Classroom Contexts And Strategies For Reading And Writing

As a future teacher of a fast-changing generation that searches restlessly for new interests, I believe that old and new must meet to keep the basic values of a balanced literacy. Focusing on prior knowledge, collaborating with colleagues, peers, families, and community, creating connections with our surrounding, and empowering students’ learning style throughout the process of gaining knowledge of reading and writing. Foremost, my personal philosophy of teaching literacy is based on constructivism and sociolinguistic, where hands on experience and guidance are priority in an informational world. To facilitate a child’s acquisition of literacy skills , as I plan for literacy instruction for my future classroom, I will take into consideration

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This is how Dr. Seuss thought of reading, and I think of it in much the same way. Literacy is everywhere and influences us every day, therefore, it plays a major part in each of our lives. I believe that reading is an interactive activity in which learning happens, or as Clay (2001) defines it, “…a message-getting, problem-solving activity” (p. 1). Reading is the process through which one reads information and from doing so, constructs meaning about the material. The more exposure and practice one has with reading, the more knowledge one gains. In this paper, I will begin by discussing my own personal educational philosophy, then continue by stating and explaining four of my beliefs about the reading process and the research that is found to support each of them before sharing the remaining questions I have about literacy. I am an existentialist, and a strong supporter of a balanced literacy approach. My beliefs about literacy come from these foundations and perspectives that I embrace. For students to be successful in their literacy development, I believe that identity acceptance in the classroom is crucial, instruction for all students must be differentiated, direct and explicit instruction is at times necessary, and vocabulary is a significant component in the ‘Big Five’ of children’s literacy development.

EDEE  400  –  Assignment  1   Literacy  in  schools  today  not  only  involves  teaching  students  to  read  and  write,   but  is  also  heavily  focused  on  giving  students  the  necessary  vocabulary  and  skills   to  understand  different  text  types  according  to  the  key  learning  areas  (KLAs)   they  are  undertaking.  While  traditional  ideas  of  literacy  often  ignored  the  diverse   needs  of  students,  contemporary  notions  of  literacy  are  constantly  evolving  in   response  to  changes  in  situational

The essential literacy strategy goes along with the standards and learning objectives by using context clues to help the student figure out unknown or unfamiliar words. Students will build reading comprehension skills by using context clues for figuring out unknown or unfamiliar words while they are reading. Then the students will perform the strategies individually. The related skills address the use of prior knowledge of synonyms and antonyms during the hook and transition portion of the lesson. The reading and writing connections go along with the learning objectives, because the students will read their assigned book and picking out words they do not understand. The students will have to write the sentence with the unknown word in it, and use context clues to figure out the definition of the unknown word. The central focus for this unit of study is for the students to use context clues to better their comprehension of what they have read in their assigned books. The students will be able to use context clues within sentences to determine the meaning of unknown or unfamiliar words. These lessons deal with comprehending text by using context clues to help figure out unknown words. The lessons build off each other by adding more detail to learning about context clues. As the lessons progress the students will be more independent when using context clues. The first lesson is learning about what context clues are. The second lesson will focus on using context clues to figure

Presently there is a rising number of English Language Learners (ELLs) entering into classrooms all over the country. According to the three research studies that I utilized, there are several varied assessment approaches for teaching ELLs in reading (Davis-Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006; Dreher, & Letcher-Gray, 2009; Ebe, 2010). English Language Learners (ELLs) consistently struggle with some aspects of reading because, they lack background knowledge in terms of the generalized text selections, which they are often given (Davis-Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006; Dreher, & Letcher-Gray, 2009; Ebe, 2010). The data across all three journal documents agrees that there is an achievement gap where ELLs

To assist students to “read with purpose and anticipation,” Vacca et al. (2014, p. 173) suggests, in their book Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum, that teachers need to “create an instructional context” that activates their students’ “prior knowledge” and helps them to become interested in a lesson. Throughout chapter six, “Activating Prior Knowledge and Interest,” Vacca et al. (2014, pp. 172-173) explain instructional strategies that can lead students to “read with purpose and anticipation.” This chapter presents the reader with a plethora of instructional strategies and means for applying them, along with example for real educators. As I journeyed through this chapter, I discovered many instructional strategies,

For many decades now there has been a scope of definition for what “literacy” incorporates and those are the basics skills like reading, writing, and a variety of social and intellectual practices which involve basic communication skills, and hand and eye coordination. However, with the world of technology continually growing, and the level of diversity in the student population becoming vaster it has become necessary to also include speaking, listening, viewing, and visually aspects to the curriculum. One of the best ways to address a wide range of literacy is to pair the categories with each other based upon their connections in the real world. The categories include written language (reading & writing), spoken communication (listening & speaking), and visual language (viewing & visually representing). (Standards for the English Language Arts p. 6) Many of these can be done with a range of creative activities such as students being able to choose what they write about, share their own personal experiences in their writings, and then read them together; this helps the students stay engaged in the work they’re doing, and also increases their level of retention of the material. The importance of a student being engaged is best explained in the article “Adolescent Literacy: A Policy Brief” with, “The number of students who are not engaged with or motivated by school learning grows at

In “Writing to Read”, Graham and Hebert present the results of studies, which where thoroughly analyzed, in order to support the importance of writing instruction towards the development of reading skills. The report, however, was not created with the simple purpose of making an argument. Through the use of meta analysis, it recognizes the most effective approaches in order to aid teachers in developing and applying effective strategies.

Reading is the beginning of every child’s learning. The basis of education begins with learning to read. Short (2010) explained that literature acts as “an inquiry to life” and a “way of knowing” (p. 50). However, in order to support children’s learning, it is essential to show children that learning is interesting from a young age. When Short first began teaching using worksheets and a basal reading program, she wrote, “I often felt that children were learning to read in spite of me” (p. 49). The students were not learning to think critically. However, when she began introducing literature circles to her students, she saw them “critically exploring their understandings with each other” (p. 49).

It is important to develop a basic understanding of concepts and vocabulary before reading simply because if a student does not understand what they are reading, they will not only lose motivation and relevance, they will also learn nothing and benefit nothing. It will have been a waste of both their time and yours as the teacher. Having a basic understanding of vocabulary is key because content and concepts are taught through vocabulary. IF students do not understand vocabulary before reading, they will not

Once the basic skills of reading are learned, like vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency, there is rarely any more practice being done and most of the time is dedicated to the writing process. At the college level, professors have limited time to talk about everything, therefore reading instruction unintentionally yet easily gets ignored when professors want to move on and talk about other material. The article “Not Just for Writing Anymore: What WAC Can Teach Us About Reading to Learn” by Mary Lou Odom discusses the importance of reading to learn and how many students and faculty struggle with this concept. Odom emphasizes that students receive little to no additional instruction in reading once they have mastered the skills taught at

As I arrange this reflective analysis paper on topics that relate to a foundational course and specifically searching for the modules that have given me the most information, taught me something new or expanded my knowledge on a specific topic of reading, I have come to realize how far I have come since I began this adventure. I began these courses after graduating from Marshall with my bachelors. I chose this path because of my love for reading and teaching reading. I have come to realize that these courses have enabled me to become a more effective reading teacher and I now have been given the skills, strategies and techniques that I needed to teach a child to read. I know that I will always need to keep up with classes and new techniques, but feel that I am much more capable of teaching reading than before I started these courses. The course 653 Literacy Acquisition helped me to improve and further develop my educational philosophies and beliefs. So, I chose to speak about the first lesson that was expected of me in this class, Module 1 Literacy Theories, Beliefs and Practices.

Literacy is referred to as reading and writing. As we learned, both reading and writing must both be taught together within a balanced literacy program. Throughout the semester, we discussed the 5 parts that make up a balanced literacy program. These 5 elements, identified by the National Reading Panel, are: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. These 5 elements are what the educator teaches their students. It should be the educator's goal for their students to understand these 5 elements, but in order for the students to understand them, the educator uses 8 strategies to teach the 5 elements. These 8 strategies are: Interactive read-aloud, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, shared and interactive

Educators are charged with not only teaching the content of their subject, but also responsible for creating a learning environments that fosters communication, engagement, and reflection so that the students will be prepared for their future careers and learning. Creating a classroom that fosters reading and writing is one way to engage students while promoting that they reflect on the material and communicate their understanding or misconceptions of the content. In order to form a literacy-rich classroom educators need to increase the amount of time students interact with all forms of print and literacy and the classroom environment is an essential key to setting the precedent and model behaviors that will make students more successful and capable of high level learning. (Tyson, 2013)

My philosophy of literacy is centered on providing a learning environment rich in authentic literature, instruction that is engaging, fun, and balanced, collaborative, and also involving families in the child’s education. My ultimate goal of literacy instruction is to help children become lifelong readers and writers by providing the skills necessary to comprehend, construct, and make meaning of text, speak, and write. (Torgesen, 2002). According to the National Reading Panel, there are five essential components that must be taught in effective reading programs: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. (Reading Horizons). According to Konza (2014), reading instruction should be changed to six foundational reading elements, adding oral language and early literacy. I also believe that early literacy should be