Olivia Boykin Blog Post #7 Routman Chapter 10: Examine Guided Reading

Olivia Boykin Blog Post #7 Routman Chapter 10:  Examine Guided Reading

        I chose to read this chapter for my last blog post because I can best relate to it due to the “grouping,” “management,” and “centers” topics discussed within the chapter.  Right off the bat I loved that it reads, “Students need ample demonstrations and support before we “hand over” most of the learning responsibility to them.  When students have not had enough demonstrations and guided demonstrations, we wind up spending too much time on word work, concepts, and strategies in guided reading – work that could easily have been taught in guided demonstrations.” (p. 152)  I sometimes find myself trying to rush the demonstration and directions but normally find that I then spend more time having to re-explain which then takes more time away from learning than it would have taken to do it right from the beginning. 

As a side note, I don’t know that I agree with Routman on the ability grouping issue, though, but I’m still “on the fence.”  As a parent, I like that my daughter is now with a group of students who excel academically and care about their learning.  I believe this is the reason there are very few disruptions due to behavior issues or someone not “getting” a concept because he/she is a grade level or more “behind.”  As a teacher, I think there would be some pros to teaching that class but I think I’d choose to teach the “lowest” class.  I seem to be able to reach those students best.  On the flip side, I think the “lowest” students need to be in a smaller class because there is more “one-on-one” needed with a class where essential skills have been missed along the way.  Also, generally speaking, the “low” class is where we find most of the “behavior issues” so the low numbers would be a benefit in that area, as well.  On the flip side, I find that there are times when I ask one of my “higher” students to work with one of my “lower” students and that something clicks for the person who is struggling that hasn’t clicked when I’ve said or done the same thing.  Peer tutoring is one of my “go-to” strategies and if I group the students correctly I find that it is highly beneficial. 

That leads me to the real reason I chose this chapter:  grouping.  When I have students move from one math station to another I find that homogeneous grouping works best when they move to the “teacher station” but heterogeneous grouping works best for stations in which they are playing a “game” or explaining a process to one another.  Also, I try to make sure the students in each group get along (as much as possible) so as to prevent unnecessary issues arising while I’m working with groups.  I really need to work on this aspect of my station planning because it also affects my classroom seating charts.  This is a “gift” my previous “partner-in-crime” had and we played to our strengths and that saved me so much time and more gray hair.  Now that I am switching up groups weekly (and sometimes daily) according to which skill is causing certain students grief, I’m having to focus on one of my weakest areas so I’m getting better at grouping because of all the practice I’m getting.  (It still takes me way too long and I think I covered “lack of time” in a previous blog.) 

I do love that management has also been a strength of mine (until recently) so I felt good about managing my groups.  In years past I didn’t have to worry about what my students were doing in their groups because I did trust them and knew that we had spent the needed time discussing and demonstrating how the stations should look and sound.  Now, though, times they are a-changing and I don’t feel that my stations are as effective as they were in previous years.  I’m hoping that this year is just a fluke in regards to this and that next year we can get back on track with group learning and stations. 

Angela Jackson post #7 - Ch. 12 You Only Have So Much Time

 As my first year of teaching comes to a close, I have reevaluated all aspects of my experience. What I once thought was the way to go,  I now know some things were a waste of time and effort for both me and my students. I have been utterly exhausted staying at school some nights till way past 7pm. I felt as if I could not leave until every part of my classroom was set and ready for the next day. I did not do a good job of working efficiently in the few hours after school to get things done so I could go home. Yet, when I got home, I was still up till the early morning hours thinking about my lesson plans and trying to figure out what in the world I was doing!!

This chapter really helped me put everything into perspective. The author states that teachers, "should live interesting lives, and that we need to stop feeling guilty about leaving at a reasonable hour so we have time for our families." Wow, what a concept! :-) I don't feel that I will be able to leave at a reasonable hour (3:00pm- 3:30pm) just yet, but I will work towards it in my second year of teaching.

This year I have had epic fails and I have learned from them. The author has helped me understand that I need to,"keep student work meaningful by reading and writing worthwhile texts that expand their skills, knowledge, and thinking." While I have no control of the schedule, I have learned to make the most of the time I do have. The read/write workshop has allowed me to maximize the limited time we have to read independently.

Lastly, this section has caused me to reevaluate the time I spend for professional development, personal and professional reading, and time to reflect.

Angela Jackson - Ch. 9 Emphasize Shared Reading

 In this piece the author stresses the importance of shared reading being an integral part of our reading programs. I'd like to say that my mother provided me with my first reading demonstrations as she read to me when I was a child. The text states that teachers help guide students in reading with fluency, figuring out words, thinking , questioning, and predicting, I believe I experienced some of this as my mother modeled reading for me years ago. That being said this piece helped me remember that every student may not have someone to read to them at home.

Additionally, I was made aware that shared reading helps enhance the social interaction between students when partner reading. I did not start partner reading until the second semester and it has made some students who were reluctant to read aloud in whole class instruction highly engaged when with one or two of their peers.

Margaret Tiller: Blog #7: Routman Chapter 12 "You Only Have So Much Time"

As this school year draws to a close, I have been analyzing my first year of teaching. This has led me to realize that some of my teaching practices need some evaluating. In this chapter, Donna Kline's quote particularly resonated with me: "I have been reevaluating everything I do to see if the activity has a true purpose or if it's just busy work and a time filler" (page 201). This first year of teaching has taught me time and time again that what is easiest for me as the teacher, is, in most cases, NOT what is best for my students. Routman says that "Students will happily engage in work that is connected to their lives and in projects in which they can see value" (page 203). This is so true. Worksheets simply do not increase a student's motivation to learn or engagement in the material. However, if I, as the teacher, take time to construct activities that are meaningful to my students, they are much more likely to engage in and retain the material.

Caroline Josey- Blog post #7

"Partly, it's because we don't always know what to do with the assessment once we have it: often we don't take the time to use the assessment to move the children forward and determine next steps for teaching." (Routman 98)

I feel like sometimes I assess to get a grade and make sure they understood the material I taught them. What I have learned from reading this chapter is suggesting that I am doing it backwards. I do agree with Routman when he says that when doing our own ongoing assessments we will have the time to use our assessments to improve instruction and learning. First, you need to ask yourself if the assessment your are giving is valid or useful and also what goals do you want to set for your students. By setting goals for your students and keeping track of them every day then each student can have his or her own goal and differentiation becomes easy and a part of everyday routine. I love that Routman gives a list of "Child Friendly Reading Goals."

Caroline Josey- Blog Post #6 Chapter 3 But That No More Independent Reading without Support

While reading this chapter I realized that I could cut so much out of my day to make more time for Reading. Not just IR but also guided reading during Daily 5. I love that the teachers used music during transitions and the kids adapted over time to automatically stop what they are doing and transfer. This gave them so much time during the day to devote to reading. In the morning I let my students have unstructured IR time. This gives them 45 minutes to read any book they want on any level (to an extent). What I have to done is give my students time for a "book club" or a time to talk with their peers about the book they are reading. I really like that they suggested that in the book. This is something my students would love and I also think it will push my students, who are ready, to begin reading chapter books. I think this is something I will let them do for about 10 to 15 minutes every Friday and maybe bring in a small snack for them to have during that time, so it's like a real "book club."

Angela Jackson - Ch. 8 Teach Comprehension

          The passage begins by stating that in order to end up with comprehension, you must begin with comprehension. Often teachers miss the mark by focusing on words and not the meaning of the text. The Close reading procedures are a way to help teach reading for deep understanding, but its up to the teacher to monitor the student's progress with this skill.

           The author warns teachers to be careful about how comprehension is        taught. Far too many teachers are focusing solely on the seven reading   strategies that they are making reading harder rather than easier to comprehend. One thing that made me realize that I need to be careful with teaching comprehension is the fact that students are not comprehending what they read just because they can read fluently and read the words on the page. The passage states that without our direct modeling and intervention, our students routinely skip words they can't read or don't understand, continue reading even when they don't know what's going on in the text, and they almost never reread for clarification. 

          Lastly, teachers should use caution of how much time they are spending teaching about making connections, reading fluently. Instead, split time between explicit instruction and application. Key strategies to use are predicting, questioning, creating images, seeking clarification, and constructing summaries. Lastly, the author states that teachers should make rereading the single most useful strategy. In addition, use writing to help recall key points in the text.