Chapters 13-15
Well ladies, we made it! We finished the last section of Guided Reading AND we are about to embark on the last week of the school year. I don't know about you, but I am feeling rather accomplished. Let's discuss the last three chapters of Guided Reading and then move on to planning for next year.
Chapters 13-15:
In chapter thirteen I appreciate how the authors remind us of the importance of connecting reading and writing from the very beginning of a child's literacy experience. How did you feel about the authors' opinion on the role of phonics in Guided Reading? I will be honest, it goes against how I was taught to read AND how I was taught to teach reading. However, I do believe that if we can "let go" of our preconceived ideas and give this approach a try, we will probably see success. I liked how this book encourages teaching phonics, but in a more authentic and individualistic manner. I am just not able to see where studying short a and completely a repertoire of short a worksheets will get us where we need to be. This chapter had a lot of good teaching techniques. I can see you referring to these as the year progresses, just don't forget they are there!
I have to say chapter 15 was probably the most eye opening chapter for me, personally. This chapter has really made me think about some things we can do at Ney to promote literacy. Page 189 contains a bulleted list that could basically be a starting point for goals we might make for next year. The top of my list is starting up an outreach program for Pre K! I loved the following statement, " The most important group of educators a child will ever meet is the primary literacy team." (191) How true is that? Can I hear an "amen"? Finally, I found the suggestions for intervention criteria to be so helpful. It is my hope that once we get a definite administrative leader on our campus, they will at least read this chapter to determine whether or not our intervention program is on track and where we might have room for improvement. We need TOTAL buy-in for all areas of our campus in order for Ney to build a rich literacy learning environment. My fingers are crossed that we are all on this same track. What are your thoughts about this? Do you think we currently have complete buy-in for balanced literacy? What do you think we could do to encourage everyone on campus to promote and participate in balanced literacy?
Chapters 13-15:
In chapter thirteen I appreciate how the authors remind us of the importance of connecting reading and writing from the very beginning of a child's literacy experience. How did you feel about the authors' opinion on the role of phonics in Guided Reading? I will be honest, it goes against how I was taught to read AND how I was taught to teach reading. However, I do believe that if we can "let go" of our preconceived ideas and give this approach a try, we will probably see success. I liked how this book encourages teaching phonics, but in a more authentic and individualistic manner. I am just not able to see where studying short a and completely a repertoire of short a worksheets will get us where we need to be. This chapter had a lot of good teaching techniques. I can see you referring to these as the year progresses, just don't forget they are there!
I have to say chapter 15 was probably the most eye opening chapter for me, personally. This chapter has really made me think about some things we can do at Ney to promote literacy. Page 189 contains a bulleted list that could basically be a starting point for goals we might make for next year. The top of my list is starting up an outreach program for Pre K! I loved the following statement, " The most important group of educators a child will ever meet is the primary literacy team." (191) How true is that? Can I hear an "amen"? Finally, I found the suggestions for intervention criteria to be so helpful. It is my hope that once we get a definite administrative leader on our campus, they will at least read this chapter to determine whether or not our intervention program is on track and where we might have room for improvement. We need TOTAL buy-in for all areas of our campus in order for Ney to build a rich literacy learning environment. My fingers are crossed that we are all on this same track. What are your thoughts about this? Do you think we currently have complete buy-in for balanced literacy? What do you think we could do to encourage everyone on campus to promote and participate in balanced literacy?
AMEN, AMEN, AMEN SISTER!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love chapter 15! It is amazing to have a clear layout of what true reading intervention should look like. As a K teacher, I can tell you now who will be in long term intervention within the first few months of K. It is always frustrating to do everything you can to hep a child achieve grade expectation proficiency within the classroom 22:1. I can only imagine what a child could achieve working 1:1 daily for 30 minutes with an interventionist! And the interventionist being someone that is a seasoned teacher along with a year long process of training on teaching reading, WOW! I would love to see that, and even more, I would love to be a Reading Recovery teacher.
I don't think we have a buy-in from the district for balanced literacy. We do not have the staff that GR recommends. Ney is truly moving to GR by providing support in the way of books, administrative support, smart centers for use during GR and this book study. But we will need help from the district with personnel to be truly effective. Imagine what the students could achieve! That is inspiring, it would change the lives of many low achievers we currently have, by giving them the ability to be strong readers with the confidence that they can do anything!