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November 27, 2023

November 27, 2023

Rasinski, 2012. Why Reading Fluency Should be Hot!

Applegate, Applegate, & Modla (2009). “She’s My Best Reader; She Just Can’t Comprehend”: Studying the Relationship between Fluency and Comprehension

Rasinski Big Takeaway: Fluency should be a hot topic in instruction for all grade levels because it is the bridge to comprehension, allowing readers to understand what they are reading because of the automaticity and prosody with which they read.

Applegate, Applegate, & Modla Big Takeaway: It is important to evaluate our teaching of literacy and student assessments to ensure that all of the components of reading are working together as they should, as one area being a strength (such as fluency) does not guarantee comprehension.

Rasinski Nugget: One point that Rasinski made that was particularly interesting to me was when readers aim for speed, they sacrifice both prosody and meaning. That is, if the aim is for students to read as fast as possible, they not only lose the expression in their reading but also the meaning, the loss of which impedes comprehension. If comprehension is our goal, we cannot and should not be aiming for speed

Applegate, Applegate, & Modla Nugget: I really enjoyed how Applegate, Applegate, & Modla emphasized the importance of assessing fluency for what it really is. So many educators focus on speed as the only part of fluency, which often leaves students behind without much comprehension. Rather, the authors support focusing on all aspects of fluency and comprehension to make sure that students are actually gaining all the skills we want them to, not just assuming they can comprehend because they read fluently or quickly. 

Readerly Exploration:

For my readerly exploration, I chose to engage in the reading process to increase the likelihood of comprehension by skimming and looking for words I did not know, and taking the time to look up these words. I skimmed through the Rasinski article prior to reading and found four words that I either did not know or did not have a nuanced understanding of (I knew the word “automaticity” from Instructional Design, but did not feel as though my understanding was as nuanced as I wanted it to be, so I looked it up in addition to the other words. The words I selected were pariah, prosody (I had remembered briefly talking about prosody before but could not remember any part of what it meant), and automaticity. Looking up these words beforehand helped my learning in various ways. I was able to better understand the article in one read-through since I knew all of the essential vocabulary words. Had I not looked these up, I either would have had to stop reading to look them up anyways, or succumb to my stubbornness and keep reading without looking up the words for sake of time (this is never the ideal strategy, but I’d be lying if I said I’ve never done that before). Having a fuller understanding of the core vocabulary allowed me to read the article in full with all of the tools I needed to understand. For example, prosody is a large component to Rasinski’s view on the importance of fluency, and not understanding that prosody is a term for expression while reading would have hindered my understanding. Taking the time to proactively skim for unknown words ahead of time not only saved me time while reading but also allowed me greater depth of understanding. I think the most interesting part of this readerly exploration was that by defining vocabulary words before reading, I set myself up for better fluency while reading the article, which was what the article was about!

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November 13, 2023

November 13, 2023

Vocabulary Practice in Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Classrooms

Silverman & Crandell (2011)

Word Study Instruction in the K-2 Classroom

Williams et al. (2009)

Silverman & Crandell Big Takeaway: Although there are many practices for teaching vocabulary in kindergarten and prekindergarten classrooms, some strategies are more effective than others depending on students’ initial vocabulary level, when during a literacy block vocabulary instruction is taking place, and how vocabulary is assessed.

Williams et al. Big Takeaway: Word study is an approach to bring students to meaningful understanding of the layers of English orthography through explicit small group instruction with application to extensive authentic reading and writing experiences. 

Silverman & Crandell Nugget: One thing I found particularly interesting in this article is that the most universally recommended strategy for vocabulary instruction is explicit instruction. What was most interesting about the discussion of explicit instruction is that when not used during read alouds, it was most beneficial for students who already had a higher vocabulary knowledge. For students who had lower vocabulary knowledge, they benefited from more scaffolding since they did not have the context of a story to understand the word being taught. 

For my readerly exploration, I chose to make a concept map of my comprehension from when I started reading to when I finished. I made this concept map as I read, and made a culminating map at the end of my reading. Doing this really helped me see the development of my understanding of word studies, going from my basic knowledge at the beginning of the reading to a much more robust understanding by the end. I moved my concept map through the different sections of the article and color coded it to see the breakdown visually, and doing so helps me see the progression of my understanding. As I read, I was better able to make connections to things said earlier in the article, likely because I had taken the time to write it down and think about it before reading further. I think what was most influential to my learning was how I was able to see the progression of my understanding as I made connections between the sections within the article. Sometimes I lack patience when reading scholarly articles, but giving myself the task of making a content map of my understanding helped me to stay focused and ultimately better comprehend the article.

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November 6, 2023

November 6, 2023

Mesmer Chapter 4:

Big Takeaway: Teaching students their letters goes beyond letter names but also involves the alphabetic principle; the most effective way to teach letters is through systematic small group instruction that involves meaningful activities in rehearsal, analysis, synthesis, and application.

Nugget: What stood out most to me from this chapter is the concept of the alphabetic principle. When Mesmer described how most adults, and even some educators, do not have the language to articulate what it actually means for students to “know their letters,” I realized that I, too, lacked that language and understanding. The expectation of children “knowing their letters” actually often means having a wide set of skills around the letters and sounds of letters, which is better defined as alphabet knowledge. So often it is easy to forget the fullness of what alphabet knowledge is and focus on letter names or letter sounds, but students need instruction on both concepts in order to be successful. 

Readerly Exploration:

For my readerly exploration, I chose to explore beyond the required reading and track down one of its references, and then read that reference. Prior to today, I had never flipped to the reference section in any of my textbooks intentionally. In Chapter 4, there is a box that focuses on dyslexia. The source is listed at the bottom of that box, so I tracked down the full URL in the reference section of the textbook and went to the webpage listed. One of the things I am passionate about as an educator is catering to students’ needs, so learning about the specifics of different disabilities is interesting to me because it strengthens my understanding and puts me on a better path to helping students. The International Dyslexia Association notes that although dyslexia itself is not this widespread, up to 15-20% of the population has some symptoms that are associated with dyslexia, such as, “slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, poor writing, or mixing up similar words” (2018). With this in mind, it is so important for teachers in the primary grades to be aware of their students’ needs while teaching letter lessons. Mesmer notes, though, that oftentimes adults will panic over children mixing up letters such as “b” and “d,” or “m” and “n,” while first learning letters. Mesmer assures readers that this is common among young learners when they are first learning, and children stop making these confusions with time. She makes a helpful comparison with children learning their left from their right; it takes time, but eventually they stop mixing the two and it becomes automatic knowledge. One accommodation I read about in the International Dyslexia Association article involves teaching students with dyslexia through explicit instruction with a multisensory approach. The multisensory component, to me, connects well with Mesmer’s method of teaching letters to all learners. Mesmer incorporates auditory, visual, and kinesthetic components to her method, which is something the International Dyslexia Association recommends for teachers to implement for students with dyslexia. Making this connection helped extend my understanding of Mesmer’s structure to letter lessons and how thoughtful it is in reaching struggling learners. 

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October 2, 2023

Fisher et al. Chapter 4: Collaborative Reading and Writing: Learning in the Company of Peers

Fisher et al. Chapter 5: Small-Group Reading Instruction: Targeted Support Through Guided Learning

Chapter 4 Big Takeaway: In a balanced literacy classroom, it is important to intentionally design routines for students to follow when not working with the teacher so the teacher can effectively meet the needs of students in small group instruction so that meaningful learning still takes place outside of that small group. 

Chapter 5 Big Takeaway: For literacy instruction to be balanced, small group instruction is critical and allows the teacher to intentionally meet the needs of students in a smaller setting more apt to individualized scaffolding to help students grow as readers.

Chapter 4 Nugget: One thing I found particularly interesting in this chapter was the five mechanisms of deliberative practice. I have seen and experienced how practice away from the teacher can quickly turn into monotonous work with no real learning occurring. These five mechanisms are critical in allowing meaningful learning to happen in this kind of setting, especially noting the spaced practice rather than mass practice. The mechanism that stood out to me the most was the fifth, “an idea of what expertise looks like” (p. 95). Even in college, I still have moments where my motivation to get work done lessens and my focus decreases because I find myself stuck on what expertise actually looks like and what the expectations are. I know that for myself, I work better, am more focused, and learn more when I have a solid understanding of what the expectations are for my final product and what mastery or expertise looks like. 

Chapter 5 Nugget: I really enjoyed the discussion on needs-based versus interest-based reading groups. In my experience, small groups with the teacher were always needs-based. I liked how Fisher et al. pointed out that groups do not always need to be formulated this way. Even though needs-based groups are typical for this kind of small group instruction, students in mixed-level groups can still benefit from the reinforcement of individualized scaffolding.

Readerly Exploration:

For my readerly exploration, I chose an activity from the reading a text deeply section. My mentor and I are currently reading through the book of Colossians and have also been working through a devotional titled “Colossians on Work.” With that fresh in my mind, I decided to read Chapter 4: Collaborative Reading and Writing: Learning in the Company of Peers, through the lens of faith to deepen my understanding of the chapter. In using a faith lens while reading, my understanding of the application of this chapter grew immensely. Something I read recently in my devotional was the idea of working strenuously, not to the point of burnout, but to the point (and for the reason) of doing work well in order to make Christ known through our work. Crafting routines for students for individualized practice while you as the teacher are meeting with small groups takes a lot of time and effort, but the dedication towards student success and learning can be fruit from our faith. If I have the desire to work in a way that honors Christ, I then need to work in a way that honors my students, in a way that loves my students well, that acknowledges their needs, that emphasizes patience when they make mistakes, that gives grace, that extends compassion. All of these things can be found in the creation and implementation of the kinds of learning strategies talked about in this chapter so that small group instruction can simultaneously occur. Small group instruction in and of itself is another example of how the fruits of my faith can pour out into my work. Small group instruction takes extra planning to meet students where they are; it serves them right where they are and allows me as the teacher to be patient with them, extend kindness and encouragement, and use my knowledge and expertise to help them find their lightbulb moments, learn, and grow. What a gift it is to be able to serve students in this way, and the processes discussed in this chapter are a means through which I can be intentional about working well for the sake of Christ. This was such a unique experience in being able to integrate my faith in a meaningful way with an assigned course reading-- using a faith lens helped me translate what I read into meaningful application!

Included are screenshots from my devotional, Colossians and Work, and a screenshot of Colossians 3:12-14, verses that I kept in the back of my mind while reading and thinking about these readings.

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September 25, 2023

September 25, 2023

Fisher et al. Chapter 1: Defining Balance, Finding Balance

Fisher et al. Chapter 7: Independent Reading: Practicing, Applying, and Extending Learning

Chapter 1 Big Takeaway:

It is essential for students to learn literacy in a way that balances literacy competencies with various types of instruction, intentional grouping, and gradual release of responsibility so that students are best supported in their learning.

Chapter 7 Big Takeaway:

Reading is an integral part of student learning, and student choice along with spending quality time practicing reading at home and at school helps students become more engaged in reading and grow in other areas of literacy such as fluency, vocabulary, and more and keeps them engaged. 

Chapter 1 Nugget:

Something particularly interesting to me in Chapter 1 was the nonlinear description of gradual release of responsibility. In one of my courses last fall, we talked about the gradual release of responsibility as “I do, we do, you do,” specifically in that order. I loved what Fisher et al. had to say about the nonlinear quality of this technique, especially that some lessons actually work best when these things are not done in the typical order we expect. It was also interesting to me to see the addition of “you do together” for collaborative learning, which I think is a strategy very beneficial for students

Chapter 7 Nugget:

One thing I particularly enjoyed from this chapter was the discussion of reading journals as opposed to reading logs. Growing up, I had reading logs almost every year with the same directions: read for 15 minutes at home, and color in the spot on the calendar and get a parent signature to prove that you did it. I like the idea of a reading journal much better, though. It is so much more motivating for students to track their progress in a meaningful way like a reading journal, where they get to note all the different things they read, how they liked or disliked the reading, and more. I especially like how reading journals focus on celebrating the successes of reading rather than a cut-and-dry “you must read because it is required of you” mindset that often comes with the reading logs. 

Readerly Exploration:

For my readerly exploration, I chose to go deeper into Chapter 1 and engage in the reading process to increase the likelihood of comprehension. I have always loved to read, but to this day I have struggled with reading informational text. It is not a lack of understanding, but a lack of interest. Even concepts and ideas I find to be interesting, I get bored reading about them quickly. I think part of this is due to the fact that my literacy experience as a learner had me overly immersed in fiction with less emphasis on informational text. I did still read informational text, but it was treated and taught with a different level of enthusiasm (usually a lack thereof). Textbook reading is one of my least favorite activities to do, so I decided it would be both beneficial for my learning and interesting to explore how intentionality in the reading process could keep me engaged and enhance my overall comprehension. The specific activity I chose was to highlight excerpts from the chapter that reflect the author’s purpose. I picked up my favorite highlighter, sat on my couch with a blanket, and began to read. Going into it, I didn’t think highlighting would make a big difference for me, but I was wrong! Somehow with a highlighter in hand, I was more engaged in the reading. Because I had a task to focus on beyond reading for the sake of reading and learning, I was more motivated to read. The task didn’t feel so mundane. Not only that, but highlighting key points that related to the authors’ purpose helped me more easily discover the big idea of the reading. My learning was taken to a whole new level simply because of how engaged I was while reading– I wasn’t as easily distracted as I usually am while reading textbooks, and I was intentional about soaking in all of the information. This helped me so much that I think I might make it a regular practice while reading informational texts. Highlighting isn’t a new practice to me, but I had never tried it with long readings because it seemed daunting and as if it would make an already long and dreaded assignment take even longer. It was more efficient than note taking, but for me, seems to be just as effective because I can picture and better remember and understand the things I highlighted. I’ve included pictures of some of the lines I highlighted as my multimedia component for this entry.

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September 18, 2023

Enriching and Assessing Young Children’s Multimodal Storytelling

Christy Wessel-Powell, Tolga Kargin, & Karen E. Wohlwend (2016)

Big Takeaway: Because children approach so much of the world around them from an attitude of play, incorporating multimodality and imaginative elements into literacy instruction helps expand the engagement of young learners, strengthen their depth of knowledge and understanding, and provide an assessment tailored to students’ individual strengths.

Nugget: One thing that stuck out to me from Wessel-Powell et al.’s article is all the ways in which the teachers in the study incorporated imaginative elements into their literacy instruction. As a student, I had experienced small insertions of multimodality in literacy instruction, but not to the point where the students and teachers were “all in,” or fully invested. Anything I had ever done similar to this, the teacher never seemed as excited, and thus students didn’t have much excitement, either. It was fascinating to read about and envision the transformation from writer’s workshop to literacy playhouse and how I might be able to incorporate something similar into my future teaching. 

Why Children Need Play

Leong & Bodrova (2018)

Big Takeaway: Play is a cornerstone of learning and holds place in the classroom because it is a developmental opportunity for children to interact with peers creatively and intentionally while growing both socially and cognitively.

Nugget: One thing that stood out to me in particular from this article was the idea of “unproductive” play and how play at home does not always have the same benefits as play at school. I had never heard the term unproductive play before, but it makes sense in that some play ends up as arguing or becomes redundant and is not as beneficial to children as genuine, thoughtful play. 

Building Language and Literacy Through Play

Scholastic (2018)

Big Takeaway: Play in the classroom provides learners with the opportunity to develop their language and literacy skills in a natural, imaginative environment, and teachers can foster play in the classroom by providing props and opportunities for students to engage in play. 

Nugget: Something that stood out to me in this article was the importance of teachers providing students with the opportunity for dramatic play and equipping them with the tools they need to play well. I had never thought about providing adequate play materials, or props, before, but this article revealed how props are supportive of high level play. 

Readerly Exploration:

I chose to do my Readerly Exploration on the Wessel-Powell et al. article. For this readerly exploration, I FaceTimed my younger sister, Nicole, to get her perspective and insight on the idea of multimodality in literacy instruction and assessment. Although most high school seniors would likely not have extensively meaningful consideration of this topic, Nicole is currently interning at our former elementary school in a fourth grade classroom and aspires to be a reading specialist or literacy instructional coach. She and I are very different learners as well, which is important to note regarding both of our experiences with multimodality in literacy. First, I shared the article with Nicole, and she skimmed through it. I then pointed her to the first and last page to read more deeply, and then I asked what she thought of the article and if she had experienced this kind of instruction as a student, and since she has, I also asked for her perspective as a learner. The first thing she said to me after reading this article was, “This makes so much sense- why doesn’t everyone teach this way?” The concept of multimodality and allowing students to tap into their imagination and natural inclination towards play made so much sense to her. Although not to the same extent as the study, Nicole had a similar learning experience in 5th grade that she remembers quite vividly. Students were tasked with creating a project instead of taking a test- their options included a movie, a commercial, a play, and various others that tapped into different modalities and required creative thinking. She loved this experience, especially since at the time she struggled significantly with test anxiety. When she reminded me of this, my understanding broadened relating to the assessment component of this. Conventional assessments are often stressful for students, something I did not think about the first time I read the article. Changing the mode of assessment not only enhances creativity and allows students to tap into their “play” mindset and strengths, but it also eliminates some of the pressure and stress from traditional testing. My understanding of the importance of multimodality in literacy instruction goes beyond how it allows students to play into their imaginative strengths, but it can also ease assessment anxiety and allow students to demonstrate their knowledge in a way that is engaging for them. 

Multimedia Component:

While FaceTiming, Nicole and I also talked about our overarching elementary school literacy assessment experiences- it was very interesting to compare the vastly different experiences we had. She had much more experiences of multimodal storytelling than I did, and she really enjoyed it, while I did not enjoy my few experiences as much.

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August 23, 2023

Fisher et al.  Chapter 9: Assessment and Intervention in the Balanced Literacy Classroom

Big Takeaway: 

The use of appropriate assessments for the various facets of literacy provide teachers with the necessary data to make sound instructional decisions to best support students’ learning. 

Nugget:

In this chapter, Fisher et al. discuss the importance of creating goals in partnership with students so they are able to see their progress towards their goals. I found this to be particularly interesting because in my own elementary school experience, students were not involved in creating goals for themselves or witnessing their progress. I can understand how being able to see one’s own progress would be impactful and positive for students; I too, like visuals to see how much progress I have made toward a goal. Whether it’s checking off an item on my to-do list, watching the number of unread emails in my inbox go down, or crossing off my last assignment for the week, there is satisfaction, gratification, and motivation woven into the act of seeing progress toward a goal. When I see my progress, I am more motivated to keep working to achieve my goal. Since I never experienced this kind of goal tracking, I found this idea to be compelling and I understand why it works!

Readerly Exploration:

For my readerly exploration, I chose to explore relationships with others by using text as a shared experience to gain new insight. I talked with my friends Alyssa and Sam, who are both engineering majors. First, I shared an excerpt from the “Setting Goals With Students” section from which I pulled my nugget. I let each of them read the first paragraph of this section, and then we discussed it together and their opinions were both intriguing and eye-opening for me. Sam and Alyssa had vastly different schooling experiences than myself– Sam didn’t like school (even though he was a high achieving student), and Alyssa was homeschooled. Sam liked the idea of involving students in their goal-setting and tracking; he mentioned that he always wished he had some more choice and freedom because he feels that if he did, he likely would have been more motivated. His perspective reminded me that not only is the visual progress of tracking goal progress motivating for students, but the whole idea that they are working alongside their teacher to set these goals for themselves gives them a sense of responsibility, driving them to work hard to reach their goals. Alyssa’s perspective also extended my learning and understanding of this part of the reading. She remarked about the differences between her and her younger brother with motivation and goals. She is very driven, and a grade alone is enough to motivate her. She recalled that when she and her brother were younger, her brother would do the bare minimum to get by. Goals weren’t really motivating for him, and he was unbothered by trying to reach a goal. I wonder if he ever had an experience of being able to track his progress, and if that would have increased his drive to reach his goal because of the visual component. It was very interesting to me to hear both Sam and Alyssa’s perspectives. Sharing this excerpt with them allowed me to extend my understanding by thinking about ideas in different ways and learning more about how different types of students can benefit from taking ownership of their goals.

After talking about the chapter, we had a game night!