Prominent Theorist Paper

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Module 4: Activity 1

While learning to read for the first time at age 50, Robin used a variety of strategies to help him succeed. The strategy that seemed to work the best for him was chunking. He was able to read word families through chunking and eventually moved on to more challenging texts. He used used chunking while trying to read the back of a truck and was able to identify the words correctly. Also, while setting up his email account he was able to determine the word "congratulations," by first identifying the word "rat" within the word. He then used chunking to determine the beginning of the word. Once he made blended the initial and middle sounds together he was able to figure out the word said, "congratulations." While reading Stone Soup, he struggled with the several words, but knew that it did not sound correct. He was able to go back and self-correct and retry the words until the words sounded correct and fit the text properly. This video was really interesting to watch since I've never had to opportunity to work with someone who was completely illiterate, but the teachers took the same steps we take with our students to help them become stronger, better readers.

Module 4: Instructional Challenge

Marcus is a student who very frequently miscues by substituting words that start with the same letter or first few letters of the word in the text, but his substitutions often are not syntactically or semantically acceptable (they neither sound right grammatically nor make sense). What possible teaching strategies would you suggest to help Marcus? 


Our text provides a lot of great ideas for helping students like Marcus. On page 244, one strategy includes previewing the book to the students before reading it aloud. Allow the students to look at the title, cover, and pictures throughout the book to make predictions of what could happen. I would have this student work in a center with audiobooks and a copy of the text. Then the student could hear the words sounded out for them and they can associate the letter-sound patterns correctly. You could also provide handouts and worksheets in the center that go along with the text to be completed as the student progresses with their fluency to ensure comprehension is not lost. Buddy reading could also benefit Marcus greatly. I would partner him up with a student who is a stronger reader that will aid him.

Module 4: Reading Reflection

Since I do not currently have my own classroom, I decided to reflect upon the strategies I used throughout my student teaching experience. Every day the students heard read-alouds from either myself or my collaborating teacher (CT). This would occur many times throughout the day including during snack time, reading mini-lesson, and while students were packing up to head home. During snack time and while the students were packing up the book was a "fun" book that didn't necessarily relate to the reading topic we were discussing in class. Three to four times a week my CT and I would meet with different guided reading groups. We would focus on one particular skill for the day and work with a small group of students. While my CT and I were meeting with guided reading groups, the remaining students spent the time reading independently on their level. My CT was fortunate enough to have a leveled library in the classroom and the students had the opportunity to choose books on their level they were interested in and read silently during this time. Many times students would ask for post-it notes to record questions they had or unfamiliar words to ask about after I was finished with a guided reading group. All of these strategies helped me assess how the students were progressing as readers and what skills still needed work.

I haven't had the opportunity to implement literature circles or individual reading conferences into a classroom yet, but I would love to try both of them. Personally I've completed literature circles during my undergraduate coursework and loved them and would be interested in seeing how younger students respond to them. During my student teaching experience I had the opportunity to visit several conferences and heard many different teachers using reading conferences as part of their daily routines and would love to try it out in my classroom.

Teaching writing was a personal struggle for me, however, I had an amazing CT that helped guide me in becoming an effective writing teacher. Almost daily we would do write-alouds. We would look at writing examples and talk about why the pieces of writing were good or bad examples. If an example wasn't very good, as a class we would work together to create a more interesting piece. Whenever students finished assignments in other subjects early, they were to work on unfinished work or write in their creative writing journals. This journal was never taken up or looked at unless the student asked me. We considered this to be many students creative outlet and private. The students in my classroom also participated in independent writing. Students had a clip with their number on it and they would move it to which part of the writing process the were currently working on. Many students would be in different stages of the writing process, but my CT and I constantly reminded them that it is okay. During the independent writing time my CT and I would look to see where the students were based on their clips and conferences with certain students to give feedback and suggestions. I plan on using all of these strategies in my own classroom since they worked wonderfully for me during student teaching.

Module 3: Activity 2

What do you think of this? What do such activities and “cracking the code” contribute to proficient reading? What else might a reader need to become proficient?


This video showed just how important the letter-word correspondence is to the student. Students learning how to associate letter sounds to build words is an important part of the initial stages of building a strong reader. The teacher in the video showed just how important understanding the phonics is to building a word. I like that she mentioned it was important for the student to not only hear the sounds from her, but be able to sound it out and blend it together so it makes sense to them, just like she mentioned with the word "sat."


I don't believe students building non-words will help benefit them in reading. I try and have my students focus on reading for meaning and comprehension rather than just reading nonsense. I think building non-words takes away from them developing meaning. When students can build actual words they can begin to make connections to them which will help them become stronger readers.

Module 3: Mock Memo from a Reading Specialist

Erica, a fifth grader, reads grade level passages at a rate of 177 words correct per minute, or 30% faster than grade level norms. When asked to retell what she has read, Erica struggles and is able to give little to no information from about the text. Many other children in Erica's class also read well above grade level expectations for fluency rate (or automaticity), but the teacher laments that they struggle with comprehension and using appropriate expression and intonation while they read. What is going on here? What advice can you offer the teacher?


As educators, we must remember the focus of reading is to produce efficient readers that can read quickly and determine meaning. Erica and her classmates seem to be able to read quickly, but need to focus on comprehension. Reading for meaning is critical, we want our students to be able to recall what they have just read. 


First, try modeling HOW you want your students to read. Choose a book that has a few different characters with different emotions. Modeling is always an effective strategy. While reading the book aloud to the students frequently stop and ask questions. Not only about what has already happened, but what they think will happen. Good readers can not only recall information, but use the context clues to make predictions about what they think will happen. Record the information recalled and predictions on a large anchor chart or a pre-made poster and review with the students after you have read the story aloud to see if they were right or wrong. Be sure to emphasize that it is okay to be wrong in your predictions! 


Next in a small group, I would suggest that the students try reading a piece of reader's theater in a small group. Using reader's theater will help the students read with expression because they will be in character. Before they begin reading you can have them imagine how their character would sound if they were excited, angry, sad, etc. By using reader's theater with the students you have the ability to choose longer pieces that can be broken up into several days on guided reading. You can break up the pieces of the stories into smaller sciences and focus on comprehension of smaller passages. I think reader's theater will greatly benefit the students struggling with comprehension and expression as they read.

Module 3: Reading Reflection

Do you agree with Marilyn Adams (1990, p. 108) who argued that rather than relying on context, “Skillful readers of English thoroughly process the individual letters of words in their texts?” Why or why not?

I don't agree with Marilyn Adams' statement. Readers can identify the individual letters in a word, however, when reading fluently skillful readers do not take the time to process each letter in a word. Our text states on page 109, "Good readers do not read word-by-word as if the words were in a list rather than in context; rather, they use context not only to perceive and identify words but to do so with slightly greater speed and fewer eye fixations." 

I believe if a reader focused on the individual letters within a word they would be concentrating more on the pronunciation of that word rather than trying to determine meaning from the passage. Several years ago while in a class, my classmates and I were presented a passage where the first and last letters in the words were left in their proper place, but the other letters were mixed around within the word. The majority of the student were able to read the passage quickly with ease and were able to comprehend the meaning of the passage. This is because we were not focusing on each individual letter, but the context of the text.

While our eyes do process each letter, when reading fluently proficient readers read rapidly and do not focus on each individual letter, nor do they read word-for-word. Strong readers do not need to focus on each individual letter to determine meaning from a text. They are able to make a connection between the words in a text to determine meaning.

Module 2: Activities 1 & 2

Activity #1

Page 58 #3C

Word	Possible Definition

Creech	Screech
Droogs	Drools
Glazzies	Glassy
Goloss	Gloss
Malenky	Melancholy
Messel	Missile
Millicents	Millimeter
Poogly	Poorly
Razrez	Raspberries
Skorry	Scary
Spatted	Spit
Zoobies	Zombies

I had absolutely no idea what these words’ definition could mean. While I was trying to determine what the words could mean I thought the words could sound similar to their meaning. For the majority of the words I assumed they could be slang words from a different dialect (Just like a lot of people use the word y’all in the South) used in place for other words.

Word	Actual Definition

Droogs	Friend/Ally
Skorry	Quickly
Glazzies	Eyes
Goloss	Voice/Tone
Razrezzed	Ripped
Creeching	Screaming

I was able to use the context clues from the sentences to gain understanding of the unfamiliar words. I was correct in assuming the given words were slang words used in another dialect; however, the definitions I came up with were incorrect.

Activity #2

1.     I did not read the word letter-by-letter. It just didn’t make sense to me to attempt to complete the exercise quickly or correctly by using this approach.

2.     I primarily chunked the words into familiar patterns that I recognized to determine how to properly pronounce the word.

3.     I did not try to sample the letters all at once. Again, it didn’t seem like the most efficient way to properly determine the pronunciation of the word.

4.     I did not know any of the definitions of the words. I only had a guess of what one word could mean. If they were to be used in a sentence I would probably be able to determine the meaning.

5.     Pronunciation of the words only helped me with one of the words, plesiosaur. I assumed since it ended in –saur, it could have something to do with dinosaurs since they both have the same ending.

6.     I use context clues to help me determine meaning from unfamiliar words. If one particular sentence is unable to give me the complete definition I will continue reading and can often infer the meaning of the particular word later on in a passage.

7.     Having a word by itself will often make it more difficult for the reader to determine its meaning. For example, on a spelling test if a student hears the word eight, they may or may not be able to spell it correctly based on the word by itself, but if used in a sentence the student can determine the meaning of it and spell it correctly.

Module 2: Instructional Challenge

I believe these student’s miscues are evidence of proficient reading. Like in our text we read this week, although there are miscues while reading the text the students did not change the meaning of the passage. The grammar they may be using while reading aloud is incorrect they are still able to comprehend correctly. Our text even says, “A good reader could make as many miscues as a less effective reader, but the use of language cues and reading strategies would most likely be different (Weaver, 2002).” When a student reads many miscues throughout a text a teacher can believe a student may not be a proficient reader, however, if a student is correctly able to comprehend the material miscues are acceptable.

If I were teaching this group of students I would make sure the focus on comprehension. These students made a number of miscues that could lead me to believe they were struggling understanding the massage. I would have the students tell me about the passage they had just read to ensure they were able to take away an understanding since there were so many miscues.

When a student is reading with miscues, I believe it is more important for the student to develop meaning rather than correctly identifying all of the words in a text. Ultimately, I want my students to read words accurately and be able to develop meaning, however, in this stage I would primarily focus on making sure the students are able to comprehend the material.

References:

Weaver, C. (2002). Reading process and practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Module 2: Reading Reflection

“The major folklore of reading instruction relates to the “theory” that reading is considered an exact process. In other words, the reader is expected to read everything exactly as printed on the page in order to understand the message of the author. In general the consuming public, legislatures, courts, and too many educators hold to this theory. It is like the theory of the world being flat during the time of Columbus.” – Robert Harper and Gary Kilarr


I agree with Harper and Kilarr's quote. Reading is not an exact process, but a combination of a variety of strategies and techniques throughout reading. One of the main strategies used throughout reading is by using the context of a sentence. On page 52, the author states that beginning and non proficient readers can often read workers better in context than in isolation. When readers use the context to identify meaning, they are comprehending the words and expanding their vocabularies while becoming stronger readers. By strictly reading a passage word for word a student is more concerned about properly identifying the word and pronunciation, rather than focusing on the meaning of the passage.


Figure 4.1 on page 63 provided me with an excellent visual representation of how contexts can be used in reading. Readers can use the context to confirm, correct, or clarify miscues they have already read (Just like the author gave an example of with the word scofflaw on pages 44-45) and use it to predict in their future reading. It is such an excellent way to ensure readers are understanding the meaning of passages!


Overall, I think that reading is not a step by step process but a cycle. Many different factors play into understanding an author's message, and by a reader utilizing the context it will help develop his or her comprehension.


Weaver, C. (2002). Reading process and practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Module 1: Activity 2

Activity 2:

Complete Exercise #5 on p. 39 by reading the passage and answering questions a-g that follow it.

What is a corandic? A corandic is an emurient grof with many fries.

What does corandic grank from? A corandic granks from corite, an olg which cargs like lange.

How do garkers excarp the tarances from the corite? Garkers excarpt by glarking the corite and starping it in tranker-clarped storbs.

What does the slorp finally frast? The slorp finally frasts a pragety, blickant crinkle.

What is coranda? A coranda is a cargurt, grinkling corandic and borigen.

How is the corandic nacerated from the borigen? The corandic is nacerated from the borigen by means of voracity.

What do the garkers finally tharp? Garkers finally tharp a glick, bracht, glupous grapant, corandic, which granks in many starps.

How is it that you are able to answer such questions?

I found this passage difficult to read and determine meaning. So I looked for key words that were used many times from the questions. Then, I reread the passage or sentence the key word was in to ensure it was the answer I needed to answer the question.

What does this experience suggest about the kinds of “comprehension” questions found in workbooks and on standardized tests?

Using passages like this one that don’t really make sense to the reader makes it difficult to determine meaning from it. Often times on standardized tests students just read the questions, look for clue words, and answer the questions without gaining any real meaning from the text.

Module 1: Activity 1

Activity 1:

Following the schema mapping activity on page 18 of your textbook (represented in figure 2.1 ), choose a category that includes several constituents and map it out graphically. Then, choose two items from the map and create a comparison table similar to the one appearing under Figure 2.1 in the text. 

Sports Cars                                    Hybrids

Lots of horsepower                           Ecofriendly

Low gas milage (MPGs)                  High gas milege (MPGs)

Very fast                                             Can fit more than 2 people

Expensive (cost of car,                   Budget friendly

insurance, maintenance)

Can seat only 2 people

Module 1: Instructional Challenge

Read the following passage:

Hocked gems financing him, our hero defied the scornful laughter. “Think of it as an egg, not a table,” he said. Then three sturdy sisters sought proof, forging over vast calmness, and sometimes over turbulent peaks and valleys, until at last welcome winged creatures appeared, signifying monumental success.

Answer these questions about the passage:

1. What are the hocked gems? The hocked gems refer to the people who are financing the voyage for the hero.

2. What should we think of as an egg and not a table? We should think of the Earth as an egg, which is round, instead of like a table, which is flat.

3. Who are the three sturdy sisters? The three sturdy sisters are ships.

4. What kind of winged creatures appeared? The winged creatures are birds, which would signify to the three ships that land is near.

If you were to use this passage with students, what schema would you need to activate with them first?

If I were using this passage in my classroom I would activate their knowledge about Famous Expeditions and Explorers. Students could recall information from previous lessons and list facts about each voyage (Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Cortes, etc.) and compare and contrast the difference in each category to help them determine which one would fit the passage best.

How can you help teach children whose schema and the text’s content don’t match?

In order to help match student’s schema and the text’s context, you could provide students with essential questions and prompts to help them decode and determine that the passage is talking about Christopher Columbus and his expedition.

How much time should children spend in texts that don’t match their interests or schema?

Students should explore other texts that don’t match their interest or schema. It’s important to expand your interests and knowledge into other subjects. Without doing so students may be missing out on topics they are interested in. It is similar to trying new food and expanding your palette. If you never try a new food, you could be missing out on your new favorite food.

Module 1: Reading Reflection

What are some of the major differences between a skills approach to literacy and a comprehensive or sociopsycholinguistic approach?


A skills approach to literacy and reading occurs from the bottom up and has a part-to-whole concept. Initially, the reader learns to read by starting with letters and letter-sound relationships, then transitions into words. In addition, the reader decodes texts by isolating the phonemes in words. Essentially, this strategy starts with the smallest pieces of language and works upwards. This strategy to reading assumes the meaning and understanding of words will take care of itself as the reader reads.


A sociopsycholinguistic approach to literacy encompasses a whole-to-part or a top down view. Readers take on meaning from their texts by making connections to the words and their contexts from prior experiences. The process of comprehending written text is an ongoing collaboration of visual aspects, letter-sound relationships, schemas, contexts, and words and their meanings.


Some major differences between the two approaches include dealing with the contexts, meaning, and prior knowledge. Those who believe in the skills approach do not believe that contexts, meaning, and prior knowledge are a factor in emerging readers identifying words. An educator who believes in sociopsycholinguistic approach believes the opposite; contexts, meaning, and prior knowledge are all intertwined . Another major difference between the two approaches is how the reader understands the text. Through the sociopsycholinguistic approach, readers will comprehend what they read through a variety of social and situational factors. A reader who is taught through the skills approach build upon the basics of language to construct meaning.


 Allowing students to make connections to words using context and prior knowledge will help them develop. For example, many times teachers ask students to write a sentence about something and  draw a picture to go with it. The connection with the picture may help the students write the sounds of the words they drew. Eventually this will lead to learning and identifying spelling patterns and strategies to correctly spell a word which will lead them to become better readers.

Personal Model of Reading Theory

Tiffany Leguizamon

Personal Model of Reading Theory

Dr. Richie

June 4^th, 2012

            Throughout my teaching experience I have noticed how important and critical reading is to be successful in school.  Reading is the foundation of every subject and without a solid foundation in reading students will struggle in other content areas.  For example, math requires you to decode information, look for clues, and unnecessary information in word problems.  History requires you to read information from textbooks and other resources to gain knowledge about the content area.  Science also requires students to read information, data, and charts.  Ultimately, the students will use reading in everything they do and continually build upon their foundation.

            In my opinion, reading begins before a student enters a classroom.  Students are able to connections between pictures, words, and letters.  My two-year-old niece is a prime example.  Many days she and I will spend time coloring alphabet pages.  I am constantly questioning her while coloring about what the picture is and what letter is represented.  The majority of the time she is able to identify the letter and associate the picture with the word.  I believe that utilizing word association and the alphabet will help children to excel in reading before they reach the elementary school level.

            Once a student reaches the elementary school level, students should begin building upon the knowledge they already have about words.  This includes learning phonics, sight words, and word patterns.  Phonics can be quite difficult for many young learners and present them with a challenge.  Personally, I enjoy seeing word families utilized in classrooms.  I have had many students that have been unsuccessful with phonics advance greatly by using word families. While in my TOSS class, there was a student that struggled with the –ir, -ur, and -er sounds. After completing several activities with word families the student finally began to understand the sounds.  I believe learning phonics is a large part of reading and will help students decode unfamiliar words as they mature and grow as readers.  

            As a student progresses in reading the importance of comprehension is vital to the success of young readers.  During my student teaching experience in a third grade classroom this fall I noticed many students were able to read through a given passage very quickly, but were not able to recall anything they had read afterward.  I worked on slowing down the reading pace with students while focusing on punctuation and dialogue and stopping throughout reading selections to ask questions.  The students in my guided reading groups greatly benefitted in the area of comprehension after I began to use these strategies.  I believe that as a student begins to develop as a reader they must not just be able to identify the words they are reading correctly, but also be able to recall the information they have read.  A goal of mine professionally is to have the students to go home and be able to remember what they have read and explain it to their guardians with enthusiasm. 

            As a reader grows and develops another concept they should master is fluency. During my undergraduate work I had a professor say that fluency was not just the speed at which a student can read, but the ability to use decoding and comprehension quickly.  When students become fluent readers they are building upon all of their prior knowledge to become a better, stronger reader.  During my student teaching field experience one of my guided reading groups struggled with fluency.  As a result we read a lot of poetry aloud to help ease them into reading passages swiftly while also working on comprehension. Fluency is important for students to learn so they spend less time decoding and trying to pronounce the words and more time comprehending the materials they have read.

As an educator, I have come to understand how important reading is in a student’s life.  Reading builds upon itself as the student grows and develops and is a lifelong journey.  It is my personal goal to instill a passion for reading in each of my student’s lives that they will carry with them long after the leave my classroom and to be able to remind my students that becoming a strong reader is not a sprint, it is a marathon.