Reading Philosophy
Reading is essential for life. Without learning to read a person could not function properly in society. We had to learn how to read in Pre-K or Kindergarten before we could move on to the upper grades. In elementary school, I did not enjoy reading but now I love reading. When I read I look for the meaning and how it can relate to my life. It is amazing to me how a book can speak to you just like it was written especially for you.
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Assessments!
Assessments are an important tool in every subject. This is where the teacher assesses each student on their ability to learn certain skills. Assessments should be part of everyday teaching. Since every child learns differently and at different paces, it is the teachers responsibility for that child to understand what is being taught. The last couple of semesters my teachers have taught us that assessments are crucial. Assessments can be done by simply observing the students and taking notes and they can be done through full assessments, such as the QRI or Domini kits. To read more about my assessment, Click Here!
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5 Essential Components
Reading has 5 major components, each are equally important to reading. The 5 components are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary instruction and comprehension. I have explained each of these important components in the attached file, click here to learn more.
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I absolutely love being read too, don't you? This had to be my favorite part of reading. I loved how my teachers read the books, they always added the excitement and mystery of each book. Read alouds promotes the love of reading. My college teacher once said this, "You cannot teach a child to read if you are not reading to them or with them." I strongly agree with that statement. I had the opportunity to read to my students. It was close to Halloween so I chose a Halloween book. To learn more, Read Aloud Lesson Plan!
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Shared Reading
Shared reading is exactly that, shared reading. Children move through three stages: emergent, beginning and fluent reading. Children in the stage of emergent reading, develop an interest in reading and writing, book handling skills and handwriting skills. Children in the stage of beginning reading learn phonics skills, recognize 20-100 high frequency words and they self correct while reading. Children in the stage of fluent reading read with expression, use comprehension strategies and apply the writing process.
Shared reading helps students with many things such as the structure of language. Poetry is a great way to explore shared reading. It also exposes children to poetry and the joy of reading the poems. I taught a shared reading lesson to my 5th graders this semester. It was, again, close to Halloween time so it was a spooky poem. Shared Reading Lesson Plan The Scariest Thing Poem
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Small groups is a significant part of reading. All students need that individual attention. When teaching to the whole group, it is easy to assume that all the students understand what you are teaching. But not all students understand or comprehend. I know it takes me a while to understand or comprehend things but with individual guidance I can figure it out. I taught a complete reading block which includes small group. It was an eye opener to me because I have never taught the whole reading block with small group. I really enjoyed small group because of the one on one attention I was recieving. Read more Here
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Using Reading Programs Effectively
Reading programs are good to teach from. Of course, there are always pros and cons about each reading program. We have Reading Street and I find it very useful to teach from. I like the helpful hints that it provides and the stories are well written. I believe that each program has its good points and bad, some believe that we should strictly teach out of the book. I find that it is hard and somewhat ineffective to teach straight from the book. There is so much to include in reading that is not necessarily written in the book. I think we do need more reading programs to expand our teaching so that each student will understand and grasp each concept on their own personal level.
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Independent Reading and Parental Involvement
Independent reading is vital to all children. It expands a child's vocabulary and knowledge about that topic. Many children do not read on their own, they only read when it counts as a grade. I understand that some do not like to read because I was that child. I thought it was just a waste of time. Some children only read when they have too, which it is hard to promote reading as an enjoyment. The best thing we all can do for children is to model independent reading. Modeling is the key concept of reading in general.
How can parents help? Parents can help their child by reading to their child, reading with their child or simply by reading themselves. Children learn by example. As I stated before, a child loves to be read too. Parental involvement can include being a guest speaker in their child's classroom. Parents can have a reading log of books that they have read as a child and reading their child's favorite book to them. Another strategy that I can include when I am a teacher is to have helpful reading hints in a monthly newsletter. Parents can become involved in their child's learning environment through support, dedication and modeling.
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