Big Ideas

There were a lot of big ideas I learned this week about teaching kids literacy. Here are a few:

- Reading is about comprehension in text
- Build on background knowledge
- Kids need to know word in speaking vocabulary for them to read the word
- Reading is a problem solving activity

For literacy class this week we read “What Kind of Text—For Whom and When? Textual Scaffolding for Beginning Readers” by Kathleen J. Brown. It is a good resource article on deciding which reading level kids were in and some book recommendations that would be good for each level. The article also talked about how texts can be used as a teaching tool for scaffolding. Scaffolding is important because “it helps learners accomplish what they are almost but not quite, able to do independently” (p.292). Scaffolding relates to a big idea we learned in class on building background knowledge. Working with our kindergarten and 2nd grade buddies I can see where showing kids where they are successful and building on their prior knowledge gradually can help with their confidence as readers. I am reminded that it is not always trying to read harder books. Therefore understanding how books flow and read with the types of words used is important as a teacher.

The 2nd grade buddy I am working with is a strong reader. It nice to see the correlation with the concepts we are learning in class and seeing them in practice. While my buddy was reading the only words she self-monitored were words that were unfamiliar to her in her reading vocabulary. New words included interrogation, groused, and agile. In addition, my 2nd grade buddy was able to self-monitor, self-correct, and cross check the words: regal, persistence, and handkerchief. She used graphophonic (letter-sound) mostly to figure out the words she did not know.

In class we talked about the Read Well program and then the next day, I was also able to observe a first grade literacy circle using Read Well. The children were learning how to focus their reading by pointing their finger throughout each sentence. I heard the teacher say, “remember to read the whole word.” The teacher and student part seemed to go well and the kids I observed were successful in this practice. I also watched the teacher hand out small slinky's to the kids to help them stretch out sounds of words and then bring them back.

As I watched the first graders in their literacy circles, I was also reminded of how short their attention spans were and how easily it was for them to get side-tracked. What’s the best way to handle this during reading so the teacher does not have to repeat directions over and over?