Macey's Reflections

Alright...so if you guys are slackers, I am the ULTIMATE slacker!!!

Chapter 5

This chapter talks about keeping records of children's reading by using running records. Last semester I saw my teacher use this, but I never did find out exactly what she was doing. I think it's a great tool because it shows the students as they progress in their reading. I like the fact that there is a set of symbols teachers can use when they do running records. It helps so that teachers can look for a pattern of errors in their students reading. This can help teachers to determine which of the three cueing systems the student is missing. This semester I have actually got to try doing running records. I wasn't really able to use any of the information I gathered, because I learned that you need to have the students read consistently. So much time would pass between one reading to the next, and I tried running records with a number of students because the students in the fifth grade don't read very much.

Chapter 6

This chapter talks about retelling and having reading discussions with students. I like that the book has a step-by-step list of the procedures that teachers can use to ask a child to retell the text. The book says that it's important that you tell the student what you expect in a retelling. They should know that all you want are the main ideas, and not a retelling of the entire story. I think that students sometimes don't realize what you're asking of them. I thought it was interesting to read about using the running records to determine why the student may be having trouble retelling the story. The students in my class really didn't have trouble retelling me what the story was about. Only a few times, I noticed it was hard for them, but I read in the book that if the student is just beginning a new book, you should let them read a few chapters first. This is helpful to know because it really is hard to retell when you haven't really read much.

Chapter 7

Wow! This chapter was full of information. The thing I liked most about this chapter was how Taberski lists her goals and how read alouds and shared readings support them. I agree with her goals, and I think I may adapt them into my own goals. The one I liked most was the one that says she wants her children to love to read. I think this is so important because a child who loves to read will read. Someone like me who never learned to love reading will not read a lot. I need to be forced to read. I think my "dislove" for reading sort of cripples me, in the sense that I don't learn as much as I can and I don't develop my reading and vocabulary skills. So, because of my disinterst in reading, I appreciate the fact that Taberski lists some of the strategies she shares with her class during a read aloud.

Chapter 8

This chapter goes over what guided reading is and how to administer guided reading in a classroom. I think the planning sheets are an excellent idea because it lets the teacher see and compare the reading ablities of their students. This allows the teacher to break the students up into groups based on their reading level. You might have emergent, early, transitional, and fluent groups. I like how Taberski gives some tips on how to choose a book. One thing she talks about is that the book must be worth reading. I think this is so important. It is true that the book must be interesting and motivate students to read more. Reading all of this about how important it is to get students to be interested in reading makes me wonder if it would have worked for me. I wish that I could be a student now so that I could gain an interest in reading.

Chapter 9

This chapter talks about something I have never heard of before: Word study groups. It is an interesting idea, and I think it sounds like on that is worth trying. It is working informally with small groups of students on words. I actually think this idea is great because teachers don't get to spend enough time with their students on words. I expecially like that this chaper talks about some activities you can use with your students, such as clapping syllables. This helps students to undersatnd that the syllables can be broken up and they can look for spelling patterns by finding syllables. I also like the word wall that is broken up into charts based on their suffixes. In my classroom last semester, the words were all just placed on charts, and the students didn't know where to look for them.

Chapter 10

This book talks about the importance of reading one on one. I think it is extremely important that students be given time to read to their teacher one one one. Last semester, the students used to read to me the two days I was there. I think it would have helped if I had read this before going into the class, but I did do the things mentioned in the book. I did always start with something positive about the students' reading. I was always sure to find something good to say, such as, "wow, look at how many pages you read." I think it is important to give the children honest feedback. They need to know what they're not doing correctly so that they know what to practice. I did this with my students in a way. I would set them a goal. I would say, "When you read to me tomorrow, see if you can pause at the periods." Or, "Let's see if you can try use one of your strategies to figure out the words you don't know." And, every night, the students would take home a book to read and bring it back the next day to read to me. I think the children enjoyed it because they had a goal, and they were so excited when I would give them positive feedback and something to strive for.

Chapter 11

This chapter is about matching children with books for independent reading. I think this is one of the things that most worries me about teaching reading. I wish that I could have had more practice in helping choose books that were appropriate for each student. I noticed that my mentor last semester had books in baskets with numbers. The lowest level of difficulty was in the first basket, and it progressed till about 15 baskets. Sometimes, as the students read to me, I wasn't sure that the level was right for them. I would notice that one day the book was just right, and sometimes it was easy or hard. I wondered how the teacher matched books for each reading level. I learned from the chapter that a number of things are factors in finiding a just right book. For example, ididn't know that consistency of text placement was a factor. I know that there is a lot that goes into chosing a just right book, but I feel more confident now that I have read some of the things to look for.

Chapter 12

This chapter talks more about independent reading. I agree that independent reading is very important in developing chidren's reading skills. I noticed that there are some things to consider when having independent reading time. When I was in my classroom last semester, I don't think I saw any of these things, which was why I always thought their independent reading was a waste of time. The students didn't know what was expected of them except that they needed to be in their seats. The environment was kind of busy, as it was in the morning, while some students were just arriving, and the teacher was collecting homework assignments. The children read any kind of book the wanted. The reading time was only for about ten or fifteen mintues, which I think is a bit short, because it takes them half the time just to find a book. I think I will be better prepared for independent reading in my classroom now that I know a little about what I should do during their sessions.

Chapter 13

This chapter talks about responses to readings. I think it's great that teachers have their students do oral and written responses. I especially like the idea that students should have response sheets and notebooks. It also helps that Taberski gives some ideas of what students can write about in their responses. Some examples she gives are favorite parts, relating the book to your life, summarizing the book, and relating the book to another book. I think that these are all good ideas for responses. It helps the students to think about what they read and then think about how they want to convey what they read to answer the questions in their response.