Comprehension

To begin -- After reading Kindergarteners Can Do It, Too! Comprehension Strategies for Early Readers, I really need to go back to my lesson plan and change it. I assumed that they would not be able to have deeper discussion about literature, but I was wrong. I could not get my mind out of my own adult mind and understanding. The discussion kindergarteners could generate is very simple, but they are still involved in deeper-level thinking. I can see my CT's students greatly benefiting from the strategies Mrs. Hope used. In turn, I hope my CT adopts these new ideas and starts using them with her students. Whenever she reads a story to them, she does it because she can't start another activity before they have to go to gym or something. I've rarely seen my CT try to provoke discussions or use literature as a core lesson where there is a clear goal in what she wants students to get out of the text. Since I do not hear students responses to texts, I can't really comment on their reading behaviors with literature. 


Nevertheless, in another instance, my CT had a discussion about shapes. She asked the students to tell her what the differences were between a rectangle and a circle. They pointed out the obvious. The circle was yellow, thin and round; the rectangle was green and thick. What the CT was trying to get them to notice was that the rectangle had sides and points. However, they had trouble with this because they did not know how to explain without having the knowledge of the vocabulary used to describe that feature of a rectangle. If I was relating this to what a student would have trouble doing in comprehending and discussing a literary text, I could say, for example, that this student is a "Fuzzy Thinker", in regards to the reading Profiles in Comprehension. This because "fuzzy thinkers" usually have a hard time elaborating on responses because they may not have the words to explain their thinking. 


As for my own reading comprehension processes, I find that I can relate to a few of the eight profiles listed in Profiles in Comprehension, in certain aspects. The reading states that students can exhibit characteristics of more that one profile. This is important to mention because the point in the profiles is not to label the students as one particular profile, but to understand that there are all these different types of ways of thinking. Then they list various strategies to use to help the students get on track.

Supporting Different Learners

In my field placement, I have seen lots of variation between students. First of all, there are 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students in my classroom so I see lots of variation in age, ability and maturity level. It amazes me to see the differences between the 1st graders and the 3rd graders. For the most part, the 3rd graders are very independent and can be trusted to do their work on their own. However, the 1st graders cannot really be held accountable to finish their work at all. Someone always has to be reminding them to stay on task and to complete their assignments. There is also a lot of diversity in my classroom. There is a great mix of kids from lots of different racial and cultural backgrounds. There is also an ELL in my classroom whose family moved here from Cuba. Some students in my class have some physical challenges; one student has MS, another is legally blind. Some students have some emotional disabilities and others struggle academically. I love the children in my field placement because they are such a great diverse group of kids. With such a diverse group of students, it is hard to support all of them. What I have discovered is that it is important to distinguish the levels of support needed among students. Not all students need the same level of support, so they should not be given the same level of support. Going along with that idea, I think it is important to get to know the students in your classroom very well. If you know your students well, then you will be much better equipped to provide them with the support that they need.
As I stated earlier, there is a lot of racial diversity in my classroom. Sometimes, I feel that I don’t know how to relate to the diverse student population. I grew up in a small town that is 96% white, so I was never exposed to a lot of diversity growing up. The article I read- Seeing Color, Seeing Culture -emphasized how important it is for teachers (especially white teachers) to recognize racial differences. Many teachers claim to be “colorblind”, but this attitude “justifies inequality and exploitation by accepting the existing order of things as given” (pg 31-32). I often find myself struggling with this concept in my field placement. I know that I should not ignore race, but at the same time I struggle with how to address it. Due to my limited background, I sometimes have a hard time finding connections with students of different backgrounds. However, I thought that Joellen Maples had a good idea of how to address this issue in the piece Opening Quality Lines of Communication: Seeing My Students through the Eyes of Their Parents. In this piece, Maples had the parents of her students write an essay telling her all about their child. Through this assignment she learned SO much about her students and built a relationship of trust with the parents. I think that even though I struggle with how to connect with my students of different races, as long as I show them that I value them and their experiences and that I appreciate them as human beings, then I will be able to connect with them.

Concept Map

English Language Learners and Digital Literacy

According to the information on the Digital Denizen page, I would classify myself as a technological native. My mother got her degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in computer and business. Because of this, I have grown up in a relatively technologically advanced household and have become comfortable using most forms of technology; even new technology that I haven’t used before. I have had many experiences involving computers, the internet, T.V.s, D.V.D players, cell phones and other forms of, what our generation would consider, “basic technology”.  These experiences occurred both in school and at home. Because my school was relatively financially stable, I was exposed to technology such as Smart Boards while in elementary school. Although I have always been interested in technology and the benefits that it can offer, I am also hesitant to using technology that requires a lot of effort when learning how to use it. I also get very easily frustrated with technology when it malfunctions or I can’t understand how to fix a problem involving it. This is evidence that I still have a lot to learn in regards to digital literacy. In this way, I am an emergent digital literacy learner because just as emergent readers begin to understand the communicative purposes of reading and writing and are beginning to develop an interest in such things (p. 118), I am just learning the ins and outs of the technology that can be used in the classroom in order to enhance the learning experiences of my students.

Being technologically literate is very important as a teacher of emergent readers because technology is a great tool to help young readers develop skills in reading, writing, information searching, and many other important areas. For example, on page 108 Tompkins mentions that the third graders in Ms. McCloskey’s class have access to a listening station where they can listen to books on tape. Using this station to listen to books, especially if they have a copy of the book in front of them to follow along with, is a great way to develop the students’ listening skills and it gives them examples of word pronunciation and concepts of print. Another example found on the same page is the computer center located in Ms. McCloskey’s classroom. Children can use this form of technology to develop research skills, gain reading practice, and publish their writing. On page 118 and 119, Tompkins mentions that emergent readers and writers are beginning to develop an interest in reading and writing and learning to identify the letters of the alphabet among other things. The internet would be a great tool for developing both of these skills because the internet gives them a wide variety of texts that are easily available as well as a lot of exposure to letters. The internet is an especially great tool for English Language Learners because of the easy access to texts written in the learner’s home language that can be found on the internet.

In further regard to English Language Learners, by examining my own struggles with digital learning, I can begin to understand the types of frustrations that my English Language Learners are experiencing while trying to learn English in my classroom as well as methods to make this transition easier. For example, whenever I struggle with technology and I am able to access the information on the subject from those around me, the problem is often solved quickly and I am able to learn much through the experiences. Such is the case also for English Language Learners. Gibbons mentions on page 44, 17 and 18 about how small group work supports learning for students, especially for E.L.L. The students in the small groups are provided with the information located in each individual student’s mind and when sharing ideas, each student can bounce off of others ideas to better develop their own understanding of the concept being discussed. Another example of this comparison is, when I begin learning how to use a new form of technology, I tend to struggle with it and get frustrated. I have noticed though that the more I continue to work with the program or form of technology, the easier it becomes and the more I learn about it. Such is also the case with English Language Learners. As mentioned in both Gibbons (p. 15) and Mohr (p. 18 and 23), English Language Learners need as many opportunities as possible to participate in interactive activities and work with material that are well developed and that help the student learn how to express themselves.