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

Clues to a mystery!

            In an article on Google scholar, from Understanding Literacy Development: A Global View, I read about the importance of vocabulary instruction for reading comprehension. This article states, “The correlation between good reading and extensive vocabulary is common knowledge among reading researchers. What is more impressive is that teaching students vocabulary increases their comprehension skills” (McKeough et al, 2008).

            To teach reading comprehension through vocabulary, students should learn words that they are likely to encounter again. One way to do this is through a fun game on my Pinterest board called Hidden Hints.This game develops reading comprehension and vocabulary by solving a mystery using context clues. The game requires a player to use existing vocabulary with new words to draw conclusions. 

Pinterest Board

             Hidden Hints could be used in the classroom while reading books such as Nate the Great, to combine reading mysteries with interactive activities. 

             In class last week, we made a story about "Ordeal by Cheque." Do you think that making up a story about the sequence of checks helped you comprehend the information given, rather than simply reading the information? Will this be important to remember when teaching in your own classroom?

Do we know what the goal is?

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We know the goal of a football game – to win! Ask a struggling reader what their goal is while reading, and they might say that it is to sound out the words. A reader having difficulty with reading comprehension may not know that they should think while reading. According to Cunningham and Allington, “the real danger is that they will not learn that thinking is the goal” (118). Without knowing the goal, it will impossible to achieve it.

In our Reading 430 class last week, we read a text aloud while being timed. The subject was biology, and described a process of cell division. While everyone read the text fluently, we agreed that we did not really understand what we read about, and would not be able to take a test over what we read. I feel that this issue in understanding is common in students.

To ensure that students are comprehending what they read, different approaches may be used. These differ depending on developmental level, learning style, and the type of text read. Consider the two following examples that I think are helpful:

1.      Literate Conversations: These are much more than traditional question and answer sessions. Comprehension improves when students engage in conversation about the text. To begin conversations, start with open-ended questions. Keene and Zimmerman (1997) suggest a framework that helps children think about making three types of connections; text to self, text to text, and text to world.

2.      Think-Alouds: These help young children see what good comprehenders do. To model thinking to your students, explain that there are two as you read. One voice says the words, while the other voice in your brain tells you what you think while reading. Begin your sentences with words such as “this reminds me of…” and “I wonder if…”

And this is important to remember!

Pinterest.com

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

One Minute Fluency

To better assess fluency in students, "our understanding of fluency should be broadened, rather than narrowed" (Deeney, 2010). When using one-minute fluency measures, they have the potential to reduce fluency and redefine it as accuracy and rate. 

Link to Pinterest


In the article One-Minute Fluency Measures: Mixed Messages in Assessment and Instruction, Theresa Deeney explains that one-minute fluency measures are common. This is is due to federal policies and initiatives. While one-minute fluency measures are reliable for identifying students at risk for reading difficulty, they do not align with current definitions of fluency, which may lead to improper instruction.

The definition of reading fluency given by The Literacy Dictionary (Harris and hodges, 1995) is "fredom from word-identification problems that might hinder comprehension...; automaticity". It also describes a fluent reader as "any person who reads smoothly and, without hesitation, and with comprehension".

To teach fluency,  an important element often left out  is endurance. "Endurance can be a significant stumbling block for many struggling readers. Yet endurance is rarely mentioned in fluency research or practice literature, or in reading  research or practice literature" (Deeney, 2010). When using a deeper view, educators can find the WHY behind dysfluent readers.

Resources for Fluency


The link above from Pinterest has fluency resources that are aligned with Common Core Standards. Check them out, they are pretty cool!

Invented Spelling with Guided Instruction

                In Cunningham and Cunningham’s article about Making Words, invented spelling is pointed out as an integral part of reading and writing. To develop decoding abilities, guided invented spelling should be used along with activities such as Making Words.

                Making Words activities are great to use when teaching first and second grade. The activity can be tied into season, such as the following example. There are lots of great ideas on Pinterest for Making Words!

                An exciting part of Making Words is finding the secret word at the end of the lesson. This video shows a teacher using Making Words in her classroom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QNUGTIjnhM

                Would you consider using an advanced version of Making Words in upper elementary classrooms?

                How would you correlate Making Words with your unit topics in subjects such as math and social studies?

Find the Secret in Making Words!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/65231894572177279/

When reading chapter 5 of Classrooms That Work, several techniques were given to teach spelling and phonics. The Making Words activity was an activity that I thought would work well in many classrooms.

Three points that I really like about Making Words are:

1.      Instruction can be differentiated.

·         Little words and big words can be made.

·         Struggling students can maker shorter words.

·         High-achieving students can make longer words.

2.      Scaffolding is used.

·         Guided learning is used

·         Next, students discover new words on their own.

3.      The words made can correlate with a classroom theme.

·         Pets, animals, colors

This activity is an interactive process. When students are making words, they may work in small class or as a class to find all the words. At the end, the teacher gives the “secret word” using all the letters together.

This example shows how Making Words can add to a class theme. I really like the ideas in this blog.   http://www.pinterest.com/pin/374784000211524846/

Common Core ELA Standards require Kindergarten students to “use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened” W.K.3. To connect Making Words to this standard, teachers can use letters to make words related to a class event, and have the students use these words to describe the event and how they feel. This can be completed individually or as a group project.

When teaching phonics, which activities do you prefer?

How will you use activities to meet Common Core Standards in your classroom?

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.readtennessee.org/teachers/common_core_standards/kindergarten/writing/wk3.aspx

Letting go of "Letter of the Week"

This week, the article Letting Go of “Letter of the Week” stood out to me because it made me think about reading outside the classroom differently. In class last week, we discussed whether reading includes symbols, or only letters and words. The “telephone pictionary” game illustrated the use of both words and pictures in literacy, and I think this correlates with the example Donna Bells uses in her kindergarten class. When she asked who could read, there was no reply. However, when she asked the students what a McDonald’s bag was, they all knew the answer – even if they did not speak English.

            When I think about how this applies to my future classroom, I think of how I can apply this idea to students have how given up on reading. Once they realize how much they can already read, they will be motivated to learn more. As Bell says, “having established they could read, we were off and running on our way to unlocking great secrets and joys as readers.”

 

 As an educator, how do you feel about using commercialized materials in the classroom?

 

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

Bell and Jarvis.  (2002).  Letting Go of “Letter of the Week.”  Primary Voices K-6.

  

September 16th Blog Post

In Chapter three of Classrooms That Work, the focus is building on the literacy foundation. To build a foundation, it is important to make the basics of learning fun. When teaching the alphabet in my future classroom, I plan to teach it in unconventional ways, rather than singing the rote alphabet song solely for memorization. There are several ways I plan to integrate learning letters.

1. Finding letters in nature and objects. 

2.Young children love movement according to Cunningham and Allington. Combining the alphabet with music and movement gets children moving while they act out each letter. Something I like about this version of the alphabet is that "S sits silently" and this could be used as an ending or in classroom management after the students begin to know the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tepwi3-lAAM.

3. Make the alphabet eatable! Giving students a healthy snack to teach them about words beginning with each letter is a great way to relate the alphabet to everyday words. 

Building the foundation of literacy by combining the alphabet and reading into everyday life and making it exciting stresses in importance of literacy in all areas.
As future teachers, what do you think of these ideas? How will you build foundations of literacy in your classroom?

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

            This week’s assignment in Classrooms That Work focused on what sets exceptional teachers apart from typical teachers, and creating enthusiastic readers. The article What I've Learned about Effective Reading Instruction also stressing the importance of quality teachers. Based on the readings, I believe that an essential motivator for skilled readers is a teacher reading aloud. When I observed teacher read-alouds in my former observations, they excited students about reading.

            Teachers reading to the class encourages students to read other books by the same author or about the same subject. Classrooms That Work points out the necessity of reading both fact and fiction to students. Without realizing, my first pick to read aloud to a class would be something such as The Cat in the Hat, because that is a personal favorite. However, some students may be more interested in an information book about cats. When setting up my classroom, I will need to have both types of books readily available for students to have a wide variety of books.

            After reading the article by Mr. Allington and Classrooms That Work, I am interested in finding out if teacher read-alouds motivated others to read other books by the same author or in the same series? Also, which books were your childhood preference: fact or fiction, and is that your first choice today?