Chapter
3 is interesting but it does not interest me too much. I realize that students
are living in a different world that teachers grew up in. Language is learned
and communicated through digital methods now and so students enjoy using video
games and other forms of technology. Students should still read books and
students still have a responsibility to learn in the classroom.
On the other hand, chapter 16 was fascinating to me. Ever since I have been an education major, I have been concerned about students’ reading progress. I realize that I will have students in my class who could be reading three or four levels below their grade reading level. That is very discouraging to me because then it will be impossible for those students to read and comprehend the material in the History books that we are supposed to be reading for that level. Chapter 16 discusses this problem and it offers advice that I appreciated. I think it is important to incorporate authentic literacy and literary that is relevant to the students. The students need to be able to connect and relate to the things they have to read otherwise they will not read it at all.
Another problem that students have is that they do not always try anymore. Frankly, many students are lazy and they are not expected to work hard for things anymore. They might try to work hard but if they feel like they cannot do it, then they will give up. They do this because they feel dumb and so they no longer try. As teachers, we need to believe in those students that are underachieving in school. We cannot give up on them. We need to use techniques that will help students comprehend the text that they are reading. Students will never be able to connect and care about a subject if they cannot understand it. It is so important for teachers to help fill in the missing information and give them sufficient prior knowledge so that students can understand things completely. I mentor a student in reading every Monday and Wednesday and she was having difficulties understanding the book. Finally, I began asking her if she understood what certain words meant and half of the words she was not familiar with. I was happy to explain the words to her and after I did, she could summarize the chapter perfectly. I simply had to provide her with some extra knowledge about words and this helped her understand the entire book. We need to help our students get to their reading level by encouraging them and allowing them to read material that is suitable for their current reading level.
On the other hand, chapter 16 was fascinating to me. Ever since I have been an education major, I have been concerned about students’ reading progress. I realize that I will have students in my class who could be reading three or four levels below their grade reading level. That is very discouraging to me because then it will be impossible for those students to read and comprehend the material in the History books that we are supposed to be reading for that level. Chapter 16 discusses this problem and it offers advice that I appreciated. I think it is important to incorporate authentic literacy and literary that is relevant to the students. The students need to be able to connect and relate to the things they have to read otherwise they will not read it at all.
Another problem that students have is that they do not always try anymore. Frankly, many students are lazy and they are not expected to work hard for things anymore. They might try to work hard but if they feel like they cannot do it, then they will give up. They do this because they feel dumb and so they no longer try. As teachers, we need to believe in those students that are underachieving in school. We cannot give up on them. We need to use techniques that will help students comprehend the text that they are reading. Students will never be able to connect and care about a subject if they cannot understand it. It is so important for teachers to help fill in the missing information and give them sufficient prior knowledge so that students can understand things completely. I mentor a student in reading every Monday and Wednesday and she was having difficulties understanding the book. Finally, I began asking her if she understood what certain words meant and half of the words she was not familiar with. I was happy to explain the words to her and after I did, she could summarize the chapter perfectly. I simply had to provide her with some extra knowledge about words and this helped her understand the entire book. We need to help our students get to their reading level by encouraging them and allowing them to read material that is suitable for their current reading level.
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