Realistic Readers
While I believe every child is a reader, I do not believe every child will be enthralled with reading all the time. All students have the capability to read and enjoy reading, but just like any other hobby, interest will vary from student to student. The students in my classroom will be encouraged in their reading, be provided with choice, taught how books can take you into another world but, my students will not be forced to read. This paper will illustrate my philosophy of reading through the theories I relate to, the way I want to implement reading and writing curriculum, and the methods I will use motivate my students to read and help them become literate.
Learning Theories
I strongly believe that you cannot know an experience until you have felt it yourself. The same can be said for reading. You can describe the magic of reading to a child but they might never see it and be frustrated that they are missing it. The joy of reading has to come from an individual being captivated by the book, not by someone else telling him or her how great reading the book is. That is why I believe self-choice is absolutely necessary when picking a book. Recommendations can certainly guide readers in the right direction, but if the student lacks interest in the book from the start, it will be a struggle for them to make time to read it and finish it. That being said, I think my philosophy of reading would fit somewhere between a constructivism and sociolinguistics theory.
Constructivism theorists believe that learning is an ongoing collective application of knowledge where past knowledge and hands on experience meet. This theory also believes that students are naturally curious. If students are naturally curious, their curio...
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... to meet with my 5th grade teacher because he really influenced me as a reader. My 5th grade year was probably the first year I actually joyful read books. He just made it fun.
Conclusion
Reading goals must be realistic. Students will not engage if the reading is not authentic. I want to encourage my students in reading and give them the tools they need to succeed while allowing them to choose what they read. I also want to implement different reading assessments that are creative rather than just textbook responses. Genuine reading experiences will help my students find their own passion for reading. These experiences may come from allowing students to pick their own books, having parent involvement, giving specific feedback, or alternative ways of assessment. I believe the more options I give my readers the more realistic my chances of connecting with them are.
In the essay titled “How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading” written by John Holt and published in Reading for writers in 2013, Mr. Holt discusses why most children aren’t interested in reading. Mr. Holt spent fourteen years as an elementary school teacher. He believed classroom activities destroy a student’s learning ability. Mr. Holt never let his students say what they thought about a book. He wanted his students to look up every word they didn’t know. People can learn difficult words without looking them up in the dictionary.
On October 10th, 2017 at Springhurst Elementary School, I conducted a “Reading Interest Survey” and the “Elementary Reading Attitude Survey.” These surveys were conducted on a 1st grade student, Jax, to determine what his feelings are towards reading in different settings, what genres he prefers to read, and interests. It was found that Jax doesn’t mind reading, but prefers a few different topics. This was evident through his raw score of 30 on recreational reading, and a raw score of 31 on academic reading.
The teaching strategy focuses on the student’s engagement to create reading with meaning. This reading strategy allows students to have more freedom to make their own decisions in what they read and how they read, without the teacher forcing materials upon them. As well, more time is allotted during the school day for students to engage in reading activities, instead of using traditional methods of writing paper and answering questions on a worksheet after reading a book. The Daily Five teaching strategy also strongly develops oral communication skills within students and their peers. By doing so, it creates a sense of community in the classroom that traditional teaching methods did not have. This teaching strategy allows the student to question the material they are reading, which includes their interests, ability to comprehend, and understanding vocabulary. Through the Daily Five teaching strategy, students are also able to find books that interests them, without the teacher giving them group of “leveled” books students may not personally
Clearly, I’ve had my ups and downs with reading. I still have my own personal obstacles with reading that I plan on improving in my English class. I enjoy reading more now than I have in my school years. I know reading is a great way to escape as well as learning. I see reading in a different light than I have before. Like Dr. Seuss said, “The more you learn, the more places you’ll
My philosophy of literacy instruction includes using a constructivist approach to implement lessons while teaching using the top down reading model with a balanced approach to literacy instruction. I have a constructivist view when it comes to teaching literacy because I love teaching with hands-on approaches that includes the students being active in their learning. I follow the top down model by introducing phonics while reading texts. Also, I use a balanced literacy approach in my classroom; the work the students complete is authentic and focused around reading, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, spelling, oral language, writing, and literature.
Many of my famly members and sibling have really encourged me to read and write at a young age, but I never took them seriously. Throughout my middle and high school years, when the class had to read a book and take notes on it, I would just skim through the book or go on wiki to read the summary. Not untill the summer of 2015, my views of reading and writing changed. The one memorable experience that change my view perspective of literacy all started at Fullerton College in my English 59 class.
Due to the limited many factors in reality bothering children’s learning to read and write in English, author claims that teachers have to make sure that students of diverse backgrounds have the opportunity to participate in literature –based instruction and the reader’s workshop, following a continuum of teaching strategies that involves them in motivating, meaningful reading experience.
When I was younger, I didn’t like reading much at all. I always questioned my teachers what was the purpose of reading; I never got an answer from either teacher until I was in the seventh grade. Starting junior high school was different from elementary. In seventh grade, we were in our reading class for two hours a day. I asked the teachers why didn’t we have the privilege to stay in our other classes for two hours; I never received an answer from my teachers.
A little girl who appears to be around the age of 5 sits in the dimly lit corner of the old library with her nose in a book. There are thousands and thousands of words printed onto the pages that are sitting on the shelves all around her just waiting to be read. At a young age I enjoyed flipping through the crisp pages of books with my mom and gaining as much knowledge as possible. However as I grew older my view of literacy completely transformed because of various occurrences in school. I have endured a number of literacy experiences throughout my life thus far that have transformed and changed my outlook on reading and writing.
Winch, G., Johnston, R., March, P., Ljungdahl, L., & Holliday, M. (2010). Literacy: Reading, writing and children’s literature (4th ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.
Reading was never something I fussed about growing up. As a child, I loved genres of realistic fiction. I was hooked on The New Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley, Goosebumps, The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes, Judy Moody, and especially, Zoobooks and Highlights magazines. My mother was always ready to help build my reading and writing skills. She took me to the library constantly to feed my passion for books and knowledge. I loved exploring the shelfs, organizing the books, and filling up my library cart. I tried keeping a diary in elementary school to keep track of my outings with my parents and grandparents to museums, zoos, movies, and libraries. This flash of writing enthusiasm was spun from books I read in the 4th and 5th grade that were
Teaching literature to young adults is one of the most challenging and enriching careers’ someone could have. Teachers must keep their students engaged while teaching them what they need to know all at the same time. A teacher is only successful in her job unless her students are successful in their studies. I want to teach my students what they need to know to be successful in life, but I also want to show my students how to become lifelong readers. In order to accomplish both goals I must use my teaching tools to provide students with an enriching classroom.
Constructivism is a defined, when referring to the learner, as a "receptive act that involves construction of new meaning by learners within the context of their current knowledge, previous experience, and social environment" (Bloom; Perlmutter & Burrell, 1999). Also, real life experiences and previous knowledge are the stepping stones to a constructivism, learning atmosphere. (Spigner-Littles & Anderson, 1999). Constructivism involves the learner being responsible for learning the material and, not necessarily, the teacher (Ely; Foley; Freeman & Scheel, 1995). When learning occurs, the goals, values, and beliefs of the individuals need to be linked to the new data. Also, in constructivism, the person, who is taking in the knowledge, can somehow filter, amend, and reformat the information that he or she feels is important to the schema (Spigner-Littles & Anderson, 1999). A constructivist learner uses the creative approach to apply their own meaning to a topic using the social and cognitive circumstances around themselves (Bloom; Perlmutter & Burrell, 1999). A short and sweet summary of constructivism is "how one attains, develops, and uses cognitive processes" (Airasian & Walsh, 1997).
Constructivism is a method that says students learn by building their schema by adding to their prior knowledge by the use of scaffolding (Rhinehart Neas). Because the students are basically teaching themselves new information, the teacher is there mainly for support and guidance for the students.
Literacy levels in the world in general today are failing on all accords. Literacy levels in schools from pre k through college are suffering, as well as workforce levels declining due to lower standards in many of the high schools today. In addition, an increase in minorities and non-English speaking immigrants that are entering the workforce and the education systems. At the same time job requirements for literacy are increasing. According to researchers, Canada loss of about $4 billion per person per year, which results in about 22 percent of adults who struggle with a severe literacy problem. It is sad that young kids, teenagers, and young adults can master technology such as video games, cell phones, iPod, tablets and music devices, but