Entry # 9

Fiction vs. Non-fiction

For this assignment I chose two texts from our district adopted reading program, Treasures.  The first text is a fictional story, Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann.   The second text is an excerpt from a Time for Kids magazine titled, “A Trip to the Emergency Room: Who works in the emergency room?”.   I chose to use my compare and contrast graphic organizer to help students identify how these two texts were similar and different.  

As a class we identified the following similarities between the two texts:   1) same theme – working together is better than working alone; 2) illustrations that helped us to understand the text; 3) sequence of events (story line – Officer Buckle and steps in visiting an ER – Time for Kids).  

We also identified some differences between the two texts.  Officer Buckle and Gloria is a fictional story meant to entertain.  It has story elements including characters, setting, plot – including problems and solutions, and an ending.  “ A Trip to the Emergency Room” is a non-fiction text meant to inform us.  It has non-fiction text features including captions to the pictures, headings, and subheadings.  

Both fiction and non-fiction texts have elements that can support the language needs of an ELL.  Fictional stories are similar in layout to storytelling which is a component of many cultures and most books that students have access to in early childhood and primary grades are fictional texts.  Non-fiction text features (pictures with captions, heading, subheading, graphs, etc) help direct student’s attention to important information.  These features also help organize a reader’s thoughts and learnings.  The shorter sections can help keep the attention of ELL.  

Fiction and Non-fiction texts can also be a challenge for English language learners.  As fictional texts get harder, pictures are no longer available to support learning.  The use of figurative language (idioms, similes, metaphors, puns, etc), as well as higher vocabulary such as synonyms and English slang (ain’t, gonna, etc) can be challenging for ELLs.  Fictional texts may not be as interesting to GAP populations of students such as struggling readers and boys.  Non-fiction texts can hold more of an interest, but are usually of a higher reading level.  The challenging vocabulary can inhibit a student’s decoding which inhibits gaining meaning of the text.  

Students of all ages and abilities need to be able to identify the differences between types of texts, so they can adjust what reading strategies to use to better understand what they are reading. 

Entry #8

I felt the videos showed many good teaching strategies for all students, not just ELLs. 

You could tell the teacher knows the content very well and is comfortable with the students.  She has obviously worked on creating a rapport with students and students feel comfortable in the class as well.  I saw many of the teaching strategies from this week’s readings present in these videos.  

The teacher set and reviewed learning objectives.  Objectives were written on the board and the teacher pointed to the words as she read them.  She also reviewed past learnings of reading strategies as a way to prime the students for the day’s lesson.  It was evident through the discussion and the Diary Board that these reading strategies had been explicitly taught and will continue to be reviewed and used throughout the year.  The teacher also used non-linguistic representations (pictures and drawings) to represent key vocabulary words the students needed to know.  I also liked the way she used synonyms to relate the new words to students.  She modeled her own thinking to show students that reading isn’t just about decoding words; it’s about making meaning from the words.  

The video concentrated a lot more on what the teacher was doing and less on what the students were doing.  I saw some student talk, but would have liked to see a lot more student talk (maybe it was in the lesson, just not in the video?).  The objectives were set, but there wasn’t evidence in the video of what the students would have to do to show they had met the objective.  I did like when the students were given a chance to share “the birthday song” from their own culture.  I think this honored and validated their native culture. 

I did have a few questions about the learning environment.  The room and equipment did seem a bit dated, although I don’t know how old the video is.  Not many schools use overhead projectors anymore; however it wasn’t too long ago they were the newest form of technology.  I would hope that technology and equipment is equitable within a school, so every student can benefit from their use and not just a few students.  

Overall, I saw many great learning strategies being used by both the teacher and the students.  I would have liked to have seen more student talk and more opportunities for cooperative learning.  I realize the lesson in the video was the beginning of a longer unit of study on the novel.  I hope students get more chances to talk and discuss their learnings as well as opportunities to summarize their readings.   Units of study are so involved and are spread over many weeks, that it is very difficult to see all that goes on in short videos.  I know there were many aspects of this unit that were not shown that demonstrate other aspects of great learning opportunities. 

Entry # 7

Entry #7

I did a running record on two of my 2^nd graders this week (for their privacy I am only including their first initial).  T is a 2^nd grader originally from Romania.  S is a 2^nd grader originally from Mexico.  I pulled a grade level passage from easycbm.com to use for this assignment.  (This is a GREAT website for progress monitoring if any of you are looking for one and it's FREE!!)

T was able to read 66 correct words per minute (cwpm) with 93% accuracy.  After analyzing his miscues I realized that the majority of his mistakes were visually similar (by initial letter), but the words he used did not make sense in the text.  The errors in syntax he made were due to an incorrect subject and verb agreement (was/were), which is common not only for his grade level, but also for an English language learner.  There were two words he got stuck on and were provided for him (TT = teacher told) and only one word he self-corrected (SC).  His reading rate was close to the grade level benchmark of 72 cwpm. 

Using this information, I saw two major areas to focus instruction.  1)  teach how to SC for errors – using CAFE strategies (from The CAFE Book by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) – check your understanding and  cross checking (does it look right, does it sound right, and does it make sense)  2)  teach word attach strategies to use with unfamiliar words – chunking letters and sounds, flipping the vowel sound, stretch and blend, identify familiar word parts, and using the beginning and ending sound. 

My other student, S, was able to read 102 cwpm with 98% accuracy.  While on paper, this looks really good, I know that this student can read just about anything you put in front of him, but he has absolutely no comprehension.  The words just go in one ear and out the other.  He did make a couple of visual miscues while reading, but he knew how to back up and reread because the word didn’t sound right (he corrects for correct sounds not for meaning). 

For this student, my focus for instruction would include teaching how to check for understanding (using lots of story retells and questioning about story elements).  I would model and teach how to stop while reading to check for understanding and summarize what was just read.  I would also focus on metacognition strategies (becoming aware of your own thinking while reading).  This student needs to see that reading is for meaning, not just decoding and saying words.  I also know this student needs help building his vocabulary (both in his native language as well as English).  I realize many of these teaching points are not coming from his running record, but of an understanding of the student and looking at other assessments.  

Entry #6

Entry #6 - Sorry for the tardiness of this entry.  I am having some major technical issues sending my computer in to get serviced. 

Freeman (2004) Chapter 2

Directions:  Label each activity (L) for learning/word recognition, (A) for acquisition/sociopsycholinguistic view, or (B) for both. 

The students:

_L_  look up words in the dictionary to write definitions

_A_  make a Venn diagram to compare two stories

­_L_  practice sounding out words

_B_  read in round-robin fashion

_L_  correct peers when they make a mistake during reading

_A_  identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound

_A_  group cards with classmates’ names by a criterion on such as first or last letter

_A_  write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound

_L_  ask the teacher how to spell any word they don’t know

_A_  read a language experience story they have created with the teacher

_B_  work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences

_L_  divide words into syllables

_L_  on a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound

_B_  make alphabet books on different topics

The teacher:

_L_  pre-teaches vocabulary

_A_  does a shared reading with a big book

_A_  makes sure that students read only books that fit their level

_L_  has students segment words into phonemes

_B_  writes words the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words

_B_  asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter

_L_  uses decodable texts

_A_  sets aside time for SSR (sustained silent reading) each day

_B_  teaches Latin and Greek roots

_A_  has students meet in literature circles

_L_  conducts phonics drills

_L_  chooses predictable texts

_A_  teaches students different comprehension strategies

_A_  does a picture walk of a new book

_L_  uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills

Entry #5 - challenges in setting and vocabulary

For this assignment I reviewed Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and Dona Flor by Pat Mora.  I chose one book that I thought might be problematic for non-native English students and one book that might be problematic for non-native Latino students.  I wanted to showcase how students can use their own culture and experiences to teach others. 

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type (2001 Caldecott Honor) tells the story of Farmer Brown's cows, who find an old typewritter in the barn and proceed to write letters to Farmer Brown, listing various demands.  The elements I feel would affect student comprehension are: the barn setting, the types of animals you would find on a farm, the use of a typewritter, and the idea of making demands and ultimatums. Not all cultures have farms and barnyard animals, which could be a challenge for comprehension.  Instruction for ELLs could include using pictures and songs (Old MacDonald) to teach about farm animals.  Typewritters have become almost obsolete, so this vocabulary would have to be explicitly taught so students would understand what is happening in the story.  You could compare a typewritter to a computer and the sounds of the keys clicking and clacking to the sounds of a computer keyboard.  I also know that some cultures find the idea of ultimatums offensive, especially when talking about a fictitious situation such as animals giving an ultimatum to a human.  I felt many ELL students might struggle with various aspects of this story.

Dona Flor is a giant lady who lives in a tiny village in the American Southwest.  Popular with her neighbors, she can often be found reading aloud to the children.  One day, all the villagers hear a terrifying noise.  Everyone is afraid, but not Flor.  She sets off to find what is making the noise.  She discovers the small secret behind the great big noise.  The elements I felt would affect English speaking students are: the number of Spanish words used in the story, the idea of oral storytelling across generations, the types of houses and building materials of the area, and the process of making and uses for tortillas.  I felt this story would present an opportunity for Spanish speaking students to be leaders and help their English speaking classmates learn a bit about their culture.  I felt the English speaking students would struggle with the Spanish vocabulary used in the story.  One instructional strategy would be to have Spanish speakers translate words for the English only speakers.  You could also teach students to infer meaning from the text around the Spanish words.  Oral storytelling is a big part of the Latino community that might be hard for English only students to understand.  Having Latino students share stories that have been passed down through generations would help English only speakers understand this concept.  The setting of the Southwest can present many differences in building materials and uses of houses than what we see in cities.  Looking at pictures of houses in the Southwest and houses in cities and comparing and contrasting them would help students understand the setting and visualize parts of the story.  While our English only students probably know what a tortilla is, they most likely have no idea how to make one (and why it needs to be dried in the sun, like in the story).  You could have Latino students share different uses for tortillas and explain the process of making tortillas.  I actually used this story in my class and my Spanish speaking students loved being able to help their English only classmates.  They felt empowered that they finally knew something their classmates did not.  Too often, it is the other way around. 

Entry #4

I recently had a chance to travel around Europe for 7 months.  I visited 17 different countries and had to figure my way through many languages.  I had to make meaning from several texts of varying ability, but I also had to try to communicate with others in these languages which sometimes was harder than making meaning from a text! 

As I reflected upon this experience, I realized I relied on and used many different strategies as I was creating meaning and communicating with others.  On the most basic level, I used icons and pictures to create meaning, especially when finding directions  (bus, taxi, metro, train, airport, arrows pointing the way, etc).  If icons were not available, I looked for any word parts or cognates that I recognized. 

I have a working knowledge of Spanish (I was fluent many years ago, but have lost much of it because I haven't used it), so finding meaning in other romance languages (Italian, French, and Portuguese) was easier than trying this strategy in other languages (Polish, and Turkish).  If the text was lengthy, I tried writing the English translation above the words I could figure out and those I guessed on.  From there, I tried to infer meaning from what words or phrases I could figure out. 

Strategies I used:
*  icons
* pictures
* cognates
* word parts
* translations to English
* infer meaning

Implications as a teacher: 
* It's important to provide multiple representations of words
*  Focus on cognates when applicable and transfer meaning from one language to another
*  Find the words you know or recognize and move forward from there

Entry #3 - The relationship between oral language and the reading process

"Reading and writing are complex processes that grow from oral language and are built on listening and speaking" (Cooper, 2012).  Being able to read and write hinges on one's ability to identify and manipulate the sounds and letters of a language.  The English language consists of 26 letters, 44 sounds, and 98 representations of these sounds.  In order for one to read a text or create their own text, one must be knowledgeable on several aspects of the language including: phonological awareness, letter/sound segmentation and blending, knowledge of syllables, spelling patterns, grammar, sentence structure and syntax, as well as being able to coherently organize one's thoughts into words (Birsh, 2011, Savage, 1998, Cooper 2012). 

Oral language (speaking and listening) is hard wired into our brain; it's instinctual, natural.  On the other hand, written language (reading and writing) has to be acquired through instruction.  We have to be taught how to read and write (Birsh, 2011).  Children do not learn language passively; they actually construct, or reconstruct, language as they learn.  Children build underlying rules as they figure out how language, any language, works.  They aren't simply repeating what they hear (Freeman, 2004).  According to Noam Chomsky, a leading American linguist, humans have an innate capacity for language.  This innate knowledge allows children to understand and produce sentences, but it doesn't allow them to explain how they do it (Freeman, 2004). 

Certain literacy skills, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, alphabetic principles, concepts of print, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension, provide a foundation from which learning can be built.  Similarly to a structural foundation, if a literacy foundation is weak, the learning structure will surely crumble and fall.  However, if the literacy foundation is solid and complete, the possibilities for this learning structure are endless. 

Entry #2 - writing instruction

All learning is language based.  "As humans, we listen, read, and view to obtain information.  We speak, write, and create to share information.  Our species is the only one that stores information outside of our bodies.  In order to store this information, we must convert it into a code that can be readily translated by other members of the species" (Halliday, 1993).  The exchange of information relies on all aspects of literacy - speaking, listening, reading, writing, and thinking.  The various aspects of literacy area all related to each other and require similar approaches for instruction. 

Early oral language experiences influence development in phonemic awareness which influences phonics development which in turn influences development of writing mechanics.  Early oral language skills also provide background knowledge which influences idea development and vocabulary development in writing.  Concepts of print skills help develop writing organization and knowledge of key features of different genres of writing. 

"Children do not learn language passively; they actually construct - or reconstruct - language as they learn" (Morrow, 2009).  Early exposure and experiences in writing (such as writing notes and lists, directions for locations or for the use of items, recipes, newspapers and magazines, storybooks, and tv and movie guides) later serve as models as children begin writing on their own.  Exposure to a rich literacy filled environment early in life shows children that those squiggly lines serve a purpose and hold meaning. 

Students come to school with a wide variety of skills and experiences (or lack thereof).  Teachers have to assess which skills students already have and which are still needed.  Once we have identified the reason why a student is having difficulties in writing (handwriting fluency, spelling, idea formation, word choice, grammar, etc), we can create lessons to address and correct these areas so the student can be successful.

Reading is a way to gain information and knowledge about topics of interest while writing provides a way to express your thoughts and learnings.  Human write for a multitude of reasons.  We write to communicate ideas, to ask questions, to express our thoughts, to persuade others, to synthesize our learnings, and to teach others what we have already learned (Fletcher, 2001).  As educators, we know the importance of providing a balanced reading program.  We need to keep in mind that this also applies to our writing program. 

Hello everyone!  This blog is intended to be used during my course at Regis University while I pursue an M.ED. in Reading.  I welcome anyone who is reading this blog, however it's intended audience is my fellow classmates in the program.  



My name is Megan George and I live in Fort Collins, CO.  I have been teaching for 10 years mostly in upper elementary grades (4 years in 6^th grade and 5 years in 5^th grade), although this year I am part time in 2^nd grade and teaching a 3^rd grade reading intervention group.   I am looking to transition into the role of reading specialist.  I have a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University, and an M.A.T. in Elementary Education from University of Northern Colorado.  Sometimes I think I am a little crazy for going back for a 2^nd Master’s, but I am learning a lot and really enjoying the program so far.   I only have 3 courses left, so I can definitely see “the light at the end of the tunnel”.

When I do happen to squeeze in some free time, I love enjoying the Colorado outdoors whether it’s skiing, hiking, camping, biking, or lounging on the porch of my parents’ cabin.

Entry #1:  Discuss with another teacher, his/her philosophies about teaching literacy.

I chatted with a member of my 2nd grade team, Mrs. I, about literacy. Mrs. I believes in a balance approach to literacy instruction (as I'm sure we all do).  She feels literacy instruction should include phonological skills as well as reading of rich literature. 

Mrs. I has been teaching elementary grades for many years and has experienced the pendulum wing between whole language instruction and a phonics based approach.  This year, she has implemented the Daily 5 routines set forth by "The Sisters" (      ).  Mrs. I feels this approach is more student led and is good for providing more student choice. 

Mrs. I uses a variety of student groupings in her instruction.  She introduces new skills and stories from our district adopted basal as a whole class - usually on Mondays.  The rest of the week is spent in various small groups for instruction.  She does include some one-on-one instruction as it is needed as well.  Not all of her small groups are based on students' reading levels and abilities. Some of her groups are formed at random.  She feels her lower readers benefit from hearing better readers and her better readers become more empowered to be leaders within the group.