Top Things to Ensure Better Readers

Top Things to do to Ensure Students Become Excellent Readers

· Introduce students to all kinds of genres.

· Have lots of books they like to read that are on their level.

· Read good literature to them.

· Share your love of literature.

· Give students time to talk about their reading.

· Set aside significant blocks of time for reading.

· Give children  choice in what they read.

· Tell kids, “You are a reader.”

· Demonstrate that you are  a reader.

· Provide an excellent classroom library.

· Let students choose books they want to read and give them time to read them.

· Teach strategies students need to know to process and understand text.

Teaching with Urgency

As a teacher we know that it is very important to teach with urgency. When we teach with urgency our teaching is much more effective, our students are more engage, and students and teacher both will be having fun. In my classroom teaching with urgency number one is being aware of the students in my classroom. I need to ensure that my instruction is engaging and that I am evaluating and reflecting daily. By reflecting on my teaching I can make decisions about things I need to change next time or what I need to go back and reteach.

When you teach with a sense of urgency you are working towards guiding your students down a path of independence. In order to do this you  must first do guided practice with students and work slowly towards independent practice.  When doing this we no longer jump right in when students are stuck, but rather allowing them to problem solve on their own. :) 

  

Presentation Beginnings

I have been thinking about what I am going to do to present the books I am currently reading, "Reading Essentials." I have decided I am going to use one of the web 2.0 applications to create an engaging presentation for my classmates. I am also going to create a hand-out, possibly a brochure, for my classmates to take away from my presentation. 

I thought this would be more appropriate than using PowerPoint, because I am notorious for creating a PowerPoint and reading all the slides to the class. My goal is to use something new so I can explore something new, and also so I will be more engaged as a presenter. This week I am going to explore a couple different web 2.0 applications and decided which one I am going to use  for my presentation. 

Share Your Reading Life

In my classroom I am always trying to get my kids excited about reading. I was fortunate enough that my mother saved all my childhood books, so I have several books that interest my students. They love when they get to go and choose one of my books to read (or look at the pictures) because they get to make the choice. 

One thing from the text that stood out to me was that I need to encourage my students to recommend books to each other. This will help them get excited about reading from their peers. 

My students are required to fill out a reading log every night and I fill out one as well. Anytime we read a book together in class I will write it on my reading log to model for the students how it works.

Another area that stood out to me was as a teacher we need to examine what we do as a reader and make our thinking and practices visible to our students. When ever I read stories to my kindergarteners I use think alouds all the time. This is very important for me because now that we are half way through the school year when I do a think aloud my kids will actually raise their hands and extend about their thinking as a response to my think aloud. 

Google Site

Here is a link to my Google Website :) Enjoy!

https://sites.google.com/site/mastersinreading12/

Bonding with Your Students

The modeling by people that we love is what changes us.

-Don Holdaway

You would not know how many times during the school year my students accidently call me “mom.” Although I do not have children of my own, I consider my students my children! I think having a bond with your students will allow you to help them learn. 

To bond with your students means that you:

-Treat them and their families with respect.

-Act kindly toward them.

-Show that we care about them.

-Listen to them.

-Keep them safe.

-Celebrate their efforts and accomplishments.

-Know their interests and incorporate those interests into the curriculum.

-Provide optimal learning conditions.

-Make sure they succeed from the very first day.

-Have faith in them as learners.

-Value them as individuals.

Teaching kindergarten, most of my students still love being loved. They tell me every morning how much they missed me, come up to me during all times of the day just to give me a hug, and many of them tell me they love me. I completely understand the importance of bonding with my students and I always work hard for each and every one of my students. I never belittle my students and I am always striving for success for every child in my classroom. I model for them constantly about how to be respectful and responsible and try my best to build a classroom learning community where all students feel safe.

As this chapter continues the author discusses how to encourage shared decision making in your classroom. You should tell students stories of things that happen in your life. I do this every after every weekend with my students and sometimes I wonder why they are so fascinated with the things I do! As a teacher we need to value our students’ stories and read stories aloud to them. We need to get to know our students as readers and learn about their reading lives at home. Most of all we need to enjoy and celebrate our students!

Reading Essentials

I have chosen to read the book “Reading Essentials: The Specifics You Need to Teach Reading Well” by Regie Routman. Being a kindergarten teacher I am very excited to start reading this book. I would like to learn the essentials of reading so I can develop new ways to teach reading to my students.

When I began reading the book I was instantly engaged. The first chapter really spoke to me. The title of the chapter was Simplify Your Teaching Life. The author goes out to schools and into classrooms to help teachers. She stated that if we want our students to be excited about literacy, they need to have teachers who love coming to work, who are literacy learners themselves, who find ways to make curriculum relevant to children’s lives and who can put high stakes testing in perspective. With that being said I could not agree more! As well, she states that many times this is not possible because we are constantly exhausted from an overstuffed curriculum and have no time to collaborate, reflect, and renew ourselves.

Having only been a teacher for a mere three years I like to believe that I could do all the things I needed to do in order to get my students excited about literacy. Sadly, I feel completely overwhelmed with the amount of work I have to do on a weekly basis and find myself struggling to find time to reflect on my lessons or collaborate effectively with my team.

Something I always need to remember is that there is no one “right” way or best way to teach. The answer depends on your students. As teachers we often complicate our teaching lives. We are so focused on the programs instead of the students. We have elaborate time consuming management systems rather than simple and effectives ones. The list goes on and on. We need to view teaching ad an art supported by science.

How can we get back to the basics of what really matters in teaching and learning?

• ·         Inspiring ongoing curiosity and a love of learning.
• ·         Acquiring the skills and tools to learn and go on learning.
• ·         Guaranteeing immediate and continued success.
• ·         Ensuring that learners become thinking, probing users of language.
• ·         Implementing challenging and relevant curriculum.
• ·         Establishing and sustaining collaborative and caring communities.

I am excited to continue reading and blogging about this book!