Course Description:

This course discusses the reading process and the factors that influence its development, the role of assessment to inform and adapt literacy instruction, the evaluation and use of formal and informal assessment tools for individual learners and groups of students, and the interpretation and communication of assessment results. A 30-hour practicum is required.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Post #3

I loved reading a section focused on older readers (ch. 8). Before I began this reading cohort study I should have anticipated the elementary focus inherent in such a program. Particularly in our “Current Issues in Literacy” course I found myself translating information from a more elementary framework to apply to a middle school one.

My own personal observations strongly align with those of the authors regarding the two problems with older students and reading: 1. Older students don’t read enough, and 2. Older students don’t understand what they read. I know that these issues only increase as students in my district move from middle to high school. Both issues need to be areas of major focus for secondary teachers and families. However, I’d like to focus a bit on the comprehension problem.

I’m a content teacher (social studies) as well as a reading teacher. We content area teachers largely see reading as a primary vehicle to convey information to students. Yet, because of the reading deficits that information isn’t being effectively transferred with the majority our students. Many of us (myself included) got into teaching thinking of ourselves as “experts” of sorts in some subject. We are specialists. But, we are teachers first, and historians second (or scientists, or mathematicians, or musicians, etc). Chapter 8 was largely review for me, but a good reminder of strategies that “I already know” but sometimes forget to employ.

Early in my MAT graduate coursework at Concordia, Dr. Jerry McGuire asked our class “how many of you are going to be reading teachers?” None of us raised our hands. “Wrong,” he said, “you’re all reading teachers!” Well said.

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4 comments:

  1. JoeSeptember 30, 2011 at 1:48 PM

    I’m not sure why the formatting is so weird. Operator error…

    ReplyDelete
  2. T. BoyerSeptember 30, 2011 at 1:54 PM

    It was fine. No worries. I do agree with the "We are all reading teachers" philosophy, but it isn't the same for content area teachers at the middle and high school level. I tell my teachers that they aren't teaching reading, but they ARE teaching kids how to read THEIR SUBJECT. There is a subtle difference. Readings like the ones from this past week are a good reminder to all teachers of the ideas and strategies that for one reason or another have not yet become part of the classroom routine. I think we all have some of those in our brain's "file folders" that just haven't been dusted off for awhile.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JoeOctober 2, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    Thanks for the comments. I particularly agree with the "...you ARE teaching kids how to read your subject..." Well said.

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete

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