Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 12, 2010
Reading Fluency
I have often worked on reading fluency with my students, but never to the detailed extent as presented in chapter seven of Becoming a Literacy Leader by Jennifer Allen.
The chapter presented the idea that we must make the students aware of how they will be assessed for reading fluency. I was impressed with the idea of using technology to make both a visual and auditory recording of the students as they read. This thought, although simple, was one that had ever occurred to me before.
The chapter goes on to offer suggestions for how to teach students (step by step) to evaluate themselves (via their recorded reading) for reading fluency. A reading fluency rubric is provided which is a helpful tool for students to be able to honestly and accurately access their own strengths and weaknesses. I also like the idea of involving students in their own reading-fluency goal-setting.
Building reading fluency in our students is an important focus because better fluency leads to better comprehension; which is ultimately the goal of reading.
The chapter presented the idea that we must make the students aware of how they will be assessed for reading fluency. I was impressed with the idea of using technology to make both a visual and auditory recording of the students as they read. This thought, although simple, was one that had ever occurred to me before.
The chapter goes on to offer suggestions for how to teach students (step by step) to evaluate themselves (via their recorded reading) for reading fluency. A reading fluency rubric is provided which is a helpful tool for students to be able to honestly and accurately access their own strengths and weaknesses. I also like the idea of involving students in their own reading-fluency goal-setting.
Building reading fluency in our students is an important focus because better fluency leads to better comprehension; which is ultimately the goal of reading.
Comprehension in the Contents
Are you a content-only teacher?Sometimes when we teach content areas like math, social studies, and science, we tend to think the language arts teacher is the one responsible for teaching students comprehension. So we go about our business teaching what we love, while our middle school students feel more lost by the minute. Many times good readers struggle when they enter the middle school curriculum because their content area books become a challenge for them to comprehend unless we teach them. Yes, this even means the math teacher teaching comprehension!
Cris Tovani does an excellent job of teaching comprehension strategies in her book Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? The book is easy to read and gives strategies like the sticky note strategy, and templates like the Double-Entry Diary that can be used in the classroom immediately. Her strategies have been proven to help students catch their thoughts collectively and independently to help them comprehend content subjects in a way they didn't think they could. Even content teachers will find this resource easy to implement without having to add to their curriculum.
Isn't that what we all want? Proven strategies to help our students comprehend in any subject!
Variety is the Spice of Life
I recently read the chapter entitled "Eliminating Ability Grouping and Reducing Failure in the Primary Grades" from the book No Quick Fix. As I read the chapter, I continually thought of ways to modify the ideas presented to work within the context of a middle school classroom.
The selection records the efforts and successes of two elementary schools as they implement a program that combines four of the main approaches to reading instruction. Their program was daily divided up into four thirty-minute blocks which consisted of the following areas: a basal block, a self-selected reading block, a writing block, and a working with words block.
The programs grew out of the idea that all children possess individual differences in the ways that they learn, and therefore no one approach is best. Rather, a combination approach comprised of the best attributes of each individual approach is desirable.
These schools chose to discontinue the practice of grouping students by ability level for reading instruction - (which they found to be ineffective). Instead, they implemented multi-method, multi-level classrooms where students received whole-class instruction.
Since many middle school programs usually only provide (about) a 50 minute language arts block daily, the program (as it is designed) cannot work within the middle school framework unless major organizational changes are implemented by administration. However individual language arts/reading teachers can adapt the major concepts to implement with their students.
Several of the concepts that I will take away from the article to implement in my future middle school language arts class are as follows.
Allowing reading to take place in a variety of ways is a definite must. Even at the middle school level, students can benefit from large group reading, partner reading, individual reading, and even being read to by their teacher. Each method facilitates the acquisition and practice of different valuable skills.
All reading programs should include a variety of topics and genres. Reading should expose students to new topics so that they can become more knowledgeable about the world around them. They should be given plenty of opportunities, however, to pursue their existing interests. Students are more motivated to read when they self-select topics that are of great interest to them.
Middle school students should also have variety in the level of difficulty of their reading materials. Difficult materials facilitate skill acquisition and vocabulary development during large group instruction. Grade level material can be used for working on fluency during partner reading. A student's confidence and comfort can be improved by allowing them to individually read (successfully) with materials of a lower difficulty level. By providing reading materials of many difficulty levels, students have opportunities to be challenged, to learn new skills, to practice, and to gain confidence .
Our ultimate goal is to give students the skills they need to become life-long readers and writers. To begin this, we must first make reading and writing enjoyable for them. Reading is more enjoyable for them, if they experience successes in reading. Variety in how and what we present to them, is a step toward doing this.
The selection records the efforts and successes of two elementary schools as they implement a program that combines four of the main approaches to reading instruction. Their program was daily divided up into four thirty-minute blocks which consisted of the following areas: a basal block, a self-selected reading block, a writing block, and a working with words block.
The programs grew out of the idea that all children possess individual differences in the ways that they learn, and therefore no one approach is best. Rather, a combination approach comprised of the best attributes of each individual approach is desirable.
These schools chose to discontinue the practice of grouping students by ability level for reading instruction - (which they found to be ineffective). Instead, they implemented multi-method, multi-level classrooms where students received whole-class instruction.
Since many middle school programs usually only provide (about) a 50 minute language arts block daily, the program (as it is designed) cannot work within the middle school framework unless major organizational changes are implemented by administration. However individual language arts/reading teachers can adapt the major concepts to implement with their students.
Several of the concepts that I will take away from the article to implement in my future middle school language arts class are as follows.
Allowing reading to take place in a variety of ways is a definite must. Even at the middle school level, students can benefit from large group reading, partner reading, individual reading, and even being read to by their teacher. Each method facilitates the acquisition and practice of different valuable skills.
All reading programs should include a variety of topics and genres. Reading should expose students to new topics so that they can become more knowledgeable about the world around them. They should be given plenty of opportunities, however, to pursue their existing interests. Students are more motivated to read when they self-select topics that are of great interest to them.
Middle school students should also have variety in the level of difficulty of their reading materials. Difficult materials facilitate skill acquisition and vocabulary development during large group instruction. Grade level material can be used for working on fluency during partner reading. A student's confidence and comfort can be improved by allowing them to individually read (successfully) with materials of a lower difficulty level. By providing reading materials of many difficulty levels, students have opportunities to be challenged, to learn new skills, to practice, and to gain confidence .
Our ultimate goal is to give students the skills they need to become life-long readers and writers. To begin this, we must first make reading and writing enjoyable for them. Reading is more enjoyable for them, if they experience successes in reading. Variety in how and what we present to them, is a step toward doing this.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
An Extreme Comprehension Resource
What adolescent doesn't sit up and take notice to anything extreme?
Check out Tracy T's blog Extreme Reading from Park Campus. This focuses on 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who have developed this site with help from their teacher.
Find extreme poetry written by middle schoolers, and even post a comment about them, or have your students add some of their own!
Check out the extreme book talks to find books to motivate your students to read that are recommended and reviewed by the best in the business - teens!
And for the teacher in you, find lots of resources in the extreme teachers section.
No need to reinvent the wheel - get it straight from the teens' mouths, so to speak!
Check out Tracy T's blog Extreme Reading from Park Campus. This focuses on 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who have developed this site with help from their teacher.
Find extreme poetry written by middle schoolers, and even post a comment about them, or have your students add some of their own!
Check out the extreme book talks to find books to motivate your students to read that are recommended and reviewed by the best in the business - teens!
And for the teacher in you, find lots of resources in the extreme teachers section.
No need to reinvent the wheel - get it straight from the teens' mouths, so to speak!
Using Writing to Increase Reading Comprehension
In our efforts to help middle school students better comprehend what they are reading, sometimes we forget to tie in a valuable skill that is connected to reading comprehension: writing. When a student gets involved in writing, he/she can use their new-found strategies being a writer to not only give them the tools to synthesize texts, but also motivate them to review others' written work.
Writing Fun gives tons of text organizers to assist in the writing process from informational writing to narrative to procedural to descriptions. By becoming more skilled in these areas of writing, students can be encouraged to be writing critics by reading samples of these forms of writing.
Teachers can motivate their students to look for strengths and weaknesses in texts written by different authors. Some ideas could be reading other student works, teacher works, and/or renowned literary works.
Get them writing and reading at the same time, and they may just begin comprehending even more!
Writing Fun gives tons of text organizers to assist in the writing process from informational writing to narrative to procedural to descriptions. By becoming more skilled in these areas of writing, students can be encouraged to be writing critics by reading samples of these forms of writing.
Teachers can motivate their students to look for strengths and weaknesses in texts written by different authors. Some ideas could be reading other student works, teacher works, and/or renowned literary works.
Get them writing and reading at the same time, and they may just begin comprehending even more!
Useful websites addressing reading comprehension
A website for teachers that explores comprehension and content reading strategies and when to use them.
http://www.readingquest.org/links.html
Here you will find reading comprehension teaching and learning tips, articles and links about giftedness and learning disabilities, learning differences, and difficulties.
http://www.resourceroom.net/comprehension/index.asp
This site provides reading comprehension resources for struggling readers.
http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/compre.htm
The following address offers effective teaching strategies, activities, lessons, lesson plans, worksheets, exercises, skills, tests, and assessments for reading comprehension and language arts.
http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/comprehension
This website provides strategies that can help readers to construct meaning.
http://readskill.com/Resources/LiteracySkills/TipsComprehension.htm
Here are some free reading resources, information, activities and articles for parents and teacher. Learn how proficient reading works and how to teach children and students to read.
http://www.righttrackreading.com/page2.html
http://www.readingquest.org/links.html
Here you will find reading comprehension teaching and learning tips, articles and links about giftedness and learning disabilities, learning differences, and difficulties.
http://www.resourceroom.net/comprehension/index.asp
This site provides reading comprehension resources for struggling readers.
http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/compre.htm
The following address offers effective teaching strategies, activities, lessons, lesson plans, worksheets, exercises, skills, tests, and assessments for reading comprehension and language arts.
http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/comprehension
This website provides strategies that can help readers to construct meaning.
http://readskill.com/Resources/LiteracySkills/TipsComprehension.htm
Here are some free reading resources, information, activities and articles for parents and teacher. Learn how proficient reading works and how to teach children and students to read.
http://www.righttrackreading.com/page2.html
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