Reading

Goals

When a student learns to read, he learns to travel to distant lands without ever leaving his home.  As a teacher, I will have the privilege and responsibility of teaching students to read and/or to be better readers; of teaching them to travel to far-off lands.  As I read, I travel to far away lands without ever leaving the comfort of my favorite chair.  I want my students to learn to travel as I do.  I want to take my students on exciting journeys; take them to distant lands they never dreamed possible, simply by opening a book and being lost in its pages. I can not say it as well as Dr. Seuss once said:

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

- Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!" Assessment, 5 Essential Components of Reading, and More... Assessments, Components of Reading, and Reading Programs are all important aspects of teaching students to read.  Assessment should be an on-going process that you use.  It acts as a compass to guide me in the direction I should teach.   There are 5 Essential components of teaching.  They are Comprehension, Fluency, Vocabulary, Phonemic Awareness, and Phonics.  These components can all be seen in the following lesson plans. Lessons The following links will show you samples of lessons. Shared Reading is one of my favorite types of lessons. Reading along with the students, all viewing the text at the same time, helps me to have a better connection with my students. Read Aloud  The mom in me loves Read Aloud lessons.  Reading to my students reminds me of the days that I was able to sit with my babies and read to them.  The students are engaged as they build listening, comprehension, vocabulary, and imagination skills.  A great choice for a read aloud or shared reading lesson. Small Group  Small group lessons seem to have the most impact.  In small groups, I am better able to see the improvements that my students achieve.  The benefits of small group, or Guided Reading, are tremendous.  Fundamental skills are established, weaknesses and strengths are identified, vocabulary and fluency are expanded and improved.    This is just a bit of what I have learned and experienced... If you want to get a better idea of what I know on these topics, click this link. Independent Reading I will always encourage my students to read independently.  I have witnessed first-hand a reluctant reader transforming to an enthusiastic, on-fire reader.  Once they find the pure joy that can be found in reading, they never want to stop. Parental Involvement  As an educator, I understand the importance of involved parents.  As a parent, I understand the limited amount of time available to work with my child.  I believe I will be able to bring an honest voice of experience to other parents and encourage them that every little bit of time invested in their student is time well spent.  Five minutes can make a difference.