Standard 4

Standard 4 Diversity

• Provide differentiated instruction and instructional materials, including traditional print, digital, and online resources, that capitalize on diversity.

I am reluctant to admit that before this class I didn’t realize that choosing great multicultural books was an important aspect of reading education.  Learning about other cultures is usually a lesson learned in social studies or history classes, or at least that is what I used to believe.  I now realize that multicultural books are critical in early education as these young students usually don’t have social studies or history classes until later in elementary school.  These children often have questions and don’t understand why we don’t all look alike or speak the same languages.  Learning about other cultures is important so that they can understand that we are not all the same and that it is ok to be different.  This is a lesson that will follow them throughout their lives, so it is vital that they learn it at a young age.  In choosing great multicultural books it will allow students to understand different values, cultural influences, languages, as well as how activities and celebrations vary according to culture.  The multicultural book that I chose for my lesson with Liv was The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi.  This book, as most multicultural books do, had a very compelling message and demonstrated the values of Unhei’s (the main character) homeland of Korea.  Students are told how Korean children are sometimes named and why those names are special.  This book also allows students to relate to Unhei, as everyone has something about themselves that they don’t like and everyone wants to fit in.  It also provides an opportunity to show students that just because someone is different does not justify making fun of them.  Now, after reading Chapter 2 in That’s a Great Answer and taking this course, I will be sure to include numerous multicultural books in my lessons!

Standard 5

Standard 5 Literate Environment 

• Understand the role of routines in creating and maintaining positive learning environments for reading and writing instruction using traditional print, digital, and online resources.

I have always been a firm believer in positive reinforcement and creating a positive learning environment.  Throughout this journey with Liv, my beliefs have been confirmed.  Liv responds well to praise and encouragement and really strives to improve her reading skills.  I discovered (with the help of some suggestions) that allowing her to struggle to decipher words only frustrates her to the point that every word beyond the initial struggle also becomes a struggle.  I now help her with words that she can’t decode and it seems to help her fluency.  I have also been doing a lot of partner reading with Liv, so that she can witness a proficient reader.  She always comments on how fast I read and I am always quick to tell her that she will be that fast if she keeps working as hard as she does.  I also work diligently to build her confidence in reading by giving her words of praise, rewards such as pencils and stickers, and lots of encouragement.  I have also learned to give her an assignment that she excels at after each activity or book that might leave her frustrated.  For example, after reading a particularly difficult book I will give her an activity involving emotions or comprehension which are two things that she excels at.  I have found that by ending our sessions on a positive note, it helps build her confidence for our next session.  Liv is very motivated to learn to improve her reading skills.  At the beginning of our time together, she broke down in tears when she told me that she wasn’t a very good reader.  I have reiterated that she is a great reader and that it is not always about how fast you read, but about how well you comprehend what you have read (something that she does well).  I believe that due to all of the positive words, Liv tries even harder to improve her reading skills.  Her mother recently broke down in tears because Liv was able to read birthday cards in the store by herself, something that she couldn’t previously do.  It absolutely amazes me at all of the progress she has made in such a short time!

Liv's first VoiceThread reading

Liv's last VoiceThread reading

Standard 3

Standard 3 Assessment and Evaluation

• Administer and interpret appropriate assessments for students, especially those who struggle with reading and writing.
• Analyze and use assessment data to examine the effectiveness of specific intervention practices and students responses to instruction.

Since I have never had my own class and have only ever subbed, I haven’t had a chance to use any type of formal assessment.  I have to admit that this is an area that is intimidating since I have no experience.   I don’t feel that it is something that you can learn from class, it is something you learn in the field.  I have been informally assessing Liv during our sessions and have noticed a tremendous amount of improvement since we began.  One observation that I have made is that her comprehension skills greatly outweigh her fluency.  She is able to answer any question with ease yet still struggles to get through most books without assistance.  Liv is also able to answer questions beyond the text, such as what the characters might be feeling, what could happen next, and how it makes her feel.  She excels at tapping into emotions, whether they belong to her or to a character in the story.  Something else that I have noticed with Liv is that she struggles the most with the simple words and some of the more complex words come easier to her.  She explained to me that some of the more complex words have been on her spelling tests or that she has used context clues to figure them out.  I have also noticed that she reads contractions as two separate words, for example I’m is I am to Liv.  To help her learn to read them correctly I have been doing a timed reading activity which is simply a sheet of contractions in which she has one minute to read.  When she began she could only get through 28 words and she is now almost able to get through the entire sheet!  I am very proud of the progress she is making and we will continue to work diligently.

running record

Results for timed reading exercise for contractions:
21/28

25/31

30/37

33/38

36/44

40/46

45/51

51/59

56/64

Standard 2

Standard 2 Curriculum and Instruction

• Provide appropriate in-depth instruction for all readers and writers, especially those who struggle with reading and writing.

     Prior to this course and tutoring Liv, I did not have much knowledge about teaching a struggling reader.  I have never struggled with reading, nor has my daughter, so this was something that was foreign to me.  During this course and through my tutoring sessions with Liv, I have come to learn so much about helping a struggling reader and have also learned a great deal about dyslexia.  Working one-on-one with Liv has allowed me to see how a student with dyslexia struggles with reading.  In order to help Liv, we have tried numerous strategies and tools.  One such tool that has helped Liv is the apparatus that is made using a piece of paper that helps her to isolate words as she reads.  I have also used a voice recorder to record my own voice reading a book, which she then listens to for a week while following along in the book.  After the week, she brings the book and reads it aloud to me.  I have noticed that this strategy has helped her fluency quite a bit, as she can read these books much quicker than she normally does.  We have also worked on phonics instruction by going over the basic rules, I have read to her, we have done partner reading, and I have worked with her on various comprehension strategies.  We have worked on making personal connections, figuring out the most important part of a book, character studies, discussing emotions, and choosing the best words in a book.  I feel like all of these strategies and tools have helped Liv’s reading skills.  She now reads more fluently than in the beginning, and is able to think beyond the text.

Standard 1

Standard 1: Foundational Knowledge
Analyze classroom environment quality for fostering individual motivation to read and write (e.g., access to print, choice, challenge, and interests).

Previous classes, as well as prior experience, taught me that students take more of an interest in reading when they have a choice in what they are reading.  During my initial reading interview with Liv, she stated that she enjoyed reading books that would relate to her life, or about things that could actually happen to her.  Liv also said that the Junie B. Jones books were among her favorite because they were about a young girl like herself.  I kept this in mind when I was choosing books for Liv by selecting books that were about children around her age or about situations that she could find herself in.  I also allowed Liv quite a bit of freedom when selecting books by allowing her to choose independently most of the time.  I noticed that when she selected the books she seemed to be more interested versus when I selected the books for her.  I also noticed that when she selected books, she tended to select books that were easy (sometimes too easy) for her to read.  When this happened, I would also select a book that was more challenging so that I could push her a little more.  Liv desperately wanted to read chapter books during our sessions, so I told her that we would try to read one together and see what happened.  Needless to say, the chapter books were a bit too challenging which frustrated Liv.  My goal for Liv is to be able to read the chapter books that she wants to within the next year.  Until she works up to that level, we will continue selecting books that appeal to her and that don’t frustrate Liv so much.

Artifact:

Reading interview

Week 15 Activity

Standard 1: Foundational Knowledge

• Analyze classroom environment quality for fostering individual motivation to read and write (e.g., access to print, choice, challenge, and interests).

I will reflect on Liv's book choices as well as my book choices for Liv.  My artifact will be my initial interview with Liv.

Standard 2 Curriculum and Instruction

• Provide appropriate in-depth instruction for all readers and writers, especially those who struggle with reading and writing.

I will reflect on the instruction that I provided to Liv in order to complete the answer frames, as well as how to improve her reading skills.  My artifact will be her completed answer frames.

Standard 3 Assessment and Evaluation

• Administer and interpret appropriate assessments for students, especially those who struggle with reading and writing.
• Analyze and use assessment data to examine the effectiveness of specific intervention practices and students responses to instruction.

Since I have no formal assessments for Liv, I will reflect on how her comprehension skills compare to her fluency.  I will also reflect on her running record that I took at the beginning of the class compared to her current reading skills.  I have also been doing timed activities with Liv that I will reflect on.  Artifacts will include her running record, answer frames and timed reading activity results.

Standard 4 Diversity

• Provide differentiated instruction and instructional materials, including traditional print, digital, and online resources, that capitalize on diversity.

I will reflect on the lessons we did about the book The Name Jar and the importance of choosing books which support diversity.  Artifact: multicultural rubric

Standard 5 Literate Environment 

• Understand the role of routines in creating and maintaining positive learning environments for reading and writing instruction using traditional print, digital, and online resources.

I will reflect on how I kept Liv motivated and what helped to encourage her.  My artifact will be my VoiceThreads. 

Week 15 Reading

The article I chose was:
http://www.schenck.org/the-orton-gillingham-approach-to-dyslexia/index.aspx

I chose this article because someone in another class mentioned this approach and I wanted to know more about it.  Three things I learned were:  it is diagnostic, prescriptive, explicit, direct and language based,  spelling is taught simultaneously with reading, and that because Orton-Gillingham skills are constantly reviewed and new material is introduced systematically, students experience a high degree of success with each lesson which results in students gaining both confidence and skill.  The most important thing that I learned was that each lesson is planned for a particular student or small group of students. It is not a “packaged” curriculum in which “one size fits all.” The teacher must be adaptable and flexible, understanding the learner’s needs and using appropriate teaching strategies.