Week 7- Reading Fluency and Word Development

Sara Wieder     3/12/12

WEEK 7

Assignment #1

1)    What texts and materials do teachers have in their classrooms that support student’s level of fluent reading?   Classrooms have a large variety of books on different levels and topics. During independent reading, students can choose a book that is on their level and interest. In this way, by reading books students can develop their fluency. Teachers also encourage students to reread books they already read to build fluency.

2)    How do they select vocabulary to teach in all areas of your curriculum?       Teachers usually select vocabulary that is pertaining to the topic at hand or new words that students came across in book or story they are reading. Also, teachers can choose words that they feel are important for students to know.

3)    How much time do they allocate to word study? In the school that I observed, every day the teacher would introduce a new word and call on each child to read the word correctly. Then, the teacher would explain the meaning of the word and provide an example of its usage in a sentence or story. After, the teacher would place the new word on the word wall for everyone to see. In addition, vocabulary was integrated into the lessons and activities by teaching new words from stories the students were reading.

4)    What word study routines do they teach and encourage students to use?  The teacher encouraged the student to look at the context of the sentence to understand the meaning of a new and unfamiliar word. Also, with decoding words students were encouraged to break up the word in letters so they can decode it easier.

5)    How do they differentiate instruction and tasks based on their students’ needs? The teacher designed different instructional activities and groups based on students’ needs and abilities. The teacher intervened and helped the students that needed extra help reading. Also, there were books on all different levels so that every child can have an opportunity to practice their reading.

Assignment #2

1)    How can you ensure that your struggling readers have access to texts that they can easily read? By providing a wide range of books and texts on all different grade levels can give struggling readers an opportunity to read a book without experiencing difficulty.

2)    How can you foster a learning environment in which students have many opportunities to practice reading? Integrating reading activities into the lesson as much as possible and instilling a love for reading into the students can create a learning environment that encourages reading. Furthermore, independent reading or reading in small groups can be great way to give students a chance to practice reading.

3)    Describe ways in which you can model fluent reading in your classroom throughout the day? I can read stories or texts out loud to my class correctly, smoothly, and with proper expression. In this way, I can model fluent reading and all students can learn the way to read fluently.

Assignment #3

1)    Explain the 3 levels of words and how you can use word levels to decide which to teach? The 3 word levels are familiar words, words that appear often and may be unfamiliar to some students, and really difficult and technical words. The familiar words do not need to be readdressed and explained. The second level words are the words that teachers should focus on while teaching vocabulary. In particular, while reading a story the teacher comes across a word that is unfamiliar to the students, she or he should use this opportunity to teach the new word to the class. The highly technical words can be left to chemistry or biology teachers to teach.

2)    How do you teach your students to “chunk” words as a strategy for decoding unfamiliar words?  When do you provide this instruction? When students read a difficult or unfamiliar word, I will instruct my students to separate the word, read the middle; can you read this part of the word? I will encourage my students to tear the word apart while trying to decode. I will use this instruction while introducing new words or during an independent reading activity and a student gets stuck on a word.

3)    Based on Professor Allington’s comments and the classroom examples, what are some ways you might foster word study in your classroom?  I will provide access to many different texts and books on different levels so that all readers can practice reading. Also, I will model fluent reading, encourage independent reading, and encourage students to read the context of a sentence to understand unfamiliar words. Furthermore, I will integrate vocabulary into the lessons by explaining new words that students come across during reading. I will also teach my students the strategy to “chunk” words. I hope that implementing these strategies into my curriculum and designing my lessons in a way that builds word study, I will give all students a greater chance for success and promote achievement!