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Reading Endorsement - Competency 2: Application of Research-Based Instructional Practices
In this course teachers will scaffold student learning by applying the principles of research-based reading instruction and integrating the six components of reading. Teachers will engage in the systematic problem solving process: use data to accurately identify problems, analyze those problems, design and implement interventions, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and intensify instruction based on individual student needs.
Hi, all! It was so great working with all of you last week. You are an amazing group!
ReplyDeletePlease remember to complete the follow up activity before Tuesday's class.
This document highlighted something that has been identified, preached about and constantly baffled educators and some parents. We all know that the key to academic success is reading, and have continued to highlight the things that can work to ensure that we get there. However, the actions have not yet been widely set into motion.
ReplyDeleteAs a 3rd grade teacher (certified ESE, and Gen Ed.), I believe that most reading teachers take it upon themselves to increase comprehension and adding to student vocabulary and writing, but seldom receive the necessary backup from parents that is needed to complete the necessary intervention that is needed to make significant progress. Without parental involvement and intensive programs for those with special education and ESOL needs, every child would not read. The Learning First Alliance has the right idea on paper now we all as educators and parents have to figure out how to ensure that the processes and expectations of the research are met.
Juliette Hinds
“…this country’s reading problems are largely solvable if we have the will to solve them.”
ReplyDeleteIn theory, the Learning First Alliance has its heart in the right place. The idea is fantastic, but that's all it is, an idea. The "solution" to the reading problem requires involvement and participation since birth. We, as educators, are confined by the school's walls. As Juliette wrote, "without parental involvement... every child would not read." In many instances, the will is there, but parents don't have the conditions nor the resources to help their children become successful readers.
Based on my personal experience, it is important to teach the children to read in the home language. I was glad to learn that research supports what I tell my parents when they approach me with the dilemma of the language barrier.
It will take a lot of training and education, which in turn represent a lot of funds, to make the plan a success. This success could also take many years. Change is not impossible, but it is difficult.
After reading this article/action plan dated June 1998, I realized READING is still the greatest deficiency in schools all across the board today. The exposure of Reading should be introduced at an early childhood age, even before they are put in day care. It wasn't until I was co-teaching in a first grade inclusion classroom, that I understood the real importance of acquiring certain reading skills at home and then following it up in PRE-K and Kindergarten. By reading skills, I mean exposure to letters, words, read alouds, vocabulary and print. The goal for this research plan was and still is that all children in the United States read. With exposing children to words and print through all facets V.A.K.T. (through visuals, auditory, kinesthetics, and tactile)at an early age will indeed promote,aid and attain success. Even if you are an ESL student, practicing these skills in your home language will encourage the interest to read and want to be read to.
ReplyDeleteI also highly agree that schools also need to feel they are working towards this goal as team not as a single entity. So this research plan suggests that reading gains will increase together with parents, teachers, guardians,and policy makers. With that changes such as: more funds, more qualified personnel, better professional developments, in-service education, textbooks more sharply focused on skills, better resources and class reductions will occur...REALLY, WHEN? We are all still patiently waiting!!!
Great Article-
Blanca Gonzalez
Here's my refletion about the article since you ask us to skim through this is what I noticed. As I began reading I noticed some incomplete words. We need phonics to teach the child how words sound. But reading fluency can only be achieved when the child learns to recognize the word as a whole rather than sounding out. A successful reading program must combine phonics with some elements of whole word approach.
ReplyDeleteMercy
This article comments that reading has not changed much since 1972. Well its been 30 some years. I've been hearing about reading reform for a number of years, but our children seem to be reading less as time goes by. I think there are many outside factors that contribute to low reading skills. I believe that technology itself has given a hard blow to reading. For example, children in the middle school prefer to text, email, or be on myspace or listening to their I Pods. It is hard to compete with all the technology, especially if your school has computers that are dinosaurs. When I was a teenager, books took you to another world and you wanted to know more and more. In my opinion, they need to do more research on the effects of outside factors on reading
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion this is a good initiative to ensure all children not only learn how to read but also read well. Intensifying reading research will enable all teachers to built students' abilities and understand what they read . Reading is crucial for the success of future students in the early stages of childhood.
ReplyDeleteThis paper gives yet another proposal to the age long question of how to address the issue of poor readers in our children. As a reading teacher myself, this is a problme that directly affects me and my students. As the years go by, I realize that the students I welcome each year are less and less proficient readers. This is extremely frustrating to me and even more to the student. So how do we solve this problem? Is it the previous teachers fault, the parents, class size, the students or ours?
ReplyDeleteThe paper proposes that all students will be good readers by the age of nine and all students in elementary schools will graduate. Two of the actions it proposes are more parental involvement and to provide additional staff to reduce class size. I found these two bullets particularly interesting. Lets discuss parental involvement....In my experience parents are less and less involved every year. Why? The economy is such that parents now a days have to hold two or three jobs to put food on the table. They have no time to volunteer in the classroom, no time to sit at the table and study or do homework with their child. I understand how difficult it is for parents. I myself, have made it a routine to read a bedtime story every night with my three year old, but between work, tutoring after school for additional money and takinf classes ti improve my education, it is becoming harder to adhere. So is parental involvement ideal and crucial? Absolutely, but so is paying the bills and putting food on the table.
Additionally, it discusses hiring more staff in order to reduce class sizes. This would be great, but all I see is more teachers being surplussed and class sizes growing. This proposed class reduction has been passed, but we havent seen it occuring.
In short, the ideas in this paper are wonderful in therory and extremely necessary for reading to improve in our children and although I wish it could occur there are just too many barriers in the way at all times.
As I started reading “Every Child Reading: An Action Plan of the Learning First Alliance”, I noticed that the action plan was discussed back in 1998. It has been more than 12 years that a group of organizations took the time to outline the reasons why a reading reform was essential and mapping ten strategies to achieve the goal of every child reading. As stated in the paper, “overall reading performance has been more or less unchanged since 1972”. Why cannot solve the problem of poor readers in America?
ReplyDeleteI have a ten-year nephew who has a passion for reading. He has read 140+ books. Last year, his FCAT reading score was a six (6). I identified several factors listed in the “action plan” that I believe have contributed to his success in reading. First, my sister read to him since he was a baby. I remembered he repeating the stories in each page of the book like he was actually reading. Also, he attended PK, Kindergarten and first grade in an international school in Honduras. The school had great emphasis in phonemic awareness. When he started his second grade here in America, he was reading at a very advanced level. To this date, his parents take time to go to the library to borrow books and encourage him to read for at least 30 minutes daily.
I do not have any doubt that many of the recommendations and strategies in the paper can be implemented if we were provided with the resources and support and the parental involvement.
JacquelineB
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this paper. As a first grade teacher, I empathize with the writers of this work and their belief that to produce successful readers teachers, parents and policy makers have to work together.I concur with the writers'statements about the necessity of very young children participating in early childhood programs where they can build a strong base of language,concepts, background knowledge and forge a love for books.This adequate preparation will help children become successful and effective readers.
After reading the article, I think it all comes down to motivation and hard work on the part of the student, with the help of a supportive family environment. I was never much of a reader as an adolescent but pushed myself to read, write, and study, even though I may not have enjoyed what I was doing all of the time. Those first 100 pages of a novel were hard, but getting past them opened up a wondrous world, stories of which I cherish today, scenes and characters that I still vividly remember.
ReplyDeleteAndrew M
ReplyDeleteI find this topic of early childhood development very important. Coming from a family where my mother spent countless hours with my siblings and I reading to us and also helping as we learned to read. As some other people wrote that now a days parents have to work more hours it is tougher for parents to be involved.
Being a first year teacher at the high school level i have seen the problem first hand with high school reading levels lower than that of my 8th grade class.
I agree with the article and its attempt to have early childhood programs where reading is a necessity
As I read this article I couldn't believe that more than 10 years later we are still in the same place. This article could have been written this year and it would apply. I agree with what Justin said about motivation. It takes motivation and a lot of hard work, but not just from the teacher. Have you ever heard the saying "It takes a village to raise a child". I believe the same goes for teaching a child to read. It's a collaboration of students, teachers, parents, administration, districts, and state. No one man can do it on their own. We must continue to work together as a team to make students and children successful readers at an early age.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the article ¬Every Child Reading, “The foundation for reading success is formed long before a child reaches first grade.” Then why is it that unfortunately we continuously encounter high school students who do not know how to read or read at a very low level. We often blame the parents or their previous teachers for neglecting to teach these children how to read. So what now? We can choose to ignore the problem and continue to pass these children without instilling in them the skills needed to become a successful reader, thus being yet another person to blame; or we can stop pointing fingers and put an end to illiteracy. Fortunately for us, in the recent years and with adequate funding and available resources we the teachers are able to assist these students in becoming life long readers and to ensure a positive and prospective future for them. It definitely won’t happen from one day to the next but with hard work, motivation, and the right tools we can make a huge difference I just 180 day.
ReplyDeleteLorena Cancela
nflores
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I totally agree that reading is the biggest defficitin schools. I agree that reading needs to be introduce at an early childhood. I agree with the writers' state ments about the necessity of very young children participating in early childhood programs where they can build a strong base of language,concept,background knowledge and love bookd. The earlier they learn how to read the better readers they will be. I do believe these basics skills of reading need to start at home if reading is not exposed at home the students do not see reading as important. I believe every child can learn how to read, some take longer than others.
Everything looks good on paaper. We all know that reading is a major component that influences a students success. However, the application of these is where the problem is. It is sad that students come into high school not having the foundations. The Learning First Alliance has the right view, learning starts in the womb. Instead of the government trying to make teachers more accountable why don't we start where it starts, with the parents! Why not make them more accountable for their children learning. Starsheema
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I am saddened with the realization that although this article was written twelve year ago, we are still in the same situation. Research constantly shows us that early exposure to literature is a great indicator of successful readers. Because of this reason, I strongly feel that highly qualified teachers in the primary grades are an essential tool to developing successful readers. All teachers, regardless of the subject area they teach, should have basic knowledge of the "Big Six". A reading lesson can be found in any subject.
ReplyDeleteReading is something that seems to be severely undersestimated by many students nowadays. It seems that besides the ability to sound out words or read fluenty, the ability to understand concepts, make literary and real-world connections gets a little more lost every day. Many students are not learning as intrinsically as we would like them to learn.
ReplyDeleteMany plans have been set in motion and I feel dissapointed to see our statistics continue to decline. Still, I am optimistic that we will continue to press on with literacy and eventually (through trial and error) succeed at increasing our students' ability to be "good" readers.
After reading the article, I agree with other educators about early reading and intervention. Children need early phonics to build fluency, which will improve there chances of reading success during the education process. However, parent, teacher, and legislator's hold the key to the educational process resources that students need.
ReplyDeleteFrom the article I gathered critical information as to how the scaffolding of children literacy is critical and an action plan has been developed by the Learning First Alliance. The three critical stages in child development outlined in the article are early childhood, First grade, and Second grade and beyond. These are the levels in which the foundation of reading is established. When the critical points of reading development are not met at these levels, the gap in achievement is established and often time not recognized or closed until later time periods when intervention becomes more difficult. The alliance has established clear points in which stakeholders should attempt to implement to prevent the need for intervention to close the achievement gaps in reading.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, the most essential skill that any person must acquire and constantly cultivate is reading, comprehension and oral/written expression. Without the abovementioned tools you are setting yourself up for failure. The emphasis in any classroom must forever revolve and indulge in these skills. These are the critical foundations for character, perspective, and purpose in every individual's life. Atleast from what I have seen, what is planted and is experienced at home makes a huge difference in a student's life. The vocabulary, conversation, exposure, and principals portrayed at home truly shape and mold any child. Hence, the same occurs in the classroom. If we as educators make every lesson, nomatter how mundane, interesting, meaningful and prevalent the students will follow. Building background knowledge, making the information relevant to their daily happenings, making the classroom a cozy microcosm, showing them that self expression is important is what will make all the difference. After all that is established, I am adamant that the rest will fall into place.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was really interesting that we as teachers can target the students right when they develop trouble in reading. According to this article a lot rides on the first grade teacher. However, there are other things that come into play, such as parent involvement. If there is no support from parents, we as teachers are limited to how much we can help. Many students fall by the wayside because we don't have the time or capability to give them what they need. I also thought it was interesting how they suggested the class size to be 15. I think that would be an ideal situation, however working in an urban area like Miami-Dade county puts a hinderance on meeting that class size. I do think and try my best to practice explicit instruction.
ReplyDeleteI think that this article in relevant because it addresses the teaching of reading based on the evidence gathered through research and emphasizes the importance of professional development. In the field of ESOL learners, the consensus is that children should be taught how to read in their native language while acquiring oral proficiency in English and then, they should be taught the necessary strategies to extend their reading skills in English. Another important aspect of the article is that the adoption of effective methods should include the whole school. In my opinion, administrators are not always aware of the fact that research based strategies are not going to have an immediate result on the students' performance; it may take 2 or 3 school years before the full results of the strategy implemented are shown in the state tests , such the FCAT or the ACT.
ReplyDeleteThe article mentions early on about getting parents involved in students reading. This is easier in the early grades but by the time students get to the upper grades it gets increasingly more difficult to get parents involved in any part of their schooling.
ReplyDeleteThe article also mentions making educational descisions based on evidence and not idealogical decisions. This is true for me when I was teaching high school reading. I was instructed to use the navigator program and ONLY the navigator program but had to pull off of it with a couple of students because the evidence showed me that the program was not working for them.
I strongly agree with the balanced literacy instruction approach. In my experience as a first grade teacher I have seen the importance of explicit phonics instruction. Another important point is the student's chance to practice the instructed decoding skills in their reading. Two places I see the need for improvement in our schools would be providing interesting and rich texts and regular assessments and instructional decisions based on this data.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher in a predominantly low-income African American community I think it is often overlooked and unaddressed that African American students score significantly lower than their white counterparts. In addition these numbers have gone largely unchanged since 1972. What have we have been doing for close to the last 40 years has done almost nothing to change this. In any other profession this would be unacceptable.
Great Article I love the proposal . I find myself asking the question? “When accountability start at home with parents”. I struggle everyday trying to help my students pull the pieces together to rise to the top.I feel as educators we are working very hard to teach our kids, so we need the help of parents to achieve this goal as a team not I. without parental support we will only make gains. Gains are excellent in the eyes of our leaders but we need fluent readers.
ReplyDeleteI found this article as a repetitive diagnostic of the reason why our students failed. I think in some way it just falls into deaf ears. The people who really need to know this information is the people that legislate and make decisions at a political level. Our politician signed documents and laws without ever even read them.
ReplyDeleteWe know this information, who needs more help and to be aware of how our students learn is our comunities, we all need to be involved. The media needs to be more proactive and start media campaings for families, and parents-to-be. All of that money that is thrown away every day in garbage for our students needs to turn in toward our students education. Our society cannot promote and support poor role models that just tell our student constantly to drop out and "anything is better than to stay at school and learn".
I'm sorry but as part of a low school performance I see everyday the lack of parents and community involvement as the great part of the puzzle missing. Is just simply overwhelming!
The article highlights the problems that are prevalent in students' reading proficiency levels and where these issues take root. The article insists that explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics and parental involvement at an early age are some solutions to the problem. I wholeheartedly agree that in the 21st century, there is no reason why every student in America should not at the least be matriculating through high school. Another point I found interesting was where the article mentioned that students who have problems with reading early on are plagued by such an issue throughout their educational career. The article makes note to highlight several options that can be used to rectify this growing problem such as, smaller class sizes, tutoring support, and home reading.
ReplyDeleteReading this article what really strikes me the most is that although reading failure is the overwhelming reason for retaining students, according to the article reading performance has remain more or less unchanged.
ReplyDeleteAnother shocking fact is the reading proficiency gap between so called white students and Afroamericans and Hispanics. It seems to me that the author is not including cultural and language barriers as reasons for such a gap, and neither is including solutions or techniques to address them.
I totally agree that early childhood intervention and parent participation are indespensable for reading success.
This is a very thorough article which I imagine serves as a great training tool for new teachers. The activities I see within the paper seem to be what I see and hear most practiced teachers doing anyway, because they involve techniques and theories that work.
ReplyDeleteA lot of effort, and I am certain a lot of money too, went into the writing of this paper. I read through some of the comments and really liked what Ms Vega said. I also like the new approach to poorly-reading secondary students: reading coaches in the high school; it is a shame that a child has not learned to read by this point. But for a longer term perspective, I giggle thinking of the Readers' Digest that was always a favorite magazine of my grandmother, and I remember people saying it is written at a fifth grade level. If we expect no higher for our adults, why should we be upset that our children fail to reach to any higher levels? If we do hope our children to be brighter than we are (I am certainly grateful I do not have my grandmother's life), maybe instead of an Action Plan for Reading, we should have an Action Plan for Parenting, and perhaps have teachers as the trainers. I am all for community education, and I think that was the section I appreciated most in this article.