#3 Another Week Down

Well, just like some of you, I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I enjoy this class and what we are learning, but what I dislike is feeling rushed and like there's no time to breathe. I suppose part of it is my fault for being as busy as I am, but such is life...

This week I did running records and more DRA-2s with my students. Running records are so much easier when the reading is recorded! I can't tell you how many times I re-listened to my student's reading just to make sure I was doing it right. What I find difficult to do quickly is when a student repeats a word or phrase, getting some words right and some words wrong. There's a lot going on in a matter of seconds that needs to be recorded on paper. Having the voice recorder was fabulous as a tool to help me remember what exactly my student said.

In Chapter 8 of Gillet, it talks about some of the emotional consequences that might come from having difficulty with reading when students are older. It's something that is unpleasant to think about. We don't want our students to experience embarrassment and anger with it comes to reading. Though this chapter was focused mainly on older students, it made me think of one of my students in third grade. This student of mine is 8 years old. He is a very active little boy and has a difficult time focusing and also with finishing tasks in the classroom. Sometimes, when a task seems too difficult or too long, he tends to shut down very quickly. Reading about learned helplessness in this chapter made me think of this boy and how he too, even at a young age, sometimes shows major signs of withdrawal and anger about the task or subject being learned. I'd hate to see him with such negative feelings, so right now I'm trying to find a way to motivate him! I don't want him to have low self esteem or to believe that he is unable to do certain things. This serves as a healthy reminder of how important my job is when it comes to teaching reading and also making it so that students enjoy it in the classroom.