Fluency in my Classroom

Reading fluency is an important aspect of a child’s developmental progression as an efficient citizen of the world. The rates at which a child can read will not only help them read faster, but it will also help them process the text of which they are reading. There are many ways for a teacher to assess fluency, although most researchers have not confided in a concrete model. Many different experiments were used in measuring fluency and how to increase a child’s fluency throughout the school year. A few of the fluency models that teachers can use are WCPM –words correct per minute, Reader’s Theater, Choral Reading, Partner Reading and Tape-assisted reading.

      The most efficient researched based type of assessment would be WCPM or words correct per minute. This is a self-monitoring progress that the students are held responsible for. In this segment students are asked to read as many words as they can in one minute. The words that a child messes up or has difficulty reading would be underlined so that the student would not count that word as one that is being read correctly. At the end of the school year, there should be a significant increase in WCPM as the students had when they first started. My only objection about this type of assessment is that some students may feel self-conscious and begin to cheat on their word count for peer pressure to do well. I do not believe that any student wants to admit to his or her mistake and would try to self-correct his or herself during this assignment. This type of involvement in this section would only hurt the student’s progression stage.

Another type of instruction that would help increase fluency is Reader’s Theater. This is a chance for students to “act out” in a play without actually being in a play. The students would find this extremely entertaining and are unaware that they are actually helping their fluency rate. The way this section works is that the students are constantly reading and rereading their passages. By reading and rereading passages students are increasing their fluency rate, word recognition, and overall reading performance.

Choral Reading is a way for the teacher to read aloud to the students and then have the students read along with the teacher. First, the teacher would read a passage aloud so that the students could listen to the story and understand the pace that the teacher is setting. Once the story is read, the students will read along and out loud with the teacher so that they can keep a specific pace that is set for them. Struggling readings can jump in on certain phrases but are encouraged to try their best to work with the group. The only problem I have with this is that struggling readers can often be self conscious of themselves and may be let down that they are not up to par with the rest of the students.

The final fluency assistance offered is tape-assisted reading. This is another form of choral reading except the teacher is not doing the reading. Instead the student will listen to the tape read a story first. After the story is read the student will try to read along with the tape in order to help keep up pace.

I would use any form of the fluency instruction that was stated above. All of these methods seem to be effective in the classroom and it would be of great assistance to a first time teacher to practice all these new founded methods. My favorite type of instruction would be the WCPM practice. I would modify this type of instruction so that I would be the one counting the students words to ensure that the scoring is accurate. This would be one of the many portfolio assignments I would have to show student progression throughout the school year. I would also provide this type of assessment for students to take home and practice with their parents to ensure that rereading is present. In order for fluency to be increased in any grade at any level would be to constantly reread passages that were proven to be difficult to increase word recog

Review Running Record and Miscue Analysis

Miss Peacock/Grade 3/English Language Arts

Duration: 10-15 minutes

Materials needed: computer, internet access, pencil, and handout

Description of Lesson:

            Students will use an interactive website to enhance their word recognition skills. This lesson will take place in a computer lab or (if the school permits) use laptops in the classroom. The students will log on to http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/ and chose a specific story of Clifford, the Big Red Dog to read. The students will practice reading the lines out loud with their reading partners. When the students finish each sentence they will click on the speaker to indicate if they read the sentence correctly. The students will record words that they did not get correct on the first try in order to keep track of certain syllables that they need more practice with. After students read two of the books online, they will write a small passage using the words they had trouble pronouncing in the book. If they did not have difficulty pronouncing any words, they will simply take a few words from the text to write a small passage. This passage can be as creative as they want and will go in their daily journal.

Standards Addressed:

·         ELA Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

o       1. Listening and reading to acquire information and understanding involves collecting data, facts, and ideas; discovering relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and using knowledge from oral, written, and electronic sources.

o       2. Speaking and writing to acquire and transmit information requires asking probing and clarifying questions, interpreting information in one’s own words, applying information from one context to another, and presenting the information and interpretation clearly, concisely, and comprehensibly.

Goals:

Ø      Students will stress the syllables of difficult words in a story.

Ø      Students will work together to find meaning within the short story.

Ø      Students will create a separate passage using difficult words in a story.

Ø      Students will self assess themselves as they read throughout the story.

Objective:

            After completing an activity involving a running record, students will work together to read two short stories and write a small passage using difficult words with 90% accuracy.

Lesson Introduction/Motivation:

            Students will be in the computer lab or on their own personal laptops. At the beginning of class, we will discuss various strategies we can use while we read a short story.

Step-by-Step Procedure:

1)      Students will walk into the computer lab and turn their chairs outward so that they are facing the SMARTBoard in the computer lab.

2)      We will outline importance strategies to use while we are trying to read small passages in short stories.

3)      Students will work in pairs to read 2 short stories from a website that was given to them.

4)      Students will click on the loudspeaker to ensure that they are correct in their pronunciation.

5)      Students will write down difficult words or words that they had a hard time pronouncing.

6)      Students will use these difficult words or words from the story to create a short passage about anything they would like to share.

Differentiation:

Students will be given special audio speakers so that they can listen to the pronunciation of the words in the story. Students will also be given larger text in a separate sheet for better visual.

Closure/Extension:

            Students will write a small passage using difficult words they found in the story. Students will share their small passage at the end of class working on stressing the syllables in the difficult words.

Assessment/Evaluation:

            Students will be assessed on their small passages and their verbal communication. The teacher will walk around during the pair activity to ensure that the students are having little difficulty pronouncing words in the book.

Essential Components

How does the classroom environment encourage students to gain independence as readers and writers?

The classroom is one of the most essential components towards students gaining independence and confidence as well. If the teacher is able to set up his or her classroom that gives students the freedom to choose a quiet area to read independently or a quiet area to write independently, then the child can have a personal spot to go to and complete these activities. However, these spots should be secluded and aware from any distractions. That is if the area for independent reading is right next to the door which is constantly open, the child could become distracted by the children walking through the hall or the classrooms making group transitions to the library. The area designed for these specific spots should pose little threat to distractions and provide many different forms of literature and aids to engage reading and writing. The teacher in this video did a fantastic job of meeting the needs of all students.

How are the diverse needs of learners (language in particular) met in this classroom?

           

            One thing that really hit home with me was the fact that there was a teacher’s aid that spoke Chinese for the English Language Learners. The teacher also encouraged the Chinese students to share their language and try to teach the other children words in Chinese. These children were just learning the English Language from the beginning stages. It was very helpful for the teacher to put up posters and help aids to show the Chinese students what sounds look like and how they can get help with reading.

What forms of assessment are apparent in this classroom, and how does assessment guide instruction?

The teacher assessed the students by meeting with them individually. She was able to see how much the students know through shared reading experience and by assessing the children’s drawings in comparison with their sentences. This activity determined if the writing component of the lesson was fully comprehended. It also helped the teacher see what the students know and what they needed more work on.

How are reading and writing connected in this classroom?

The activity that incorporated this best was when the teacher had the students draw a picture and write a sentence. This is helpful because the other students were able to read their peers sentence and learn by comparing it to the picture that was drawn. It was also helpful for the students to discuss what they saw in the picture and what the sentence actually said. This sparked conversation between students which helps students discuss what it is they are learning.

Week Five Assignment

How does Ms. Wilson use a thematic and integrated approach to instruction? In what ways is literacy woven throughout center activities, and how do the different activities support early language and literacy learning? On your checklist, note the Essential Components of Literacy that are addressed.

Ms. Wilson attempts to use the children’s culture and background into her everyday lessons. Due to the fact that a lot of her students of Chinese descent, she created a lesson that embraced the celebration of the Chinese New Year. The book she read in the shared reading activity was about a rice cake that ran away so that it would not be eaten by the family. What I really liked about this lesson was how Ms. Wilson connected the Runaway Rice Cake with the Gingerbread Man. This helps the students see connections between their cultures and their beliefs with the cultures and beliefs of their classmates. The discussion of the book and poems that are read help children connect their thoughts with the everyday world problems we see and face. These early discussions help children see exactly what they are thinking and are able to express it verbally with their classmates.

Storytelling is an essential element of Ms. Wilson's curriculum. In this segment with Justin, a shy English language learner, she demonstrates how to link oral language and illustration to writing. Note the sequence of steps Ms. Wilson uses to elicit and scaffold Justin's language. How does Ms. Wilson validate Justin and help him realize he has a "story?" What does the teacher do? What does Justin do? How else might you approach this? Consider why Ms. Wilson chose Justin on this occasion. Which of your students might you choose and why?

Ms. Wilson first calls Justin to the front of the carpet and tells him to sit in a chair. After Justin sits in the chair she asks him what he did this weekend or what he does when he goes home. Ms. Wilson then has Justin illustrate what he does at home on a piece of white paper. After Justin draws his picture he is asked to write a sentence about his picture. This type of activity helps students see that they can express themselves in more than one way. The students are able to tell Ms. Wilson what they see in his picture and guess what his story would be about. If I were to do an activity like this I would have the same approach as Ms. Wilson. By having the students illustrate their thoughts and then placing their thoughts into a sentence, students are able to sound out their thoughts and write down their ideas with the picture in view.

I believe Ms. Wilson chose Justin because she wanted to show that just about anyone could do an activity like this. It is also another way for Justin to be the center of attention and his peers will recognize his story. Justin was able to spark ideas for his peers to be able to complete the same activity that he completed. By the end of this lesson, students were coming up to Justin and discussing his picture with him. This is a way for Justin to interact with his peers and hopefully come out of his shell.

In this class Ms. Wilson uses the easel to enhance Justin's ability to share with peers, and allow other children to study the illustration, and then the story. Ms. Wilson believes strongly that students who may be reticent because of shyness or language differences need to be seen and recognized for what they know. She comments that Justin understands much more than he can communicate. Pay particular attention to the students' response to Justin's picture story. How does Ms. Wilson encourage the students' use of language to describe what they notice? Think about how this reinforces the value of his story. On your Observational Checklist, note the Essential Components Ms. Wilson models and reinforces in this segment.

            Ms. Wilson encourages the students to notice the particular items in Justin’s drawing. She is happy to notice that a young girl notices Justin’s blue backpack in the picture. By having her students verbalize what they see it is validating that Justin is able to communicate effectively without the use of a verbal language. It is also correct when she states that Justin understands much more than he can communicate. This is common with English Language Learners and it is important for students and teachers to see that there is more than one way of communicating besides verbally.

What surprised or interested you?

                  I really enjoyed that the students had a morning task that they were to answer to. Whether it was writing down the question of the day, recording the novel that they read the day before or completing an independent reading activity the students were all responsible for something.

What did you find that affirmed what you already knew or had been doing?

                  When we read a book to children is it very important to discuss what we have read. Teachers should be asking questions pertaining to the story and spark new discussions about the children’s lives to include them in the story.

What new approaches or ideas will you try?

                  I will try to have my students illustrate their thoughts first. Then I will have my students try to write a sentence about what they drew. This type of approach will enable students to be creative with their writing and express themselves in multiple ways.

What questions do you have?

                  I am curious about how to handle students that come into my classroom already reading and having other students not experienced at all with reading or writing. I do not want to bore my students who are advanced and I do not want to give my students who struggle more than they can handle.

After watching the video, do you think differently about classroom practices you observed through field experience?

                  I have not had much experience with field experience. I was able to observe a few elementary school classrooms. As I have said in my introduction, I came in as a Mathematics 7-12 teacher study and switched drastically. I am excited to see what the elementary level has to offer.

Recalling the Text

This student told us about the story she just read. She stated that it was about whales and fish. The student also stated that this book told ways that whales and fish are similar and ways that whales and fish are different. This student was able to recall specific details from the story such as the fact that whale babies drink from their mother for a year and baby fish find food on their own. She also stated that fins are on the back of a fish and flippers are on the side. From the way the student recalled the information from the text, I would conclude that she was very aware of the content she was reading. She was able to recall specific details and answer all of the questions.

Running Record for Whales and Fish

Ti­tle: Whales and Fish

Running Words:               Accuracy Rate:                Self Correction Rate:

Comprehension:

Page #	Text	E	SC	M	S	V
1	Whales and fish both live in the water, but they are different in many ways. Whales are large animals that lived in the water.          ______           T Even [thought whales live in the water],          _____ they mostmust come to the top of the water to get air.           ____ c       in/SC     R When [they come to the top of the water],                                    _____ T whales breathe in air through a hole in the top of their heads.                                     both SC At the same time they blow out old air. Whales don’t get air like fish. Fish take in air from the water.                                                  d Mother whales give birth to live^ whales.                          s most   R    in/SC The baby whale^ must come to the top of the water right away for air.                                but The baby drinks milk ^ from its mother for about a year. Then it finds its own food. Fish have babies in a different way. Most mother fish lay eggs. The babies are born when the eggs hatch. Right after they are born,                       most the baby fish must find their own food. Whales and fish are alike in some ways too. Whales and fish have flippers on their sides.                                 _________ T They also have fins on their tails.                     ___ Flippers and fins help whales and fish swim. Fins move and push the water away.	1 1 1 2 1 1 3 1 1 1	1 1 1	1 1 1	1 1	1 1 1 1 2 1
	195	13	3
	Accuracy Rate: 93% Error Rate: 15% Self-Correction Rate: 5.3%

          This student has demonstrated strong reading skills. She could benefit from taking a little slower approach and carefully looking at the words before she speaks. A few times this child confuses the word must with the word most. What makes this child strong in her reading skills is that she pauses if she is unsure of a word and carefully sounds it out to determine if the meaning and structure is appropriate. A lot of her weaknesses are that she does not recognize certain vowels in her words and she confuses the word with a similar word and she constantly repeats the same phrase she says previously. With a lot of practice and dedicated from a helping teacher, parent or guardian she can prove to be a strong reader. 

Lesson Plan Critique

       The lesson plan of which I observed was very informative and poses a great idea to engage student in literacy. We as teacher often find that children have a hard time figuring out what to write. Some ideas may stem from experience in their young lives or of a story they have heard. By having the teacher showing the students how to create a found poem, it allows the student to be creative while still using another persons thoughts or ideas. In this lesson students listen to a story that is read by the teacher and writes down favorite sentences or phrases within that book. The students can then create their own poem using ideas from the story. This helps the students create meaningful poems with the aid of another author. Students will then gain the confidence they need to be able to create their own stories and poems later on.
       I also thought it was a great idea for the parents to come and watch the children "perform". It gives the student the practice of speaking in front of a public audience and showing a sense of pride in their schoolwork. By allowing the students to invite the parents to the Found Poem Night, the parents can then see what their child is learning and how they are applying these skills to their daily routine. This type of activity encourages the parents to jump into the learning environment with their child. It also helps the parents see how important their role in their child's education is. This will hopefully encourage parents to want to be a part of their child's school routine and help apply some of these lessons at home through fun daily learning experiences.

Reflection of the Educational Video

         The video of Wellwood Elementary School was very encouraging to watch. As I have stated in my introduction to this course, I have only been exposed to teaching 7-12 Mathematics and have viewed very little instruction in an elementary school setting. There were many effective strategies that the teacher in this video used. I really appreciated the word wall in which students were encouraged to make their own sentences. I also really enjoyed watching the teacher have a group learning experience with the English Language Learners. As a future teacher, I believe I will have an decent amount of English Language Learners and will have to find a way to instruct these English Language Learners while still  being able to teach the predominately English-Speaking children. This type of situation is where differentiated instruction plays a crucial role in the classroom.
        It was extremely helpful to see how the classroom was set up in order to help the needs of all the students. While it was independent reading time, children were allowed to choose a "station" of which they would try reading on their own. This teacher also brought the stories she read to real life. By asking the children questions while reading a story it helps the students connect to what it is they are reading or what is being read to them. This is a great method because it allowed the students to participate in the reading instead of just watching from the sidelines and not truly comprehending what is being read. I really enjoyed when the teacher said, "If I was just reading I would be doing my part but there is no confirmation that the students are understanding the story."
         After viewing the video, I now have a better idea and a new approach to reading comprehension and literacy for young learners. It definitely broke down the idea of literacy so that it is now a smaller part of a bigger picture. I can now see how young children would need aid and assistance while learning how to read and how to form sentences. Literacy is the simple process of breaking the language down so that children are able to see how it is formed, what it represents and the meaning of communication. With the comprehension of literacy, children will be able to communicate effectively and excel in the classroom and in the world.

English Language Arts Standards

            The English Language Arts has standards to help teachers reach a level of expectation that they believe their students should be at by the time the school year or lesson is finished. As with any subject, these standards come from the state itself and clearly express what the students should be able to do as a result of instruction from the teacher. New York Standards express how the students will show a level of understanding that is clearly outlined by the educators of Albany. In order to be able to get our students at a level we believe they should be at, teachers must first define what exactly literacy is and how we can help students understand the English Language Arts.
            The English Language Arts is a complex subject that students should be able to master with help of parents, teacher, educators, and peers. Children become literate by instruction from the day they are born and throughout the rest of their lives. I work with children age 5 months - 10 months old. I talk to the children in the English Language as if they were adults because this is how children will be able to pick up key words and understand exactly what it is I am saying. For example, I teach my children how to say "Hi, Bye, Mama, Dada" and so on. I also help these children understand these words because I complete an action while I am asking them to say things. That is, when I am asking them to say "Bye-Bye" I am motioning a hand wave that symbolizes goodbye. This helps the child understand that "Bye-Bye" means someone is leaving.
            Children are constantly learning from family members, teachers, strangers, adults and peers how to speak and comprehend the English Language. The standards help outline the simplistic meanings of how to understand writing, conversational texts, social cues, and argumentative statements. For a child to master literacy he or she must be able to read, write, draw conclusion from text, understand social cues, express argumentative points with details from documented sources, and make informative decisions based on factual information. The English Language Arts Standards helps teachers break down specific points throughout the school year in order to help them conform the building blocks of what literacy actually is. These teachers outline the standards so that they are able to leave a foundation for the next teacher to build on which helps the students take information they learned about prior to the grade they are currently in and helps them go a step further with what they already know.
              Literacy is one of the most complex subjects due to the fact that it is a subject that dominates every single subject. In order for a child to be successful in school, he or she must be able to use their English Language Art skills in subjects such as Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, Technology, Art, Music and so forth. Creating literate students will help the United States have informative citizens, successful governments, successful business owners and confident teachers. English Language Art Standards ensure that every child and teacher is held accountable for that it is they know and what it is they teach.