Guided Reading Assignment

1. Guided reading focuses on small groups of students reading books at their level, with teacher supervision. Interaction between the teacher and students concentrates on modeling comprehension strategies in three stages: before reading, during reading, and after reading. The goal is independent reading.

2. Guided reading graphic organizer.

Before Reading	During Reading	After Reading
The teacher begins with a reminder  that  they have been learning about weather.  She asks the students to look at the book. What do they see? What types of weather are there? ·         Sunny ·         Stormy ·         Cloudy ·         Rainy The teacher makes a prediction that they will learn about the weather. Above all, the teacher gets the students motivated and eager to begin reading.	The teacher reads the title, then the small group reads along with her. Students talk about which types of weather they like. She brings up the photographs depicting the weather. The words “clouds” and “weather” are analyzed. The students find the words on the page. Photographs are clues to the words. She acts out the wind and sounds it out. The group finds the word and discover the beginning sound is “w”, the same as “weather” . Snow is next, they find other words they know. They know every word on the page! Icicles are frozen water. “Ice” is “I” Stormy pictures have lots of clouds. “lightening” acted out. “L” sound. Rain starts with a “r”, students see snow, but word starts with r. Photos and words are clues together. Sunny “s” punctuation mark is exclamation mark, excited, speak excitedly.	The teacher's instructions are: go back to the cover and read on your own. She tells them a secret -  if you finish, you can read again! Read the whole entire time. Ready, set, go!!  The students read alone, with the  teacher moving around the group. The secret gives the teacher an opportunity to focus on struggling readers towards the end of the lesson without interruptions. She tells the students something to remember for rest of their reading lives:  make sure the beginning and ending sounds go with word the photo describes. the teacher tells the students “w” sound right but the word is “wind” not “winter” Also, something may not make sense. Word on every page – what as wat. What makes sense instead, students correct teacher. The lesson ends with word work. The teacher shows pictures of weather types:  rain, sun, lightening, clouds, wind, snow,and  ice.The students repeat each word. The group went over beginning letters for pictures, c for cloud, l for lightening, etc. They did a matching exercise. Then they got to the "hard part" – last sound in word, teacher went  first, “Sun” “n” put card after sun. w for snow, w for wind Ice is tricky.. sounds like s but silent e.  After lesson is over, they still want to finish.

3. Video Response.

This teacher was passionate about reading, and her enthusiasm for the lesson showed in the students' eagerness to learn. Watching this lesson helped me grasp the concept of guided reading, and I really enjoyed seeing the teacher interact with the students in a positive way to make learning exciting. She seemed to do a great job keeping the group on track as well. Her "secret" about rereading was a good tool for faster readers and also gave her an opportunity to help struggling readers.

4. Reading A-Z.
This website is a great tool for guided reading resources. When looking for books to use in guided reading, this is a good place to look, since the books can be found by level, theme, and reader interest. Besides printable books, this website has lesson plans, quizzes, and graphic organizers. After using these resources in guided reading, they can be put in the class library for independent reading. 

Literacy Organization - Making a Checklist

While reading of this week’s assigned article in The Reading Teacher by Gay Su Pinnell helped me look at reading teachers as a team rather than individuals working towards a goal separately. These lines in the article really stood out to me, “most new ideas fail, sometimes before they are truly tried. A major reason for this is that most good ideas are implemented within unstable environments.” They may fail due to changing administration, teachers, or students. However, Pinnell does not bring this up to discourage educators from trying a new endeavor, but rather to give teachers eight ideas to take action.

1. Learn about learning: This requires a coherent theory of learning, which refers to understanding how children learn, and is something that teachers should always be developing.
2. Put your theory into action: Once you have an understanding of your students’ reading knowledge and abilty, it is time to teach reading through a variety of resources. This must be a well-rounded approach instead of focusing on a specific area.
3. Establish inquiry as an integral part of your teaching: Assessments should be used to modify lesson plans to student needs and individual levels, not to push for high test scores.
4. Use research-based practices and put extra energy into making them work: Attending professional development workshops and having book studies with colleagues helps teachers implement research-based practices and continually use these practices in the classroom.
5. Put your theory to work in the classroom: While policies may change over time, teachers are a valuable asset. They are able to build on the skills they develop and find ways to expose students to additional materials.
6. Take every opportunity to create community: colleagues are an immense support system throughout a teacher’s career.
7. Enjoy reading and writing with your students: Creating an environment where students are eager to learn is key. Having conversations about literature and exchanging ideas motivate student reading and writing.
8. Imagine a future and work toward it: The present is only time when we can make a difference and shape the future. When teachers work together towards reading goals with every one of their students, they will make a difference together. 

      As I further my education towards becoming a teacher, literacy organization becomes increasingly important. Having this checklist as a tool in my literacy backpack will help keep me organized in the classroom, and help me remember what the big picture is. I plan to refer to these guidelines as I implement new practices.

 Pinnell,Gay Su.  Every child a reader: What one teacher can do. The Reading Teacher. Sept. 2006, Vol. 60, No. 1.

How should we assess?

            

            Through my education process, I have found stigma and negativity to surround assessments and Common Core in the field of teaching. This seems to be because while we need to assess students, there is not one best way to do so.

            The article I read by Jim Rubin states, “mandated tests tend to give a snapshot of a child’s ability, whereas use of a variety of assessments gives teachers a more comprehensive portrait” (606). To understand assessment, I believe that it is important to remember that while assessments are necessary, they cannot consume all of our time.

            When using multiple assessments, I especially like running records. I found a great form on Pinterest from a third grade teacher. She also mentioned that she conducts reading conferences with her class, which seemed to be a great tool! Link to blog

             This is an example of a running record form. This can formatted differently depending on classroom grade level and individual student needs.

                                                 

Stelli Pinterest

            Running records are more individualized, and seem to give a more comprehensive view, rather than an analytical viewpoint. They can be combined with standardized tests to give teachers a full picture of their students’ reading level. I feel that it is especially important to compare assessments for discrepancies; students may have a bad test day or not have background knowledge needed for the test.

            I hope that when I step into the field of teaching, I can focus on helping students learn instead of becoming caught up in assessments.

            Which assessment methods do you plan to use in your future classrooms?

Rubin, Jim. Organizing and Evaluating Results From Multiple Reading Assessments. The Reading Teacher, 64(8) pp. 606-611. Web. November, 18, 2013.

Guided Reading

            Guided reading involves a teacher reading to a small group of students at similar reading levels. The teacher selects a book that the students can read with about 90% accuracy. This way, students have the chance to apply strategies they already know to new text. The goal of guided reading is independent reading. This week, I read an article by Anthony Manzo. He discusses the importance of guided reading for higher order comprehension skills.

            The procedure for guided reading is this:

·         The teacher gives a small group of students a text to read or listen to.

·         Next, the teacher provides an introduction and purpose reading this text.

·         Each student reads the text.

·         The student finds the meaning of new words from the text.

·         The teacher prompts problem solving and encourages readers.

·         The teacher and students have conversation about the reading.

·         Returning to the text, students use a range of strategies to comprehend.

I also watched this video on guided reading. It really helped to see a lesson in action. I especially like the fact that it was made in nearby Jefferson County! 

After reading this article, I realize that my teachers have used this strategy from elementary grades to college classes. On standardized tests, students are often asked to read a passage and then answer questions about the reading that require comprehension. Classrooms with guided reading will help prepare students to understand questions on standardized tests.

Activities for guided reading can be found on my Pinterest. Guided reading question cards are a good way to promote higher level thinking. These questions could be chosen by the teacher based on each student’s level of comprehension. 

            In your future classroom, when will you use guided reading? At which grade level do you think guided reading can be introduced?

Anthony V. Manzo. Journal of Reading , Vol. 18, No. 4 (Jan., 1975), pp. 287-291. International Reading Association. Web. November 18, 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40031402

Vivid, Vital, Valuable Vocabularies!

In Classrooms That Work, chapter six is about building vivid, vital, and valuable vocabularies. This chapter explains that “when you see or hear words, your brain makes connections to those words” (95). For example, when you hear or read green or bat, you may quickly picture something such as a grassy field or a spooky Halloween bat. However, we do not think of the definition of the word.

Consequently, vocabulary is necessary for reading comprehension. A great way to teach vocabulary with the whole class together is with this team SWAT game!

SWAT Vocabulary game on Pinterest

With the activity on this blog, the teacher projects the vocabulary words on the board, and the students write the words on index cards at their seats. She teams boys against girls, and calls out definitions, fill in the blank sentences, or opposites. When the students know the word, they “swat” it with a fly swatter. This sounds like so much fun, and the students think about the words rather than writing rote definitions.

Also, teaching students to monitor their vocabulary knowledge is important. One way to do this is through hand signs. Have students raise their hands with a range of 1 to 5 of how well they understand a new vocabulary word helps the instructor quickly see which levels their students are at. Having a chart displayed in the classroom is a great reminder!

Cunningham, Patricia M. and Richard L. Allington. Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 2011. 28-47. Print

Emergent Literacy Through Real Life Inquiry

For my Real-Life Reading Inquiry project in Reading Education 430, I observed a kindergarten classroom reading lesson. I wanted to discover reading hands-on techniques for emergent literacy in early elementary students. While planning my visit, the teacher informed me that she would be working on sight words, vocabulary, and possibly blending. I was excited to see a reading lesson in action and gain experience in an early education classroom.

 When I first arrived in the classroom, the students were making cards for a classmate who had just underdone surgery. As they were finishing their work, the teacher told the students to move over to sit in front of the smart board. She began her morning message, which included music and movement with a days of the week song similar to this.

Then the class transitioned into reading the daily message. The teacher called on several students to highlight words or letters they knew in the message, using a wand that activated the smart board.

Once they finished the morning message, she went to sit in a rocking chair, and the students turned to face her. A big book of illustrated poems was her read-aloud text. Before she began reading the book, the teacher introduced it by explaining that it was a book of poems. Then she described poems as a type of story which is usually short, and sometimes rhymes.

The first poem, Picnic Day, had rhyming lines ending with words such as trees/breeze and shade/lemonade. She asked students if they heard rhyming words, and then more specifically, which words rhymed. At this time, she pointed out that rhymes often occur at the end of a line. Then she read the poem through again for students to listen to the rhymes a second time. When students were deciding whether two words rhymed, they gave a thumbs up or thumbs down. This gave the teacher an idea of which students understood the concept.

Next, the teacher read another poem, The Storm. When the students began talking about the pictures rather the poem, she suggested that they close their eyes and she read the poem again. After she finished reading, she asked them what they visualized, which she explained as what you pictured in your head. This really helped the students listen to the rhymes and understand the poem.

Stelli's Pinterest

After the read-aloud, the students went to their tables for a lesson in their Journeys Common Core books. The aspect I liked most about the lesson was the book was also shown on the smart board, so the students could read along as the one student and teacher partner read alternating pages. Next the students partnered with a buddy beside them and read to each other, and then a second time to the teacher or her assistant. 

There is strong emphasis on rhymes to build the literacy foundation for young children. Classrooms That Work states “kindergarten and first-grade classrooms should be filled with rhymes” (42). Using rhymes in read-alouds help children build vocabulary, and is necessary with Common Core standards. For example: K.1.13 begin to experience various literary and media genres. Within this standard, rhyming books are a genre that must be explored. According to Cunningham and Allington, in order for students to become the best readers and writers they can be, “teachers provide a comprehensive curriculum and devote time and energy to all the important concepts of literacy. They model, demonstrate, and encourage.”

To build a strong literacy foundation, a print rich classroom is essential. Cunningham and Allington state "classrooms in which children are encouraged to write have lots of print in them" (36). The classroom I observed was a great example of this. The picture below shows some of the print in the classroom. There were labels on almost everything in the classroom.

The reading corner was decorated with a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Poster and had bean bags to sit on.  
          

In my observation on emergent literacy, I learned much more than sight words and vocabulary. I had the opportunity to observe a teacher model an interactive reading lesson and see effective classroom management. I look forward to implementing the techniques I observed in my future classroom.

Works Cited

Cunningham, Patricia M. and Richard L. Allington. Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 2011. 28-47. Print

http://www.tn.gov/education/ci/english/doc/READ_Grade_K.pdf

Comprehension Presentation