These two chapters that were read this week, to me, had to do with testing reading and putting it into practice.
They tell us time and time again to not teach to the test. The chapter from Strategies the Work reminded me of the time right before the big FSA test comes around... and how we "practice" with our kiddos what to look for, how to dissect the directions, etc. I personally loved the time right before testing because I would go off the normal routine of my resource room lessons and really tried to help the students see what questions are asking them. I enjoyed it myself!!! The kids had a chance to be detectives, and as said earlier in the blog, when kids have a mission they are more inclined to want to do the lessons.
The chapter also discussed building in lots of time every day for reading. Since I'm a resource teacher, I float into different classrooms. There's pros and cons I noticed for this set aside independent reading time. Pro - the kids had time to themselves to really enjoy a book. Con - those that chose difficult books and didn't receive a reading conference with the teacher used this time unwisely. It's important to give students time to read to build stamina and acquire vocabulary, but it's also important to check in with students. One teacher I worked with always had her Ipad out and would conference with each student about the book they're reading and take notes so they can pick up where they left off for the next conference. It was neat to watch the kids' eyes light up when the teacher asked what happened to a specific character and what not.
What I took away from the reading that was most helpful was the questions provided in the chapter from Strategies. Literal questions, inferential questions, summarizing questions. - It would be a wise idea to make a copy of these to put on the guided reading table for quick access, though we should have our questions already thought of before the lesson occurs! ;) But being teachers... we have to be flexible and go with the flow sometimes!
They tell us time and time again to not teach to the test. The chapter from Strategies the Work reminded me of the time right before the big FSA test comes around... and how we "practice" with our kiddos what to look for, how to dissect the directions, etc. I personally loved the time right before testing because I would go off the normal routine of my resource room lessons and really tried to help the students see what questions are asking them. I enjoyed it myself!!! The kids had a chance to be detectives, and as said earlier in the blog, when kids have a mission they are more inclined to want to do the lessons.
The chapter also discussed building in lots of time every day for reading. Since I'm a resource teacher, I float into different classrooms. There's pros and cons I noticed for this set aside independent reading time. Pro - the kids had time to themselves to really enjoy a book. Con - those that chose difficult books and didn't receive a reading conference with the teacher used this time unwisely. It's important to give students time to read to build stamina and acquire vocabulary, but it's also important to check in with students. One teacher I worked with always had her Ipad out and would conference with each student about the book they're reading and take notes so they can pick up where they left off for the next conference. It was neat to watch the kids' eyes light up when the teacher asked what happened to a specific character and what not.
What I took away from the reading that was most helpful was the questions provided in the chapter from Strategies. Literal questions, inferential questions, summarizing questions. - It would be a wise idea to make a copy of these to put on the guided reading table for quick access, though we should have our questions already thought of before the lesson occurs! ;) But being teachers... we have to be flexible and go with the flow sometimes!