Group+1+Module+3

1. TD- Research says that increased time spent reading helps students learn to read, period. Mixed results have been reached concerning what types of programs help and to what extent, but the overall theme is that early instruction gives students the tools they need to be successful readers throughout their school years. MS: I AGREE THE MATTHEW EFFECT IS SO IMPORTANT IN THE ACQUISITION OF READING SKILLS.

KC- I agree that time spent reading correlates with reading achievement. My principal stressed this quite a bit last year and it resulted in some of our upper elementary grade teachers not conducting reading groups. My concern is that the struggling readers who were supposed to meet with a specialist were just being conferenced with and I worry that there wasn't much skill, vocabulary, or strategy instruction happening. I could be wrong, but I don't think that is the best method for using a specialist when students are reading 2 or 3 levels below grade level.

KC- I agree that we need to assess the students to determine their individual needs and that those needs should be used to guide our instruction. My cocern is that the struggling readers are really not receiving much more support than the on level readers or the students reading way above grade level. How is that going to significantly improve their reading? They are going to continue to lag behind year after year unless they receive more support and instruction.
 * ZH -**Meeting with a Specialist in Reading causes circuitous or even direct instruction. Knowing which school has which Specialist presenting in predetermined ways could be fortuitous. However, the child’s assessment with strengths and weaknesses noted will need to be used for progression up the staircase. In other words, scaffolding from where the child is while using his/her prior knowledge and building upon it will be good for the child. Only small amounts of the intensive instruction will need to be used as the student realizes they have a need or yearning towards reading. Immerse the student or small group of students in literature with fiction, poetry, and plays on words. The reading Specialist should model and let the child or student create.

TD- I hear you! Every instructional minute we have is precious and should be regarded by all as such. If the specialist is not going to implement strategies, the least she can do is give you some specific activities to do with them during small-group time.

KC- Research has shown that students who are poor readers at the end of first grade are at a high risk of being poor readers in fourth grade. There have been mixed results concerning intervention programs, but some key factors have been identified in programs that have proven to be somewhat successful. These factors include quality instruction, classroom instruction and pull-out instruction need to be complementary, reading and writing instruction should be linked, and assessments should be used to monitor progress and to plan instruction.


 * ZH-**What has happened to the story after lunch? How many teachers have time to really sit and enjoy a story with their class? There are so many strategies to learn and the children must be taught the test and certain skills to meet the objectives for our state or local school board. The lyrical language rolling on the tongues of students for pleasure, enhancement, or plain joy is almost obliterated. In essence students must know which skills they are using so abilities of regurgitation are continued.

MS: I AM AFRAID THE STORY AFTER LUNCH HAS BEEN BYPASSED TO GET IN MORE TEST TAKING SKILLS. WHOA!!! DON'T THE ADMINISTRATORS KNOW THAT 40% OF THE STANDARDIZED TESTS IS DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ABILITY OF THE CHILD TO READ. ONLY 10 TO 15% IS BASED ON READING TEST STRATEGIES.

KC- I agree that just sitting and enjoying a story with your students is important and it shoud take place everyday. By relaxing and sharing a story with your students it creates a joy of reading, models good fluency, and creates opportunities to explore different genres in a stress free setting.

2. TD- We don’t wait until students are failing to help them anymore! Emphasis is placed on early identification and increased vigilance with students beginning in pre-kindergarten. Early implementation of programs can help identify other problems that impede learning, such as visual and auditory problems. KC- I think that ruling out visual and auditory problems is important for struggling readers. TD- Oh, yeah, it's huge! I remember this little boy who just wasn't "getting it". I had his eyes checked, he got glasses, and his reading and math skills improved dramatically like overnight! KC- When I taught 3rd grade I would have anywhere from 3-5 students that would get glasses during the year. It is amazing what being able to see the text will do, isn't it?!

Sometimes it is both visual and auditory processing difficulties. Luckily there is so much more research in this area. Brain research will also be able to address some neurological difficulties hopefully in the near future. KC- Yes, thankfully there is more research in this area, and we are better able to identify and adapt instruction to help students with auditory processing problems. KC- Last year, my school began using inclusion for small group instruction with the reading specialist/Language Arts Specialists and our educational resource teachers. Instead of pulling these groups out of their classroom, the specialists go into their classrooms and teach small groups while their classroom teacher is teaching small groups. The teacher is also supposed to meet with the students in the specialists' group either in small group or individually everyday. Then the most struggling readers in each grade level meet with students in groups of three in a pull-out instructional setting. These students should be meeting with the specialist two times a day and the teacher once a day. We are still trying to work through some problems and confusions that arose last year, but hopefully we will have the kinks worked out by the beginning of next year. TD- Which do you prefer as a specialist- pulling kids or going into their rooms? I could see pros and cons with either... KC- I like both, but not everyone does. The benefit to working in their classroom is there is no time wasted on travel time which for K and 1st graders can take awhile. I don't really think there is as much of a stigma either due to the different groups meeting at once. A con is the room can get a little loud because their are usually three teachers conducting small group at once. In some rooms their are 4 or 5 teachers at one time depending on needs. I am also limited on how I can teach because I am in someone else's classroom and the other students get distracted. My resources and materials are also limited due to moving around so much. I do feel that they aren't quite as distracted when I pull-out, but they are always missing whatever is going on in their classroom at that time which is a big con.
 * ZH** Approximately ten years to twelve years ago we had a resource room teacher that loved to educate herself. She found out about the auditory processing difficulties of many students. One of my second graders was tested and this was found to have auditory processing difficulties. We slowed down in assignments, we slowed down in speaking, and got her a tutor. The past second grader is now in college.

3. TD-Everyone, from teachers to parents to peers to extended family to the media, is responsible for struggling readers. The smallest things we do can impact the learning environment and success of struggling readers. The more time we take to (most importantly) read aloud and share literacy as the rewarding and positive experience it should be, the more students will want to succeed at reading, which affects us as teachers every day.
 * ZH**-I probably should not say this however inclusion is federally mandated and many school districts are being held accountable for not providing inclusion. Special children feel slighted when not with others and parents tend to run to the rescue. Until the laws change about very special children I would stick with inclusion. There should also, as you both have stated, be a place for specially gifted students to advance. Their inclusion could be a benefit to others in literacy.

KC- I agree that it is imortant to share and show students how exciting and fun it is to read. I think half the battle is instilling that love of reading in students so that they want to read instead of watching t.v. or playing video games all the time. I am always disappointed when I go to see a movie based on a book I have read. I always think the movie in my mind was better than the movie they made. TD- Right on! It especially bothers me when they cast people in the movie who are nothing like the character is represented in the book!! It's like, what's the point?! KC- I know! I wonder if the kids feel the same way?

KC- Reading and writing are involved in every subject across the curriculum, therefore every teacher is responsible for literacy instruction of all students. Departmentalized teachers need to be aware of which students are struggling readers and plan instruction accordingly. All content areas require instruction in vocabulary, textbook or content reading, comprehension strategies, and a variety of other literacy skills. TD- I agree. Teachers need to be meeting both at grade level and with other content area teachers. Identifying patterns and deficiencies would help inform instructional practices. KC- I think parents and students also need to understand that they play a role in developing their reading skills and strategies. I am always telling parents and students that rereading familiar stories is great for working on fluency. Sometimes I hear complaints from parents and students about rereading stories. KC- Yes, we tend to find out lots of things from students. 4. Our group questions 1. **When research conflicts with what we see in our classrooms, how do we make the decision to either follow the trends or do what we see works for our own students?**
 * ZH-**At least that is an honest way to regulate they are doing the assignments. Wow. We had parents sign that kids did assignments and the parents were believed until the students sais, "Hey, I didn't read that."

KC- Great question, Tracy! It seems that districts are always jumping on one bandwagon or another, and then jumping off when something new comes along. It gets very frustrating!

MS: I AGREE, IT SEEMS TO BE THE PRODUCT OF THE DAY AND IN A FEW MONTHS OR EVEN A YEAR, THEN IT IS ANOTHER PRODUCT OF THE DAY. THAT IS WHY RESEARCH BASED INSTRUCTION IS SO IMPORTANT.

TD- Thank you! Sometimes I feel so torn, but I've just gone with my gut and served my students the best way I see fit...


 * ZH** Ladies you have not seen anything yet. I feel like we are going back to Marie Clay “Reading Recovery” and the like. That is a good thing. **Observation** is a way to test that is approved by legitimate Early Childhood researchers. KC- I do the same, but sometimes that is not an option. I do have an open mind and I will give my all to my students.

2. How can we stress the importance of family and peer involvement in the literacy development of struggling readers?

KC- Another great question. I always have parents who say that they will commit to helping their child with reading and then don't follow through. I have even provided materials and information on how to use the materials and not seen results from parents. I have just asked them to listen to their child read, have them retell what they have read, ask a few questions, and then sign the reading log. Every time I check the reading log it is empty. It is maddening! TD- I bet! It's like, if we can put together this assignment and send it home with your child, the least you can do is complete it!! ZH-Literacy Councils and Reading.org are asking the exact same questions. Many school systems are paying the children real money for reading. How does that rate our society?

3. How do we make the push for reading-related professional development when the “I’m not a reading teacher!” mentality is still so prevalent in many schools?

KC- Maybe there could be breakout sessions during the professional development for departments to discuss how the information applies to their classes, or they could discuss how they could implement the strategies or activities being presented. If there is a way for them to see that the information applies to their teaching they may be more receptive to the professional development. TD- I would love that! Where I am now, I don't know if I'll even have the opportunity for professional development unless I ask for it (which I plan on doing!). KC- I hope you get the opportunity. **ZH** Provide a subscription of //The Reading Teacher// or //Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy// for every single teacher in the system and have required reading. Surely there is a mass discount for school systems. All teachers should be able to teach content reading//!//

KC Questions- 1. When we are asked by our principal or district to teach reading in a way that conflicts with our philosophy of reading instruction, how should we handle that situation? TD- Good question! Since many administrators are older and have kind of been out of the instructional loop for awhile, sometimes it's hard to convince them that what you're doing is effective/worthwhile. **ZH** Quietly do as told unless someone convinces them otherwise. They believe as they wish unless forced by Administration to go to the new //"Tulsa Reads"// plan.

2. When I see a small group of 5 struggling readers( with varying needs) for 30 minutes a day, how can I make sure that I am meeting all of their individual needs? TD- I'm very type A, so I would categorize them by their specific learning weaknesses, then plan minilessons geared toward those needs. One day's focus could be phonics, one could be comprehension, etc. You could do BEAR spelling stuff with them, too, since that's differentiated for you. Just an idea... KC- Thanks for the input. That is pretty much what I do, but I often wonder if there is something I am missing. I am constantly saying that I need more time with my students. **__ZH__**-I am so glad to be in this group with super teachers. That is almost what I did. And, I really knew the strengths and weaknesses of the students. If I built on what they knew we went from there to learn the rest!

3. I have had several students that can segment words correctly, but when they put the sounds together to read the word they say a word that sounds totally different and does not make sense. Ex.They sound /c/ /a/ /t/ for cat, but then say "plane". Why do they do that? **ZH-**This happened more with my first graders on the Yopp/Singer segmentation testing. I do love when they are testing and the light bulb goes on. "Oh yeah, now I know!", is shouted. The more this type of testing is done and possibly reviewed...the more they will get it. All of the phonological awareness steps go in order but I could write a whole page on who, what and why the order is in phonological awareness towards phonemic segmentation. (I apologize.) TD- Another excellent question! I always guessed that the concept just wasn't connecting in their little minds yet...

MS: EXCELLENT INTERCHANGE OF IDEAS, THOUGHTS, AND SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES. THIS IS THE WAY FOR IT TO WORK. THANKS.