Language Arts Classroom: Article Analysis

When students learn about subjects they are familiar with, it allows the content area being taught to become meaningful. As mentioned in Chapter 6, on page 149, motivation to read can come because they are interested in the content. When students are interested in the content they are reading, their needs are being met, and they will be well prepared for a successful literacy experience.

“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.

“The Lonely, Good Company of Books” by Richard Rodriguez, is an expressive narration about the importance of learning through reading. The essay is a narration of his life from his early school years to high school and how he struggled with the general belief that reading books are the main source of education. “Open the doors of your mind with books” (172) he quotes from a poster over his teacher’s desk. He learned early on that books were the key to academic success. Even though his bilingual parents never read for pleasure, they instilled in him the value of books. This idea was repeated by his teachers that reading was the main activity of learning.

The authors of the article explained how important it is to meet the needs of the students with limited English ability in the education system. One of the main point expresses about how frustrating it could be for these students, especially if they were never expose to this sort of environment or language before. Another point that was made in the article, explains how the educational system was not prepared for changes in this sort of population. In most cases, some of the curriculum that is being offered in school cannot be changed to accommodate English Limited Learners, also known as ELLs. Budget is also another issue, as schools are limited to hiring more ELL teachers.

I think that it’s great that this man did something that he struggled with and persevered to learn how to read. So many people would have just called it good and never learned how to read, and it’s very encouraging that he did learn how to read. This article also makes me question our education system a little bit. I do not think that it’s a good sign that this man made it all the way through school not knowing how to read. Did teachers just not notice or did they just not care? Either way no student should attend school ant not learn how to read at some point. Over all, I think that it’s great that this man learned how to read. It is never to late to learn something new, no matter wat that might be.

In the past, knowing that motivation was one of the primary concerns for teachers when teaching them to read (Veenamn, 1984) but today it deals more with finding a way to interest students in reading (O’Flahavan, Gambrell, Guthrie, Stahl, & Alvermann, 1992), Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni developed a tool to assess student motivation in reading. The Motivation to Read Profile includes a reading survey and a conversational interview. The survey gathers information on reading motivation as it relates to self-concept as a reader and the value of reading. The interview gathers information on books students find most interesting, favorite authors, and where and how students find books. After administering the survey and interview, teachers

In this article, the multiple authors go into depth on how the APOE E4 gene mutation may be attained and if nationality may contribute to this risk factor gene. The prevalence of this mutation is thought to occurred from contemporary environmental conditions. This claim is backed up with examples of these harmful contemporary environmental conditions. As the article grows, the nationally factor is explained using a series of charts and data. Within these charts are people listed with their country, age, and percentage of APOE e4 gene. Thus, allowing the data to be tested in order to back up

Elementary school teachers are constantly looking for a way to do things better. How can I engage my students in my instruction? How can I make their learning purposeful to their lives? How can I be more efficient in my planning and effective in my teaching? The Daily 5, a reading instruction program created by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, claims to be the answers to these questions. Boushey and Moser (2012) created the program after teaching and observing others’ literacy blocks. The program is said to “engage students, [and] also teach and promote self-independence on tasks” so that the classroom teacher can attend to individual students’ needs (LaShomb, 2011, p. 1). Boushey and Moser (2006) claim that not only does the program allow students to become self-sufficient learners, but it also engages them in meaningful literature daily.

Students in the Blytheville School District, it would seem, are overly concerned with challenging the rules and seeking to find loop-holes in policies that do not meet their approvals. Brown and Knowles, authors of What Every Middle school Teacher Should Know (2014) stated, “Young adolescents have a strong desire for justice and are interested in idealistic plans for making the world a better place.” It is my opinion that middle school students do, in fact,want justice and peace, but more over want things to work in their favor. In their new found maturing levels, they want to challenge the reasoning behind any rules or regulations that provide static in their otherwise cushioned lives.

Published in 2013 by the Wallace Foundation, “Something to Say: Success Principles for Afterschool Art Programs from Urban Youth and other experts” is an expansive compilation of research into the lack of access, interest, and utilization of meaningful art programs amongst tweens and teens considered to be low income. Broken down into two chapters, the article explores elements such as stigma, parental values, safety concerns, youth opinions, and quality of art programs, as it relates to utilization of school art programs. However, the elements mentioned above are only a handful of the things captured and explored throughout the article. This information was found using various methods of research, but it seems as if focus

The upsurge of a diverse population in the United States has been growing in numbers for years and will continue to rise in the years to come. With the increase, a call for adapting instruction to meet the needs of new learners has been a point of interest in courts and the classroom. The reason for focusing on new learners results from their different backgrounds and languages. Learners can come with ample, some, or no prior education from their native countries, which makes learning in the U.S. a major challenge. Curriculum calls for increased cognitive demands and varying vocabularies as content is introduced, and this is especially true with social studies instruction. The task of helping English-language learners be successful

The motivation to read comes from a variety of factors. This article from a popular website for educators and parents, Reading Rockets, identified five main ones. First, students that have a positive self-concept and value reading will be more successful than those that do not (Gambrell, Palmer, Coddling, & Mazzoni, 1996). Second, a widely used and effective tool for motivation is providing students with choices and when this occurs, students are more likely to engage in reading (Worthy & McKool, 1996). Third, teachers can model reading strategies during read-alouds and discussions which will then help motivate students to read (McGee & Richgels, 2003). Fourth, teachers must have a wide-selection of books for students to read during independent

Determining what motivates students to read and then determining if this impacts the amount and breadth of reading are concepts to explore in order to help students increase their reading achievement, be more knowledgeable about the world, and be more likely to participate in their communities as adults. These goals led the work of this study. Four questions were explored. First, what aspects motivate students? Second, is there a relation between motivation and the amount and breadth of reading? Third, what parts of reading motivation do students feel most strongly about? Finally, do grade, time, and gender differences have an impact on student’s motivation to read and write? This qualitative study was conducted with one hundred and five, fourth

In the article Attention students: Put your laptops downthe article is trying to prove a point that paper copying notes is better than laptop copying notes. What the article does is that it tells how a person tried to prove his point and he first does tests on college students and looks at the results. He sees that paper notes are better but he needs more proof. He tested the students again and saw that writing is better than typing. Even after all this though he still thinks it’s hard to convince people to write down notes instead of typing.

Across the nation today, teachers deal with students every day who refuse to do their schoolwork or do not want to participate in class. Although there are numerous factors contributing to this lack of engagement with school, two prevalent factors are students’ lack of comprehension and motivation. Many students read at grade level or below grade level in urban schools. They are not motivated internally or by external factors to be more involved with school or to read. Adolescent students are at an age where peer influence has a significant affect on them. If students do not see or hear about one another reading, the chances of them reading are lower. However, when students do hear that their peers are reading a book and recommend it to one another this validates reading to the students (Hopper, 2005, p. 118). Therefore, two possible advantages of the incorporation of choice reading into an urban school English classroom curriculum are an increase in student motivation and subsequently reading comprehension.