Literacy B, Blog 3 - Shared/Guided Readings

Regie Routman opens chapter 8 of Reading Essentials with "if we want kids to wind up with comprehension, we have to begin with comprehension." (pg. 117). I believe that this is the case with my main placement. I am in a Kindergarten class and from the first day, my master teacher has strove for authentic learning with comprehension as the goal, both in reading as well as writing. I've witnessed modeled, shared, and guided teaching across the curricula. And I'm amazed at what these students are doing in just five months of school.

I have taken over the daily message on the two days/week that I'm in the class. This is something that I enjoy but it is much harder than it looks. The message lets the students know which special they will have on that day; i.e. library, music, or P.E. The message was originally written with a black marker, but as the students learn new sight words, these new words show up in the message in color. Our message now has more words in color than in black. The teacher does some type of hand/body motion with each word. Each word is written on a small sticky note as well as a colored index card. A student is called up to the message board; that child takes a sticky note and attaches it to that word in the message. Then the child leads the class in the movement for that word. Finally, the student puts the corresponding index card on the word wall.

Journal writing, which usually follows, consists of using these words in a sentence. Much scaffolding is needed and many students will copy the teacher's sentence. However, more and more, some students are writing their own. They visit the message board as well as the word wall to write the words that they need help with. In all of this, the students are slowly learning to read and they are always excited to see what is written in the daily message. They are looking for meaning.

Literacy B, Blog 2 - Informal Reading Conferences

I am a bit nervous as I anticipate my first informal reading conference with my 5th Grade Buddy. My student is a very capable reader and writer, as evidenced by his writing that he read aloud to me last week, and a very good speller, judging by the informal spelling test that I administered last week. He is also a very sweet kid. There is no reason for me to be nervous. These feelings arise out of a lack of confidence on my part. I am usually uneasy about doing something for the first time.

Routman lists a Framework for an Informal Reading Conference on page 104-105. I have printed this form, Appendix H, (pg.A-9) and plan to follow it diligently. I have also printed her "Child-Friendly" Reading Goals from page 106-107. I know I will have to refer to them as I conference with my buddy, somewhat like following a new recipe to the tee. Fortunately, I really do feel assured that my buddy will be patient and agreeable. I just want to do justice by him; he deserves no less.

Follow-up: The Informal Reading Conference went well. As I expected, my buddy was very willing and cooperative to go through the steps of the conference with me. He is comfortable speaking to adults and enjoys talking about books, making a Reading Conference an easy thing to accomplish with him. Afterwards, as we walked back to his classroom, I told him that before the meeting with him, I had been nervous. He looked at me with expressive brown eyes and admitted that he had been nervous as well. I suggested that I thought, however, it went okay. His grin was the only response I needed.

Follow-up 2: After reading Athena's blog about her reflections on Informal Conferences and what Routman writes about them in Reading Essentials, chapter 7, I realize that I didn't focus on goals for my buddy. We definitely talked about his strengths but my buddy left the conference without any stated goals in mind. I can address this with him next week as we have our 2nd Informal Reading Conference with the just-right book that I bring in.

Literacy B, Blog 1, Cambourne and Templeton

It has been very interesting reading Brian Cambourne's article, An Alternate View of Learning, (1988) while student teaching at the Kindergarten level. In my main placement classroom I am witnessing reading abilities emerge in young students; something that is incredibly thrilling. Cambourne's article has given me a new perspective with which to view this. He correlates learning to read and write with learning to speak. I now envision a room full of young babies & toddlers, babbling away in their babyspeak, not really understaning what others are saying nor understanding themselves, what they wish to express nor the control that it takes to express it. Just happy to be in the moment. Are the Kindergartners happy to be in the moment or are they frustrated with this literacy skill they must learn in the allotted time that we have to teach them?

Templeton says that research suggests "some examination of words is necessary for most students," (Questions teachers ask about spelling, pg 108). Learning can't all be authentic; some word study is necessary. In this Kindergarten class a workable balance between authenticity and word story seems to have been struck.

I believe that my master teacher is an excellent teacher; she models what the students are supposed to be doing. Cambourne says, "I've come to believe that demonstrations are the raw material of nearly all learning," (pg. 34). This week during Centers my MT conducted the first small group guided reading. The students were given a book written with word-families that they had studied. She prepped them first by engaging the students in a review of these words and writing a list - grouped in families - on a white board. Then she opened her book along with the six students. She took some time to look at the illustrations on the first page and to wonder aloud what she thought the writing might be about. The teacher and the students then read the first page together, running their fingers under each word. She then looked at the illustrations again to see what she now understood about the drawings and asked questions of the students. This demonstration is just what I've been reading about in Regie Routman.

It had been four months since I had seen these students. On the first day of school I had witnessed their first entires in their writing journals; these were mostly drawings with some squiggly lines made by those who attempted to write. Now after just 4 months, these same students were able to read this book. (They are also writing a complete sentence in their journals.) I was truly amazed. The teacher was also very pleased. She and I are both anxious to see what the rest of the class will be able to do.