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Wednesday, July 11, 2012
I AM a reader!
We talked yesterday about how becoming literate is a journey that all students have already started before they come to school. They are all at different points on that journey. The new thought in the In the Letting go article for me was the whole concept of helping young students understand that they are already readers and writers no matter where they are on the journey. It connected to my Science Ed class where I am also learning that it is important to help children understand that they can "do" science and they are scientists. Explicitly teaching them what good scientists do(question, observe, record, analyze etc.) is empowering for them. The Letting go article talks about explicitly teaching the students that they are readers and teaching them the strategies that good readers use. I do think it will be challenging to do this successfully with the potential 5 year ability spread mentioned in the IRA/NAEYC article.
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I agree that it will be very challenging. I have a 5 year old niece who is about to start kindergarten and is learning to read. Like most kids her age, she recognizes things in print like her name, Dora the Explorer, and Cheetos. I even caught her saying "coconut" when she was in the pantry and saw a can of coconut milk. After the coconut incident I was so excited and asked her if she was reading the label. She responded by saying "No, Maddie. I can't read yet. I'm only 5!" I tried to tell her that she just read, but she did not believe me. I think teaching young children that they are readers before they actually start reading books might be quite difficult.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that the idea that children are "already readers" is so important. That was what stuck out to me most about that article as well. We've definitely gotten into a habit of denying reading until a child can sound out all his or her words, but I love that this article refutes that.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your statement that children are already readers. It is definitely extremely important that children have confidence and making sure they know this will definitely raise their confidence, especially in reading. I think children need any bit of encouragement that they can receive. I know that when I was a child if someone older than me told me that they know I can DO science or I CAN read, then I was more likely to work harder on that particular subject.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! I think it is fantastic to empower young students by telling them that they ARE scientists and that they CAN read and write. However, like you said, I think it would be very challenging to do this successfully.
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteThe five-year academic level gap was something that astonished me too. In my previous classes, I had heard of a two year gap.... but 5! That's crazy! I think making all children feel like they are capable of being a good reader will be difficult in conditions where others students may be so far advanced. Kid's are smart; they notice that stuff!
I also agree with the concept of teaching our students that they are readers even when they don't think they are. I was surprised at the little anecdotal story the teacher gave about asking her students if they thought they were readers. I would typically not think that reading the "M" of the McDonalds sign is reading, but rather recognition. It opened my eyes a little more to what reading was and helped me think about it in a new way.
ReplyDeleteI liked the way that both articles talked about giving students the tools to solve their own problems and not just giving them the answer right away. If students believe that they are readers and know strategies to solve the problems they encounter, the our students have much more investment and ownership in their learning. The picture you included is a great example of this!
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