Feb. 25

Reading about the different types of readers in the Applegate article made me realize how differently I read now in college than I did growing up. It's hard to think all the way back to elementary school and evaluate my reading, but I remember always being a "good" reader. I could read new words easily and fly through the pages. Reading the Applegate article makes me question what "good" reading is. I'm not sure if I found meaning in the text or made connections. I think I made mainly text-to-self connections whenever I read at school. I didn't read much outside of school once I got to about 5th grade. I didn't really see any value or fun in it. Thinking back, maybe that was because I did mostly literalist or minimalist reading where I just did what I had to do to get through it.

I think I've learned to make connections better in college. I may have read one or two books for fun outside of school while I was in high school, but now I enjoy reading literature for my classes. I feel like I make a lot more connections now and look beyond the surface of the text.

comprehension

After reading through about reading comprehension I feel like I have a deeper view and understanding of myself and why I struggle with reading comprehension. I remember in school always hating reading, and still to this day there is a list of about 50 things I'd rather do than read a book.  Although the idea of being "taught" how think about your reading during the reading process seems somewhat silly, how readers think during reading and the strategies they use are extremely important when it comes to comprehension.   I realize now that a lot of this has to do with never being "taught" how to read. The only time I have been able to find myself actually comprehending text is when I have to take notes, or have some type of question or ideas guiding my reading. Through out elementary school most of the reading had to do with being presenting a surface question about the reading such as " why did Tommy leave his house" with surface level answers. By the time I got to high school the only real comprehension techniques I knew were to take notes and visualize. Don't get me wrong, I had book discussions in class and always ended up leaving class with a deeper knowledge of the material than what I came with, but that was half in part to not comprehending a lot of the text and relying on others to help fill the gaps kind of like what applegate describes as "fuzzy thinkers."  It wasn't until sophomore year in TE 348  that the idea that you create meaning within text by relating it to yourself in methods of  text to text, text to self, and text to world even became something evident.  I have always struggled with reading comprehension in part to my ability to focus and not allow my mind to wander while reading texts. Another problem I have is looking too closely for things within texts, being a "literarist" and concentrating too hard on creating a meaning, or finding the information that I need rather than enjoying/ letting the reading process and comprehension happen.

Within the classroom, I see a lot of the students going down a similar path when it comes to reading. Most of the time the students are reading silently and then answering questions about the text, and you can tell what students are actually comprehending the texts, rather than just reading the words. A lot of the students are "quiz contestants" and "literalists" I kind of got excited when thinking about the book discussion I am going to be having with them this week because it is so different from what they have experienced. I hope that the book discussion can show them some ways they are suppose to be thinking about texts and introduce them to some reading comprehension techniques that could potentially steer them away from the "hatred of reading". Although I know its not something that magically happens over night, hopefully the students experiencing a grand conversation can elicit some of the students to realize how they should be thinking while reading texts.

After looking at my own reading comprehension in light of the texts I found that a lot of what I do personally as a reader is what is being taught to students. One of the biggest things that jumped out at me was making connections. They discuss this in the Cahill article about having students use their "schema" to relate to text. I took an IAH class and they assigned readings that just made no sense to me. I wasn't able to use my background knowledge well because I had never even paid a thought to the topic we were on. I felt my own reading fluency diminish in the shadow of these older texts that were almost to overwhelming for me. In the Tompkins reading process they discuss word identification  fluency, and comprehension. When I was reading for that IAH class I wasn't doing anything right in terms of the reading process. 

There is a huge contrast in my reading when I am reading for school and pleasure.The Applegate article really hit home with their identifying different types of readers and their strategies. I know many college students as well as myself use the politician strategy. After doing a reading I just try and say what I think my teacher is looking for so I can prove I did the reading and be done with it. I also think many college kids use the Quiz Contenstant method, being able to recite all the facts of the article and often over look the universal meaning of it. Contrast this type of reading when I read for pleasure and it is night and day. When I read outside of school I imagine what they are saying and really try to dive deep into making connections. 

These tactics that college students use don't just spring out of nowhere. The issue comes in motivation, when I don't have the motivation to read I don't pick up nearly as much from the text, I have a harder time remembering what I read and I use it then lose it. I see this in the classroom all the time, students doing the reading just to get through with it and not applying themselves. 

In hindsight I should be applying the Tompkins reading process and the Cahill article more to my own educational benefit! 

Eddie's Case

            As much as we don’t like to classify children into categories I think Eddie would fall under the ADHD category experiencing “difficultly controlling his attention and impulses, difficulty sitting for long periods of time, and difficulty attending to tasks.” (Gifted and Challenging). Most doctors and parents are quick to medicate their children when it comes to ADHD and for some this is a beneficial option, but there are also a lot of other techniques for those who do not want to medicate their children that can promote learning in students experiencing ADHD-like tendencies. 

             Although it may sound contradictory (because consistency in terms of daily routines and structure are beneficial for students with ADHD) a key component with students such as Eddie is flexibility. A big thing with students such as Eddie is this need of constant stimulation, walking around, or getting up moving. Instead of looking at this as a deficit, there are ways in which you can modify the classroom so that each child’s needs can be met and incorporated into the classroom.  - For example, Eddie could be the teachers designated helper who helps pass out papers or materials used. This will allow him the extra “moving up and around time” and gives him a purpose to be up and moving around. With Eddie feeling as if he has purpose, or knowing at any time he may have to pass out papers or collect materials, Eddie will (hopefully) pay attention more in order to “do his job”.

              Another accommodation that could be made for Eddie stems from his need of a constant reminder to stay focused. Class activities and lessons can be modified to this with more engaging and hands on activities. Students similar to Eddie, like Marcus, were found to have performed better and found a deeper understanding of tasks when they were hands on. Another method of keeping Eddie on task while he’s doing these activities could deal with charts that help keep track of the assignments and work he has to complete. Another thing to keep in mind with students similar to Eddie is also accommodating discipline such as taking away recess, as this is a time extremely beneficial for students especially students with ADHD.  

              Overall keeping the classroom a predictable but stimulating environment for students will not only promote better learning and accommodation for Eddie, but also will enrich the other students learning as well.

February 19: Jonathan's Case

            Mrs. Potter would not need to do much class-wide adjusting for Jonathan’s case. It sounds like Jonathan is below grade level for reading and needs to backtrack a little. I think it would be helpful for him to read shorter, easier texts than his peers. He could read books that have pictures too. It sounds like Jonathan feels frustrated with the reading material and gives up. He just sits there because he feels like he can’t do it.

            Getting more involved, Mrs. Potter could work with Jonathan to make a plan just for him. As mentioned in the reading about Marcus, the teacher could sit down with Jonathan, who “seems frustrated by a lack of know-how” to gather the tools, skills, and materials needed to carry out the plan. Something like this would probably work better for writing, since it is easier to model writing different genre types than it is to model reading. One model that Jonathan could use is a book on tape which can be sent home for listening homework, or independent or group work at a listening center. Putting Jonathan in a group with student/s who can be trusted to act as a junior teacher can be beneficial to both students. The junior teacher may improve on his/her reading skills by modeling or teaching them, and both will get practice with social skills. Jonathan will get peer instruction in reading which can be more personal since the teacher is trying to divide her attention among the whole 24-student class.

            I think it would also be helpful for Jonathan to get reading materials in advance so that he has at least a week to read them before the rest of the class. He can practice reading at home and at school so that he can become more familiar with the words. When it comes time for in-class reading, he will be closer to the level of the rest of the students. Going back to the idea of making a plan with Jonathan, putting together a word list for him to practice over the course of the week could act as a personal word wall, focusing on letter patterns he struggles with. Before doing that, Mrs. Potter would need to conduct an assessment to find out what level Jonathan is at.

            Doing read-alouds in the class could be helpful if the book was projected on the wall and students were able to follow along. Mrs. Potter could model for the whole class how to follow along with their fingers and it might help Jonathan notice letter-sound patterns.

            In order for any of this to happen, however, Jonathan’s parents need to be notified. If Mrs. Potter could set up a parent-teacher conference with them, she could encourage the parents to read with Jonathan at home. Jonathan should be reading books both for school and not for school. If Mrs. Potter was to send class readings home in advance for Jonathan to practice, he would need the support from his parents to make sure he does the reading and to make sure he gets help that he needs to get a head start. As talked about in the Maples article, asking Jonathan’s parents to write a letter about Jonathan’s experiences with reading would give Mrs. Potter an idea of where he stands and why that could be. This would open up the communication between the teacher and the parents so that the parents don’t feel blocked off from the classroom and the teacher can use the resources the parents have to offer. Tapping into Jonathan’s interests, such as piano and baseball could also be a starting point. Giving him readings about his interests could be motivating as well as worthwhile for the whole class. If the class read a book about baseball, Jonathan could contribute during class discussions with personal accounts and become more involved in the reading process.

One of the first things that jumped out at me about some of the interventions to help Lupita would be to provide her with activites that use a pencil. From the Marcus Case they suggest using fun activities to help acclimate students who have issues with fine motor skills. I would suggest to Mrs.Potter to have Lupita  work on drawing/doodling, coloring, completing mazes on paper, really anything that would get Lupita familiar with using a pencil and paper to complete things. Making sure she is able to handle the physical requirements for success at school is the number one priority.

The second priority would be to contact Lupitas family (parents/grandparents) to establish a good connection and make sure that she is getting proper support at home. Let them know that she should work on using a pencil and paper when she is at home and encourage her to talk and make friends. The Maples article discusses the importance that a students family life can have on their psychological function. By contacting Lupitas family Mrs.Potter can keep them updated on how she is doing in school and check up on how she is doing at home. this also establishes a friendly relationship with Mrs.Potter and Lupitas family. Doing this also helps to get to know more about the student and what she might or might not be comfortable with. This allows a teacher to keep in mind the different background of each student( in this case Lupita)

 I would also recommend that Mrs. Potter really strive to involve Lupita in every activity they do. Let her become comfortable in the classroom setting. It is important to have a good learning environment so the student wont feel repulsed by being at school. In the Marcus case, Marcus was hesitant toward school because he felt stupid. If Lupita remains quite all day and doesn't participate she may  be getting the feeling that she doesn't belong. Especially if Mrs.Potter isn't calling on her.

One of the minor things that I think could be done is to give Lupita activities that help to assimilate her to American culture. The Breitfielder article discusses using visual cues and aids to help relate language to a student. Coming from Mexico Lupita could have issues in communication/ English language. I think providing support to help her fit into an American school would be very beneficial