Michelle Butler - Blog #3 – Miscue Analysis – Goodman article

Miscues are unexpected responses cued by the readers' knowledge based on their own language and world experiences. Reading is directly impacted by this. All readers make miscues. All readers, including emergent readers and experienced readers, use formal and informal reading strategies while reading. A natural behavior for some readers is to self-correct when they realize they have made a mistake while reading. There are 3 cueing systems for reading. They are: graphophonic( phonics), syntactic (grammar) and the semantic (meaning). During a miscue analysis, readers should be pre-warned that you will not be able to provide them with any assistance if they begin to struggle with the text. The most important information to be gathered during the miscue analysis is the quality of the miscue not the number of miscues. Some miscues are of low quality and some are high quality. The teacher wants to see high quality miscues. With these types of miscues the meaning of the text is not lost.

Miscue analysis can be a beneficial tool to me as a teacher by providing good information about individual strengths and weaknesses that could be used in the development of IEP's.

Karilyn Parker - Blog Post 2 - Debbie Miller's Section 2 "WHY NOT? WHAT WORKS?"

In this chapter, Debbie begins by showing us that teachers have cut out independent reading in favor of worksheets to bring up test scores. Unfortunately, this has not helped increase test scores, but have lowered them, because students are not practicing reading and having new experiences. Students need to grow as independent readers in these ways: classroom time to read, being able to choose what they want to read, instruction about what, how & why students read, to read A LOT of a variety of books, access to a variety of texts, teacher monitoring and for students to talk about what they read. 

What that means for my classroom and my philosophy as a teacher is that I need to allow my students the opportunity each day to do independent reading. They need exposure to a wide variety of books and they need to be able to find those in my classroom. I need to demonstrate to students how good readers read their books and what they are looking for/thinking as they read. My philosophy needs to be that students are allowed time to do independent reading, so that they can be excellent readers!

Michelle Butler - BLog #2 - Routman Ch. 3

Blog #2

I really enjoyed this article. Reading is truely a "gift" that should be cherrished and nourished every day! Although I have to admit I am guilty of "not" sharing my reading life at home or at school. This is definitely an area that needs improvement for me. It really goes back to the old saying, "Monkey see, Monkey do" - and this is the case for everything - even reading. At home, on a rare occasion, my children might catch me thumbing through a magazine or reading a new recipe I want to try out. Noah and I sit/lay down and read every night. So I am supporting his reading. How often do they see me sit down and enjoy a really bood book, or read my bible? Not very often! If I find time to even do that - maybe on the weekends - it is usally reserved for the time of night when the house is quiet and every one is in bed. Have I modeled to my own children the importance and luxury of reading ? No!

They same thing would apply to my classroom. Do my students ever see me sit down and read a book of my own? No! Do I ever stop what I am doing and crawl under the tiki hut in our classroom reading area and read with my students? Rarely! Do I model reading? Yes - during our read aloud time each day. As all early childhood teachers do, I identify the title and arthor, model how to identify the genre of the book, I model turing the pages, tracking with my finger, doing picture walks, making predictions, checking for comprehension, identifying the main character, plot and setting of the story. I model how to summarize the story and engage in post-reading activities.

Years ago, while teaching at another school, we had a scheduled reading time during the school day every day called "DEAR" - Drop Everything And Read! For these 15 minutes each day, everyone in every class was required to stop what they were doing and read a book for 15 minutes. What I enjoyed about this and what I think students learned from this is that reading is important! All of our students, even our emergent readers and struggling readers, looked forward to this time each day. I remember clearly sitting on the reading rug with my Middle Schoolers and reading MY book. After the 15 minutes was over, we would continue to sit on the rug and talk about reading. They were always so interested in what I was reading and they would ask me great questions about my book. Then I would reciprocate and ask them questions about their books.

My "take away" from this article is that I need to make "my reading life" more visable to my students. I need to show them how to connect world reading with school reading. My action plan will be:

1. Bring my book from home and share it.

2. Let my students see me read too.

3. Talk about my reading life at home.

4. Model/teach/discuss "life skills"reading. - newspapers, magazines, posters, signs, texts, e-mail, letters, etc.

5. Spend more time on the reading rug in our classroom - modeling reading for pleasure.

6. Attemp to find a 10 block of time for our own DEAR time.

7. Learn that it is ok to stop what I am doing at home and allow my children to see me enjoy a good book!

Michelle Butler - #1 - I Do Teach and the Kids Do Learn

Blog # 1

After reading the article, "The Habit of Kidwatching" by Timothy O'Keefe, I am reminded of the important role of "intentional" kidwatching. I am also reminded of the value of simple observational data and what a critical role that plays in planning instruction that is truely individualized to meet the need of each child in my classroom. I think we would all agree that we "watch" our students all day long. When we "watch" them, is the primary function to assess attention to task, completion of work, application of classroom rules, safety, social skills, behaviors of character? My response to that is "yes" to all. As teachers, we are extremely busy all day long and I think we would all agree that we feel "on the go" constantly. There is no time to just "sit and watch"! We must be busy doing something - because there is so much to do! My teaching assistants and I always say "when we walk in the door - we hit the ground running" - and we "run" all day until our children have been safely transported to their dismissal locations.

The reading of this article has reminded me of the important role "intentional kid-watching" has in my instructional planning of all academic and functional areas. It has reminded me of the wealth of information a teacher can collect by just watching her students engage with their learning environment throughout the day. I need to "assess" their behavior as it relates to reading, writing, math, problem solving, social skills and functional skills. I am committed now to watching my students with purpose - use what I see to support what I know about each of my students needs.

Watch reading: How do they interact with the book? How do they hold their book? Can they move from left to right? Are they utilizing picture cues? Are they using pre-reading skills independently? What is their stamina? Is their reading stamina increasing? Do they enjoy one book for a good while or do they skim through many different books? Can they identify known sight words in the text? Are they making connections with the text? Are they tracking with their finger? Are they just playing with the book?

Watch them write: How are they holding their pencil? Left hand or right hand? Can they "set-up" their pencil and paper for writing? Can they create a picture to hold their thinking? Does their picture and their attempt at writing connect? Are they fearful? of what part? Can they apply basic conventions of writing? Can they utilize their print rich environment to help them write? How do they respond to the writing prompt? What is their confidence level?

Wath math: Do they understand that numbers have a purpose in our daily lives? Can they make math relevant to themselves? Are they using numbers and counting in various environments throughout the day? What strategies are they using? Do they have one to one correspondence? Will they go in search of materials/manipulatives independently?

Karilyn Parker - Blog Post 1 - Debbie Miller's Section 1 "NOT THIS"

My first thoughts on this chapter were how she does not cover her feelings about independent reading and how it is important for our students. She knows that students need the time and that we are guarding our time for other activities. She asks us to think about our other activities and decide why we are doing them and if they are important to our students' learning. Can I shorten some routines? Can I cut out some activities that don't hold the same importance as having students reading independently during the school day.

She goes on to say that independent reading time is important because it is the way that each child becomes a proficient reader through the practice of reading. She also discusses how it allows them to be able to experience the world around them and "see" new places without having to leave the classroom.

Patricia Graham- Blog Post 2- "The Habit of Kidwatching" by Timothy O'Keefe

O’Keefe’s early record keeping process is very relatable to the record keeping that I did in the beginning of my teaching.  I felt that I knew my students as learners due to the quantity of information that I had gathered on each child.  My record keeping consisted of forms where I used a number or a code to record information.  I now see that these numbers and codes are just that- they tell me nothing about my students as learners. 

          As we continue to focus our attention on literacy, I have seen amazing changes in how we teach our students and how we conference/ assess students.  O’Keefe mentions that “sitting with a child and watching and listening carefully may be the best thing we can do to get to know our students as readers. A blank sheet of paper and a pen may be our greatest tools for recording what we come to know.”  How simple the record keeping can be and yet so powerful as a tool to help us guide our instruction, mentor our students, and help meet their individual needs.  I look forward to kidwatching in my classroom and using my notes in a powerful way.  I liked the idea of record keeping after hearing the students read for 3-4 minutes and then spending the rest of the time talking to the students informally about their reading.  I hope to learn more about the Reading Miscue Inventory and use this in my kidwatching and record keeping.  While I may not be able to record a sentence or two on each student daily as O’Keefe suggests, I do plan on taking notes on my students several days a week. 

Nicole Ashley Blog #3- October Blog on Chapter 2: Bond with Your Students

I loved reading about bonding with your students.  I have learned over the years that it does make such a difference when you take a special interest in each child and value them as a sweet person.  I think we all know that as teachers, we do so much more than just teach.  We are their mothers at times, their only supporters at times, and sometimes the only person they can count on to be their advocate.  I loved the part where he said, "You must reach into their hearts first before you can reach into their minds." I know in my class, when nothing else seems to make them listen....when I tell a personal story, they are ALL ears.  It's that personal connection that really makes a difference.  I also enjoyed the section in this chapter about letting them shine.  I believe in that....as a first grade we do a program called Star Student where each week we focus on one student and make it ALL about them.  It's their time to shine....and sometimes it's the only time they will get to shine.  When they share about their lives, it's important that they know that their teacher values their lives!!  I guess the most beneficial thing in the chapter was to just enjoy your students!  I enjoy hearing about their accomplishments and the exciting things that happen in their lives.