Reading and Writing Instruction

       After reading chapter 8 and 9 Sound Systems by Anna Lyon and Paula Moore, I was given many examples of kindergarten and first grade instruction. Kindergarten teacher Ms. Chandler uses the children's names, which they are all familiar with, to introduce letters. She uses different activities to teach the same lesson. One day the students might practice their own names. Another day the students may be writing down the rules of the classroom- which gives them more practice with writing and involves them in classroom procedure.  Another day they might practice writing their site words down on a dry erase marker. These are different activities that help her teach the same lesson. Repetition is important in the classroom.
      In Ms. Lacy's first grade classroom, her students are capable of having more independence. They take their own attendance each morning by writing their own names on a blank piece of paper. Early readers use their preexisting knowledge of site words to help them self-monitor. Students in Ms. Lacy's class are encouraged to talk throughout reading so they can connect with the text. Ms. Lacy and Ms. Chandler both understand that each student learns a different way. Teaching the same lesson many different varieties will  help all the students gain more experience with writing and spelling instruction.

How Important is Inferring?

      I had always known that inferring was an important strategy for readers to learn, but it wasn't until reading Chapter 9 of Catching Readers Before They Fall did I realize how important it is. In my future classroom, I want kids to think beyond the text and get interested in books. Inferring is a big part of this. It is connected to many other strategies, too, like predicting and connecting to background knowledge.
      The definition of inferring might be be hard for young students to understand, but that doesnt mean they can't do it! The concept of inferring will be easy for them! The example in the book is to read "the children put their mittens and scarves and went out in the snow to play." After you read this line, ask the students what season it is. They'll know it's winter even though the text never explicitly said it. Finding the right examples to introduce kids is important. It is a good idea to teach the concept with small examples like this, and modeling demonstrations rather than teach them the definition first.

Struggling Readers

After reading chapters 10 and 11 of Catching Readers Before They Fall, I noticed a comparison between the way teachers used to work with struggling readers and what they should do now. Before the tendency was to "bounce all over, trying to do too much all at once" (190). I understand this feeling. When you are working with someone who needs help with a lot of things, you get overwhelmed with everything they need to learn and it would be easy to throw too many things at them at once by accident. This will more than likely just frustrate them and there is no way they'll be able to master them all. What is encouraged now from teachers who are working with struggling readers is to "write down a few specific goals"(190). That way the student can stay focused on one thing at a time before moving on. This will hopefully prevent the reader from becoming too frustrated. After working with my case study student at Fairview I looked at a list of standards for 1st graders. I marked everything I thought my student could use help with. After looking at this whole list, I picked out two things to focus on.