Friday, November 22, 2013
Wow! Things are really starting to wind down! I learned a lot this week about the instruction of English Language Learners (ELLs).
Literacy Development of ESL Children
I think I remember reading this particular document in a previous module but it gives some helpful information about differences in English speaking children versus English Language Learners (ELLs). Obviously, learning in English speaking classrooms, ELLs often have difficulty understanding the material or understand what is going on. The text mentioned that English speaking students normally have had 4-5 years of language development before entering school. Now, imagine an ELL in an English speaking classroom. They don’t have the same exposure or practice with the language as their classmates. I can’t imagine how these students would feel! I learned that it is important to help these students acquire metalinguistic knowledge and apply phonological/grammatical patterns. Teachers who have such students must promote shared experiences and use creative and interactive uses of language for ELLs.
Teaching English Language Learners
This document explained that teachers often lack giving effective, meaningful instruction to learners with diverse backgrounds such as ELLs. To prevent this from happening in future classrooms, the text gave some great ideas of how to differentiate instruction in a reading workshop. Some things it mentioned is that teachers should focus on comprehension, meaning, and decoding of words they already know. They should also point out similarities between the student’s native language and English as well as the differences. I learned that when doing activities, hands-on activities are the best way to help them learn! Reading predictable books and reading books more than once is beneficial to these students as well. Parents should be encouraged to participate in their child’s learning and be asked to read to them at home. Bilingual tutors have been found to help these students a lot by helping them understand what they need to do to encourage participation.
Reading Instruction for ELL—Part 1
I thought this was a very helpful article to read. I learned more about what it means to use the Language-Experience Approach on page 3. Ultimately, this practice involves students providing text through dictation. This helps introduce students to reading text. I like this approach because it helps children read with their interests and experiences in mind. It also allows them to learn through age-appropriate text. I liked the example given on pages 4-5 about a teacher giving her students the task of writing a newspaper about a recent earthquake they had. This idea was thought of to help an English Language Learner in the class understand what an earthquake through the process of reading and pointing to words. As I read in a previous article, pages 6-7 addressed the need to provide ELLs with quality pieces of literature. It mentioned that books with patterns and repetition are good ones to use.
Reading Instruction for ELL—Part 2
This article explained even more ideas to use with ELLs in the classroom. The authors suggest that providing students with opportunities to illustrate stories and poems (page 2). I like this idea because students can express themselves without using words and can be used with younger and older students. Also, the articlemention that ELLs could benefit from reading Big Books or oversized books because they present predictable stories and reading patterns that students can easily memorize after 2-3 reads. I really like the idea of having students to make Big Books based on their favorite stories/books (page 3). Another idea addressed here was to allow ELLs to be involved in Directed-Listening Thinking Activities (DL-TA). This is all about helping students make predictions in stories they read. I really like the way the authors described how one teacher named Lisa used DL-TA in her classroom (pages 4-5). I also liked the idea of holding a Readers’ Theater in the classroom as a way to allow students to respond to literature. Essentially, students have the opportunity to act out characters or events from a story (page 6-7). I can see how this would help ELLs because it tells a story without reading. The last thing the authors mention is to have students create story maps (page 7). Here, they can use story grammar or the basic structure of a story to help them remember what the story is all about.
Reading Instruction for ELL—Part 3
This article discussed some ideas to use with intermediate ELLs. One thing mentioned was the use of cognitive maps, or graphic drawings to help them summarize a piece of text. This can improve their comprehension and memory of characters, setting, and plot (page 3-4). The article also pointed out that more advanced ELLs benefit from Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA), much similar to DL-TA except that here, students read the text silently after making predictions (pages 5-7). I like the idea of having student use Literature-Response Journals, or personal notebooks in which they write their own thoughts and ideas about the stories they read. The article suggests giving students questions to spark their ideas and encourage writing in these journals (pages 7-9). Lastly, this article elaborates on the idea of using Readers’ Theater, but using it for more intermediate ELLs. Here, they may go beyond recognizing characters and settings but they create their own scripts for a possible performance. This requires them to be able to identify character motivation and the problems/conflicts they may face (page 9). I think this is a great way to introduce ELLs to more sophisticated elements within a book.
Levels of Language Proficiency for ELLs
This document provided some more helpful information about ELLs. As a future teacher, it will be important to understand the different levels at which ELLs transition into learn in the English language. I learned that the different stages include: Beginning/Reproduction, Beginning/Production, Intermediate, Advanced, Formerly Limited-English Proficient /Now Fully –English Proficient, and Fully-English Proficient/Never Limited-English Proficient.
Scaffolding Reading Experience—Part 1
This article discusses what scaffolding really means. Ultimately, a scaffold is a temporary, supportive structure that assists students or groups of students in something they cannot do on their own or as well without the scaffold (page 3). This places a student in a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). It is the teacher’s responsibility to gradually take apart and rebuild the scaffold so that responsibility can be transferred to the student(s) (page 3).
I learned that scaffolded reading experiences require pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading activities to help students learn to successfully read. The Scaffolding Reading Experience (SRE) involves two phases: planning and implementation. With planning, teachers must consider the different students they have, the type of reading they choose for them, and the purpose of why they are reading. With implementation, this is where the before, during, and after activities are completed (page 5). I like how the article gives possible components of these different types of activities (page 7). Pre-reading activities are given to remind students of things they already know and build on that knowledge, engage them an upcoming book, and more importantly, give them motivation to read (pages 8 -9).
Scaffolding Reading Experience—Part 2
During-reading activities involve having the students do things for themselves as they read and also involve things that teachers do with them. The article mentions that giving students the task of reading silently. The authors feel that this is the most important activity and that with the more practice students get with reading to themselves, the more they will get better at it and become accomplished lifelong learners (page 3). Teachers should also incorporate Reading to Students into their instruction. Oftentimes, stories and other pieces of literature are better understood when they are read aloud. In addition, it usually makes the reading experience more meaningful or powerful when something is read aloud versus read silently (page 3-4). Guided reading is another thing the article mentions for teachers to use. This helps students identify important themes or generalizations to look for as they read. I learned that guided reading often begins as a pre-reading activity but is extended into during-reading activities (page 4). Another activity students do as they read may involve them orally reading text. This is an important task because students can read aloud and then share their ideas about what was read. This promotes the sharing of different interpretations. The article cautions to only use this strategy with more proficient ELLs for reading aloud can be nerve-racking and embarrassing for students who struggle with reading (page 5). Lastly, the article mentions that another activity to do during reading involves modifying the text to make it easier to understand for different learners. If students have difficulties understanding something, teachers may need to find different texts that will help students better understand the text they are reading. Modifying the text may also include drawing pictures or graphs to examine representations (page 5).
This article also goes into detail about different post-reading activities teachers can incorporate into their instruction. These kinds of activities help students create and organize information they remember from reading different kinds of text. Questioning is one thing the authors suggest using. Whether it is answering a question orally or writing it down on paper, questioning often promotes the use of higher-level thinking skills and checks for student’s understanding of information learned (page 6). Engaging in discussions is another activity to be a part of after reading. Letting students discuss can help them learn so much and gives them plenty of opportunities to share their ideas and interpretations (page 7). In addition to discussions, the article talks about Building Connections. Here it is important to lead students to build connections from what they read in a book or piece of text to different parts of their lives. I can see how this would be very beneficial for students in multicultural classrooms (page 7). A lot of teachers turn to giving writing assignments after reading. By doing so, students are able to discover and create their own ideas and interpret their own understandings. This is also used to help ELLs receive practice with writing in English as well as their native languages (page 7-8). Another activity some teachers incorporate into post-reading time is drama. Performing plays, skits, or role play are all ways students can become actively involved in what they learned or read. This is definitely one way they can express themselves and by practicing lines, they are able to practice building reading fluency (page 8). Other ways students can express themselves is through graphic, artistic, and nonverbal activities. Application and Outreach activities also help students in many ways after reading text. This is where students work together or conduct activities outside of class such as surveys or interviews (page 7-8). Re-teaching is the last activity the article suggests for a post-reading activity. It explains that although students may receive a lot of practice applying a certain concept or idea, further instruction may be needed (page 9).
It was great to read about the different sample SREs the article provided. I was able to see what instruction may look like for a simple and substantial SRE instruction using different resources (page 10).
Scaffolding Reading Experience—Part 3
The final part of the article focused more on what a differentiated SRE looks like using a challenging science text. It described doing a pre-reading activity to motivate and engage students about learning what waves are. Here, as a class, they act out what a wave is. Next, the teacher teaches the important concepts of amplitude and frequency and then writes the headings of important things addressed in the textbook on the board (pages 2-4). These items are listed in English as well as the native languages for the ELLs in the classroom.
During-reading activities include reading the first section of the chapter aloud to make the students feel comfortable with the text. The authors also say to prepare and play an audiotape for the ELLs in the class where the text is read at a slower pace and enunciated clearly for them to understand. As these children do this, the other students must be given something to do during this time (page 5). Post-reading activities may involve the teacher gaining ideas and other perspectives by engaging in a discussion. The teacher gives students questions to think about ahead of time and then allows them to talk. Additionally, the teacher may want his/her students to show their artistic side by creating poems, stories, or dramas involving waves. The article mentioned that these tasks could be spread out over a course of several days.
I learned a lot about what an SRE-centered lesson plan looks like. I understand that it is the most appropriate approaches to use in multicultural classrooms. I’m sure this information will come in handy in my future teaching!
Inquiry: A Project Approach With 5th-6th Grade Special Needs Students
This was an interesting video to watch. It was great to see how a teacher took a real problem and turned it into an activity for her students to explore and solve. I really liked the beginning activities she did with her students and made the activities she incorporated meaningful for her students. I think this is a great video to show that learning can be fun for students with many different needs. Teachers can use real world problems (such as the relocation of a road) and use it to integrate all subject areas. I think the biggest thing I took away from this video is when the narrator said that these types of activities help children “learn how to learn” (about 11:15 in video).
Response to Intervention Process for Special Education
This was a great document to read because it gave step by step instructions on what to do when intervention is needed for students to receive the help they need in the classroom. The first step involves screening and testing on benchmarks to identify students who may need intervention. When students do not meet these standards or benchmarks, the second step is to give them additional instruction to increase their reading levels. Step three involves monitoring the progress of the students receiving help. Assessments are given—often multiple times a week to check for improvement. For students who continue to struggle, step four involves teachers to individualize interventions that may include more assessments and additional intervention from other educators or specialists. The final step involves gathering all the data on a given student to determine the need for special education services.
Wow! So I learned quite a bit this week. It was very helpful to read up about the different approaches and strategies teachers can use when teaching English Language Learners and students with special needs.
Thank you for reading my post!
Kelsey
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Module 13 Blog Entry
Hello again! I will say that this week was filled with a lot more information but I learned some new things about choosing reading practices in the 21st century.
Different Reading Programs
I thought it was interesting to look through the different reading programs that often used in various schools/classrooms. I am most familiar with Accelerated Reader (AR) since I took AR tests on many books that I read throughout school. The PowerPoint about the Basal program: Open Court was interesting. I had never heard of it before so it was nice to learn what it’s all about. I think it seems like a great tool to use in the classroom to help students develop skills in phonics. I had never heard about the Achieve 3000 program either but I can see how the use of technology through computers would allow students to become engaged in the learning process and come to comprehend what they read. I like how the program allows teachers to set the pace for which students complete assignments. It seems like the process in which the program is set up (Set a Schema, Read for Information, Demonstrate Mastery, Construct Meaning, and Form an Opinion (slides 10-15) would help students develop different comprehension skills. The comprehensive Four Blocks Reading Program is also new to me. As I read through the PowerPoint, a lot of the components reminded me of The Daily 5 program because both programs encourage reading to self, reading to others, word work, and writing. The last type of reading program I learned about here was called the Literacy Collaborative program that aims to help children improve in reading, writing, and language skills (slide 2). I like how it requires the presence of a literacy coordinator at the school (slide 5). I think it covers a lot of the important things children need exposure to (phonemic awareness instruction, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction (slide 7-13). I like how the program comes equipped with different types of assessment and ideas for support (slide 15-16).
Basal Reading Program—Teacher’s Edition
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to look at an actual basal reading program book but reading over the different ones I learned about in this module, I’m sure that they provide helpful information and guides.
SRA Reading Mastery
The video I watched under this section and answered the following questions presented:
What is the role of the teacher? –The role of the teacher is to call out different words for students to listen to and pick out the words with different sounds. She asks them questions about what sounds are different. She uses a script to guide instruction.
What is the role of the student?—The role of the student is to listen for the different sounds in the words the teacher calls out and answer the questions she asks.
Direct Instruction for reading and mathematics are taught in a similar way. What do you think the developers of this program believe about learning?—I can tell that the developers of this program think that students learn better when they are focused on the teacher and have full attention on her.
What type of differentiation do you observe? As claims are made, do you think all children will benefit from this approach?—I don’t see much differentiation in this type of instruction because they are all doing the same thing and giving the same responses.
A head teacher is quoted as saying, “Direct Instruction has been probably the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to the teaching profession.” Would you agree?—Honestly, I would not agree with this statement. This kind of program may work for some teachers while it may not work for others. I don’t think it’s the best thing to happen to the teaching profession but it may have changed some things for some teachers. I think it just depends on the needs and abilities of the students in the class.
What ownership for learning do children have in direct instruction?—They own responsibility for listening to the teacher.
Approaches to Teaching ReadingThis short document was interesting to read because it was a nice summary of how to use the different reading programs I learned about in the classroom.
Best Practices
The article I read in this section was great to read because it helped me see what types of things I need to do to ensure that I am using the best practices when it comes to teaching and talks about what is and what is not considered a balanced curriculum. Integration of curriculum was a big focus in this document as well. It addressed the different benefits for integrated teaching. I noticed that differentiated instruction is another important aspect of teaching because there will be many different types of students in the classroom. It even mentioned that active learning is another thing to incorporate into your teaching. These are all really great ideas I know that I will want to remember.
What is Inquiry?Although we have talked about the Inquiry teaching method in past modules, it was still helpful to read up on what it is and the benefits it has in the classroom. I have mentioned before that I prefer the Inquiry method over others but it doesn’t mean that the others don’t work.
Cambourne’s Conditions
I can tell that the conditions that Cambourne presents in this article are very important for teachers and other educators. He makes a lot of great points and gives great examples of what to do in order to create a constructivist classroom. I know that it will be important to follow the conditions of: immersion, demonstration, engagement, expectation, responsibility, employment, approximation, and response (pg. 5). This was a great read!
Common Core ELA Standards
I know that being familiar with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts is essential. I have looked through the different standards across the grades K-6 and understand that it is important to know the standards! The Jing Video Dr. Powell posted in this section explained different things about the Standards. She mentioned that the Standards are subject to change from year to year. This just happened during the 2012-2013 school year.
Different Reading Programs
I thought it was interesting to look through the different reading programs that often used in various schools/classrooms. I am most familiar with Accelerated Reader (AR) since I took AR tests on many books that I read throughout school. The PowerPoint about the Basal program: Open Court was interesting. I had never heard of it before so it was nice to learn what it’s all about. I think it seems like a great tool to use in the classroom to help students develop skills in phonics. I had never heard about the Achieve 3000 program either but I can see how the use of technology through computers would allow students to become engaged in the learning process and come to comprehend what they read. I like how the program allows teachers to set the pace for which students complete assignments. It seems like the process in which the program is set up (Set a Schema, Read for Information, Demonstrate Mastery, Construct Meaning, and Form an Opinion (slides 10-15) would help students develop different comprehension skills. The comprehensive Four Blocks Reading Program is also new to me. As I read through the PowerPoint, a lot of the components reminded me of The Daily 5 program because both programs encourage reading to self, reading to others, word work, and writing. The last type of reading program I learned about here was called the Literacy Collaborative program that aims to help children improve in reading, writing, and language skills (slide 2). I like how it requires the presence of a literacy coordinator at the school (slide 5). I think it covers a lot of the important things children need exposure to (phonemic awareness instruction, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension instruction (slide 7-13). I like how the program comes equipped with different types of assessment and ideas for support (slide 15-16).
Basal Reading Program—Teacher’s Edition
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to look at an actual basal reading program book but reading over the different ones I learned about in this module, I’m sure that they provide helpful information and guides.
SRA Reading Mastery
The video I watched under this section and answered the following questions presented:
What is the role of the teacher? –The role of the teacher is to call out different words for students to listen to and pick out the words with different sounds. She asks them questions about what sounds are different. She uses a script to guide instruction.
What is the role of the student?—The role of the student is to listen for the different sounds in the words the teacher calls out and answer the questions she asks.
Direct Instruction for reading and mathematics are taught in a similar way. What do you think the developers of this program believe about learning?—I can tell that the developers of this program think that students learn better when they are focused on the teacher and have full attention on her.
What type of differentiation do you observe? As claims are made, do you think all children will benefit from this approach?—I don’t see much differentiation in this type of instruction because they are all doing the same thing and giving the same responses.
A head teacher is quoted as saying, “Direct Instruction has been probably the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to the teaching profession.” Would you agree?—Honestly, I would not agree with this statement. This kind of program may work for some teachers while it may not work for others. I don’t think it’s the best thing to happen to the teaching profession but it may have changed some things for some teachers. I think it just depends on the needs and abilities of the students in the class.
What ownership for learning do children have in direct instruction?—They own responsibility for listening to the teacher.
Approaches to Teaching ReadingThis short document was interesting to read because it was a nice summary of how to use the different reading programs I learned about in the classroom.
Best Practices
The article I read in this section was great to read because it helped me see what types of things I need to do to ensure that I am using the best practices when it comes to teaching and talks about what is and what is not considered a balanced curriculum. Integration of curriculum was a big focus in this document as well. It addressed the different benefits for integrated teaching. I noticed that differentiated instruction is another important aspect of teaching because there will be many different types of students in the classroom. It even mentioned that active learning is another thing to incorporate into your teaching. These are all really great ideas I know that I will want to remember.
What is Inquiry?Although we have talked about the Inquiry teaching method in past modules, it was still helpful to read up on what it is and the benefits it has in the classroom. I have mentioned before that I prefer the Inquiry method over others but it doesn’t mean that the others don’t work.
Cambourne’s Conditions
I can tell that the conditions that Cambourne presents in this article are very important for teachers and other educators. He makes a lot of great points and gives great examples of what to do in order to create a constructivist classroom. I know that it will be important to follow the conditions of: immersion, demonstration, engagement, expectation, responsibility, employment, approximation, and response (pg. 5). This was a great read!
Common Core ELA Standards
I know that being familiar with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts is essential. I have looked through the different standards across the grades K-6 and understand that it is important to know the standards! The Jing Video Dr. Powell posted in this section explained different things about the Standards. She mentioned that the Standards are subject to change from year to year. This just happened during the 2012-2013 school year.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Module 12 Blog Entry
Hello everyone!
The semester is really winding down! Although the blog is optional now for our class, it still helps to talk about what I have learned each week. The modules are shorter now but needless to say, I still learned a lot. As a future teacher, I know that I will have to establish a positive environment for literacy workshop and understand that I will have to conduct culturally relevant practices. The information in this module did a great job of highlighting that.
Guided Reading
I remember reading this document in previous modules. It is evident that this is important information since we keep seeing it and keep reading about it. I think it really gives a lot of helpful ideas when assisting children with their reading. I also like that it answers a lot of questions about the guided reading process such as “What is Guided Reading?,” “What do I need?,” and “How do I begin?” I know these are questions that I would ask myself! It’s great that the document gave a lot of ideas on how to help different types of learners improve their reading abilities. It focused on giving strategies that would help struggling readers and even gave ideas of what to do to allow the fluent readers to make progress. I know this document will come in handy once I begin teaching!
Teaching Children to Care PowerPoint
I really liked this PowerPoint presentation! The quotes on the 2nd slide rang so true because I’ve always felt that school should be a place where children and teachers feel happy to work and grow together. Teachers also need to focus on being the best role models they can be for the children. I like the idea given on slide 3 and 4 of holding regular class meetings. As it was said, I think it can help eliminate and prevent a lot of problems. Ultimately, I feel that it builds a sense of community among the students. The sample Reading Workshop schedule presented on slide 5 was great! It looks like each element would help students grow in a lot of different areas. I liked the many ideas given for different literacy centers to conduct for the workshop (slide 6-11). It was really interesting to read the information and reasons (slide 12-15) for not saying “Good Job!” to students. I will say that I am quite guilty of this. I didn’t think that doing so would hinder their abilities with other tasks they complete. As slide 16 said, a little praise can go a long way. This is definitely something to keep in mind! Slides 17-19 reminded me of what I learned in my Foundations of Education class before starting in the education program at UNCW. As a class, we developed our own rules and discussed the importance of turning the negative rules into positives. I learned that in an elementary class, all of this helps children become hold responsibility for their own actions. I really liked the idea of The Circle of Friends on slide 21. I can see this benefitting all children involved. It like how it addresses the appropriate actions students can take to help their peers who have different needs. I believe this can help prevent a lot of issues that cause bullying. I think this is a great concept! It was helpful to read the rest of the PowerPoint about making the classroom environment positive and free of distractions (slides 22-25).
Workshops and Centers
This document gave some very helpful information! I know that the many ideas given here for different centers to use in a reading and writing workshop will come in handy for future reference!
Developing Culturally Relevant Practices
This article gave a lot of interesting information regarding the need for teachers to become aware of the different cultures students may come to class with. It is important for teachers to learn about student’s home and community practices and recognize differences within English Language learner (pg. 62-66). It was nice to have a short overview (pg. 67) of what the characteristics of Culturally Responsive teaching are. I especially like the last point given where it says that teachers build on what the child knows but takes instruction beyond what they are familiar with. I really liked how the article listed a lot of different multicultural authors. Teachers can refer to this list to potentially find books that would help students relate to a particular student’s culture (pg. 69). It was interesting to be reminded that when leading instruction, a student’s primary language should be addressed when conducting literacy events (pg. 70). Reading the different accounts of how read alouds were conducted in culturally diverse classrooms was interesting (pg. 73-76). It was interesting to be reintroduced to the term: kidwatching. I have heard of it before but this article did a great job of describing it further. Ultimately, it is the act of observing students as they learn and work. I noticed that the rest of the article covered information about how to assess students while kidwatching. A lot of the assessments reminded me of the ones I learned about in module 2 and used on my tutee!
Of course the information I read in this article caused me to begin thinking about how I would create a classroom that creates a sense of community and is “culture friendly.” I can see myself using the many ideas the author presents. I think using the list of multicultural authors is a great item to have when choosing a book to read aloud. Also, I feel that having the students from different cultures share their personal experiences and customs can be beneficial for everyone—teachers and students! As a teacher, I know that I will have to address the different cultures each student comes to class with. This is something to keep in mind!
The Reading Workshop
As always, I enjoyed reading Serafini’s work! I recall reading chapter 3 in a previous module but it was great to be reminded of some of the things mentioned in the text about promoting a sense of community in the classroom and making a space where readers can focus on reading. I like how Serafini describes the importance of displaying books around the room and having a classroom library. I like the suggestion of having different opportunities for sharing such as singing, making food together, and having class discussions (pg. 33-34). I had never heard of shoebox autobiographies or “wallfolios” but I can see how these would be great items for students to showcase their personalities and the different cultures they may come from (pg. 34).
Chapter 4 was also a chapter I remember reading back in a different module. I recall learning about how Serafini selects and develops a focus unit in the reading workshop. I liked how he chose to use the popular children’s book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and compared it to similar books about children escaping reality and made his own focus unit. I thought it was great that his students could make their own impressions, connections, and wonderings from the various texts.
I learned a lot of interesting information this week! I hope you all have as well. Thank you for reading my blog! See you next week!
Kelsey
The semester is really winding down! Although the blog is optional now for our class, it still helps to talk about what I have learned each week. The modules are shorter now but needless to say, I still learned a lot. As a future teacher, I know that I will have to establish a positive environment for literacy workshop and understand that I will have to conduct culturally relevant practices. The information in this module did a great job of highlighting that.
Guided Reading
I remember reading this document in previous modules. It is evident that this is important information since we keep seeing it and keep reading about it. I think it really gives a lot of helpful ideas when assisting children with their reading. I also like that it answers a lot of questions about the guided reading process such as “What is Guided Reading?,” “What do I need?,” and “How do I begin?” I know these are questions that I would ask myself! It’s great that the document gave a lot of ideas on how to help different types of learners improve their reading abilities. It focused on giving strategies that would help struggling readers and even gave ideas of what to do to allow the fluent readers to make progress. I know this document will come in handy once I begin teaching!
Teaching Children to Care PowerPoint
I really liked this PowerPoint presentation! The quotes on the 2nd slide rang so true because I’ve always felt that school should be a place where children and teachers feel happy to work and grow together. Teachers also need to focus on being the best role models they can be for the children. I like the idea given on slide 3 and 4 of holding regular class meetings. As it was said, I think it can help eliminate and prevent a lot of problems. Ultimately, I feel that it builds a sense of community among the students. The sample Reading Workshop schedule presented on slide 5 was great! It looks like each element would help students grow in a lot of different areas. I liked the many ideas given for different literacy centers to conduct for the workshop (slide 6-11). It was really interesting to read the information and reasons (slide 12-15) for not saying “Good Job!” to students. I will say that I am quite guilty of this. I didn’t think that doing so would hinder their abilities with other tasks they complete. As slide 16 said, a little praise can go a long way. This is definitely something to keep in mind! Slides 17-19 reminded me of what I learned in my Foundations of Education class before starting in the education program at UNCW. As a class, we developed our own rules and discussed the importance of turning the negative rules into positives. I learned that in an elementary class, all of this helps children become hold responsibility for their own actions. I really liked the idea of The Circle of Friends on slide 21. I can see this benefitting all children involved. It like how it addresses the appropriate actions students can take to help their peers who have different needs. I believe this can help prevent a lot of issues that cause bullying. I think this is a great concept! It was helpful to read the rest of the PowerPoint about making the classroom environment positive and free of distractions (slides 22-25).
Workshops and Centers
This document gave some very helpful information! I know that the many ideas given here for different centers to use in a reading and writing workshop will come in handy for future reference!
Developing Culturally Relevant Practices
This article gave a lot of interesting information regarding the need for teachers to become aware of the different cultures students may come to class with. It is important for teachers to learn about student’s home and community practices and recognize differences within English Language learner (pg. 62-66). It was nice to have a short overview (pg. 67) of what the characteristics of Culturally Responsive teaching are. I especially like the last point given where it says that teachers build on what the child knows but takes instruction beyond what they are familiar with. I really liked how the article listed a lot of different multicultural authors. Teachers can refer to this list to potentially find books that would help students relate to a particular student’s culture (pg. 69). It was interesting to be reminded that when leading instruction, a student’s primary language should be addressed when conducting literacy events (pg. 70). Reading the different accounts of how read alouds were conducted in culturally diverse classrooms was interesting (pg. 73-76). It was interesting to be reintroduced to the term: kidwatching. I have heard of it before but this article did a great job of describing it further. Ultimately, it is the act of observing students as they learn and work. I noticed that the rest of the article covered information about how to assess students while kidwatching. A lot of the assessments reminded me of the ones I learned about in module 2 and used on my tutee!
Of course the information I read in this article caused me to begin thinking about how I would create a classroom that creates a sense of community and is “culture friendly.” I can see myself using the many ideas the author presents. I think using the list of multicultural authors is a great item to have when choosing a book to read aloud. Also, I feel that having the students from different cultures share their personal experiences and customs can be beneficial for everyone—teachers and students! As a teacher, I know that I will have to address the different cultures each student comes to class with. This is something to keep in mind!
The Reading Workshop
As always, I enjoyed reading Serafini’s work! I recall reading chapter 3 in a previous module but it was great to be reminded of some of the things mentioned in the text about promoting a sense of community in the classroom and making a space where readers can focus on reading. I like how Serafini describes the importance of displaying books around the room and having a classroom library. I like the suggestion of having different opportunities for sharing such as singing, making food together, and having class discussions (pg. 33-34). I had never heard of shoebox autobiographies or “wallfolios” but I can see how these would be great items for students to showcase their personalities and the different cultures they may come from (pg. 34).
Chapter 4 was also a chapter I remember reading back in a different module. I recall learning about how Serafini selects and develops a focus unit in the reading workshop. I liked how he chose to use the popular children’s book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and compared it to similar books about children escaping reality and made his own focus unit. I thought it was great that his students could make their own impressions, connections, and wonderings from the various texts.
I learned a lot of interesting information this week! I hope you all have as well. Thank you for reading my blog! See you next week!
Kelsey
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Module 11 Blog Entry
Hello again everyone!
Here we are at the end of module 11! Ashleigh and I talked about how much we have learned so far and this week revealed a lot more helpful information! We reflected on what we read about teaching spelling in relationship to reading.
Spelling In Parts (SIP)I thought this was a very interesting article! It highlighted the many issues that a lot of students encounter when learning to spell words. It was helpful to be reminded of different strategies good spellers often use such as sound-to-spelling patterns and visualization. I learned that when it comes to Consonant-Vowel-Consonant and Consonant-Vowel-Consonant-silent e words, it is the children who use sound strategies who are often successful with spelling such words. It was interesting to read about the conversation with Joey. After having some meaningful SIP instruction, it is evident that he did a lot better with spelling. From this article, I noted that the biggest difference lies in a child’s understanding and ability to break a word up into syllables. The article pointed out that successful students often hear a word, apply common spelling patterns, give visual attention to the pattern, and divide the word into chunks. In broader terns, these are known as three major strategies: using visual memory, graphophonic knowledge,and morphemic knowledge. It was interesting to read about how to help students spell big words. Using the SIP strategy seemed to really help the students tackle the bigger words. It was surprising that the class discussed in the article successfully learned how to spell the word communication. For 2nd graders, I can see this being a really big word. I think the Spelling in Parts (SIP) strategy is a great method to use in the classroom. With some practice, I think I would be able to use it to help students in my future classroom. When choosing a word to work on, the strategy ultimately involves clapping out syllables, divide and pronounce each syllable, say the syllable and spell it, circle difficult spelling patterns, identify a mnemonic or analogy to apply to the pattern, CSW (cover, say, and write the syllable), and finally, check and repeat the word.
Spelling Instruction and Assessment PowerPointIt was interesting to begin this PowerPoint with a little test! I did a lot better than I thought but I did struggle with writing the name Abu Ghraib, mainly because I had a hard time pronouncing the word. Although I knew most of the words on the list, I can see how using the SIP strategy to spell would be very helpful. I liked how the presentation pointed out that spelling needs to be taught along with writing. This makes sense because when students write, they HAVE to spell (slide 5). I remember learning in a previous module something about the number of words we have in the English language but it was surprising to be reminded of the rapid growth in words we experience each day. It’s amazing that we already have 1,003,661 words and will add another 14.7 by the end of the day! It was great to learn that the average educated person knows 20,000 words but only uses 2,000 words in a week. However, it is probably true that these people don’t know how to spell a majority of these words. This slide (slide 6) really made me think about how many words I know and use on a weekly basis! The statistics discussed in the PowerPoint indicate that the average American can spell 20% or less of words in the English language (slide 7). When you really think about it, it’s not that much! The presentation also focused on the three major spelling strategies: Sound (phonetic cues), Sight (visual cues), and Meaning (knowing root words, etc.) (slide 8). It makes sense that spelling is often a difficult task because language, especially the English Language, is made up of a complex set of rules and spoken using a lot of different dialects (slide 9). Because of such difficulty, I can see how invented spelling would be encouraged in young children (slide 10). It was great that the PowerPoint gave some ideas of what kinds of words to include in a spelling list for students to practice and eventually master such as high frequency words, homophones, and words from literature or other subject areas (slide 11-12). I reminded that learning spelling patterns can certainly lead us to spell many words slide 13-14). It’s important to understand the meaning behind words before attempting to spell them. The program sequence for teaching spelling highlighted on slide 15 is definitely something to keep in mind, especially when planning to gradually teach harder words. The presentation also gave ideas of activities to use when teaching spelling such as word sorts, spelling inquiries, sound charts, and word webs. It also listed some valuable teaching techniques such as chunking, sorting roots and suffixes, pairing homophones, and doing rhyme reading (slides 16-23). I thought it was interesting to note the importance of knowing Latin and Greek root words in order to spell. A lot of words have the same root word and can mean almost the same thing. If children could identify this concept, then it may help them when learning to spell them (slide 24). As we learned in a previous module, assessment of a child’s spelling is important. It was great to be reminded of how to conduct a spelling miscue analysis. Like any other assessment, it must be an ongoing process (slide 25-31). I like how the PowerPoint gave the different characteristics of effective speller. I learned that they read a lot, are intrinsically motivated to learn words, and use numerous spelling strategies (slide 32). It is unfortunate that a lot of people who struggle with spelling are often good readers but lack the motivation to become good spellers. The presentation pointed out that these people will eventually identify themselves as bad spellers (slide 33-34). I’m glad that the PowerPoint also gave ideas to use to help struggling spellers in the classroom. Teachers can teach proofreading early, have students to reread literature, give fewer words on a test, and use the SIP strategy. More importantly, they must be encouraged and reassured that they can learn to spell. They can learn to become great word watchers (slide 36-38)!
Spelling—What’s All The Fuss?
This document was an interesting read! I learned a lot about what to look for in different student’s writing. Upon first look, I’m sure that most people would think that Carl produced better writing/spelling than Jason. Carl made minor errors while Jason’s spelling indicated that he needed a lot more practice. However, further examination tells us that there is not much difference between each piece. It was revealed that Carl probably structured his writing using what he learned in a reading basal program where he was mostly prompted to write. He limited his writing so he could use more words he could spell. With Jason’s writing, I noticed that he seemed take more risks with writing and attempted to spell words he didn’t know. This is something for teachers to look past since the problem can easily be solved (pg. 1-4).
I thought it was important to note that spelling is basically a continuation of a child’s language development. With anything they learn, it takes time and practice. In order to help them learn to communicate orally, teachers often ask questions, construct shared meaning, and check for clarification. The document raised an interesting point that this should also be done when teaching written language (spelling) (pg. 5). I thought it was very interesting to learn that trying to identify the spelling level at which a student is can be dangerous. Oftentimes, teachers can meet a child at a certain level but forget that the things they learned in previous stages need to be revisited. Children are continually building on their conventional spelling (pg. 5).
I also gained a lot of insight when reading about Sandra Wilde’s principles of spelling: 1) spelling is evaluated using natural writing, 2) spelling is evaluated analytically and not based on right/wrong, 3) spelling is evaluated in terms of children’s strategies, and 4) teachers should evaluate spelling to be informed of student progress—it should not be used as a mechanical test scorer (pg. 6). To add to her principles, Wilde also presents us with five spelling strategies students can use when writing: 1) Placeholder, 2) Human Resource, 3) Textual Resource, 4) Generation, Monitoring, and Revision, and 5) Ownership (pg. 6). Other higher-level strategies include spelling words as the sound, spelling by analogy, and spelling by linguistic content (pg. 6-7). When considering any strategy to use, the document stresses the importance for teachers to understand that no one strategy is better than the other. They are each valuable because each student learns differently! To add to this, the many ways that students learn greatly influence the way in which teachers lead instruction. The document suggests that children learn naturally under conditions such as: immersion, expectation, responsibility, and response (pg. 8).
Of course, it was interesting to read about how all of this looks in the classroom. I liked the opening paragraph that stated “When children are immersed in demonstrations of how texts are constructed and used, the classroom becomes a place where written language permeates the curriculum” (pg. 8). This is so true! The table given on page 9 was helpful because it listed the different functions of languages to use when teaching (instrumental, regulatory, informative, etc.) and gave examples of each. I liked how this section stressed the importance of exposing children to a lot of literature and a variety of authors (pg. 9).
Best Practices—NCTE
Although this was an optional reading, I skimmed through it and thought it would be valuable to save for later. It explained the “best” ideas to use when teaching and learning spelling. It was interesting to read how they compared these ideas to the “not-so-good” ideas as the described them.
Spelling Is More than Lists and Tests
The module guide also listed this item as an optional read but as with the last document, I read through a little bit of it. I can see this being useful for me when I start setting up a spelling program in my future classroom. It touched on a lot of the things we have learned in in previous modules as well as this one. It highlighted the fact that with all of the other things teachers must teach, not much emphasis is placed on spelling. It also pointed out the essential aspects of a spelling program such as phonemic awareness instruction, strategy instruction, homophone instruction, assessment techniques, and more importantly; instruction that encourages students to become word watchers (pg. 3-5). As I mentioned, assessing students in their spelling abilities is essential so it was great to read about the different assessment ideas such as spelling interviews, spelling notebooks, weekly spelling tests, and of course, spelling miscue analyses (pg. 7-9). I also noted how the document talked about using Inquiry techniques for teaching these strategies. It was great to learn about different examples for each grade level (pg. 10-13).
Phonics/Spelling Continuum
Ashleigh and I recall looking at this document in a previous module but it’s great to be reminded of it now since it is so relevant. It’s helpful to read through the developmental stages in which children learn the different vowel patterns, syllables, and combinations. It was interesting to read the module guide explaining that phonics instruction should be complete by the 3rd grade. It makes sense that children should know and understand each item on the list so they can work to improve their spelling throughout school.
44 Phonemes and Spelling Patterns
Ashleigh and I also discussed seeing and using this document in the module about assessing spelling. This is something we both plan to keep in a file for later use. I’m sure this will come in handy not only for my future teaching but for my own information. It highlights the sound, symbols, and possible spellings for different words.
Pinnell and Fountas
Chapter 15 of Pinnell and Fountas’s text Word Matters gave a great description of what interactive writing is and how it is used in the classroom. Ultimately, this type of writing is teacher guided and involves both the teacher and students to share writing by writing a message or text. It was interesting to read that interactive writing can be used to complete simple tasks such as making a grocery list, retelling a story, writing a letter, and giving directions (pg. 191-192). Oftentimes, the process can be spread out for more than one day of instruction. It was great to read about the many benefits interactive writing has on the students. I learned that it engages them into the process of composing stories, describing characters, using spelling patterns, and connecting writing to reading (pg. 192) and allows beginning readers to say words slowly, listen to sounds, remember a known word, and remember how to write certain letters by thinking of how they look (pg. 193). I liked the example given in the text about one teacher using interactive writing in the classroom. She did a lot to help her students during this process because she showed them how to remember by having them to repeat messages and rereading while writing, said words slowly to demonstrate a word solving strategy, and showed them how to take something they already knew and connect it with the writing (pg. 194-195). It was interesting to read about the different examples of how to use interactive reading with the different grade levels. In order to help children learn about words when doing interactive writing, the text suggests for teachers to work on the edge of children’s understanding about letters and words, use it as a resource for studying words, make connections to other curriculum, use demonstration and prompting techniques, and help students learn to write for themselves (pg. 199-203). These are all really great pieces of advice that should come in handy one day!
Chapter 16 presented a lot of information about something we’ve been discussing and learning about in previous modules—The Writing Workshop. This gave a lot of helpful examples of what to do in a writing workshop to help students find and develop their own voices, acquire thinking about writing (asking important questions throughout the writing process), understand the importance of revisiting their work, and helping them see a purpose behind their writing (pg. 207). As I read in the text, it stressed need to analyze student’s spelling and writing. I liked how this chapter included examples of young student’s work as a way to show common spelling patterns in their writing. It was interesting to be reminded that short mini-lessons can be used to address the problems students encounter (pg. 217-219).
The last required reading from Word Matters gave a lot of helpful information regarding the act of guided reading. I like how the opening paragraph listed the two important aspects to becoming a competent word solver: 1) knowing about words and 2) being able to use one’s knowledge while reading words in the text (pg. 233). Pinnell and Fountas talk about using the “before, during, and after” structure when teaching lessons. The “Before” phase includes the process of selecting appropriate text and introducing them to the students. Analyzing the characteristics of different types of text such as number of lines, range of high-frequency words, and amount of multi-syllable words are important things to consider during this time (pg. 234). The “During” phase calls for teachers to observe and support reading to help individuals read text. Prompting one strategy teachers use during this phase. In this case, prompts are often questions or calls to action that help students solve words as they read (pg. 242). As for the “After” phase, the teacher may have a couple of teaching points and reinforce teaching strategies. In addition, students are encouraged to go back into the text to find words they may have had trouble with. Follow-up activities are often introduced to students to help them use the ideas or concepts learned in a lesson. During this additional time, the book suggests that letter work and/or word work activities be available to helps children look at print and think flexibly about words. Everything presented in this chapter was very interesting and I am sure it will be worth revisiting once I begin setting up a writing workshop in my future classroom.
This was another information-filled module! Everything I have learned has helped me to start thinking about the kinds of things I can implement into a future spelling program in my classroom. Ashleigh and I realize that establishing an effective program is essential to information learned this week is very valuable to us!
Thank you for reading my post! See you next week!
Kelsey
Here we are at the end of module 11! Ashleigh and I talked about how much we have learned so far and this week revealed a lot more helpful information! We reflected on what we read about teaching spelling in relationship to reading.
Spelling In Parts (SIP)I thought this was a very interesting article! It highlighted the many issues that a lot of students encounter when learning to spell words. It was helpful to be reminded of different strategies good spellers often use such as sound-to-spelling patterns and visualization. I learned that when it comes to Consonant-Vowel-Consonant and Consonant-Vowel-Consonant-silent e words, it is the children who use sound strategies who are often successful with spelling such words. It was interesting to read about the conversation with Joey. After having some meaningful SIP instruction, it is evident that he did a lot better with spelling. From this article, I noted that the biggest difference lies in a child’s understanding and ability to break a word up into syllables. The article pointed out that successful students often hear a word, apply common spelling patterns, give visual attention to the pattern, and divide the word into chunks. In broader terns, these are known as three major strategies: using visual memory, graphophonic knowledge,and morphemic knowledge. It was interesting to read about how to help students spell big words. Using the SIP strategy seemed to really help the students tackle the bigger words. It was surprising that the class discussed in the article successfully learned how to spell the word communication. For 2nd graders, I can see this being a really big word. I think the Spelling in Parts (SIP) strategy is a great method to use in the classroom. With some practice, I think I would be able to use it to help students in my future classroom. When choosing a word to work on, the strategy ultimately involves clapping out syllables, divide and pronounce each syllable, say the syllable and spell it, circle difficult spelling patterns, identify a mnemonic or analogy to apply to the pattern, CSW (cover, say, and write the syllable), and finally, check and repeat the word.
Spelling Instruction and Assessment PowerPointIt was interesting to begin this PowerPoint with a little test! I did a lot better than I thought but I did struggle with writing the name Abu Ghraib, mainly because I had a hard time pronouncing the word. Although I knew most of the words on the list, I can see how using the SIP strategy to spell would be very helpful. I liked how the presentation pointed out that spelling needs to be taught along with writing. This makes sense because when students write, they HAVE to spell (slide 5). I remember learning in a previous module something about the number of words we have in the English language but it was surprising to be reminded of the rapid growth in words we experience each day. It’s amazing that we already have 1,003,661 words and will add another 14.7 by the end of the day! It was great to learn that the average educated person knows 20,000 words but only uses 2,000 words in a week. However, it is probably true that these people don’t know how to spell a majority of these words. This slide (slide 6) really made me think about how many words I know and use on a weekly basis! The statistics discussed in the PowerPoint indicate that the average American can spell 20% or less of words in the English language (slide 7). When you really think about it, it’s not that much! The presentation also focused on the three major spelling strategies: Sound (phonetic cues), Sight (visual cues), and Meaning (knowing root words, etc.) (slide 8). It makes sense that spelling is often a difficult task because language, especially the English Language, is made up of a complex set of rules and spoken using a lot of different dialects (slide 9). Because of such difficulty, I can see how invented spelling would be encouraged in young children (slide 10). It was great that the PowerPoint gave some ideas of what kinds of words to include in a spelling list for students to practice and eventually master such as high frequency words, homophones, and words from literature or other subject areas (slide 11-12). I reminded that learning spelling patterns can certainly lead us to spell many words slide 13-14). It’s important to understand the meaning behind words before attempting to spell them. The program sequence for teaching spelling highlighted on slide 15 is definitely something to keep in mind, especially when planning to gradually teach harder words. The presentation also gave ideas of activities to use when teaching spelling such as word sorts, spelling inquiries, sound charts, and word webs. It also listed some valuable teaching techniques such as chunking, sorting roots and suffixes, pairing homophones, and doing rhyme reading (slides 16-23). I thought it was interesting to note the importance of knowing Latin and Greek root words in order to spell. A lot of words have the same root word and can mean almost the same thing. If children could identify this concept, then it may help them when learning to spell them (slide 24). As we learned in a previous module, assessment of a child’s spelling is important. It was great to be reminded of how to conduct a spelling miscue analysis. Like any other assessment, it must be an ongoing process (slide 25-31). I like how the PowerPoint gave the different characteristics of effective speller. I learned that they read a lot, are intrinsically motivated to learn words, and use numerous spelling strategies (slide 32). It is unfortunate that a lot of people who struggle with spelling are often good readers but lack the motivation to become good spellers. The presentation pointed out that these people will eventually identify themselves as bad spellers (slide 33-34). I’m glad that the PowerPoint also gave ideas to use to help struggling spellers in the classroom. Teachers can teach proofreading early, have students to reread literature, give fewer words on a test, and use the SIP strategy. More importantly, they must be encouraged and reassured that they can learn to spell. They can learn to become great word watchers (slide 36-38)!
Spelling—What’s All The Fuss?
This document was an interesting read! I learned a lot about what to look for in different student’s writing. Upon first look, I’m sure that most people would think that Carl produced better writing/spelling than Jason. Carl made minor errors while Jason’s spelling indicated that he needed a lot more practice. However, further examination tells us that there is not much difference between each piece. It was revealed that Carl probably structured his writing using what he learned in a reading basal program where he was mostly prompted to write. He limited his writing so he could use more words he could spell. With Jason’s writing, I noticed that he seemed take more risks with writing and attempted to spell words he didn’t know. This is something for teachers to look past since the problem can easily be solved (pg. 1-4).
I thought it was important to note that spelling is basically a continuation of a child’s language development. With anything they learn, it takes time and practice. In order to help them learn to communicate orally, teachers often ask questions, construct shared meaning, and check for clarification. The document raised an interesting point that this should also be done when teaching written language (spelling) (pg. 5). I thought it was very interesting to learn that trying to identify the spelling level at which a student is can be dangerous. Oftentimes, teachers can meet a child at a certain level but forget that the things they learned in previous stages need to be revisited. Children are continually building on their conventional spelling (pg. 5).
I also gained a lot of insight when reading about Sandra Wilde’s principles of spelling: 1) spelling is evaluated using natural writing, 2) spelling is evaluated analytically and not based on right/wrong, 3) spelling is evaluated in terms of children’s strategies, and 4) teachers should evaluate spelling to be informed of student progress—it should not be used as a mechanical test scorer (pg. 6). To add to her principles, Wilde also presents us with five spelling strategies students can use when writing: 1) Placeholder, 2) Human Resource, 3) Textual Resource, 4) Generation, Monitoring, and Revision, and 5) Ownership (pg. 6). Other higher-level strategies include spelling words as the sound, spelling by analogy, and spelling by linguistic content (pg. 6-7). When considering any strategy to use, the document stresses the importance for teachers to understand that no one strategy is better than the other. They are each valuable because each student learns differently! To add to this, the many ways that students learn greatly influence the way in which teachers lead instruction. The document suggests that children learn naturally under conditions such as: immersion, expectation, responsibility, and response (pg. 8).
Of course, it was interesting to read about how all of this looks in the classroom. I liked the opening paragraph that stated “When children are immersed in demonstrations of how texts are constructed and used, the classroom becomes a place where written language permeates the curriculum” (pg. 8). This is so true! The table given on page 9 was helpful because it listed the different functions of languages to use when teaching (instrumental, regulatory, informative, etc.) and gave examples of each. I liked how this section stressed the importance of exposing children to a lot of literature and a variety of authors (pg. 9).
Best Practices—NCTE
Although this was an optional reading, I skimmed through it and thought it would be valuable to save for later. It explained the “best” ideas to use when teaching and learning spelling. It was interesting to read how they compared these ideas to the “not-so-good” ideas as the described them.
Spelling Is More than Lists and Tests
The module guide also listed this item as an optional read but as with the last document, I read through a little bit of it. I can see this being useful for me when I start setting up a spelling program in my future classroom. It touched on a lot of the things we have learned in in previous modules as well as this one. It highlighted the fact that with all of the other things teachers must teach, not much emphasis is placed on spelling. It also pointed out the essential aspects of a spelling program such as phonemic awareness instruction, strategy instruction, homophone instruction, assessment techniques, and more importantly; instruction that encourages students to become word watchers (pg. 3-5). As I mentioned, assessing students in their spelling abilities is essential so it was great to read about the different assessment ideas such as spelling interviews, spelling notebooks, weekly spelling tests, and of course, spelling miscue analyses (pg. 7-9). I also noted how the document talked about using Inquiry techniques for teaching these strategies. It was great to learn about different examples for each grade level (pg. 10-13).
Phonics/Spelling Continuum
Ashleigh and I recall looking at this document in a previous module but it’s great to be reminded of it now since it is so relevant. It’s helpful to read through the developmental stages in which children learn the different vowel patterns, syllables, and combinations. It was interesting to read the module guide explaining that phonics instruction should be complete by the 3rd grade. It makes sense that children should know and understand each item on the list so they can work to improve their spelling throughout school.
44 Phonemes and Spelling Patterns
Ashleigh and I also discussed seeing and using this document in the module about assessing spelling. This is something we both plan to keep in a file for later use. I’m sure this will come in handy not only for my future teaching but for my own information. It highlights the sound, symbols, and possible spellings for different words.
Pinnell and Fountas
Chapter 15 of Pinnell and Fountas’s text Word Matters gave a great description of what interactive writing is and how it is used in the classroom. Ultimately, this type of writing is teacher guided and involves both the teacher and students to share writing by writing a message or text. It was interesting to read that interactive writing can be used to complete simple tasks such as making a grocery list, retelling a story, writing a letter, and giving directions (pg. 191-192). Oftentimes, the process can be spread out for more than one day of instruction. It was great to read about the many benefits interactive writing has on the students. I learned that it engages them into the process of composing stories, describing characters, using spelling patterns, and connecting writing to reading (pg. 192) and allows beginning readers to say words slowly, listen to sounds, remember a known word, and remember how to write certain letters by thinking of how they look (pg. 193). I liked the example given in the text about one teacher using interactive writing in the classroom. She did a lot to help her students during this process because she showed them how to remember by having them to repeat messages and rereading while writing, said words slowly to demonstrate a word solving strategy, and showed them how to take something they already knew and connect it with the writing (pg. 194-195). It was interesting to read about the different examples of how to use interactive reading with the different grade levels. In order to help children learn about words when doing interactive writing, the text suggests for teachers to work on the edge of children’s understanding about letters and words, use it as a resource for studying words, make connections to other curriculum, use demonstration and prompting techniques, and help students learn to write for themselves (pg. 199-203). These are all really great pieces of advice that should come in handy one day!
Chapter 16 presented a lot of information about something we’ve been discussing and learning about in previous modules—The Writing Workshop. This gave a lot of helpful examples of what to do in a writing workshop to help students find and develop their own voices, acquire thinking about writing (asking important questions throughout the writing process), understand the importance of revisiting their work, and helping them see a purpose behind their writing (pg. 207). As I read in the text, it stressed need to analyze student’s spelling and writing. I liked how this chapter included examples of young student’s work as a way to show common spelling patterns in their writing. It was interesting to be reminded that short mini-lessons can be used to address the problems students encounter (pg. 217-219).
The last required reading from Word Matters gave a lot of helpful information regarding the act of guided reading. I like how the opening paragraph listed the two important aspects to becoming a competent word solver: 1) knowing about words and 2) being able to use one’s knowledge while reading words in the text (pg. 233). Pinnell and Fountas talk about using the “before, during, and after” structure when teaching lessons. The “Before” phase includes the process of selecting appropriate text and introducing them to the students. Analyzing the characteristics of different types of text such as number of lines, range of high-frequency words, and amount of multi-syllable words are important things to consider during this time (pg. 234). The “During” phase calls for teachers to observe and support reading to help individuals read text. Prompting one strategy teachers use during this phase. In this case, prompts are often questions or calls to action that help students solve words as they read (pg. 242). As for the “After” phase, the teacher may have a couple of teaching points and reinforce teaching strategies. In addition, students are encouraged to go back into the text to find words they may have had trouble with. Follow-up activities are often introduced to students to help them use the ideas or concepts learned in a lesson. During this additional time, the book suggests that letter work and/or word work activities be available to helps children look at print and think flexibly about words. Everything presented in this chapter was very interesting and I am sure it will be worth revisiting once I begin setting up a writing workshop in my future classroom.
This was another information-filled module! Everything I have learned has helped me to start thinking about the kinds of things I can implement into a future spelling program in my classroom. Ashleigh and I realize that establishing an effective program is essential to information learned this week is very valuable to us!
Thank you for reading my post! See you next week!
Kelsey
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