Buddy Reading (How to)

Building fluency is central to developing good readers in the elementary grades. Teachers are always seeking new and better ways to enhance this process, a popular technique is called buddy reading. Unlike the normal term of buddy reading, this style uses readers of vastly different reading levels to enhance the learning process. Kindergarteners are paired with a more advanced reader, a fifth grader, in order to scaffold their reading much like a classroom teacher would. This unordinary pairing enables children to advance easily in their reading, have a more positive outlook on school, as well as develop higher self esteem. They use common terms such as “sounding it out,” re-reading, and using picture and text context clues while modeling how to be a fluent reader. The key to making this a valuable teaching tool is that the buddies will need to read books on the level of the younger reader. While it seems that this would hinder the growth of the older children, modeling and explaining how to read to the younger student actually helps them decode their own mental process and grow as readers themselves. Also, this learning tool helps the older students learn how to be mentors and role models. They learn how to deal with life situations such as miscommunication, breaking rules, and working together. I am interested in using this in the classroom. I remember doing this in elementary school and was pleased to find out how beneficial it really is. This would be a good teaching method for me to use in the classroom. It seems to me like this would work well with several different grades, as long as they are atleast two grades apart (such as first and third) so that there is a sense of respect between the two grade levels and a distinct difference in reading levels. I have seen some peer helping in the first grade classroom of my lab placement this semester, and it has been very effective within just one grade level so I can only imagine how powerful this could be when used on a bigger scale. Peer tutoring, such as this, is a good way to extend teaching beyond the realm of the general classroom teacher. Having advanced students help lower level students is always good to use in the classroom, so this would definitely work as well.

Shared Reading

Shared reading is an important teaching technique that is often used for the primary grades. Shared reading teaches primary skills through real life texts and provides children with successful reading experiences. A good shared reading experience allows for students to be able to re-read familiar texts such as predictable texts or poems, and then the students focus in on rimes in words used in the poem such as (-ing, -est, or –ly). These kinds of lessons strengthen sight words, vocabulary, and fluency while having an enjoyable class experience. I encourage the class to re-read the selection as many times as possible until it is becoming no longer enjoyable. Varying the reading by dividing into groups and switching reading lines, making motions to go along with it or even reading it one person at a time allows extension of the amount of times reading. Teaching rimes as opposed to phonics allows children to learn to use chunk association to build and recognize other words (such as fate, date, rate). This improves fluency and sight word recognition. There are five steps in the basic shared reading lesson: reading, introducing a skill, working with words, writing, and re-reading. As discussed earlier, reading is done repetitively so that it becomes a familiar text and improves fluency and sight word recognition. Introducing a skill is when the teacher directs the students to identify the specific rime (word ending) of the selection and then determine each rime included in it. Working with the words allows children to explore other words that include the rime of the lesson extending their fluency and building on prior knowledge to form a schema. Writing will use these rimes or the style of the selection so that the students can create a piece of writing inspired by the lesson. The fifth step, re-reading, occurs at a later time. It would be ideal to make a compilation of all of the shared reading selections and later allows the students to re-read it or illustrate the page in their notebook of shared reading texts. The rime lessons are written on a poster during the lesson (all of the words that include the rime) and are posted for future reference around the room.

What is a language arts teacher...

In my opinion, a language arts teacher is ideally a motivator to teach children to immerse themselves in reading and to determine their preferences on reading in order to become lifelong readers. Elementary school teachers should exemplify this attitude. When children are at this stage in life, they can easily become discouraged readers due to struggling to read or simply not finding books they like to read. My mother has been a wonderful guide to model how to get children excited about reading. She teaches the children how to bring books to life and how to choose books based on enjoyment that also teach them at the same time. Teachers need to provide children with a large quantity of reading material as well as time to explore and just have time to read. I do not think that elementary schools that focus on basal readers create environments in which children thrive as readers. These kinds of classrooms do not allow children to read based on their own choices and preferences and take a lot of pleasure out of reading. While it does allow for many small personal successes, I do not feel like students in this type of environment are exposed to as many good reading experiences as those who are in constructivist classrooms do. Children in the elementary years do need to be taught basics, such as phonics and grammar, but I believe this needs to be taught through mini-lessons and explained through real life reading situations. For example, in a lesson on using quotations for dialogue, the teacher would instruct the children about the rules and mechanics, but the children would explore this idea through books read in class. A good book for something like this is a narrative such as Junie B Jones. This uses real life text to portray the idea being taught and allows children to construct this knowledge through their own means.

My social studies philosophy

The curriculum of social studies in the elementary years is very important in the overall evolution of beliefs and character of our citizens. Studying things like relationships, forms of governments, and why one should vote are good reasons that children need to be informed of these events at such an early age. Social studies for the constructivist teacher is an active process. Children need to spend time out of the textbook and in use and application of real life. The relationship of events from the past predict and explain events currently happening and things that may occur in the future. Meaningful experiences in this curriculum help the students take ownership of their world’s history and understand how to apply it to their own life.
Teachers need to facilitate concepts, generalizations, higher level thinking, and dispositions in order to be an effective constructivist teacher. Teachers are not here to transmit information, but to facilitate the aforementioned experiences that cultivate learning. Students do learn facts and information through these experiences, but ultimately they learn to form their own beliefs and change their personal concepts about events, cultures, and theories. In order for these realizations to occur for students, teachers need to understand the learning cycle in order to adapt learning experiences to better suit it. The learning cycle consists of three stages. First, prior knowledge needs to be assessed, contrast this to the current curriculum material, construct new concepts, and then lastly apply them through application and activities. The introductory stage is when the teacher sets the tone for learning and application activities. During the development stage, teachers need to supply the primary information, but allow children to construct their own concepts. Children need to be encouraged to think through their beliefs and explain them, whether they are correct or not. The expansion stage is when students learn to apply previously learned social studies ideas or skills into different situations. Here, teachers need to provide additional scaffolding in order to broaden the range of application. In the elementary school years, children are learning to see others’ perspectives. This is why it is more important for them to have hands on experiences rather than just read stories and facts out of a textbook. Learning is an active process; one cannot simply learn by being told and expected to regurgitate information for a test. Following these three steps allows the children to develop the dispositions, concepts, and higher level thinking that is the overall goal.
It is important for students to have first hand experiences with these concepts in order to form their own beliefs and to personalize the ideas learned. As the social studies curriculum has evolved, this teaching technique has taught teachers the most influential and effective way to devise a curriculum. Using the learning cycle with the ten strands of standards for social studies will lead the class to reach the goals of the formation of personal concepts and dispositions.

Technology in the classroom

Since change is the only constant in life, it is fitting that technology is ever evolving and rapidly changing. Throughout my lifespan as a student, technology has changed dramatically in the classroom. During the primary school years, technology in the classroom was very limited. Now, it is much more inclusive, accessible, and reliable. Understanding the relationship between change and its influence on technology, I can see that the future holds limitless possibilities in this area.
As technology changes, so do our classrooms. As a teacher it is important to remember to use educational technology with the curriculum as the central focus and to use it for effective face-to-face teaching. The benefits of technology far outweigh the difficulty in learning how to use it. The motivation and ownership of learning that takes place when students learn by means of technology allows them to benefit more than a teacher could ever plan for. As experienced in anyone’s lifetime, technology began as a simple start and has evolved to a more encompassing and globally connected realm. The possibilities for growth are limitless and one can only imagine the capabilities of the future.

Collaborative Reports

I had a group assignment for a class this week to present a workshop lecture on a specific language arts component.  Our group researched and presented on collaborative reports.  I thought I would share our findings for other teachers/educators to use.  

Using the umbrella topic of Alabama counties, we had the children break into groups to research the counties (history, geography, etc.) of local counties.  They would research via books in the library, videos, or approved websites.  After finding all of their needed information, they would write a rough draft of the information in their findings.  Things they wrote about included population size, geographic information, famous people, attractions, and natural findings (such as parks).  They would work together then using the writing process. They would edit the paper together.  Then using a publishing program such as Microsoft Word, they would type it into a document on the computer.  After editing it a second time, they would cite their sources and add a picture or make some artwork for it.  The students would turn in their final documents. As a class we made them into a class shape book (in the shape of Alabama)  and publish copies for all of the students to have. 

Letter Writing

Letter writing is one of the most important concepts of writing to instill in children at an early age.  I know that in high school we had many assignments that students would still have to go back and relearn how to write letters for.  Since modern technology, such as emails, text messages, and chatting online has replaced "snail mail,"  this once popular form of communication is now seen as ancient. 

Doing activities such as writing a letter to the teacher, principal, or family member allows one to establish the concept of letter writing at an early age.  Pen pals and buddies are also good motivators to aid in the understanding of this concept.  

The most difficult concept to understand, though, is that of formal letter writing.  Since many people do not write many formal letters (such as complaints, letters to persons of authority, or complements) this has become a hinderance to many children in the classroom.  There are not many resources available for teachers but Time for Kids does have some excellent ones.  Children need to have the opportunity to ingrain this in their mind by using this in everyday situations.  Things such as a classroom letterbox is an easy way to use this in everyday situations.  Students can write letters to the teacher about pros or cons or suggestions in the classroom.   This is proactive and makes them feel involved in the running of their classroom.

Author Study

One of my favorite methods for exploring and studying literature is through author studies.  I remember in school many times that I was completely wrapped up in and excited about an in depth author study.  There are so many hands on activities that really motivate the students and get them involved in language arts.  In literature studies, though, it is important to find a study that will allow for both male and female students to get "hooked."  I know that the Gary Paulsen books are very popular with boys and the Laura Ingles Wilder ones are always a hit for the girls.  It seems like it is hard to find something that appeals to both genders.  I know that Rohald Dahl books as well as Series of Unfortunate Events are both good examples of books that appeal to both sexes.  I would like to find out some more resources to find out about conducting an effective author study that is appealing to both boys and girls.  

Theme studies are also very effective in the elementary school classroom.  Growing up, I recall themes such as biographies, multicultural studies, utopian societies, and the Great Depression.  These were not always the most interesting, but as a teacher I can see how appealing this kind of study can be. You can easily integrate the curriculum with other subjects and kill two (or many) birds with one stone.  I would like to find more resources for both of these types of classroom content studies. Let me know if you know of any, please!

Algorithms

I am currently finishing up my first semester of methods courses and have been placed in a school that is very different than the one that I grew up in.  First of all, the school's student body is of a different socioeconomic status.  This means that the personality, expectations, and teachers found at this school are bound to be different. Most of the teachers have been working at the school for 10+ years, whereas where I grew up the teachers were fresh out of school.  I am not used to teachers that are stuck in the "old school" version of teaching, such as drill and kill, worksheets, and algorithms.  As a product of new math and constructivist math - I think these methods are terrible.  I have noticed that in this such school they still teach kids that they NEED TO COUNT USING THEIR FINGERS...who does this? In my personal philosophy one needs to learn how to best figure out math for his/her self.  There is no "one way" to solve the problem, and the teacher does not need to teach a way of solving it mathematically.  I am very excited to get into some math/science methods courses to learn how to remedy this fixation in schools such as this that are a mecca for algorithms and old ways.

Use pens instead of pencils

At the primary grades because kids like using pens since we normally make them use pencils; for classroom management and those students who like to avoid working (or just push too hard on their pencils) using a pen eliminates the time waster of sharpening pencils and allows me to worry about planning and prepping that doesn't involve managing the pencil sharpening job or worse sharpening pencils myself.

But I just read a better researched-based reason - they will write more with pens.

Even if you only want to allow pens for writing.  I did that in one classroom because the teacher didn't like letting kids use pens.  The kids loved their writing pens.  Make sure you have extras because losing one was like the end of the world.

Okay, the exact research details are as follows:

Special pencils, however, do not appear necessary. Research indicates not only that young children prefer adult pencils, but also that they do not write better when using a beginner's pencil. Furthermore, by the time children reach the third grade, they produce more letters when they are writing stories if they use ballpoint or felt-tip pens 

Fun Math

I learned a fun math game in my lab placement this week. I think math games are a great way to motivate children to have fun doing math and to learn to enjoy it. This takes math out of the normal realm of practicing these skills and the children relate to it more easily.  I would like to learn about more resources and games such as this to get the children excited about math!  This would be a good "game" to use when you are doing an informal interview with a child assessing math skills, this can take the edge off of the norm of worksheets or time tables.

*To practice addition, subtraction or multiplication:

Have your child roll the dice then add, subtract or multiply the two numbers shown. Its good practice, but chidren enjoy it a little more because it feels like a game.  For older children add more dice. They can add 3-4 numbers or use them to make two digit numbers. 

My Philosophy

I believe that a strong emphasis on basic skills in elementary school is imperative to a child's academic success. Their reading and comprehension abilities will determine how they perform in all academic areas. I believe that if a child can read, he can learn anything, but when a child struggles in reading, it makes all other subjects difficult as well. My role as a teacher is not only to teach the skills of reading and comprehension, but also children should be taught effective problem-solving skills. SOmetimes the answers are not always right in front of them and they need to be able to apply rational thought with inductive and dedeuctive reasoning skills to arrive at an answer.

Using Phonics to Teach Beginning Readers

I am currently in a lab in which we are using phonics lessons in unison with predictable text books that scaffold the specific phonics lesson that we are learning.  As a product of phonics-free education, I am having a hard time adapting to this alien teaching technique.  I do not think that phonics and predictable text alone allows children to have enough experience to learn how to read.  Phonics is such a wishy-washy theory because there are so many expectations to each word.  I know so many people who grew up learning to read solely by use of phonics (yes, I grew up in the "Hooked on Phonics Worked for Me" era).  These people to this day cannot spell many of the words that are commonly used words. Words such as "come" and "of" are not phonemically decodeable.  So how do you teach this to children who are stuck to using their phonics knowledge? Also children that learn to use letters by remembering a rhyme or motion that has to do with the sound it makes is also misleading.  It sounds like a foolproof way to remember vowel pronunciations, but what happens when after first grade you have summer break and then return to find you do not remember any of those rhymes or motions anymore?  Then you are stuck having to relearn all of the letters and letter combinations from the last year.  Phonics supporters do not believe in the use of word walls. I have come to find that word walls are very useful after using it in lab experiences with third grade students.  I think that a combination of phonemic decoding, sight words, and other techniques need to be used together to teach children how to read.  This way children have many options and techniques to use in order to decipher unknown words and read on any level.

Buddy Reading

I really like the idea of buddy reading. Whether or not scaffolding is being used, buddy reading helps kids with reading a lot.  Sometimes it makes the book more enjoyable, whereas sometimes it makes it easier to understand the book if you can read it with a friend.  Students can discuss confusing parts of the story, express your thoughts on the plot, and help each other with vocabulary.  As adults, many people take part in book clubs. This is very similar to this idea.  If a child sees his or her parent in a book club, then doing something like this in school can be very engaging and motivating because the student sees it can be for fun and not just for work.  Many high school and college level classes use a form of "buddy reading."  I would like to use this in the classroom so that my students can have pleasurable experiences as well as to scaffold enriching reading material that otherwise may not have been decipherable.  I have used this in lab experiences when teaching a small group of advanced readers. They really like doing this, even when it comes to reading aloud which often times can feel overwhelming and scary when in front of a larger audience.  Buddy reading facilitates cooperative learning.  Doing many activities and projects that involve cooperative learning at an early age helps foster positive communication and teamwork that will be used throughout life.  Even in adulthood, people have to work together often (for example: designing a proposal, writing a grant, or marketing a new product).  I encourage others to incorporate a lot of buddy reading, even it is just to allow buddy reading during free reading so that children learn to work and learn together.  You would be surprised to see the accomplishments children can make when they just work together!

Whole Class or Individualized Spelling Lists

For many teachers, finding the best way for children to learn spelling is an ongoing process of trial and error.  Varying by grade and curriculum, spelling lists can focus on many different aspects of the school year.  Traditionally, teachers give the whole class somewhere between ten to twenty spelling words each week, with a test given on Friday.  From personal experience, I know this is not always the best fit way to teach grammatically correct spelling to each student.  As an inherently blessed speller, unlike many of my friends, I found these tests ridiculously easy.  I would breeze through the homework in about 5 minutes per night doing assignments such as copying the word five times, writing the definition, making it into a crossword puzzle, and using it in a sentence.  Each of these assignments were more like time consuming chores to me rather than instructional practices.  Now that I have begun my curriculum in teaching as an undergrad at Auburn University, I have learned about some different approaches in this area of teaching instruction.  Individualized spelling lists generated from a preknowledge quiz of words in an age appropriate word bank can be determined at the beginning of the week.  From this list of misspelled words, ten to twenty words can be chosen at the appropriate level for the child's learning.  Of course, some children may have a tremendous deficit in this subject in school, but it can be met halfway by having a few more challenging words included in this area while mostly staying in the present level of functioning.  From these individualized lists, more effective assignments can be given.  Things such as word relations can be created to relate spellings of these words to other commonly known ones such as nice (dice, lice, mice, rice) for younger or lower level learners.  Also creating stories with related words in a list help as well. This allows them to use them in a way that is meaningful to them, not just in a sentence that does not always makes sense. Individualized spelling lists allow above, on, and below level learners to see success in this subject while also showing progress over the course of the year.  It also creates a sense of ownership of the list, because it words that are determined by the student and not generated by the teacher.  Individualized spelling may not be the most time efficient way to teach spelling as opposed to a book generated list, but it is far more effective in the long run.

Desks or no desks

A recent debate over the use of traditional desks in classrooms has become a very hot topic in the setting of the elementary classroom.  While some teachers support the structure and professionalism of traditional desks, others have branched out to more eccentric styles.  Group tables are one of the more favorite alternatives. Teachers say that this allows for more communication and group work as opposed to the isolation that individual desks suggest.  Another alternative is no desks or tables at all.  Beanbags, pillows, or rugs are the modified workspace.  Teachers using this describe this learning environment as more laid back.  This cultivates more imagination, a less formal and invasive feel, and allows children to feel more at home.  In my opinion, a blend of the traditional and non traditional room setup works best.  Having observed classrooms using both styles, I see the pros and cons of each.  Using desks allows for a more organized room and has children behave more "socially accepting," especially in certain school districts.  When children come from home lives where they do not have many guidelines or expectations, desks help set the tone for the behaviors and mindsets expected in a school setting.  Children in this kind of lifestyle may not react maturely with a more laid back classroom with pillows and other areas where you sit on the floor and have more freedom.  It would be easy for children to take advantage of this, and they would be more likely to sit with friends that lead to poor behavior choices such as talking out of turn and being off task.  On the other hand, this freestyle desk-free environment allows children that can be mature about this setup really excel.  With a more tranquil and homey feel, children seem to exhibit more creative and out of the box thinking.  Being able to move around, sit in a comfortable area, and not be stuck to the seat of a desk allows them to be more themselves.  In my classroom, I would like to have tables and free seating areas.  Tables allow you to do more formal and structured activities like taking tests, and the free seating areas allow them to relax and enjoy yourself for things like reading, creative writing, and group discussions.  The key to finding the balance between the traditional and nontraditional classroom setups is getting to know your students and determining whether it is appropriate for the curriculum.  I encourage fellow teachers to explore both ways, and determine which they prefer.