Fluency

My favorite part from the Deeney article was at the end. I liked how they stressed the importance of explaning "to parents the importance of reading easy texts at home, while assuring them that their children do read more difficult texts in school." Also, I thought providing children with a wide choice of reading and allowing them to read in bed at night was a great idea. Even if the children are just looking at the book without a real knowledge of what the text says, they will become familiar with the way words look. Then, when the book is read to them they will be familiar with the text and can put the sound to what is written. In the article by Rasinski, I really liked the section Confusing Fast with Fluent. I agree with the article that is very important teachers don't rush students reading. The students need to fully comprehend what they are reading and if their only concern is speed then they will have a hard time understanding the text. "Fluency instruction leads to impressive gains when it provides regular opportunities for expressive reading through assisted and repeated readings coupled with coaching; it doesn't require explicit reference to reading for speed."

Teaching Fluency

Reading Aloud to Children

The article stated that the single most important activity for building these understandings and skills essential for reading success appears to be reading aloud to children. It said that asking predictive and analytic questions in small group settings appears to affect children's vocabulary and comprehension of stories. I definitely agree with this idea. I have read aloud to the kids i babysit and sometimes I ask them questions about what we just read and they have no idea. After reading this article last week, I tried a new approach. Throughout the short story I asked them questions after about every other page. It helped keep them actively involved and it also kept their attention focused on the book. By the end of the book they were telling me things we had just read. Although the book was very short and a very easy read, I felt like they had enjoyed it more because by the end of it they could be the teacher. This approach we enjoyable for me too!

I found this video and thought it gave some great advice for reading to children. About 7 mins in she begins to talk about appropriate ways to ask children questions about the story.

Reading Aloud

Emergent Literacy

I have always been afraid to teach kindergarten because I believed they would be the hardest and most frustrating age to teach. After reading the article by Bell & Jarvis, I felt a new sense of excitement that made me want to teach the kindergarten age. I found it so interesting how much knowledge these children actually have. I loved how the teacher incorporated every day experiences such as the McDonald's hamburger bag hanging under the letter M. I also thought it was a really good idea to use the students pictures as a way to learn the letters of the alphabet. I also loved the idea the book gave for crowning a child king or queen for the day. The activities associated provide for a fun learning experience for the students. I love how the book gave very simple, yet creative ways to build the foundation for success.(Classrooms That Work)