Kendrah's Chapter 7 Reading Response

In Chapter 7 Taberski write about the topic of "Read Aloud and Shared Reading: Demonstrating Strategies in Whole- Class Settings". I was very intrigued by this title because my fourth grade class does quite a bit of read alouds and shared readings with their teacher and she encourages me to do it with them too. As I continued reading I found that selecting a variety of genres is very important like Greg emphasizes much in class because some children may not be able to read on their own. For children to become strategic readers the teacher must introduce new topics (by selecting fiction, factual texts, poetry) and reading it to them. It is important to have new vocabulary and using it in front of them because they may hear new or familiar words which can extend a child's vocabulary. Also read alouds and shared readings can be used for children to write about what they read or about a story they heard. Read alouds and shared readings also promote a love for reading and more. I think the most interesting thing that I read in this chapter was strategies for comprehension. Some students are discouraged to read because they dont understand what they read or their minds get filled with so much information that they forget everything that was read to them. Taberski writes that "stopping to think" about what you're reading is a strategy that could be demonstarted to students to use. Questions such as, 1. What do I think is going to happen?, 2. Why do i think this is gong to happen?, & 3. Prove it by going back to the story? can be asked in sections of the book before moving on. Taberski also writes about demonstrating story mapping, character mapping, as well as strategies for students to use in shared readings when figuring out words. In conclusion, as teachers we must show students connections and help them make new ones. Its repetition of strategies that help students become btter readers.

Kendrah's Chapter 6 Reading Response

In Chapter 6 an important idea came up. Taberski writes "who would want to read more, if it only meant always having to write about it?" and I think most children feel this way. Reading and writing in most classes have become a task more than something enjoyable. However, it needs to be done. At the beginnning of the chapter Taberski writes of her reading conference with Jasmin. For Jasmin it didn't feel like a reading conference because he got to retell a story that he actually enjoyed and it made discussing the story more enjoyable. Eventually this could lead to better writing for a child. The chapter continues by talking about procedures for asking children to retell texts. Usually when I sit down with a student I have him/her "tell me about" the story or text. I realize that I only need to record enough to assess his comprehension, and I determine how well the child understands the text read. The list continues on but from my running record experiences I've been also testing comprehension. I've found that some students just read it because they need to and are unable to retell. Others need help to retell and some students are well at retelling. So, how can I make every student retell a story he/she reads? That's my question. Well, Taberski states that gathering basic info. at the start of the year helps. Conducting 2-3 conferences to help the student find books he/she can read independently and also enjoys is very important. Taberski says that it is better to state a promt like "Tell me about the kind of books you like to read" instead of asking the child "what kind of books do you like to read?", which will enable the child to answer with a "I don't know" versus a more descriptive answer to a prompt question. Overall, I found that there are many types of different assessment tools that can be used in combination to help a child read better.

Chelsea's Reflection (Ch.7, On Solid Ground)

Chapter 7 is mainly about teaching students reading strategies through demonstration of read alouds and shared readings in a whole class setting. Throughout the chapter, Sharon explains what types of strategies a teacher could teach to his/her students by role playing it right in front of them. She doesn't explain to her students that what she is doing is a reading strategy that they should use when they are reading, but just demonstrates it in hope that the children will catch on to applying those strategies when they are reading to become strategic readers. I enjoyed most of the strategies Sharon uses with her students. I think each and every one of them can be really effective in the classroom. The strategies she uses are very open-ended and visual. I like how she uses chart paper to write down what she is asking the students. I also liked her strategy of having the students stop and think about what they are writing. She sometimes has them write down questions or predictions of the story to see if they can comprehend. Like I have mentioned before, I am anticipating the day when I can try some of these strategies with my students. I really enjoy reading when I am interested, and I am hoping that I can get my students to enjoy reading by leading them to strategies that can help them understand what they are reading and put the story together.

Sei's Chapter 7 Reflection

Read Aloud and Shared Reading:
Demonstrating Strategies in Whole-Class Settings
Chapter 7 Reflection

In chapter seven, Taberski discusses numerous techniques that can be beneficial in working with reading with children. More specifically, she informs the readers on how Read Alouds and Shared Readings can be utilized to help children with reading.

One thing that I found interesting in this chapter is the discussion on the use of read alouds and shared readings to get children interested in reading a variety of genres. I think that it’s a great idea to use read alouds or shared readings as opportunities to introduce and familiarize children with a wide array of genres. This is to say that if I read my future students poetry or factual books, it may serve as a catalyst for them reading in those genres. According to Taberski, introducing poetry to students will enable them to “appreciate its imagery and relate to it as they hear it read aloud and respond to it afterward” and reading factual texts to them “demonstrate[s] how features of factual texts such as glossaries, indices, captions, side bars, and pronunciation keys can help them understand what they’re reading.” I would consider read alouds and shared readings done in this manner as a type of “advertising” or free sample of a genre. Once students are enticed by the beauty of different genres, they can’t help but to read more and more to satisfy their hunger. I’m not fortunate enough to say that I had these type of “advertisements” when I was growing up. Who knows- had I been exposed to more genres, I may be a more avid reader.

I remember when I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to my fourth grade students last semester. I’ll never forget the look of excitement and that little twinkle in their eyes when it’d be time to read that book every week. Although many of them had already seen the movie or read the book, they just seemed to really enjoy this story. I reminisced on these past moments as I read Taberski’s take on read alouds and shared readings promoting “children’s love of reading”. As Taberski goes through her elaborate details and descriptions of the expressions on her students faces, I fell even more mesmerized with the concept of read alouds and shared readings. It’s so great to be able to get children to experience and feel the effect of a good piece of literature. It’s good to make them laugh and giggle along with their peers in the funny parts and also empathize with a character’s hardship and trials. Having experienced this firsthand, I agree with Taberski 100% when she states that “if children aren’t motivated to read, it would be very difficult for them to sustain their attention and interest in reading.” It’s a great power that we possess as educators to expose our students to literature, but we must keep in mind to make selections that would be well received and enjoyed by our students, not just ourselves.

“Stopping to think”. Stop to think before you speak. Stop to think before you do something rash. Etc… “Stopping to think”- that’s an important concept in many things in life and among the many, we are not to exclude that of reading. Taberski introduces us to the concept of “Stopping to think” about what we’re reading. Not only is this a great comprehension strategy, it’s also a great way to encourage critical thinking and making links to the text. Children should be taught to think about what they read so far, what they think is going to happen next, and why they think it’s going to happen next. I firmly believe that getting children to use the information that they’ve read to foreshadow future events is a great way to develop critical thinking skills. When children are asked to make predictions and inferences, they need to base their understanding of the previous context and link it to the storyline. I remember doing this a lot in my earlier years in school and it has proven to be very beneficial to me. Whether it’s while I’m watching a movie or reading a book, I still use my critical thinking skills that were learned awhile ago. I like to try to predict what’s going to happen, or foreshadow, based on what I’ve learned about the characters and storyline up until that point.

Coby's Reflection to Chapter 7

Taberski says in chapter seven that the right way to present information to children is to give it to them as they need it. Teaching a child how to read is not a step by step recipe, it is a process that involves questions, investigations, discoveries, and experiences. This reminds me of Greg stressing to us that "children expect the text to make sense." In the same way children need to learn how to read by reading and as they go along everything else will fall into place.

Teaching "systematically" like a recipe sounds like a logical way of teaching reading. I used to believe it was a good way because I thought reading was founded on sounds which support words. The truth is reading is founded on the understanding of text. If a child can make the right sounds but cannot understand the text then all those sounds were for nothing.

Children need the text to make sense and many adults have forgotten that. They have forgotten what they expected when they were children. Languages are best learned through immersions rather than courses and since reading is a language let us immerse our students in hands on reading rather than subject them to a crash courses.

Jaime S. Ch.6 Reflection

In Chapter 6, Taberski explains another useful assessment teachers can use to help the child become a better reader. Retelling is an important assessment because it shows if the child comprehends what they have read or if they’re just ‘barking at the text.’ I remember having to do Book Reports in elementary school and finding it so difficult to summarize or retell the story. It was hard for me to sum up the main story in a brief paragraph. I was kind of like Jessica in Chapter 6 who recounted each event of the story rather than explaining the main parts. It was probably due to the fact that the books might have been too hard for me to read.

Taberski made a really good point in this chapter about why a child is having trouble with comprehension. Sometimes children can have reading accuracy rates of 95 percent or higher and still have difficulty comprehending the story. That’s due to the difficulty in the text level. The child can read the words, but it doesn’t make any sense to them. At that point, they’re just reading words and not comprehending the story. I made the mistake of encouraging Sydnie to read harder texts because I thought that the other books were too easy for her. She was able to read the harder book, but she had difficulty with retelling the story. Now when she reads to me, I always have her retell the story. If she chooses a book that is too hard for her, then I read it to her and have her retell the story at the end.

Sei's Chapter 6 Reflection

Retelling and Reading Discussions
Chapter 6 Reflection

In brief, chapter six is about Taberski introducing the concepts of using reading discussions and retelling as assessment tools for students’ reading comprehension.

As I began to read this chapter, the first thought that crossed my mind was, “how am I going to know if the student is ‘retelling’ accurately if I, myself, haven’t read the book?” Consistent with her countless tips and seemingly endless knowledge this far into the book, Taberski answered that question as I read further into the chapter. I now know that if I have not previously read the text that the student is retelling, there are numerous ways that I can familiarize myself with the story, thus knowing whether or not the student is “retelling” accurately. For one, I can read the summary on the back cover of the book or I can look through the text before the discussion or retelling. I can also “scan the table of contents and glance at the pictures to get an overview.”

There are other indicators that show whether or not the student has comprehended any given text. For example, I can make an inference that a child speaking confidently about the text has understood it well, where as, a student that looks through the pages for props to recall what he/she has read doesn't understand the text. I may also be able to tell how well a student has understood a text by the presence or lack of detail in the retelling.

Although, to a certain point, I agree with Taberski about confidence in a retelling being an indicator of reading comprehension, I’d have to say that I wouldn’t rely on that technique 100%. The reason for this is because I’ve sat down and read stories with my first graders when conducting running records and when asked, “what the story is about”, they will sit there and quite confidently retell the story…inaccurately. I’ve noticed that although they may get the characters names correct, they may not fully understand what the story is actually about (sequence of main events, plot, problem). Once, I read a story about a boy being taken to the aquarium by his father because it was a rainy day outside and the student’s retell was mostly about the fish although that was a minute part of the story. You see, the big point of the story was that it was a “drip drop day” and it was a good day for a trip to the aquarium. Maybe this is an indicator that the student is interested in fish or aqua life, but I do know that it’s a red sign indicating that the student didn’t comprehend the context 100%.

Taberski makes the reason behind reading discussions and retellings very clear. Although running records are a great assessment tool in trying to figure out which cueing system(s) is/are being used by a student, once the teacher has gained that knowledge, he/she must figure out if the student is comprehending what he/she is reading. This is where retelling comes into play. Retellings enable the teacher to figure out if the student is understanding the text and if not, what the reasons for that deficiency are, difficulty in word level or text level.

Lehua's Chapter 6 Response

In this chapter, Taberski talks a lot about the "so what?" part of reading and running records. Instead of just having the student read, we need to make sure that they are COMPREHENDING the story because that is the most important thing. As I was finishing up my running records, I felt that they were incomplete in a way. I mean, in Kindergarten, the books aren't really "stories." They will say, "This is Sam. This is Tam. Tam sat on sam." If I were to ask them to retell the story, they can't because 1)There wasn't a "story" to retell, other than WHO the characters were, and 2) they are spending so much time trying to sound out almost every word that they can't comprehend what is happening in the book.

So far, the students have read to me about four different books. One was about "Dad," and what he is doing, another was about a dinosaur and the parts of his body, and the others were just simple one-to-one matching books. It is hard to tell at this level if they really do understand the book when they are the only ones reading it. On the other hand, if they are READ a book, then they can retell the story. I think that's the place that we should focus on retelling for the kindergarteners, and maybe the 1st graders in the beginning of the year.

Coby's Reflection to Taberski's On Solid Ground Chapter 6

Sharon Taberski brings up an interesting point in the sixth chapter of her book On Solid Ground. She states that it is good to use running records, retellings, and reading discussions at the same time when reading with a child so that those strategies can be used as checks and balances to see why a child is not comprehending the text.

For example, Taberski's says that sometimes the child does not understand what the text means and at other times the child substituted too many words and the meaning has been compromised. The only way to know the difference would be to use more than one strategy at the same time. If not, the teacher will only know that the student does not comprehend the text but he or she will not know why.

In order to solve a problem a person needs to know what they problem is. I find Taberski's point interesting because I never thought of it before. I realized that besides knowing that a child is or is not comprehending the text a teacher also needs to know what the problem is.

Chelsea's Reflection (Ch.6, On Solid Ground)

Chapter 6: Retelling and Reading Conferences is about having your
students retell the stories they are reading at that time so that you
can make sure they are understanding what they are reading and
not just reading through the words. From what we have read so far,
these chapters in Sharon's book have been teaching me quite a bit on
how to get my students reading. In addition, these chapters are
teaching me quite a bit about my own self as a reader. I wish I had
more time to read when I was in elementary school. We hardly ever
read books, and if we did, it wouldn't be a book that we got to choose
of the shelf ourselves. It would be books that the teacher chose for
the whole class to read together.
As I reading this specific chapter, I was thinking to myself that if I
were ever asked to retell what I had just read, would I be able to do
it? Honestly, I don't think I would be able to give a great response.
I could probably give bits and pieces, but I don't always remember
what I read unless I am really concentrating with no distractions at
all. Just one distraction from the littlest thing can take my mind off
what I am reading. Does that make me a bad reader? I've noticed
that my mind tends to wonder off a lot while I am reading certain
things. I sometimes start to think of other things and have to lead
my mind back to what I was reading to concentrate. I don't know
what it is. I love to read, and Sharon's book is one text book that is
easy to read. It is very informative and provides a lot of examples
for the reader to visualize what she is trying to explain.
Overall, what I got out of this chapter is that I want to get my
students to enjoy reading. I don't want them to have to think they
need to write everytime they read. I want them to learn to understand
what they are reading and not just spitting out some words in a book.
Sharon really has an amazing way of assessing her students' reading
skills. I'm anxious to one day get into my own classroom and test her
strategies to see if they would work out for my students and I.

Lehua's Reflection - Chapter 5

Taberski goes into great detail about running records in this chapter. I think that it's a little to much in detail - ONLY if you don't have the time. For instance, writing out the whole sentence while the child is reading and having to take the running record all at the same time may be a bit hectic. However, if the teacher has a book ready and has the sentences in place then that could even be more effective! (That could work with some of the books for my kindergarten class.)

On page 58, Taberski talks about "children who use visual and structural cues, but not meaning." This is definitely the case for my kindergarten students. While they amaze me at how much a student can advance from pre-school to kindergarten, after seeing them write complete sentences, I am still striving for them to not use the pictures alone.

Some of the books that my teacher had me use on them (because she was going to do her own "running record" anyway)had pictures as the main focus. Using the pictures to say "Dad is running. Dad is sleeping. Dad is digging." is what they should be doing at this age. But I ask myself, "When do I start showing them the words and becoming familiar with the word, visually, while letting them use the pictures? Or, do I start now?" Not to be a discouraging learner, but I would like to teach upper elementary, where they might be more able to sound out words rather than just using picture clues. But yes, it doesn't hurt learning how to teach that anyway because any child in any grade level may be at a "kindergarten" reading level.

Chelsea's Reflection (Ch. 5, On Solid Ground)

Chapter 5: Taking Records of Children's Oral Reading is all about
the wonderful running records.I am glad that I had a chance to read
this chapter because it informed me on how to become a running
record master. At Mililani Waena, I am slowly taking running
records of my students each week. I've been having a difficult time
taking running records of my fifth graders because for one, they
hardly ever read in the classroom unless I ask them to and two, their
reading speeds are usually quite fast. This chapter has taught me
ways to effectively take running records. From this chapter, I've
learned that it is quite okay to let te student know that I need them
to slow down to take the running record of their reading effectively.
I've also learned that I can interrupt a student's reading if I feel
there is need to ask the student some questions to make sure he/she
understands what they are reading.
I was also having trouble determining if the book was too hard,
just right, or too easy for the student to read. Finding the
difference between just right and easy books were a challenge for me
to distinguish. This chapter had informed me how to figure these out
by providing examples. I, as a teacher, have to be a really good
listener and be able to multi-task by paying attention to the student
read, following along on what they are reading, and keeping track of
how they read. It can be a challenge doing running records with older
students because most of them fairly know how to read. I'm slowly
learning, in the practice of my fifth graders, how to become effective
in taking running records.

Jaime's Ch.5 Reflection

In Chapter 5, Taberski goes into great detail about Running Records. Most of the things mentioned in this Chapter have been covered by Greg in class. This chapter is very useful and informative because she shows the reader the importance of using Running Records with children. I must admit though all her little symbols (/,<--, T, SC, SK, R….) are quite confusing. I’m sure it only looks that way because I haven’t done as many RR’s as Sharon. Hopefully as I do more RR’s I’ll remember what the different slashes and arrows mean. Running Records also show what the child is thinking when they are reading. Jotting down their miscues will help the teacher identify which cueing system the student is or is not using in their reading.

I really like the idea of doing RR’s because you can see the progress the student has made throughout the school year. The example of Jasmin's RR was useful because she showed us his RR from the beginning of the school year until the end of the year and you can see the progress he made. In the beginning he was omitting the word "a" when he read a simple book and by December he remembered some high frequency words. Then we see his Running Record at the end of the year and he's reading Chapter books. Using RR's in the classroom will be very beneficial for both the teacher and the student but at the same time it will take up some class time. I think if I (in the future) do a few RR's each day, I'll be able to keep track of my students reading progress.

Sei's Ch. 5 reflection

Chapter 5 Reflection
Taking Records of Children’s Oral Reading

In chapter 5, Taberski discusses running records-the history behind them; how to take them; and the benefits of taking them. This chapter provides a more in-depth explanation of a concept that we have been learning since the first day of class this semester.

It’s important to recognize that running records are not just some practice or ritual that teachers do just for the sake of doing it. Just as the students’ progress in writing is shown through their written work, conducting running records is crucial to tracking the students’ reading progress. Running records help us to do three things: 1) assess if the student is reading a “just right” book; 2) figure out which cueing system(s) is/are being used by the student by analyzing his/her miscues; 3) keep track of student’s progress over time.

I found Taberski’s chart of notations used in running records to be very helpful. While conducting running records with my first grade class at Mililani Waena, I came across a few obstacles. For example, a student would substitute a wrong word and then correct himself. By the time that I’ve made a note on the side stating that it’s a self-correction, I’ve missed a few words that the child has read. Now, I know that I can just put “sc” in a circle next to the substitution and move on. This technique is much more time efficient and accurate. Taberski’s chart also provides notations for incidents in which the students skip and return to the word or ask for help. These are occurrences that I’ve come across before and now I know how to note them in a simple and quick manner. In my opinion, these notations are essential to accurately and efficiently logging students’ reading progress. This way, we can always look back at our records and see that a child in question has a history for asking for help on word or omission of words and we can provide the proper guidance in accordance of their needs.

According to Taberski, “miscues have a logic of their own, conveying children’s understanding of what it means to read.” This is to say that analyzing the miscues of our students helps us to assess how the students are reading and their thought process. Put simply-miscues help us to discover which cueing system(s) is/are being used by our students. I’ve found this to be 100% true. I’ve found that a frequent number of students use the pictures on the pages to infer words that they don’t know. For example, when I read with one of my students this past Thursday, she came across the word “gift”. This particular student has great trouble even knowing the beginning sounds to words and attributing particular sounds to letters (graphophonic cueing system). She came across this word that she didn’t know and she looked down at the picture of a boy giving someone a flower (which is the “gift”) and looked at the word again and read it as “flower”. Although the word “flower” is graphophonically no where similar to “gift”, this child substituted this word because it made sense in the sentence and the picture depicted that of a flower being given. I told this student that the word "flower " does make sense in that particular sentence, but that we should look at the word ("gift") again and see if the letters represent "flower". I sounded the word out for her to show her that it said gift so that she can see me using the graphophonic cueing system.

Now what? What do we do now that we know how to assess which cueing systems are being used by our students? The answer is simple-help them to make use of the other 2 cueing systems that aren’t being used. The three systems used together can make a world of difference.

Leila's Reflection (Ch. 4)

What I learned from reading about chapter four is that reading conferences allow you to learn about the students. You can find out which students need to be reading a variety of genres or what kind of cueing system the students are using. From my running records with fourth grade students, when they come across to an unfamiliar word then they would sound it out. Therefore, you know who is reading fine and who needs a little more help with reading without embrassing them in front of the class. Then you can direct you attention to those students who needs help reading.

These reading conferences does not run by themselves. You need to initiate it in the classroom. Make time in the morning to go around and do a couple here and there. That is what I do in my field placement. I hold off correcting papers to do my running records. You can always correct paper another time in the day but you only have that moment to hear the students read. I go around telling them that I just want to listen to the story they are reading. Casual. Don't make it so that the students feel likes they are being tested on their reading because that isn't the point of running records. After I heard them read, I write down a little note about what I observe about the students' reading on each of their record sheets. For example, are they able to self-corrected themselves? But I don't share these notes with my students. That is what I am guilty of. Sharon's shared in this reading that we should write notes to our students based on how they are doing or what they need to practice next time. From these notes, the students will start to initiate reading conferences with you. I'm going to try this technique with my students and I hope you do to (if you are not doing so right now).

tara's reflection for taberski's ch.5

what i read from chapter five was basically what i learned in one of our previous classes. this chapter was on running records. i didnt really get any new information from reading this chapter just because i learned running records and i pretty much know what to do already. taberski shows you how to take running records with all those symbols and notations she has in that box on page 47 and i found that to be pretty useful because i want to be able to take correct running records. some were kind of confusing but ill learn. so i was thinking when i was reading this chapter on how i know when to progress my students further in levels of reading. i was watching my mentor do it and what i saw her do was tell the student to come read with me for a couple of weeks and then she would look at the running record i would take to see if the student made plenty mistakes and to check if the student could retell the story, then when the couple of weeks were up she would test the student with a book that was the same level the student was on and if the student could retell and had few errors, she would move the student up a level. so im guessing if the student has a 95-100 percent reading accuracy then the book is just right and the child should stay on that book?? i guess it would be up to me to see if the student can handle a book that was one level harder. i guess it would be my judgement. the rest of the chapter was on a student sara who taberski showed what she did when she did her running records. the only thing i think i really need to learn or understand better about is the cueing systems. thats basically all i got from this chapter.

Coby T. Chapter 5 Reflection

In Chapter five Taberski says the two things that Greg has been telling us in class all along. Graphophonics are not the most important aspect of reading and those who say it is are "oversimplifying" and "devaluing" the reading process. The second thing is that for children to learn how to read they need to practice by reading books that are just right for their reading level. Only by reading and experience will they themselves learn how to read.

When I was in elementary school I had to go for tutoring lessons because my reading level was always a grade lower than I was. The private tutor that I had basically read books with me and helped me with my reading homework. When she moved away my mom sent me to Sylvan Learning Center and they taught me how to read using phonics. It was a good experience for me because I could finally read and when I read the text made sense to me. For this reason I always thought phonics were so great.

Now I am being told that phonics are not as important as I once thought they were. As I look back on my experience now I can see that the problem I had was that I thought I had to remember every word's spelling to read as quickly as the other kids. It seems to me that I had a handle on meaning and structure a lot more than I did with graphophonics and learning phonics actually worked in my favor. Either that or after I got better at graphophonics then I got better in meaning and structure. It could be a little bit of both theories.

Taberski's point is that meaning, structure, and graphophonics are equals who have their own place and one should not be lifted up above the others. Experience in reading is the key and the only way for children to gain experience in reading is to read. In the same way the just right books to a reader are like just right weights to a weight lifter. If it is always too light then time is being wasted and if it is too heavy then something can be broken.

The moral of the story is to teach children how to read with "just right" books and teach them to use all of the cuing systems. Well that sounds like a plan.

Jaime S. Ch. 4 Reflection

In Chapter 4, Taberski writes about the importance of conferencing with students. I’m glad she mentioned having conferences with Kindergarteners. As I’ve stated in my Running Records, there are only a few students in my class that can read. It would be hard to hold a conference with Kindergarteners because many of them are still pre-emergent readers. Rather than having a conference with the kindergarteners, it is important for them to know how to handle a book. I’ve worked with ESLL students before and they came to class not knowing how to turn a page properly or that text is read from left to right. I had to start with the basics with the students. I showed them how to turn the page properly and how we can point at the words we’re reading. I do the same thing with the Kindergarteners before I do a shared reading. I show them the book and ask them to tell me about the book. It’s funny because they say it in unison, “That is the front cover, That is the back cover…” I think they learned it from the librarian at Kapalama.

This Chapter also talks about the different genres students should read. Sydnie’s teacher also emphasizes the importance of reading different genres. Every quarter she brings home a genre wheel. The wheel is divided into non-fiction, fiction, fairy tale, and…. something else- I can’t remember (bad mom!) and she chooses the books that fit in that genre and writes the name and title of the book and then we read together.

Getting to Know Your Students, ch. 4

I find that having reading conferences with our students is a great way to understand them in more ways than one. As teachers, we get to learn what our students are interested in while we learn about where they are in reading. Discovering a child's place in a reading world is a difficult task. It's one that is going to require lots and lots of practice. However, Taberski outlines a system that seems within reach.

NO class Monday Feb 12

Aloha 415's:

I think it would be better if I don't meet with you guys tomorrow -- it's 12:30 am so I guess I should say "today". I've got a cold and it's probably better if I don't give it to you. I'm doing a lot of sneezing. I hope you get this message all right. It would be good if you can check on each other to make sure everyone knows.

I will post now on the blog. We can do guided reading during our next class.

Greg

Kendrah Response to C/5

In chapter 5, "Taking Records of Children's Oral Reading", Taberski talks about running records and how they serve as a graphic account of a child's oral reading. Taberski says that running records are an integral part of her teaching because they express what children are doing. For me, I never understood the process and importance of running records until this semester. I think running records are a great way to get to know the student personally and as a reader. I feel that a teacher can learn a lot from sitting down with a student and listening to him/her read. Taberski also explains note taking like Greg did in class. Also, I read that a child needs to read at least 100 words to provide a large enough reading sample to determine how well a student can read a text of comparable difficulty. I've been doing running records and I wasn't aware of the 100 word observation but its a good thing I took the time to listen to each child read until I could make an observation that would determine what he or she needs help on. I've been also practicing the MSV reading process. I'm sort of getting better and making sense of it.
Lastly, the chapter concludes that matching children with books that are appropriate for their stage in reading is crucial. Lately, I've been doing running records and I've having the students read their grade level textbooks. If I see that they are doing well I will suggest they choose a chapter book from the shelf and see how they do with those books because they are supposedly higher level grade books. I'm still in the process of observing the students and seeing how I can help. I find that I am building closer relationships with them. Its a very beneficial process for everyone invloved.

Tara's reflection for taberski's chapter 4

Again from reading chapter 4, taberski says she wants her children to read a variety of genres. I agree as well. I think it will be very beneficial for children to read more than one genre. Most times children are drawn to the fiction world because the stories are interesting and engaging. They are the ones like harry potter or the chronicles of narnia. I was one of those kids who only liked reading the fiction books. I didn’t care to read the non-fiction books I thought they were boring and they didn’t have any surprises, or twists. That’s how I think the children are. They don’t care to read the non-fiction books because they are not interesting. Either that or the children haven’t found a non-fiction topic that interests them yet. That’s why I like how taberski tries to get her students to read a different genre. If she notices that her student is sticking to fiction, she’ll try and get them to read poetry or non-fiction books. The way she wrote it seemed like her children were more than willing to read a different genre. I don’t think that’s the case in every classroom. I don’t think children will be more than willing to change their genre like her class. It might take a bit of persuasion to get them to change their routine and read something else just because like I said, non-fiction books might not be as fun to read as fiction. But I guess that’s a task I need to work on when I get my own classroom.

I also read about the way taberski does her conferences. I think it’s kind of weird that she takes about five kids and puts them on a table and then she does conferences with them. Its like they are standing in line, waiting for her to be done and then its their turn. I like how my mentor does her conferences. She has a working area right at the door and she calls kids up individually so she can really have one-on-one time with them. I think that if kids are around other kids who can hear them read, they won’t read so good because they will get nervous because there are other kids around them who can hear. I think I’m going to adopt my mentor teachers method because it allows my student to be away from the rest of the class. I think it will be more comfortable for the students that way. And the rest of the kids are either reading independently or they’re writing in their journals.

Jess - Ch.4

There is one major concept that I learned from reading this chapter - You have to make time for the students to read. In the class I am in this semester, the students get 15 minutes in the morning to read. By the time the students get into the class and get everything set up to read, the time is over. My mentor has tried to make a few adjustments for me to allow for short reading conferences and running records. I have to be real quick about it if I want to get to more than just 2 students (she has them in pairs taking turns reading to each other). I think it is one of the most valuable tools a teacher can use. The conferences and records give sort of an insight to the way a student takes in information. We are spending all this time as student teachers to learn this craft of reading conferences, we need to make sure we allow the time to do it or it's a waste.

Sei's Chapter 4 Reflection

Chapter 4 Reflection
Reading Conferences: Creating a Context for Assessment

“Teaching must be based on more than a generic, one-size-fits-all program” and that’s one of the basic ideas of holding reading conferences. According to Taberski, “they provide information and inspiration for [our] work and allow [us] to keep [our] finger on the pulse of each child’s reading.” Although reading conferences may take time and practice to perfect, it’s a technique that can turn the academic careers of children around and, therefore, well worth the time and effort.

In chapter 4, Taberski addresses the protocol that she follows for her reading conferences. From how scheduling conferences within the first month differs from that of the rest of the year to teacher-initiated and child-initiated conferences, Taberski addresses all the need-to-knows of reading conferences.

I like what Taberski stated about the distribution of her teaching time: “I don’t give each child in my class equal time, but I try to give each of them what they need.” I couldn’t help but to nod when I read this sentence. Although it may appear unfair to spend more time with one child than with the next, it makes perfectly good sense. Afterall, the fluent readers wouldn’t need as much help and interaction as the emergent and early readers.

I could relate to Taberski 100% when she stated that she conducts running records to make sure that the student is reading a “just right” book and more importantly, for the child to see that he/she is or is not reading a “just right” book. I experienced this yesterday at Mililani Waena. Normally, my mentor teacher doesn’t allow our students to borrow chapter books, but on this day, the librarian told the children that they could borrow chapter books. (my mentor teacher wasn’t present during this period)The students were so excited that they seemed to move up from reading easy picture books to chapter books that without even thinking of their own reading abilities, they all grabbed the nearest chapter book. I didn’t want the children to borrow books that they weren’t able to read and at the same time, I thought that it was wrong for the teacher to restrain the children from reading chapter books. My natural reaction was to tell the children that if they want to borrow chapter books, they have to bring it up to me and read with me for a little while first. I was happy to see that a couple children brought up “just right” books and they were able to read the chapter books. Although some of the other children were disappointed that they couldn’t borrow chapter books, I reassured them that they’d be able to in time with practice, just as Taberski had stated in one of our previous readings.

Taberski reiterates the importance of children reading a vast variety of genres in this chapter. Our duty as educators is to make sure that children are given the challenge of reading information text along with the less challenging fictional stories. Although poetry and non-fictional text may be harder to read, children can learn to enjoy reading them, provided they are given the right guidance in choosing appropriate books. Taberski also states that it’s helpful to keep children reading a range of material within a genre because “there’s so much literature out there-so many authors with diverse styles, writing about so many interesting characters and time periods.”

Macey's ch. 4 reflection

Chapter 4 of the text goes into more detail about reading conferences and the way the Taberski runs them. There were a couple of things that I liked about the way she holds conferences. Once again, she tells her ideas that make the conferences run smoother, and thus save more time.

I liked how the chapter talked about students who request conferences and some of the reasons why they may request conferences. I guess at first, I got the impression that the students just wanted to show off their reading, but it makes sense that sometimes they want a conference to change some of the books in their book bag. Also, it talks about how students may request a conference simply because they were following the directions on the note.

That leads to the next thing I thought was a good idea, which is writing a note to each student at the end of each conference. I like this idea because it gives students something to work for and it helps the teacher keep track of conferences. I also think it’s a good idea for teachers to draw pictures on the notes for emerging readers.

I have not had a chance to try out this technique yet, and I think I am a bit hesitant to try it with my fifth grade class, only because it is probably something they never experienced before. It’s new to me as well, and probably Mel probably hasn’t done it before either. I wish I had learned more about this last semester when I used to listen to the kids read almost every day I was there.

Macey's ch. 3 reflection

In chapter three of the text, I noted a few of the things I found interesting. The chapter talked about the setup of the classroom. I thought this was a good topic because it is something I haven’t given much thought. Yet, it is something that is crucial to the success of any classroom.

The first thing I liked about the chapter was the pots of books idea. Last semester I was in a classroom where the teacher had reading conferences daily. Each child had a chart that showed which level they were on. Taberski says that pots can be labeled with colors so that you, as a teacher, know what level they are, but the students don’t know which color corresponds to which level. I love this idea because it can help to keep the students’ self-esteem up. I noticed that in the classroom I was in, some of the students would say, “I’m only on level 3.” On the other hand, some of the more advanced students would say things like, “Oh, you’re only on level 3? I’m already on 9.”

Another idea I liked is to have conferences in the same place each day rather than walk around the room to each student. I think it is a good method and I have seen my previous mentor use it. Also, Taberski says that materials should be kept in trays in areas where you’ll need them. This also saves time. I like this idea not only for reading, but for anything you teach. I have heard teachers say so many times that there isn’t enough time in a day, or in a school year. That’s why it is so important to save time wherever possible.

One question I came up with while I was reading is related to time. In the text, the literacy block (reading and writing conferences) run from 8:40 to 11:20 in the morning. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I have not yet seen a classroom where so much time could be dedicated to one subject. As I said earlier, there is not enough time in the day. It would be nice, but if we ran our conferences this long, it would take up half the day. Would it be okay to alternate between reading and writing conferences each day, or would you recommend doing both daily, but maybe for shorter periods?

Macey's ch. 2 reflection

In chapter two of the text, I learned a lot about each type of reader: early, transitional, and fluent. I learned about what each type of reader looks like and what kind of text they should be reading.

Although this was a good introduction to the types of readers, I know that I would still need practice in distinguishing one from the other, especially transitional and fluent. I liked the fact that the chapter broke the readers into sections and in each section listed the characteristics of a level-appropriate book. I know this topic comes up later in the book, but I am curious to learn more about assigning books to appropriate levels. There are so many different levels of readers in any classroom, so there will be lots of levels of books. I would like to know how to classify each book.

Macey's ch. 1 reflection

The first chapter in “On Solid Ground” was kind of interesting to me because I could relate what it talked about to what I observed in my first semester of field experience. I was working with the first grade, so they were right at the time where they are learning a lot of phonics and learning to read.

In one section, the chapter talks about the way that children can look at a story and may be able to read it because they can try to figure out what makes sense. I noticed when the students read to me that a lot of them would look at the pictures or try to think about what the word could be even before trying to sound it out. It is true that they may be able to read a story but not be able to read single words out of context.

One thing I was a bit unsure of was the part about learning through analogy. While I was in the classroom, I often tried to get my students to understand that if “c-a-t” spells “cat, then “r-a-t” spells “rat.” This was a very difficult concept for them to understand and I couldn’t think of a way to teach it to them. We used books that focused on one suffix. Still, the students had trouble grasping the idea. The book says that students ages five, six, and seven should be able to do this. I agree that some students should, but I’m not sure if students figure this out on their own eventually or if they need to be taught.

This chapter was a good one to start with because it got my attention. I was able to think about what I saw in the classroom, and then apply that to what I was reading

Speeding Records

For those of you working with Kindergarten, I must really commend your hard work. Doing a running record is a fairly easy process to do, but if a child is struggling to make sense of the words he/she is trying to read can pose as more of a problem than someone who can read but misses a few words here and there. For one thing, now you must think critically about how to help the child to say the words (not that you wouldn't for any other-aged child). Secondly, now you must think of back up plans for back up plans when your idea doesn't work. As for me, I am experiencing something much more different. So far in my fifth-grade class, the students that I've done running records with have been pretty darn good readers. The challenge for me is to find something that can be done better. Whether it be in the student's reading or my own style of a running record.
An actual problem that I did come across is when a child was reading to fast. It was so fast that when there was a mistake I didn't know if I should stop and write down the error or to continue along. I was thinking if I stop and write the word that was mispronounced, I'm going to lose the child's place in the reading. So, I tried to just remember what the student read, but it happened about three or four times and I wasn't going to remember everything. When I asked Greg about it, he said to just write the word and try and catch up. That's what I'll be doing next time. One thing that I got out of this experience is that we all including myself have got to remember that this is our first time doing anything like this.

Chelsea's Reflection (Ch. 4, On Solid Ground)

Chapter 4 of On Solid Ground is very informative. Like I might
have mentioned before, I really enjoy reading Sharon Taberski's book
because she seems to always get straight to the point, and her book
is an easy reader or should I say "just right" book for me. I honestly
want to try running records and reading conferences one day with my
own kids. I am able to practice now in my mentor's classroom, but
the reading conferences won't be the same as holding conferences
with kids in my own classroom with all the freedom to do what I want
to. I know the pressure of having to cover all the standards and getting
ready for testing might take up some class time, but I want to try my
best to fit those conferences in. I think it would be good for the kids in
learning how to read. I really want them to get involved in reading and
enjoying it. Depending on the age group I will be assigned to teach, I
am thinking about doing read alouds every morning to start the day off.
I think it'll be fun.
Sharon Taberski has a great way of managing her students in the
classroom while she holds her reading conferences with only a few
students at a time. She appears to know exactly what she's doing and is
making great progress with most of her students. I thought it was so
touching that one of her students she helped with reading had written
her a thank you letter. That's something so great and rewarding. A
child sincerely thanking their teacher for what he/she may have done for
the student can definitely brighten any teacher's day. I know it would
brighten my day because it would tell me that I am doing a decent job in
teaching the kids.

Leila's Reflection on Ch. 3

I really like how Sharon set up her classroom. I agreed with the comments that she received about it from other people. It looks more like a library. I think that it is a good idea to have it set up that way compared to a traditional classroom because it sets the whole reading environment. Although it maybe informal but each place in the classroom serves a purpose. She has a place where conferences were held, a read-along listening center, meeting area, etc. I would like to create my future classroom environment similiar to the one that Sharon had created.

When I read the part about "the way I organize my day [...] can eithere "make or break" my efforts to work effectively with children, I thought about how true that statement is. My last semester mentor teacher is kind of disorganization and it was hard to make it through the day trying to keep the students on task as well as the teacher. Often students were instructed to stay in for recess to finish their work. Compared to this semester, my mentor teacher is really organized and I see the difference. The day goes by smoothly and effeciently.

Lehua's Chapter 4 Reflection

Orchestrating the Conferences

Taberski talks a lot about the organization of the conferences in this chapter. I think that she's right when she prepares for an effective conference by asking the child why he or she wanted to meet with her or the other way around. It ensures that they are being efficient and productive in the meeting. However, during the end of the chapter, she explains her procedure during her conferences and silent reading time. She says that she has the students rotate on the table, with her at the head, and they meet with her one on one. I'm not sure how that wouldn't disrupt the concentration and the mood of the reading workshops for those who hear constant moving. I think that Greg's way of walking around the room doesn't disrupt the other students because he kneels down next to them and they don't have to move. I haven't ever experienced this technique, but I think that the way we do it in our lit class is more effective. If I had to get up and move with my book or computer, I would get off tracked. That's just me though...

Lehua's Comment on Coby's Ch 4 blog

Hey Coby!

Great job on your reflection. I agree with you and Taberski that books - especially in elementary school - need to be age appropriate. If a student reads something about "a love triangle" like you said, they may go home and tell their parents that the teacher provided books that are too mature for them. Just like we talked about in class today, books and lessons need to be age and topic appropriate.

Lehua

Coby's Response to Taberski's Chapter Four

In chapter four of her book, On Solid Ground, Sharon Taberski talks about helping children to choose books that are appropriate for them. She says that sometimes seven or eight year olds may have the ability to read young adult novels but they do not have the maturity to do so. It would be inappropriate to have them reading about a love triangle or something else that they would not yet understand. To remedy this problem Taberski suggests that teachers offer factual genres to such students like poetry, newspaper articles, and journal articles. Factual information has less text and more pictures but the vocabulary is harder than fictional texts and will challenge those children who are ahead in reading.

I never thought of the fact that although some children are able to read books they still should not because they do not have the maturity to do so. I knew that it was important to introduce factual material to children but I never thought of offering it as a substitute for inappropriate fictions. Those two things sound like good ideas that I would like to keep in mind and possibly implement when I have my own classroom.

jaimie k's reflection to taberski ch. 2...

It’s always interesting to learn how others view things. Sharon Taberski has some really neat and easily understandable ways of explaining her thoughts on reading. I thought the section about Motivating Children to Love to Read was great. I love the metaphor she used in the second paragraph about reading and baseball. She said, “Imagine making your child work at the batting station until he got really good, and only then letting him enjoy the excitement of playing in the game!” (page 12). It’s so true! Why did we ever think that we can’t let children read what they want to read? If they want to read a book that’s too hard or too easy then we should let them. We should just be happy with the fact that they want to read in the first place, not what they read.

But if that’s what we want, to let students read what ever books they want to, then why do we label the books and the students by reading levels? When we identify students with reading labels, they are in a sense “restricted.” They have to “pass” the level they’re on before they can move on to the next. By doing this, aren’t we limiting the students to what they’re allowed to read? In a sense aren’t we telling them where they should and should not be? A lot of teachers give goals for their students, saying that by the end of the quarter they should be up to level __. So they have to keep reading the books in those levels until they reach the “goal.” That’s not allowing them to read what ever they want. Why can’t we not label anything, the books and the students, and just let them read? Throughout the year, we can just help them improve their reading. When doing running records with them, we can still “suggest” books for them, but the students won’t know if they or any of their classmates are behind or ahead of them in reading. Then no one will feel ashamed.

Jess - Chapter 3 and running records

Ok, so this week I got to do maybe 3 running records. Out of the 3 that I read with, I found 2 that I would like to read with again. Hopefully I will get the chance.

I really like our text for this semester. I have found a lot of useful ideas that I would like to try in my classroom.

"How I set up my classroom, the way I organize my day, and the materials I provide can either 'make or break' my efforts to work effectively with children" This statement is so true. How much of a teacher's time is spent looking for their materials? How many teachers stumble over legs of chairs trying to get to their students? I was in a classroom last semester where the teacher was never sure of where she put stuff. She used a lot of time looking for worksheets she was having the students do or reading assessments that she needed done. The way the class was set up was not easy to navigate. The students were close together and hard to get too. The class I am in this semester is not that bad. In fact, this very book is on her bookshelf. Whether she read it or not is a different story. I do not think that I will have this problem in my classroom. I cannot function if I am not organized. I just feel lost. I do not know if I would do away with the chairs or desks, depends on the grade, but I do like the ideas she puts forth in this chapter. This looks like a book that I will be keeping for future reference.

Kieu- Chapter 2 and 3

Chapter 2
The two important points I understood from this chapter were that children should: a) love to read and b) read different genres. I think we, teachers and future teachers alike, often take the fun out of reading for children. We stress the importance of being able to read well and we tell them just how well or poorly they read by offering labels such as ME, MP, N, or U. For the child who always receives the ME grade, would that not impede him from wanting to continue to read and to develop? Then for that child who just cannot read on the same grade level as his peers, are we not discouraging him from reading more? Not to mention the fact that many classes read the same book. The students have no control over what they read, so reading becomes associated with meaningless tasks. In order for students to widen their range of reading genres, they first must want to pick up a book to read. Only then can we encourage them to try new kinds of books.


Chapter 3
Mrs. Taberski refers to her classroom as the place she and her students live from 8:40 to 3:00. This is true. Children spend half of their waking lives in the classroom, so making it as comfortable as possible is important. I used to work as an A+ leader and of course, study hall time was my favorite part of the afternoon because I had the chance to work with my kids academically. Each group was assigned a classroom that we could use, complete with desks and all that great stuff. But I found that the students were able to work better when they sat outside on the patio or in the grass. Personally, I need a desk to work, but they loved sitting on the floor. Everyday, they would beg to stay outside. Tradition tells us to use chairs and desks because it is believed to be the best setting for students to learn, but I think not. Desks can often be restraining and just plain uncomfortable.

Kendrah's Response to Jamie's Running Record Experience

I liked reading about Jamie's running record experience with her kindergarten student. I was in a kindergarten class last semester but I never knew about running records. I remember the children in my field experience classroom always wanted me to read to them and not many of them knew how to read. I would do many shared readings with the students of books that had a lot of repetition. I think Jamie had a good idea of doing a reading record with a good reader and practicing one on one matching with all the other students.

Kendrah's C/4 Reflection

As I was reading chapter 4 I came across a the section "helping children select a range of book in a particular genre" and I found it interesting. I recently did a running record with a boy in my field experience classroom who mentioned that he had read almost all of the "Arthur" books and his book was the last series. Taberski gave a scenario about Joan and how she enjoyed reading books from a certain collection. Taberski said that it is important to introduce other chapter books as well because the child might enjoy it as much as the books they like to read. When the boy had told me that he had read almost all of the Arthur book collection it never cross my mind to recommend him to read a variety of genres because it seemed like he was really into it. I realize that I should help him broaden his horizon and encourage him to read the many literature out there. Like Taberski I find it very effective to use running records and conferences. I'm learning more about children and how I can help in the child's learning process as well how I can be a better teacher.

Coby's Reflection of Chapter Three

In chapter three of her book, On Solid Ground, Sharon Taberski says that if we want children to respond to books in deep and meaningful ways we need to provide tools, opportunities, and demonstrations of what we expect. This is a very good point that Taberski brings up. Children need tools and opportunities but what people forget is that children are not born with the ability to be reflective readers, they have to learn how to be. There is a very big difference between telling someone what is expected of them and showing someone what is expected of them. I remember when I was in elementary school and my teachers would tell me to do something, show me an example of what they wanted, and leave me with a lot of confusion. I would end up turning in something they did not want and getting repremanded.

I like the way Greg speaks when he write so that his students can understand what he is thinking and the same thing should work with reading. We need to let children hear what we are thinking when we read so that when they read they can keep their eyes and ears open for the kinds of things that we keep our eyes and ears open for. When given many opportunities in class (because most inexperienced readers do not read at home for fun) children can practice looking and thinking over and over again until they get good at it and understand what their teacher was talking about.

Christina L. Ch.1&2

Christina Lim
ITE 314
CHAPTER 2

After reading Chapter 2: Defining Your Goals, I learned how important it is for teachers to have clear, set goals for each of their students and their individual needs, in order to make the reading process a successful one for everyone involved. Taberski does, however, make sure that her goals are realistic and achievable, which I believe is also necessary if someone is to strive to complete their list of goals. It is critical that teachers not make a list of goals that we are insure that we can finish because, if we set out standards of achievement too high, we set ourselves up for failure; failure from ourselves, but even worse, failure to our students.
Taberski also stresses the importance of encouraging students to read in a range of genres, especially poetry and factual genres. She makes a good point about how we, as adults read mostly factual texts and information, so it is important that we immerse our students in these types of genres from an early age, so they can become familiarized with these types of text and feel comfortable reading it throughout their young lives.
I like how Taberski breaks up each child’s stage of reading down to make them more understandable for beginners like me. Each stage shows what type of reader fits into each category, as well as, examples of reading comprehension at the different reading levels. It is the responsibility of teachers to map out and identify each child’s reading and comprehension levels, in order for them to accurately come up with strategies that will help their students achieve the individual goals that the teacher has set for them.

Christina L. Ch. 1&2

Christina Lim
ITE 314

CHAPTER 1

As I read the Introduction of this book, something struck me right from the start.
I really connected to Taberski’s p.o.v. on how teaching children to read is about how all of the parts of our teaching strategies need to work together in order to effectively teach reading. Chapter 1 was very insightful and useful for me. I agree that in order for children to actively want to engage in the reading process, they must begin by reading text that is in some form significant to their experiences in life. As Taberski stated: “Children to expect ext to make sense”, as well as, “Children use what they know about words to learn new ones” (Goswami, 5). This is why I believe that when we, as teachers first introduce literature to our students, we must first get to know each of them as individuals. After we accomplish this, we will be more equipped to more accurately choose what types of literature our students would be interested in; which would probably make the learning process easier for the child because of his or her prior knowledge of the subject. By using their prior knowledge, they will be better equipped to figure words out by using the three cueing systems as a tool to aid in their learning process.
When I read the portion of the chapter about how children sometimes associate the letter in their name with the sounds the letters represent, I thought of something I just did in my mentor teacher’s class today. This morning our class was working in their journals, and a boy asked me for help with spelling the word “truck”. He had gotten the letters “t, r, and u”, but couldn’t’ get the “k” sound, since they are still learning to spell, I didn’t stress the “c” letter in “truck”. I first asked him, “What does ‘k’ sound like?” he didn’t really know, so I looked down at his nametag and pointed out the first letter of his name. I asked him what letter that was, and what sound it made, he replied with “k”, then a flash went off in his head, and he said hesitantly, “k?” He used his prior knowledge of his own name, and that it sounded just like the “k” in “truck”.
I also agree with Taberski about her belief that it is critical that children are allowed daily extended periods of time to foster the relationship between the child and his/her reading skills. There are so many teachers who have so many other obligations and deadlines to meet that reading time is pushed off to the corner, but we all need to try our best to take some time, even if only a little, to help our students build this lifelong relationship with reading.

Megan's Chapter 3 Reflection

I enjoyed all of the organizational tips given in this chapter. I think it is very helpful in explaining how a teacher can best use all of the space in her classroom to benefit her students’ learning opportunities. The organizational tips were also very helpful. The best part of this chapter for me were the examples of student reading logs. Not only can they be helpful to the teacher by keeping track of where each individual student is in her reading, but I think they are also excellent self-assessment tools. I hope to integrate both meaningful organization and reading logs in my future classroom.

Kendrah's C/3 Reflection

In chapter 3, Taberski describes her homey classroom environment. I really enjoyed reading about how she changed her classroom to make it a comfortable environment for everyone. What surprised me was that she didn't have a teacher's desk. As I read on she said it portrayed a "bigger person" image and I never thought about it like that. Taberski also stated that the students didn't have individual desks or chairs either. When I turned the page I came across a picture of her classroom setup. I found that I liked it because the main area for instruction looked like the meeting area and she has stations setup all around the classroom. The stations seem to have a more homey feel than usual classrooms do. Also, it seems like children can get more invovled in what they need to do. For example, the reading area in Taberski's classroom has carpet, chairs, baskets full of books and more. When compared to my previous field experience classroom, there was not much room for those things. So, in a way Taberski's idea of having no individual desks is understandable. It makes sense that children need to be in a comfortable environment to focus their attention. If I was a child I would want to be in this sort of environment and I think Taberski really put herself into the students position. Taberski concludes that our classroom should reflect our goals and I agree.

Carol's Reflection on Taberski, Chapter 3

I would love my life to be as organized as Taberski's classroom and routine. Every element has a purpose and works toward accomplishing goals that have been set. Could I picture my kindergarten class doing well in this environment? I'm thinking of the easily distracted, the reluctant readers, and the ones that need to be moving around and playing. Although I may reach the diverse learners during individual conferences, it would be a challenge for me to assure that they are on task reading after they leave me or that they would focus during a 30 minute whole-group meeting. I would be very curious to see how Taberski introduces her nontraditional approach at the beginning of the school year and how the types of students mentioned above adapt to being responsible for independent learning within the daily routine.

Kendrah's Running Record Experience

My running record experiences have gone fairly well. I've been focusing on a girl in my 4th grade field experience classroom. My mentor teacher recommended that I read with her because she's been having difficulty with reading. She actually works with a reading tutor. Before we started, I explained why I was going to listen to her read and that it was homework for me. She smiled and said okay. She had gotten her book from her bag. I noticed that she had been reading her book because she was far into it. I asked her if her book was easy, just right, or hard and she said that it was hard for her. So, I asked her to read for me a little. I noticed that she had trouble with words. I told her quite a few. I thought her structure in reading was good but she also didn't use structure at other times. When she was done reading I asked her "what do you do when you get stuck on a word?" and she said she didn't know. I noticed that she would try and sound it out and if she wasn't sure she would look up at me for help. Also, when I asked her to retell what she read she had no idea as to what she had been reading. I believe she can read well but she cannot find meaning in the text. I conducted another running record with her with a class textbook. She could only retell the story a little but I think because her and her class had previously read the story together. I asked her if it was hard and she said just a little. I'm still trying to get to know her and have her feel comfortable with me but she seems to have a lot of potential. Next time I read with her I will definitely help her find a book that is "just right" and I'm going to suggest for her to hold a mini dictionary with her so that when she gets stuck on a word she can look it up. My mom would always tell me to look up a word if I didn't understand it and I've found that it's very helpful. Overall, I think running records are very beneficial and they help a teacher to get to know a student better.

tara's reflection for taberski's ch. 3

When I saw the layout of Taberski's classroom, the first thing that came to mind was, "where are all the children's desks?!?" At first the idea was kind of shocking since I have never seen a classroom where there weren't any desks. But I guess if it makes Taberski and her students feel equal and comfortable then it's okay. But for me personally, I would like to have desks in my classroom. I'm a traditional person I guess you can say. I dont think I can function if there isnt any student desks in my classroom. I was kind of wondering when I was reading this chapter how Taberski's students do their work?? Do they do it on the floor?? I dont know if I missed the part where she mentioned anything about where her students do their work but that was the part that concerned me. I dont think I would like to have my students do their work on the floor. Her room does seem very reader friendly though. The layout of it looks like there's books every where. I was taking notes of the layout of my mentor teacher's room from last semester. My mentor teacher has two sections of her room that have books. The section nearest to the windows is a small library equipped with a little couch. It basically looks like a little room and I thought that was neat. Its like the children can get away from the rest of the class and be in their own world in the little library. The other section is near her work area by the door. Those books are leveled and the kids know every morning that they come in, take out their reading folders and grab a book (at their level) to take home to read to their parents. Then they can take out their independent reading folders and change books if need to. Its cute because they all know what level they are at and they just go and do it. My mentor teacher or I didnt have to remind them. The kids already were learning to be independent and I liked that.

Chelsea's Reflection (Ch.3, On Solid Ground)

I really enjoyed reading Chapter 3. The teacher who does all these things
in her classroom is amazing. I like her point of view on teaching. She
involves her students much into reading. I especially like the way her
classroom is set up. It is definitely very home-like. The children must
feel comfortable in her classroom with all the sofas, rugs, plants, rocking
chair, and book shelves. For some students, it may remind them of their
own home. I wonder how her students concentrate not having real desks
of their own and sitting on the floor. I like this idea, but for me I would
have a hard time trying to do all my work by sitting on the floor. I am
more focused when I am sitting on a chair with a nice sized table for me
to work on. It makes me feel more organized. With students sitting on
the floor, they might not be able to sit straight all the time and may tend
to slouch because they don't have any back support. I don't think I would
want my children sitting on the floor, but I really like her ideas about
setting up her classroom. I want to have floor rugs, book shelves, plants,
and maybe even a class pet. It's also great that she gets all her supplies
for her students before they come to school and has the parents reimburse
her after so that she can get started on her class routines the first day of
school. I'm sure she finds cheap enough supplies that it saves the parents
time in having to go out and buy the supplies themselves. I also like this
idea because every student has the exact same thing and makes everything
better organized. Most of the ideas this teachers has are great ideas.
They're good to keep into consideration for my own classroom one day. I
have some ideas of my own in setting up my classroom and can't wait to
try them out when that day comes. Hopefully everything will work out
just-right.

Jaime- Running Records w/Kindergarteners

I also decided to write about my Running Record experience with my Kindergarten students. There are a few students in my class that can read. I’d say out of the 22 students, 4 girls and 1 boy can read fairly well in comparison to the other students. My mentor was very supportive when I told her I had to do 20 running records. She announced to the class that I’d be pulling them one by one so I could listen to them read. I decided to do make my work easy by doing a running record with one of the good readers. I chose to do my running record with a girl because I noticed she enjoyed stayed in the classroom. There were times when she’d go out to recess and then she’d come back inside and draw pictures or look at a book. So when the recess bell rang on Thursday, I asked her if she wanted to read to me and she was pretty happy about it.

The first thing I did wrong was that I chose the book for her. I realized after that I should’ve let her choose the book so that she would have ownership of the book. The book I chose for her the first time was very easy for her. She got every word correct and so I asked her to tell me if she thought the book was easy, just right, or hard. Of course she said, “Easy.” Then I grabbed more books from a box and just lay them on the table. I let her choose the book this time and she did pretty well again. I noticed she was using a lot of visual because if she got stuck on a word, she would look at the picture. I think next week I'll be doing more one to one matching instead of Running Records because I don't think the other 17 students will be able to read the 'Easy' books.

Sei's Chapter 3 reflection

Creating a Purposeful Environment and Daily Schedule
Chapter 3 Reflection

In this chapter, Taberski does everything possible, but actually teach the students for us. She discusses the best possible way to arrange our classrooms and the purposes of those arrangements. Her reasons as to why she focuses on a comfortable teaching/learning environment are highly reasonable and logical. It’s great to know that a purposeful environment gives us more time and effort to be spent on what truly matters-the children.

It’s interesting that Taberski’s classroom layout doesn’t contain individual student’s desks. The concept is highly radical, considering desks are highly associated with learning and studying, but her logic to this idea is very reasonable and couldn’t make more sense. “Having children store their materials like this, instead of in desks, which can become terribly messy and unmanageable, enables them to direct less attention to materials and more time to learning.” I agree with her statement because I’ve seen it happen in my first grade class at Mililani Waena. I can confidently say that there have been several incidents thus far in which students have been instructed to stop doing their work and clean out their “tool box” on their desk because the mess is distracting them from doing their work efficiently. Although I do see the logistics of this concept, I wonder if there are any long-term negative effects. One that I’m thinking about in particular is that of poor organization skills. With children not having their own individual space to account for, I’m wondering if that would lower their abilities to organize and keep tidy in the future.

“Show, don’t tell”. Yes, that’s right. Teachers should show, not just tell with words. I like Taberski’s “Chart Wall and Word Wall”. The importance of displaying children’s artwork has always been emphasized, but displaying words and charts are also highly important. This way, children always have something to refer to and that will positively enhance their learning experience.

Running Record Response for Lehua

Well, I decided to reflect on my running record experiences rather than the chapter 3 response because I want to share what it was like from my perspective to do RRs with kindergarten students at Kapalama elem. At first, I thought that it would be impossible to do a RR with kindergarteners. However, Greg told me that they need one to one matching first. The one to one matching would therefore BE my running records. It's definitely challenging even to do RRs when it requires one to one matching. Like I said in our seminar, a few of the students are ESLL or come from the mainland where they have to still get adjusted to their new school.

First of all, one thing that surprised me was that they weren't trying to sound it out. I'd have to often say the sound of the first letter for them. Also, a lot of the students were noticing that I was taking notes with their name at the tops and it made them nervous. I had to remind some of them to look at the paper in order to read! I understand that at this level, they aren't totally familiar with letters and the sounds of letters but this grade is definitely on different levels. It was also hard to do with a bunch of students (I was reading them a one page booklet on Groundhog Day.) Well, good luck to the rest of you and I hope that you are going to get a lot out of the RRs!