Reflecting on the chapter readings and the Reading Interest Survey data compiled by your CLC, post an entry into this blog.
First... One person from the CLC should post the results of the survey to the blog.
Next...
Individually, analyze the results of your CLC survey, identify the grade you teach, and address at least one the following in one post to this blog:
As a result of your team's survey results: (You only need to address one of these questions; you are welcome to address more in your response, however, only one is necessary - this is an individual response)
1) What stages of development are you students in?
2) What factors do you take into consideration when developing a literature-based lesson plan or unit plan?
3) What types of reading motivational activities do you employ in your classroom? What have you tried that worked or did not work in your classroom?
4) Recommend some books that you have found to be successful as motivational tools.
You must post at least one entry into the blog to receive credit for this assignment.
Enjoy the collaboration with your peers this week!
Feel free to just take a look at the blog. In order to post your assignment, each student will need to join the blog. Below are the instructions to join the blog:
ReplyDeleteClick on Sign In on the top right corner of the blog page. If you have a gmail account, then you can sign right in by providing your email address and password. If you do not have a gmail account, then you will be prompted to create one.
Next, once you have signed in, you will see your email address in the top right corner of the blog page. This indicates that you are signed in and ready to go.
Next, go to the bottom left side of the page and click the Comments icon (appears like this (numeral Comments). Once you click on Comments, then you will see a box to post (copy and paste) your assignment or the comment you want to make for another student. Once you have placed your comment in the box, then you will click Publish. Feel free to place a 'testing, testing' post if you need to if you are not familiar with a blog. This is a great way to make errors and learn how to contribute to a blog. Have fun! Questions? Please ask-
Testing...testing. This is a great way to learn how to use a blog. You can add comments under the last comment posted. Please don't be concerned about making a mistake in the blog. This is all for practice and to enjoy responding to one another. You may have an 'oops post', and that's okay!
ReplyDeleteI just posted a reply to this message (very similar to our DQ forum) You can delete any of your own postings, if you would like, as well. I hope that my examples have helped you feel more comfortable with a blog.
DeleteOnce you are signed in, and after you have posted your first comment, you will be able to select the Reply icon and reply to a specific student's posting in the blog. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy responding to your peers and collaborating about ways to motivate students!
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ReplyDeleteIn our CLC, we reviewed four different reading surveys, some focusing on adolescents and others on elementary students. We found out a great deal about the attitudes, opinions, and actions of students, and the effect on their reading skills. Students with better eating and fitness habits performed better in reading activities. Adolescents generally have negative feelings about reading assignments in school, but some enjoy reading on their own. Much of the reading that they do for pleasure takes place online or in magazine format. Most students do not buy books for themselves; usually family members do so. Students read in order to succeed in school, in order to communicate with friends, and in order to keep up with the sites, games, articles, etc. that they follow. Motivation for reading depended largely on the content of the selection as well as on the reading level and abilities of the reader. Especially with adolescents, students like to read material about the things that they enjoy as well as the things that their friends enjoy. Peer influences play a strong role in literature selection. Family and home influences play a strong role as well. Students who lived in homes that valued reading tended to enjoy it more and succeed in reading related activities.
ReplyDeleteThe article I read also pointed out that many students had negative feeling towards reading at school. They did not want to read because they were not interested in what they were required to read. When they were able to self-select and use various forms of media to read, they enjoyed reading at school.
DeleteOur CLC group reviewed and compared three different surveys focusing on students interest in reading at home and at school. The surveys were conducted in the United States and in Britain. The students surveyed ranged in grades from second to eleventh grade. We determined that the economic status and home environment plays a huge role in the student's attitude toward reading in school and at home. Many of the students come from homes that do not have English speaking family member to help support and encourage the student as a reader. Two out of the three studies had a high population of students on free or reduced lunches. It was also found that the students who were on free or reduced lunch had fewer books at home and less support by the parents. After the surveys were conducted the teachers implemented interventions with their students to help engage them and motivate them to read. Teachers were able to focus on specific variables that interfered with the students abilities and helped students. After the interventions, the teachers in the study saw a significant difference in the interest and motivation of the readers. One of the factors that impeded the interest and motivation was the literature selection. The students did not know what they were interested in or they were given literature to read and it was not intriguing to the students. In one study the movement and non-movement reading behaviors were tallied and it was noted that the students were not actively engaged in their reading and many would flip pages, fidget, or just stare off into space. Once the students were able to read literature they liked and could pick out on their own, their motivation and interest increased. The way the students view their parents as readers was a big factor in their own attitude toward reading and that carried into the classroom.Students also learned a lot about themselves by self reflecting and understand what they really enjoy or are interested in, in literature.
ReplyDeleteThe results of my CLC survey is as follows: Indiana middle grades schools should continue their efforts to build strong readers by featuring a good reading environment, promoting circulation of school library books, providing programs that focus on school-wide reading, providing reading classes, increasing reading skills, promoting reading similar to elementary schools’ commitment, providing reading professional development, and providing corporation leadership and support. Specifically the following six areas should receive special attention. Identify and provide appropriate instruction for struggling readers. Second, add licensed reading teachers to the school staff. Third, increase awareness of feeder school reading programs and work more closely with feeder school staffs. Fourth, promote summer reading and keep track of results. Fifth, work more closely with public libraries, and sixth, help the staff understand the need to purchase enough new books each year for the school library. Retrieved from: http://mgrn.evansville.edu/f2-13.htm
ReplyDeleteIn regard to, “What types of reading motivational activities do you employ in your classroom?” and “What have you tried that worked or did not work in your classroom?” To begin with my classroom consists of middle and high school aged students. Fundamentally, students know how to read but lack interest. I motivate students by instrumentally initialing the lessons and concepts in “Reading Reasons” by Kelly Gallagher.
ReplyDeleteIn Reading Reasons, Kelly Gallagher offers a series of mini-lessons specifically tailored to motivate middle and high school students to read, and in doing so, to help them understand the importance and relevance reading will take in their lives. This book introduces and explains in detail nine specific "real-world" reasons why students should be readers. The book contains forty practical, classroom-tested and reproducible mini-lessons that get to the heart of reading motivation and that can be used immediately in English (as well as other content-area) classrooms. These easy-to-use motivational lessons serve as weekly reading "boostershots" that help maintain reading enthusiasm in your classroom from September through June. The mini-lessons, ranging from five to twenty minutes in length, hit home with adolescents, and in turn, enable them to internalize the importance reading will play in their lives. Rather than telling students’ reading is good for them, the lessons in this book show them the benefits of reading Retrived from: http://books.google.com/books/about/Reading_reasons.html?id=Fj8QAQAAMAAJ
The nine real world reading reasons are as follows: Reading is rewarding. Reading builds a mature vocabulary. Reading makes you a better writer. Reading is hard, and "hard" is necessary. Reading makes you smarter. Reading prepares you for the world of work. Reading well is financially rewarding. Reading opens the door to college and beyond. Reading arms you against oppression (Gallagher, Kelly, 2003).
To motivate unenthused students begin with initiating several of the real world reasons as in reading is rewarding (Gallagher, K. 2003). For example, it is motivational to offer students rewards for their reading efforts. Several reading reward method include creating a reading rewards program in which students earn points for reading and taking quizzes on the books they’ve read. This reading rewards program is determined by assigning points to books based on reading level, difficulty and length, and offering prizes for racking up points. Another reason to read is that reading builds mature vocabulary. Practicing learned phonic methods to pronounce and dictionary definition research to define new vocabulary is important to student maturity development. Next, writing about what we read builds writing skills. For example, having students write book reports or summaries. Moreover, along with students writing, students should be encourage to use various forms of art to illustrate what they are writing about such as the use of drawing and music to depict what is being read. Lastly, to help students gain a comparison perception of a story or book a reader should be encouraged to read the book or story before viewing a movie about the book or story. Both the book perception and the movie perception can offer various alternative insights into the story being told. Retrieved from: http://diane-laney-fitzpatrick.suite101.com/motivation-and-rewards-for-reading-a41776
These practices encourage and guide students to understanding “Gallagher’s” remaining reasons: Reading is hard, and "hard" is necessary. Reading makes you smarter. Reading prepares you for the world of work. Reading well is financially rewarding. Reading opens the door to college and beyond. Reading arms you against oppression (Gallagher, K. 2003).
Conclusively, today’s students use various forms of technology such as the internet and Google earth, along with, the movie about the book or story to connect and relate the story to other parts of the world as opposed to a global map.
testing testing
ReplyDeleteIn answer to the question, what factors do you take into consideration when developing literature based lessons and units, there are several aspects that must be taken into account. The first, being how to meet the needs of each individual student in my fifth grade classroom. Not all of my students are on the same grade level and having some in special education, I have to modify assignments and tests to fit those needs according to their 504 forms or IEP plans. I also have to find assignments that are on different levels can complete and still stay with the class. The most important thing is to not make those students feel any different than the rest of the class. When developing a unit, I try to make it fun and exciting. As a class, we have art projects that coincide with the story, worksheets and class building activities that also make reading the story fun and inviting. With my school being a low performing school, we must relate and meet all of our materials to our state standards and grade level expectations. As well as include higher order thinking questions and how we can relate our readings to everyday life situations. I feel that it is very important to help the children learn to read and to help them enjoy reading. As the age that my students are at, it is a very critical year to whether or not they will to continue to read and enjoy doing so or hate to read because they have been forced to do so. As seen in our CLC project, most kids go home each day and sit in front of television and do not have the home life where reading is promoted which can relate to obese children if not held to the highest importance. It is the teacher’s job to make reading fun and exciting. It is our job to make the children want to read and not be forced to do so. I believe it is the teacher’s job to teach and model the importance of reading.
ReplyDeleteI like how you "relate your readings to everyday life situations". This helps students have a better understanding of what they have read. You are correct in saying it is our job to "teach and model the importance of reading". I find that there is so much more today that is becoming our responsibilities. Angela Tyler
DeleteThe CLC Survey information presented by Angela Tyler with minor additions by CLC Survey Group.
ReplyDeleteThe elementary survey was administered to 20 kindergarten students ages five and six from a Title 1 School, located in a very rural area. Students were asked questions individually, in a one-on-one setting at the back of the classroom, out of ear range from other students so as answers could not be duplicated. 50% of the students surveyed were African American, 40% were Caucasian, 5% were Asian and 5% were of mixed nationality. Every student acknowledged that they ate breakfast and ate snacks. The majority of the students (40%) ate cereal for breakfast while 20% of students ate either fruit or cookies for snack. Every student owned at least one book which speaks well of the parents and school because there are children that do not own any books. Many of the students were motivated to read because they wanted to become smarter students or they thought reading was fun. There was one student that was motivated by the cool pictures in the book. Students need something to hook them into reading a book and illustrations can be a great way to captivate young readers. Most students believed that others read book to become smarter, learn or simply because they like reading. The ideas that these young students have about reading is phenomenal. They truly understand the purpose of reading. Of the 20 students surveyed, only two students don’t read at home and only one student does not see anyone reading at home at all. Children need to see others in their household reading at home because it subliminal sets a standard and tone that reading is important. In addition to seeing family members read in their homes, students also need to have students read to them or be allowed to read to others. By listening to older family and two students are not only read to but they also read to their family members.
Tables would not copy and paste.
What stages of development are you students in?
The students surveyed are in the "Upper Pre-operational Period" according to Piaget's theories. They ask questions continuously. They are in the "intuitive thought stage of basic reasoning and seek answers" time frame. When teaching students at this stage, asking open ended questions gives them the freedom to answer questions that have no right or wrong answers, only what you perceive as the answer.
The above information was taken from:
http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/wiley/2008/childrens-literature_a-developmental-perspective_ebook_1e.php
Travers, Barbara E and John F. Children's Literature: A Developmental Perspective. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. (2008).
Angela Tyler
One of our studies also found that seeing parents as readers was key for student motivation. Of particular interest was that it really made a huge difference if the father was seen as a reader. That fact seemed to make a greater impact on the students and their motivation. The sad part is that twice and many mothers were seen as readers than fathers. That's something to think about in our own homes and motivation for our own children.
DeleteI did agree with the results that if the students did not see the parents, especially the father, as readers then they were less motivated to read themselves. What child does not want to be just like their parents. Most of the kids in the high poverty school that I work in do not have parents who show interest in reading, and the fathers are not in the home to show them it is ok to be a reader. These are the students who I struggle with to get motivated to read, because they do not see the importance with reading and/or school in general.
DeleteParents that speak another language also feel that they will hinder the reading development of their young child if they read to them in their native language. I often remind the Spanish speaking parents that it is extremely beneficial for them to read to their child in their native language and to have that child read back to the parent in English. This can be a growing experience for both the child and the parent.
DeleteIn looking at our CLC results, several commonalities come into mind; the first being the importance of family involvement in positive perceptions by children. Children who had concerned parents either had motivation to read or increased their motivation after interventions. These parents are seen as readers and take the time to talk with their children about the books. In one of the studies, it was the time taken to talk about books in the home that seemed to have the greatest effect on student motivation. The results also showed the importance of taking the time with these unmotivated and, at times, struggling readers to find their interests through multiple means. Interventions were shown to work with these students to increase their motivation. Through differentiation, the use of technology and student self-discovery, students were able to figure out their own interests and how they could relate to the books. These students also felt more comfortable in discussing books as well and felt they had more control over what they read. Especially motivating for some of these students was their ability to use e-books and technology resources. I have also found this to be true in my first grade classroom. I have had students who were very unmotivated to read and have been resistant to things I have tried. I have found resources such as MYON or Capstone online readers to have motivated students who I could not get to go to the library. The same books that were in our library would also be found on these sites. I think of one boy in particular who just fought reading all year long. When our school got access to one of these reading sites, I began to put him on. He absolutely loved it and I saw an increase in not only his motivation but also his reading skills. He would ask all day to be able to go read books on MYON. I found the same to be true of my other students as well. I also have found taking RP (AR) tests for many of my students to work for motivation. Many students challenge themselves to read ‘harder and harder’ books to take these online tests. When they pass they earn points and they know they have an opportunity to earn an RP party at the end of each grading period. Things I have tried that have not worked so well have been more internal things like keeping a chart in the class and the students earning stickers for books read. Even though they knew there was a reward for earning stickers, it did not work in the long term. One other thing that I have found mixed success with is the Book-It program. Some students were very motivated to earn the free pizza, but they were generally the students who would read for pleasure anyway. I have found certain books to be more motivational than others. My students really seem to love the Skippyjon Jones series a lot. The David books by David Shannon have really inspired some of my students to go get those books. They are easy to read and are funny for the young child. These two series in particular I have seen a lot in the hands of my more unmotivated readers. They laugh at them and generally have fun with them. As a teacher that is a great thing to see.
ReplyDeleteOur CLC's summary is as follows (Part 1):
ReplyDeleteWithin the reading interest survey, the CLC has researched surveys that have been conducted within several elementary schools. These surveys are conducted to gather information on what students’ haven chosen to read or perhaps not reading at all. There are several factors that are taken into consideration that decipher the surveys to try and solve the issues that cause children to not want to read. Some of the factors taken into consideration are family life, student motivation, how many book they own, and if reading is a weakness for them.
In Motivations for Reading Information Books Among Adolescent Students, authors Guthrie, Cambira, and Wigfield discuss the results of these two surveys given across a broad variety of seventh grade students. The authors state: “The affirming reading motivations included intrinsic motivation for reading, valuing of reading, reading efficacy, and peer acceptance of reading…. The undermining reading motivations included reading avoidance, devaluing of reading, perceived difficulty in reading, and peer rejection of reading” (Guthrie, Cambira, Wigfield, et al., 2009, p 3-4).
The survey breaks down motivation for reading into various categories such as intrinsic motivation, avoidance, value, devalue, efficacy, perceived difficulty, peer acceptance, and peer rejection. Each category contained several questions for both in and out of school situations. Student answers were relatively consistent regardless of where the reading in question was to take place. Reading out of school may have been perceived as homework assignments, but could also include reading for pleasure. Students answered that, in general, reading was not high on the list of enjoyable things to do.
While many students did recognize the importance of reading, they did not seem to value reading as the most beneficial way to learn and gain new information. Acknowledging that reading was necessary for success in school was one of the biggest motivating factors: felt that they reading was purely mandatory.
In Assessing Adolescents’ Motivation to Read, ten teachers adapted a survey of elementary students to suit adolescent readers. They found that many questions needed to be changed and adapted due to developmental differences between the ages, reading levels, and literary material. The authors found that “motivation to read is a complex construct that influences readers’ choices of reading material, their willingness to engage in reading, and thus their ultimate competence in reading, especially related to academic reading tasks” (Pitcher, et al., 2007. p 379).
This article includes the actual survey that they distributed to a broad population of students in a variety of schools from different locales. The survey focused on reading motivation, likes and dislikes, influences, and reasons why. The students took the written survey and then participated in an interview. The students’ answers in the interview were compared with what they wrote on their survey papers. Overall, there were few inconsistencies. The authors found that students enjoyed read more than they realize.
Many students associate the word “reading” with school work, reading assignments, text-books, and class. They do not think of spending time on the internet, messaging friends, and looking at magazines as reading. While much of this time is probably spent looking at graphics, pictures, and videos, all of these situations are saturated with text. These adolescents are reading text about topics that they enjoy without realizing it. When viewing reading in this light, they did not have such negative feelings towards reading.
Part 2: An article titled Validating the Fun Toolkit: an instrument for measuring children’s opinions of technology written by Janet C. Read (2007) examined three survey methodologies for assessing young children’s likelihood to play the same computer game again. The children participating in the surveys were from four to twelve years of age. The first survey strategy was called a “smileyometer” this is where a scale was given with a range of five smiley faces from “awful” to “brilliant” (Read, 2007, p. 122). The second survey used a “fun sorter” with pictures to place in two rows corresponding to the usability simultaneously scaling “best” to “worst” and the likability simultaneously scaling “best” to “worst” within four columns (Read, 2007, p. 122). The last survey used was referred to as an “again again table,” which was similar to the last survey in respect to the two rows, but this one had three columns titled “yes,” “maybe” and “no” (Read, 2007, p.123). Each row had a picture of the game played instead of words and the child marked within that row for the corresponding column.
ReplyDeleteAfter using numerous surveys in several different studies and in any combination of the three surveys described the results were inconclusive. An important point to this research was stated poignantly as “…the questions are asked in such a way that the answers are invariably the ones the survey designers wanted to hear” (Read, 2007, p. 127). This brings to mind if the use of young children’s input is worth scaling, because children are easily swayed..
An article titled Relationship of Nutrition and Physical Activity Behaviors and Fitness Measures to Academic Performance for Sixth Graders in a Midwest City School District written by Jane U. Edwards, Lois Mauch and Mark R. Winkelman (2011) discussed the correlation between measures of academic progress (MAP) and nutrition/fitness. The survey included eight-hundred sixth graders who participated in a twenty question survey taken during their spring semester. The components used leading up to the survey included; fitness, socio-economic status (SES),” sweetened beverages” (SB), hours of television viewing at home and gender (Edwards et al., 2011, p. 66). The results concluded that students from a higher SES, who watched less television, drank fewer SB, participated in exercise and in particular female students had higher MAP (Edwards et al., 2011). When reviewing these results in a “cross-sectional” manner there was no evidence to conclude that the component factors listed above directly impacted the MAP for students. Also, interestingly enough, students who were classified as overweight did not all fit into one category of having low MAP (Edwards et al., 2011). This survey did shine light on the all too common assumption that female students are better at literacy than male students and this is a matter that needs to be addressed. Overall, the study waivered on the idea of weight impacting academic progression in a negative way, because there are numerous reasons alone impacting weight gain that could be the result of poor academics.
In conclusion, by conducting different types of surveys to school age children, teachers are able to pinpoint why children are reading or not reading particular text. Teachers are also able to get an idea of what types of literature that students are reading whether it is in book form or electronically. As long as teachers can get students to read some type of book, the next goal would to make sure their on grade level or above grade level.
Individual Blog Assignment (Lydia Spurr – part 2):
ReplyDeleteWhat types of reading motivational activities do you employ in your classroom? What have you tried that worked or did not work in your classroom?
In my class, we have a book club. We read for 15 minutes each day in school and an additional 15 minutes at home for homework. Each time we read for 15 minutes, we record what we read on our book logs and get teach line signed by an adult. When we fill up a book log (25 lines, each standing for 15 minutes), there are prizes. One book log is good for a prize out of my treasure chest. Two book logs are good for a lunch party with the teacher and a friend, etc. Many of my students read much more than 30 minutes a day. They bring their book logs to me in the morning all excited to show me that they read for 30, 45, or even 60 minutes! The excitement that they feel when they finally fill up a book log is priceless. This program does not motivate all of my students, however. Some of them do not even care to record what they read in class, let alone read at home. Some other things that I do in my classroom to encourage unmotivated students to read is read with them one on one and allow them to read aloud to the class. While the class is reading quietly for their 15 minutes, I read individually with a couple of students each day. I allow them to choose the book, come up to my desk, and sit in the special chair next to my desk. They feel special and I get to conference with them individually about their reading. Another thing we do that they love is read aloud to the class. After morning board, during snack time, after recess, and at the end of the day, I will either read a chapter of a novel aloud to them or allow one student at time read a chapter of his or her book or select a picture book to read aloud to the class. They love this! Some of them even practice the same chapter over and over to have it all ready to read when it is their turn. A little extra fluency practice never hurts! Overall, my entire second grade class is motivated to read. They are still at that age when they feel that most books are entertaining. Additionally, they are proud when they accomplish reading and finishing an entire book.
What types of reading motivational activities do you employ in your classroom? What have you tried that worked or did not work in your classroom?
ReplyDeleteI currently teach 5th and 6th grade science at a Title 1 school. The majority of my students read below grade level, so even though I am not their language arts teacher, it’s important that I motivate them to read to increase their reading level. A majority of the reading involved in science surrounds itself around informational text, so I try to motivate the students to read information that relates to the topic that we are covering. At first, I tried to do outlines of the sections with a lecture on the topic, but this did not go over well with the students. I decided to change it up a bit and have students read the sections out loud, and then we discussed what was important and what information they would need to retain it. The students enjoyed this way of lecturing much more, and they were reading without even thinking that it benefited their reading skills. They thought we were just taking notes. I’ve found their reading has improved, as well as their comprehension of the science topics covered in class.
To motivate the students outside of the classroom to read informational text, I tried several different things. At first, I had them do research papers about scientist. This did not go over well. After we got over the whole issue of plagiarizing, students still were turning in the very minimal amount of information and hated when I gave them these types of assignments. I decided to look deeper into some of the topics that we needed to cover to see what I could learn that may be of interest to the students. I found many mysterious and interesting things that went well with what we were studying. For example, Otzi the Iceman goes along nicely with the topic of fossils, and the students really seemed interested in finding out more, so I gave them an assignment on William Holland, a more recent find, to continue to motivate them to learn about fossils. As long as the topic is interesting, my students are more motivated to read informational text.
John,
DeleteI had to reply to this message when I saw your plagerism point. Real quickly I had a student one time had in a paper on protists with the line "over the past 5 years the study has continued, the ameba histolitica in my basement have grown, using optimal conditions". The student was also nice enough to leave the website hyperlinks in the paper and the website he printed it from on the top of the page.
On another note, have you heard of the DK publishers science and Nature books? Their Animal encyclopedia is phenomenal. The picture and shear number of animals in the book is amazing. Each year I have the kids do a project on an animal they have never heard of by reading about them in this book. They enjoy the fact that they can pick the animal and I can make sure it is an animal that they can get enough information about.
Gino
In our CLC group we explored four articles on the basis for motivating young students and up to adolescents to read. What we learned were that the home environment plays a huge role in the child's life and their reading motivation. So, as you can guess, student's from a higher socio-economic status (SES) are encouraged more to read and thus are better readers than children from a lower SES. Also, children in a higher SES are involved in more physical activites which also has benefits towards their academics. When reviewing the survey articles we also discovered that adolescents typically read to pass their classes and is not dependent on enjoyment of the activity. This brings me to what I found to be some motivational books to use in my classroom of preschoolers. The books are as follows; The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle, Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss, Curious George by H.A. Rey, Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London, and Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats. Most of these authors have written series or numerous other books that are also great motivators for children.
ReplyDeleteLike many other CLC groups, we found that there was a link between a students reading habits and the family attitude toward reading. There was also a positive relationship between the number of books students had in their homes and how they viewed reading. Parental involvement also had a big impact on reading ability. One of our studies showed that parents and students who read to each other for a minimum of five minutes three nights a week showed positive results. The students who participated showed higher quiz and test scores. When we examined the reasons why students read, we found that 96% of students would read a book if it was about a topic they enjoy. They are also more willing to read a book if it is recommended by a friend. As far was what the students read, one of our studies showed that the most popular reading materials among sixth grade students was magazines, with novels and comics coming in second and third.
ReplyDeleteAs a 6th and 7th grade Resource English teacher in a Title 1 School, I find books that my students can relate to, to be the most motivational. My students really enjoyed reading Holes and The Outsiders. Although it is not a very long book, they also enjoyed Seedfolk. My students are also motivated by books that are made into movies. We recently finished reading Hoot and they could not wait to finish the book so that they could watch the movie.
I have been teaching in my current and only district for 12 years. When I first started teaching I noticed a trend that, would later and still today, get worse each year. Reading and comprehension were not being successfully taught together. Yes each student could read, but ask a question about the reading and it would seem like the student had not read. Trying to break this trend is a deep concern I have with every unit I plan out. I try to constantly use books and articles to bring in extra reading assignments. The kids need to pull information and use it to show learning and comprehension. Over the past 5 years,I have tried to plan a unit that consists mainly of reading articles, researching databases for usable information, and self directed reading. Each group student's create a chapter of a class book, so together they create a book that they can use to study for their final exam. When planning this unit I will usually select groups based on thier reading levels and good work ethic. Placing the the lower preforming students with higher performing students raises the bar for the lower performing students. This also creates an opertunity for the higher performing students to teach and also learn the chapter for which they are responsible.
ReplyDeleteThe CLC group that I worked with seemed to have the same results as most of the other CLC groups. The home life and view of school and reading, by te parents, have a major impact on the student's willingness to begin and keep reading for school and their own enjoyment. By looking over the results of my CLC surveys high percent of high school parents read at home which translated to a high percent of students reading, maybe not at home, but none the less reading. Of the 309 students surveyed only 41 students did not like to read or had to be told to read by parents.
I see these same patterns of parent involvment in back to school night. You can walk around the school and visit three seperate distinct levels of classes; (a) Advanced Placment(AP) and Honors classes, (b) College Prepetory classes (CP), and (c) Regular classes. AS you walk around for the night visiting each level you will notice a direct corrolation between the parent involvment at home with student achievements and attitude in school.
The AP classes easily have the highest percent of parents attending, 98-100% of both parents each year.
The CP level classes contain 90-95% of both to one parent attendance each year.
The regular level classes drop dramaticslly to 20-50% of parents attending with both parents attending being very rare.
I am not saying in any way these parents do not wish the best for their students. I feel that most of the time parents are still working and need to place putting food on the table infront of the back to school attendence. These parents might have a difficult job of passing on the importance of reading and writing and school to their kids, because they need to do more important things.
In our findings from the given assignment, it was concluded that students that read would do outside of schoolwork would do so for pleasure. Also from the assignment we discovered the link between the level of parental involvement in the classroom and how well the student achieved in the area of reading. Students whose parents emphasized reading in the household typically developed student's who valued reading as an important past time. We also discovered how there is a differentiation among student in what was read according to the grade level. Younger student typically liked reading comics whereas older students would read novels based on specific interest.
ReplyDeleteI am currently a high school family and consumer science instructor. As an elective teacher I have steadily recognized the vast importance of the student who values reading in the classroom. Reading effects every aspect or a persons life. Currently, the students that I teach developmentally are middle level readers. Our schools initiative for the past year has been to push our students to attain the highest reading level possible by completing required reading assignments one day a week in each course. We as a faculty have specifically recognized how reading will lead to our students becoming prepared for college.
CLC Part 1
ReplyDeleteReading is a skill that is essential to the growth of all students and children. Literacy opens a world of imagination and builds on notions and ideas that have already been predisposed to the reader. There are many things that motivate children to read. The Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell et al., 1996) was designed to assess the motivation of elementary students using a reading survey and a conversational interview. Traditionally, the Motivation to Read Profile consists of 20 questions assessing the student’s perception of themselves as a reader and questions are ranked using a four point scale. (Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, c.2007)
Our CLC group administered four surveys to elementary, middle school, high school and special needs students. The elementary survey was administered to 20 kindergarten students ages five and six from a Title 1 School, located in a very rural area. Students were asked questions individually, in a one-on-one setting at the back of the classroom, out of ear range from other students so as answers could not be duplicated. 50% of the students surveyed were African American, 40% were Caucasian, 5% were Asian and 5% were of mixed nationality. Every student acknowledged that they ate breakfast and ate snacks. The majority of the students (40%) ate cereal for breakfast while 20% of students ate either fruit or cookies for snack. Every student owned at least one book which speaks well of the parents and school because there are children that do not own any books. Many of the students were motivated to read because they wanted to become smarter students or they thought reading was fun. There was one student that was motivated by the cool pictures in the book. Students need something to hook them into reading a book and illustrations can be a great way to captivate young readers. Most students believed that others read book to become smarter, learn or simply because they like reading. The ideas that these young students have about reading is phenomenal. They truly understand the purpose of reading. Of the 20 students surveyed, only two students don’t read at home and only one student does not see anyone reading at home at all. Children need to see others in their household reading at home because it subliminal sets a standard and tone that reading is important. In addition to seeing family members read in their homes, students also need to have students read to them or be allowed to read to others. By listening to older family and two students are not only read to but they also read to their family members.
The survey selected for middle school readers focused on struggling middle schools in Indiana. There were 15 issues addressed by counselors, library media specialists, teachers, principals, etc. The issues addressed were, “1) Classes for struggling readers, 2) Contacts with feeder schools about reading achievement, 3) Employment of licensed reading teachers, 4) Increasing high school graduation rates by attention to reading skills, 5) Library book acquisitions growing to keep collections current, 6) Library book circulation, 7) Professional development for reading teachers, 8) Reading classes available, 9) Reading promotion within the school, 10) Reading skill materials available to reading teachers, 11) School district reading leadership, 12) School reading environment, 13) School-wide reading programs, 14) Summer reading promotion, and 15) Use of public libraries by students.” Recommendations given during the discussion of the 15 topics included school environments promoting and encouraging reading within the culture of the school and having adequate library books available to encourage independent reading.
Reading Interest Survey
DeleteDanielle Crawford, Jackie Davies,
Gino Rose, James Salvatore, Angela Tyler
CLC Part 2
ReplyDeleteIt was also suggested that teachers be provided professional development opportunities in reading. By the teachers having opportunities to improve their craft, they would be in a better position to help struggling or unmotivated readers. This ideas presented in these Indiana middle schools are ideas and issues that can be found at nearly any middle school. The suggestions given if implemented could truly benefit struggling readers.
The high school survey was given to a student population of 309 10th and 11th grade students. When asked if they eat snacks while reading, 10 students answered always, 210 answered sometimes and 85 said never. The students where asked how many meals they ate daily and 21 answered four or more, 207 answered three, 68 answered two, and 13 answered one. Students were allowed to select the type of reading material they prefer to read. Male students often selected articles while female students often selected magazines. Newspapers was select the least with only nine students while online articles was selected the most with 123 students. When asked how often the students like to read 152 selected every day, 111 students selected as often as they can, 34 selected every week and only 12 selected never. The majority of the high school populations fortunately own their own books with 210 having 10 or more, 72 own in between five and nine books, 24 students own between one and four and only three students didn’t own any books. Students are motivated in high school for various reasons. 143 students said they read for school while 103 said they read for fun. 41 students said they read because their parents made them while 22 students said they read to gain knowledge. The students were asked to select their favorite genre of writing but they were not restricted to only one selection therefore the genre selection numbers were very large. The largest selections were fiction (296), horror (276), mystery (263), and drama (201). Of the 309 students surveyed, 253 students read at home whether it be daily or occasionally. 56 students said they never read at home. Similarly when asked if their parents read, 253 students said their parents do read and 56 students said their parents do not. It is ironic that the results for reading at home and parental reading habits were identical. It can be assumed that if I child sees their parents reading at home they will be more inclined to read at home. With the infusion of iPads, e-readers and tablets into our society, it was not surprising that 176 students selected that they like digital books more than paper books. When asked which they read more often, 121 selected digital and 188 selected paper books. The difference in how many students actually read digital books can be attributed to the accessibility of digital books to the students.
The population of special needs students surveyed ranged from grades 6-8. Of the 27 students surveyed, eight students specific disability was in reading and additionally eight more students’ disability was in reading, writing and mathematics. Mathematics was the specific disability for five students. Three students were autistic and one student had a behavioral disorder. When asked if they ate snacks while reading six students said sometimes while 21 said they never eat snacks. The majority of the students (24) acknowledged that they ate 3 meals a day. Many of the students don’t eat snacks in between meals but 15 students said they eat at least one snack a day. Students where asked what they enjoy reading and six students said listed books, four selected online articles, 15 selected magazines and two selected newspapers. 19 of the students said they do not like to read ever while two students said they try to read as often as they can.
CLC Part 3
ReplyDeleteTwo students said they try to read every day and four students said they try to read weekly. One can assume that many of the students are not enthusiastic about reading because many of them naturally struggle in this area. 16 of the students surveyed said they owed at least one to four books and one student said they owned 10 or more. Unfortunately 11 students said they don’t own any books at all. Although there were students that personally did not own books, each student acknowledged that they have books in their homes. When the participants were asked why they read, 23 students said they read for school. Only three students said they read for fun and one student said they read to gain knowledge. Only one student said they’d read because they loved while three students said they’d read a book to see if it’s interesting. The majority of students said they read if they were told to do so. There were four genres that the students said they loved to read. Eight students enjoy mystery novels, seven students enjoyed fiction, five students enjoyed children’s books, three chose mythology and two selected science fiction. When the students were asked if they read at home, 14 students said they never read at home. Though the amount of time spent reading at home may vary, the remaining 13 students all read at home. Most of the students admitted to doing the majority of the reading in school but there were 4 students that said they read the most at home or on the bus. Out of the 27 students surveyed, 26 students said their parents read at home and 25 students said their siblings read at home as well. Like our high school students, the majority of the special needs students surveyed stated that they prefer to read digital books over paper books but the accessibility to digital books is limited. When asked which type of book students read most often, 2 selected digital while 25 selected paper books. Conversely, when asked which book they liked to read 21 students said digital and 6 said paper books. Although these students may have disabilities at their core they are just like any other student and as trends change, the children are not oblivious to the changes of society. They too are changing with their peers and the world at large.
A reading survey was taken from 27 middles school student with identified different abilities within the classroom. There was a mixture of students that had different abilities of just reading; just mathematical; autism; behavioral; significant limited intellectual capacity; or a combined of reading, writing and math. The ages of these students was from 11-15 and grades 6-8. There were 15 males and 12 females. From the caucasian population there was 21 students participating and 6 from the Hispanic/Latino population. In talking about a students eating habits before, during and after reading practices there were more student that didn't take an active part in choosing a snack during reading or even between meals for most students eating 3 meals a day. When selecting material 55% of students preferred reading magazines over a 22% wanted to have listed books, 14% liked the online articles and 7% picked up the newspaper. In choosing action and adventure books 11% would read these kind of books, either science fiction mythology were 14% of the children , 18% choose children's books, 25% choose fiction and 29% choose reading mystery. After know what the students would select when choosing material to read 70 % of them said that they don't like to read and 7% they do it everyday, 14% said they read every week.
ReplyDeleteAfter looking at these results, I processed the question 2) What factors do you take into consideration when developing a literature-based lesson plan or unit plan? The first part that I would look at is the level of the book and whether or not the student with the different ability can process the message being delivered. Students with deficits in reading needs to be able to have a high interest level within what they are reading and to keep this. This would be another aspect I look at when selecting a book and lesson plan. The next part that I look at is making sure that the lesson plan has levels. This way I can use different level questioning at different levels so that every students has a chance to be successful in reading. Different accommodations and modification need to made for my students and I take into aspect all of these when selecting and developing my plan. These are many factors that I look at when developing of a a literature-based plan or unit plan.
Reading teachers, around the world, have tried many techniques, gimmicks, and tricks to get students of all ages interested and engaged in reading. Teachers have to do research on students at the beginning of each school year to see what skills readers possess. Teachers take many factors into account when looking at students as readers. Some important factors that determine what kind of reader a student is are: family’s attitude toward reading, if there are books to read at home, the economic status of the student’s family, the language spoken at home, if the student enjoys reading, if there is someone to read with, etc. To obtain this information in a way to not make the student uncomfortable, one could use a survey. The survey would ask important questions appropriate for the grade level for the teacher to collect, compile, and analyze for use in his/her planning and instruction to better meet the needs of students.
ReplyDeleteThe question of how family attitudes and access to print affects students’ perceptions of reading has long been debated. Young People’s Reading: The Importance of the home environment and family support was conducted by Clark and Hawkins in 2009 in Britain. This survey was given online to 17,089 students that ranged in age from 8-16. Of these students 19.3% received free lunch at school. The survey asked questions about the home environment including whether students had books, magazines, computers and/or desks in the home. It asked these students questions about their parents/families and support given to students in reading. Students were further asked their perceptions of their parents as readers and how much the child talked about books with their family. Students were then asked questions about their perceptions of themselves as readers. For example, students were asked questions like: “Reading is boring, reading is hard, reading is more for girls than for boys, etc (Clark & Hawkins, 2010, p. 14).”
The findings showed that the relationship between having books in the home, having parents encourage the child, seeing the parents as readers and talking about books in the home strongly correlated to students’ reading perceptions. To begin, more girls than boys (79.1% to 66.5%) indicated they had books in the home. Students on free lunch had fewer students with books in the home (65.5% as opposed to 74.5%) as non-free lunch students. Also, mothers were seen as more encouraging than fathers in respect to reading. Eight in ten students indicated support of some degree by their mothers as opposed to seven in ten by their fathers (Clark & Hawkins, p. 5). These students indicated that twice as many fathers are seen as nonreaders than mothers (26% to 12%) (Clark & Hawkins, p. 6).
These students’ answers about family habits, demographics and parental involvement lined up with expected perceptions of reading. Little difference was seen in students who received free lunch if they had books in the home and a positive environment. Students who had books in the home, whose mother and/or father showed encouragement, who saw their parents as readers and who discussed books in the home showed a much higher percentage of positive attitudes in reading and were more likely to be at or above their expected reading level. For example, “twice as many young people who have books of their own compared with those who do not have their own books enjoy reading either very much or quite a lot. Twice as many young people who have their own books said they read every day compared with young people who do not have their own books (Clark & Hawkins, p. 5).” Likewise, students who were encouraged by their parents and talked about books in the home were more likely to indicate an enjoyment of reading (Clark & Hawkins).
Another great challenge teachers face is how to intrigue students into becoming self-motivated readers, at home and at school, and enjoy various forms of literature. Reading Motivation: Strategies to Motivate Struggling Readers K-8 was conducted by Barnes and Monroe. This study focused on increasing reading motivation among struggling readers within a four week period. In 2011, Barnes, a 4th grade teacher, and Monroe, 6th through 8th grade teacher, noticed their struggling readers were unmotivated and were not interested in reading literature. The survey was given to an elementary class and a middle school class. One group consisted of 13 students, grades 6th through 8th grade. Ten of the 13 students were extremely below grade level in the area of reading. Reading levels of the 6th-8th graders ranged from pre-primer to 4th grade. The second group was a 4th grade class. Nearly half (48%) of the 25 students were below grade level in reading. Students struggled to read passages fluently or could not comprehend what they read. The teachers identified the need to intervene with ways to motivate these struggling readers.
ReplyDeleteThe study began by administering a Pre-Reading Interest Survey to every student in their class. The following questions were on the survey:
“How do you feel about reading during guided and silent reading?”
“On a scale 1 to 4 how do you feel about reading overall?”
“Do you prefer to read books from home versus the books that are provided at school?”
“What you would like to see in our classroom during reading time?”
“What books interests you the most?”
(Barnes & Monroe, p. 7)
This was followed by giving all the students the Garfield Survey. A Parent Survey was also given to each parent/guardian. Students met with the teacher for a one-on-one conference about the Pre-Reading Interest Survey. After a 4 week period, the Garfield Survey and a Post Reading Survey was administered to measure student growth.
After analyzing the surveys, some commonalities were discovered. Students did not like reading aloud in front of peers. They preferred reading picture books as opposed to chapter books. Students enjoyed reading about animals, realistic fiction, humor and graphic novels. Parents stated that most of their children did not read at home. Parents were concerned because their child did not read for pleasure and could not sustain attention on a book for an extended amount of time. Throughout the 4 week period, the teachers implemented ideas into their reading block to increase student motivation. Students were allowed to choose books they were interested in reading. Students were allowed to use various forms of media to read books. Students discussed the books they read with peers. The teachers conducted book talks and had reading conferences with the students on a weekly basis. After a 4 week period, students showed more motivation for reading, enjoyed conducting book talks, and liked discussing the books with peers. Students comprehended the texts and were asking questions about the books as they talked with peers.
In another study, Increasing Reading Motivation in Elementary and Middle School Students Through the Use of Multiple Intelligences by Buschick, Shipton, Winner, and Wise, a student’s motivation in reading may be the result of the child’s demographics, socioeconomic status, and culture of that child’s family. The survey included 26 second graders, 25 fourth graders, 46 sixth graders, and thirty-three eighth graders, totaling 133 students. A majority of these students come from low-income families and some from single parent homes. “Children’s home literacy environment varied by their poverty level, with poor children scoring lower than non-poor children on a home literacy index,” said Buschick, Shipton, Winner, and Wise (2007). Non English speaking parents also plays a role in some of the surveyed students.
The researchers used an observation tally sheet to mark certain behaviors they saw that would affect motivation for reading. Each student was observed by all four researchers, so they could compare their results. The observation tallies were conducted over a two week period for fifteen minutes, twice a week, during sustained silent reading. Movement and non-movement were some of the behaviors observed during the study. The most tallied behaviors noted were staring into space,119 tallies, fidgeting was tallied 113 times, lack of interest was tallied 81 times, and not paying attention was tallied 82 times. Some of the other tallied items noted, which were seen less than those previously mentioned were: flipping pages (66tallies), doing other work (44tallies), hands in desk, out of their seat, complaining, doodling, and tapping pencil. The researchers also took a survey to find out how these students feel about reading during free time. In this survey, the students had the option to chose love it, like it, leave it, or loathe it. The results showed that 51% of the students said they liked reading during free time.
ReplyDeleteThe results of this project were excellent. They used what they call multiple intelligence intervention. This intervention includes using: linguistic intelligence (word smart), logical mathematical (number smart), spatial intelligence (picture smart), bodily-kinesthetic (body smart), musical intelligence (music smart), interpersonal intelligence (people smart), intrapersonal intelligence (self smart), and naturalist smart (nature smart). They used these strategies amongst others, such as self-discovering centers (critical thinking activities, puzzles, etc.) and journal writing, to help the students learn more about themselves. This learning through self discovery process, gained the students confidence and knowledge, which changed their outcome of their motivation in reading. They discovered what they liked, learned how to relate to the books, and how to chose books they would enjoy.
Overall, the administrators of the surveys gained important and significant information about the students they teach. Using data collected, the teachers differentiated instruction to meet the needs and interests of the individual students in the class. The outcome of all the surveys relayed an important message, every student learns differently, has different interests, and the home life is a huge factor in the student’s reading habits.
After analyzing the results of my teams CLC surveys there was one common factor between the different surveys; which was the motivation of readers, or lack thereof. Getting students interested in reading or motivated to read a very early age is key to creating a lifelong reader. I am a first grade teacher at a high poverty school, so I experience firsthand how difficult and frustrating it can be for both teachers and students to promote student interest and keep the students motivated. In my classroom I use a survey at the beginning of the year to determine what kind of readers I have. I use the data collected to see if the students have support from parents at home or if there is another language spoken at home. I also ask the students to tell me their favorite book, what kinds of books they like to read, and what is something they would like to learn more about. I use the data from the question, what they want to learn about, to determine what books will interest the students when I have them for guided reading and/or shared reading.
ReplyDeleteUsing books that the students show interest in for guided reading and shared reading makes a huge difference in the engagement of students. If I have a whole reading group of boys then I need to look at the different types of nonfiction that will interest them so they will be interested in interacting with the text and staying connected with the topic. I also need to do the same for fiction books, because I want all of my students to be connected with the text and motivated to read at school and at home.
I also have my students use an internet program called Accelerated Reader (AR) to take comprehension quizzes on. This helps me keep track with their comprehension and reading level but it also keeps the students motivated to read the books and get good scores on the quizzes so they can move up the AR reading level and be challenged more. They like to go onto the computer to take a quiz but they also have to read the book three times before they can take the quiz and one of those times has to be to an adult. It keeps them immersed in the text and it is also a friendly competition between classmates to see who can score the most AR points each month.
*What types of reading motivational activities do you employ in your classroom? What have you tried that worked or did not work in your classroom?
ReplyDeleteIn my classroom (5th grade) I try to motivate my students by having the parents and students complete weekly reading logs. Students that return their reading log receive an incentive from me. Incentives range from extra credit passes or free homework passes to pencils/erasers. Anything the children get for free is exciting to them. I also allow students to bring in what ever they like to read during independent reading time. Students embarass reading when they are reading something they enjoy. Lastly, as a class, we read at least two novels during the school year that have a movie assosciated with the book. The children enjoy reading books that they know they'll have an opportunity to view in film. The strategy that works the least for me is the reading log. Although it is a great strategy, often times, the children or parents forget to sign the log each day or students forget to return the log. Having used this strategy for a few years, many parents say their children are in fact reading every day but some how the log is not returned or returned incomplete. I still use this method because it is a source of accountability for the parents and students. Both the parents and students must be responsible and accountable for the students education.
In our CLC group, we researched a variety surveys about reading motivations and habits the data from the survey is analyzed and compiled. The data consists of: student’s attitudes, family attitudes, home environment, parental involvement, how many books they own, their purpose of reading, their motivation to read and their choice of genre. The data is analyzed and compiled to show how it affects a student’s motivation to read and the reading habits that they may develop. One survey showed that student’s attitudes toward reading greatly affect their motivation to read. The survey on Student Reading Habits consisted of “33 eighth graders, 46 sixth graders, 25 fourth graders, and 26 second graders for a total of 133” (Buschick, Shipton, Winner and Wise 23). The survey included “nine questions created to determine students’ feelings towards reading” (Buschick, Shipton, Winner and Wise 24). The results of the survey found that fifty-one percent of students enjoy reading during free-time, sixty-nine percent read for fun at home, eighty three percent chose to play instead of read, seventy four percent like to have their choice in what they read, eighty one percent believe that they read well, eight one percent also enjoy their teacher reading to them, and sixty-six percent enjoy visiting a library. This survey showed that students are relating their desire to read to school rather than their leisure time at home. Students view reading as a school activity than something that they prefer to do at home.A student's reading habits are greatly affected by their motivations to read.
ReplyDeleteIn our group, we found that there is huge link between the reading habits at home and the reading environment at home to a student's reading habits in the classroom.
ReplyDelete***What types of reading motivational activities do you employ in your classroom? What have you tried that worked or did not work in your classroom?
I am a third grade teacher and at the beginning of the year the third grade teachers held a meeting for parents. In this meeting we discussed the importance of parental involvement with their child's reading. We discussed strategies that they could use while reading at home and provided them with hard copies of the strategies to use. I also send home book bags that are of interest to each individual child and are leveled just for them. As a school we complete the accelerated reader program and they receive a reward for obtaining a certain amount of points. In my classroom, I reward them with tickets in which they turn in every Friday for free time/candy/ice cream/homework pass. Each reward requires a certain amount of tickets. I think that it requires the parent, student and teacher to help the child be successful.
I also think that it take all three to help make a child successful. Are there any other strategies they you use to help get parent envolvement that don't speak english? I think that is my biggest challenge.
DeleteIndividual Response from Michelle Wood
ReplyDeleteI analyzed the article "Reading Motivation: Strategies to Motivate Struggling Readers K-8" conducted by Barnes and Monroe in 2011. This study was composed of 25 students in grade 4 and 13 students in 6th through 8th grade. Approximately 50% of the middle school students were on free/reduced lunch; 60% of the elementary students were on free/ reduced lunch. Before interventions there was a lack of motivation and interest in reading activities because many students had not felt successful as readers. They read books and information at school when it is imposed on them. It was part of their grade and they did not read for pleasure. The students disliked staying in their seat while reading. Many made comments about being able to get out of their chair, sit on a bean bag, to read things they were interested in. Parents noticed that their children did not like reading books for pleasure. The children would avoid reading and would have to be forced to complete their reading homework. Parents wondered why their child did not enjoy reading and noticed that the children were not able to focus on a reading task for a sustained period of time. After interventions were implemented the students were more motivated to read. Overall, the students enjoyed reading because they were able to use laptops and other technology to read and they discussed the readings with others. The students wanted to read so they could discuss the readings with peers. Students were able to share things they were interested in with their fellow students during book talks. The students heard about other stories and information that they might not have thought about reading previous to the book talks. They liked to read about animals, realistic fiction, humor and graphic novels. In looking over the table from the CLC group, all the articles focused on motivating struggling readers as an important key to literacy development.
As a first grade teacher, there are many things I take into consideration when developing a literature-based lesson plan or unit plan. The first thing is to look at the state standards and objectives for the plan I want to teach. I then create and search for activities that are developmentally appropriate for my young readers. I look for activities and literature that students are interested in. I chose various genres as I allow students to experience books and technology that will increase literacy development. Activities are chosen that will allow the students to gain knowledge and understanding through the use of various learning modalities. If the students have an opportunity to experience literacy activities in different ways, they will gain a greater appropriate of literature.
testing testing
ReplyDeleteThe stages that my fifth grade students are in vary from a second grade level all the way to an seventh to eigth grade laevel. I teach an inclusion class. This is one thing I take into consideration when I plan for my class. I like to find two books on a lower level (like third or fourth grade level) and comparable book on a higher level (like a fifth to seventh grade level). I also take into consideration the likes and interests of my students. I teach two reading groups throughout the day, so the books I choose for each class may be different, according to that group of students. The other main factor I try to take into consideration with the reading choices I make for their lessons, is the activities that they can do to go along with these stories. I try to do activities that the students are involved in their learning or practicing their skills (hands-on, powerpoints, etc.).
ReplyDeleteThe motivation I try to use with my students, first of all, is learning about my students and what they are interested in. I also read a chapter book aloud to my students every day. When I chose the book that I am reading, I try to chose a book they wouldn't normally pick for themselves, to expose them different styles and typed of books. I have read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and Letters to God, to name a few. My students are so into these books that they are already asking what book we are going to read next and we aren't even finished with the book we are reading now! It cracks me up.