An Ideal Classroom

An ideal classroom is one in which the children are enriched in learning from the second they step into the classroom until the second they leave at the end of the day. Creating an atmosphere where the children are inspired and excited about learning is the kind of classrooms that we want to see in today's schools. I liked in the reading how it talked about starting the day off with choice centers. By starting the day off with this activity, the children are able to practice independence by choosing where they would like to spend their time and also gives the teacher a chance to walk around and socialize with the children and spend some time observing and taking notes about various experiences taking place in the classroom. By starting the day off with choice centers, the teacher gets the day off to a good start. This activity can be very beneficial to teachers because they are able to have "one-on-one conversations with their students that are related to something they are actually doing. The children will be more willing to talk than when they are in a small group or whole class setting"(Cunningham & Allington, 2010, p. 244). Having this time to interact with students can be very helpful to understanding and getting to know every student in the classroom. What are some other ideas to promote teacher-child communication? and what are other good ways to start the day off in the classroom in a positive manner?

Creating the ideal leveling system

I enjoyed reading the article by Rog and Burton discussing leveling systems and how they are used with emergent readers. I think leveling systems are important to use when teaching children how to read because it helps to evaluate the progress and skills of each child. While I do think leveling systems should be used in the classroom, I think it is important for teachers to use a system that is effective and successful at developing the literacy skills of the children. With numerous leveling systems available to a teacher, I could see how problems could arise if the different systems did not have the same reading material within the same level. The reading discussed five ideas that should be considered when creating a leveling system: vocabulary, size & layout, predictability, illustration support, and the complexity of concepts.  Can you think of any other areas that should be considered when creating a leveling system?

Check out this website for more information on book leveling systems! Leveling Systems

Guided Reading

Guided Reading Kidstations!

I read the article, Student Accountability: Guided Reading Kidstations, for my guided reading article. In the article Guastello and Lenz, create five stations in the classroom that allow the children to develop skills independently, in a group, as well as in a student-teacher setting. Creating these stations, allows the children to form social skills while also developing their reading and writing skills. The fifth station allows the teacher to sit down with each group and evaluate the progress and abilities of each student. It is important for teachers to have the opportunity to work with each student and become aware of what level each student is on and what areas he/she needs additional assistance/explanation. I think that creating kidstations is an excellent way for children's skills to be developed and also promotes a variety of fun activities to take place in the classroom simultaneously. What are other activities for teachers to  implement to enhance reading comprehension for their students? 

Here is a great website that provides ideas to promote guided reading for various group sizes! Check it out!

http://www.wfu.edu/education/fourblocks/block1.html


Reference:
Guastello, E. & Lenz, C. (2005). Student accountability: Guided reading kidstations. The Reading Teacher, 59, 144-156.

Words Words Words!

I found the Yopp & Yopp article to be the most interesting reading this week. I liked the portion of the reading that discussed the different levels that a particular word can be on. There are some words that we know really well and use often and there are other words that we have never seen or heard before. As stated in the article, knowing a word is not all-or-nothing, there are various levels that a word can be on for each individual person. For a word to reach the highest level, the word must become very familiar to the person. That is where our job as the teacher comes in. Teachers must introduce their students to as many words as possible so that each child can begin to develop a diverse vocabulary. Without being constantly introduced to words, the words will never reach that top level of familiarity. Throughout the school day, students should continuously be introduced to vocabulary, no matter what the content area is. Teachers can also enhance this process by showing enthusiasm and excitement when a child uses a new or unique word. The Ten Important Words activity is an excellent example of a way to get the students interested and engaged in their vocabulary development. What other activities would get the children excited about learning new vocabulary?

Who doesnt want to be Oprah Winfrey?

The portion of this week's readings that stood out the most to me was The Oprah Winfrey Interview technique for checking student's reading comprehension skills. The activity consists of interviewing the various characters of the book and having a group conversation by interacting with the "audience" as well as the character being interviewed. After the teacher has modeled for the children by acting as Oprah, the teacher may then pass the role to a child. I think this technique is a fun and exciting way to ensure that the children are comprehending the story. Implementing activities such as these, allows the teacher to assess the skills of each child and also demonstrates that learning can be fun! I believe that children learn best when they don't even realize that they are doing school work. This is a good example of that type of learning activity. Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills for children to master because without it, reading will never be enjoyable for a child because the words be meaningless, which is why having engaging reading comprehension activities is so vital.

Vocabulary-Rich Classrooms

As a teacher, it is important to be constantly introducing your students to new vocabulary. Research has found that, "lack of vocabulary is a key component underlying school failure for disadvantaged students" (Hart & Risley, 2010, p. 115). It is important for teachers to be introducing new vocabulary both directly and indirectly. During read-alouds as well as during independent reading, students should be constantly learning new words. If the classroom provides ample opportunities to become familiar with new words, children will begin to learn them without even realizing it. One unique way of introducing new vocabulary is creating a "Wonder Words" wall. 

When the students are independently reading and come across a word that they do not know, they grab a post it and post the word up on the wonder wall. At the end of reading time, the class comes together and talks about the words that are posted up on the board. The students think of this activity as a scavenger hunt to find unfamiliar words and are learning new vocabulary at the same time! Another clever technique to use during read-alouds is "Picture Walks". Before beginning the book, the teacher goes through the book just examining the pictures on each page with the children. By doing this the children are able to use the photographs to better understand the meanings of the words when the teacher begins to read the story. 

Ideas such as the two above are great ways to promote vocabulary development while also making it fun!

Be the coach of a winning team!

Whether its soccer, football, or tennis a good coach can make a big impact on the performance abilities an athlete. A good coach knows what skills to teach their athletes so they may be the best the can be and reach their full potential. This same idea goes for learning to read. A good "coach" or teacher, can play a major role in the reading abilities of the children. As Clark (2004) points out in her article, "knowledgeable teachers have crafted cues for readers to apply their developing knowledge of word recognition strategies so they have the ability to become strategic and independent readers" (p. 440). Providing students with the skills and abilities to discover the vast world of literacy is a vital responsibility of every teacher. I think Clark's three factors are important to consider as teachers put on their coaching hat and begin to train their young athletes to succeed. #1. Teachers must have considerable knowledge of phonics and English orthography. #2. Teachers must be aware of each student's instructional histories. #3. Teachers must be aware of each student's individual strengths and weaknesses (p. 448). Every teacher can be the leader of a winning team if they take the appropriate steps to learn and understand each child and encourage his/her literary development, no matter what stage he/she may be in. Lets all be winners in the game of reading!