Jared Weisberg
Article "Every Mark On The Page"
October 26th, 2014
"Every Mark on the Page" was a very interesting article with countless beneficial information for primary teachers. I state this because in this specific article we were given examples of what kindergartener's writing would look like and how it effects parents. For instance, it was clearly demonstrated that parents become very displeased and worried when their child has numerous spelling errors, fluency issues or grammatical errors. As a result, this upsets parents because they feel as if their child should be succeeding at a higher level and it makes them think that their child won't be prepared for the next grade level. Despite the fact, what the parents don't understand is that it's all about the development of the child as a writer and not how many mistakes they make. Meaning, this is extremely common for students in the primary grade levels to struggle at first and it's important that parents understand that. If parents don't, then they may put to much pressure on themselves as well as their child and take the fun out of writing because they make it to serious. Without mistakes, children are unable to grow as writers and learn from their errors. I thought this article did an outstanding job of how to prepare primary teachers to react to parent's who seem extremely worried about their child. Specifically, the idea of an open house. Open houses are a terrific way for teachers to connect with parents and explain to them one on one were their child is and the progress he or she has made. These conferences help calm and relax parents since they realize this is the norm and they get personal advice from the teacher on how to encourage their child at home with writing or reading practices. As stated in the article, "good parent education is part of a quality spelling program. However, I would like to expand that to say 'and a quality writing program as well'" (Cusumano 17). As one can see, parents can help their child's building capabilities at home once they speak to the teacher at open house. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article because the author made some critical points. I strongly believe that parents can have a major impact on their child's educational growth and it's important as future educators that we make sure that impact is on a positive way. Just because their child may not be succeeding at such a high level doesn't mean that haven't progressed as a learner. Parents needs to understand that mistakes are a great thing because it helps the student grow and become a stronger educator since they learn from their mistakes.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Teaching Phonemic Awareness
Jared Weisberg
October 19th, 2014
Phonemic Awareness
The article that I have read and I'm willing to elaborate more on is, Teaching Phonemic Awareness, written by Rasinski and Padak. In this article we were introduced to phonemic awareness and what exactly the definition is and how to incorporate strategies into your classroom. Phonemic awareness refers to, "a person's awareness of speech sounds smaller than a syllable and the ability to manipulate those sounds through such tasks as blending and segmenting sounds in words" (Rasinski and Padak 43). As on can assume, phonics is almost the gradual step into what separates the great readers from the poor readers. As a result, it's in our best interest as Elementary School Teachers, we implement these strategies and activities into the classroom in order to help each and every student become stronger phonemically. I can recall a moment in Elementary School when our teacher gave us a sheet with sentences that hard words very similar to one another but one wasn't correct while the other was. The objective of the worksheet was to have the students acknowledge the similar syllables and how the words can rhyme but being able to word recognize what was correct. I found this worksheet to be helpful but wished we did more like this in order to increase our knowledge on phonemic awareness. Overall, the main point I gained out of this article was phonemic awareness is essential for phonics and reading success, however, in order to find great success in your classroom we need to have a wide variety of strategies, activities and techniques in order to teach all children and find success.
October 19th, 2014
Phonemic Awareness
The article that I have read and I'm willing to elaborate more on is, Teaching Phonemic Awareness, written by Rasinski and Padak. In this article we were introduced to phonemic awareness and what exactly the definition is and how to incorporate strategies into your classroom. Phonemic awareness refers to, "a person's awareness of speech sounds smaller than a syllable and the ability to manipulate those sounds through such tasks as blending and segmenting sounds in words" (Rasinski and Padak 43). As on can assume, phonics is almost the gradual step into what separates the great readers from the poor readers. As a result, it's in our best interest as Elementary School Teachers, we implement these strategies and activities into the classroom in order to help each and every student become stronger phonemically. I can recall a moment in Elementary School when our teacher gave us a sheet with sentences that hard words very similar to one another but one wasn't correct while the other was. The objective of the worksheet was to have the students acknowledge the similar syllables and how the words can rhyme but being able to word recognize what was correct. I found this worksheet to be helpful but wished we did more like this in order to increase our knowledge on phonemic awareness. Overall, the main point I gained out of this article was phonemic awareness is essential for phonics and reading success, however, in order to find great success in your classroom we need to have a wide variety of strategies, activities and techniques in order to teach all children and find success.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Field Experience
Jared Weisberg
October 6th, 2014
Field Work
Field experience this year is completely different from last year and I'm glad because I'm able to get vital experience. For instance, last year I was a helping hand in the classroom rather than being assigned to a specific student. Meaning, last year I would make copies, help students who struggled, and sit in the classroom to observe the teacher. On the other hand, this year I'm actually assigned to work one on one with a specific student. The classroom I'm assigned this year is the advanced learners which means it's the students who are ahead of their grade level and complete work that's more difficult. As a result, my specific student is a very strong reader but dislikes writing very much. He reads very lengthy chapter books that look as thick as a Harry Potter books but thinks writing is very boring. I've started off by having him write a personal diary each time we conduct our meeting. He can write what ever is on his mind but the only rule is that he must write for a full 10 minutes without stopping. By doing this, I'm trying to slowly engage him into the writing aspect of school and show him that writing isn't so bad. He has written two diaries thus far and hasn't complained once about writing. I'm shocked because I was expecting a little rebuttal but I'm pleased he hasn't argued yet. Overall, I think my child is a terrific young man but I hope I can get his passion for reading into his writing!
October 6th, 2014
Field Work
Field experience this year is completely different from last year and I'm glad because I'm able to get vital experience. For instance, last year I was a helping hand in the classroom rather than being assigned to a specific student. Meaning, last year I would make copies, help students who struggled, and sit in the classroom to observe the teacher. On the other hand, this year I'm actually assigned to work one on one with a specific student. The classroom I'm assigned this year is the advanced learners which means it's the students who are ahead of their grade level and complete work that's more difficult. As a result, my specific student is a very strong reader but dislikes writing very much. He reads very lengthy chapter books that look as thick as a Harry Potter books but thinks writing is very boring. I've started off by having him write a personal diary each time we conduct our meeting. He can write what ever is on his mind but the only rule is that he must write for a full 10 minutes without stopping. By doing this, I'm trying to slowly engage him into the writing aspect of school and show him that writing isn't so bad. He has written two diaries thus far and hasn't complained once about writing. I'm shocked because I was expecting a little rebuttal but I'm pleased he hasn't argued yet. Overall, I think my child is a terrific young man but I hope I can get his passion for reading into his writing!
Podcast Response
Jared Weisberg
October 6th, 2014
Podcast Review
The Reading Recovery Podcast was extremely informative and taught me countless strategies to use in small groups. In this podcast we have three key note speakers whose names were Pat Johnson, Diane DeFord, and Mary Cappellini. Each of these speakers covered different aspects of literacy and informed us how to use these strategies in a small group setting. It was very intriguing to observe what each speaker emphasized because I was noticing a lot was already discussed in our EDUC-BE 339 course and in the texts we have been reading. As a result, it seemed to me that this podcast was almost review and a helpful reminder of the important literacy skills in small group work.
The podcast began with the first speaker whose name was Pat Johnson. Pat was emphasizing the importance of teaching children how to read and what goes through the thought process of a reader. The first thing she stated that really grabbed my attention was, 'teach the readers, not the book'. This meant to me that we concentrate to much on selecting a book and not valuing what the readers would get out of the book. It's vital that we take note of this strong message because we observe to often teachers teaching the book rather than the students. To go along with, Pat stressed the importance of how students have a wide variety of strategies they could use with literacy. However, they don't know they exist until we guide them to incorporate these strategies into their reading. Strategies that consist of questioning, meaning, syntactic, and visual. Lastly, Pat informed us that we need to give students enough practice time to actually allow them to improve. This means encouraging re-readings, giving opportunities to talk, and assigning work that will keep them more than busy. As one can see, it will take time to develop students but teachers need to be patient because the outcome is much greater.
The second speaker was Diane DeFord and she discussed four main points of instructional decisions. Her first main point that I thought was the most important was knowing the strengths of your readers. In other words, understanding your reader on a more personal note. I feel as if this was the most important point Diane made because students want to read and write about topics that spark their personal interest. Assigning them topics that don't spark their interest will result in poor work and not getting the best out of each and every student. As a result, focus on what your students already know rather than what they don't know. Lastly, the last main point Diane made that is vital for every reader to understand is that each story conveys a specific message. Meaning, authors of texts purposely convey a message for the reader to better understand but want you to find the meaning by implementing a literacy strategy.
The third and final speaker of the podcast was Mary Cappellini who discussed her personal research with English Language Learners. This means she was working with students whose first language was not English. As a result, the teaching methods of working one on one with a student who is an ELL is very different than a student who is not. She emphasized that ELL students should concentrate more on the visual aspect of literacy. Meaning, use the pictures that are given to better help them understand the meaning of the text. Lastly, she also stated that it's very vital we have inclusion of ELL in every classroom. Despite difference they may hold, its important we don't segregate these students because people would be shocked how quicker they catch on to the native language when they're surrounded by individuals who are experts in it.
Overall, this podcast was more than informative and I'm thankful to get the advice from these terrific three speakers. Thanks to Pat, Diane and Mary I now have a better understanding of how to incorporate reading activities into small group work.
October 6th, 2014
Podcast Review
The Reading Recovery Podcast was extremely informative and taught me countless strategies to use in small groups. In this podcast we have three key note speakers whose names were Pat Johnson, Diane DeFord, and Mary Cappellini. Each of these speakers covered different aspects of literacy and informed us how to use these strategies in a small group setting. It was very intriguing to observe what each speaker emphasized because I was noticing a lot was already discussed in our EDUC-BE 339 course and in the texts we have been reading. As a result, it seemed to me that this podcast was almost review and a helpful reminder of the important literacy skills in small group work.
The podcast began with the first speaker whose name was Pat Johnson. Pat was emphasizing the importance of teaching children how to read and what goes through the thought process of a reader. The first thing she stated that really grabbed my attention was, 'teach the readers, not the book'. This meant to me that we concentrate to much on selecting a book and not valuing what the readers would get out of the book. It's vital that we take note of this strong message because we observe to often teachers teaching the book rather than the students. To go along with, Pat stressed the importance of how students have a wide variety of strategies they could use with literacy. However, they don't know they exist until we guide them to incorporate these strategies into their reading. Strategies that consist of questioning, meaning, syntactic, and visual. Lastly, Pat informed us that we need to give students enough practice time to actually allow them to improve. This means encouraging re-readings, giving opportunities to talk, and assigning work that will keep them more than busy. As one can see, it will take time to develop students but teachers need to be patient because the outcome is much greater.
The second speaker was Diane DeFord and she discussed four main points of instructional decisions. Her first main point that I thought was the most important was knowing the strengths of your readers. In other words, understanding your reader on a more personal note. I feel as if this was the most important point Diane made because students want to read and write about topics that spark their personal interest. Assigning them topics that don't spark their interest will result in poor work and not getting the best out of each and every student. As a result, focus on what your students already know rather than what they don't know. Lastly, the last main point Diane made that is vital for every reader to understand is that each story conveys a specific message. Meaning, authors of texts purposely convey a message for the reader to better understand but want you to find the meaning by implementing a literacy strategy.
The third and final speaker of the podcast was Mary Cappellini who discussed her personal research with English Language Learners. This means she was working with students whose first language was not English. As a result, the teaching methods of working one on one with a student who is an ELL is very different than a student who is not. She emphasized that ELL students should concentrate more on the visual aspect of literacy. Meaning, use the pictures that are given to better help them understand the meaning of the text. Lastly, she also stated that it's very vital we have inclusion of ELL in every classroom. Despite difference they may hold, its important we don't segregate these students because people would be shocked how quicker they catch on to the native language when they're surrounded by individuals who are experts in it.
Overall, this podcast was more than informative and I'm thankful to get the advice from these terrific three speakers. Thanks to Pat, Diane and Mary I now have a better understanding of how to incorporate reading activities into small group work.
Chapter 7 Catching Readers
Jared Weisberg
October 6th, 2014
Chapter 7
This chapter was very eye opening for me in the aspect that I was unaware of how many terrific suggestions their were for teachers. But what I found to be most intriguing was the story of Rachel Coelho who was a first year teacher trying to teach children whose first language is not English. When reading what Rachel had to deal with it made me wonder if I would ever be placed in her shoes. I'll admit that I would be very nervous and worried because I've always thought that every student whose first language is English wouldn't struggle with reading. However, this is not the point the chapter was emphasizing. This chapter informed me that we as teachers need to understand we can face many obstacles and one of the major ones would be teaching children to read whose first language is not English. When reading this chapter I was catching myself reflecting on my past Elementary School memories and the times when I struggled as a reader as well as observing friends who struggled too. For instance, when I was younger I only wanted to read picture books because I was intimidated by longer texts with words I wouldn't understand or know how to pronounce. As a result, I had to work one on one with a special teacher who taught me to step out of my comfort zone and she challenged me as a reader. What she did that I noticed the chapter discussed for teacher suggestions was, she was always finding books that sparked my interest. She would ask me whose my favorite athlete, sports team, food or other similar topics and she would come back with books that had the topic of my personal interest. She slowly engaged me into the easier books and would always give me positive feedback making me feel like I was becoming a better reader. Then after a few weeks of working with this special teacher, I was acknowledging that I had become a very strong reader because I was beginning to read chapter books on my own with no pictures! As one can see, what this teacher conducted was two simple suggestions this chapter stated. First, always celebrate every learning achievement your struggling reader makes and secondly, take the time to know your students and use this knowledge to connect with them. If I implement these teacher suggestions that the end of the chapter stated, I have a great deal of confidence in myself that I will get each and every one of my students to become stronger readers.
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