Week 1&2 Readings

The first of the two readings had several points in which I found interesting. The first of these points- "...oral reading is slower and because various interruptions are more likely to occur...". This quote emphasizes the idea that perhaps lower-achieving students should be reading to themselves rather than aloud. Like the quote states, reading aloud is a much slower less concentrated activity, hence decreasing the amount of time lower-achieving students actually spend reading. I found this interesting because in most cases I feel like it has been pounded into my head that students who have trouble reading should work on reading together aloud. I mean every since I was a child I have always sort of thought that students who needed extra help would work with the teacher or aid and read together. However, the point this article presents makes complete sense. Not only do I think that singling students out to read with the teacher is a form of tracking, I also think it decreases the students desire to read. Whereas having all the students read on their own and at their own pace will not cause any division in the classroom, while also increasing the amount of time students actually spend reading. The second thing that stuck out to me about chapter 2 were all of Foertsch's major findings in relation to the background factors that were most closely related to reading instruction and performance. Initially I expected the list to be comprised of factors that were not so obvious; factors that maybe people often overlooked or didn't think about. But to my surprise, I felt as if the list was made up of extremely obvious factors. For example "students who reported home environments that fostered reading activity had higher reading achievement". Maybe it's just me, but I definitely feel as it goes without saying- a student who reads regularly at home will more than likely be a higher achieving reader than those students who spend little to any time reading at home. There was however one factor on the list that had a bit more depth than the others... "students demonstrated difficulty in providing details and arguments to support interpretations of what they read". While I still think it's in a sense clear that the majority of students simply read the words but don't necessary comprehend or retain what it is that they are reading, I was glad that this was added to the list as it sheds light on this prevailing problem. I mean I will even catch myself from time to time having to reread things simply because I wasn't actually paying attention and comprehending what I was reading the first time. And if I, a twenty year old college student, have this problem, there's no doubt in my mind a multitude of elementary students have this issue.

The second of the two articles had a lot more 'tips' than did the first, which was equally as interesting to me. While the first of the two reading informed me more about the why's, I think the second was centered more around the how's. By this I mean that chapter 2 identified reasons why students were perhaps lower or higher achieving readers, whereas chapter 3 identified tools on how to improve or continue to grow a students reading ability. I especially liked the portion of chapter 3 that focused on Leveling Books. This section not only explain what leveling books, but how to do so and why it is beneficial for students. It also included  tips like "teach kids the three-finger rule" and "observe kids reading to better match them with books", all tips that not only aid the teacher, but that ultimately aid the students in progressing toward a higher and more complex reading achievements. I also really liked that chapter 3 talked about the how important it is for teachers and schools to give students the tools they need to improve their reading. It's crucial that teachers and schools as a whole recognize that not all students and their families have the means to supply students with a large number or variety of reading books, therefore it becomes the responsibility of the teachers and the schools to give students the means necessary to expand their reading capabilities. The easiest and simplest way in which this can be done is of course through school libraries (which include classroom libraries). This gives students the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of different books and varying reading levels, which will ultimately help the students achieve higher reading skills.