I like that you mentioned "discourage guessing." I think I kind of flew by that one while reading the article. I thought it was really interesting what Smith said about reading slowly and making sure that each word is pronounced correctly--it makes comprehension less likely. You mentioned that the students you observe reading are only allowed to miss one or two words in a text before moving up a reading level. Are they also being tested for comprehension at the same time? I have noticed in the reading classes where I'm working that the teachers are so focused on knowing words. Often they will come to the end of a story and not ask a single comprehension question--they are just so focused on getting the words. I think there needs to be a huge shift!
Hi Ashley. The class I am referring to is a first grade class and they are tested on reading ability (not missing more than one or two words) not on comprehension. The teacher told me that they will begin to teach comprehension skills later in the year.
It sounds like we picked up on the issues of when to correct errors, and why perfection? as areas of discussion.
The testing we are putting these students through seems counter productive to me. What does this have to do with the creation of meaning? If the student got 3 words wrong and lets say for arguments sake the words are "the, and, and it, are they held back? That seems picky at best and non creative at worst.
Once again I find myself confused by what we are looking to produce from schools for the 21st Century. Perfect automatons or creative thinkers. We have the first in the machines that we use to type this blog. Why not link the creative mind with these tools and promote the one thing we hear all the time from business leaders. "We want people who can create solutions to problems."
Interesting that you were first confused by the chapter because it is contrary to what you are seeing in the classroom. I'm so glad that you were able to allow yourself to re-think your assumptions about the teaching of reading. It can be so difficult to challenge our assumptions about how we make sense of print, but it is through this process that we can potentially more clearly understand how students make sense of print. When we are able to do this then we will use more effective methods. "Reading carefully" can actually help us to make better guesses. For example, if they see the first letter then go to the pictures in the text, then they will be able to more accurately predict what the word is.
Hi Kathleen -
ReplyDeleteI like that you mentioned "discourage guessing." I think I kind of flew by that one while reading the article. I thought it was really interesting what Smith said about reading slowly and making sure that each word is pronounced correctly--it makes comprehension less likely. You mentioned that the students you observe reading are only allowed to miss one or two words in a text before moving up a reading level. Are they also being tested for comprehension at the same time? I have noticed in the reading classes where I'm working that the teachers are so focused on knowing words. Often they will come to the end of a story and not ask a single comprehension question--they are just so focused on getting the words. I think there needs to be a huge shift!
Hi Ashley. The class I am referring to is a first grade class and they are tested on reading ability (not missing more than one or two words) not on comprehension. The teacher told me that they will begin to teach comprehension skills later in the year.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathleen
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like we picked up on the issues of when to correct errors, and why perfection? as areas of discussion.
The testing we are putting these students through seems counter productive to me. What does this have to do with the creation of meaning? If the student got 3 words wrong and lets say for arguments sake the words are "the, and, and it, are they held back? That seems picky at best and non creative at worst.
Once again I find myself confused by what we are looking to produce from schools for the 21st Century. Perfect automatons or creative thinkers. We have the first in the machines that we use to type this blog. Why not link the creative mind with these tools and promote the one thing we hear all the time from business leaders. "We want people who can create solutions to problems."
Interesting that you were first confused by the chapter because it is contrary to what you are seeing in the classroom. I'm so glad that you were able to allow yourself to re-think your assumptions about the teaching of reading. It can be so difficult to challenge our assumptions about how we make sense of print, but it is through this process that we can potentially more clearly understand how students make sense of print. When we are able to do this then we will use more effective methods.
ReplyDelete"Reading carefully" can actually help us to make better guesses. For example, if they see the first letter then go to the pictures in the text, then they will be able to more accurately predict what the word is.