If you ask a person to name something that everyone should
learn how to do, their response will most likely be learn to read. Reading is the most important skill a person
will learn as it carries you throughout life.
Reading is fundamental to children’s development and they need it to
become successful and productive adult.
I believe that one of the most important parts of teaching
students to read is to provide them with books on topics that they will enjoy. Students are drawn to all different types of
interests and teachers should encourage students to select books that they will
find appealing. Reading books you are
interested in can lead to a love of reading that I think all learners should possess.
I
think reading is not an exact method. It is a process of using all strategies
of reading; predicting, monitoring comprehension, confirming, and clarifying,
and that is what makes a proficient reader.
Reading is more than knowing the graphic/phonemic cues. That is only a small part of reading
comprehension. I feel like the most
important part of the reading process is understanding the syntax and semantics. This course has taught me that just because a
student miscues while reading does not mean that he/she is not a proficient reader. Ultimately it depends on what type of miscue
was made and if the miscue still retains the same meaning of the original
context. Even proficient readers make
miscues as they may add or skip over words.
Using
a comprehensive literacy approach to teaching reading is very beneficial for
students. They receive exposure to so
many different types of instruction.
Whether it is whole-class instruction, guided reading instruction,
individual instruction, or extra tutoring help.
Through whole group instructions students experience read alouds and
shared reading. During this time I like
to preview the book where I demonstrate book handling skills, read the title
and author, draw attention to the cover and the illustrations inside the
book. This helps to build students’ schema
and recall prior information learned. It
is a great way to help students with their comprehension as they already have
an idea of what will come next in the story.
Shared reading experiences are also valuable to me because as we read
stories time and time again, students will be able to participate more by
choral reading, practicing word pronunciation, voice intonation, and noticing
details they may not have seen before. Guided
reading instruction can benefit students as it gives them a chance to focus on
a skill they may need extra practice with in a small group setting. Holding reading conferences is an opportunity to
not only assess the students’ progress but to get to know my students on an
individual basis.
I think it is important for young students to build their
knowledge of phonics and phonological awareness. Phonics teaches students to quickly read
unfamiliar words by decoding and recognizing letter patterns that in turn increases
their fluency. I would like to use an embedded
approach in teaching phonics where the skills can be incorporated into children’s
literature and not just taught explicitly on their own. These skills also do not always have to be
taught during reading time, they can be incorporated through the reading of
other subjects as well as writing instruction.
I feel that writing is also essential to teach as it goes
hand and hand with reading. So many
writing skills are developed as students are introduced to new books and
reading strategies. I feel that writer’s
workshop is an excellent technique for students to practice writing. I would begin writer’s workshop by introducing
a skill or topic through a mini lesson. After
the mini lesson, students can practice during independent writing time. During this time I would also include
individual writing conferences. Once the
students finish their writing, they will have the opportunity to share and read
their own work to their classmates.
One
thing that I have grown to believe is that every time students read something, does
not mean that they need to complete an assignment on it. Sometimes reading a book or text is just
enough. I do not want my students to
feel like reading is a chore and think that if they read a book at school that they
will have to answer questions and write a journal entry about it. That would take all the love out of reading, which
is something that I hope to instill upon my classes in years to come.
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