Choral Reading

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Choral Reading Activities!

Reading has Meaning!

Fluency is having the ability to read words quickly and accurately. In order to become excited and interested in reading, students must develop fluency. Why? Because fluency is key to reading comprehension. Children must be able to accurately read the words on the page at a normal speed so their attention and focus can go towards comprehending the words that they are reading. If children are not able to comprehend they are never going to be interested or excited about reading because the words will be meaningless to them.

So how do you become a fluent reader? By reading of course! The more you read the more fluent you will become. Just like tennis, soccer, or golf, it takes practice!

Providing struggling readers with easy reading materials will allow them feel more confident and more willing to read.

This is a creative idea for a word wall in the classroom!

 

 

I believe that as a teacher, the most important factor in helping your students become successful readers is by showing them how much you love to read yourself and by demonstrating enthusiasm and excitement during reading time. By reading aloud to the class and using expressive and charismatic language while reading, you students will see that reading is fun and interesting! It provides them with a good example of how good readers are able to really get into the books they are reading.

Word walls will help children to realize reading isn't so hard after all!

I liked the idea of having a word wall in the classroom to learn frequent words that come up in every day reading. By coming up with fun chants and songs to learn the words on the wall, the students will eventually learn them with little effort! When the children come across these words in their reading, they will be excited to read them because not only will they be familiar with the word but they will also know what it means!

Blog #2-IRA Position Statement

The main concept to take away from the IRA Position Statement is that it is the job of the teacher to constantly immerse the children in reading and literacy. Every aspect of the school day should have, imbedded within it, various literacy ideas so that the children are able to easily develop the skills they need to be excellent readers! Learning to read is similar to people who are learning a new language. The easiest way to become fluent in a different language is to go to the native land of the language and become immersed in the customs, culture and environment of the language. It can be intimidating and overwhelming to be an outsider trying to quickly learn such an intricate concept. Teachers must understand this as they approach the task of teaching their students how to read. By making reading fun and exciting, with various activities and methods, the children will be less intimidated and more eager to learn to read. What are some ideas for teachers to implement in the their classroom to make reading exciting and fun?

Post #1- Emergent Literacy

A great bulletin board to get students excited about reading!

The idea that interested me the most in the reading from this week was the idea that rather than instructing by identifying what children do not know, we must identify what children do know. By allowing every child to believe that he or she can read and write allows them to feel confident when beginning their reading and writing adventure! It is vital to provide support and opportunities for children to use what they know to learn new things (Bell, 2002, p.10). I love the idea of bringing in common objects, such as a McDonalds bag, for the students to identify so they can feel confident that they do know words and are not discouraged when they begin to read. I believe that the most important thing as a teacher is to be excited about reading so that the students get excited as well. Providing a print-rich environment and allowing many opportunities for the students to read and write is important in the beginning stages of literacy.