The thing that struck out most to me from Harvey and Goudvis’
(2007) effective approaches to comprehension
instruction is their advice to “take our cue from the kids” (p. 35) in
helping us build our instruction and curriculum. I am concerned—as a teacher in
a kindergarten classroom—with building relevant curriculum when my students are
at such varying levels of ability. My students are all coming in with different
backgrounds—for some, this is their first time ever coming to school and some
have never been read to or been exposed to books. How can I teach reading
strategies without boring my experienced readers and going too fast for my new
readers? How can I construct a relevant curriculum when my student’s
experiences are so different?
I agree that modeling is very important—especially for kindergarteners—and
I will strive to model or provide guided practice for all our activities. Furthermore,
I think it would be really important to expose my students to different books,
ideas and strategies this year so that they can be better prepared as readers,
writers and learners in the future. I also think it is really important to see
what kinds of ideas students have about reading and writing now, what they
already know and the misconceptions they may have so that they can be addressed.
I feel like there is so much that needs to be done in kindergarten and it is
scary to think about the responsibility we have in preparing out students to be
effective learners when this is probably their first exposure to everything
school-related!
Regarding planning, teaching and assessing—I feel like there
is still so much I have to learn. I feel like our teacher preparation courses
have taught us these things in theory and gave us the research- proven
strategies of effective instruction but I do not feel confident, yet, in teaching
and applying them in the classroom. I think I need more practice with each of
those areas and this practice will eventually make me a more confident educator
as a whole.
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ReplyDeleteI agree Chi Wan, is it very scary to think about how kindergarten lays the foundation for future learning! We have the job of teaching kids how to learn. Since these students are coming to kindergarten with a huge variation in experiences, the teacher modeling component of gradual release framework is crucial (p. 32). We need to explain, model, and show our thinking so that these novice students can see how to do all the things we ask of them. I think it may be difficult to sense when it is time to start releasing more and more responsibility to our students. We don’t want advanced learners to get bored but we don’t want those who need that additional modeling to feel unprepared.
ReplyDeleteSomething I thought was really helpful were the tips Harvey & Goudvis (2007) shared on “building a literate community” (p. 35-37). I want to create a classroom where students feel safe sharing ideas with the teacher as well as the entire classroom. In kindergarten, students are discovering who they are as learners and I think it is important to make sure they all believe they can be successful. Using explicit instruction and clear, consistent language is important because these new students are still learning strategies. Using more than one term for a single action or strategy may confuse them. I also agree that room arrangement matters. Strategically placing students will enable them to interact with their peers which can further their knowledge. For example, in my placement, my MT and I have been placing lower achieving students with higher achieving students giving them a chance to also see how their peers think about and work through an activity.
My concerns with kindergarten are classroom managements and creating assessments. In past placements, I haven’t encountered a management system that has worked for me and so far there is no system in place in my kindergarten classroom since we are still going over routines and rules. Another thing I want to learn more about is creating meaningful assessments for this level that reflect understanding of concepts or themes rather than recalling details.
Although we are still working with classroom management, we already have multiple systems in place. My teacher makes sure to use different strategies when she wants to get their attention so it doesn't turn into "white noise". We also have a behavior chart, a "popcorn" chart, so when the WHOLE class is making good choices, we add a piece of "popcorn" in the bucket and when it is full we have a popcorn party, and many other strategies, but I am still overwhelemed.
DeleteMy MT has a system that she normally uses but has not introduced it yet to the class or myself. She wants students to get more in a routine before implementing the a behavior model. I think it's kind of weird because students will think that their behavior is acceptable and it may be hard to break them of those bad habits after a point.
DeleteI have a similar range of students as the one you described in my own classroom. Children not only come from various backgrounds, they also have different types/levels of previous schooling. Each child's individual differences and learning styles also have to be accounted for when we teach. I think differentiated instruction is a very helpful solution. According to Harvey and Goudvis, “responsive teaching is intentional, flexible, and adaptive" (p.36). If you look at your goals for instruction, you can modify them to meet the needs of every student by either simplifying or extending on them. This makes the task/content accessible to all students, but does not change your learning goals you had planned.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of finding out what students already know (and don't know) in order to better guide instruction. Once we find out what misconceptions they may have, we can use that knowledge and put it into our daily practice. I definitely agree that modeling is very important, especially with kindergarten. This goes along with the Gradual Release of Responsibility framework described in Chapter 3 (p.32-33). First, teachers model for students, then provide guided practice, collaborative practice, and lastly, independent practice. All of this happens before students can successfully apply the strategies/concepts being taught in authentic situations. I have seen how successful students are after a teacher models a task, and I have also seen how detrimental it can be when students are expected to do something new that they have not had direct modeling on. I have learned that taking more time with teaching students something new the first time is worth it in the end.
I agree with Chi Wan and points that were made in the reading. My students all have varying degrees of reading, which I will always face as a teacher. Some of my students already know how to read, while other students are still learning book orientation. It is important for us as teachers to learn what makes instruction purposeful and engaging for all students of different levels.
ReplyDeleteModeling how to read and comprehend is something that we read this week in “Strategies that Work”, and is also something that I observe everyday in my classroom. Visualization is another important aspect that was in the reading, along with something else I observe every day. Today my mentor teacher met all of the needs of our students. We were at the carpet when she told all of the students that EVERYONE can read. She modeled that although there are words on the page that some students can read, there are also pictures, and pictures tell a story. With some examples, everyone was confident to read independently for a few minutes. I created book baskets for all of my tables with four students at every table and about 30 small books that the table could choose from. The students that knew how to read were able to read aloud to a partner if they wanted to. Other students were allowed to tell their own story based on the pictures, which made students just learning to read even more confident.
With only being in the class for a week, I know I have SO much more to learn. I know that this is what this year is for, and as a teacher, it is important to be constantly learning, but I am so nervous for so many things. I want to be able to meet the needs of all of my students, and learn the best strategies for them. I read that Rosaria is also concerned for this, but I am also so nervous for classroom management. I know I have stressed this a lot in the past with my concerns, but if the classroom cannot be managed, I do not believe that the best learning can be done. This first week has made me so excited to learn so much this year, but at the same time, it also opened my eyes with how much more learning there actually is.
I can feel the excitement in all of your posts. Keep up the good work ladies!
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