This quote stood out to me from the Reading Literature subsection of Lee and Spratley. The quote explains that not everyone is taught literature the same way nor using the same books. Some schools are fortunate enough to have the money to buy books for all students whereas some don't. The problem may also be that some schools have books but are out of date for the current students. Books need to change according to the needs and relevance of students life. If we do that then we will have kids engaged in literature. I recall that my school grade school didn't have money for brand new books, so instead we would read excerpts from the books we needed to read. There were times when I didn't mind reading the excerpts but there were times when I wished I had the full book to read. We were given excerpts from different genres or short stories but it wasn't as engaging or interesting. We were taught to read but not to think critical of what we were reading. In grade school, we werent encouraged to ask questions. It was simply, if its in the text then thats what it is otherwise its simply unknown.
Additionally, the reading indicates five strategies for reading which are
1. asking questions; 2. making predictions; 3. testing hypotheses; 4. summarizing; 5. monitoring understanding and deploying fix-it strategies as needed.
These strategies are pretty self explanatory; the images also note some strategies used for reading.From the images I recall my school having us focus mostly on summarizing and making predictions thats as far as I was taught in grade school. In high school, I was taught the strategies mentioned in the book as well as the ones used in the images. It was a big difference and it really got me to become a critical reader which I am thankful for now but it was a challenge shifting from just summaries and predictions to making connections ect.
Questions:
What strategies were you taught in grade school? in highschool?
How do we get kids to engage in reading different genres?
How do we get access to books if our future school(S) dont have the resources?
Honestly thinking, I can't even remember the comprehension explanation I got from teachers, not saying there wasn't one, I just don't remember.
ReplyDeleteThe second picture you have posted rings some bells, seeming familiar.
We get kids to read different genres by exposing them in a full class read aloud, giving them exposure to it, before deciding if it interests them personally.
Building a book collection is something we should all be working on now, and purchasing your own books for you class can be affordable, and there are many incentive programs like Scholastic that make it a little more affordable.
Andrea, it might be that you did go over this in your school but it was just never addressed by the proper name.
ReplyDeleteAlso scholastic is available for 180 dollars and my teacher made students pay for it for a low cost of 6 dollars and I thought it was a fair amount and also get access to online content with those 6 dollars so it really goes along way. They
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ReplyDeleteHi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteIn grade school, I remember learning about predictions, and summarizing. I don't remember a whole lot more as far as reading strategies during grade school. I remember reading a chapter book as a class and answering questions about it in groups after we read each chapter. I did that throughout third and fourth grade. I remember in high school that I was taught to infer a lot more. They focused more on the aspect of teaching us how to think critically. We had to highlight key points in the text and make an inference based on key details. That was a something that I focused on all throughout high school because it was supposed to prepare us for college.
I think as a future teacher, it is important to get students to engage in different genres. My students at Wells Prep now read a different genre each week. It is a short 3-5 page story. We learn about the genre first, and then we discuss it after we read. Last week we did a folk tale. Doing something like that is beneficial to the students because as a teacher, I want to expose them to different genres. I think even having different books categorized in different genres and having them choose their own on a designated genre is beneficial too. That way the aren't limited and can still choose something that they are interested in.
As far as getting access to books for our future classrooms, I agree with what Andrea said. We can start collecting books for our future classroom now. Trying to find books at a low cost or even free ones to add to the collection is a great idea. Educating ourselves on how to obtain and write grants to be able to get more books for our future classrooms is also an option.
Great Post!
Resilda
Hey Ashley!
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you incorporated the five strategies of reading because I think they're so important to address when it comes to supporting self-monitoring.
When I think of my own experiences I remember my teachers would emphasize making questions and predictions before and during reading. Then, they made sure to return to those questions and predictions at the end of a story or whatever text we were reading. It was really beneficial for me to answer my own questions, adjust the predictions I made, and reflect on my reading process.
Hey Hallie,
DeleteI think that we should continue to practice those skills verbally but we should also practice writing them so that kids can look back at their reasoning and later critique it.
Hi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteReally awesome post! I remember learning reading strategies that were similar to the ones that you mentioned. Mostly, I remember teachers emphasizing finding connections to the text, asking questions, making predictions, thinking back to prior knowledge, and summarizing. I found these strategies to be helpful when trying to figure out the meaning behind the author's tone or figurative language. I think one way to get students to read different genres, is to provide students with texts of their interest. Maybe, a good way to get more books into the classroom is to apply for a grant. Also, sometimes just putting out a request on social media for friends and family to donate books, that they don't use, can also be a good way to build a bigger classroom library.
Hi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteThinking back during my elementary and high school years, my teachers taught me how to connect, summarize, and questions. I believe these were the three top strategies they really stressed about.
As for the way we can get more students to read different genres of books, maybe we can do Read Aloud and select different genres or maybe connect a certain thing the students may like to a particular genre that they haven't try out.
As for resources, I know my teacher would take books that other teachers would not want and add them into her library. So maybe have a community of teachers, parents, or even friends to donate to the classroom library. Another great source is Box Top. I believe if you collect enough Box Top, they will give you fund to buy supplies or books. Another one is scholastic reading Club, where you get points for every time a parent purchase books. You can use these earn points toward classroom books. Lastly, if you are a fan of technology and online reading, there is this apps calls Epic, where students get to select different types of books in different genres. This apps offers thousands of books and a HUGE bonus is that it's free for teachers!!! Hope this helps.
Van
Hey Van,
DeleteI recall collecting books from my community to give to my old elementary school. The librarian was really happy and the kids were eager to check out the books. It was a great experience and it was good to see my old books being enjoyed by other kids.
I love your post especially the pictures and strategies. These strategies are so helpful!
ReplyDeleteI was taught how to summarize in a different way. She already had it filled out and we would fill in the blanks which helped us write a good summary. We have to be be excited for them to read different genres!
ReplyDeleteEnthusiastic is infectious. Access books through through through thrift books or really cheap bookstores.
I was taught how to summarize in a different way. She already had it filled out and we would fill in the blanks which helped us write a good summary. We have to be be excited for them to read different genres!
ReplyDeleteEnthusiastic is infectious. Access books through through through thrift books or really cheap bookstores.
Great blog Ashley!!
ReplyDeleteThinking back to my own experiences in school I had a very difficult time reading. I remember decoding was such a priority that comprehension of the text fell behind. I see a lot in schools that when students are asked to explain their comprehension with evidence it turns into a summarization. I can totally relate because I did the same. There's so much stress on reading fluently that our focus drifts away from making our own meanings.
I think engaging in more different books requires the school to have those resources of various books. When your school doesn't have books it's hard. Hopefully you can run across people who can donate or maybe you can qualify for a grant.
Now with technology it is a bit easier to use the internet to provide texts if that's an available resource in the school.