Blog 1 EDN 340-800

        When reading through the Common Core Standards for reading and writing, first I read through the "anchor" standards. These are the standards K-12 is building upon throughout an education. These broad standards are applicable to any student. They will be applied beyond the K-12 classroom, in colleges, and even in career-related work. In early reading, there is much emphasis on student's comprehension of the layout of readings (title, author, front, back, cover, pages, and text reading from left to right). In later grades there is emphasis on other layouts like stanzas, chapters, and table of contents. In all grades there is much emphasis on checking for comprehension, answering questions with evidence from reading, and understanding the sequence of events. In all grades there is exposure to the various types of reading; literature, non-fiction, plays, and poetry. It is also important students learn to differentiate various genres; like fable, fairy tale, or science magazine article.

        Most of the kindergarten ELA standards state they will be met with guidance and support. The writing standards for kindergarteners use a combination of drawings, dictating, and writing. By 1st grade, the progression in the writing standards is drastically changing. By this time they will be using less pictures and completing more independent writing. They will learn to write about their opinion/point of view, informative pieces, and sequences. This is a major change from the kindergarten standards. In the rest of the grades, writing standards did become slightly more difficult each year, but not as drastically as between kindergarten and first grade. Standard 1.4 in the production and distribution of writing, does not begin until grade 3. Reading foundations are strengthened in every grade by applying phonic knowledge. Common prefixes and suffixes are taught to help with decoding unknown words (on their grade-level). In reading both literature and non-fiction, students must be able to support their answers with evidence in the texts. 

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       The way reading is being taught has changed drastically since I was in elementary school. Just as our readings stated, in the 1990's the top down method was preferred. There was no pressure to learn much reading in kindergarten. They were just getting us accustomed to looking at books, being read to, and learning our letters. I remember we had centers, and each week at one center, we would work on a different letter. I remember covering a "G" with glitter, an "M" with macaroni, and that kind of thing. Some students, myself included, had learned to read at home, but most did not know how to read, and there was no pressure to have all kids reading by the end of kindergarten. I guess our letter study would count as phonics, since we were working with individual letters. However, focusing on phonics and phonemic awareness specifically was not emphasized in my elementary years. My memory of those times is very good, and I know our reading curriculum in the 90's was so different from the curriculum being implemented today. 

       In later grades, from about 2nd grade on, there would always be a book we were currently working on as a class. I remember homework would often consist of reading one chapter and answering questions, or answering questions about reading we did in class. In class, teachers would either read aloud, or have us take turns reading a page or paragraph, then we would often have corresponding discussions, worksheets and activities. The earliest book I remember studying this way in school was Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus in 2nd grade. By having us answer questions, text comprehension was checked. During discussions, and listening to students read aloud, teachers were checking fluency. I don't remember vocabulary lists accompanying my reading until 5th grade, and into middle school. I do remember taking vocabulary lists home and completing as homework in 5th grade, then our spelling tests would be on those same words. 

         So far I have only completed 2 field observations in classes last semester. I observed a first grade classroom and a fourth grade classroom. In the first grade classroom more than once an activity I observed was buddy reading. The children in the classroom had varying reading levels. Some of the students were using the very easy little books still, and when they didn't recognize a word, they would try to sound it out, based on the p honic sounds they had been learning. In observing them trying to decode those words, it was very obvious they had been studying phonic sounds. When they would successfully recognize words, they were achieving phonic awareness. In the 4th grade classroom, I observed a vocabulary lesson. The children were working in assigned groups, each group had a different set of words, they were working together to define each word on their list, use it in a sentence, and identify any prefixes. 

     As I said earlier, during my elementary 1990's years, the top down method was preferred. Our reading levels were never tracked constantly as they are now. Kindergarten was a time for caring and sharing, learning our letters and numbers, and developing a love of reading. I do not remember as much emphasis on phonics and letter sounds as there is today. In fact, I don't remember ever reading those little easy readers in my classes. I think in the 90's educators really wanted to break away from the boring "See Jane run.", books that were so common in the 1950's-1970's. The teacher did read many picture books, but they were actual stories with plots, to the class. We had books in the classroom, and were encouraged to read them, but not pressured to. The school I went to Cary Elementary, was considered to be one of the best public schools in the state. I remember in the early grades I truly enjoyed going to school and actually had fun there. Schools today, in my observations, and my daughter's school experience, are completely different. It is ideal that they use a balanced approach, but many are using a mostly bottom up approach. They spend a great deal of time studying phonics and individual words, and then reading very easy books. Their progress is small measured segments, each building on the last. Reading levels are constantly monitored, and determined using a very specific criteria. 

     I personally do not like the way reading is being taught in kindergarten and 1st grade in many classrooms. I think little children are under too much pressure, when they should just be learning to like going to school. The phonics bottoms up approach makes children learn the "boring parts" first, without enough exposure to more detailed interesting books, that can best be experienced listening to an adult read it to them. (Of course an ideal classroom incorporates both). On the other hand, I also see problems with the tops down approach. The reading levels of students in a classroom may differ so greatly it is even difficult for teachers to plan lessons that are on a level workable for the as whole class. What I mean is, when I was in 5th grade, I was reading books like "The Dear America" series and "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. However during a group reading, where students were called on to take turns reading aloud, I realized one of my classmates could barely get through one page of "There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom". He was stumbling on words like "women" and "locker". With the bottoms up approach and Common Core standards, such gaps are not as likely to exist in a classroom. 

     Classroom organization is very important when keeping track of running data records of 20+ students. Without organization it would be impossible to remember each student's reading levels, strengths, and areas needing improvement. Classroom materials, such as large collections of different leveled books, on various topics and genres, must be organized in a way that teacher can access them quickly. The classroom itself should be organized and set up in a way that is inviting and comfortable to students, to perk their interests, and make them want to learn. It is also very important that students are matched with books on their reading levels. If a student can fly through a book quickly without mistakes, it is probably too easy, and the student needs a harder book. If there is no challenge, a student will become uninterested. If the student is struggling with the book, and making mistakes on each page, they should try an easier book. If the material is too hard for student, they will feel inconfident in their own abilities. Access to interesting reading materials, and a large variety of choices are also essential to a successful classroom. If students can read about something they are interested in already, reading will become fun. Once a student starts enjoying reading, they will be successful. Because we will be teaching a diverse group of students, with diverse experiences, interests, and cultures, there needs to be a variety of readings available. Writing and reading should be used throughout the curriculum, not only during "reading time" and "writing time". For example, during social studies students may have to read about the lost colony. In science, they must write-up a summary or answer questions about their lab experiment. In math class, students must read a word problem scenario for solving some problems. Reading and writing is used in all subjects. Finally, a teacher must provide all students with "expert tutoring", if they need it. If a particular student, or group of students is struggling behind their classmates on a specific goal, the teacher will have to put  more time and effort into helping that student(s) suceed. Individual assistance may be needed, and if so, it is up to teacher to provide effective help.   

     Shared reading can be very beneficial to students. First of all, before students learn to read at all, shared reading sends them the unspoken message "reading is fun, we do it for enjoyment, and we can spend time sharing this together". Shared reading is typically children's first exposure to books. Shared reading will help introduce and expose the children to different writing patterns. They can pick out patterns, rhymes, and the flow of the text. Some other benefits to shared reading is an opportunity to model good practices for their own independent reading, being able to actively participate in conversations, and time for teachers and students to discuss together appropriate responses to questions about the text. During the first reading, students should really just absorb and listen to the flow of the passages. After a successful shared reading, students are interested in book, eager to read at next session, and may even ask "read it again". In a classroom, shared reading may be done with enlarged print books  Sometimes the students may have their own copy of the book the teacher is reading, so they can easily follow along. During the reading teacher makes appropriate gestures, emphasis, and possibly voices to go along with story. Afterwards they discuss the material together in active conversations. In a classroom, shared reading usually happens in a "cozy corner". If there is only 1 copy of the shared book, they will need to gather around the teacher closely, probably in a carpet circle. If all students have their own copy, they don't need to be as close up. 

      I remember really enjoying read aloud time, and getting much more of it than my own daughter. In kindergarten and first grade it was always picture books. By second grade, teachers were reading us short chapter books. However, all throughout elementary, we were read picture books. In addition to the teacher reading, we went to the library once a week for reading time too. Some of my favorite picture books were Stella Luna, Streganona, and the Rough Faced Girl.