Summary
Karen Bromley (2014) in the chapter “Active Engagement with Words” begins with the harsh reality of students who cannot “read well enough to be successful” (120). She acknowledges that a large vocabulary is key to successful reading due to a number of factors, including: it boosts comprehension, improves achievement, enhances thinking and communication, and promotes fluency (121). Therefore, Bromley advocates that educators equip students with strategies for tackling words, strategies that actively engage students and begin with teacher modeling (direct-instruction). Bromley discusses the three tiers of word types, pointing out that tiers two and three (multisyllabic) cause the most problems for adolescent readers. To approach these words students need attention to the linguistic and non-linguistic aspects, the literal elements (spelling, pronunciation, graphics, meaning, and grammatical function) and then the more inferential and contextual aspects (visual, auditory, or sensory image that connects to the word, for example). Active engagement, the use of metacognitive strategies, is advocated by Bromley because it relies on students’ own knowledge and equips them with strategies they can use on their own when they encounter unfamiliar words. Such strategies covered in this chapter include: KWL (Know, Want to know, Learn), Teach-Teach-Trade, A Word A Day (www.wordsmith.org/words), Root Words, and Digital
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Words.
All of these strategies rely on students paying an active role in the process of learning a role, there is no passive reception of definitions or explanations and the teacher is not merely telling the student to rely on
context clues. Reflection I feel as though vocabulary instruction is one of the most unclear and challenging aspects of English/language arts instruction. When our students enter the classroom with limited vocabulary and we are dealing with content that requires a depth of word knowledge they do not have, the job becomes ten times difficult, especially given the time constraints. Bromley points out how important word knowledge is to students ultimate literacy success, and this cannot be understated. Figuring out how to help our students embrace the struggle of text that incorporates word usage that is esoteric, technical or non-modern is a major challenge to motivation to read in the classroom. Thus, I do think that the active engagement approach is the best rationale one can have for addressing this complex issue. Bromley notes that when students enter middle school vocabulary explodes. Therefore, by the time they reach me at the end of their K-12 years, one can only imagine the immense about of word knowledge they need in order to be successful with the text complexity at this level and onward into college. In fact, I vividly recall telling one of my former high school friends, about a month after graduation that I was interested in studying “abroad.” He looked at me confused and asked why I was interested in that. I went on to explain that it was good to get an international perspective in college. He was still rattled by my choice of the word, “abroad.” I was confused that he did not know what I considered to be a basic word, which had no negative connotation as he had asserted. I carry this memory as a stark reminder of the wide vocabulary disparities can be, especially when one individual has an positive affect towards reading and the other does not. Incorporating metacognitive and active strategies, especially in regards to linguistic structures - such as root words - can certainly equip and empower students when they approach text with unfamiliar terms. Likewise, only by empowering the individual student and giving them a model to proceed with can an educator feel confident that the student has the ability to decode unfamiliar words, even when they lack the motivation to do so.
The Wilson Language program has a precise structure to function as an intervention and is able to assist second through twelfth grade struggling readers to learn the construction of words by directly instructing students to decode and encode confidently. Natalie Hill, a Wilson Language Program assessor, said, ‘“There is a frequent change of pace, students will see as well as hear, multiple opportunities for students to be engaged and participate in activities, extensive controlled text methods and materials to “see” critical word components, like vowels, digraphs, etc., stop “guessing habit”, reading and spelling taught simultaneously, hands on, multisensory methods, no glossy pictures”’ (Hi...
... Another one of the strategies that I have seen quite often is the disrupting student read-aloud. This has happened to me while teaching many times. I honestly most times thought that these children were causing a ruckus and interrupting because they had behavior issues. Now after reading this section I am much more aware that the instances I have encountered could have been just the child not understanding.
My previous conceptions and beliefs about reading have been challenged by looking at a different group of learners. Now, I have a more solid theoretical understanding understanding of the importance of reflective reading practices, in which the reader realize that reading is a complex process that is not determined for the fluency and “correctness” of matching the printed word with its expected and “appropriate” sound. I am also more aware of the importance of continuous support for struggling readers in post-secondary
During adolescence, I began reading and writing through a fundamental learning program called, "Hooked on Phonics." This program consisted of long hours spent reading short novels and writing elementary phrases which were commonly taught in the second and third grade. With the motto, "Improve your child's reading and writing skills in just four weeks!" I was bound to become the next Mark Twain. The method of this course specialized in the improvements of word acquisition rates as well as reading speed; however, it lacked in the area of teaching comprehension. At a young age, I was instilled with the dire need to be highly educated and although I was unable to experience a fun and adventurous childhood like many other children, I am grateful for being raised with a greater knowledge and wisdom than that ingrained in many.
With such high numbers of adolescents falling below basic in reading, illiteracy is a battle that must be fought head on. The largest dilemma with the struggle is the number of variations that cause adolescents to become reluctant, unmotivated or struggling readers. Fortunately, a large number of strategies exist to encourage and strengthen readers of all ages, proving that adolescence is not a time to give up on faltering students. Rather, it is a time to evaluate and intervene in an effort to turn a reluctant reader into an avid one (or near enough). Ultimately, educators must learn to properly assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses (Curtis, 2009) and pair them with the proper intervention techniques. If one method does not work, countless others exist to take its place.
Reading is a complex process that’s difficult to explain linearly. A student’s reading capabilities begin development long before entering the school setting and largely start with exposure (Solley, 2014). The first remnants of what children are able to do in terms of reading are built from their parents and other people and object around them as they’re read to, spoken to, and taken from place to place to see new things (Solley, 2014). As kids are exposed to more and more their noises quickly turn into intentional comprehensible messages and their scribbling begins to take the form of legible text as they attempt to mimic the language(s) they’re exposed to daily.
This book teaches children to become "word solvers": readers who can take words apart while reading for meaning, and writers who can construct words while writing to communicate. In the book there is a word study that includes systematically planned and applied experiences focusing on the elements of letters and words; writing, including how children use phoneme-grapheme relationships, word patterns, and principles to develop spelling ability; reading, including teaching children how to solve words with the use of phonics and visual-analysis skills as they read for meaning. This is a great book that includes practical information on how to engage in interactive writing and shared reading, how to use a word wall and word sorting, and how to use effective assessment
To accomplish vocabulary development, before reading the teacher needs to instruct their students on any prerequisites that they need to understand to interpret the text appropriately. This means the teacher has to pull out the most important words as well as those that may be too difficult for the stud...
Every child deserves a positive, safe, nurturing, and stimulating learning environment where they will grow academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. My role as an educator is to provide my students with this type of environment as well as an education that will help them succeed academically and become life long learners. It is the responsibility of a literacy educator to provide students with this type of environment, but also to provide instruction that will help students become successful readers and writers. There are numerous programs and philosophies about literacy and reading. Through years of experience and research, one begins to develop their own creative approach on teaching these skills. After looking at different programs and seeing the positive and negatives of each, an integrated and balanced approach of literacy seems to be the best way to teach the differing needs of each student.
With a clear agreeance on moving forward with best practices for improving literacy the team decided to investigate the Lexile Framework, student interventions, and reading aloud in the classroom. For the purpose of this task the school’s Better Seeking Team met to discuss school improvement. Through this process the topic of student Lexile scores continued to be brought to the table. From this initial collaborative look at the data, a team was organized to focus on Improving Lexile Levels Action Research Team. The team gathered to begin analyzing 3rd grade English Language Arts and Lexile data from the Georgia Milestones Assessment.
Reading and writing is a key part of everyone’s life. There has been some encouraging levels of reading development in primary school assessments. According to the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy report (2015), 95.5% of students achieve at or above the national minimum standard of reading. It is important to know effective ways to teach reading so children can become active problem solvers to enable them to read for meaning or for fun. Over the years, there has been a big amount of research into the most effective ways to teach reading skills to students. There are some systematically taught key skills and strategies that help achieve these levels of reading. Some of these skills include phonological awareness, phonemic awareness,
These strategies drive a teacher's direction as they work to meet particular learning goals and guarantee that their strategies are furnished with the instruments they should be fruitful. The instructional strategies gave in this area are not thorough; they are just illustrative of endless powerful strategies a teacher may utilize. Assortment is the key. The instructional strategies are gathered by help for: perception, vocabulary, familiarity and spelling; inside those classes they are arbitrarily exhibited. The classroom teacher must decide the best instructional methodology for her/his strategies.
Today I used a variety of instructional delivery methods to ensure that my students were able to accomplish the learning targets. Having different modes of instruction (direct instruction, individual writing, pair-share, small group discussion, large group discussion, etc.) allows students to demonstrate learning in a variety of ways. If students do not master a key skill, it also provides students to relearn, rework, and rethink key concepts. This type of instructional design also encourages engagement as it appeals to multiple learning styles and builds in time for me to interact with students in multiple ways (including one-on-one) (IE: Chloe can be quieter. I was able to touch base her to make sure that she understood the abstract vs. concrete exercise). Using multiple instructional delivery methods also provides me with opportunities to personally motivate students to be active in their learning (IE: Emily is very creative and likes small group work. IE: Taylor likes politics and would grasp the global climate change example IE: Big Mike works best when he has time to think individually before responding to a group. A notes handout helps him process key ideas before feeling pressured to apply them. IE: Several students enjoy speaking in large groups. Asking for examples and group participation appeals to the sense of camaraderie in the class).
In a classroom, a teaching strategy is a generalized plan for a lesson which includes structure, instructional objectives and an outline of planned tactics, necessary to implement the strategies. Reece and Walker (2002) describe a teaching strategy as a combination of student activities supported by the use of appropriate resources to provide particular learning resources. It is that procedure by which new knowledge is fixed in the minds of students permanently. For this purpose, a teacher does extra activities in the class. These activities help the teacher to take shift from one strategy to another. A method of teaching on the other hand is directly related to the presentation of the lesson. The choice of the teaching method depe...
Teaching using lectures, visual aids, hands-on activities, and projects are examples of these teaching methods. Teachers tend to decide what teaching method they will use based on what is easiest for the teacher. The methods they use in the classroom should ultimately be based on how the students can best learn according to their understanding. Teachers need to keep in mind that there are several different learning styles and that each student learns in a unique way. The educator should get to know the students personally in order to properly clarify his or her teaching for the benefit of the students