Guided Reading - On-Line Book Study
Chapters 1 - 3
One strong connection for me occurred on page 4 - "Teachers have found that the most effective ways to approach letter learning is to begin with children's own names ..." This reminded me of an activity I did once with a group of teachers. I asked the teachers to write the first names of their students. Then I had them go through and see how many of the 26 letters could be taught by only teaching letters through the students'first names. It was AMAZING!! Try it! See if you could teach all 26 letters simply by using the children's first names. Names are important to children, so they will be eager to learn the letters and sounds. Much more so than isolating a letter a week.(plus it will take less time). Another aha moment happened in that same paragraph. There is no need to delay reading of texts because children do not know letters. They will learn more about letters as they encounter them in real texts. Okay, you know I have to slip in some theory. This connects with Roger Brown's theory of "form follows function." According to Roger Brown, we use literature for real purposes and within the context of those experiences we help children understand form. We talk "function" first, then we learn "form". This is why we don't teach letter of the week. We want to put letters in a meaningful context first such as words in a text or their names. This is function, then we talk about individual letters and sounds (form). I LOVE theory. We must be able to articulate why we do what we do. Okay off my soapbox.
Pages 22 - 24 (Figure 3-1) provides a detailed framework for balanced literacy. The organization chart defines the elements of balanced literacy, the value of each element, and the research that supports the element. The elements are not fixed and separate, however, they do require a different level of support. Figure 3-3 (Page 27) is a great visual that explains the components of reading and the level of teacher support. I LOVE how it shows scaffolding in action. During read aloud the teacher is in full control of the reading. With shared reading, the student shares the control (hence the title shared reading). During guided reading the child is mostly in control as they read the text. However, the teacher is right there to provide needed support. And finally, the student is in full control for independent reading, The same applies to writing instruction.
The balanced literacy framework is a conceptual tool for planning and organizing instruction. Just as our students are at different levels of learning so are we. Each one of you must find your own entry to the framework. Some of you may have all element of the framework in your schedule. Others may have 3 of the 4 reading elements. And then some of you may be starting at the beginning. Regardless of where you are in your journey, each element is worth studying, trying out with students, and reflecting on the results. As the authors stated, "It is not the elements themselves but the teaching decisions within them that lead to new learning."
For reflection:
1. In your reflection journal, analyze your schedule to determine how much time you allow each day for reading instruction. Which reading elements are your students participating? Are they doing enough reading? Do you have uninterrupted time for guided reading?
2. Reflect on your own personal learning journey. Where are you in implementing the balanced literacy framework.
I can imagine teaching letter sounds through students names is highly effective because it immediately catches the interest of our students and makes a deep connection for them with little effort. I know several first grade teachers who have used student names to introduce and teach digraphs and blends. I definitely need to try it!
ReplyDeleteA recurring comment that jumped out at me was how important it is that the teachers are "superb choosers of books for children". As simple as this seems, it is something that I will continue to think about more closely so that I can better teach my students to independently choose their own books.
The comment about learning letters using children’s name also stood out to me because I have a student who does not yet know all of his letter names/sounds (he’s getting there!) Just the other day during Guided Reading, he noticed that the word started with the “k” sound just like his name. There have been other times in which he’s referred to his own name when he is trying to remember the sound or name of a letter he’s looking at.
ReplyDeleteSomething else that stood out to me from the reading this week was the part about home and family involvement on page 39. It states that “Home and family involvement enhances the work in the classroom and helps children use their literacy learning in different contexts.” There were three ideas given that teachers in the literacy project have found to be helpful. One of which was sending home books to give students the opportunity to read at home; this is something I already do. Another idea was a writing briefcase which allows children to take their literacy learning into their home and communicate the value of writing to children and their families. This is something I would love to start doing with my class.
Polly, the writing briefcase stuck out to me also! I'm sure that would be a huge motivator for students to be able to take home something presented in a creative way like that.
ReplyDeleteFor me reading this book has been a revisiting of things that I have used in my classroom for years. As the authors said the knowledge of how children learn is always changing. From this gaining of knowledge comes many perspectives on what that knowledge means in the way of changes in the field of education. There is always a "new and better" curriculum to adopt. Fountas and Pinnell supports teachers in knowing their children and what they need.
ReplyDeleteThe literacy program proposed is very similar to our literacy pathways which Charleston County suggested years ago. In looking at the literacy program in my classroom I do have all the components in my schedule. I am sure that I do not have enough read aloud time in my schedule. It seems that the required programs are taking more time than the amount of time teachers are being given to choose what is best for their students. Because I know the importance of research I am always willing to try "new programs". Unfortunately, time spent learning new curriculum or new strategies/programs, etc. is wasted if indeed the curriculum is changed again the very next year for the same subject.
Fountas and Pinell advocate for thematic learning. It makes sense that students be given more opportunities to learn the topics we want to stress in the classroom. Using a read-aloud, shared reading activity and writing opportunities on the same topic helps to give students more opportunities to discuss and further understand the concepts being taught in the realm of Social Studies and Science. I would like to see more of this theme learning come back to the classroom.
The purpose of guiding reading is to guide students to reading independence. Guided Reading is just one aspect of literacy instruction and the ultimate goal of guided reading is to teach children strategies to use when they encounter struggles when reading independently. F and P state that, "every child in every classroom, every day, deserves the chance to behave like and enjoy the pleasure of being a good reader" (p. 30). Because we are growing readers, we must give them time to practice their skills on their own in order to improve their reading independence. Time each day should be provided to students for them to practice reading on their own. Books that are easy reads take the struggle out of learning to read and allow them to build confidence in themselves as readers. By providing ample time for students to experience reading independently, we are encouraging their independence, building their confidence, and fostering a love of reading. Guiding Reading is meant to provide strategies for students to be successful on their own therefore independent time is an imperative component of guiding reading lessons.
ReplyDeleteI agree about teaching themes, Darla...it's all about making connections! And Sarah, I also think it's really important to choose read alouds carefully and purposefully. I usually read and reread one book a week that correlates with the letter sound the students are learning. Most of my students don't know very many letters/sounds, but they enjoy seeing and hearing the "letter/sound of the week" in the book. Furthermore, this teaches them them the concept of print and helps answer that important question Mrs. Morris brought up, "Why are we learning this?"
ReplyDeleteThe "Guided Reading" reminded me about the importance of not only reading aloud, but incorporating shared, guided, and independent reading into my lessons. I came up with the idea of using the short chants from "Read Well" for both shared and guided reading throughout the week. Repetition and routine is important for my students and after rereading these chants multiple times, the students will gain confidence...something many of them lack. I plan on giving each student a notebook to put these chants in so that they can practice them independently and at home.
I agree with the above comments about the benefits of using students name to teach letter sounds. My students frequently use the name wall to incorporate their friends names into their stories. However, I have not noticed a large group of students using their knowledge of letter sounds in friends names and applying that to other words in their stories. I will try to focus more on this during writers workshop lessons where students are helping to stretch out words.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading chapter 2, I was reminded of the importance of making literacy experiences personal for our diverse students. Our students come from many different backgrounds and therefore widely varied literacy exposure. Some come from Spanish speaking homes, some have a large collections of children's books (and get read to every night), while others may have limited literacy exposure. It is especially important to make early literacy learning meaningful and personal so the children will become more observant and point out literacy in their own world.
ReplyDeleteUsing children's names to teach letter sounds is a great example of making literacy meaningful. It reminded me a lot of how we approached literacy learning when I worked in a 2 and 3 year old classroom for a year. To enforce letter sounds, we asked the students to look around for objects that started with the sound as their name. Even if the children were not able to name all their letters yet, they were experimenting and exploring with phonemic awareness.
Reading the chapter on building on early literacy reminded me of where it all starts. It reminded me that some of my students have gaps in their literacy learning for various reasons and sparked some ideas on how to fill in the gaps.
Reviewing the literacy framework was a good refresher for me. The components in all three chapters were both informational and solidifying. I found myself thinking, "Hey! I do that!" There were also elements that I read about that made me seriously think about implementation within my classroom, such as more shared writing experiences for my kids. We do quite a bit of shared reading, however, I do not necessarily do shared "pen" writing very often---which I think is a fabulous way to practice all those early literacy skills (oral language, phoneme segmentation, creating images, etc). I agree with the other posters that using student names to introduce and review letters and sounds is a great way to get students motivated and learning---even when they don't realize they are doing so. I also wanted to share a personal experience with this skill. In my low group, my children put the letters in their names in order every day. Even now, in November, I have several who can't tell me all of the letters. I have one student who knows three letters in his nine letter name. However, I have always seen the importance of exposing this group (this little guy included) to print. I present them with very simple texts (AA-A) for practice every day and I have been astounded several times when he proudly reads the sight words with no problem. In chapter one I read this quote and immediately thought of my little guy: "If children do not know letters, there is no need to delay their reading of text." At this age it is all about EXPOSURE and giving these kids ample opportunities to show us what they know. He has done that for me.
ReplyDeleteAnother area that I enjoyed seeing was the importance that the authors put upon integration and making connections across the subject areas. To me, at this age, and taking into consideration the status of our children, weaving instruction together (science, social studies, read alouds, writing, oral language, etc.) is a must. Young children do not see subject areas as being "cut and dry," as adults and older children do. To me, early childhood curriculum should flow together so that our little ones can experience that whole learning environment. I believe that cut and dry units of study are not developmentally appropriate and that connections are made when areas are intertwined together----just because 25 minutes is up should not mean that a subject area (or rather learning and expounding upon it) is over. As the authors say, children learn through an integrated theme's "overarching web of meaning." In my opinion it is our duty as teacher's to immerse these kids in all of the opportunities that they are not afforded outside of the classroom. On page 25 the example was given about the text Peanut Butter and Jelly by Nadine Bernard Westcott---just four years ago, this was a text in our K curriculum and we did teach it similar to what the authors suggest. However, now with rising demands, we barely have time to cover many of the components brought up in the framework---shared writing, oral language, and so many other elements. Ok. Off my soapbox. :)
After reading the first 3 chapters of this book one thing that stuck out to me was using the letters in the students names to teach letter sounds. I think this is a great idea because the students will be interested getting to use their names to learn. I wish I would have done this with my students in the first few weeks of school with reviewing letter naming and letter sounds. It is so important for students to know their letters and sounds when begin learning to read.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in chapter two the book discuss that students come to us having some knowledge with literacy and it is base on their experiences. Knowing this we as teachers have to realize students come for very different experiences base on what they learn from their surrounds and if they have access to different texts. I think when planning our shared reading they would be most beneficial when the students can relate to the text. We need to base our books based on our students knowledge and interest.Also, this goes for guided reading groups they need to be planned based on the needs of our students and their experiences.
I don't see the post I just published.
ReplyDeleteWow! I just wrote a long post and it did not publish. I will make this brief.
ReplyDeleteThis reading reminds me of how I used to teach. Our curriculum and mandates interfere with us fully implementing balanced literacy. I like the idea of using thematic units again. This will connect the learning for our students and make it more meaningful. I'm excited about using this book as a guide to improving instruction, because it offers a lot of opportunities for students engage in authentic reading and writing experiences. Learning will be relevant, fun and enjoyable for our students.
I also enjoyed reviewing the literary collaborative framework. I am looking into my own schedule to make sure that I try and incorporate more literary experiences daily for my children. I think I have all of the components in my schedule but I want to include more interactive writing sessions with my children. I used to always start the day with a morning message but I cut this because I needed more minutes in other subject areas. I am attending an interactive and shared writing professional development for primary teachers next week. I am hoping to leave with more strategies. I am excited about implementing this more in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteReading these chapters made me reflect on the literacy framework that is in place in my classroom. I would say a good amount of time is spent on guided reading, shared reading and interactive read alouds. Writing Workshop mini lessons and independent writing is also a big part of our daily routine, but I would also like to spend more time on interactive and guided writing, because my students need extra support in writing. In my guided reading groups, I have made sure to guide more discussions about the books that we are reading. In Chapter 3, it states "Oral Language is the constant vehicle and support for learning". Most of our students do not have a rich oral language at home, so it is important for them to experience that at school, especially in English. It is just as important for them to discuss the book and understand the meaning than it is for them to just read the words on the page. This will also help them get the sense of enjoyment in reading books. I also like the idea of implementing a theme to the framework because it would add interest and the students would be able to make connections and meaning to reading and writing, which is essential.
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