Chapter 6: Word Identification Chapter six had some new information for me. I was familiar with three of the four cuing systems. These are the main components for teaching word identification. The chapter discusses how it is important that students learn how to use and understand words, not just know how to say them. Without the context a word is empty and has no meaning for the child. The chapter also discusses how important structural analysis is. There are so many students that struggle with this. The chapter gave some great ways to assess students on their word identification. Question: I am a huge fan of sight words. I think it really helps a child develop a stronger vocabulary. We had discussed using phrases rather than just words, when building vocabulary. Where can you find more options for these cards? This reading allowed me to really focus in on what important in word identification. As I read the cuing systems I was able to think back to how the teachers used these in class. I was very blessed to observe such amazing teachers! I have used some of these activities in Title I Reading. I love that the book gives ideas but I always remember that all of these activities can be modified to meet the student’s individual needs! Chapter 7: Vocabulary Building Vocabulary is one of my favorite parts of the big five! I really enjoyed reading this chapter! I took reading and comprehension methods 3 semesters ago and this chapter reminded me of all the great rich language we need to expose children to! Figure 7.1 really had me excited because my favorite part of vocabulary is teaching synonyms and antonyms. This chapter really helped me to understand how to modify my instruction for those readers who are struggling. I love connecting children with new language through their background knowledge and personal experiences! I think this makes vocabulary building so much more interesting to the students. Graphic organizers are a great way to show word relationships! I also really love the school yard safari! I plan on using this in my tutoring sessions or making it part of my tri-fold for daily practice of adjectives! I also like the Language Experience Approach and hope to gain more practice with this. Question: I read that English learners from high SES families outperform English speaking students from low SES families. Is this the reason for Title I implementation? This chapter didn’t change my views, It just widened them! I am so excited to begin tutoring! There are so many amazing resources and I really want to take full advantage of them! This chapter reminds me of some of my own experiences! I really do get excited and really do love teaching. My sister was a struggling reader and I really take pride in knowing that I can hopefully prevent students from going through the struggles she faced.
Reading about word identification again brings home the fact that I forget about all of the tools that I unconsciously use to understand or pronounce new words. One thing I love about this text is that it includes many ideas for ELL students and sheds light on what these children are dealing with in interpreting our language. I never thought about the fact that each language has its own syntax but I love the recommendation of making sure these students get books read to them so that they become familiar with English syntax. Yet again the emphasis of background knowledge is presented and shows how important those beginning years are. The importance of background knowledge makes me want to strive to give my students a very diverse and interesting experience in the classroom so that they will have that to pull from and build on. I totally agree that learning words in context and working intensely with them with relevant material is best. The activities that are included in the book for working with vocabulary words are great and I am already planning on using some of them this summer. Thinking about the advantage some children have over others just because of what family they are born into simply because of the vocabulary their parents may use really made me stop and think about children that I have worked with. I can see the validity of this statement. It also made me want to speak “smarter” if you will, to my own children and other children that I come into contact with. It reminded me of those calendars that have word of the day in it, I can see myself using this just to beef up my vocabulary and in turn remind me of other ways to say things. If I challenge myself to improve my vocabulary or broaden it then this will help equip my students for success. Again the activities at the end of the chapters are great and I learned a new term in them, hink pink, a word riddle that has two-word answers that rhyme. I’m looking forward to playing with this concept as well.
Lanewberry, I agree I think sight words are so important. Like you I had a sibling that struggled with reading which made his educational journey very challenging. My two sisters and I were good readers and loved to read and I know it helped make school more enjoyable for us. I just hate the thought of children that struggle with reading so I look forward to searching and working hard to find strategies to help these students succeed. I can’t imagine going to college and struggling with reading, it would be a nightmare. We have got to reach these children and help them to succeed. They are counting on us. I love the language experience approach as well, it makes sense. These chapters gave me a lot to think about and use I can’t wait to get started.
Jenni P: I was also impressed with the many different strategies to implement with ELL students. I live in Southwest Kansas and the majoirty of the students in this area come into school with little or no english speaking abilities. I am always amazed to see a child two years later reading and speaking English! I think the strategies in this chapter would be make great resources! Also, you are right, background knowledge has a major influence on a child's current reading ability. I too will take time to get to know my students and see where they come from to help them succeed!
There was a number of ways discussed in this chapter that teachers could help students with word identification. I did not realize that ten words account for almost one-quarter of all the words we read and write. I like the personal word walls mentioned in the activity section of this chapter. I have also witnessed younger students with their own personal dictionaries in their desks. If they do not know how to spell a word they take their dictionary to the teacher and the teacher spells the word correctly in their dictionary. Vocabulary building is very important concept for a young reader. Sometimes I am amazed at some younger student’s vocabulary. To me, it seems like the larger the child’s vocabulary the more they like to read. That is probably where they learned all of their vocabulary is through a book or maybe an adult talking to them differently. Some words are unknown to students because of where they live. I love the idea of using graphic organizers to increase a child’s vocabulary. I would like to use the schoolyard safari with my tutoring students this summer. It would be interesting to see what kind of describing words they will come up with. I would also like for the students to try to make a crossword puzzle. I myself have never done this and think it would be fun and challenging. I think the sooner that students are exposed to dictionaries the better. I have witnessed a fifth grader that had trouble looking up a word in the dictionary. I understand that there is technology available for students to use but every student should know how to look up a word in the dictionary.
These two chapters brought about all the wonderful things our brains do while interpreting the text. Each time I read about how our brain reacts to text, I get so amazed! The fact written in the sixth chapter which caught my eye was the fact that students should learn approximately seven words a day while in school!
In school, I loved vocabulary. My teachers did a wonderful job incorporating synonyms, homonyms, oxymorons, alliteration, and so on into the lessons. I still to this day, crave new vocabulary.
The Dolch word lists caught my attention. The authors state that the sight word list breaks every phonemic rule. I find it quite interesting that my son's soon-to-be kindergarten teacher uses the Dolch word list as spelling tests. She begins with the word "a" and continues alphabetically until the school year is done. Now I know that every school/teacher/administrator is different, but I would sure like to see my son's soon-to-be kindergarten teacher use a little onset and rime to build good decoding skills.
Melissa G., I understand you when you mention that students should learn how to read a dictionary, regardless of such technology available. It is one of those skills that makes us think just a little harder! Maybe there is not a great use for looking up the word, but using that part of the brain may spark interests and ideas from the students.
The county here in Kansas (Rooks) that I currently reside in provides a dictionary for all third grade students. I am not sure exactly what organization it is, but they encourage the students to find and highlight the words that they looked up. At the end of the year, the organization flips through them to make sure the students used them. The organization then encourages the students to carry the dictionaries onto the next grades. I hope that every student has the opportunity to use and see the joy that a dictionary can bring. My students in third grade last year seen there was far more than just words and definitions. They found presidents, Spanish words, human anatomy, and so on. The students loved their dictionaries!
Aspen Rank – Chapters 6 and 7 As with the other chapters, these chapters were super interesting and chalked full of information that I KNOW will be useful in our upcoming tutoring sessions and careers in teaching! To start with, I loved reading the introduction to word identification in chapter six. I had no idea that “the brain is capable of identifying only four or five random letters per second.” Page 132 of this chapter was one that I pretty much covered with my highlighter and notes. This page had directions for guided reading and using sight words. I have used the Dolch words before in the kindergarten classrooms I’ve worked in, but I was really interested in reading about how to incorporate these words and other words in our guided readings. I am really excited to take students through the “picture walk” while conducting a guided reading session. Reading on through the chapter, I found the information on assessing sight words and types of vocabulary to be extremely useful. In fact, before reading this, I was questioning what I would use for my informal assessments during the middle weeks of tutoring….however, after completing these two chapters, I have a good idea of what I might use. The intervention section of chapter six was also really useful and actually interesting to read. I have used wordless books before in lessons, and I have always loved it! I know that kids love telling their own story, so giving them the opportunity to do this and to use their sight words is a great idea! The Match the Word activity on page 142 looked really fun as well!
Chapter seven started out really interesting as well! I was intrigued by the facts in the beginning of the chapter that discussed how students from lower SES often have a smaller vocabulary than those from a higher SES. Although I know that these stats have been proven, I can say that my own household could be considered one of the lower SES, yet, my daughter (3 yrs old) has a larger vocabulary than many of the four and five year olds I know. I am sure part of this is because I am an education major, but I believe most of this is contributed to the fact that we have always had “grown up” conversations with her. I have never really talked “baby talk” to my children, I have always talked to them by using more “meaningful context”. Reading through the chapter, I most defiantly dog-eared page 157, as it was filled with advice for providing modifications and accommodations for ESOL students. I know I will be using some of these techniques in my own lesson plans, especially the idea of acting out the words used in the lesson. Again in this chapter, there was the idea to do the “wordless books” activity, which I know will be useful in my future. The “total physical response” activity seems to be an awesome activity as it includes the concept of “acting out” which was mentioned in the ESL section as well. Overall, I loved these chapters and know I will refer back to them time and time again!
RE: LACEY KELLER Let me start by saying Great Post! I also found the facts about our brains and how we comprehend, learn and read words and vocabulary to be so interesting! I was never aware of the fact that our brains read four to five random letters per second. I also had no idea that students learn seven words a day while in school, which got me thinking, how many words a day do I learn? After thinking about it for a bit, I realized, I still learn several words a day!
I also loved vocabulary in school, in fact spelling and defining words was (and still is) always one of my favorite things to do at school! And yes, the Dolch word list is great! I know that is the list that is used at several of the schools around my city and I know that they have all had great success using these word lists! I can’t wait to be the one helping students succeed using this list.
Aspen - Students love taking picture walks and it is very interesting to see what story they come up with, sometimes their story is similar to the book and sometimes it is not. Children have such great imaginations!
Word identification was good reading. I have not really thought about what goes into identifying words. I liked the section on Semantic system. This is the section that made me start to think about the different ways we pronounce words. I also liked reading the different assessments again. For me I am always afraid that I am not going to do something right so any help I get from the book is great. In chapter 7 it was over vocabulary. I feel that it is a struggle for a lot of people to use proper vocabulary. Most people probably don’t think about what they say or if they said it right. My wife is a fifth grade teacher so I get to hear it all the time when I say something wrong. Again I found both chapters to be great reading and very helpful.
Melissa G I agree with you when you said that students should know how to use a dictionary. I have worked with some high school kids that didn’t know how to use a dictionary. I find it amazing with all the different types of technology kids have today and they can’t find a word in a book. If this is a technology world why can’t they find an online dictionary? I also think that the crossword would also be fun for students to try and do.
Chapter 6 discusses word identification. I didn't know that much about word identification and it's process,I took in a lot of new information. Words need to have meaning for students. Many students can say words, but they do not always know the meaning. This chapter gave a variety of different ways to assess students. Chapter seven discussed vocabulary and the importance of building student's vocabulary experience and knowledge. Vocabulary is such an important part of reading. I enjoyed viewing all of the activities that help build vocabulary and seem fun for the students as well.
Both chapters really helped me with making modifications for my lesson plans. There are many ESOL adaptations and modifications I know I will be using in the future for my lesson plans. The wordless books activity was one that really caught my attention. Students get to use their imaginations and creativity while building reading skills as well.
George P: As I read through chapter six, I also began to think about the process of identifying words. Word identification seems so easy yet so hard all at the same time! The assessments mentioned in the text really helped me on my lesson plans. Both chapters give great insight on making modifications and accommodations for students.
George P: My last mentor teacher told me she hated it when individuals did not use proper grammar. After she told me that I watched every word I said. I said good one time in a sentence and then changed it to well and she started laughing. Grammar is so very important.
I really liked this chapter purely based on the fact that I felt that everything it said was something that I needed to know as an educator. I like how it went over the four cueing systems for words. I have heard of each of these, but I needed a review. I also enjoyed reading the types of formal and informal assessing on vocabulary and word recognition. I like the checklist format that they used for the sight word list and I now plan on using that in my tutoring sessions. The formal list of assessment sounds kind of overwhelming to me because I have not seen some of these before, but at the same time, its nice to know there are many options out there. I also dog tagged the pages with the activities on them because I'm going to stick those in my lesson plans as well.
Chapter 7
As dumb as this sounds, I never really thought about what it meant for a student to know the word. I understand the books explanation (understanding the meaning; how to use it in a conversation, etc.), but what I mean is, I think its easy sometimes to see a student read a word and forget to check all the other areas of understanding. It was just a good refresher to not just hear them say the word, but to stop and make sure they really comprehend what it means and how to use it. I was surprised to read that when students can act out words, they remember them better. The book said "When students are emotionally engaged, they are most likely to understand and remember the words." (page 157). Again, I liked reading about the types of assessments because that's an area that I do not feel very diverse in. My favorite activity to read about was the listening walk! I may look into doing something like that.
re: George P
I am like you in the area of assessment. I always worry that I'm going to mess it up somehow or use the wrong assessment, so it really helps me feel more confident when I can read methods and ideas from a book I can rely on. I think as the years go on, our confidence will build, but for now, its so stressful!!
I have looked over a few sight word lists and it seems that some of the words are too easy for the grade level. I don’t understand why that would be. That is the problem I had with the Rebecca Sitton Word list. However, I did not give it to my students. I gave them the Dolch word list. I really thought it was our choice to choose which one we wanted to use. I think the school district I am in uses Dolch. I just felt more comfortable with it and made a power-point presentation using it. I like reading how prior knowledge helps students with sight words or new vocabulary words. I always try to build background experience when introducing new words as I really think it helps. I don’t remember sight words as a student. I was intrigued to read somewhere that every word we read is a sight word unless we have never heard of it or read it before. I just never thought of it that way. It does make sense though because we do not sound out the words we read normally. There are words that I have come across and had to sound out. They were big words but I don’t feel I used as much phonics knowledge as the students would use today. I do not think I was taught well in the phonics area. It is still fun to sound out words though. Vocabulary was my favorite as a student. I loved memorizing vocabulary and tried hard back then to relate it to me personally. I remember that helped me remember the words. It helped when it felt I had a personal connection with the word.
Alexandra Westfall~ I like feeling like I am being refreshed on things also when I read the chapters. You know, I never really thought to make sure students really really know the word when they are reading it. I am going to put this to use while tutoring.
Within chapter six of word identification, it touched on homonym words. I was just wondering when teachers should teach students homonyms. Is it better to teach them in a unit or just as the word comes up within a lesson?
Then I agree with the book, teaching children through meaningful experiences and not word banks is the best way students truly grasps new vocabulary. I have observed and helped a student who had trouble with word identification. I forgot which words he struggled with, but it wasn’t until I had him look up the words in the dictionary for the definition and pronunciation, discussed the words with me, and then put them into a sentence, that he finally understood them. Once he understood, he read the words instead of skipping or starring at them.
As I was reading chapter seven, I was building new vocabulary terms as well. In fact a few new words are in Figure 7.1 on page 155. For me, I have known the definitions but I just haven’t been introduced to the actual term. However, I have a funny feeling that I will always be learning new words! With that in mind, I believe by constantly learning new terms, this allows me to understand how simple words to me can be difficult or sometimes even frustrating to students. Keeping that in mind, I want students to feel comfortable in asking about unknown words and be able to share to their peers the new terms. I believe within a classroom, the more communication there is, the more learning there may be.
Concern: Within the book it mentions that students who have wide vocabulary knowledge have better comprehension abilities. However, a student of mine struggles with comprehending the material, even though he is able to read most of the words correctly and with appropriate reading speed. I have even made sure that he understands each word and he does, but when asked about summarizing a passage, he struggles. So I’m using different graphic organizers with him which helps a little. What I mean by that is, he is able to tell me who the characters are, the setting, and sometimes the problem and solution, but he still can’t put all the information together for a summary of a passage or book and I’m running out of ideas, so if anyone thinks of an activity I can do with him, I’ll try it.
Nöelle Pohl VC Chapters 6 & 7 DeVries Text In reading and reviewing chapters 6 & 7 of the DeVries text, students have numerous opportunities to use their developing word identification skills as they read on their own. By using simple texts that have very limited word-recognition demands, teachers have an opportunity to check the degree of independence that students are developing in word recognition; the use of these books also has a very positive effect on students' concepts of themselves as readers. Clear and meaningful reading and writing activities are by far the best ways for students to practice and extend their word recognition skills! Consider how word recognition skills might be interrelated with listening, speaking, reading, writing, and spelling. Using Context clues or Semantic or Meaning Clues, when reading a story about cats, good readers develop the expectation that it will contain words associated with cats, such as tail, purr, and whiskers. Sentence context clues are more specific. In the sentence "My cat likes to. Syntactic or Word Order Clues are the order of the words in the sentence indicates that the missing word must be a verb. Other parts of speech, such as adjectives (nice, brown) or nouns (man, fence), make no sense or don't result in what sounds like a real sentence. Picture Clues are illustrations can often help with the identification of a word. In the example, if a picture of a cat leaping through the air accompanies the text, jump seems a very good possibility. Context clues allow our student readers to "crosscheck" their identification of words. As Vocabulary is a large part of how we as candidates and future teachers the LEA (Language Experience Approach) and understand the different Language concepts and examples we can in turn, help our students’ abilities to expand their vocabulary skill and building/learning techniques. The activities listed through pages: 162-172 and Figure: 7.12 were very understandable and informative. Using electronic books to which I have before when substituting does give clear and concise sound of word pronunciations and verbal definitions as we go along; but pause to reflect. Building student’s comprehension while continuing to enhance student’s vocabulary skills go hand and hand.
Reply to Lacy Keller, I am a fan of the DOLCH sight word list. As I have instructed it while long-term subbing. I found the routine easy and understandable for me to decode the words for help with the student’s abilities and progression for Diagnostic to Summative assessment time. Following an alphabetic routine with picture cue or animated pictures is an amazing way for our Kindergarten students to retain and learn the word correctly. As well as, pronunciation of each word and build of that word using learning games makes it VERY enjoyable for our students! Nöelle Pohl
Response to Melissa Howard: I too, thought that the sight word list in Rebecca Sitton was too easy, but that is what was listed to do. So once I assessed my students with it, two of my students went further than just the first grade words. In fact, one student read all of the second grade words with only mispronouncing four words and the other student read the all of the third grade words too, while skipping only ten words that he didn’t know. So maybe I should have stuck with the Dolch word list because I want to teach them new words. However, I have learned that even though they can read all these words, they have a hard time comprehending stories that have these words in them. However, when I ask them about the word, they are able to use it in another sentence. So I’m racking my brain with these boys.
The beginning of chapter 7 made me realize how important it is to challenge myself to use a rich vocabulary for own children and future students. It made me aware of how I try and dummy down conversations when I should actually do the opposite. Being a farm girl I could not help but chuckle at the comparisons of lingo like the word elevator. For me, especially this time of year, I would consider a grain elevator before a "boxlike enclosure that carries passengers."
After reading this chapter I really value the word mastery activity within our lesson plans. It follows right in line with the suggestions for effective instruction. As a substitute, I did not cover vocab this extensively, but look forward to it in a few day. I also really like the idea of finger tapping syllables. It seems like a great way to be less distractive than a clap, but something kids can still do on their own.
Ch 8 - I related well with the comparison of a car to understanding comprehension. Because I don't know much about cars and as a young reader, I struggled with comprehension. In fact, I still find myself having a hard time comprehending certain types of texts. So I must be honest, I think I need to reread this chapter. It contained a lot of vocab that I'm still trying to learn.
The chapter mentioned quite a few times that comprehension strategies need to be individualized. I kept trying to imagine how that looks in a classroom. But the more I think about it, I guess it would fall under adaptations to a lesson.
in response to Corinna I love the wordless picture book idea as well. I had never even owned or checked out a wordless picture book until Children's Lit. This would be a modification to add to a lesson plan.
Wow, the reading is getting more and more in depth! Just when I feel like I am starting to wrap my brain around effectively teaching reading, I realize that there is still so much more to learn! These chapters proved this to me. However, now that I have started tutoring I feel more confident in how I can help my students. (At least I feel that way for now; that could change at any time!) Today, when I listened to my students read the leveled sentences from the Cooter, Flynt, and Cooter textbook, I realized that my group struggles with sight words. I am making it my goal to help improve my students’ sight word vocabulary while I am with them this summer. Chapter six gave practical, thorough and in-depth information about developing sight word vocabulary. I appreciated that the DeVries textbook also provided lists of sight words in the appendix as well as ideas for assessment.
To help my students, I purchased little spiral-bound notecards books that will be used for sight words. I will put a sight word or phrase on each card and students will review and quiz each other during each session. I will be listening to see how quickly they are able to memorize the words so that I know when they will be ready for new words or phrases. These chapters gave me more excitement for teaching and I feel like I will become even more confident with practice.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I really liked your idea about making a powerpoint presentation using the sight words. I will be working on sight words a lot with my group and I think they would enjoy a digital presentation. Learning is so much better when the kids are having fun. I can't be reminded of this enough! Keep up the good work!
Chapter6- I found the introduction very interesting. I didn't realize the brain is capable of identifying only four or five random letters per second. I have seen the tunnel vision effect with students who are reading above their level. After reading these first few paragraphs it makes me want to remind my students why we need to read and how reading should be enjoyable instead of just identifying words and letters. I never thought about how homonyms could be very difficult for ELL students. I think it's weird that we have so many homonyms in our language. While reading receptive and expressive vocabularies I thought about my daughter. I'm always trying to use new and bigger words while speaking with her and it's so cute when she tries to use the words! Sometimes she uses the words correctly and sometimes not. I wish all parents knew how important it is to read and just talk with their children. The other day Kylee said, "Isn't it so romantic that we have got these kittens?". I explained to her what romantic meant and she started laughing. It was funny. :) Chapter 7- Knowing a word means more than just being able pronounce it but I never really thought about all of the steps in knowing a word so it was nice to see all five! I appreciated figure 7.1. I'm going to bookmark this page as a reference. I know the common concepts such as synonyms, antonyms, etc., but it was nice to have a refresher on the other ones! I didn't realize jumbo shrimp was an oxymoron. I liked the activities on page 168 and 169. I love crossword puzzles and concentration. This book is really great about providing great activities for us to use.
Learning how to read is a process. Just as it is with everything in school, the student will gradually get better and come to a point where he or she is ready for the next grade. The cueing system that chapter 6 spoke about really caught my eye. “students do not simply memorize lists of words or learn all of the combinations of letter-sound relationships. Instead, they ‘attend to how words work and how they communicate meaning’.” The four cueing systems: syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, and graphophonic, set the stage for reading. They are everything reading is about. There are many different strategies that the book suggests that go along with these strategies. One of my favorites is sight words. In my tutoring group there is a child who has severe dyslexia. One of the things that Ms. Stoppel continuously spoke about last week was repetition. By simply reviewing sight words each day or every other day, the student with dyslexia may become better at recognizing that word, but also the letters within that word. One if the things I always struggled with in school was vocabulary. It had to be because of my lack of reading. It is obvious that reading a variety of books will increase your individual vocabulary. What are other ways methods we can use for students who were like me, and did not enjoy reading? How do we change their attitudes? The book gave many suggestions for many different scenarios. It is a lot of fun that we get to use what we have been studying for all this time.
Response to Amanda S.- Perhaps a beginning, middle, and end graphic organizer might help. This would make him think about what happened in all three parts. If he has trouble writing it maybe he could draw pictures and then tell you what he drew. You could maybe give him prompts or ask questions to make him think about the text more in depth. Like you I am also learning new vocabulary words or freshening up on ones that I haven't heard in a while! I also worked with a boy last semester on his sight words. He struggled very badly and was just guessing. When I would ask him to use the word in a sentence he couldn't. The words were like....him, there, from, etc. After I would give a sentence example I would have him give me a sentence. That along with coding the word on the board helped him tremendously!
Chapter 6 was full of more information that I just can’t wait to use in a classroom. A couple things I thought were valuable in Chapter 6 were the tables in figures 6.6 that shows which part of the word to pronounce in order to do an informal assessment on the reader’s visual ability to analyze monosyllabic words. I find myself highlighting a lot of the references to resources outside the text and to the resources in the appendices. I related a lot of the information in Chapter 6 with my own experience with my daughter learning to read. One thing that my daughter relies heavily on is picture clues. I thought the section on guided reading was helpful as well. I always like the activities at the end of the chapters. I like the “Unscramble the Sentence” activity and also thought I might try the “Blending Onset with Rime” activity that is in Appendix D. One thing I enjoyed about Chapter 7 was that information was provided for how to help students who are ELLs. I am finding that a lot of the time the modifications that help ELL students will help all the students to learn and retain knowledge and although sometimes specific, targeted instruction is necessary, taking the extra time to incorporate strategies that will help ELLs will benefit other struggling students and even the whole class. Often, a teacher can incorporate visuals, gestures and facial expression into class instruction and provide the opportunity for students to ask questions. This will help the entire class. Chapter 7 also discusses ways to help ELLs build vocabulary. Wordless books come up in nearly every chapter’s activities which makes me see this resource in a different light. I have been sort of dismissive of this but I am now seeing that it can help in so many situations. It is especially useful for students who have limited English.
Joel~ I don't have an answer to your question, in fact, I would also like to know the answer. I have a boy in my tutoring group this summer who does not like to read. How do we change the attitude of struggling readers? I made a big promise today, I told him that at the end of the summer he wouldn't be saying "reading? yuck." I hope I can find the key and unlock his interest and motivate him!
Sorry for the late post! I thought it was due today! But, here it goes! Chapters six and seven were full of information! I can't even begin to process most of it, but I feel that using the strategies in the classroom will help. On that note, I found it interesting that the book says not to use the jargon we use in the book to teach our students. The reason I find this interesting (and even amusing) is because I started my tutoring yesterday and I used a few words and realized they had no idea what I was talking about! This might be difficult to keep the learning language out of instructing! I also found it interesting that research shows phonics instruction should be done in small groups, not a whole class setting. Chapter seven dealt more with vocabulary and the impact it has on reading (and learning in general). This chapter gave me an idea on how to incorporate geography, reading, and vocabulary into my lessons each day. I was walking around Jo Ann's looking for some inspirational material to cover my tri-fold (white is so boring) and found a piece of material that was the world map. It is so neat and almost fits perfectly on the trifold (a little large so a few countries might be out of the picture). Then I went to Barnes and Nobles and purchased a National Geographic Kids World Atlas. It is awesome and full of facts about different parts of the world. I am going to pick a section out of the book to begin each morning (in place of the fun fact that I had planned) and we are going to place push pins on the map of each country or region we learn about! I will also have one or two vocabulary words to learn from each section. Anyway, sorry, go side tracked with what I hope is a good idea! In the book, it says that students benefit from being able to act out words. This is why I continue to be amazed that 'the arts' are losing more and more funding in schools. Theatre, choir, band, and art are all outlets for children to express themselves. I think that acting out sometimes might mean to most people dramatizing, but I would like to ask my students to learn to perhaps draw happiness to express a feeling. I wonder how I can use musical instruments in an elementary classroom to benefit students understanding of new vocabulary words? Something to think about! Overall, really enjoyed these two chapters and just hope I can learn all of the vocabulary words in this text!
Response to Carrie: I felt exactly the same way after reading chapter six. I felt a little overwhelmed because of all of the information, but I feel I will have a better handle on it when I can just be in a classroom setting putting it to use. And, living in Texas right now, chapter seven is going to be crucial. There are many students and people here who do not speak English or have limited knowledge of English. Therefore, vocabulary for them is going to be a huge necessity if they are going to get anywhere in reading. Thanks for sharing!
Sorry for my late but also! But I would rather have a late post than not have one at all! I thought our next one was not due until the 27th but hear mine goes. :) Chapter six was about word identification. It stressed that the purpose of reading is not just to read the words but to comprehend or understand what the author is trying to say. Sight words are very important when beginning to read. They appear often in simple text. Students should recognize sight words in 1/2 a second or less. When working at the elementary school, I have observed kindergarten through third graders using visual analysis. They come to a word and break it down into syllables to sound the word out. Most lower level readers have trouble blending sounds together or pronouncing phonograms correctly. This is when the teacher should notice phonogram practice should be worked into his or her daily routine. I was glad to see the routine of guiding reading because I was wondering how the process was supposed to be taught. After reading through the steps, I remember guided reading when I was a Para. It was interesting to read about all the different activities towards the end of the chapter but I am working with kindergarten and I only saw one activity that I could use. It would have been nice if the author would have incorporated the lower grade levels more. Chapter seven talked about vocabulary building. At a very young age, children are exposed to many new words. Some words they may or may not know the definition of. I was shocked when I read that children learn almost 3,000 new words through life experiences each year. However, they also learn eight to ten new words through direct instruction. After reading about the different way to teach vocabulary, I think the best way for young students is to physically act out the word or draw a picture. They need something visually in front of them to help them remember the word. Acting it out will not only help them learn the word but they are having fun at the same time.
SusannaYust-I agree with about arts being cut from our school systems. Kids need that time to express themselves and act things out. Pencil and paper are not always the best way to learn things. One students might benefit from pencil and paper while another student learns best by drawing or acting things out. I don't know what will happen if all of the art programs are dropped. Students will become even less motivated than they are now.
I like how chapter 6 gave us directions on assessing vocabulary, context clues, blending, and visual/structional analysis. I find some of these somewhat confusing. I really like how this entire text gives ideas on informal testing. Chapter 7 had good information on teaching vocabulary. I student taught last semester in the 4th grade classroom. My district uses the Treasures reading series to teach reading and language arts. This series I felt had positive and negative effects. Everything is laid out and to make the series work they say you have to use it exactly as it is laid out. This gives the teacher no variety in teaching I didn’t feel. While the series had strategies for differentiated learning, it was not tailored to each individual student in the classroom. I felt this was a downfall. The series did include guided reading for every week that followed the lesson being taught. The leveled readers were even included with the series. The first day we would go over the vocabulary, again, laid out in the series. The vocabulary words were written in the board for the students to be able to refer back to when needed. During the readings the teacher would read and when we came to a vocabulary word, we would pause and the students were to say in unison the vocabulary word. This series was also very worksheet centered. One of the good things of this was sometimes it would focus on synonyms, antonyms, homophones and onomatopoeia. At the end of the week the students were tested on comprehension, vocabulary and whatever area the worksheets focused on that week. The next week you just moved into the next section. There didn’t seem time for re-teaching. I thought this a huge downfall. A great thing about the DeVries text is the sample activities that can be used in the classroom. It is so nice to have something to follow, especially for a new teacher who doesn’t feel like I don’t know what I am doing!!
Kate- I am with you-it seems like every day we are learning something new. I think that is the way it will always be in the classroom! Every day is a learning experience. As I stated in my blog, I student taught last semester and the difference between the classroom and my tutoring is almost overwhelming. I wish I had more confidence in doing a good job in tutoring my students and giving them what they need to learn how to read. I believe the main goal for my students this summer will be to focus on comprehension. I am doing 4th-5th grade and they read very well, with the exception of 1, but they can’t recall what they read. I like your idea of the spiral bound note card books.
Chapter 6: Word Identification
ReplyDeleteChapter six had some new information for me. I was familiar with three of the four cuing systems. These are the main components for teaching word identification. The chapter discusses how it is important that students learn how to use and understand words, not just know how to say them. Without the context a word is empty and has no meaning for the child. The chapter also discusses how important structural analysis is. There are so many students that struggle with this. The chapter gave some great ways to assess students on their word identification.
Question: I am a huge fan of sight words. I think it really helps a child develop a stronger vocabulary. We had discussed using phrases rather than just words, when building vocabulary. Where can you find more options for these cards?
This reading allowed me to really focus in on what important in word identification. As I read the cuing systems I was able to think back to how the teachers used these in class. I was very blessed to observe such amazing teachers!
I have used some of these activities in Title I Reading. I love that the book gives ideas but I always remember that all of these activities can be modified to meet the student’s individual needs!
Chapter 7: Vocabulary Building
Vocabulary is one of my favorite parts of the big five! I really enjoyed reading this chapter! I took reading and comprehension methods 3 semesters ago and this chapter reminded me of all the great rich language we need to expose children to! Figure 7.1 really had me excited because my favorite part of vocabulary is teaching synonyms and antonyms. This chapter really helped me to understand how to modify my instruction for those readers who are struggling. I love connecting children with new language through their background knowledge and personal experiences! I think this makes vocabulary building so much more interesting to the students. Graphic organizers are a great way to show word relationships! I also really love the school yard safari! I plan on using this in my tutoring sessions or making it part of my tri-fold for daily practice of adjectives! I also like the Language Experience Approach and hope to gain more practice with this.
Question: I read that English learners from high SES families outperform English speaking students from low SES families. Is this the reason for Title I implementation?
This chapter didn’t change my views, It just widened them! I am so excited to begin tutoring! There are so many amazing resources and I really want to take full advantage of them!
This chapter reminds me of some of my own experiences! I really do get excited and really do love teaching. My sister was a struggling reader and I really take pride in knowing that I can hopefully prevent students from going through the struggles she faced.
Reading about word identification again brings home the fact that I forget about all of the tools that I unconsciously use to understand or pronounce new words. One thing I love about this text is that it includes many ideas for ELL students and sheds light on what these children are dealing with in interpreting our language. I never thought about the fact that each language has its own syntax but I love the recommendation of making sure these students get books read to them so that they become familiar with English syntax. Yet again the emphasis of background knowledge is presented and shows how important those beginning years are. The importance of background knowledge makes me want to strive to give my students a very diverse and interesting experience in the classroom so that they will have that to pull from and build on. I totally agree that learning words in context and working intensely with them with relevant material is best. The activities that are included in the book for working with vocabulary words are great and I am already planning on using some of them this summer. Thinking about the advantage some children have over others just because of what family they are born into simply because of the vocabulary their parents may use really made me stop and think about children that I have worked with. I can see the validity of this statement. It also made me want to speak “smarter” if you will, to my own children and other children that I come into contact with. It reminded me of those calendars that have word of the day in it, I can see myself using this just to beef up my vocabulary and in turn remind me of other ways to say things. If I challenge myself to improve my vocabulary or broaden it then this will help equip my students for success. Again the activities at the end of the chapters are great and I learned a new term in them, hink pink, a word riddle that has two-word answers that rhyme. I’m looking forward to playing with this concept as well.
ReplyDeleteLanewberry, I agree I think sight words are so important. Like you I had a sibling that struggled with reading which made his educational journey very challenging. My two sisters and I were good readers and loved to read and I know it helped make school more enjoyable for us. I just hate the thought of children that struggle with reading so I look forward to searching and working hard to find strategies to help these students succeed. I can’t imagine going to college and struggling with reading, it would be a nightmare. We have got to reach these children and help them to succeed. They are counting on us. I love the language experience approach as well, it makes sense. These chapters gave me a lot to think about and use I can’t wait to get started.
ReplyDeleteJenni P: I was also impressed with the many different strategies to implement with ELL students. I live in Southwest Kansas and the majoirty of the students in this area come into school with little or no english speaking abilities. I am always amazed to see a child two years later reading and speaking English! I think the strategies in this chapter would be make great resources! Also, you are right, background knowledge has a major influence on a child's current reading ability. I too will take time to get to know my students and see where they come from to help them succeed!
ReplyDeleteThere was a number of ways discussed in this chapter that teachers could help students with word identification. I did not realize that ten words account for almost one-quarter of all the words we read and write. I like the personal word walls mentioned in the activity section of this chapter. I have also witnessed younger students with their own personal dictionaries in their desks. If they do not know how to spell a word they take their dictionary to the teacher and the teacher spells the word correctly in their dictionary.
ReplyDeleteVocabulary building is very important concept for a young reader. Sometimes I am amazed at some younger student’s vocabulary. To me, it seems like the larger the child’s vocabulary the more they like to read. That is probably where they learned all of their vocabulary is through a book or maybe an adult talking to them differently. Some words are unknown to students because of where they live. I love the idea of using graphic organizers to increase a child’s vocabulary. I would like to use the schoolyard safari with my tutoring students this summer. It would be interesting to see what kind of describing words they will come up with. I would also like for the students to try to make a crossword puzzle. I myself have never done this and think it would be fun and challenging. I think the sooner that students are exposed to dictionaries the better. I have witnessed a fifth grader that had trouble looking up a word in the dictionary. I understand that there is technology available for students to use but every student should know how to look up a word in the dictionary.
Lacey Keller
ReplyDeleteThese two chapters brought about all the wonderful things our brains do while interpreting the text. Each time I read about how our brain reacts to text, I get so amazed! The fact written in the sixth chapter which caught my eye was the fact that students should learn approximately seven words a day while in school!
In school, I loved vocabulary. My teachers did a wonderful job incorporating synonyms, homonyms, oxymorons, alliteration, and so on into the lessons. I still to this day, crave new vocabulary.
The Dolch word lists caught my attention. The authors state that the sight word list breaks every phonemic rule. I find it quite interesting that my son's soon-to-be kindergarten teacher uses the Dolch word list as spelling tests. She begins with the word "a" and continues alphabetically until the school year is done. Now I know that every school/teacher/administrator is different, but I would sure like to see my son's soon-to-be kindergarten teacher use a little onset and rime to build good decoding skills.
Melissa G.,
ReplyDeleteI understand you when you mention that students should learn how to read a dictionary, regardless of such technology available. It is one of those skills that makes us think just a little harder! Maybe there is not a great use for looking up the word, but using that part of the brain may spark interests and ideas from the students.
The county here in Kansas (Rooks) that I currently reside in provides a dictionary for all third grade students. I am not sure exactly what organization it is, but they encourage the students to find and highlight the words that they looked up. At the end of the year, the organization flips through them to make sure the students used them. The organization then encourages the students to carry the dictionaries onto the next grades. I hope that every student has the opportunity to use and see the joy that a dictionary can bring. My students in third grade last year seen there was far more than just words and definitions. They found presidents, Spanish words, human anatomy, and so on. The students loved their dictionaries!
Aspen Rank – Chapters 6 and 7
ReplyDeleteAs with the other chapters, these chapters were super interesting and chalked full of information that I KNOW will be useful in our upcoming tutoring sessions and careers in teaching! To start with, I loved reading the introduction to word identification in chapter six. I had no idea that “the brain is capable of identifying only four or five random letters per second.” Page 132 of this chapter was one that I pretty much covered with my highlighter and notes. This page had directions for guided reading and using sight words. I have used the Dolch words before in the kindergarten classrooms I’ve worked in, but I was really interested in reading about how to incorporate these words and other words in our guided readings. I am really excited to take students through the “picture walk” while conducting a guided reading session. Reading on through the chapter, I found the information on assessing sight words and types of vocabulary to be extremely useful. In fact, before reading this, I was questioning what I would use for my informal assessments during the middle weeks of tutoring….however, after completing these two chapters, I have a good idea of what I might use. The intervention section of chapter six was also really useful and actually interesting to read. I have used wordless books before in lessons, and I have always loved it! I know that kids love telling their own story, so giving them the opportunity to do this and to use their sight words is a great idea! The Match the Word activity on page 142 looked really fun as well!
Chapter seven started out really interesting as well! I was intrigued by the facts in the beginning of the chapter that discussed how students from lower SES often have a smaller vocabulary than those from a higher SES. Although I know that these stats have been proven, I can say that my own household could be considered one of the lower SES, yet, my daughter (3 yrs old) has a larger vocabulary than many of the four and five year olds I know. I am sure part of this is because I am an education major, but I believe most of this is contributed to the fact that we have always had “grown up” conversations with her. I have never really talked “baby talk” to my children, I have always talked to them by using more “meaningful context”. Reading through the chapter, I most defiantly dog-eared page 157, as it was filled with advice for providing modifications and accommodations for ESOL students. I know I will be using some of these techniques in my own lesson plans, especially the idea of acting out the words used in the lesson. Again in this chapter, there was the idea to do the “wordless books” activity, which I know will be useful in my future. The “total physical response” activity seems to be an awesome activity as it includes the concept of “acting out” which was mentioned in the ESL section as well. Overall, I loved these chapters and know I will refer back to them time and time again!
RE: LACEY KELLER
ReplyDeleteLet me start by saying Great Post! I also found the facts about our brains and how we comprehend, learn and read words and vocabulary to be so interesting! I was never aware of the fact that our brains read four to five random letters per second. I also had no idea that students learn seven words a day while in school, which got me thinking, how many words a day do I learn? After thinking about it for a bit, I realized, I still learn several words a day!
I also loved vocabulary in school, in fact spelling and defining words was (and still is) always one of my favorite things to do at school! And yes, the Dolch word list is great! I know that is the list that is used at several of the schools around my city and I know that they have all had great success using these word lists! I can’t wait to be the one helping students succeed using this list.
Aspen -
ReplyDeleteStudents love taking picture walks and it is very interesting to see what story they come up with, sometimes their story is similar to the book and sometimes it is not. Children have such great imaginations!
Word identification was good reading. I have not really thought about what goes into identifying words. I liked the section on Semantic system. This is the section that made me start to think about the different ways we pronounce words. I also liked reading the different assessments again. For me I am always afraid that I am not going to do something right so any help I get from the book is great. In chapter 7 it was over vocabulary. I feel that it is a struggle for a lot of people to use proper vocabulary. Most people probably don’t think about what they say or if they said it right. My wife is a fifth grade teacher so I get to hear it all the time when I say something wrong. Again I found both chapters to be great reading and very helpful.
ReplyDeleteMelissa G
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you said that students should know how to use a dictionary. I have worked with some high school kids that didn’t know how to use a dictionary. I find it amazing with all the different types of technology kids have today and they can’t find a word in a book. If this is a technology world why can’t they find an online dictionary? I also think that the crossword would also be fun for students to try and do.
Chapter 6 discusses word identification. I didn't know that much about word identification and it's process,I took in a lot of new information. Words need to have meaning for students. Many students can say words, but they do not always know the meaning. This chapter gave a variety of different ways to assess students. Chapter seven discussed vocabulary and the importance of building student's vocabulary experience and knowledge. Vocabulary is such an important part of reading. I enjoyed viewing all of the activities that help build vocabulary and seem fun for the students as well.
ReplyDeleteBoth chapters really helped me with making modifications for my lesson plans. There are many ESOL adaptations and modifications I know I will be using in the future for my lesson plans. The wordless books activity was one that really caught my attention. Students get to use their imaginations and creativity while building reading skills as well.
George P:
ReplyDeleteAs I read through chapter six, I also began to think about the process of identifying words. Word identification seems so easy yet so hard all at the same time! The assessments mentioned in the text really helped me on my lesson plans. Both chapters give great insight on making modifications and accommodations for students.
George P:
ReplyDeleteMy last mentor teacher told me she hated it when individuals did not use proper grammar. After she told me that I watched every word I said. I said good one time in a sentence and then changed it to well and she started laughing. Grammar is so very important.
Alexandra Westfall
ReplyDeleteChapter 6
I really liked this chapter purely based on the fact that I felt that everything it said was something that I needed to know as an educator. I like how it went over the four cueing systems for words. I have heard of each of these, but I needed a review. I also enjoyed reading the types of formal and informal assessing on vocabulary and word recognition. I like the checklist format that they used for the sight word list and I now plan on using that in my tutoring sessions. The formal list of assessment sounds kind of overwhelming to me because I have not seen some of these before, but at the same time, its nice to know there are many options out there. I also dog tagged the pages with the activities on them because I'm going to stick those in my lesson plans as well.
Chapter 7
As dumb as this sounds, I never really thought about what it meant for a student to know the word. I understand the books explanation (understanding the meaning; how to use it in a conversation, etc.), but what I mean is, I think its easy sometimes to see a student read a word and forget to check all the other areas of understanding. It was just a good refresher to not just hear them say the word, but to stop and make sure they really comprehend what it means and how to use it. I was surprised to read that when students can act out words, they remember them better. The book said "When students are emotionally engaged, they are most likely to understand and remember the words." (page 157). Again, I liked reading about the types of assessments because that's an area that I do not feel very diverse in. My favorite activity to read about was the listening walk! I may look into doing something like that.
re: George P
I am like you in the area of assessment. I always worry that I'm going to mess it up somehow or use the wrong assessment, so it really helps me feel more confident when I can read methods and ideas from a book I can rely on. I think as the years go on, our confidence will build, but for now, its so stressful!!
I have looked over a few sight word lists and it seems that some of the words are too easy for the grade level. I don’t understand why that would be. That is the problem I had with the Rebecca Sitton Word list. However, I did not give it to my students. I gave them the Dolch word list. I really thought it was our choice to choose which one we wanted to use. I think the school district I am in uses Dolch. I just felt more comfortable with it and made a power-point presentation using it.
ReplyDeleteI like reading how prior knowledge helps students with sight words or new vocabulary words. I always try to build background experience when introducing new words as I really think it helps. I don’t remember sight words as a student. I was intrigued to read somewhere that every word we read is a sight word unless we have never heard of it or read it before. I just never thought of it that way. It does make sense though because we do not sound out the words we read normally. There are words that I have come across and had to sound out. They were big words but I don’t feel I used as much phonics knowledge as the students would use today. I do not think I was taught well in the phonics area. It is still fun to sound out words though.
Vocabulary was my favorite as a student. I loved memorizing vocabulary and tried hard back then to relate it to me personally. I remember that helped me remember the words. It helped when it felt I had a personal connection with the word.
Alexandra Westfall~ I like feeling like I am being refreshed on things also when I read the chapters. You know, I never really thought to make sure students really really know the word when they are reading it. I am going to put this to use while tutoring.
ReplyDeleteWithin chapter six of word identification, it touched on homonym words. I was just wondering when teachers should teach students homonyms. Is it better to teach them in a unit or just as the word comes up within a lesson?
ReplyDeleteThen I agree with the book, teaching children through meaningful experiences and not word banks is the best way students truly grasps new vocabulary. I have observed and helped a student who had trouble with word identification. I forgot which words he struggled with, but it wasn’t until I had him look up the words in the dictionary for the definition and pronunciation, discussed the words with me, and then put them into a sentence, that he finally understood them. Once he understood, he read the words instead of skipping or starring at them.
As I was reading chapter seven, I was building new vocabulary terms as well. In fact a few new words are in Figure 7.1 on page 155. For me, I have known the definitions but I just haven’t been introduced to the actual term. However, I have a funny feeling that I will always be learning new words! With that in mind, I believe by constantly learning new terms, this allows me to understand how simple words to me can be difficult or sometimes even frustrating to students. Keeping that in mind, I want students to feel comfortable in asking about unknown words and be able to share to their peers the new terms. I believe within a classroom, the more communication there is, the more learning there may be.
Concern: Within the book it mentions that students who have wide vocabulary knowledge have better comprehension abilities. However, a student of mine struggles with comprehending the material, even though he is able to read most of the words correctly and with appropriate reading speed. I have even made sure that he understands each word and he does, but when asked about summarizing a passage, he struggles. So I’m using different graphic organizers with him which helps a little. What I mean by that is, he is able to tell me who the characters are, the setting, and sometimes the problem and solution, but he still can’t put all the information together for a summary of a passage or book and I’m running out of ideas, so if anyone thinks of an activity I can do with him, I’ll try it.
Nöelle Pohl VC
ReplyDeleteChapters 6 & 7 DeVries Text
In reading and reviewing chapters 6 & 7 of the DeVries text, students have numerous opportunities to use their developing word identification skills as they read on their own. By using simple texts that have very limited word-recognition demands, teachers have an opportunity to check the degree of independence that students are developing in word recognition; the use of these books also has a very positive effect on students' concepts of themselves as readers. Clear and meaningful reading and writing activities are by far the best ways for students to practice and extend their word recognition skills! Consider how word recognition skills might be interrelated with listening, speaking, reading, writing, and spelling. Using Context clues or Semantic or Meaning Clues, when reading a story about cats, good readers develop the expectation that it will contain words associated with cats, such as tail, purr, and whiskers. Sentence context clues are more specific. In the sentence "My cat likes to. Syntactic or Word Order Clues are the order of the words in the sentence indicates that the missing word must be a verb. Other parts of speech, such as adjectives (nice, brown) or nouns (man, fence), make no sense or don't result in what sounds like a real sentence. Picture Clues are illustrations can often help with the identification of a word. In the example, if a picture of a cat leaping through the air accompanies the text, jump seems a very good possibility. Context clues allow our student readers to "crosscheck" their identification of words. As Vocabulary is a large part of how we as candidates and future teachers the LEA (Language Experience Approach) and understand the different Language concepts and examples we can in turn, help our students’ abilities to expand their vocabulary skill and building/learning techniques. The activities listed through pages: 162-172 and Figure: 7.12 were very understandable and informative. Using electronic books to which I have before when substituting does give clear and concise sound of word pronunciations and verbal definitions as we go along; but pause to reflect. Building student’s comprehension while continuing to enhance student’s vocabulary skills go hand and hand.
Reply to Lacy Keller,
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of the DOLCH sight word list. As I have instructed it while long-term subbing. I found the routine easy and understandable for me to decode the words for help with the student’s abilities and progression for Diagnostic to Summative assessment time. Following an alphabetic routine with picture cue or animated pictures is an amazing way for our Kindergarten students to retain and learn the word correctly. As well as, pronunciation of each word and build of that word using learning games makes it VERY enjoyable for our students!
Nöelle Pohl
Response to Melissa Howard:
ReplyDeleteI too, thought that the sight word list in Rebecca Sitton was too easy, but that is what was listed to do. So once I assessed my students with it, two of my students went further than just the first grade words. In fact, one student read all of the second grade words with only mispronouncing four words and the other student read the all of the third grade words too, while skipping only ten words that he didn’t know. So maybe I should have stuck with the Dolch word list because I want to teach them new words. However, I have learned that even though they can read all these words, they have a hard time comprehending stories that have these words in them. However, when I ask them about the word, they are able to use it in another sentence. So I’m racking my brain with these boys.
The beginning of chapter 7 made me realize how important it is to challenge myself to use a rich vocabulary for own children and future students. It made me aware of how I try and dummy down conversations when I should actually do the opposite. Being a farm girl I could not help but chuckle at the comparisons of lingo like the word elevator. For me, especially this time of year, I would consider a grain elevator before a "boxlike enclosure that carries passengers."
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this chapter I really value the word mastery activity within our lesson plans. It follows right in line with the suggestions for effective instruction. As a substitute, I did not cover vocab this extensively, but look forward to it in a few day. I also really like the idea of finger tapping syllables. It seems like a great way to be less distractive than a clap, but something kids can still do on their own.
Ch 8 - I related well with the comparison of a car to understanding comprehension. Because I don't know much about cars and as a young reader, I struggled with comprehension. In fact, I still find myself having a hard time comprehending certain types of texts. So I must be honest, I think I need to reread this chapter. It contained a lot of vocab that I'm still trying to learn.
The chapter mentioned quite a few times that comprehension strategies need to be individualized. I kept trying to imagine how that looks in a classroom. But the more I think about it, I guess it would fall under adaptations to a lesson.
in response to Corinna
I love the wordless picture book idea as well. I had never even owned or checked out a wordless picture book until Children's Lit. This would be a modification to add to a lesson plan.
Wow, the reading is getting more and more in depth! Just when I feel like I am starting to wrap my brain around effectively teaching reading, I realize that there is still so much more to learn! These chapters proved this to me. However, now that I have started tutoring I feel more confident in how I can help my students. (At least I feel that way for now; that could change at any time!) Today, when I listened to my students read the leveled sentences from the Cooter, Flynt, and Cooter textbook, I realized that my group struggles with sight words. I am making it my goal to help improve my students’ sight word vocabulary while I am with them this summer. Chapter six gave practical, thorough and in-depth information about developing sight word vocabulary. I appreciated that the DeVries textbook also provided lists of sight words in the appendix as well as ideas for assessment.
ReplyDeleteTo help my students, I purchased little spiral-bound notecards books that will be used for sight words. I will put a sight word or phrase on each card and students will review and quiz each other during each session. I will be listening to see how quickly they are able to memorize the words so that I know when they will be ready for new words or phrases. These chapters gave me more excitement for teaching and I feel like I will become even more confident with practice.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMelissa Howard,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts. I really liked your idea about making a powerpoint presentation using the sight words. I will be working on sight words a lot with my group and I think they would enjoy a digital presentation. Learning is so much better when the kids are having fun. I can't be reminded of this enough! Keep up the good work!
Chapter6- I found the introduction very interesting. I didn't realize the brain is capable of identifying only four or five random letters per second. I have seen the tunnel vision effect with students who are reading above their level. After reading these first few paragraphs it makes me want to remind my students why we need to read and how reading should be enjoyable instead of just identifying words and letters. I never thought about how homonyms could be very difficult for ELL students. I think it's weird that we have so many homonyms in our language. While reading receptive and expressive vocabularies I thought about my daughter. I'm always trying to use new and bigger words while speaking with her and it's so cute when she tries to use the words! Sometimes she uses the words correctly and sometimes not. I wish all parents knew how important it is to read and just talk with their children. The other day Kylee said, "Isn't it so romantic that we have got these kittens?". I explained to her what romantic meant and she started laughing. It was funny. :)
ReplyDeleteChapter 7- Knowing a word means more than just being able pronounce it but I never really thought about all of the steps in knowing a word so it was nice to see all five! I appreciated figure 7.1. I'm going to bookmark this page as a reference. I know the common concepts such as synonyms, antonyms, etc., but it was nice to have a refresher on the other ones! I didn't realize jumbo shrimp was an oxymoron. I liked the activities on page 168 and 169. I love crossword puzzles and concentration. This book is really great about providing great activities for us to use.
Learning how to read is a process. Just as it is with everything in school, the student will gradually get better and come to a point where he or she is ready for the next grade. The cueing system that chapter 6 spoke about really caught my eye. “students do not simply memorize lists of words or learn all of the combinations of letter-sound relationships. Instead, they ‘attend to how words work and how they communicate meaning’.” The four cueing systems: syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, and graphophonic, set the stage for reading. They are everything reading is about. There are many different strategies that the book suggests that go along with these strategies. One of my favorites is sight words. In my tutoring group there is a child who has severe dyslexia. One of the things that Ms. Stoppel continuously spoke about last week was repetition. By simply reviewing sight words each day or every other day, the student with dyslexia may become better at recognizing that word, but also the letters within that word.
ReplyDeleteOne if the things I always struggled with in school was vocabulary. It had to be because of my lack of reading. It is obvious that reading a variety of books will increase your individual vocabulary. What are other ways methods we can use for students who were like me, and did not enjoy reading? How do we change their attitudes?
The book gave many suggestions for many different scenarios. It is a lot of fun that we get to use what we have been studying for all this time.
Response to Amanda S.- Perhaps a beginning, middle, and end graphic organizer might help. This would make him think about what happened in all three parts. If he has trouble writing it maybe he could draw pictures and then tell you what he drew. You could maybe give him prompts or ask questions to make him think about the text more in depth. Like you I am also learning new vocabulary words or freshening up on ones that I haven't heard in a while! I also worked with a boy last semester on his sight words. He struggled very badly and was just guessing. When I would ask him to use the word in a sentence he couldn't. The words were like....him, there, from, etc. After I would give a sentence example I would have him give me a sentence. That along with coding the word on the board helped him tremendously!
ReplyDeleteChapter 6 was full of more information that I just can’t wait to use in a classroom. A couple things I thought were valuable in Chapter 6 were the tables in figures 6.6 that shows which part of the word to pronounce in order to do an informal assessment on the reader’s visual ability to analyze monosyllabic words. I find myself highlighting a lot of the references to resources outside the text and to the resources in the appendices. I related a lot of the information in Chapter 6 with my own experience with my daughter learning to read. One thing that my daughter relies heavily on is picture clues. I thought the section on guided reading was helpful as well. I always like the activities at the end of the chapters. I like the “Unscramble the Sentence” activity and also thought I might try the “Blending Onset with Rime” activity that is in Appendix D. One thing I enjoyed about Chapter 7 was that information was provided for how to help students who are ELLs. I am finding that a lot of the time the modifications that help ELL students will help all the students to learn and retain knowledge and although sometimes specific, targeted instruction is necessary, taking the extra time to incorporate strategies that will help ELLs will benefit other struggling students and even the whole class. Often, a teacher can incorporate visuals, gestures and facial expression into class instruction and provide the opportunity for students to ask questions. This will help the entire class. Chapter 7 also discusses ways to help ELLs build vocabulary. Wordless books come up in nearly every chapter’s activities which makes me see this resource in a different light. I have been sort of dismissive of this but I am now seeing that it can help in so many situations. It is especially useful for students who have limited English.
ReplyDeleteJoel~ I don't have an answer to your question, in fact, I would also like to know the answer. I have a boy in my tutoring group this summer who does not like to read. How do we change the attitude of struggling readers? I made a big promise today, I told him that at the end of the summer he wouldn't be saying "reading? yuck." I hope I can find the key and unlock his interest and motivate him!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late post! I thought it was due today! But, here it goes! Chapters six and seven were full of information! I can't even begin to process most of it, but I feel that using the strategies in the classroom will help. On that note, I found it interesting that the book says not to use the jargon we use in the book to teach our students. The reason I find this interesting (and even amusing) is because I started my tutoring yesterday and I used a few words and realized they had no idea what I was talking about! This might be difficult to keep the learning language out of instructing! I also found it interesting that research shows phonics instruction should be done in small groups, not a whole class setting. Chapter seven dealt more with vocabulary and the impact it has on reading (and learning in general). This chapter gave me an idea on how to incorporate geography, reading, and vocabulary into my lessons each day. I was walking around Jo Ann's looking for some inspirational material to cover my tri-fold (white is so boring) and found a piece of material that was the world map. It is so neat and almost fits perfectly on the trifold (a little large so a few countries might be out of the picture). Then I went to Barnes and Nobles and purchased a National Geographic Kids World Atlas. It is awesome and full of facts about different parts of the world. I am going to pick a section out of the book to begin each morning (in place of the fun fact that I had planned) and we are going to place push pins on the map of each country or region we learn about! I will also have one or two vocabulary words to learn from each section. Anyway, sorry, go side tracked with what I hope is a good idea! In the book, it says that students benefit from being able to act out words. This is why I continue to be amazed that 'the arts' are losing more and more funding in schools. Theatre, choir, band, and art are all outlets for children to express themselves. I think that acting out sometimes might mean to most people dramatizing, but I would like to ask my students to learn to perhaps draw happiness to express a feeling. I wonder how I can use musical instruments in an elementary classroom to benefit students understanding of new vocabulary words? Something to think about!
ReplyDeleteOverall, really enjoyed these two chapters and just hope I can learn all of the vocabulary words in this text!
Response to Carrie:
ReplyDeleteI felt exactly the same way after reading chapter six. I felt a little overwhelmed because of all of the information, but I feel I will have a better handle on it when I can just be in a classroom setting putting it to use. And, living in Texas right now, chapter seven is going to be crucial. There are many students and people here who do not speak English or have limited knowledge of English. Therefore, vocabulary for them is going to be a huge necessity if they are going to get anywhere in reading. Thanks for sharing!
Sorry for my late but also! But I would rather have a late post than not have one at all! I thought our next one was not due until the 27th but hear mine goes. :)
ReplyDeleteChapter six was about word identification. It stressed that the purpose of reading is not just to read the words but to comprehend or understand what the author is trying to say. Sight words are very important when beginning to read. They appear often in simple text. Students should recognize sight words in 1/2 a second or less. When working at the elementary school, I have observed kindergarten through third graders using visual analysis. They come to a word and break it down into syllables to sound the word out. Most lower level readers have trouble blending sounds together or pronouncing phonograms correctly. This is when the teacher should notice phonogram practice should be worked into his or her daily routine. I was glad to see the routine of guiding reading because I was wondering how the process was supposed to be taught. After reading through the steps, I remember guided reading when I was a Para. It was interesting to read about all the different activities towards the end of the chapter but I am working with kindergarten and I only saw one activity that I could use. It would have been nice if the author would have incorporated the lower grade levels more.
Chapter seven talked about vocabulary building. At a very young age, children are exposed to many new words. Some words they may or may not know the definition of. I was shocked when I read that children learn almost 3,000 new words through life experiences each year. However, they also learn eight to ten new words through direct instruction. After reading about the different way to teach vocabulary, I think the best way for young students is to physically act out the word or draw a picture. They need something visually in front of them to help them remember the word. Acting it out will not only help them learn the word but they are having fun at the same time.
SusannaYust-I agree with about arts being cut from our school systems. Kids need that time to express themselves and act things out. Pencil and paper are not always the best way to learn things. One students might benefit from pencil and paper while another student learns best by drawing or acting things out. I don't know what will happen if all of the art programs are dropped. Students will become even less motivated than they are now.
ReplyDeleteI like how chapter 6 gave us directions on assessing vocabulary, context clues, blending, and visual/structional analysis. I find some of these somewhat confusing. I really like how this entire text gives ideas on informal testing.
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 had good information on teaching vocabulary. I student taught last semester in the 4th grade classroom. My district uses the Treasures reading series to teach reading and language arts. This series I felt had positive and negative effects. Everything is laid out and to make the series work they say you have to use it exactly as it is laid out. This gives the teacher no variety in teaching I didn’t feel. While the series had strategies for differentiated learning, it was not tailored to each individual student in the classroom. I felt this was a downfall. The series did include guided reading for every week that followed the lesson being taught. The leveled readers were even included with the series.
The first day we would go over the vocabulary, again, laid out in the series. The vocabulary words were written in the board for the students to be able to refer back to when needed. During the readings the teacher would read and when we came to a vocabulary word, we would pause and the students were to say in unison the vocabulary word. This series was also very worksheet centered. One of the good things of this was sometimes it would focus on synonyms, antonyms, homophones and onomatopoeia. At the end of the week the students were tested on comprehension, vocabulary and whatever area the worksheets focused on that week. The next week you just moved into the next section. There didn’t seem time for re-teaching. I thought this a huge downfall.
A great thing about the DeVries text is the sample activities that can be used in the classroom. It is so nice to have something to follow, especially for a new teacher who doesn’t feel like I don’t know what I am doing!!
Kate-
ReplyDeleteI am with you-it seems like every day we are learning something new. I think that is the way it will always be in the classroom! Every day is a learning experience.
As I stated in my blog, I student taught last semester and the difference between the classroom and my tutoring is almost overwhelming. I wish I had more confidence in doing a good job in tutoring my students and giving them what they need to learn how to read. I believe the main goal for my students this summer will be to focus on comprehension. I am doing 4th-5th grade and they read very well, with the exception of 1, but they can’t recall what they read.
I like your idea of the spiral bound note card books.