Blog for 3/11

After reading literature on comprehension strategies, I have learned a great deal about my own comprehension processes and the reading behaviors of learners in the classroom. In one reading, Applegate, Quinn, and Applegate (2006) classified eight common profiles of thinking readers can fall into that are considered “pitfalls” of successful reading comprehension. These profiles include literalists, fuzzy thinkers, left fielders, quiz contestants, politicians, dodgers, authors, and minimalists. Thinking about each of these tendencies and reflecting upon my own comprehension, I have found that I sometimes fall into the category of a “quiz contestant.” According to Applegate, Quinn, and Applegate, a “quiz contestant” responds to questions on the text by searching their memory bank, but often disconnects from the text before they think of their own examples. I have found that I do this in comprehension when I read about a topic of interest and think of stories from my own life, but then fail to connect my story back to the text. I can work on improving this in my own comprehension by remembering to compare my background knowledge and experiences back to the stories I read.

In addition to learning about common pitfalls of comprehension, I also learned about reading strategies and processes my students and I should engage in each time we read.  The reading processes are prereading, reading, responding, exploring and applying (Tompkins 2010). The strategies we should use in the stages are activating background knowledge, connecting, determining importance, drawing inferences, evaluating, monitoring, predicting, questioning, repairing, setting a purpose, summarizing, and visualizing (Tompkins 2010). Thinking on my own reading patterns, I realized that I do not often set a clear purpose for texts before I read. Neglecting this strategy could be problematic in both my own comprehension and my future teaching. In the future, I will work to identifying the focus of my reading through texts before I read.

While these reading processes and strategies outlined in Tompkins are helpful to my own comprehension, they are crucial guidelines for teaching literacy to my future students. In my future classroom, I can make sure to regularly participate in each reading process with my students and teach them the appropriate strategies they should use when reading. In addition to outlining the strategies, Tompkins noted that assessments in each of these categories are crucial. Therefore, in my future teaching, I plan to both teach and assess my students’ progress in each of these areas. Furthermore, I can carefully observe and record their reading patterns to see if they fall into any of the eight profiles that could inhibit their comprehension. By understanding these clear goals and assessing my students’ progress, I can give each student the instruction they need to improve their reading comprehension. 

Blog Due 2/25

Eddie is a student in Mrs. Potter class who is very active and unmotivated. He daydreams during lessons, frequently gets out of his seat, and fidgets around a lot.  In addition, he has a hard time sitting still and is not engaged in classroom activities.

According to Kurth, curriculum adaptations improve students on-task behavior and work production. Mrs. Potter can use curriculum adaptations to meet the individual needs of students such as Eddie. This can be done by individualizing student learning goals, instructional strategies, and student support. For example, Mrs. Potter can provide Eddie with a peer tutor. This peer tutor can remind Eddie to stay on task, be his partner during classroom activities, etc. Ideally, Eddie peer tutor should be a student whose strengths consist of having self-control and being motivated.

Mrs. Potter can also incorporate Universal Design for Learning. Universal Design for Learning allows students to engage in the classroom by staying motivated and involved in learning (Kurth, 2013). Instruction that support different ways of learning, expressing, and engaging will support Eddie’s educational needs.

In addition, Mrs. Potter should use assessments to find out what motivates and interest Eddie. Mrs. Potters can use the results of the assessments to implement activities that correspond with Eddie’s interest. Ultimately, this will help Eddie become more engaged in discussions/activities.

Blog Due 2/25 (Sara's Response)

Case Student: Lupita

Teacher: Mrs. Potter

Lupita is noted as a quiet and well-behaved student who just entered Mrs. Potter’s second grade classroom after living in Mexico. According to Lupita’s case notes, Mrs. Potter rarely calls on Lupita in class because of her apparent lack of academic skills. Furthermore, Mrs. Potter is wondering whether Lupita is at risk for being held back for a second year of second grade. While Mrs. Potter has these beliefs about Lupita’s academic levels, it is important for Mrs. Potter to conduct multiple assessments to find out exactly where her literacy, math, and science levels are. Furthermore, Lupita should be assessed on her English speaking, listening, reading, and writing levels.

According to Afflerbach (1993), it is teachers’ responsibility to observe and assess students’ academic levels and carefully foster and record their growth. Teachers’ understandings of students’ strengths and areas needing improvement should not be based on “hunches,” but rather concrete evidence from detailed observations and assessments. In order to informally assess Lupita’s literacy levels in an organized manner, Mrs. Potter can use the STAIR method. In this method, Mrs. Potter will form a specific hypothesis about Lupita’s patterns in literacy and will record concrete reasoning for the hypothesis. Then, Mrs. Potter will make a plan to test and address the hypothesis, and reflect on her first hypothesis. By testing and addressing Lupita’s needs, Mrs. Potter will be helping her to improve in her literacy levels.

In addition to specific assessments, there are other strategies Mrs. Potter can use to foster Lupita’s growth. As her observations have confirmed, Lupita has grown up in Mexico and speaks Spanish. However, in her new school, Lupita is likely to be required to speak and complete assignments in English. According to Freeman & Freeman (2004), there are three types of English language learners: long-term English learners, recent arrivals with limited or interrupted formal schooling, and recent arrivals with adequate schooling. Each language learner requires specific attention, so by learning which type of English learner Lupita is, Mrs. Potter can provide appropriate adaptations for her. Furthermore, Mrs. Potter can implement adaptations that help all English language learners and other students, listed by Freeman & Freeman (2004). First, Mrs. Potter can implement a theme-based curriculum, which will aid in her students’ organization and understanding of the lesson in a larger context. Mrs. Potter can also draw upon Lupita’s cultural background and experience, which could include incorporating literature from Mexican authors.  Finally, Mrs. Potter can organize collaborative activities and provide scaffolded support. This could involve incorporating group activities into her lessons and providing guides such as images, charts, or tables, to scaffold her instruction. By learning which type of English language learner Lupita is, and incorporating these three, effective strategies, Mrs. Potter can encourage Lupita’s growth academically and linguistically.

To further encourage Lupita’s growth, Mrs. Potter can incorporate general and specific adaptions into her classroom (Kurth 2013).  As for general adaptations, Mrs. Potter can implement hands-on, engaging activities that involve group work. This will help all students improve communication and engagement in school, and will also give Lupita greater opportunity to interact with other children. Mrs. Potter can also address Lupita’s specific learning styles. As Lupita easily assembled a puzzle on her own and helped her peers assemble puzzles, Lupita seems to learn visually, kinesthetically, and interpersonally. To address these multiple intelligences, Mrs. Potter can use physical models, role playing, group work, and visual representations in her teaching.

In sum, there is a great deal Mrs. Potter can do to address Lupita’s needs. First, she can provide specific assessments that give her a strong idea of Lupita’s levels, both academically and linguistically. Mrs. Potter can also incorporate strategies into her teaching that are helpful for English language learners and other students as well. Finally, Mrs. Potter can provide general and specific adaptions that will address Lupita’s specific learning styles. With careful planning and appropriate attention, Lupita can grow tremendously in Mrs. Potter’s class. 

Blog Due 2/25

Case Study: Jonathan

According to the prompt about the student Jonathan, Mrs. Potter has only seen below grade level scores on one assessment. One score is not enough to classify him as below his reading level. Mrs. Potter should use multiple assessments over multiple days to assess his reading achievement. After multiple tests and assessments have shown that Jonathan is reading at below grade level, then Mrs. Potter can start to implement reading plans.

One idea I found was in the STAIR reading assessment article. According to this Afflerbach article, Mrs. Potter should allow Jonathan to pick a few books that motivate him. These books should be a bit below his grade level in order for Jonathan to work on fluency and reading comprehension. Allowing him to pick his own books serve as a bit of motivation and reward as Jonathan gets to read something that he chooses and enjoys.

Then after he has picked his book, use the STAIR resources and have Jonathan create a hypothesis of what he thinks his book will be about. She may need to probe him with scaffolding questions depending on what his ability is. After he has came up with a hypothesis, now it is time for him to read.

During Reading time, have Jonathan read the book to himself. Afterward, have him talk to his classmates about what he read (as Mrs. Potter listens). This will help her to get a better understanding if Jonathan is comprehending the material that he is reading or not. Hopefully by talking to his peers, Jonathan remains excited about the book he is reading.

After he has read for a bit, have him refer back to his hypothesis that he created before he started reading his book. Have him evaluate whether or not he believes that his hypothesis is accurate or not. Again, using the STAIR resource, have Jonathan provide supporting evidence that will support his hypothesis. This will allow Jonathan to not only read the text, but to comprehend, and learn how to support his ideas using information from the text (facts).

I would advise Mrs. Potter to use these resources for more than one book. After Jonathan has demonstrated a strong fluency and comprehension ability in the below grade level texts, allow him to chose a few books at his grade level and repeat the same process. 

Blog Post Due 1/26

The type of discussion I have seen in my classroom is I-R-E (initiate, response, evaluate). This consists of the teacher initiating a topic by asking a question and the students respond to the question followed by the teacher evaluating the response and initiating another question. While reading the article, A New View of Discussion, I learned that this type of traditional discussion is often called recitation. This is due to the fact that there is no collaborative attempt to construct meaning.

In contrast, response-centered talk allows students to set the agenda for the discussion and become more engaged in a conversation with their peers. It consists of a combination of student’s responses/ thinking and the teacher’s responses/guidance. This is different compared to the type of discussion I have observed in my classroom because the teacher actually steps back and let the students talk about what is on their minds. In addition, the teacher guides the discussion when needed rather than construct the entire discussion.

In order for response-centered talk to take place in my classroom the teacher should step back and allow the students to create their own questions and talk about what they think. I believe this would work well because all students have their own opinion and different views. In addition, they interpret stories differently. If they were able to participate in a response-centered talk I think they would be more engaged in the conversation because they would be able to discuss things that they noticed or have questions about.

Response-centered talk would also be a great way to include students who do not participate actively. This could be done by creating small groups of no more than 4 students and setting requirements such as each student must contribute 2 things to the discussion. Also, some students do not actively participate because they are shy when it comes to speaking up in front of the whole group so using response-centered talk with small groups would not only allow students to interpret the meaning of the story on their own, but also make them feel comfortable within their small group of peers.

Blog Post Due 1/19

In the second grade classroom I work with, literature is included in the literacy curriculum in multiple ways. First, the teacher reads literature aloud to the class almost every day. This past fall, the teacher read James and the Giant Peach and multiple picture books to the students. While the students quietly listen to the stories and react with appropriate expressions, the teacher does not pause in the stories to ask questions or guide students’ listening. In addition to reading, the teacher includes by having students read out loud both individually and in small groups while she assesses their fluency and comprehension. In one example of out loud reading, the teacher included props of buttons and paused to ask students how to organize the buttons using information from the text. In addition to out loud reading, the teacher has a few listening stations where students can follow along with picture books, and the students are required to read silently during certain periods of the day. While exposure to literature is embedded in the curriculum, I have not witnessed instruction in how to actively read or interpret literature.

In addition to the strategies that my mentor teacher uses with her classroom, there are a few strategies from the readings and my experience that could be used in a classroom. First, Leland (2005) introduces the method of incorporating critical literacy in the classroom. Critical literacy involves introducing literature that speaks to social justice and difficult issues in society, and discussing those issues with the class. It also involves teaching students to critically look at texts, asking questions such as “Whose story is this? Who benefits from this story? And whose voices are not being heard in this story?” When students critically look at texts to discuss deeper societal issues, we are using literature to encourage higher order thinking and helping our students become responsible citizens of the world. 

In addition to critical literature, we can incorporate multimodal literature into the classroom, introduced by Hassett and Curwood (2009). This involves using literature that includes multiple modes of representations (differing text styles, cues in colors, symbols in the text, etc.) and teaching students how to interperet these various modes in literature. In a world full of diverse written and technological symbols, this is crucial for our students to learn. In addition to these two strategies, I believe we can use literature to teach interaction skills such as empathy and problem-solving. We can do this by using stories that deal with these issues and asking our classes how they would deal with the complex situations. In sum, there are many methods we can use when incorporating literature in the classroom, and it is important to continue to learn about these methods to become more effective teachers!

Blog 1 Due 1/14 (*Due 1/19)

List of Goals for learning in this course:

• To learn the most effective way to teach Language Arts.
• To be open minded to other opinions and ideas for teaching language arts. 
• Come to class prepared each week.
• To learn different ideas and ways to be a great teacher.

I hope to teach in a school mainly for children with special needs. I would like to work with either children with Autism or children who are cognitively impaired. My ideal job would be to work in a school for children with special needs. 4th or 5th grade is what I think I would like to teach in the future. 

I want to learn as much as I can about literacy instruction. I think that being in a class full of diverse people and ideas will help me to reach these goals as I can hear other ideas about teaching literacy instruction. I want to learn different strategies for teaching literacy instruction as this will also will help me to reach my goals for this course.