Just take it a word at a time…

While reading Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott, I came across a quote that I really like, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird” (p. 19). I couldn’t help but to think of the first graders I’m working with. They are learning the different strategies they can utilize when they don’t know how to read a word. The strategies are shown on the image below. During our English reading time (this is a dual language class), the kids were to read their books and use these strategies if they came across a difficult word. Several students proudly raised their hands to show me how they figured out hard words. I remember one student in particular. She learned how to read the word ‘village’ by using the strategies. She was hoping to use a picture to help her, but there wasn’t a picture of a village on the page. She decided to break the word into chunks. The sounds she was coming up with were vi-lla-gay. She told me she knew that wasn’t right because it didn’t sound right (self-correct). So, she covered the ‘e’ in the end of ‘village’, and sounded the ‘g’ the way it sounds when you name the letter (she went back and re-read). Bingo! She read the word ‘village’ and immediately recognized it so she knew she was able to figure out the word. Her face lit up as she was telling me the process she went through. I remember telling her, “Great job! You see, if you take on hard words little by little, your reading will get better and better!” I really believe this is true. I can imagine how frustrating it must be at times to come across words and not be able to read them. Learning how to read is one of the most difficult yet important things a child will learn how to do. I strongly believe if kids are given the right tools and taught the proper strategies, they can take it ‘a-word-at-a-time’ or ‘bird by bird’ and figure out all the difficult words that come their way.

Children can follow these strategies when they come across a difficult word!

A little taste of dual language immersion...

One of the schools I am interning in offers dual language classes. I have learned so much in this class, I thought I’d share a video that can give you a little glimpse or taste of what it’s like.

Please note, this is not a video of the school where I am placed, but it will still give you a good idea of what it's about.

¡Espero lo disfruten!

(I hope you enjoy it!)

Reading and Observing

While doing the readings for our literacy class, I got excited when I started recognizing things I am seeing in my placement. When I read about analogy-based phonics, I immediately thought about the private assessment my teacher did with one of her students. I will call this boy Sam. Our book describes analogy-based phonics as teaching children to identify new words by noticing shared letter groups. It’s funny because they used the same example my teacher used: 'at' in hat, fat, etc. Sam is an ESL student. She started off with the word 'at'. Once she went over the pronunciation of ‘at’, and once she felt he knew it, she moved on to the other words: sat, hat, bat, fat, and rat. They used zoo phonics to put the sounds together. She had Sam put his finger along the word as he said it.

As talked about in our reading, she also taught Sam and the entire class to use illustrations to figure out how to read and understand the meaning of long and difficult words. During her assessment with Sam, she got a book and hid the text. She showed him only the pictures and wanted him to say what the boy in the book was doing, such as sliding, climbing, etc. At first he said swimming, but then corrected himself and said sliding. When he didn’t know a word, the teacher would ask him if he knew it in Spanish. Many times he did, so it was a matter of him learning it in English.

My teacher talked about Zoo Phonics. During one of my observations, I noticed her making specific (animal-like) hand and arm movements while saying a particular sound. The students quickly followed with the same movements. In fact, during the private assessment that was given to Sam, he started using zoo phonics on his own to help him read a particular sound. The teacher uses zoo phonics when teaching the kids writing and reading in Spanish and English (zoo phonics is different depending on the language). It was really interesting to see the kids using it. They get happy when they do, which in turn makes them excited (and active) in their learning.

Reading From a Young Age

Starting from a very young age, it is important to encourage children’s independent reading. One of the classroom’s I have spent time in has a great mini-library in the classroom. There is a variety of levels so all the children can find something to read. The classroom library is a total focal area of the room. Not only was reading time centered largely on this area of the room, but other subjects in the class were as well. If there was a science lesson on the brain, the teacher made sure to pull out some of the reading books on the brain from this mini-library for the kids to have quick access to. The area is also inviting to children. It is next to a large window with many chairs around the books such as bean bag chairs, rocking chairs, and benches. There is also a large, paper tree covered with brightly colored paper leaves next to these chairs. It's very relaxing for the kids. This teacher also subscribes to Time Magazine for kids. There was a fabulous article for kids on the Gulf Oil Spill. Sadly, the day she did it was one of the days that I was at UWB in class. Still, she told me the kids loved it. Even though they are young (2nd graders), they are completely capable of learning about this massive subject that’s going on in their world. I strongly believe that for kids to want to be independent readers, they have to read about things that are relevant to their lives.

Initial thoughts...

Creating a blog is a great way to share ideas, feelings, thoughts, and reactions about education. Being a part of this field, we are aware of the power behind a continuance of knowledge. That’s where the internet comes in. We can share our new knowledge with the world in just a matter of seconds, and we can read what other teachers have learned in the same amount of time. Still, with this quick delivery of information comes responsibility. In the past couple of years, we have had to re-train ourselves in the way we think about many things such as sharing, authorship, and identity. Our privacy and that of the people in our lives can be at risk if we don’t handle such information sensitively and with respect.

I can only imagine the wealth of knowledge that could be spread if all teachers had a blog. With this said, I am really looking forward to having a blog, sharing my blog, and reading other people’s blogs. Next week we start working at Juanita. I can't wait to start blogging about it!