Ryan Mitchell's Blog

Beck and Mckeown (2001) Assignment

Key Points

As i began to read this article two points jumped out immediately. One is that we need to choose text that will challenge our students. The other coincides with the first, we need to make sure we do not choose a text that challenging to the point were students are confused and not getting the story. Also we need to make sure that the questions require more than one word answers, they need to put thought into the story. Another point that was mentioned was that you need to give definitions or synonyms to words or phases that are unfamiliar to students. One of the more important points was you need to show the pictures after the question or every couple pages so the students do not answer the questions based on the pictures.

Key Steps

- First choose a book that is appropriate and challenging

- Come up with questions that will make the students think about the story

- Ask to see  if the students know the main points of the story

- Make sure to define or use synonyms for unfamiliar words

- Do not show pictures till after the students answer the questions

Flanigan (2005) Assignment

1. What role does finger pointing play in developing concept of word and phonemic awareness?

Finger pointing plays a huge part of developing phonemic awareness. Pointing to the word as they say it allows them to get a visual representation of the word they are saying. This will help them sound the word out and be able to memorize that word for later.

2. Describe the 4-stage model of early literacy.

• Stage 1: Students learn to recognize consonants. They can now differentiate what letter words start with.
• Stage 2:  Students develop a context of word in text. This means that they understand that each word has a different meaning and spelling. They are able to see where a word starts and stops. As well as see and acknowledge what the word starts with and ends with.
• Stage 3: Phoneme segmentation Ability. Students are able to match a spoken word with a written word in the text.
• Stage 4: Word Recognition. Students now are able to recognize words on their own. As well as read in a fluent manner along with the technique of finger pointing.

3. Describe what this means: “It is not in the telling, but it is in the very act of reading that Jack will actually learn how to read.” p. 10

This means that it does not matter what Jack is being told to read, what matters is that he practices reading. It is all about practice.

4. What instruction helps develop beginning readers’ awareness of words and phonemes?

Having the student’s finger point to the word as they say it helps tremendously. They would need to sound it out letter by letter.

Robbins & Ehri Assignment

How do children increase their vocabularies?

Children learn vocabulary in many ways. Children learn vocabulary incidentally. This means they learn words through having or listening to  conversations, television and having books read to them. They use context clues to help decide the meaning of these words. They learn through two conditions. The first is through direct and explicit reference by adults when they name objects or define words and the second is through incidental encounters with words in verbal contexts.

What evidence is there that reading aloud to children can increase their vocabularies?

The study in paragraph one demonstrates that children learn vocabulary by just hearing a story a few times. Also when children are young and cannot read themselves listening to those around them is the only way that they can pick up on new words  so this is a great way they can increase their vocabulary. In the later paragraphs a study of words retained when children are read to aloud versus the words they remember that proves that reading aloud helps.

Does it matter what teachers read to students? In other words, if you are reading aloud to students in your kindergarten class, should you care about the richness in the language that a book does or does not have? What kinds of books are best to read aloud to students if we want to build their vocabularies?

Every action matters! When you are choosing a book you have many variables to consider. You have to choose a book that the will comprehend the subject matter and understand the vocabulary in the book. Although you must choose a book that has some challenging words that will have the students asking questions and thinking. So taking that into consideration i think you have to choose books that are just a little above their reading level.

Why do you think you should focus on emphasizing vocabulary in your lessons with students? Does this apply to read aloud activities?

I think that you should emphasize vocabulary in all reading lessons because of how important words are. Knowing the meaning of a word can mean a huge difference when reading a story. Knowing as many words as possible will increase your ability to read making it more fun. Aslo there will be a wide range of abilites in your classroom so reading aloud will allow the lower level students to learn words that the otherwise might not be able to at home.

What role will reading to students play in your teaching?

I want for reading to play a huge role in my teaching. I  am hoping to teach the younger grade levels so I will be reading stories aloud to my students on a regular basis.  When I was in kindergarten I was read to aloud by my teacher and I actually enjoyed reading and learned a lot.  But when I reached first grade my teacher hardly ever if at all read aloud to the class i feel like that is the point where I started to not like reading. So the difference in reading to your students and not reading to your students can have a huge impact on them.

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