Becky - Reading Buddy

2006-10-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

Last day of training and we got to play with cardboard. We made different levers that moved when pulled. It was an interesting thing for sure. I was frustrated with it at the beginning because I wasn't sure what the objective was. I couldn't figure out how it related to the teaching and how it could be applied to first and third graders. But, that is how kids feel when they don't understand something. They shut off and get unmotivated to participate. With help and guidance and teamwork, we were able to make the six different things.

This whole experience has been very informative in building the foundation that is going to be necessary for working with reading buddies. They all fit together to give us various aspects and skills that we will be using. I have taught reading, but this just furthered my understanding of the concepts of reading and I am really looking forward to working the kids.

2006-10-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

Once again, I really enjoyed today's session. I found it extremely informative. While the presentation was geared to Students who were learning English as an additional Language (EAL), all the strategies that she discussed are applicable to every student that is learning how to read. It is the breaking down words, using sight words, learning to chunk words, taking picture walks, setting a purpose for reading. It is all helpful with all students. Also, it was really interesting seeing the different "Where is the school?" and using our understanding of language to decode the meaning based on our understanding.

2006-10-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Reading and Writing Project Day 2

I once again really enjoyed today's session. I have done running reading records before; but, it is really interesting to remember how to do them. There is a lot of valuable information about the child that can be gained from them. It is a lens into their learning and how their reading process works. It is also really interesting to hear about the different ways kids process learning - meaning, structure, and visual. It is the combination of all three that creates learning.

2006-10-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

Reading and Writing Project... I enjoyed today's session. It is interesting to see how they classify books into different levels, without a reference to a specific grade level or age group. It is more than just simply the vocabulary. It is the syntax, illustrations, and the meaning. I remember as a kid using the five finger test and that is something that I used in my teaching.

2006-10-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Beliefs about yourself certainly affect motivation and learning. Teachers do (whether they realize it or not) focus on performance, rather than learning. Having been a teacher, I think that they assume that performance is a way of showing learning.

I have been on both sides. One of my students in my 5th grade class refused to speak. You could see the anxiety in her face whenever you called on her or she had to read at loud. She would freeze and not say anything. I used many different positive strategies to get her to speak: meeting with her individually, having her work with small groups that she was comfortable in, and constantly positively reinforcing when she did. By the end of year, she was able to give a oral presentation on the planet Jupiter. It was wonderful to see her progress. On the flip side, just last night on of professors said to me as I was leaving for the class that I need to speak more. I immediately thought about my student and its funny how we have this class today talking about motivation. I am not that confident in that class, because this is the first time that I am learning it. I do feel that I am learning a huge amount, even though I am not participating as often as my professor would want.

Everyone has the potential to grow. It is the positive attitudes that shape our learning.

2006-10-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

Boy... The English Language is frustrating. It is so challenging and complicated. It doesn't make sense half the time. I am always so impressed when people learn English as a Second Language. I think that it is important to recognize that it is a challenge, especially when we are working with the students. A lot of times teachers fall into the "Expert Spot" where they forget how to learn and do not realize that it is very hard to do. They do not see the breakdown that is needed. These sessions have been important, because they are reminding us about the breakdown and the sounds.

2006-10-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

Umm... chalk, chair, chart... I am practicing the breakdown of words, the good old phonetics sounds. I taught 5th grade for three years and I am very excited to work with early elementary levels. It is going to be a different focus. For 5th grade, it was the reading comprehension and the development of vocabulary. Now, it is that too, however the focus is going to be the word structure. If you can not pronounce the word, it is going to be very difficult to comprehend it.

I really like the book Freedom Summer. I always had a love for children books. Adults can learn a lot from these books. It was a beautifully done book, with incredible illustrates and a deep message. Even though it is geared towards older children (the metaphors were great too), one could work it to be use from the younger ones. One can take bits and pieces of books to make meaning.

2006-10-02T05:34:00.000-07:00

I have my two past reflections: (It has been a very busy week)

Thursday September 28, 2006

I really enjoyed both sessions today. The multicultural guides of awareness, knowledge, and understanding were very implicated. I thought a lot my experience of teaching in Camden, NJ. I taught there for 3 years (and loved every minute and can't wait to return). A majority of the population was Black and Hispanic. Many teachers just assume that they know the differences; however, as the speaker said we can not do that. We must seek to understand and then be understood. We need to look at our views and attitudes and recognize how they shape our actions and words.

The session on reading wars was very beneficial and a great review. (I took a "Teaching Reading and Language Arts" Class back in undergrad many years ago). The goal is to teach a child to read with accuracy and speed. Reading needs to become automatic. It is that combination that will permit reading comprehension to occur. If students are spending so much time on the words they are going to lose the context that the word is in. There are so many dimensions to reading. There is the actual pronunciation of the word and the comprehension of the reading itself. I believe that their needs to a balance between the two sides of the war, meaning there needs to be a focus on both approaches. (But, maybe that is too much?). There needs to be association of sounds and it needs to be systematic. Students need to understand how the structure of the word communicates understanding.

Friday September 29, 2006

The Child Abuse - Mandated Reporter Class was very interesting. It is an extremely difficult topic to understand and even process. I found that it was important to have the conversation that we had at the beginning on what is discipline and how were we discipline. So much of our decisions and viewed are shaped by our personal experiences and it is very difficulty to separate the two. It was also very important to discriminate between what constitutes discipline and what is punishment. I feel like that this is something that it has to be a case by case situation. While we have laws, each situation needs to be looked at individually. It is important that it does, because as seen from the presentation the effects of child abuse are detrimental to the child and does have lasting effects.

2006-09-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

How did I learn to read? The reading wars... phonics based or whole language... I think that they taught us phonics, but I feel that I actually learned through a whole language approach. I remember the Basal Readers and the reading groups. I remember being upset when I they moved me from the blue group (higher group) to the red group (the middle group) during the year. We weren't suppose to know the groups, but everyone did.

2006-09-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

The experience has been completely different than what I expected. I haven’t thought in awhile about who I am. With teaching I feel that I normally just am concerned with who my students are. I remember reading one time that teachers will teach to their own learning styles and they need to be aware of all types of learning styles.

Who am I? According to the Myers- Briggs, I am a ENFJ. According to the Multiple-Intelligence, I am math/logical and people smart, with word smart a close third. What does that mean? I think through things out loud, but I feel that there are times when I can definitely need time alone to think through things. I certainly have my “I” moments. I know I like to see the big picture in things, or rather how everything is connected. I am not surprised that I am N. Also, I know the feelings of others shape a lot of my decisions. I love to plan things and schedule in advice, even though I feel that I can be an organized disorganized person. With the Multiple Intelligence, I have known that I was very math/logical smart (both my parents are accountants…). I was surprised that word smart was very high, because I feel that even though I love to read, I feel that it was never one of my strengths.