Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Group 5-Shannon Lively-Reading
I am currently doing my practicum in 2nd grade and I have noticed that they do a lot of independent reading. First thing in the morning when they come in they spend about 25 minutes silent reading. Later, after lunch, they spend another 15 minutes silent reading. The students have a structured reading block as well which consists of using their reading books. The reading block begins with the teacher read aloud followed by the teacher reading a story and leading a class discussion. Throughout the day, if a student finishes work early, they are instructed to silent read. The students pick their own books and there is no assignment that goes along with the reading. I have observed students changing books very quickly and not really engaged in the reading. They turn a few pages and switch books, but never really read much. What are your thoughts on reading this much each day? Do you think that students will like reading if they are forced to silent read so many times a day? What are some ways that we can help our students be engaged in reading and enjoy it? I feel that it is so important that students at any age find books that they like, and not all reading should be assigned reading. Having said that, should there be an activity that the students complete after reading a story so that they read for a purpose?
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4 comments:
-What are your thoughts on reading this much each day?
Based on the way you’re describing its function and purpose I would say that it sounds like quite a bit of reading. I would also say that it could be presented differently and that may change the whole dynamic as to whether it’s to much time reading.
-Do you think that students will like reading if they are forced to silent read so many times a day? It doesn’t seem likely.
What are some ways that we can help our students be engaged in reading and enjoy it? This is a broad question so I would say to begin with the most fundamental parts of it.
1. Make the reading purposeful.
2. Have a portion (portion varies) lesson related.
3. Have a portion (portion varies) fun reading.
4. Have a portion (portion varies) assessable.
-Should there be an activity that the students complete after reading a story so that they read for a purpose? How to make reading purposeful is optional. Some of this relates to the previous question and what I basically said was that the portion of time spent reading material related to a lesson and reading for fun is going to vary.
It sounds like too much silent reading. I think that reading a lot through out the day is wonderful but it sounds like all they are doing is reading with no disscussion or closure. There should be some time each day where they children can just silent read for fun with no assignment that goes along with it. It should be just for fun. But the best part about reading is that it can be tied to any other subject. If the students are going to be reading that much they should be reading for a purpose. For example reading to explore a science subject. I also think that it is a good idea to discuss in a group about what was read. people are able to make connections through conversation. Being able to talk to other people about the book, makes personal connections to the book and also creates learning community with in the classroom. I think it is important to do more than just read to yourself. People learn through interation so there must be that through out the day other wise reading becomes tedious.
I think that it's a great idea that the students have a lot of time to read because some teachers do not give students enough time to read. At the same time, I don't think it's a good idea that the students are reading silently without a purpose. The teacher should give the students the oppurtunity to share what they have read with either partners, groups or with the whole class. By doing activities like so, the students will improve in comprehension as well as their communication skills and they will have a love for reading.
I did my second practicum in a first grade classroom and my CT would tell the students to read silently if they finished their work. Many times I would notice that the advanced readers would stay seated and read their chapter books while the lower readers were constantly going to the bookshelf to change books. All of the books were color coordinated for their levels so it wasn't like they were taking books too easy or too difficult because they knew their level. But, their silent reading was used for personal enjoyment and not for a specific assignment. After reading the comments I thought that maybe it would be a good idea for the teacher to choose books from the school/public library relating to a topic being covered that particular week or prior to. For example, a second grade standard is for students to demonstrate the ability to identify rhythm and rhyme. Another standard is to identify details about culture. All of the books that the teacher would choose from the school/public library would be available for silent reading and would also relate to that particular topic. This way during silent reading the students could read for a purpose. If it is done prior to the lesson the teacher could ask questions regarding the material and use that as an introduction to the lesson. Maybe you could use this idea for science and social studies too. Many of the students might feel more comfortable providing comments in class because they have a little more background knowledge than they did before. It would definitely require a lot of planning, but with being able to order books online from the library, it could work. I've never tried this... but it's just a thought.
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