Taberski+Part+4

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=Taberski Part 4: Comments, insights, new learning, etc =

Josh VanHorn Chapter 11 The most important part of independent reading for students is that they read the "right" books. You need to assure the student has above ninety-percent accuracy on the story. You need to keep in mind that the student is interested in the book. As a teacher you have a hard job pairing the right book with the right student. A book should not just be easy, but challenge the student to use their reading strategies to figure out words that he/she can not read automatically. Children will be motivated to read more if they are able to quickly problem solve a word. When children can work out the difficulties they more likely enjoy reading than those children who are reading books that are too difficult. I like how the book states if the book is hard tell the student no, because you care for them as a reader. As a teacher you need to have enough books in your classroom to accommodate the children as they change reading levels. When choosing books for emergent and early reader students consider font size, spacing and background. You should also think about the number of words and lines on a page. Teachers need to remember when picking books to look at consistency, repetition, and word difficulty. Think about illustrations matching words, and words matching the oral language. When choosing books for transitional and fluent readers think about book length, character and plot complexity, change of setting and time cues. Think about age-appropriate concepts and humor. Decide whether or not a book is part of a series. Find a balance of narration and dialogue. Organize your books by developmental stages. If you keep a shelf set aside for books at each level you can find these books quickly. This will also allow you to remember which books are appropriate for each reading group. Take time at the beginning of the year to choose a test book and complete a running record. As a teacher you can also complete the Ohio Word Test before determining what reading level a student is at. This will allow you to determine the reading levels for each student. Depending on what level the student is reading at will determine the number of books in a bag for that student. Early and emergent readers need more books (around ten), because of short text. Whereas the transitional and fluent readers will need less (around five), because it may take several days for a student to read one book. Provide students with the materials for successful readers to develop. You need to start small and think big while teaching reading. JV Chapter 12 This chapter talks about the importance of independent reading time for students in a reading class. It states that children need this independent time to explore their horizons and learn from themselves. This time does need some monitoring from a teacher making sure the books are age-appropriate and that a particular student can succeed reading this book. There are many steps that a teacher must take in order to conduct a successful independent reading classroom. A teacher has to have goals set and know how to achieve them. A teacher must have clear-cut expectations that the students understand. Next the teacher has to provide an environment and materials that promote success. The children must have books that they can succeed with and are aligned with their reading level. A teacher must not ask too much out of a student whether it is giving them too hard of a book to read or by asking them to read for an extremely long period of time. Lastly, a teacher must hold the students accountable for being successful independent readers. The children have many things that they must do in order to be successful independent readers. They first must read the book. Without reading it they will not be able to take the next important steps. A student must then fill out a daily reading log stating the name of the book, goals for reading the book, and the pages read. After this is complete the student will be able to write down some responses to the book. A student should be able to write down some sentences regarding what they have read. These steps will help a teacher make sure that this time is being used as productive time for a student to practice their reading skills. It also allows for students to choose topics that they are interested in, therefore promoting fun in reading. In conclusion this chapter show teachers how to use and assess independent reading time in the classroom. The chapter laid out the groundwork for teachers to allow the students to be successful and make them want to read.

JV Chapter 13 In the final chapter it talks about the importance of the responses that children give teachers about the reading that they are doing. The first type of response that is discussed is the oral response. I seen this used in the small group setting in my observations. The first step to this is allowing students time to think before they give you an answer. Some students will immediately blurt out the answer but some students need time to think about the answer before they say it. The second step is that a teacher must help students interact. During this part a teacher uses other students to help a struggling student succeed. This is a very fragile technique in my opinion. The last thing a teacher needs to do to be successful is make sure the questions they ask are good questions that the students understand and can be successful with. The second type of response is the written form. This involves a wide variety of approaches where students can write down what they have read or how they feel about what they have read. The suggested methods that I like are to have students write down their favorite parts of the book. Then have them write how the book relates to their regular life. This part will work really good with the older students that I plan on working with. The next part is to have the students summarize the book and put it into their own words. This method has been used for years and has many different twists that teachers can put on it. Lastly, the students can relate this book to other books that they have read. In conclusion this chapter gives several suggestions on how to use responses to promote comprehension among readers. I feel that these suggestions will work with some more instruction and professional development given to teachers. The different approaches and responses can be used not only to help comprehend reading but also to assess what the reader is getting out of the material.

Chapter 10 When working with a child one on one, there are things to do to make it more effective. Make the place the right place for you and the student, what with the positives, give honest feedback, (don’t sugarcoat what you say) and allow them time to practice. Decide what to teach and why you’re going to teach it. We can help children learn concepts of print by observing them as they handle their books. We can show them what they need to be doing. The more opportunities that children have to examine books with an adult who points out what they should be doing the more comfortable they will be with handling books. When children use meaning to predict what the text says the more important information will rise to the surface. When a child comes to a word they don’t automatically know they need to try to figure it out with the reading strategies that they already know. Children understand syntax because they use it when they speak. When kids read they have to apply their understanding of grammar to the text. The various levels that kids read on affects their overall language development. For example the early readers begin to memorize where as the more fluent readers know that the reading through print contains a message. Reintroducing strategies helps children to understand how and when to use them. Simply teaching a child to look for a smaller word within a word is a strategy a child may be using to help understand the meaning of the book. Section 4 Chapter 11 When a child is matched with the correct leveled reading they can read independently for extended periods of time. They are also more successful if that book is of interest to them. WE as teachers need to want the children to want to read. The students must want to learn the skills and strategies being taught and see themselves as successful doers of the activity. Children are capable of using a variety of reading strategies if their books offer the right amount of supports and challenges-as long, as it is not to challenging. If a child is engaged in a book and can independently work out the difficulties along the way they are more likely to enjoy what they read. Reading will become a satisfying experience and they will want to repeat it. One of teacher’s most important things they do is match the students to the books; it too can be one of the most demanding. Text is more supportive when it is in the came place on each page. Number of words and line on a page are also important. Children need to understand the concepts of print and one to one matching. Illustrations are also important to students. They help children combine and extend what they already know about the letter sounds on the paper. Repetition and predictability is things that students rely on to gain more knowledge. With these two things a child can participate more fully in the book and proceed more confidently. As children reading skills evolve so does the complexity of their books. The setting may be different, more characters, and more moods are introduced in longer books. Children can lose quick interest in a book if it is too hard for them. Familiar topics and experiences are easier to read about. As we discuss with our children the points of the book we should also be assessing their strengths and their needs to decide if the books are for them or to hard for them. When taking a running record 3 or 4 books should be chosen that the child should be able to read. Based on the child’s running record we decided if the books selected is a good match, if so go with them if not, keep looking. Having the child included in the sorting of their books is important as well. If it has been awhile they should be able to tell the teacher if a book has become to easy for them. We as teachers are looking for movement and growth of the children. We want our students to become self-improving readers. It is important to support children’s reading, but we can over do it. We become so wrapped up in the leveling of the books and monitoring children’s progress that we sometimes do not offer enough room to grow. Rereading is a powerful strategy, it allows young readers to read text with more support the second and third time allowing them to work out different problems with each read. Chapter 12 Children need to learn to be responsible for what they read and keep interest in the book. Independent reading sessions gives children time to explore text and allows them the opportunity to work with their own reading. Silent reading should not be about getting the kids to quite down or find something to do for a time filler rather it should be a integral part of the day. Children should be doing what is expected and reading and using reading strategies. They should be engaged in the book that they are reading. Monitoring yourself during these silent reading times is also important. It is worth it to be organized and to review how you as a teacher review the independent reading. Children need opportunities to practice work, and select appropriate reading strategies. Teachers often times do not communicate their expectations clearly and consistently. If they do the classroom will be much more organized. Again the environment is important to prepare and does impact the ease or difficulty of the feelings of school for the children. Children need to be held accountable for what they do. Teachers need to have expectations of each child and stick with them. Letting the children in your classroom know that it is important to work hard, and that you expect it. Reading with a partner occasionally is a good way to help the students benefit from one another. A strategy sheet to support independent reading is a good way to check and see if they understand what they read. Chapter 13 Reading aloud to the children and asking them to respond is a good way to spark a debate. Children need time to respond to the readings. Unless we make responding to books a regular part of the routine, children will be suspicious of the occasional time when we do want a response. Children usually read more fluently than they write. In the beginning they made write only one or two lines, then as they become more adept to writing the responses will become longer. Children at different development stages need different response tools. Children enjoy writing about their favorite part because they are used to describing their favorite part of the book. Learning to summarize is an essential skill, but it is hard for most children. Children need many oral and written demonstrations of what a summary is before they can write one of their own. As children read more they can relate the books to their own life as well as to other books. Asking children what worked in their reading is a way to transform what was effective once it was applied to a strategy. Some strategies are more management oriented. Some strategies are related to the reading process itself. They have to describe what a child does to figure out unfamiliar words.