Saturday, September 25, 2010

Concepts About Print

          Concepts of print include the basic skills of reading such as how to hold a book, recognizing that words on the page have meaning, directionality, return sweep,  and being able to identify individual letters, words and punctuation.  These are all skills that need to be taught by modeling, scaffolding and opportunities for independent practice, such as at literacy centers.  One of the most important beginning reader skills is being able to identify the letters of the alphabet and their phoneme-grapheme associations.  "Children who have been actively involved in reading and writing activities before entering first grade know the names of the letters, and they're more likely to begin reading quickly" (Tompkins, 2010).  In Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach, Tompkins (2010) lists routines to teach the letters of the alphabet, all of which can be incorporated straight into literacy centers.
          The Unifed Transformative Early Education Model (UTEEM) students at George Mason University have compiled information for families of kindergarten through third-grade students about emergent literacy that can be found at http://mason.gmu.edu/~cwallac7/TAP/TEST/literacy/1.html.  This is a great resource, as it explains concepts about print, as well as phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge, in a simple, comprehensible manner.  In addition, the website offers lists of engaging activities to improve literacy.  "Developing concepts about print in children at an early age is invaluable to their literacy development. Without a firm grasp on these concepts, children will have trouble learning to read and write" (Iantosca).  Concepts about print can be developed at a young age by exposing children to print.  Iantosca firmly statess that "the number one thing you can do for your children to help them learn concepts about print is to read to them everyday."
          The best way to teach concepts about print is in an authentic, meaningful manner.  For instance, a restaurant menu, arranged in short phrases, allows children to easily match one spoken word to each written word, and also relate concepts of print to real-life experiences.  When modeling concepts about print, teachers and families should be mindful of the reading materials they are selecting.  Print should include elaborate pictures and minimal text, and be of interest to the child.  Interest is a motivating factor in learning to read and taking the time to learn what topics children are interested in can yield great benefits.


References
Iantaosca, E. Emergent literacy: Concepts about print. In Literacy at home and school
          Retrieved from http://mason.gmu.edu/~cwallac7/TAP/TEST/literacy/1.html

Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
          Pearson Education, Inc.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Assessment Data to Inform Instruction

          Running records are very effective tools used to gather data on students' reading progress, which is used to form instructional decisions.  This formal assessment can yield useful information on the students' word identification, as well as reading fluency (Tompkins, 2010).  The teacher records which words are read correctly and which are read incorrectly, mispronounced, substituted or omitted.  Self-corrections are also noted.  Following the administration of running records, students are frequently asked to retell the story and answer several comprehension questions.  An analysis of the students' errors or miscues can provide insight into what reading strategies the students primarily use.
          In my professional experience, I have administered a variety of formal assessment systems, those of which include mClass Reading 3D, Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System and the Qualitative Reading Inventory-4 (QRI-4).  I used the mClass Reading 3D program to assess students' reading levels and knowledge at the beginning, middle and end of the school year.  Similar to that is the Fountas and Pinnell system that I used for progress monitoring throughout the year.  I felt the sense that some of my students were ready to move up in reading levels and the running record and answers to the comprehension questions provided concrete data that supported the notion.  Of course, some students fit right in their new guided reading groups while others did not perform as I expected based on the assessment, but that is one of the benefits of having fluid groups.
          After analyzing miscues from my students' running records, I discovered that the large majority of the children were relying very heavily on visual cues, some meaning cues and little to no syntactic cues.  I then realized that I had been focusing much of my teaching on the beginning and ending sounds of words, that I had failed to teach students to cross-check the picture with the words and self-monitor.  This makes a lot of sense knowing how much children rely on visuals to help them understand the world around us.  Using the information I gathered from the assessments, I improved my teaching by modeling cross-checking and asking myself if the words I was reading made sense and sounded right.  My students soon began to utilize those strategies and began to make great gains.


References
Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
          Pearson Education, Inc.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Authentic Learning

          Authentic learning is an effective way to promote the growth of children's reading and writing skills.  This method of instruction is engaging and meaningful for the learner, however, they still look to the teacher as the "expert model"  (Tompkins, 2010).  Authentic learning provides opportunities for children to construct their own knowledge and demonstrate their creativity and personal voices in a realistic setting.  Since new knowledge is linked to prior knowledge and assimilated into existing schemas (Tompkins, 2010), the context or situation in which learning takes place plays an important role in learning.
           A nationwide study determined that authentic pedagogy aided students in their ability to apply higher-order thinking, develop a deep understandings of subject matters, engage in meaningful conversations with teachers and peers, and draw connections between information learned in the classroom and the "world beyond the classroom" (Parkay & Stanford, 2007).  In Becoming a Teacher, Parkay and Stanford describe authentic learning tasks as enabling the learner to see how information they learn in the classroom can be extended beyond that realm.  Connecting new knowledge to the world in which one lives can be very stimulating.
           Motivation is a huge factor in one's success.  Authentic learning is inherently motivating, as it is most of the time, very engaging or hands-on, and closely relates to the learner's world.  It is the responsibility of teachers to find a way to make learning meaningful for their students.  This may involve getting to know the children on a personal level and designing interactive lessons that connect to their interests.  This action not only shows the students that the teacher is invested in their academic success, but it also allows the students to feel respected.  Ultimately, this mutual respect contributes toward developing an effective learning environment and healthy classroom community.


References
Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
          Pearson Education, Inc.

Parkay, F.W. & Stanford, B.H. (2007). Becoming a teacher (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education,
          Inc.