Lyons+Section+3

= Section three comments, questions and insights: = Chapter 8 Josh VanHorn Believing is doing. When a teacher believes a student will learn, the student will learn. As a teacher you need to set a tone for your classroom early in the school year, by telling the students they will learn to read. Giving them the confidence that you believe in them will in return give them more confidence and trust in the teacher. As a teacher you need to make a connection with the students on more than one level. You need to connect with the student’s personality and emotional state. You need to listen to their little stories and make them feel that you are interested in them as a person. Let the student know that he/she is important to you. By creating that environment in your classroom, students will feel comfortable and confident in their learning. An expert teacher is something every teacher strives to become. By continuing education teachers are always reaching for that goal. When I meet an expert teacher I like to talk with this teacher and learn as much as I can from his/her teachings and experiences. Expert teachers need to "expect the lowest-achieving children to learn how to read and write; know how to develop students’ capacity to learn; and believe that they will teach them to read and write. A teacher should never classify her students as the low group or the group that will not read or succeed in his/her class. When a teacher places this label on the students it is hard to remove. As a teacher you will always look at those students as the bottom of your class. You need to think like an expert teacher and expect everyone to learn. A teacher needs to use the best learning tool: communication. Personalize the conversations, talk about the child’s interests, show that you are interested in what they are saying, ask for opinions, ask a few questions during a conversation, and use an inquiry stance. Communication allows the students to share their ideas and experiences. The child will feel part of the learning process when you ask for the child’s input on a lesson or activity. By giving ownership in the learning process the teacher has helped the student become independent and responsible. (Which is what every teacher wants their students to be!)

Chapter 9 Josh VanHorn In this chapter I got a good understanding of how important a good teacher is in teaching reading to these struggling children that we see on a daily basis. I felt that it showed how teachers can use their time and knowledge to help students build skills and succeed. I liked how the book provided examples of how teacher interaction in certain reading situations really help students succeed. I felt one of the most important statements made it this chapter is that a teacher can not learn to teach reading by reading texts or articles but the best way is by getting in the classroom and doing it first hand. Becoming an expert teaching is a difficult task and teaching at an expert level on a daily basis is even tougher. In this chapter it showed the many different steps that an expert teacher does on a daily basis. These teachers really understand the reading process and also take into consideration that it changes as the students change and progress. This skill really helps these teachers because it makes them better planners and instructor. These teachers know how children react to instructions and are willing and ready to change it if a child gets behind. Experts teacher know their students and their needs. These teachers are very good a knowing what problems each different child faces and how to work around it. Once the child has mastered something, these teacher know exactly what the next step is for a child. The reading teacher has to be really flexible and be able to provide a certain scaffolding that helps students be successful with a task. A teacher always has to closely monitor each student and be able to change instruction on a daily basis. Reading teachers have to be able to reflect on a daily basis on the reading lesson in order to be successful. The must do this before, during, and after the lesson. A teacher must be able to change things on the fly and use a different approach if they see the lesson is not sinking in. These teachers are real workers, the never quit teaching during the instruction time. They also are always thinking and planning whether it is during school hours or not. I feel that these teachers always have the students success first in their heart and they truly love what they do for a living. The expert teacher I know do not consider it a job, but a way of life. In conclusion I feel that expert teachers have to use a variety of resources on a daily basis in order to be successful. First, these teachers have to be properly trained and be willing to be life long learners in this subject. The teacher must be able to look at past research and use that to help them succeed. The expert teacher also must be able to observe students and take what they observe into consideration when planning on instructing these students. Lastly, a teacher must realize that each student is different and it will take different instruction in order to reach different students. I felt that I learned a lot of how to be a more effective reading teacher from this chapter, I will need more professional development and a lot more class time before I can be labeled "expert".

Chapter 10 Josh VanHorn As a teacher you need to know that all children can learn to read and write in the primary grades, with a small exception of one to two percentage of children. By understanding how the brain works and how to strive to be an expert teacher, a teacher can achieve the goal of teaching her students to be successful in reading and writing. You need to remember that all parts of the child need to be considered when teaching them. Include the social and emotional parts of the child when teaching your lessons. Children learn from experiences that included an emotional memory or a social experience. You need to build on what the child has experienced already. Include trust, happiness, joyful activities, meaningful tasks, and provide lots of opportunities for success in your classroom. A teacher needs to teach the whole child. A child needs to fortunate to find a teacher like those spoke about in the book. Those teachers who have an understanding of believing in the child and giving them confidence and responsibilities of their own learning. A student who has a teacher who cares about the children and not just the paycheck will have a favorable chance of learning to read and write. Those students who are not able to read or write and come to a teacher who wants to strive and reach the goal for her students, will make more success in the process than those who are just teaching the class as a group. Teachers need to invest in the students future. He/she needs to help the children feel confident, safe, and secure when in his/her classroom. A teacher needs to believe in her students, but also in his/her own teaching abilities. A teacher needs to provide learning opportunities and experiences that maximize students’ learning potential. By going above the average students will benefit, and you will feel good about a job well done.