I wonder...
I once observed a classroom where a teacher was conducting a reading group. She first had her students go through the vocabulary words form the book. Then the teacher read the book to her group of students. Then the students took turns reading a page form the book. Then finally the teacher picked a student to sit at the teachers chair and had them read the story to the rest of their classmates. Many of the students were engaged throughout this whole process. I did notice one of the students having a hard time reading when it was his turn to read aloud. He also seemed extremely nervous when the teacher was deciding on who to pick to group and read the entire book to their classmates. I was reminded of this students when I read about Robert.
Being asked to read aloud can be pretty stressful for students. I recall how nerve wrecking it was for me when I was in grade school. If we were taking turns reading pages while sitting in a circle I would figure out what page I would be ask to read and go directly to that page and mentally skim through it to make sure I would be able to read all the words on that page. This can be distracting. I've been in classrooms where teachers have a can with a Popsicle sticks for every student. They use these sticks to call on students to read or respond to a question. Students were very attentive. If a student didn't know the answer to a question they were allowed to consult with whoever they were sitting next to.
Both classrooms displyed a "one size fits all model." It seemed that their methods of reading instruction was pretty standardized and in some cases lacked differetnt mediums for expressive opportunities for students. Studnets need to be given a diverse variety of literaturenot only in subjectsand themes but also in different mediums.
I understand that there are models, scripts and materials that have beeen enforced to be put in use when teaching reading but we should try to stretch it out a bit more. This can be done by bringing outside materials such as magazines, newspaper articles, exploring the internet, exploring song lyrics, poems, short stories, and etc. These different mediums can bring further understanding of introduced concepts.
Further Reflection
I'm beginning to see a little more cultural diverse themed literature in classrooms. This is a big step from when I was in school. I've been in classrooms where computers are used by students to complete assignments. We are slowly starting to welcome new technology in to our classrooms. Classrooms and Educators are lacking the proper tools to fully incorporate guiding principles due to constant budget cuts. I think the effort is definitely being made out there by teachers but they are often not fully supported. I hope this changes soon.
Incorporating the guiding principles into industrial modeled classrooms may be a bit challenging due to its focus on standardization. To me, it sometimes seems that this kind of model is not allowing students to really grasp the meaning of the subject and connect to it but rather only learning how to come up with an answer and immediately bubble it in their answer sheets. We need to guide are students in becoming free thinkers, in being expressive in many different ways through: music, art, literature, drama, and etc and not only how to take exams.
-Nercy A.
5 comments:
Hi Nercy,
In reading your "I wonder" section I too have seen the same thing. Last year I was in the classroom and the teacher would do the same process and move on to "popcorn" style for reading. The class was a lower ELL class, so most of the children looked petrified, awaiting their name popping up next. Back when I was in elementary school I had a very difficult time. Battling dyslexia and choral reading was the worst. Obviously I have made it through higher education, but the idea of reading for pleasure never crossed my mind. There were things of interest, as I shared in my introduction, I'm a bit of a nerd. I’d read things in the encyclopedia that peaked my interest, but there was no real opportunity for me to show my reading and comprehensive abilities to my teacher and classmates. Often I was laughed at by classmates or punished for not participating.
It is very unfortunate how the Industrial model and NCLB, I feel stagnate, our abilities as teachers. This is my third year working in the classroom and it seems many children are in-fact being left behind. With the riggers or the Open Court pacing plan, we are not left with much opportunity to scaffold for those students who may vary well need it. Hopefully in the near future things will more toward one of the modern models, but only time will tell. Even my husband has shared stories of department meetings, stressing to teach to the test. Whether the kids understand the material or not what matters is that “at least they have seen the material.”… I personally think that person is outright wrong in their statement, but to each their own and best wishes to their students.
Thank you for being so candid.
I've also been in classrooms where teachers randomly (some teachers used popsicle sticks) called different students to read aloud in the classroom. This past summer, I've worked as a teacher's assistant for ELL classes and one of the teachers made her students read aloud everyday. She often yelled at her students for mispronouncing words in front of the whole class and it just broke my heart.
I think that certain types of read aloud activities can be fun and engaging depending on how teacher forms the activities. For example, I've been in a classroom where the teacher got a fun play script for students and provided a plenty of time for them to practice the lines with the teacher and with each other before they actually acted out the play. The activity gave students an opportunity to interact with each other. The students got really engaged because they got a chance to let out their energy in a positive way through this active exercise. The students were also stress-free because they didn't have to worry about their names being called unexpectedly.
HI Nercy,
I think your concerns and inquiries about popcorn reading, round robin reading or the latest popsicle stick method of selecting reading are extremely important. I like that you raise the concerns of nervousness and with that the consideration of what we think we are teaching about reading when we engage in these practices.
Yes the current standard curriculum makes some of the changes you suggest more difficult, but not impossible. :-)
Dr. C.
When I read your "I Wonder" I agree that reading could be stressful. I too always counted the paragraphs per person until I got to mine. I would practice it so when my turn came I could recite it without many errors. This was not a problem because the teachers never asked questions about what we read.
I also think it is important to stop every couple of pages to clear up any vocabulary, give a summary and make sure every student is on the same page (pardon the pun). I think reading can a be a bit mundane (for lack of a better word) and interupting the reading to discsuss what is going on might help students to be more engaged.
I really like your idea about songs. When I was in grade school I was definately more into music than reading.
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