Week #7
A “good classroom” is designed and filled with education decoration. It is important for the child’s learning that the classroom is a learning environment. It promotes better learning when the classroom is filled with learning materials and decorations. Specifically, to encourage fluency it is helpful to have a word wall. The word wall should have the commonly misspelled words, commonly used words, and unit related words. Additionally, there should be a wall displaying common blendings and word endings. When students are surrounded by this they will know it better and their reading fluency will be strengthened.
Vocabulary words are selected according to the units the class is learning. The best way to learn new words is when they are connected to the current lesson, it is the easiest way for the students to grasp them. Vocabulary words not only for ELA but every subject new word is introduced. For example, a math related vocabulary word can be even and odd. Word study is an important basis in learning and is really part of every subject. Reading is required in every subject; English, math, history, science etc. therefor every subject will include some word study. There is no set amount of time it ultimately depends on the reading level of the students.
Some word study routines are word sorts, guided reading, shared reading, and spelling quizzes. Teachers are constantly encouraging their student to try to spell on their own. Sound out the words and listen to the sounds, this is called the “stretching trick”. Stretch out the word slowly so you can hear all the sound and pick out the correct letters. This is a good routine for students to use for word study. Students are also encouraged to look at the surrounding text to help them decipher the difficult word. Use the surrounding information to decode the hard words. Every student is assigned the same tasks irrelevant to their level. For the struggling students the work is broken down into more steps, so it is less overwhelming. It is not the complexity that is too hard for the student it is just too much information at once, so for those children the work is broken down into more steps. Every child has the potential to learn the same lessons it just might take faster for some and more time for others.
Assignment #2:
Assignment #2:
1. How can you ensure that your struggling readers have access to texts they can easily read?
Students learn to read the best when they read text on their level. It is unproductive for students to read texts not on their level, it will not strengthen their reading fluency. To provide access to books on every child’s level it is important to have a library in the classroom fully stocked with many books on a variety of levels. The main thing is that the struggling gets books that they can read.
2. How can you foster a learning environment in which students have many opportunities to practice reading?
The teacher should provide many opportunities to practice reading. There should be many activities that require reading throughout the day. The classroom should have a fully stocked library with a variety of level books. Books should be sent home, so the students can practice after school too.
3. Describe ways in which you can model fluent reading in your classroom throughout the day.
Modeling reading is an important part of reading instruction. Many students have never herd fluent reading so how can they be a fluent reader? When reading show the students what techniques you are using so they can learn from you. Show them the three parts of fluency; smooth, correct, and expressive. Read-aloud is a good way to model reading to the class.
Assignment #3
1. Explain the three levels of words and how you can use word levels to decide which words to teach.
I. Familiar words (ex: bed, look)
II. Words that appear often in text, TV, news etc. (ex: democracy, hurricane)
III. Highly technical words, unique words (ex: unicameral, legislator)
The first level of words is basic easy to spell words. These words are uncomplicated and do not have to be specifically taught as a vocabulary word. These words any child can read once he learns the basic rules and guidelines to reading. The second level is where most of our vocabulary words should come from. These are important words that students need to know and are more difficult to spell. A lot of these words can be found in text. It does not have to be a separate lesson, but the teacher can select these types of words from the text the class is reading. The last level are the unique words that are not taught as a vocabulary lesson. These words are left for the biology, chemistry, or history teacher to teach.
2. How do you teach your students to "chunk" words as a strategy for decoding unfamiliar words? When do you provide this instruction?
When children are first learning difficult words, we teach them the chunk strategy. This strategy helps them decode words more easily. This can help the child read or understand the word. We teach the students to tear apart the word, look for parts of the word that are familiar. We start with the students literally tearing a word on a paper, picking out the part he understands. After he only covers up the unfamiliar parts with his finger and reads the rest. This will help them slowly get to the final word. This strategy lasts for about 10 days and after that the child has learned to figure out the word by looking at the whole thing at once and does not have to cover up parts of it.
3. Based on Professor Allington's comments and the classroom examples, what are some ways you might foster word study in your classroom?
Word study does not have to be a separate subject alone but can and should be part of every subject. There are difficult words in every subject that can be picked out and introduced as vocabulary words. In a reading lesson I would pick out unfamiliar words and encourage the students to figure out what it means using the surrounding text. I would definitely have a word wall displaying a variety of difficult words. I would make sure to always have a fully stocked library in my classroom with books on a variety of levels. My lessons will be modified and adjusted according to my student’s strengths and weaknesses; there is no “one size fits all”.
I. Familiar words (ex: bed, look)
II. Words that appear often in text, TV, news etc. (ex: democracy, hurricane)
III. Highly technical words, unique words (ex: unicameral, legislator)
The first level of words is basic easy to spell words. These words are uncomplicated and do not have to be specifically taught as a vocabulary word. These words any child can read once he learns the basic rules and guidelines to reading. The second level is where most of our vocabulary words should come from. These are important words that students need to know and are more difficult to spell. A lot of these words can be found in text. It does not have to be a separate lesson, but the teacher can select these types of words from the text the class is reading. The last level are the unique words that are not taught as a vocabulary lesson. These words are left for the biology, chemistry, or history teacher to teach.
2. How do you teach your students to "chunk" words as a strategy for decoding unfamiliar words? When do you provide this instruction?
When children are first learning difficult words, we teach them the chunk strategy. This strategy helps them decode words more easily. This can help the child read or understand the word. We teach the students to tear apart the word, look for parts of the word that are familiar. We start with the students literally tearing a word on a paper, picking out the part he understands. After he only covers up the unfamiliar parts with his finger and reads the rest. This will help them slowly get to the final word. This strategy lasts for about 10 days and after that the child has learned to figure out the word by looking at the whole thing at once and does not have to cover up parts of it.
3. Based on Professor Allington's comments and the classroom examples, what are some ways you might foster word study in your classroom?
Word study does not have to be a separate subject alone but can and should be part of every subject. There are difficult words in every subject that can be picked out and introduced as vocabulary words. In a reading lesson I would pick out unfamiliar words and encourage the students to figure out what it means using the surrounding text. I would definitely have a word wall displaying a variety of difficult words. I would make sure to always have a fully stocked library in my classroom with books on a variety of levels. My lessons will be modified and adjusted according to my student’s strengths and weaknesses; there is no “one size fits all”.
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