way to assess the whole class without giving a test.  One weakness of the KWL chart is that some students may be nervous to write and then share what they wrote on the post-it note.  However, an effective teacher can help those students to overcome their fear and feel confident when sharing their ideas with the class.

I actually use the KWL chart in my own 2^nd grade classroom all the time.  In my reading class, we were going to start a story about the Underground Railroad.  I wasn't sure if this was something my students knew about.  So instead of telling them some background information, I pulled out my KWL chart to assess their prior knowledge.  It turns out my hunch was right… they knew nothing about the Underground Railroad.  We then concentrated on the things they wanted to learn about the Underground Railroad, or the “W” part of the KWL chart.  As we read the story, we discovered some of our questions were answered and we moved our new knowledge to the “L” section of the chart.  It was a very effective way to help the students connect with the story they were reading.

            Teachers have access to thousands of reading instructional tools.  Some are expensive and some don’t have any cost at all.  There are some that are useful for younger students and some that are beneficial for all age groups.  I have talked about several materials that have very minimal cost and can be used for any instructional age group.  When teachers are willing to be a little creative, they can find some great material that can be used in the classroom. 

Observations Begin!!

So I begin my observations on Wednesday and I couldn't be more excited!  My placement is at Hurlock Elementary in a 5th grade classroom.  I actually teach 2nd grade so I would have preferred a classroom in the lower elementary but that's OK.  I'm excited to see another school and how they do things!  

How Children Learn To Read

 Here is my research paper on How Children Learn To Read.

 It is eight o’clock and finally time for bed.  A mom helps her little three year old into her big girl bed and makes sure the covers are all the way up to her chin just the way she likes it.  Then the mom kisses her little girl’s nose and a child’s laughter can be heard throughout the house.  The mom smiles and grabs a book from the nightstand.  She begins to read the story to a very excited three year old that has had a story read to her as long as she can remember.  Anne looks forward to this special bonding time with her mom each night.  This is how a child begins her journey to a lifetime of reading.

            Anne actually began her journey with reading while she was still in her mother’s womb.  Babies can hear words being spoken while in the womb and can even recognize different voices.  Anne’s mom, like many other expectant mothers, read to her while she was pregnant.  Books, reading and words have been a part of her life since the beginning.  This could be called Emergent Literacy.  “Emerging literacy describes the gradual, ongoing process of learning to understand and use language that begins at birth and continues through the early childhood years.”  (Collins and Koralek, 2013).  Emergent literacy is basically exposing children to the written word in any form at a very young age.  Parents can simply point out words and letters to their children, read rhyming stories to them, or have access to paper and crayons for their children to use.  Anne’s parents did all they could to make sure she was immersed into words.  They realized how important emergent literacy would be for their little girl.

            The next step for Anne’s parents is to make sure she begins to understand Phonemic Awareness.  “… Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words are created from phonemes (small units of sound in language).” (The Five Essential Components of Reading, 2008).  Basically Anne has learned that each letter in the alphabet has a sound associated with it.  She has also discovered that certain sounds rhyme with other sounds.  She discovered this because her mom and her teacher at preschool read her nursery rhymes and Dr. Seuss books.  Anne’s mom also makes sure that they have a “rhyme time” each day when they practice rhyming words together.  Her mom understands that many children make it through elementary school without having a good sense of phonemic awareness and she wants to make sure Anne is not one of them.  Those children who struggle with phonemic awareness will also struggle with reading and spelling throughout their school years.  Her parents realize that phonemic awareness is an essential part of how children learn to read.  It’s the foundation that Anne needs to be a successful reader.

            Once Anne begins kindergarten, the world of Phonics will be introduced to her.  Phonics connects the letters and sounds together.  It then connects the letters to form words.  Anne will learn how to make these connections and will begin to learn how to read.  This is a very crucial time in Anne’s reading journey.  If she were to struggle with phonics, then the other components of reading will definitely be a struggle, too.  Her parents can help at home by doing several things.  They can team up with her teacher and make sure they are on the same page.  They can listen to Anne read daily and can keep reading aloud to her.  They can revisit familiar books with Anne to boost her reading confidence (Teach Phonics at Home, 2014).  Learning phonics can be a frustrating time for lots of children so any reinforcement from parents is helpful to the teacher.  Anne’s parents will do what they can to ensure that she has the foundation of phonics so she will not struggle with reading later.

            When Anne is in first and second grade, she will begin to work on Fluency. According to The Five Essential Components of Reading (2008), “Fluency is a reader’s ability to read with speed, accuracy and expression.”  This is a skill that is honed throughout a reader’s life but begins in the early stages of reading.  Anne will need to practice oral and silent reading in order to improve her fluency.  Johns (2012) tells us there are several components to fluency which include: rate, accuracy, appropriate expression, and comprehension.   The rate simply refers to the speed of reading and accuracy means that she knows the words quickly.  When Anne is able to read with speed, then she will be able to understand what she is reading.  If she struggled with the rate and accuracy of her reading then she would only be concentrating on the “words” in the text and not looking at the big picture. Anne also needs to be aware of her expression when she begins to read.  She needs to know how to pause after a period and to show more expression when there is an exclamation point.  Her parents are already showing her how to do that now at three years old because they are reading aloud to her.  The best thing Anne’s parents and teachers can do for her is to model how to read well.  When she comprehends, she understands what she is reading.  Fluency and comprehension go hand in hand.  If Anne can read with great fluency but has no idea what she has read, then she is missing an important component of the reading process.  There are several things that Anne’s parents and teachers can do to make sure she excels in fluency.  They can read aloud with Anne and have her match their voice while reading together.  They could also practice the same text several times until she is comfortable with it.  Finally, Anne’s teachers and parents can give lots of encouraging support.  Building confidence is a big key to succeeding in fluency.  Anne will succeed because of the encouragement from those around her.

            Vocabulary is one thing that Anne has been learning and working on since she was learning how to speak.  As a toddler, she had to learn that the red thing in the fruit bowl was an apple.  That is the beginning stages of vocabulary.  Her parents have already helped her expand her vocabulary when they say the name of objects that are in their house.  They have even taken it a step further by labeling the toy bins in her bedroom.  Now she recognizes the names of all her toys.  Her teachers at school have done the same thing and it is helping to build her vocabulary.  This will help her when she begins to read because knowing vocabulary is a very important part to understanding what she reads.  National Reading Panel (2014) says that “…Reading comprehension is a complex cognitive process that cannot be understood without a clear description of the role that vocabulary development and vocabulary instruction play in the understanding of what has been read.”  In other words, Anne can’t have comprehension without an understanding of the words she is reading.  Once she begins reading books on her own, Anne can make flashcards of words she might not understand.  Then she can look up the meanings of those words. Another way to practice vocabulary is to have her parents or teachers tell her the meanings of unfamiliar words. Finally, Anne can use context clues within the text to help her better understand the story.  She might find this way more fun because she acts like a detective trying to find clues to solve the mystery!  She can choose several ways to learn vocabulary as long as she works at it because vocabulary development is so important to reading comprehension.

            The final component to Anne’s reading journey is Comprehension.  “The purpose of reading is comprehension – getting meaning from written text.” (Texas Education Agency, 2002).  Anne could read out loud beautifully but if she doesn’t understand what the text is saying, she will struggle and begin losing interest in reading.  As stated earlier, vocabulary and comprehension go hand in hand.  Anne’s parents have already been working on her comprehension skills, even at the age of three.  When they read out loud to her, they always ask questions about the story and ask her what she thinks might happen next.  When Anne begins going to school, she will work on strategies she will need to become a successful reader.  She will be able to set reading goals, make inferences or predictions, connect to her prior knowledge, and reflect on what she has read (Texas Education Agency, 2002).  Her parents and teachers will continue to ask thought-provoking questions to help improve Anne’s reading comprehension.  When she feels confident in her reading comprehension ability, she will become a successful reader. 

As Anne’s mother turns off the bedroom light and sets the bedtime story on the night stand, she looks at her sleeping three year old with amazement.  In just a few years she will be reading books on her own and not needing her mom to read to her.  But for now she will help Anne develop into a successful reader.  She will help build phonemic awareness by reviewing sounds and work on phonics skills by practicing putting those sounds together.  She will also help Anne build up her vocabulary by always talking about words and their meanings.  She will help Anne with fluency and comprehension when she practices reading with her and asks questions about the story they are reading together.  Anne’s mom is amazed at how children learn to read.  She realizes that the process of reading is made up of many components and when they concentrate on each part, Anne will become a successful reader.

                       

               

References

Collins, R. & Koralek, D. (2013). How Most Children Learn to Read. Reading Rockets.

            Retrieved January 24, 2014, from www.readingrockets.org/article/386

The Five Essential Components of Reading. (2008). K12Reader. Retrieved January 24,

            2014, from: www.k12reader.com/the-five-essential-components-of-reading/

Johns, J. (2012). Basic Reading Inventory. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt Publishing.

Ruddell, R. (2006). Teaching Children to Read and Write. Boston: Pearson.

Teach Phonics at Home. (2014).  Scholastic. Retrieved January 26, 2014, from:

www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/developing-reading-skills/teach-phonics-home

Teaching Children to Read. (2014).  National Reading Panel. Retrieved January 26, 2014,

 From: www.nationalreadingpanel.org/default.htm

Texas Education Agency. (2002). What research Tells Us About Reading, Comprehension, and

            Comprehension Instruction. Reading Rockets. Retrieved January 22, 2014, from:

            www.readingrockets.org/article/29199

Logan's BRI

Logan is currently in 3rd grade.  His teacher wanted to give him the Basic Reading Inventory to see how well he had progressed from the previous year.  In 2nd grade he was a struggling reader and received help with decoding and word identification skills.  His teacher discovered that small group instruction and  lots of motivation would help him do his best.  After giving the BRI in 3rd grade, Logan's teacher came to the conclusion that reading comprehension is his strongest area and his reading rate is the weakest.  The plan for Logan is to read have him read some easier materials so that he builds up his confidence.  It is also a good idea to allow Logan to reread some of his favorite stories.  When the reading becomes easier then Logan's confidence will be boosted.

I think this example is a great one for us to look at.  Logan didn't have a real "big" reading problem.  Sometimes I think teacher believe only those with severe learning disabilities are the ones who need help.  The BRI allows each student to be tested to see all the strengths and weaknesses.  Then the teacher can take that information and make a plan that will best help that student.  I strongly believe that the lack of confidence can really affect a child's ability to do certain tasks like reading.  When Logan builds his confidence I believe that his reading skills will get better and better!

Article Review

Here is my Article Summary about reading comprehension.  If you would like to see a Prezi on this review click the link below.
Prezi

Article Summary

Imagine being able to pronounce every word in a medical textbook correctly.  You can pronounce every disease correctly without mistake.  However you have no idea what you are reading about.  The words don’t make since and when asked what the textbook talked about, you can’t communicate what you want to say.  You begin to feel frustrated and you don’t want to read anymore.  This is exactly what happens to students who are struggle with reading comprehension.

            The entire purpose for reading is to comprehend or understand what is in the text.  In that case, teachers must work on developing the skills necessary for students to understand all types of written text.  In order for teachers to instill comprehension skills, they need to know what makes up a good reader. 

There have been several studies done trying to pinpoint what makes a good reader who can comprehend well.  The focus of these studies is how the mind works and how people think and learn.  This new research is called cognitive science.  Through this cognitive science, researchers have found that “good readers” do several things while reading that struggling reader do not.  These good readers seem to set goals for their reading, make predictions, connect with the meaning of words, make inferences, use their background knowledge, and then reflect on what they read.  Good readers also engage in metacognition which means they are remembering, focusing attention and processing information all at the same time while reading.

On the other hand, readers who struggle with comprehension lack certain skills according to this research.  Poor readers do not prepare before they begin a text.  They don’t know what kind of reading strategies to use when reading certain types of text.  They also have a hard time decoding words which will lead to frustration.  Often poor readers do not have background knowledge and do not understand the vocabulary in the text they are reading.  After all the struggles a poor reader has, they lose their confidence and simply become frustrated.

This research has given teachers a great advantage.  They now know the differences between good and poor readers so, teachers need to take the knowledge from this article and apply it in the classroom.  They need to work with the struggling readers and model how to perform all reading comprehension strategies.  If the purpose of reading is to understand what is being read, than teachers need to do everything they can to be sure every student has the opportunity to read and understand what it says.

Reflection

            I found this article on reading comprehension very informative and helpful to any teacher who wants to help struggling readers.  The article really spells out the skills that good readers have and how poor readers seem to struggle with these skills.  This article actually gives hope to the teachers who feel like they have done everything they can because it shows what skill to focus on. 

I have a student who struggles with reading and doesn't seem interested in doing the assignments in the reading textbook.  I realize now that I should make sure the student is making a plan before she begins to read.  We need to work on strategies that she needs to use when reading informational text or when she is reading a literary selection.  I also need to pinpoint her actual struggle.  Is it decoding, lack of background information or her vocabulary knowledge?  It could simply be that her confidence has been defeated and she isn’t even trying anymore.  When we can discover the problem, we can work on developing that skill and improve her reading! 

After reading this article and thinking about my struggling student, I think the best way for me as a teacher to help my students is by modeling the correct way to read and comprehend.  I could use a read aloud opportunity to display the skills of a good reader.  I could begin with setting goals for my read aloud for the class to hear.  Then I could make my own predictions about the story and share them with the class.  As I am reading out loud for the class, I can talk about the meanings of certain words that might be difficult.  I could also reflect on the story after I finished reading it.  This type of modeling would be a great way for students to see how a good reader comprehends what is being read.  Then I could work individually to reinforce those skills with those who need the extra help.

The article shows that there is hope for those who struggle with reading comprehension.  If those students can learn and practice the skills of a good reader, then reading will not be so difficult for them.  Understanding the text will become easier.  When reading becomes enjoyable and easier then the confidence of the struggling student will be boosted.  Once there is confidence, the student will have a desire to read!

 Reference

Texas Education Agency. (2002). What Research Tells Us About Reading, Comprehension, and

            Comprehension Instruction. Reading Rockets. Retrieved January 22, 2014, from

            www.readingrockets.org/article/29199