Hi Ashley. I agree with your assessment with the article. I too see a lot of emphasis in the classroom with students getting every word correct without making any mistakes when they are asked to read out loud. It seems to be one of the main ways teachers I have observe use to judge how well a students is reading. At the same time, little emphasis is placed on comprehension. In the classroom I am observing I see that the students reading out loud are extremely focused on perfection in their reading, so focused that it is difficult for them to remember what they actually read. The role of a teacher is definitely difficult! A teacher needs to try to individualize their lesson plans to teach all types of student, but at the same time they are required to have students meet specific state specified testing standards and to grade students on their reading ability.
Wow. I just realized what a mess Phonics creates. Especially in English due to context. We get hung up on rules that are broken or often countered based on context. Think back to the words we had to look at when we started of class.
What about regional accents? Are the students docked points if they come from the south and are tested in the PNW and visa versa.
I'm not sure I agree with Smith on all. But he has # 2 right on.
Yup...it's difficult to remember how we learned to read because we learned it mostly by living in our world surrounded by print. It's a useful example you bring up about your classroom and the emphasis on getting the words correctly. It's important to consider why teachers are doing those things:NCLB has put such pressure on principals to get their reading scores up that teachers have to teach to the test. It is very difficult for many teachers to not follow Smith's don't do list because of the ongoing pressure to have students be able to perform well on high stakes tests. Many teachers who would have done differently get bogged down by the demands and can't see their way out of it. There are ways to navigate the high stakes testing pressures and teaching for meaning and love of reading. ONe good way to find this out is to visit teachers you see doing it. If anyone wants good people to see, let me know.
Also, Mike...great questions about getting hung up on rules and breaking things down to its smallest parts in order to "read" something. If we think why schools are structured that way, I would argue that one big reason is because that's how textbooks organize the the content. When developing a textbook, it's much easier to build it in a way that first breaks it down to its smallest parts and then builds up to the bigger parts, aka meaning. The challenge for us as educators is how to keep things whole and to add as much context as we can. Once we've pulled them in, activated their questions and background knowledge, then we can get to the small parts. So, it's essentially flipping the process around. Thoughts?
I guess it comes down to those who like to construct from blocks as opposed to those who like ti see the whole first. From what I’ve seen we have a range in all our classrooms. Some will want details in order to get the big pic, while others will need to see the whole in order to find relevance and value when studying the parts.
The trick is to provide an element of both as soon as possible in order to fit the learning styles. Not forgetting that it needs to be based upon current knowledge and individuals self interest. Hence need to use a range of activities and choices of working in small groups and individually.
Hi Ashley. I agree with your assessment with the article. I too see a lot of emphasis in the classroom with students getting every word correct without making any mistakes when they are asked to read out loud. It seems to be one of the main ways teachers I have observe use to judge how well a students is reading. At the same time, little emphasis is placed on comprehension. In the classroom I am observing I see that the students reading out loud are extremely focused on perfection in their reading, so focused that it is difficult for them to remember what they actually read. The role of a teacher is definitely difficult! A teacher needs to try to individualize their lesson plans to teach all types of student, but at the same time they are required to have students meet specific state specified testing standards and to grade students on their reading ability.
ReplyDeleteWow. I just realized what a mess Phonics creates. Especially in English due to context.
ReplyDeleteWe get hung up on rules that are broken or often countered based on context. Think back to the words we had to look at when we started of class.
What about regional accents? Are the students docked points if they come from the south and are tested in the PNW and visa versa.
I'm not sure I agree with Smith on all. But he has # 2 right on.
Yup...it's difficult to remember how we learned to read because we learned it mostly by living in our world surrounded by print.
ReplyDeleteIt's a useful example you bring up about your classroom and the emphasis on getting the words correctly. It's important to consider why teachers are doing those things:NCLB has put such pressure on principals to get their reading scores up that teachers have to teach to the test. It is very difficult for many teachers to not follow Smith's don't do list because of the ongoing pressure to have students be able to perform well on high stakes tests. Many teachers who would have done differently get bogged down by the demands and can't see their way out of it. There are ways to navigate the high stakes testing pressures and teaching for meaning and love of reading. ONe good way to find this out is to visit teachers you see doing it. If anyone wants good people to see, let me know.
Also, Mike...great questions about getting hung up on rules and breaking things down to its smallest parts in order to "read" something. If we think why schools are structured that way, I would argue that one big reason is because that's how textbooks organize the the content. When developing a textbook, it's much easier to build it in a way that first breaks it down to its smallest parts and then builds up to the bigger parts, aka meaning. The challenge for us as educators is how to keep things whole and to add as much context as we can. Once we've pulled them in, activated their questions and background knowledge, then we can get to the small parts. So, it's essentially flipping the process around. Thoughts?
Dr Bryant
ReplyDeleteI guess it comes down to those who like to construct from blocks as opposed to those who like ti see the whole first. From what I’ve seen we have a range in all our classrooms. Some will want details in order to get the big pic, while others will need to see the whole in order to find relevance and value when studying the parts.
The trick is to provide an element of both as soon as possible in order to fit the learning styles. Not forgetting that it needs to be based upon current knowledge and individuals self interest. Hence need to use a range of activities and choices of working in small groups and individually.