Module 1: Response to PowerPoint

This PowerPoint reiterated a lot of information that we learned in our previous reading course. Proficient readers reading for comprehension and understanding, rather than focusing on decoding each individual sound within a word. I enjoyed reading learning about ELL students as well. I student taught in a classroom with many ELL students. A majority of them were focused on decoding and were very choppy when they read aloud. One key point that stood out to me from the PowerPoint was to know if an ELL student struggled reading in their native language. I never even thought to think about how they read in their native language! I believe ongoing assessments help all students in reading. It is important for the teacher to know how students are improving and to constantly monitor their progress.

Since I will be tutoring a 5th grade student for this class, I begin to think of some strategies and assessments that I would use with him. My student should be in Stage 4- Reading to Learn and is reading in his native language. I plan on using a balanced literacy approach and incorporating writing into several sessions.

I'm excited to see how the student I will be working with will improve in reading. I'm also interested in knowing if there will be any improvements in his other content areas as well.

Pg. 14, Activity #4, Opitz

Since I do not currently have my own classroom, I thought back to my student teaching experience and the time I spent leading guided reading groups and working one-on-one with students. Immediately, one student in particular stuck out to me. This student was a slightly below level reader, and struggled with comprehension and fluency. His reading was always very choppy and sounded much like a computer program when they read aloud. When looking at Table 1.1 I noticed that he was a less proficient reader, because he was constantly attempting to identify all of the words correctly. In fact, if you were to look at his running record it would have hardly any miscues. He was focusing all of his energy on correctly identifying the words in the passage, rather than gaining meaning. I constantly told this student that it was okay if he made mistakes, and that I wanted him to be able to tell me what happened in the text after he was finished reading.

The last reading course helped me to understand how important reading comprehension is and how miscues can often be misleading. The student I was working with could have had more miscues throughout their reading and still been a proficient reader if he was able to determine meaning from the text. Ultimately, I would have liked to have monitored his progress, but since it was during my student teaching I don't know how the student has progressed now.

Watch & Learn: Assessing Reading Fluency

This video discussed the importance of assessing students' frequently and monitoring their progress. Ongoing assessments allow the teacher to diagnose a student's needs and abilities in reading. As the video mentioned, many readers may have high IQs and be performing in high percentiles in other subject areas, but struggle in reading. Strong readers are able to read quickly, fluently, and comprehend the text presented to them. Comprehension is the primary goal of reading. If students are spending their time focusing on decoding the will lose the fluency and comprehension needed to become a strong reader.
Through my experience, I have personally seen many students focus on decoding the words and struggle to determine the meaning of the text. It can be frustrating for the student to read a passage and not gained any information from what they have just read. I like the video's suggestion of having the student read a list of words as quickly as possible. It is a quick, easy assessment to give and can boost a student's confidence. Then, have the student move onto simpler text to determine meaning. As an educator my goal is to ensure that students are reading fluently and gaining comprehension. Reading is something that they will constantly need to thrive in the world.