These first chapter / introduction discusses the autor's first year experience of teaching, and how she did not know how to answer the question "why can't my child read?" in a parent-teacher conference. It is an introduction to the purpose behind this book -- to serve as a handbook to teachers who need to answer that same question.
I thought the second chapter was very interesting in that it poses the question "what is a struggling reader?", and then talks about our assumptions of what struggling readers look like -- slumped in the far back of the classroom, semi-apathetic and not confident in their abilities. She then makes a great point that all students are different, and some hide their lack of confidence in different ways. She also states that anyone can struggle depending on the text, so the issue isn't the struggle itself but what the reader does when they struggle. How do they attempt to figure out the text? I definitely saw this in my classroom when I taught 7th grade Science and Social Studies. We didn't do a lot of fluency instruction (none, in fact), but I saw a definite lack in enthusiasm when it came to reading abilities. Looking back, I can picture the struggling readers and they all had different ways of showing it in a classroom setting. I definitely feel the same regret that she shows in reflecting on her story with the student George. There were many students that I could have invested in and tried to present their strengths. I can definitely relate to the feeling of simply wanting to survive the year.
I enjoyed the third chapter because it presents the information in a practical way. It describes the needs and characteristics of dependent readers; this will be very helpful when I teach! Page 28 gives different scenarios of students' needs and what teachers need to focus on (if, then ...). Very helpful information. I think overall I am seeing the need to focus on reading in all grade levels, which is contrary to what is assumed and taught in undergraduate classrooms (or at least emphasized much less than content material). I enjoyed reading her different student stories in this chapter; in particular, it illustrated that the fact that "kids can't read" needs to be broken down into specifics -- what can they do, and what can't they do? This will help focus instruction.
I thought the second chapter was very interesting in that it poses the question "what is a struggling reader?", and then talks about our assumptions of what struggling readers look like -- slumped in the far back of the classroom, semi-apathetic and not confident in their abilities. She then makes a great point that all students are different, and some hide their lack of confidence in different ways. She also states that anyone can struggle depending on the text, so the issue isn't the struggle itself but what the reader does when they struggle. How do they attempt to figure out the text? I definitely saw this in my classroom when I taught 7th grade Science and Social Studies. We didn't do a lot of fluency instruction (none, in fact), but I saw a definite lack in enthusiasm when it came to reading abilities. Looking back, I can picture the struggling readers and they all had different ways of showing it in a classroom setting. I definitely feel the same regret that she shows in reflecting on her story with the student George. There were many students that I could have invested in and tried to present their strengths. I can definitely relate to the feeling of simply wanting to survive the year.
I enjoyed the third chapter because it presents the information in a practical way. It describes the needs and characteristics of dependent readers; this will be very helpful when I teach! Page 28 gives different scenarios of students' needs and what teachers need to focus on (if, then ...). Very helpful information. I think overall I am seeing the need to focus on reading in all grade levels, which is contrary to what is assumed and taught in undergraduate classrooms (or at least emphasized much less than content material). I enjoyed reading her different student stories in this chapter; in particular, it illustrated that the fact that "kids can't read" needs to be broken down into specifics -- what can they do, and what can't they do? This will help focus instruction.
You bring up interesting points. Unfortunately, it seems when students move into middle/high school there is less emphasis on "teaching" reading. But we know when students encounter more difficult texts, they might struggle with comprehension.
ReplyDelete