Thursday, September 20, 2012

How Readers Use Language

Step 6: 

 Watch/Listen to the audio Power Point presentation on “How Readers Use Language” and complete the exercises 

 Step 7: 

Under the “How Readers Use Language” presentation please leave a comment/ah ha/ or question that you may have in response to one or all the exercises that you completed. It is your choice as to what you want to address, but please provide a comment that helps continue the conversation.


Step 8: 


Please respond to at least 3 peoples comments (I am referring to step #7) 



57 comments:

  1. I found the last two exercises very frustrating. I can see why when handed a text book a struggling reader may just shut down and never bother to read the chapter they have been assigned. They can look back and find the answers to the end of the chapter questions without reading and they don't understand what they are reading so it is a waste of time for them. As far as the statistics paragraph I kept thinking that it must have been a science kind of article and that if my husband was here he would have rocked it. I think I might have to have him do that exercise later. (lol)

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    1. Theresa, your though about your husband being able to rock the statistics paragraph goes to show that interest has such a huge impact on our comprehension. My boyfriend makes fun of me because I work on the computer at work and am able to do a lot on excel that other people can't and various other programs, but when I get home I still cannot figure out how to set up my Icloud properly. It's not that I couldn't figure it out its just that I am UNMOTIVATED as a reader to follow the directions and that is why it has been months and I still haven't set it up... and my boyfriend refuses to do it for me ;-)

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    2. I agree that motivation plays a huge roll in learning. If one doesn't see the purpose in the assingment, project, reading, etc. they don't bother. I try to post the learning target for my lessons, even in 1st grade, so my students know the "why" and how. Do you have a hard time motivating your ESL learners?

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    3. Michelle,
      Great point on posting the learning target! I know this is a shift in our educational system/beliefs and I had not been on board of understanding its importance until last year and this year. This is definitely something I would like to try to do in my classroom. I think I will use it as one of my TPGP for our district.

      How do you post it in your classroom for your students to see? I would appreciate any suggestions you have!
      Love the idea! Thanks for sharing!
      Kim T.

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    4. Theresa I was thinking the same thing for the exercise where we had to fill in the blank, about how it had to relate to science or math and neither one of them is any of my interest. I also agree with how you said that in the last exercise the students could go back and look for the answers without even reading any of the passage. Often times I think they do this so they can be done faster and move onto the next thing. I would have to admit I have done this before. Not that it is right and not that I got much out of what I was working on, but guilty of doing it. Great thoughts! Let us know how your husband does!

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    5. This is exactly how I imagine many of my kids with reading/language disabilities read and hear language! Just imagine if that was how you understood spoken language too, and how quickly you would just put your head down in class.

      At my high school, every teacher is supposed to have learning targets posted in their classrooms everyday. I love being able to have a projector in my room hooked up to my laptop so that I can have my learning targets up first and than put up our agenda for the day to show how we are going to work towards our learning targets.

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    6. Theresa,
      I can empathize with you and struggling readers when it comes to textbooks. I absolutely cannot focus on a textbook and I never have. I think about how every few words in a text is often over my head; who wants to look up every third word in a dictionary from a 40 page section in a textbook???

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    7. Bingo! I totally see how a troubled reader can take the road of just get it done and hopefully it will be right, and if not oh well I tried. This shows how easily the text can become intimidating.

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    8. Theresa-
      I agree with you on that 4th exercise. It was totally out of my area of interest and I bombed the answers. Looking back at my answers I kept answering the same thing. And the 5th exercise made me realize how lost a struggling reader can be. I just wanted to get it done.

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  2. After viewing the presentation, I found exercises 3, 4, and 5 to be my key focus area of notes. It was such a concrete example to compare exercise 3 and 4. They were so similar in format that it really was an awakening to see the difference in my performance, going from a 100% to 10%! Yikes! That was a great activity for me to allow myself the feelings/emotions that readers in my own classroom may be having. I was able to understand how much prior knowledge and connections play into the reading we are expected to do. I have found myself really adapting to this instructional connecting since my district has adopted the CAFE framework.

    So my question from these two exercises is, what do we do for the reader that does not have any experience to bring to their reading each day?

    In exercise 5, had the text not been available for me to reflect to I would have scored 0%. Again this activity was another tool that allowed me to have empathy for those struggling readers who sit in my classroom each year. Teresa, you commented in your presentation about, "Are the students really comprehending the text when they have the text clues in front of them?" This was an ah-ha for me! I will need to remember this activity every time I see an activity like that in my grade level/classroom.
    So then my question is, how do we assess their comprehension? Unfortunately our schedules force us to need quick and concrete results that do not require time and interpretation. I know you stated that retells would be a way to check in on comprehension and I like that, but eventually they become redundant. Please help with this one. It is a key piece for me.

    Thanks everyone. Looking forward to reading your expertise.
    Kim T.

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    1. Kim, I just read your post after putting mine up here and we had very similar thoughts and experiences with the exercises. I too was considering what else we can do to truly collect evidence on a reader's comprehension that isn't always retelling (because we don't always have time to hear every student's retelling. I was thinking about Dr. Wright's class and the use of performative assessments - which has become one of my new favorite words/ideas. When we ask students to make deeper and more impacting connections to the text (or ideas from it) we are definitely getting a deeper understanding of their comprehension. Listening to teacher set up student conversations about the text and taking anecdotal notes about their understanding might also provide as a different method to gather evidence of a students understanding.

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    2. Kim,I was reading your post and then Julie's comments also and was thinking the same thing. I am with you, I had stated a question about assessing comprehension and doing it by doing retells through Read Alouds I am looking for other options too. I am hoping that I can focus on the Cafe model this year and really hit it hard with my students, it is just difficult to find that time to be constantly be checking to make sure they are getting what they need to be successful readers and writers! I like your thoughts Julie and hope that I can figure out a way to meet the needs of my students. The great thing about right now is that the year is young and we are currently finding out where our students are at!

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    3. Kim,
      I worry too about those kids with limited background knowledge and life experiences to help them understand the text. I think what I have found when it comes to teaching is that every we do from the moment they walk through our door in the morning MUST be INTENTIONAL. The little anecdotes we mention, the questions that we ask them about life outside of school, the books we read aloud, the activities and assignments we choose, everything has to serve a purpose. When we do this, we create ways to provide background knowledge and context that will directly relate to what we will read or teach that day. These little moments can be filled with so much teaching time if we devote ourselves to being "on" all the time.

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    4. I am intrigued by the talk about the CAFE model. I am not familiar with this and our school has not adopted this model. I have heard a couple teachers start talking about it, but I haven't had the time yet to check it out. It would be nice to visit a school that has this in place. I also like how Anna Jean tied in the importance of background knowledge and how our interactions with the children during the day can really help to increase that knowledge leading to better understanding.

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  3. The last exercise added to my continued frustration of standardized tests. We make a very concerted effort to make sure our students can use strategies of going back to the text to find the answers and call this comprehension. This exercise shows exactly why going back into the text to find the answer is not necessarily comprehension. Think about how often we tell students to go back in the text for the answers to our questions or for a test. Retelling is the best way to get feedback about a student’s true comprehension. That retelling might be oral or in writing (reflections). Of course both of these methods of collecting evidence on comprehension are more time consuming hence the common usage multiple choice test and scantrons! What other ways can you think of that you can assess student comprehension that doesn’t involve your typical multiple choice test (besides retelling)?

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    1. In first grade we use graphic organizers to help retell. Students can use words, pictures, or write sentences. This offers variety for the student and allows them to show comprehension. Again, it does require time, because often first graders need to explain their graphic organizer. Although, as they grow as readers and writers their graphic organizers become more detailed and complex illustrating their growth. Perhaps, this is too elementary, but sometimes that feeling of success gives them the hope of accomplishment and keeps them from giving up.

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    2. I also enjoy using Graphic Organizers. I use them as a whole group lesson in Kindergarten. Near the end of Kindergarten I start having my students use them individually or in small groups. They seem to really enjoy drawing the pictures and writing simple words to share their thoughts about a story. I also really enjoy our unit in May were the students get to act out their stories for their classmates. We read a book in our Guided reading groups and then we act out the stories. It is a lot of fun for the students and the teacher.

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    3. I guess all of the strategies I can think of would probably be considered forms of retelling. With reading chapter books I have had my students great their own graphic novels summaries of each chapter with images and descriptions. By the end they have a complete book! It is incredibly time consuming, but for the kids tht put in the effort they turned out really cool.

      I hadn't really thought of how using the strategy of looking back in the text could be so ineffective. I guess when I have used it I have also used it with coming back as a group and comparing/justifying answers. It was fun when students would come up with the same correct answers but referenced different place is the text and they would debate about it. Sometimes it would get pretty heated as to which location was a more meaningful source for the answer. In doing this, it ensured that they weren't just spitting backout what they read without understanding it. One day I had a sub and my students insisted on leading their own discussion on a text when all I had asked them to do was complete the reading and turn it in! I was really impressed at how much of the process they had taken ownership with and internalized.

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    4. I am picturing the use of graphic organizers for comprehension. I have to say I have never done this or seen it done, but I like it. I have used this many times for writting, but not reading. I am so going to try this. You guys teach me so much, thanks for sharing!! :) I just asked our other title one teacher if she has ever used this method and she said no too, whew its not just me. :) I think this is something I will for sure try.

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  4. I can understand the concern and frustration around the possible time it can take for a retelling. Retelling has always been an integral part of miscue analysis because making sense through a transaction with the written text is ongoing and cumulative. An
    understanding of the reader’s comprehension after the reading can be inferred from retelling. Retellings can be evaluated statistically and used as measure of comprehension. It is important to consider that the measure is only a glimpse of
    what any reader knows. Readers seldom provide complete retellings. A retelling score only measures what the reader chooses to share about the reading.

    Retelling can take many forms. They can be oral or written. In addition to retelling, teachers can evaluate reader’s comprehension through a variety of
    presentations. There are many ways to graphically represent a story. Readers can sketch, diagram, map, draw, or create timelines or story game board. And, of course, there is wide range of dramatic forms in which readers can engage.
    Nonfiction reading lends itself to different presentations such as report writing, debates, and speeches. Anecdotal records or audiotapes of the presentations can be kept for evaluation over time. Though these are just some suggestions as to what you can do to help measure comprehension and I know that all of these take time and effort, but how much time are we spending taking standardized tests as well. At least with a retelling or some of the other suggestions I've made these can be used to enhance and extend learning. They can be used for the teacher to make individual differentiated decisions as well as promote learning during the act.

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    1. Thanks so much for the ideas! As I read through them it was so funny to me to identify how I already do most of those. I guess I have trouble remembering what I already do use and how it can be an effective measurement tool.
      For time sake, I tend to gravitate toward the other way to do a retell that is not a written, narrative response.

      Good tip on the recording as well. If I end of investing in something like that, I could definitely use it for many reasons.
      Thanks, Teresa!
      Kim T

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    2. This isn't completely related to miscue analysis, but I just pulled together a read-retell-discuss activity for a student to go along with his general mechanics text book for each section. It was reassuring to hear you talk about the importance that retelling in various formats is important. I am going to consider adding a diagram/sketch section to the form to help visualize the text as well....

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  5. The fifth exercise made me wonder how a struggling reader in high school comprehends new information on subjects they might have little background knowledge on? I tried to make-up the story with real words to answer the questions, but gave up. I can only imagine a high school kid's frustration. At least, in first grade we have pictures to match the text and the subject matter is usually something they can relate to. It is not a wonder that kids who are strggling readers are at a greater risk of dropping out of high school. I can also imagine students that don't speak English must feel this way too.

    I also wonder when we ask our first graders to read a list of words how valid of an assessment tool is it? We use the word list to assess sight words and the phonics skill we taught. Any thoughts?

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    1. Michelle as I was reading your comment I had a lot of moments where I was thinking the same as you. I was also thinking about my Kindergartners when you made the comment about them reading lists of words for you. Just because our students know their sight words does not mean that they are comprehending or making meaning from what they are reading. I struggle with this. I know they need to do know the sight words to become readers but it takes a long time for them to be able to string it all together. I think that the lists are purely used to see if they know the words by looking at them, but I would not say that they show that the students know the meaning, if that makes sense. I am having a hard time getting my thought out. LOL. Good thoughts Michelle

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    2. Michelle S. I wondered the same thing while I was working the exercises. I can not imagine feeling that frustrated with reading. Not being able to understand anything you read makes you not want to read it at all. High School is all about reading. Why stay in school if you are not capable to do the one main thing they are asking you to do, read?

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    3. I would have to agree with what you said! I was really frustrated with some of the tasks, but it was nice to get a picture of what reading might be like for our struggling readers. I understand where you are coming from with the high frequency word lists to assess. Sometimes the kids can't read the word in isolation, but they can read it when the see it in a story they are reading. Its amazing how much easier it is to read when you can use the context of the sentence.

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    4. Michelle S. I had the same "aha" moment with the list of sight words. I felt a pang of guilt as I thought back to this morning when we read through our words. I find that even though I know that is not the best approach to teach these words, yet I find myself stuck in the battle with time of how to fit them in. I am not sure what to give up in order to teach all of the no excuse words through authentic reading experiences. In the future I think it would be great to gauge their knowledge of these sight words and phonics skills through conferencing and small groups instead.

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    5. Michelle S. I so agree with you. I felt so lost when I read that 5th passage. I can't imagine what it would be like to have that feeling every time you read. I can also see why high school kids would just quit, or give up.

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  6. I enjoyed doing this exercises! It sure did get my mind thinking. I did well on the first exercise I actually got them all correct! I was surprised at how quickly I was able to do it, I surprised myself, but felt accomplished after I did it and checked my answers. The next couple activities frustrated me especially number 4, when I saw the answers and saw that it was related to the subject of statistics I was not shocked at all about how I didn't do well on it, but it made me think about my own struggling readers in my classroom. The last exercise made me realize how maybe sometimes I do just search for the answers and do not take the time to truly comprehend what I am reading or working on. When I am reading for leisure I am going to try to think about some of the strategies I am teaching my students and practice them for myself and see how I do. Maybe I will think of some new ideas to bring forth. I can see how high school students who are struggling readers could have a very hard time because if they have no background knowledge on what they are reading, why would the topic interest them and make them want to read more? All food for thought....all in all I enjoyed doing them because it helped me come to some big realizations.

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    1. I forgot to add a question, but as I was sitting here I kept asking myself how can I assess comprehension at the beginning of the school year with my Kindergartners besides what we do together as a whole group during Read Alouds where I call on them when we go back and retell the story or I ask key questions? I also agree with Michelle Swanson where she said we check students on their sight words but how valid is it really as an assessment tool? When I think of this I think about how did flashcards when I was little and memorized them! I do know that somethings in life we just have to know and there is no reason why.

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    2. Michelle,
      I am right there with you regarding your question about comprehension assessment. Aside from the tips Teresa stated in her post, what are other authentic comprehension checks that can be done quickly?

      As you stated the beginning of the year is a hard time to know what direction to go with your comprehension assessments. I can't imagine how difficult it is as the kindergarten level.
      So I am interested in what others think for comprehension assessments that are quick and authentic for the reader.
      Thanks for posting.
      Kim T

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    3. Michelle,
      I agree that sometimes we just have to know things because it helps us in ways we don't even understand. When I was thinking about the sight word testing we do at our school as well. I see these much like math facts. You just have to know them and know them without thinking about them in order to truly be able to read and make meaning. I am not sure we need to get rid of the this practice just yet. It does have value.

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    4. Michelle,
      I'm glad you brought up the part about looking for the anwers and not thinking about what you are really reading. I actually think that sometimes advanced readers will do this because they are trying to hurry through. I find myself doing this ALL the time! (Not saying that I'm an advanced reader in anyway!!!) But I think it is important to remind ourselves and our students that it is okay to slow down once in awhile and really think about the task at hand.

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    5. I would have to agree with what you said about not really comprehending when reading... Sometimes when I am reading I get to the end of the page and realize that I have no idea what I just read. I have been thinking a lot about cross checking with my kiddos this year... My only concern is: how do you "make sure" that kids are stopping and thinking about what they are reading, especially at the kindergarten level? I know that sometimes I just like to be done. I would guess that struggling readers feel that way frequently.

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  7. I guess this comment, or ah-ha so to speak is more relating to Miscue analysis in general. This really supports what I have been thinking all along. I get frustrated with reading fluency, and number of words correct per minute measures being used with older students for many reasons. Many of the kids I work with can't do anything fast....which is really what fluency measures, and words correct per minute doesn't look at comprehension at all, only in theory they are connected. I really appreciate how these activities and the introduction of miscue analysis emphasizes the strategy strengths a student is working with and helps us to figure out where to go. Obviously we all struggled with the activities, and it helped us to understand where a struggling reader is coming from, but I'm guessing even as we struggled through, if someone had been observing our process as we completed the activities, strengths would have been part of that observation.

    Identifying deficits is one thing, but being able to identify strengths and have a plan of where to go to build on those strength is much more valuable.

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    1. Marie,
      I had the same thought about identifying with someone who is a struggling reader. I'm glad you brought up the point of looking where a person's strengths are. This will help a child so much to draw and build on what he or she is already really good at.

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    2. I am glas that you brought up fluency testing... and how being a fast reader means you are a good reader. I would guess that being a teacher in the older grades it is very difficult to motivate your struggling readers. I think it is GREAT that you point out what they are doing well so they don't feel or think that they are not able to read as well as their peers.

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    3. Marie,
      I always enjoy your input. Your teaching experience is so different from my own yet I'm surprised at how they often parallel each other. The last statement you made about being able to identify strengths and have a plan of where to go to build on those strengths really hit home for me. Just today I found myself frustrated with all the negative feedback I had been getting from my small group teams. They do a wonderful job but the students they work with are very needy and more than anything need someone to celebrate their small successes. If someone had done that with me on the last activity I would have been more apt to figure it out rather than just throw my hands up in defeat.

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    4. Marie, Great points! While reading your post, I thought back to our DRA tests from last year and how I really struggled with the timed portion. Just because my readers were not quick, did not mean they were bad readers. Actually two were quite good and could fully comprehend pretty high leveled text for kindergarten. Yet, it didn't matter.....we couldn't proceed with the next level up because the students both took over the allotted time. So sad! Thanks again for pointing out the obvious!

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  8. I found these exercises very interesting. I thought the first list of words was fairly easy, but it was definitely easy within a context. Of course, meaning making is so important in reading, why should we expect children to spell, read, or write a list of words that have absolutely no meaning to them? I related the second task to how a child might feel when they struggle to read every third or fourth word in a text. It was much easier to read the words when you had something to base it on.

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  9. Commenting back to Marie, I agree identifying their strengths and figuring out where the break down is in their skills is very empowering. Every time I conference with my first graders we talk about the strategies they are using and try to add to their bag of tricks. In the past 2 years I have really tried to explain the strategies and our whole school is using the same language. It has really helped our little readers grow!

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  10. After completing the activities I would have to agree with a lot of what was already said... At times I did alright and at other times I was ready to just skip the practice and move on because it was to hard. At the end I am really glad that you brought up the point that just because they can answer questions does not mean that they always understand what they are reading. I think that we are better able to show our comprehension when we make those text-text, text-self, and text-world connections. So my question is how much time each day do you spend actually talking with your students about what they have read? It can be very difficult to find that time during the day... just wondering what other people do to make time to talk.

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    1. Sara, I am struggling with that very same question right now. I do not have the help that I did last year and I am finding it challenging to fit in my guided reading groups and conferencing. This was time where I interacted with students the most about what they had read. I am hoping that once I get some of my more independent activities up and running I will be able to better manage my conferencing and small group time to include this. Sorry...I wish I had a better answer for you.

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    2. Sara,
      One of the things that I try to do when it comes to squeezing in a check on comprehension is check in with those kids who didn't say anything during the read aloud, and check off some of the ones who did. We always have those students who say something during the read aloud that tells you they were really thinking about the story, and then you wonder why you never thought of it that way yourself. I don't check back in with these kiddos too often because they have already demonstrated their ability to make meaning to me. I look for those ones who don't say much, and often times I start with the question, "what did you think of the story we read today?" Like you mentioned, I look for those text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-world connections in their answers to determine what they took from the story. I think changing the format and the venue for our questioning of students might get us better results

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    3. Sara,
      To piggyback off of Anna Jean's ideas (which are great!)I have really been using Turn and Talk. Of course, we have practiced and modeled several times what it looks like, but we are at the point now where students are more engaged in the stories and making more personal connections to what we are talking about. I do really look to see who is doing the talking and if I notice that someone isn't involved, I try to talk to that child myself to see if they are comprehending. Not only do I use if for Reading, but for Math, our Sharing time during Morning Meeting, and other appropriate times throughout the day. Even during our calendar journals they Turn and Talk at their tables for predictions and such.

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  11. While completing these activities I found myself continually reflecting on the reading strategies I was using: go back and reread, skip it and then come back, try a word and see if it makes sense, etc. Not only did I use these strategies, I relied heavily on them to make any sense out of the complex text in activity four. While completing example four I found myself really empathizing with my lowest readers. I felt defeated, frustrated and knew I would not really understand it no matter how much effort I put in. In my head I had already visualized my student with the same feelings as he approached text, yet unlike me he is still in the process of building his toolkit with all of these strategies. How do you find the balance between teaching students at their level and still making sure that all students are meeting standards and benchmarks?

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    1. Kate, I think you have a realistic question! We as teachers really do feel that pressure to teach at students levels, yet still meet standards. In reading your post, I also started to think: how do we make sure our students are also feeling successful and maintain engagement in the reading process when we struggle to balance between individual levels and meeting standards?

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  12. I really enjoyed these activities as they challenged me a bit. I love to receive these types of activities as emails and kindle games because I am a nerd! The most challenging for me was the Statistics test. Of course, I didn't fully comprehend the terminology and/or how it should be used in a sentence. It made me also sympathize with my struggling readers. These activities really made me think about the different aspects of reading and how we can struggle in one area, but be proficient in others. My question is, at the kindergarten level, how do you really zero in on what makes reading difficult for them?

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    1. Erin,
      Don't you think part of the problem that we have at the kindergarten level is we look for weak areas before we've taught them how to do these things??? I think if we really looked at what we want them to be able to do when they interact with a text, and modeled this until they really understood it, we might see the level of comprehension we are looking for. We need to educate rather than remediate. Hehe. That rhymes.

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    2. Anna Jean,
      Yes I would agree with the statement that we are looking for weak areas before we've taught them how to do these things! Example: Word Analysis week 2 of school! P.S. Love the rhyme!

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  13. I think what really came through to me in these exercises was the importance of context. We teach our students all these strategies for decoding tricky words, but that does nothing to help their understanding if they don't have background knowledge. In some ways, we really do teach them what they need to pass a test, without having really read or understood the material. After reading that passage with all the made up words in it, all I could think about was how many times I had finished worksheets for classes using the exact strategy I used on those comprehension questions... Look for a paragraph with those same words in it and just write it on the lines!!!!
    So, how do we change our assessment methods so that we really know what students understand, and how do we teach context when our materials can cover so many different things?

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    1. Yes! I do the same strategies as a student.
      Thank you for your thinking. I see this as a big picture approach...change. This is a very generalized statement...the educational system still seems to operate under an "old school" ideal that is coming from the administration/board direction. Where we teachers who are in the classroom modeling the new learning see it has to fit the learner, be authentic and meaningful. The admin. directives of what frameworks to use and standardized assessments to use do not fit all of the learners in our classrooms. So obviously it should be up to us the teachers to find and use the best method. Here in lies the problem...TIME! Who in the world has the time to create this ideal? Which is why I find myself grabbing something that has been provided for me from the district.

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    2. I meant to say when I am the student, I use the same strategy.

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    3. Anna Jean,
      That is a great question! How do we change things up so we really do know how to teach context with our materials when not only do they cover so many diffent things, but we have so many different materials to incorporate! That is what I'm struggling a bit with this year.....having Words Their Way, small books from here and there, the Interactive Read Alouds, etc.

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    4. You have a very good point. I also found myself going back to the passage to get the answer. I didn't understand a bit of it. How do we make our assessments different?

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  14. I must have watched this somewhere else but the blog page, and commented on it. Who knows where that went, but here I go again, hopefully in the correct place.

    Answering the questions in the last exercise really made me think. I do that. I was one of my students. When my older struggling readers come to me with science and social studies texts that are way above their reading level, I teach them how to 'cope' I teach them how to go back into the text to look for the words that are in the questions in the text. Then they can answer the questions. It just hit me today that I'm not really helping them learn, just helping them pass the class! How do I fix that?

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  15. This exercise really makes you think. It really makes me think about all the testing we do that supposedly shows us that our readers are great when they really could have comprehension issues. I did way better on the part that was nonsense than I did about the one on statistics. Go figure as we keep reading in our class readings background knowledge and really knowing our students is so important. I can see how everyone could really have scored differently on this exercise depending on what each individual strengths are. Being able to read and decode certainly doesn't make for a comprehension session. This is something that will continue to make me think.

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