Module 5 Reading Reflections

3 Important Concepts from the Reading:

1. I found that mini-lesson strategies are effective in content areas. First, practice them by doing direct explanation of the strategy, then demonstrate the strategy, practice the strategy, apply the strategy. Reading should always have a purpose, and finding that purpose is the key. (p. 195)

2. I liked on p. 207 the fact that teachers should facilitate a supportive classroom context for reading. Lots of time should be spent actually reading, and that reading should be real texts for real reasons. Also, students need to read a variety of genres. The environment should be rich in vocab and concept development. Discussion of the vocabulary words and their meanings should be used often and modeled by the teacher. Time writing texts for others to comprehend should be ample. Lastly, there should be lots of dialogue about text between the teacher and the students as well as student-student. (p. 208)

3. The art of motivating 8th grade students is VERY difficult! So I looked at that portion of the readings. Beginning on p. 212, and I found the common thread is having the students experience real texts for real reasons. Also, letting them choose and read high interest books often is one of the best ways to motivate them to keep reading and ultimately, becoming lifelong readers.

Implementation:

In my 8th grade English class, we are finishing up a unit on "Career Research." So they got to choose a career that interested them and had to make a KWL chart as well as come up with 5 important questions per category: education, salary, job description, pros and cons, and an open topic for a total of 25 questions to guide their research. When they did the KWL, they were coming to me and letting me know that what they THOUGHT they knew wasn't exactly correct. So that, I felt, was poignant in their comprehension (it probably won't be forgotten anytime soon, that is).

Before/During/After Strategy:

KWL-Plus

 I used the KWL-Plus chart strategy before, during, and after reading. I was able to find answers to my questions, especially answers to the ones I had no prior knowledge. One of my main questions before reading this module was "What strategies are effective for my 8th graders in comprehending content textbooks?"Before reading, I listed all the things I knew about comprehension. Then I listed all the things I wanted to know, such as what are some more effective strategies regarding student motivation, comprehension strategies, and so on. I then read the chapters and a couple of extra readings and found some great strategies. I then listed all the things I learned from the readings, answers to my questions, and more. This strategy is great for ALL areas of education, from kindergarten all the way to adult learning.