Word Study

I felt the Making Words activity was a very constructive approach to teaching literacy. It appealed to many different levels of students. More advanced students will be reinforced and engaged when creating larger words typically. Whereas, the students who may be struggling can see words broken down and sounded out. Understanding word endings and root words is essential to reading fluently and for meaning. Can allowing students to misspell words initially create incorrect spelling habits in the long term?
I also really enjoyed reading the Ten Important Words Plus article. It seems to be a great way to teach reading explicitly without dulling down the instruction. The bigger picture was focused on which is all about connecting key words and ideas. This strategy seems to be a long term ability that will help students derive meaning from texts at an appropriate rate. Even the struggling readers can use this strategy to help confirm the main points they took away from the reading were truly the main points the writer was trying to convey. Giving the students actual prompts to discuss seems to be a subtle way of getting everyone thinking on the same page yet still divergent. These prompts and discussions may serve as reinforcement to some students and learning moments for others. How are some ways this reading strategy could be beneficial to English language learners or students with reading disabilities? Could this be confusing for some students ultimately?

Phonemic Awareness

Phonemes were referred to as building blocks in developing phonemic awareness and other aspects of literacy. This indicates the importance of phonemic awareness, but also the ability for all to develop phonemic awareness. The process begins smalls and then expands to something so broad. I definitely agree that instruction of phonemic awareness needs to be very purposeful and deliberate, as mentioned in Cunningham's and Allington's fifth chapter. However, I feel that word play and student interactions can create literacy experiences unintentionally and those should be embraced and extended. By doing so students will become more observant and feel connected to everyday language. Not spending a considerable amount of time on things such as "Word of the Day" is another point I completely agree with. Having the letters of the alphabet displayed along with a picture seem to be adequate enough. Associating literacy sounds with letters is something that often unfolds naturally, and should be elaborated on rather than dwelling on the simple notion. What are your thoughts on classroom rituals you experienced growing up, such as Word of the Day maybe? Helping our students move along at a comfortable pace is all about learning to be a literacy coach. As a future special educator I plan on having to focus more of my time of specific cuing and coaching to help my students grasp concepts. The Make a Word, Bag Game and the clapping of syllables seem like great ways to get students up and moving. I also LOVED the word sorts that Dr. Gilrane showed in my El Ed Friday class as a way to break down and introduce new language patterns and vocabulary. Having as many outlets as possible with phonemes and all aspects of literacy seems to be an affective and achievable route for teachers (aka coaches) and students. Are there any phonemic or other literacy activities you engaged in as a student that grabbed your attention and fostered understanding?

Fostering Fluency

The main idea I picked up on in each of the readings was that reading fluency is an ongoing process that has to be taught explicitly. No matter what the age of a student is they are never too young to pick up a lower level book and refresh their basic fluency skills. For many students word-for-word reading has gotten them through but just barely. After many years of barely squeaking by they often encounter many difficulties with reading that are ultimately discouraging and detrimental to comprehension. The one-minute reading screens seem to be a great time efficient way to identify students who are struggling with fluency, or a component of fluency. However, my greatest concern is that some students may have learned to disguise their lack of comprehension because they are capable of reading aloud to sound as though they are deriving some meaning from the text.
I loved how fostering fluency was explained as a very explicit process. For instance, echo and choral reading. These both will help students see how the components of fluency are relevant to them and their understanding. I think something funny and additional to correctly modeling fluency would be to read to them and show how it sounds when someone uses the components incorrectly. For example, having the teacher or a student reading a statement, that could be viewed as sad by the context, cheerfully and joyfully. Above I inserted a Wordle which can be a source for creating a word cloud for new units, or when reviewing previously covered. More over, word walls seemed to be a great way to engage the students when selecting the words and creating them. The word walls could also serve as reminders when students are unsure of how to spell or use a word. In Dr. Gilrane's class this past Friday we talked about sorting, and how it can be effective for introducing new words more so than having a word of the week. Basically students are constantly adding to their vocabularies and reading skills. Even as adults we are all still learning. How many times have you been reading or engaged in a conversation and came across an unfamiliar word? Did you ask what it meant, go home and look it up, or do you still not know what it means? I think we shouldn't assume our students will do what we would do necessarily when they are in a situation where they are presented with unfamiliar language or texts. We should treat reading and fluency as a process that is continual and provide them with many outlets to help them or to show them how to help themselves.

Below is the link to a YouTube video I found of two young students echo reading to one another.

Everyone is a Reader!

I enjoyed the readings for this week SO much. I loved the second article I read, "Letting Go of Letter of the Week." The determination of the teachers and the students was very uplifting. For so long phonics has been the major emphasis in learning to read. I feel that phonics is an important part of learning to read, but it should not be valued more than making reading meaningful to students. Having the alphabet and the students' pictures under the first letter of their name makes the classroom a student-centered environment. Students who come from diverse backgrounds where literacy isn't the main focus need to feel connected to their classroom especially. Many children may be intimidated by coming to a school where their native language isn't spoken. Being able to use their friends' names as references to the letters and sounds of the English alphabet can make the language more meaningful. It was really touching when the kindergarten girl stated "We are already writers." I enjoyed when the teacher asked the kindergarteners to raise their hands if they could read ,after she initially asked them,Also, giving the students chances to write to the caefteria ladies, and asking the principal questions is a very inquiry centered environment for the students. Growing up I remember having Word of the Week and being drilled on phonics. It wasn't until high school was creative writing promoted where I grew up. Letting go of the phonics-first/skill-and-drill approach seems to be one of the best ways to getting our students to have a positive relationship with reading and writing.