We Say Students Can 't Read, What Does It Mean?

“Your county has some of the worst literacy rates in the state. According to your test scores, most of you can barely even read or write. I will be honest with you; I think that the current curriculum breeds stupidity and is only appropriate for people who aspire to complete mediocrity. I may only last one year, but I am, from this point forth, deciding not to follow the curriculum. You can leave your books under your desk, because you will not be needing them. In this class, we will dwell on our ability to think and

The question that I have chosen for my inquiry project is: How can you improve performance in a first grade classroom with Guided Reading? I am interested in this since I teach first grade. As a first grade teacher I am always looking for ways to improve my class’s performance. Guided reading offers support to the students as they are learning. Rogoff suggested that “adults support children’s learning by structuring the task’s difficulty level, jointly participating in problem solving, focusing the learner’s attention to the task, and motivating the learner.” (Frey & Fisher, 2010, 84).

After reading John Holt’s essay, How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading, I fully agree with what Holt is saying. He tells his audience that forcing children to read, use a dictionary and take quizzes on what they read has proven to deter children from enjoying reading. I liked reading it, I liked how he showed that he understood both sides of the situation, but then realized how important it was for children to just read. Even though they did not fully understand the material they still found parts of the readings that made them happy. I liked how Holt made the point about how embarrassed students would get when they had to read a difficult part in a book and classmates would snicker and giggle if they made a mistake. That is a real thing,

In every school across America, effective practices of reading instruction are being discussed. Calkins (2012) suggests that over 85% of students being tested on grade level literacy standards are non-proficient. Research suggests that students, who are unable to read proficiently by third grade, are not predicted to ever learn to read or have successful lives when they reach adulthood (Martinez, 2008). For these reasons, it is important that districts implement literacy models and instructional reforms that have been well researched and shown to be successful. The instructional reform method of Balanced Literacy is being used throughout the country to meet the challenging standards of the Common Core. Teachers will need

Personally, I feel the textbook is extremely difficult for our students to understand. The amount of reading and the difficulty of the reading is hard for my students, especially my IEP learners. Moreover, the textbook does not provide enough practice for students within the actual textbook. While the textbook connects the mathematics to real world scenarios, I often find that most of my students are not making the connections because they are lost in the words. Many students within my class grumble and moan when I state we are using the books for the day. To them, this creates anxiety because they cannot comprehend what is written

The statement about students reading on the superficial, surface level, and how they rarely reach that richer deeper meaning was very profound to me. The example of all the events that happen in the baseball game before each pitch was a great eye-opener to validate this point. Educators expect

While all fields of academia possess some level of practical application, there remains an ever-important and all-encompassing skill which is needed to truly understand each subject: reading. Though literacy rates in the US near 100%, literacy unaccompanied by tools such as context, critical analysis, and sufficient skepticism can leave one lost in arduous texts and vulnerable to flawed arguments. This notion is rarely rejected by anyone at face value, rather, questions regarding the implementation and perceived importance of certain reading strategies alienates differing camps. Many attempts at mitigating the dilemma of subpar reading comprehension have been made, most notably, Daniel Willingham's proposed reform of early education, Michael

Activity #1 (45 min): Answer the following questions about the textbook reading (just type in the box below the question:

“To Dumb for Complex Texts?”, an essay by Mark Bauerlein, states high schools are at fault for students inability to comprehend complex texts. Bauerlein starts by noting students who enter college are not as prepared as they should be, evidenced by their placement exam scores. Bauerlein goes on to state the lack of readiness is due to high schools increasing focus on digital reading, rather than the physical form. Additionally Bauerlein writes that complex reading is not thoroughly integrated in to student curriculum. Bauerlein believes that because of the high schools simple literature curriculum, students beginning college have not been properly exposed to complex texts, and as a result cannot properly comprehend the readings assigned in

As I read through Chapter 2, it is easy to see that legislation over the years has impacted my education in some way, shape, or form. There were a couple of points and legislations that stuck out to me in this reading assignment. First, I can see how the establishment of the Parent-Teacher Association in 1897 made a positive impact in my educational experience. My parents were always really involved and supportive of various school activities, whether that was through my mom being a helper in my elementary classrooms or both of my parents being members of the Booster Club when I was in high school. I think this helped show me how important education really was and led to unending support from them. Second, there are several “newer trends” that

Student survey responses corresponded with the most expressed concerns of teachers. Of the 45 students surveyed (proficient and deficient learners in reading comprehension), all expressed that the vocabulary within a text is difficult and makes it hard to comprehend a reading. Furthermore, 73% of students said that language (the language used in the text and the format of a text) in historical or English readings were confusing. Finally, 86% of students said that most of what they read in class was boring and they found very little interest in the reading.

During the assessment regarding concepts about print the three students I assessed (A,T,WG) performed at a level that I somewhat predicted but was still surprised by. The children that I assessed would need remediation understanding the formation of a book and how it is supposed to be read. As well as the difference between their right and left sides. If the teacher would read more often with the students and physically show them where to start reading in a book or what is a short word and what is a long word the students will get the practice they needs.

In class on Tuesday we discussed how Michigan is in last place out of all the states for reading. Ever since 2003 Michigan has been declining (about 15 years now!). To help turn Michigan’s reading curriculum around the Michigan Department of Education has implemented the 3rd Grade Reading Law. Professor Masko mentioned that those of us who will be employed in three years will be impacted by this law. Our professor also mentioned how important reading is because reading impacts every subject. Students read out of a science book during science time and read out of a book during social studies time. Word problems are found in math so reading really is apart of every subject. A speaker at the Community Literacy Summit stated that “children unable

Most of the other students in her 2nd grade classroom are able to read classroom text and complete work independently. They also read books for enjoyment on their own. The reading time in her classroom consists of a block during which the teacher works with small groups and the children are expected to work quite independently when they are not working directly with the teacher. The class uses a trade book format and this is utilized across the curriculum. Students are provided with short skills building lessons in large and small groups. Most of the time spent during explicit reading instruction is targeted to helping students develop reading fluency.

The failure of students being able to read and comprehend what they are reading is a great concern for most schools. When students enter the fifth grade and are not on grade level, they are already behind their classmates. Teachers are then responsible for remediating the students to get them on grade level. Unfortunately, these same students are unable to keep up with on grade level standards teachers are required to teach, because they lack the skills needed. These students will continue to struggle throughout their education because they will not be able to catch up to their grade level. Many educators have realized there is a gap between fluency and comprehension. Because of this realization, special instruction such as guided reading and remedial teaching has been implemented.