Adolescent Literacy Reflection

Sometimes college classes fall short of preparing us for the classroom, but Adolescent Literacy is not that type of course. The text book, When Kids Can't Read by Kylene Beers, in and of itself is a phenomenal asset to my future classroom. It is full of rich information, teacher and student action steps, and helpful lists and resources. I would highly recommend it to anyone teaching 5th grade through 12th grade, regardless of what subject you teach.

The discussions we were able to have about books that our students will read will allow us, all, to better connect with our kids and the books that they choose. Showing students a desire to read is going to encourage them far more than simply assigning different reading material, hoping that they learn to enjoy reading. This class challenged, in a positive way, what I knew about teaching older students and gave me insight to be a better teacher.

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." -Dr. Seuss

Book Talk - Rules by Cynthia Lord

Book talks are a great way to get students interested in reading a certain book. Here is a link to a book talk video I made about the book, Rules by Cynthia Lord.

Book Talk - Rules by Cynthia Lord

Scholastic has also created a Teaching Guide to go along with the book if you choose to use it as a whole group book study.

Teaching Guide from Scholastic - Rules

Happy Reading!

It's All Greek to Me - Word Recognition

Have you ever tried to learn a second language? Not always an easy task, right?!

Now, can you imagine trying to learn the English language? We have rules and then the rules don't apply. We have patterns and then words don't follow said patterns. We have sounds but then letters in certain words don't make the same sound.

To a struggling reader, all of the above are incredibly frustrating. That is why it is so important to teach our students about word recognition. We have to give them the proper tools to navigate through the reading rules.

I think the two most important strategies when teaching word recognition, besides the common letter/sound relationship, are chunking and syllables. When students are able to break words down into chunks and syllables instead of sounding out letter by letter, they are more able to recognize the words they are reading. Just like reading word by word stifles reading comprehension, sounding out letter by letter stifles the comprehension of the single word.

Students may not be able to see chunks or syllables in words, therefore we must teach them how to recognize these important word components. If we don't, they will be left feeling as if it is all Greek.

The Importance of Fluency

There is no question that fluency improves comprehension and therefore increases what students learn in the content being taught. But how do we increase fluency and help our students better understand?

I will share a few simple strategies that can have a huge impact:

*Vocabulary - Your students are never too old to learn vocabulary. Now, I don't recommend telling them a word and having them write a definition. Students need to really connect with the vocabulary that will help them in their content readings. Give the students a few words and take the time to truly study them. Students won't be able to learn by reading words they don't understand. Check out this blog for some great visuals for teaching vocabulary.
Vocabulary Strategies

*High Frequency Words - Take the time to make sure students know these words. They are simple words but they are used very frequently, hence their name. If students are having to take time to try and sound these words out, meaningful learning time is being lost.

*Read Aloud - Students need to hear what fluency is to know what they are working towards. Reading aloud, either by yourself as the teacher or with the whole class (choral reading), is a great way for students to hear phrasing, tone, pace, etc.

*Independent Levels - Students will need to practice their reading fluency, by reading in their own independent levels. These are texts that they can read on their own with very few to no errors. This will build confidence and increase fluency at the same time.

Taking the time to focus on these strategies will help students read faster and with more accuracy, leading to an increase in comprehension. Skipping over them will lead to frustration all around.

Reading Strategies

There are so many great reading strategies to use and to also teach to your students. Some of the most effective ones might just be the ones you use yourself without even realizing it.

When reading on my own, I typically whisper read to myself, especially when I come to a confusing part in a text. Hearing it aloud brings the words alive and, with them, a deeper meaning. I also find myself rereading and using internal conversation. I will ask myself questions, make connections, and try to search for further understanding.

My top 3 reading strategies to use with my students:

*Think aloud - I use this a great deal during read aloud as a way to model this strategy. I think aloud and then I usually ask a question or two to get the students thinking and allow a few to share.

*Book Marks/Post It Notes - These are a fairly quick way for students to jot down specific things while they are reading. Maybe it is a word they don't quite understand or a question that they have. These tools can help further comprehension without the student getting stuck on a certain part of what they are reading.

*Rereading - This is probably the most common one that people use but many kids don't want to take the time to do it. They want to fly through the reading. Posing questions that the students have to use their reading to answer is a great way to get them rereading. It will be a skill that they carry on into adulthood, so it is worth taking the extra time to teach it well.

We all use strategies when we read. Most of them are done without much thought, but to a struggling reader, these strategies are lifelines.

Inferencing - The Bag Activity

A---The Bag Activity

Purpose: To teach inferencing by giving clues from a bag and having students figure out who the bag belongs to.

The teacher shows the students a bag with miscellaneous contents inside. Then, one by one, they start to look at the items in the bag. She makes sure that the students know what each item is and they brainstorm what the items could be used for or what types of people use such items. After all the items have been seen, the teacher sends the students back to their desks to write about who the bag belongs to.

In this particular activity, the bag was found outside of the school and is an orange Columbia College bag that looked more like a purse. Inside we found: coffee, a granola bar, glasses, a notebook/journal,  a seashell, colored clicker ink pens, and a rock.

B---My inference is that the bag belongs to a female teacher, one that might teach Science, possibly Earth Science. She could be found squinting, since her glasses are in the bag.

C---This would be a great activity for writing, having the students go back to their desks to write their inference. I could see this activity also being used for making a book come "alive". Maybe a pre-activity that you could do to introduce the book and the the students would have to figure out what the story is about and maybe even come up with what they think the title will be based on what they found in the bag. I also think you could use it for many different subjects; introducing lessons, using the five senses or learning more about historical figures and places.

This is a great activity to have in your teacher tool box and it is sure to be a hit with the students as well!

The Cans and The Cannots

I have a confession. I have been the teacher that simply hid behind the following empty statements; "These kids can't read." and "These students are simply really good readers". While both statements were true, by themselves they hold little value.

Students that can't read, have specific areas that they struggle with. They have certain actions that don't come naturally. It is up to the teacher to decipher those areas of weakness and create plans to help the student overcome those challenges. I don't know how to fix, "I can't read" but I can help a student that I see struggling with larger words or simple frequency words.

On the flip side, those students that have no issue reading anything they pick up, also have specific things that they do to be successful with reading. Most of these are unseen and typically unrealized by both the teacher and the reader. Being able to share those specific ways that make the successful readers successful, can give the struggling reader hope of learning to do those same things. I have never thought to do this until reading about What Good Readers Do in Kylene Beers' book When Kids Can't Read. I honestly never put much thought into the successful readers, they were simply good readers. End of story. I am so thankful for this enlightenment.  It is possible to teach those successful reading strategies that go beyond simple word decoding and recognition. It is no longer the Cans and the Cannots. It is deeper. It is more specific.

Literacy and the Adolescent

The adolescent years span a great deal of change in a short amount of time. Physical changes, emotional changes, mental changes, and the list can go on and on. It is no wonder that this time tends to be awkward and just plain tough. We, as educators, have to meet these students where they are.

As an adolescent, I felt as if any form of literacy was a cruel and unusual punishment. I couldn't read very fast and often times became confused with what I was reading. However, many times, I was encouraged to just keep going. Whatever that was supposed to mean. Reading wasn't enjoyable and was simply a task to be checked off my to-do list.

As an educator, I want to incorporate many different genres of books in hopes of peeking the interests of my students. Learning what they enjoy and being able to find books that they can't wait to dive in to. I want to create a classroom environment that enjoys literature and while still incorporating the daily tasks and lessons. Igniting the spark of reading early on in a student's life can lead to many successes.

Welcome!

Welcome to my little web space! While you are here, I hope you will find valuable information about different aspects of education and ways to encourage the lives that walk into your classroom each day. It is also my hope that you will share your ideas as we embark on this adventure of educating, encouraging, and empowering.