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.

Ensuring Excellent Readers

Regie Routman has a great list of things to do to ensure that students become good readers. I have been able to see most of the list in action within the classroom but I would like to see how to evaluate students on a more regular basis. I find that time becomes an issue with this expectation. The struggling students are worked with on a regular basis and they are the ones that really need the extra time. I would like to know how to evaluate and challenge the students who are above average and give them equal time to ensure that they do not become bored with reading.

As I have observed many, many classrooms this year, one part of the classroom always catches my eye, the class library. Yes, every school has their big library but I am constantly amazed at the collection of books within the classrooms. In every classroom I have been in there are at least (usually more) two bookshelves filled with an array of books. Some are more organized than others, which I see being an important part of having a classroom library.

The class I am in for my main placement has an amazing library. Each basket is labeled with the author of the books or the subject/content of the book (like animals, holidays,etc). This way if the students enjoys reading a certain authors books, say Kevin Henkes, then they know to go directly to the basket with his name on it and find one that appeals to them. The students are allowed to check out books from the classroom library once a week and then a few students are in charge of returning the books to the correct baskets once they are returned.

Giving students time to read is also very important. I sometimes question the silent reading time that the students are given and wonder how to hold them accountable for their readings. I tend to see students day dreaming during reading time instead of them investing their time actually reading.

Spelling

In the first grade that I am currently working with there have been many discussions about spelling between my MT and me. We have discussed wether spelling tests should be given to the students or not. My master teacher does not administer spelling tests and says that there is no evidence that says spelling tests make the students better spellers. Reading the Templeton article brings some light to that statement. The article stresses the importance of the students learning patterns in spelling and therefore once they learn the patterns they will then be able to improve spelling.

I have observed a different first grade class which administers spelling tests every Friday. The only difference about this spelling test is that the students are able to self-select their words. The beginning list is compiled of site words that they should know but most are the words that are hard to decode through letter sound (they are spelled differently then pronounced). Once the students have mastered the words they are allowed to move onto a different list that progressively gets harder. The only problem with this is that I don't see the patterns within words being taught.

I tend to lean on the side that says that spelling tests are important and sometime repetition in practice can stick with the students. I like the idea stated in the article about if you choose to test students that you need to be teaching the patterns found in words. Once the patterns are learned then the meaning of the words can become the focus.

At the beginning of the year I was able to assist my MT in the qualitative spelling inventory of her students. The inventory told us so many interesting facts about where certain students in the class were. Are there a variety of inventory tests? This allowed us to not only see which level they would be in writing but had some connections with their reading level as well.

Mini Lessons

After reading Routman chapter 7, she says that mini lessons are taught into our students' intentions. During a writing unit, you should focus on what the students need to learn. By observing their work you can shape the lesson based on what is best to further and stretch their thinking. Throughout my time in my dyad placement I have seen this method time and time again. I actually taught a mini lesson for their writing unit on memoirs. I had started out planning my lesson on the bad words of literature (word to avoid when writing), but after observing their writing I thought it would be more helpful for the students to learn how to use a thesaurus first. That way later when they learned about words to avoid in writing they would have a resource for new words. I was pleasantly surprised to see the students use my lesson in their writing. Mini lessons are incredibly important for the simple fact that they expand on the writing lesson that the students are working on.

Hallelujah for raising the expectation for spelling :) I know I have written about spelling in previous blogs but it's refreshing to know that it's being talked about. I must say that I am surprised at some of the spelling mistakes that students in sixth grade are making. I am wondering when spelling became less important in schools. It seems like the good old fashioned spelling tests are gone...maybe they should come back. I talk about this with my adult friends often, and we all think it is "interesting" when we get an email or other various messages from other people and simple words are misspelled. It does lead you to make impressions on the person. I understand how teachers don't want to interfere with students writing BUT can't you look at students work to get an idea of which words to "practice" with the class. I like the idea of word walls; I have also seen personal word books that the students keep at their desks which are full of words (alphabetized) that they can refer to.

Why Blog?

Blogging is just one of the inexpensive, semi-risk free technology tools that are available to us. We are constantly on the search for ways to include parents, and make them aware of what we are doing in the classrooms and this just seems like a simple way to connect the classroom to our community. Setting up a blog is quick and easy (and free), and I think the privacy feature allows a sense of security. With technology growing so rapidly we are doing a disservice to our students by not teaching and allowing them to explore on computers. I could see having a classroom blog and having the students be in charge of updating it. Just like there are classroom jobs like holding the door, or passing out paper, I think it would be a neat experience for 2 students a week to work together and write a blog on different things they learned that week, or experiences in the classroom that they had. It's exciting to thing of all the possibilities that technology in the classroom could allow.