Weekly Reading 9/30

I think it is safe to say that most of us in this class have been read to in our childhood. It is something very entertaining for a child, and in most cases, a good way to put them down for a little sleep. But seriously, the "Value of Read-Aloud beyond Primary Years" article makes the point that reading-aloud is risk-free. "The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children." Reading to children at a young age is extremely valuable, but continuing that throughout childhood and especially later in development is just as important. Anytime we read a text in my class, I have the students either popcorn read the selection aloud to me, or I start and stop within the section to make it more interesting. This engages them, keeps them alert, and it is a really valuable time to building community and literacy learning. 

I found the section on student roles during read-aloud very informative.  So this time is usually conducted by the teacher or an affluent student. What i found the most interesting, is that the students don't initially have the text. The students during the first or only read-aloud are supposed to be taking notes, really paying attention or asking questions which engages them. Then when it is done the second time or if it is read a second time, the students already have a little background from their notes or the questions that were asked. 

I definitely plan on incorporating a read-aloud in the manner in the very near future!

Weekly Reading 9/23

The focus of Chapter 1 in the Content-Literacy reading is on adolescent literacy and its importance. The first thing that caught my eye was this statement: "Learning to read is the main focus of primary school education; reading to learn is its logical extension and must be the responsibility of middle and secondary school teachers." Many teachers are assuming today that learning to read and reading to learn are the exact same thing, but that is only true in very general terms, not when you take into account subject-matter texts (expanded assignments, required notetaking and increased dependence upon multiple textbooks with varied and complex organizational patters and graphics) as the text states.

Another thing that I found interesting was the point the text made about emphasis and reemphasis. Texts were not meant to be read in isolation, because then there would be no need for us. Anyone who could read could just pick up a text and read it, no problem right? No, the texts are meant to be facilitated by someone who is promoting interaction between the reader and the text. The text provides a few techniques to do this: tailoring the message, activating prior knowledge, focussing attention and monitoring comprehension. All of these actions can help promote interaction between the student and what they are reading, and most of all this will focusses on the reading to learn side of the coin.

Website Resource Review

The site I am reporting on is called quizlet.com. It is a tool for vocabulary review, practice, and testing.The main target audience for this site would be high school age kids, and they would use it in class and at home. It is not blocked by the Knox county internet system, and I can and do use it everyday in my classroom, because I think the kids should review everyday. There is no guarantee that they will on their own, so I do it for them everyday. 

This site obviously helps us directly address content that is being taught everyday, because we are able to review vocabulary from each chapter using the site. You can go in and put in the words that are necessary for each chapter and then mix them up to review. I say the words out loud to the students, then they repeat them back to me, I say a sentence in German that involves the words, and then we go over the definitions together. The students can use this tool on their own computers or on the IWB (interactive white board) in class. 

You can sign in with an account, but i allow the students to just access it using my mentor teachers username: jrowe3737. With that, they can look at everything that we have put up. They only downside of the website is that it only has a few options when it comes to testing the students, so I usually create my own quizzes using the vocabulary words. 

Reading Supports for All: Response

This article deals with reading support and scaffolding for English Language Learners in the classroom.  It makes the point early on that EL learners, just like monolingual learners need experiences and practice with reading broaden their repertoires of reading strategy. Scaffolding in the SREs is important and it refers to a temporary adjustable support that allows to the student to complete the task, like explaining a small reference within the reading or referring to some information that the student has already learned to move them on in the exercise. These experiences are especially important  ELLs because reading in a new language, especially in English involves a lot of complexity that may not be found in their native language. I like how this article goes into more detail about how to use SREs effectively, by highlighting instances where it is used, and also by providing examples of how to use them in a classroom.