Education was Never My Strong Suit

Within mathematics instruction, strategies for solving basic operations are strong and systemic. However, students in the intermediate grades struggle with finding and using reliable strategies for solving word problems. The complexity of language that’s used in a mathematical context makes it difficult for students to have a confident approach. Therefore, action research is being conducted on how reading comprehension can be dove-tailed with word-problem-solving in an elementary classroom. Action research will be used to make a positive change in the

This has deepened my understanding of the big 5 concepts of literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) through understanding what criteria can be used to determinate what is effective developmental for a reader and what needs improvement. The Informal Reading Inventory is one example of this because it allows me to assess word recognition, oral and silent reading, comprehension, and literacy capacity. All of which is valuable information which I can then use as a reading teacher to determine further instructional moves. While I have yet to have a place to fully put these assessment techniques into my full practice as a first year teacher. Learning about how to properly assess these components has better equipped me to think about my students' literacy abilities and further strategize my instructional planning to meet the diversity of their literacy

Times are changing. Literacy is not only a problem that the English teacher has to deal with. Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write (Oxford Dictionaries). However, you have to use different skills to read a novel than you do with reading a science question. So it only makes that literacy should be taught in different ways for each different subject. It does a student no good to be able to physically read a science question but have no idea what it’s asking for. The last five years have seen unprecedented attention given to the literacy achievement of adolescents in secondary schools in the United States. Spurred by the release of flat or declining reading scores on national tests. (Donahue, Daane & Grigg, 2003). This could be easily linked to a lack of literacy techniques being taught in schools.

“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.

he most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read. Indeed, the future success of all students hinges upon their ability to become proficient readers. Recent scientific studies have allowed us to understand more than ever before how literacy develops, why some children have difficulty, and what constitutes best instructional practice. Scientists now estimate that fully 95 percent of all children can be taught to read. Yet, in spite of all our knowledge, statistics reveal an alarming prevalence of struggling and poor readers that is not limited to any one segment of society:

Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information which is essential in being a productive member of society. If and when a student missed an opportunity to learn the skills necessary for reading, it’s has a profound impact on their lives. As educators we realize that teaching all children to read requires that every child receive excellent reading instruction. We are also aware that children, who are struggling with reading must receive

Reading fluency is considered an integral component of the reading process and it has a big presence in the classroom. Its importance became evident since the National Reading Panel (2000) pronounced fluency instruction and assessment an essential and was thus incorporated into the reading First guidelines of No Child Left Behind in 2002 (Shelton, Altwerger, &Jordan, 2009). Reading fluency has been defined in many ways; an outcome of decoding and comprehension, a contributor to both decoding and comprehension, the ability to recognize words rapidly and accurately, the connections

For this assignment, I completed a survey to assess my school’s literacy program by using a survey that was adapted from by Patty, Maschoff, & Ransom (1996) to analyze the instructional program and the school’s infrastructure. To be able to answer my survey, I needed to go colleagues of mine in the English Department and to my administration to help with these questions. Being a math teacher, we hardly ever discuss the literacy and the students’ acquisition of it in our department meeting during staff development days. Since I am not truly current with literacy acquisition in education, I am hoping to understand more from this process so I can help all my students. I want them to be able to read texts related to math and find

“I have never let schooling interfere with my education,” by Mark Twain. Mark Twain is differentiating between education one gets at school and education one gets from real life experiences. There are high chances that experience that a person gets from real world cannot get in school or college. A person cannot live his or her entire life with only knowing information or facts learned from school or college. A person also needs talent, skills, and real world experience to live. College is one of the good ways to get education and become successful in life, but I will not say that it is the only way because a person cannot go to college and achieve success too. There are reasons why one should not go to college, as college is very expensive, college wastes time and money, and college do not guarantee a job.

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

Reading is believed to be an easy task, something we all learning and develop through the years as we grow, however, is it really that simple? To reading and understanding are both essential when a student begins to read. It is a complex action that requires a multitude of different actions/components, all working at the same time, to become a successful reader. The components that are pertinent to reading are: comprehension, oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency and vocabulary. Without these components, reading may very well be irrelevant because it does not make sense to read and not understand what is being transmitted/relayed. According to the National Reading Panel (NRP), “a combination of techniques is effective for

Within mathematics instruction, strategies for solving basic operations are strong and systemic. However, students in the intermediate grades struggle with finding and using reliable strategies for solving word problems. The complexity of language that’s used in a mathematical context makes it difficult for students to have a confident approach. Therefore, research is being conducted on how reading comprehension can be dove-tailed with word-problem-solving in an elementary classroom.

John Dewey once said “Education is not preparation for life; Education is life itself." Meaning that learning is an active process that should occur to enhance one 's living and understanding thereof. When one only views education as a temporary thing they miss the big picture , and fail to grasp the what life truly is. Paulo Freire believes in having the opportunity to discover for oneself all that the world has to offer with the slight guidance from a teacher. He also says that “Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by recoiling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students.” Freire introduces the idea that we can and should all learn from each other, that no one person is ever higher in the world of education. We all have a unique perspective and take on things, and teachers should allow us to discover and interpret for ourselves.

Many students are passed on through the education system without having proper reading skills. These skills consist of fluency, comprehension, and phonemic awareness. Reading skills are foundational building blocks for elementary aged students. Students who lack proper reading skills, such as fluency or the rate in which they read, will ultimately lack comprehension of what they are reading due to the amount of time in which it takes the students to read. This leads to the question, how does fifth grade students lack of fluency affect his or her reading comprehension? Unfortunately, because reading skills taught in kindergarten and first grade focus mainly on phonemic

In this information–driven age, preparing students to read a variety of texts with complete understanding should likely be one of our educational system’s highest priorities. Understanding is more than just the ability to produce information on demand (knowledge) or the ability to perform learned routines (skills). “Understanding is the ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows.” (Active Learning Practice for Schools, n. d.) A review of the literature in the area of reading comprehension of elementary-age students shows two principle areas of focus. There is a body of literature that examines the development of proficient vs. struggling comprehenders and another body of literature that compares methodologies for teaching