Assignment 2
How can you ensure that your struggling readers have access to
texts they can easily read?
A teacher can build an extensive classroom library that includes varying text levels and a broad range of subjects and interests. Students of all reading abilities will then
be able to find texts at their appropriate level. Another option is to work with the school’s
librarian to identify texts to match the abilities of struggling readers. The teacher can also encourage such students
to visit the local public library to find books that they can read and bring
them to class to share.
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How can you foster a learning environment in which students have
many opportunities to practice reading?
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An extensive classroom library filled with books is not only a
strong visual reminder that reading is important, its variety of subjects and
text levels will foster a learning environment that encourages students to read. Teachers can foster high success reading by including
a range of books that students can capably read with fluency. By including regular class time in each
school day to read, the teachers will create a reading culture while providing
opportunities for individual coaching and assessment.
Describe ways in which you can model fluent reading in your
classroom throughout the day.
There are numerous techniques that teachers can use to model
fluent reading including expressive read alouds so the students can understand how
they should be reading on their own. During this activity,
teachers can highlight subtleties in the text with inflection or motion and
explain strategies to help with comprehending difficult or unfamiliar words and
phrases. Working with small groups and
with individual students provides further opportunities to demonstrate fluent
reading. While working with students,
teachers should be cautious about creating readers who expect feedback after
each spoken word. Instead, to promote
better fluency and comprehension, teachers should wait until the end of
sentences and paragraphs to correct errors. This will develop non-interruptive reading where
students will engage in self-monitoring and self-regulating.
Assignment 3
Explain the three levels of words and how you can use word levels
to decide which words to teach.
Professor Allington states there are three types of words that
children will encounter. One type are
familiar, high frequency words that are so common that students should already
know and understand. On the other scale
of text complexity are technical or scientific words which also do not need to
be taught since students will not likely encounter them. The group of words in the middle of the
complexity range is the one where teachers need to invest the majority of their
instruction. These words appear often in
everyday life but are not common enough that children will fully comprehend
them. He used examples like “freeway”, “democracy”,
and “hurricane”. He also states that
these words already exist in grade level literature that the children are
reading so creating new sets of such vocabulary words are unnecessary.
How do you teach your students to "chunk" words as a
strategy for decoding unfamiliar words? When do you provide this instruction?
Students can attempt to decode words with the teacher’s guidance
or on their own by looking at the authors clues in the passage. The unfamiliar word may even be defined in
the text passage or can be defined with the context. Teachers can also help students decode words
by looking for familiar parts of that word.
Students will begin with big words then
break each one into recognizable chunks or patterns before reforming the word
into its whole. While the youngest
students will sound out unfamiliar words letter by letter, this chunking
strategy helps older elementary grade students to develop a deeper vocabulary
and gives them confidence to read more grade-appropriate text.
Based on Professor Allington's comments and the classroom
examples, what are some ways you might foster word study in your classroom?
The video shows several teachers utilizing various techniques to
build fluency among their students. One teacher displays words on charts around the classroom and introduces new words each
day. She would discuss the words with
the students and have them read text with those words to embed the new knowledge. Another teacher works with small groups to
help them identify new words with contextual clues. He helped them figure out a word on their own
by applying their knowledge of the meanings of familiar words in the passage. Professor
Allington says that educators need to modify curriculum materials to meet
students’ needs and interests. Such
relevancy increases the engagement level of the students which will likely
enhance their ability to improve reading fluency and comprehension.
