Reflection about the semester

I really enjoyed this semester.  I think we had a really great class and I enjoyed our discussions.  We read alot of interesting books and had alot of great discussions.  I liked when Mrs. Pytash read excerpts of books.  I wrote down every title of every book that we talked about that I haven't read yet.  I have a very long list of books that I want to read now.  I liked the surveys we took after every book that we read.  I also liked writing the book reviews.  I think I will have my students write book reviews, it will give them a chance not only to say if they liked the book or not, but why.  I really liked the choice project too.  Sometimes students need a choice of what they can do.  Students are more likely to do something and do it well if they choose to do it.

Chapter 14

I really liked the list of things reluctant reader look for in books, such as, thin books and short chapters, white space, some illustrations, especially of characters, well defined characters, plots with a lot of action that begins right away, mysteries, funny books, characters their age or only slightly older, characters who face tough choices, realistic language and an easily defined conflict.  I never thought about those things before.  When I look for a book, I read the title and the back of the book.  I also look to see what other books that author has written.  When I choose books for my students I'm going to look more for the things they are looking for.  I want students to like to read and to want to read. 

Chapter 13

I agree that students should learn each others names just as much as teachers should learn the students names.  I find the classes I have where I know the names of most of the people in it, I do better.  It is easier to get through a hard class if you know the people in there with you.

I also will not tolerate Put-Downs in my classroom.  I don't like when kids put each other down.  I would rather have the students in my class encourage each other and work together.

In the Step Inside a Classroom section of this chapter I like the idea of the bell.  I think kids really need something to bring to their attention how mean they are to each other.  If kids aren't as mean to each other they won't be so afraid to speak up in class.

Chapter 10

I like the Suggestion #2 for Improving Fluency; Give Students Varied Opportunities for Hearing Texts.  It says to model good reading to studentd.  They need to hear good expression, good phrasing, and good pacing.  Some students might not have anyone at home that reads or have read to them.  If the teacher reads to the students they will have at least one person to listen too.  I like the Echo reading too. I might use that with my son, he is in first grade and he needs help with his reading.

I also agree with Suggestion #5; Prompt, Don't Correct.  Most people, me included, just correct.  I have a hard time with that when I'm helping my son with his homework.  I need to work on not just giving him the word he is having problems with.

Chapter 9

It should be common sense that if you want a student to learn a new word then the teacher should use that word in their own vocabulary.  I have to children of my own ages 6 and 3 and I always use big words with them and explain what those words mean.  Instead of just saying her food is good my daughter will say it is delicious.  That is how people use language and most parents will know that children pick up the words they hear around them.

Chapter 8

I like the idea of Likert Scales because the student can answer honestly what they thought of the story instead of just answering questions about the content of the story.  It is good because students can discuss why they agree of disagree and it can open up the discussion.

I also like the Semantic Differential Scales because the reader can understand more about the characters because they can see exactly what kind of person the character is.

I never thought to use something like the "Somebody Wanted But So"   It would be good to use because it is easier for the students to pull important aspects from the text.

Chapter 7

At the beginning of this chapter the students read a poem that was really hard.  Two of the students reread the poem several times and looked up words they didn't know, one of them even drew a picture.  The third student just read the poem once and didn't understand it and that was it.  The teacher showed the third student what the other two did and she couldn't believe they did all that work to make the poem make sense.  If all the students who didn't understand knew the strategies other students used to make something make sense it would help them a lot.  This shows how important reading strategies are.

Chapter 5

This chapter was very interesting because I never thought about how difficult it would be to teach someone how to make an inference.  The "Step Inside a Classroom" parts of the chapter were very interesting.  The class of students who were good readers made a lot of inferences of the passage the teacher put on the overhead, but the class that didn't read well and didn't like to read couldn't understand what they needed to do to make an inference.

Chapter 6

I really like the idea of a K-W-L chart because even though the book said it is used primarily for non-fiction works it could be used for just about anything a student wants to learn about.  Even when reading a novel there are things a reader already knows, things they want to learn and at the end what tthey have learned from the book.  I think this kind of chart can be used in any subject area.

Chapter 4

I enjoyed seeibng Kate's improvement in her teaching style.  The first time she taught the book "Eleven" she told the students that it was the characters birthday and she read the story outloud to the class.  The next time she taught the book to a different class she asked them what they thought the story was about and instead of just reading the story straight through she stopped every once in awhile and thought out loud.  And instead of asking questions she lead the class in a discussion of the book.  It was interesting to see the different reactions of the different teaching styles.

Chapter 3

My favorite part of this chapter is the list of Dependent Reading Behaviors.  Sometimes it is hard to figure out why a child can't read and this is really eye opening.  And it was interesting to compare that list to the list of What Good Readers Do.

Chapter 2

What I really like about this chapter is all the personal experience stories and her letters to George.  She is very honest when she writes the letters to George and they really show how much a first year teacher has to learn.  I liked how much detail the author put into the story about her friends five year old daughter.  The story really showcased what the auther was trying to teach the reader which was how to listen for the embeded questions in the seemingly simple questions children ask. 

This chapter helped me to understand that just because a child can't read doesn't mean they don't know what the letters are or even what sounds the letters make.  The child could have a problem comprehending the word or the entire sentence.  Even if a child can read every single word on a page doesn't mean they comprehended what they just read. 

I also enjoyed the Step Inside a Classroom section of this chapter.  It was very motivating to see a child go through the process of figuring something out that had previously been difficult for her.  I liked how the teacher let the child figure it out for herself instead of just telling her the answer.  I could almost see the light bulb go on above her head.

It was also helpful to see a small conversation with a boy who didn't understand the same concept as fast as the girl did.  He finally got to the same point, but it just goes to show how each child learns differently.