The Adventures Of A Preservice Teacher

Differentiating Reading Instruction by Laura Robb: Chapter 6

 

Page 171 - It is important to to allow students to have a choice when it comes to picking their own reading material because this motivates students to read. When they have the motivation to read, students will read more often on their own. This helps build reading stamina and comfort levels within the students. I think that this is very important because it is encouraging students to read and that is very important in today's society.

 

Page 172 - "Research shows the importance of independent practice reading in developing fluency, vocabulary, background knowledge and reading rate." This quote really stuck out to me because it shows teachers how important independent reading can be for students. Teachers need to encourage students to read daily to ensure that they will be able to learn as much as they can in the primative years. The more children learn, the more they increase their chance of reading about a new topic and learning new words. They increase their knowledge in topics not many people know about so they are creating something for them to build off of.

 

Page 176 - "Educators all agree that access to books is crucial to the development of literacy skills in the very young."  Teachers can help build these skills in students by having a large and diverse classroom library. A decent classroom library consists of 400-700 books that vary in genre, topics, and reading levels. Having all of these different factors helps motivate students to read because it gives them the chance to choose from different types of books. They aren't subjected to the AR books in the library and only their level of books. You can also encourage the students to help build the classroom library by bringing in magazines and comics to share with the class. I really like this idea because the kids are actually controlling the types of books that they are reading. They control what they get to do and it gives them something to be proud of. I want to do this with my classroom.

 

Page 177 - I think it is important to keep in mind the importance of book displays. I like when teachers change the types of books depending on the seasons and holidays. This gets students interested and in the spirit of that holiday. Also, you want the books in easy reach for the class so the students can actually go up and take them whenever they want to. I like the idea of pointing out the new books each time they're changed because then it catches the students attention and capitvates them to check out the new books. You can place books anywhere in the classroom on display for students to read and they will be able to find interest in more types of books.

 

 Page 181 - activties to give students to assess their independent reading skills and help increase them at the same time:

1. ask students open ended questions

2. have students create their own discussion questions

3. have students read in partners and groups

4. have students create book logs and write notes on their books and assess those

 

1. If the students bring in comics and magazines, do they take them back at the end of the school year? Or would I be able to keep them for years to come/as long as they last?

2. What are some ways to assess students by having them create something instead of just writing down their thoughts and ideas or talking them out with a group? What are some ways to allow students to be creative and use Bloom's Taxonomy Wheel and activate higher order of thinking?