Saturday, February 23, 2013
Blog Post for Feb 25
From the readings I can make some connections with my own reading comprehension process. I have always been a very visual learner, and I like to write things out to get them out of my head. So the use of the visual posters that help map out thinking were very appealing to me. The strategy poster, connections chart, and the triple thinking entry journal are all things that I would like to do when I was younger, now I do some of the same things while writing just not as literal. The use of multiple literacy strategies I think always kept me engaged as well, so the information was not presented in the same way over and over again. I can see this problem happening in my own classroom where they are constantly doing the same thing and I can see the kids getting bored and not interested in it. The Profiles in Comprehension Table has a unique table breaking up the types of profiles, I can say I have at least one in each category, literalist, fuzzy thinker, left fielders, quiz contestant, politician, dodger, author, and minimalist. I realize that you can not label each kid with one but it helps guide what types of reading comprehensions work best for those individuals. I can make connections as well as group up children and combine different profiles together to see the interventions that might work for them and be able to incorporate them into my classroom. It helps you understand how those individual students do think instead of seeing it as how you think which I find hard to do a lot not only in this Language Arts focused TE but Math as well. These readings helped me understand that I need to consider all types of reading comprehension processes since there isn't just one way.
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Similar to Kelsey, I am also a very visual learner. Mapping out my ideas and making connection charts can be very helpful to me when trying to visually lay out my thoughts on a piece of paper. In addition to being a visual learner, I learn best through discussion-based classrooms. All throughout high school and college the majority of my literature, history, as well as other classes have been centered around discussions. At first, I did not like this method of teaching, because I felt forced to talk while in class even if I did not have anything significant to say. However, I have realized that class discussions help me comprehend the material better and understand the readings more in depth. As stated in the readings, unlike recitations, classroom discussions allow for a bigger range of ideas and are open to different interpretations. Instead of answering questions that have a “yes” or “no” answer I am able to see my peers’ viewpoints and their understandings of the text.
ReplyDeleteIn my classroom, I have mostly Fuzzy Thinkers, Left Fielders, Authors and Minimalists. There is most likely a student in each category, but the students I have observed have been among these. Many of my third graders tend to pay more attention to their reading and sounding out words that it is hard for them to simultaneously understand what is happening in a story. Therefore, they stray away from the details of the story or even come up with their own story lines. By not paying close attention to the story students can be shy about answering specific questions. Therefore, I think focusing more on discussions instead of recitations would be a more affective way for students to comprehend what is going on. By avoiding recitations students may feel more confident to share their thoughts and not be intimidated by answering a “yes” or “no” question correctly.
As a teacher, I think that visuals and discussions are beneficial for a student’s reading comprehension. It is still important to keep in mind though that every child learns best in a certain way and it is important to cater to each individual's needs to help further their comprehension.
Like both of these girls, I too am I very visual learner and one to acquire a lot of knowledge from discussion based lessons. I have always been one to draw out my ideas (like a concept map), create to-do lists regularly, and learn best when ideas/things are visually in front or available to me. When thinking back to my experience as a reader while growing up I've realized how much of the lesson's in my classes were actually 'discussion based' lessons. Now, more than ever (in college) I can see the significance these discussion's have had on my educational experience, especially when it comes to reading. Although I was not a fan of these types of lessons, because like Jaclyn I too am one to shy-away from talking aloud in class, they have really helped develop my skills as a reader. For instance, they've allowed me to think of others ideas in a in-depth way and to see multiple perspectives of a story read. For example, in the 'Profiles of Comprehension' article it says, "A considerable amount of research has compared students whose questioning encouraged them to explore literature through discussion. Their discussions tend to be more extensive and of higher quality and complexity and they are more often interested in reading and more highly motivated to read," and I believe this to be very true. I better understand what's being read if multiple ideas are shared or my ideas are further elaborated on. As a teacher, this is something I will be sure to do in my classroom. Although I am not able to pin point exactly what "profile" I had as a learner when younger, I am able to recognize some of the profiles some of second grade students express; those being Fuzzy Thinkers, Left Fielders, and Dodgers.
ReplyDeleteAlso when reading the Kingergartners Can Do It Too! article, I liked the teachers use of visual's when relating to the story, with the show of a V or C when raising their hands. It made me think of the classroom I work in right now and how my students use hand signals to show expression while reading; such as excitement or a question. To show when excitement is being expressed in an article (use of exclamation point), they wiggle/shake their hand in front of their chest, or when reading a sentence that asks a question, they raise their hand in an upward, dragging motion when reading the last word of the sentence. These are unique ways that allow the students to understand sentence structure and its meaning better.