Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a learning disability that is much more complex then I thought before reading the article, Dyslexia and the brain. I always thought that dyslexia was when people confused letters within words. Little did I know, the letter confusion is primarily in the early stages of learning how to read and write, as children get older the disability grows to difficulty with words and sentences. I also thought that once a person with dyslexia was aware that they had the learning difficulty that they could improve and in some cases over come the disability. Instead, it was brought to my attention that children with dyslexia continue to have difficulties into adolescents and adulthood.

After reading this article, I am seeing many similarities between a student in my main placement and the specific behaviors mentioned in the article. This student was behind in so many subjects that he is now receiving title one services. It makes me wonder if he could possibly be dyslexic. In the article it mentions that children with dyslexia show two obvious difficulties, they will not be able to read as many of the words in a text as average readers and they show decoding difficulties. I see both of these symptoms in the student I spoke of above.

It's encouraging that with all of the brain studies that they seem to be getting close to being able to screen people for the learning disability. The fMRI machine, although not feasible would be beneficial to those with learning difficulties and save years of hardship on the students that are affected by dyslexia. Once a teacher is aware that a student is dyslexic they are able to adapt their teaching methods for these students and they can teach the skills that will hopefully benefit the child.

Monitoring Independent Reading

I have always wondered how you can hold students accountable for the reading they are doing during sustained silent reading time in the classroom. When observing students during silent reading I always notice a handful of students that are always staring at the wall. I remember being one of these students when I was in elementary school. I was always distracted by other people in the classroom and never used the assigned reading time wisely.

I observed a wonderful program in my dyad placement this year called R.A.H. R.A.H. stands for Read At Home. The students were required to read a certain amount of pages per quarter and journal about what they were reading. Every Monday the students were to sign in their journals and be ready to conference with a parent volunteer. The parent volunteers were there to meet with the students and insure that they were comprehending the book being read. This was a time for the students to recap what the book was about and the parents to help the students think deeper into what they were reading by asking questions. Although RAH was meant for at-home reading I see it being a useful tool in the classroom too.

Routman has a great idea of keeping a reading record of what books she has read. I think combining the reading record idea with the R.A.H journals would be a way of holding the students accountable to actually reading during SSR. At the end of silent reading, having the students draw or write in their journal about what they just read would keep them on task and would be an easy way for the teacher to assess and evaluate the students reading progress.

Comprehension

If we want readers to be critical thinkers, inquirers, and problem solvers, we need to introduce them to challenging, interesting texts (Routman, 118. Students are much more interested in reading content that they want to read about. I think a good teacher knows their students interests, in knowing those interests it’s important to find reading material that makes a connection for the student of fun and learning. Having the students reading material that interests them will hopefully increase their comprehension.

When I have the opportunity to read with younger children I frequently have them stop and retell me what they just read. Usually they are able to recall the events that just occurred but not always. In the event that they do not comprehend what they are reading I often wonder if the book level is just not appropriate for the child. Like Routman suggest, it helps the younger students to take a “book walk” or survey the text before they begin to read. Having the student’s first look through the text and the illustrations lets them have an idea of what the book will be about. Then they are able to read and confirm their predictions or learn through comprehension that they were incorrect.