I currently teach LD/EBD students at a 9-12 level. A lot of my students struggle with reading and read at lower level then their peers that are mainstreamed into the general education setting (most of my students read at a 4-6 grade reading level). The biggest struggles I see with them is their understanding of vocabulary and how to figure out the meaning without “skipping the hard words” and also their comprehension. I also struggle with getting my students interested in reading as most of their learning disabilities have to do with reading.
Gathering the interest of my students will be the focus of my plan. Plan Over the course of the term, I plan to find two journal articles, re-read a portion of a textbook used for another reading course, and find two websites. I am starting my first year in a new school district. I do not want to set specific dates as to when want specific things found as I want to be flexible to see how my new work schedule will play out over the beginning part of the school year. My goal is to have each of the items above done by end of term. . Find two journal articles with information on several areas of reading, preferably on how to gather student’s interest to read during their personal time for enjoyment rather then just reading “because they have to for homework. ” 2. Re-read portions of the textbook: What Really Matters in Response to Intervention. I remember this text talking about ways to get struggling readers to read, creating small groups for reading, and creating activities to engage reading.
3. Find two websites with information on areas of reading to get students engaged and interested in reading. Research: Journals One resource I enjoy using from Minnesota State University, Mankato’s library website is: Ebscohost. This database has tons of interesting journals that are available for students to read. One article that I read was called But They All Read at Different Levels. This was an interesting brief article by a teacher/ consultant/speaker on professional development workshops named Laura Robb.
Her article gave eleven different questions and answer scenarios that were interesting to read on how to engage students. One thing that I found to be interesting is her take on how to determine if a book is too difficult. She explained to students that when they grab a book, they need to open to the middle of it and read it. If they come to a word that is too difficult, they need to hold up a finger. If they hold up three fingers at the end of the page, the book is too difficult. She also suggested having individual conferences with each student.
I like this idea because the teacher gets an idea of what the student enjoys reading, if they are struggling with any strategies used for reading, and can ask the students to read aloud so that he/she can hear their reading. She also mentions that students can read different amounts of books and different types. Since students are reading at different levels, books come in different sizes. Setting a limit of how many books students have to read can make reading look less desirable. Letting students read their choice allows them to enjoy reading because they are reading what they enjoy.
A second article I read was Creative Reading: The Antidote to Readicide. The authors spoke about spicing up book talks to showing several books by showing the covers and then asking students a question about the grouping of books. Student’s interest is peeked and they begin to ask questions about the books mentioned. They discuss how students need a wide range of reading materials outside of just books. These materials could include: magazines, comic books, blogs, and books of all genres and readability levels.
They speak about different activities such as: reading with a partner, reading a play aloud with specific assigned parts to read aloud, and reading through their own writings. Research: Textbook Having time in class set aside for independent reading is a way to increase student’s reading abilities and also increase their thoughts to being more positive towards reading. Having independent reading time allows students to enjoy a book of their interest and read at their own level and pace. Having a large supply of book at many levels and genres is a way to increase student’s interest in books.
Having a classroom library on top of the school library is a way that students get additional and easy daily access to books. Buying books can be expensive. One way to get cheap or free books for a classroom is having book orders or visiting the school book fair. When students order books from book orders, teachers receive points which are used for free books. These books can be placed into your classroom library. Research: Online A lot of the websites I looked at were geared more towards parents versus teachers. I still found the information useful and interesting.
A lot of it is things that parents would do with their children to motivate them to read, but there are a few that could have slight variations to make them work in a school classroom. I found interesting tips on Oprah’s book club website on how to motivate students to read. A lot of suggestions she mentioned are for younger age students and are more geared towards parents doing with their children at home. I like the idea of progress monitoring how many books are read and once reaching a specific goal, the child receives a reward. This reminds me of the school district I grew up in.
In elementary school, students were to read so many minutes per month as documented and signed by a parent on a given calendar. If a student met the given goal, they could bring it to school to receive a coupon from the teacher for a free mini Pizza Hut pizza. I also enjoyed that she said be a leader. By showing your child or your students that you enjoy reading in your free time will help motivate a child to do the same. The second website I found was on Parenting. com website; this was very similar to the information I found on Oprah’s website. The part that| found to be interesting is taking reading on the road.
With technology now days, vehicles have DVD players in them to keep children entertained with movies. When I was young and we would go camping and our car trip was over a half hour, 1 would always have a book with me. I would sometimes read aloud to my younger brother too if they were getting antsy. Reading in the car is a great way to keep busy and also increase your enjoyment of reading, it also relieve stress. I also liked the idea of bringing a book to life. If there is a planned field trip somewhere, read a book aloud or have students read books on things they may see on their field trip.
What I will try to Bring to My Classroom I would like to increase the time spent reading in my classroom. I do not often have my students read on their own as they do struggle with reading and do not enjoy it. I would like to try more independent reading of books of student’s choice to increase their independent reading, their enjoyment of books, and to increase their habit of reading outside of “required” books for school. I would like to increase my classroom library volume to books that are more appropriate to the level of reading my students can handle.
When I came to my room, I found a book shelf full of books (multiples of books for whole classes) that are way above the level my students can read and comprehend, with unattractive, and falling apart covers, and books that are not of interest to my students. I like the idea of giving book talks to my students. By doing this, students may gain interest in books that I discuss and will hopefully choose to read some books that I mention. I would like to have books of multiple genres and reading levels so that they would be of interest to multiple students.
