Creating Fluent Readers through Endurance

Fluency is defined by four major components: accuracy, rate or speed, prosody, and comprehension--but one very important concept is left out in much research about fluency: endurance.  What I gathered from the One-Minute-Measures was that they seem to be very similar to standardized testing, which is a controversial topic in the education arena today, but if it is used correctly it can create huge results and can be very beneficial to a teacher.  The article emphasized, it is extremely important for us as teachers to understand WHY students are not fluent readers.  What I found most interesting about the "One Minute Measure" article was the assessment of endurance.  After all, endurance is something that we are all familiar with and I think it is also something that many elementary students could relate to, especially considering that reading is something very new to many of them, and getting the hang of it will take much patience and endurance.  Some suggestions for incorporating fluency and endurance were increasing atomicity, decreasing readability levels, reading interesting texts, increasing reading volume, increasing expectations, rereading books, and increasing involvement of parents and caregivers.

 Fluency has been proven to be a major factor in student reading success.  The second article emphasized the importance of students hearing what fluent reading sounds like.  I think that one of the most difficult things about becoming a teacher is remembering that reading fluency is something that is learned, and as teachers it is our responsibility to equip students with the proper skills to learn to read fluently and be comfortable in a reading environment.  Both articles suggest that teachers use assisted reading and repeated reading.  How do you think a class would respond to reading the same book over and over? A few weeks ago I observed a classroom where repeated reading was implemented and the students became bored of the book and they were very reluctant to pay attention and follow along.  Can you think of any way that you could make repeated reading fun while also improving students reading fluency?          

Out with the Old and in with the New

Doing away with the traditional style of learning to read by having a "letter of the week" may seem like a difficult task for many longtime teachers, however the benefits that come from this technique can create lasting advantages for students learning to read.  I have often pondered on how to approach teaching students how to read.  In the article on the first day of school the teacher asked the students if they knew how to read, no one raised their hand.  After holding up some things they have been exposed to in every day life such as restaurant logos and movies and asking the question again, the whole class raised their hands saying that they could read!  I think the idea of creating an alphabet board with the students pictures under the letters to allow for the students to relate the letters something is an awesome idea and it is definitely something that I would like to incorporate in my class room one day. Can you think of any other methods that might useful in a classroom of students who are just learning to read?

The second article details on a myriad of topics, one I found interesting is the great changes that the education system is facing today, where there is such a difference between levels of knowledge.  For example, students who have been in preschool are much more likely to be more advanced than the students who have not been exposed to other children in a classroom setting. I currently teach a class at my church and I am faced with students who are high achieving as well as low achieving, and it is a huge challenge to assure that both types of children get equal opportunities to learn and grow.How do you think a teacher could face such diversities and still give all of the students an equal opportunity to learn?

As future teachers, we must remember that we should always have a good knowledge base of reading theory and practice because it is ever changing and most of all, we must be patient with our students, after all, "reading is not dancing on top of words.  It is grasping the soul of them," and as teachers this can be a very difficult and time consuming task, however at educators of the future it is our duty to inspire our future students and this can begin with a good foundation in reading.

Creating a Legacy Through Reading

The Jones Family's Culture of Literacy  was a very interesting piece of work.  It emphasizes the importance of encouraging reading through mediums other than school, such as promotion of reading through family.  The Jones family culture and traditions on emphasizing the importance of reading are a perfect example of how a family should go about when they are trying to create a "reader."  The article shows that the Jones family uses many different outlets to enhance reading and writing, which I found very interesting.  The Jones family reads books, magazines, newspapers, and even recipes--all mediums which show that reading can be diverse, fun, and something that often times can require some sort of action.  For example, some members of the Jones family read magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, and then used some of the suggestions in the articles to decorate their house.  Newspaper articles were used to connect with members of the community in times of sorrow and celebrations as well. Writing is also encouraged in the Jones family through letters to each other. The Jones family used financial situations and spiritual outlets as an opportunity to read as well.  The article says that "encouraging children to pursue education and preparing children for the uses of literacy that they will encounter in school are understood as parents' primary responsibility," however this is not always the case and oftentimes school and help from teachers are the only times students are exposed to reading.

The Jones family seems to be the ideal family when it comes to contributing to a culture of literacy, however this is not always the case, and the article gives many tips and pointers to teachers so they can attempt to create homes with cultures of literacy.  The article suggests that teachers should "be careful listeners and take advantage of those moments when they see parents...to learn how families interact around literacies and what they value."  The article suggested many ways in which educators can find out about the literacy cultures of families such as asking questions in the form of a "Family Cultures of Literacy" questionnaire consisting of items such as "what kind of books do you have in your home?" or "what do you like to read?" This gets students thinking about how much they read and why it is important.  This article really opened my eyes and made me realize that I must communicate with my future students and get an idea of where they are coming from (literally) in order to be the best teacher that I can be! After all, it is very important to create classrooms and be teachers who encourage students to be the best that they can be while promoting further education and success--and to do this we must encourage students to create a legacy of literacy first.