Week 5

In Reading Essentials Chapter 9 and 10 Routman introduces Shared and Guided reading. The main difference between shared and guided reading is that shared reading is a whole group activity where either the teacher will read out loud and have the student's follow along by providing transparencies with the text or by having the student's read out loud and follow along with their in their own book. Shared reading also incorporates asking questions to have students think and gain a deeper understanding of the readings. Guided reading also incorporates asking questions but the reading is not shared as a whole class but instead in small groups. These groups are divided up based on their reading levels and the teacher acts as a guide giving the students reading strategies and activities before and after reading the text to further comprehension.

I have not yet observed shared reading in my placement. I have not seen students read out loud from their textbooks to the class, and while my master teacher read out loud to the students during reading time I have never seen her place the story on the overhead where the students can follow along. I really like the idea of shared reading, and think that it would be especially helpful for the students in my main placement. Three of the students in the class have hearing losses and one student has cochlear implants. I am also deaf in one ear which makes I find adds more fun to the mix..and makes us one big, deaf, happy family! I have noticed that sometimes the students with the hearing losses miss out on a lot of the information presented. I also know from my own experiences as a student that this is true. During reading time as the students are being read out loud students can zone out while listening to the story and I think by having the words written somewhere and having students following along it would hold their attention and for those students with hearing losses it would help ensure that they do not miss anything. As a student I have always enjoyed reading along with the teacher, it is a good way to introduce new words to the class. Typically teachers will read stories out loud to students that are at a higher reading level than the students are at, by having the children read along I think that it would help improve their own reading as well.

Although I have not yet seen guided reading in my classroom my teacher will be beginning small group reading this week. Using the scores from her students DRA's from the beginning of the year she has placed the students into reading groups and handed out reading books for them that are at their right level. I am interested to see how she works with the different groups and what strategies she uses with them. I have mentioned in previous blogs another thing my teacher does is create book clubs based on students reading levels where they are able to choose a book and read and discuss the book in small groups. My teacher has a very sly way of creating the groups so that it does not seem like they are based on the students reading levels but instead their interest in the book. She is currently in the process of beginning the book clubs and I am excited to see it all in action.

I think that both shared and guided reading are important to use in a classroom. One thing that I could not help but think about as a possible downfall during shared reading is having the students read out loud one by one. As an elementary (and even high school student) i HATED the the idea of reading out loud to the class. It always made me so nervous and I still to this day have a small fear of reading out loud. For students, especially those at a lower reading level than the class I think it is really hard to read out loud and I will try my best as a teacher to not have students read out loud if they don't want to. Although I think it is important to be able to read out loud, sometimes I think that by randomly calling on students to read out loud for the lower level students it may make it more obvious to the class that they have trouble reading. While I may be being sensitive, I would hate to have students go through the anxiety I went through as a student worrying that the teacher was going to call on me to read.

Giving students options

In chapter 4 of Reading Essentials, Routman lists five things that a teacher can do to ensure that students become excellent readers. Three of the five things on this list I believe are very important to do as a teacher so that students can become better readers.

The first thing on Routman's list is to demonstrate that I am a reader while I believe she may be speaking about the student demonstrating they are a reader, I interpreted this as the teacher demonstrating they are a reader as well. I think it is important that a student views themselves as a reader and one of the ways that students learn is by example. As a teacher I think it is important to show a love in reading and to lead by example for your class. This can be seen as part of the optimal learning model as well as the teacher is modeling the behavior they want to see from their students. I think it is important that students see their teacher reading a variety of books and also discussing them with the class. Leading by example is one of the best ways that I think teachers can instill a love of reading in their students.

Routman also stated on her top five list that teachers should Provide an excellent classroom library. I think this is one of the most important things that a teacher can do for her students. Having a large library full of options for students ensures that every student will find a book that they are interested in reading about. I believe it is so important that a teacher provides students with many options of different books for them to read. Getting a student to read lies in finding the right book for them. Once a child finds a book that they are interested in and passionate about reading becomes fun. I love roaming through Barnes and Noble on the weekends because I am presented with so many options for new books to read. I want my students to feel like they have a Barnes and Noble in their classroom. I want to give students the time to share the books that they have enjoyed, and create a place for the "top 10 books" for the class. I believe it letting students shop around and find a book that they love and once they do reading will no longer be considered a chore but an interest. Having a library full of books will help ensure that I can make this happen.

The third thing Routman stated that I believe is important to having students become excellent readers is Let students choose books they want to read and give them time to read them. I believe it is important for students to find that "just right book" for their reading level, but at the same time sometimes students find books that are not at their level but they still have that desire to read them. I never want to ruin that desire to read. I saw this a lot dyad placement this fall. Students would want to read the same books as their friends were, but sometimes these students were at a lower reading level than their friends. My teacher gave these students the opportunity to read these books but also had them find a book that was at their level as well. My teacher also allowed 3o minutes of reading time two days a week for her students. She required they read 60 minutes a day, and thought by giving them some time in class to read it would help making this goal more attainable. Children have so many things going on after school, for many there are extracurricular activities, or going to afternoon childcare. When I was in college I nannied for a family and I often did not pick the children up until 5. I would then rush them to ballet, soccer, girl scouts, and gymnastics. By the time we got home it was 6:30 and then I rushed to make them dinner. This left little time for homework some nights since they had to take baths and have some time to rest before heading to bed around 8:30. Giving my students time to read in class doesn't make it a chore like it could be at 7:30 at night when all the want to do is relax after a long day, but it becomes enjoyable. I also think that it is important to read with your students during this time. As I stated above I believe it is important to lead by example. I know teacher cherish reading time so that they can catch up on grading work or answer emails but I think it is important to show that you cherish this time to read and enjoy your book as well.

Giving students many options in your classroom library, the chance to read the books they want to read (even if it's not at their level) and giving them time to enjoy reading as well as leading by example can help ensure that students become excellent readers.

Enjoying Reading

In Routman's first three chapters of Reading Essentials, she emphasizes how important it is to convey to your students the enjoyment of reading. She encourages teachers to simplify their teaching life, to bond with the students, and to share how important reading is in a teacher's life. One of the things that Routman discussed that stuck with me was for a teacher to lead by example and demonstrate how important reading is in their life. Hopefully by showing students how important it is, they will begin to feel the same way. I really liked how Routman brought a picture of her library to class to show how many books she has and is a great visual example of how reading is important to her. I really connected with this idea because I love having books, especially books that I have loved reading. I live with roommates and had always wanted a bookshelf to display my many books, of course bookshelves are expensive so I had always put off having one until this year when I moved in with a girl who had a huge bookshelf. I was so excited to display all my books and try to share and sell her on reading a few of them. I like the idea of bring in a picture of your library for students to see, it shows how proud you are of your collection and lets the students feel as though you have shared some intimate details of your life with them.

Another thing that Routman discusses in Chapter 3 is encouraging students to have a Book club or to recommend books for one another to read. I love this idea! It is always nice to talk to someone who has a read a book before you to see if it was good, bad, and worth reading. Now of course I would stress to my students how important it is to formulate their own ideas on the book but I think that it's a great idea and also lets you as a teacher see that students reading comprehension by having them "sell" the book to their peers. Instead of doing a book report I would love to just have students give a "blurb" on the book they read to the class. I think that would be more fun for them to do than a boring old book report and would still show if they students learned anything and it would also encourage reading since students would get excited and interested to read the books their peers liked.

In my main placement my teacher does "book club" with her students. She sells the books to her students and then has them choose their top three choices for the books they want to read. She then places them with the book that is at their reading level, since each of the different books are a different levels so that everyone can have a chance to read and understand the stories without being too challenged. She has the students break into small groups and the kids lead discussions. I think that this is a great idea and one that I would love to do in my classroom, it makes reading fun for students and nothing is more fun than discussing ideas on a book with peers or friends.