The following two articles discuss word recognition and fluency.
What Can I Say Besides "Sound It out"? Coaching Word Recognition in Beginning Reading
by Kathleen F. Clark
Creating Fluent Readers
by Timothy Rasinski
The following articles by Fitzgerald and Duffy discuss "What exactly is the balanced approach?". We agreed that there is no single, right balanced approach to teach reading but a philosophical perspective (Pressley 1996). The idea of a balanced approach varies across the board. Fitzgerald discusses some of these approaches in her article and the one that fits the closest to what we have been doing at BES is Cunningham & Hall's four blocks reading program. We have implemented guided reading, self-selected reading (read to self during daily 5), writer's workshop, and working with words (word work during daily 5 and words their way this upcoming year). The only difference I see is that Cunningham avoided ability grouping but we ability group based on reading level and the skills that need to be targeted based on the child. The most recent definition of a balance as "a decision-making approach through which the teacher makes thoughtful choices each day about the best way to help each child become a better reader and writer" (Spiegel, 1998). This idea was similar to the thoughts in the article by Duffy where the teacher thought and implementation of multiple ideas makes the difference instead of just a set reading program. A teacher must be able to think on their feet and use what they think will help that particular child that particular day because we know "no two situations are the same; no two days are the same". Every child has a different way they are able to learn how to read. One child may do well using the whole language approach and another child with phonics while another may need experience in both whole language and phonics to be a successful reader. It also discusses how children's knowledge about reading is equally important: local knowledge (phonological awareness, sight words, sound-symbol relationship, orthographic patterns, word identification strategies, etc.), global knowledge (understanding, interpretation, and response to reading), and love of reading (feelings, positive attitudes, motivation, and desire to read). Together we need to be able to use the knowledge of others to help us in our balanced view, that is that teachers, parents, and children learn from one another (Fitzgerald). How we group our students was another topic we discussed (homogeneous vs. heterogeneous) because that can change the whole dynamic of your balanced approach. Teachers will vary their groupings based on the activity or lesson at hand. As Fitzgerald said, Balance does not mean "one size fits all". As we explored the article by Duffy, we discussed how a teacher should not have an "anything goes" approach. As Duffy said, "Effective teachers root their eclecticism in assessing students and analyzing situations before deciding what method or material to use, in ongoing evaluation, and in thoughtfully adapting to the students and situation". This article really hits all that are involved in the reading process. "There is no one perfect method for teaching reading to all children. Teachers, policy makers, researchers, and teacher educators need to recognize that the answer is not in the method but in the teacher" (Duffy). This quote is very powerful because they need to let the teachers teach because they know what the students need and just need to be given the resources needed to help them with what the students need.
As I reflect on my own teaching, I see how I have conformed to a
set reading program because I was told to do so. It was hard to get out
of my comfort zone with guided reading and explore what worked for me but once
I did that it was a wonderful feeling. I began to find myself as a
teacher finally. I could actually teach reading to my students
effectively instead of worrying if I was doing it wrong. Just like in the
Duffy article, teacher education must be ongoing not short term. I was
taught how to do guided reading but then I had continuous support as I
implemented the program and continued learning different ideas throughout.
Just like me going back to school to receive my Ed.S as a Reading
Specialist, I know that will help me be a stronger teacher for my students,
parents, fellow colleagues, and even my daughter.
What is this thing called "balanced"?
by Jill Fitzgerald
In pursuit of an illusion: The flawed search for a perfect method
by Gerald G. Duffy & James V. Hoffman
What I've Learned About Effective Reading Instruction From A Decade Of Studying Exemplary Elementary Classroom Teachers
Behind test scores:What struggling readers really need
What every teacher needs to know about comprehension
Proof, practice, and promise: Comprehension strategy instruction in the primary grades
by Jill Fitzgerald
by Gerald G. Duffy & James V. Hoffman
The following articles are by Allington and Valencia/Buly. Allington “concludes that enhanced
reading proficiency rests largely on the capacity of the classroom teachers to
provide expert, exemplary reading instruction-instruction that cannot be
packaged or regurgitated from a common script because it is responsive to
children’s needs”. When I first started teaching, I was given scripted
math and phonics program and it was difficult for me to deviate from my norm
when we adopted our Scott Foresman reading series a couple of years
later. But I really had to step out of my comfort zone when we started
guided reading. I think guided reading has helped me become a better
teacher all around not just in reading. I am now able to be more flexible
and be more “responsive to children’s needs”. I can no longer look at my
class as a whole I can see what each of my students need individual and use
that information to help them all progress accordingly. Time: “reading and writing versus
stuff”-effective teachers had their students reading and writing for as much as
half of the day (we have allotted more time at our school for reading and
writing as well). We have been doing more guided reading, independent reading,
and adding more science and social studies to our curriculum J. But the
instructional planning of the reading and writing is what makes the use of this
extra time so beneficial. Texts: “a rich supply they can actually
read”. Through a grant we have received, we were able to purchase these
types of books. We discussed how we have more resources to where we could
have books for their instructional level as well as their independent level
(more texts will be added to our book room as well). This will help with
both their comprehension and fluency. I told my group that now when I
send my students to read-to-self, I know they have a book box on their level
and they are actually reading. In the past they would just
"pretend" to read. “One-size-fits-all” does not work and the
lowest achievers are the ones that will benefit most from a rich supply of
books. Teaching: “active instruction, explicit explanation, and direct
teaching”. Model, model, model! You cannot expect a child to
understand how to do something unless you show them how to do it. It also
discusses about how assign-and-assess does not work. We have to have
active instruction in our classrooms. How if we give our students a
missing vowel worksheet, the ones that will be able to complete it will be the
ones that already know that skill (basically just another assessment). I
have found myself become frustrated in the past if a child could not complete a
worksheet but now I know that I have to model and demonstrate those skills
multiple times prior. Talk: great teachers generate more student
talk. The one doing the most talking is doing the most learning (so we
need our students talking more). As teachers we need to use more “open”
questions with more than one answer not interrogational questions with only one
answer. Classroom talk should be more conversational and not
interrogational. The idea that "thoughtful" classroom talk
leads to improved reading comprehension, especially in high-poverty schools”
which is just like our own school with 70% of our students on free/reduced
lunch. We may be the only people that talk to them and use meaningful
words they can add to their limited vocabulary. Tasks: “longer
assignments and less emphasis on filling day with multiple, shorter
tasks”. It is definitely true that students become more engaged in longer
tasks because they have more time to think deeper about the task at hand.
Student choice is also very beneficial. Also it makes it more difficult to see
which of their peers is high or low achieving. Testing: “more on effort
and improvement than simply on achievement”-we always need to look at where a
student began and how far they have come. Parents need more explanation
about this because they want to see a numerical grade (especially when we
started using our standards based report card). Teachers and parents can
actually see what a student needs to do to achieve a better grade.
In the article by Valencia & Buly, it discusses the in-depth
study of 108 and the six-prototypical types of students. “A test score is
like a fever, it is a symptom that needs more specific analysis for the
problem. We need to stop buying in to all special programs and figure out
what is going on with each child. Assessing students is time consuming
but like they recommend we need to go beneath the scores on state tests by
conducting additional diagnostic assessments that will help identify students'
needs. We have recently been trained by Dr. Allington on the Woodcock-Johnson
Revised (WJ-R) and it was interesting to see it used in this study. This
study just shows that we may think a child is strong overall but unless we pick
it apart we may not see their weaknesses because they have strength in other
areas. We must break it down to see what they need. We need to
match assessments to a student’s needs. Long-term professional
development and time to implement great assessments is beneficial. Just
like we have at our school, you need “multilevel, flexible, small-group
instruction”. I feel like our school is moving in the right direction to
help our students become strong, independent, life-long readers.
by Richard L. Allington
Behind test scores:What struggling readers really need
by Sheila W. Valencia and Marsha Riddle Buly
The following articles by Neufeld, Pardo, and Stahl deal with comprehension and its uses in the classroom. Comprehension strategies are important to a reader because they have the potential to provide access to knowledge that is removed from personal experience. There is tremendous evidence that teacher questioning can play a key role in enhancing student comprehension. I saw more of this evidence in the book Choice Words that we read last semester in Dr. Anne McGill-Franzen’s class. I know that the type of text talk, questioning, and what you say modeling and thinking out loud are very important in teaching kids to become strategic readers. The tables regarding prompts in Neufield’s article, “Getting Ready to Read” and “ While I’m Reading and When I’m Done” are very useful. I plan on using these tables in our own classroom as an extra resource in my toolbox. It explained in this article in great detail that question asking and answering can be viewed as the strategy that drives all the other strategies. And we must have explicit instruction of individual strategies. The process of explicit instruction is one in which the teacher must take an active role in teaching the strategy to be learned, rather than simply presenting it and hoping the students “catch on” and learn to use it effectively. Again model, model, model. We also believe that comprehension should not be based in language arts alone but across all subject areas. I found that the teaching of comprehension strategies does not always occur in classrooms but it can be done. I have to teach our students to comprehend by teaching decoding skills, vocabulary words, motivate our students, and engage them in personal responses to text. Teaching vocabulary is a very important part of comprehension. I have read research where first-grade children from higher-SES groups know twice as many words in comparison to lower SES children. 70% of our children at our school are on free/reduced lunches. We are implementing a Vocabulary program at our school for this very reason. Research also says that even if a child comes to school and learns to decode words and progresses in reading, if the vocabulary is not there, it will come back to them in 4th or 5th grade. The texts are harder and they might can read the passage, but if they can’t comprehend it they won’t understand what they just read. Students must actively engage with the words-use them in written and spoken language in order for the words to become a part of the students’ reading and writing vocabularies.
Pardo pushes the research that Read Alouds are one of the most effective ways to increase comprehension. We will be implementing interactive read alouds throughout our school this fall but I did a wiki in regards to reading aloud and have been doing a few interactive read alouds in my own classroom last semester and I believe he is right. I felt like all of my students took something away from the read aloud and probably understood the story more than if I just read it to them. Students need to be engaged and talked to about a text. He also says informational books are a great way to add world knowledge/background info. In Stahl’s article, we were surprised to see that she said Beck and McKeown’s interactive read-alouds actually limits discussion of background knowledge and extensive discussions of the students’ prior knowledge often led students far from the text. I think students’ attention can be redirected and time limited to their discussion so they do not venture away from the idea. I have used this program in my classroom and they started using the vocabulary effective in their reading, writing, and general conversation. I liked the idea literature webbing in Stahl’s article. I am excited to use it in my own classroom this year. It was also interesting that Stahl suggested video was advantageous for at-risk students. She said they could re-tell twice as many statements as to the children who only heard the story and viewed the illustrations. I feel like children watch too much TV and need to have more exposure to books in hand. It may be useful tool, but the challenge as she states is finding quality videos.
These articles really helped me to look into my own teaching and see where I can improve teaching comprehension to my students. When we started guided reading this past year, I thought there is no way they will be able to read these books and understand what they just read. But I was proven wrong because I was able to give them strategies they could use to do just that.
Comprehension instruction in content area classes
by Paul Neufeld
What every teacher needs to know about comprehension
by Laura S. Pardo
Proof, practice, and promise: Comprehension strategy instruction in the primary grades
by Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl
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