Week # 3

First, I'd like to respond to what Michelle O'Meara wrote about being surprised about dyslexic students scoring average to above in intelligence. When I read the chapter, I wondered how a dyslexic student would perform on a test that is mostly a reading test and then thought about the dyslexic student I had in class. For my student, given a test to read and then respond in writing was a disaster for him. Dyslexic students are like the poster child for the chapter about Teaching Middle and Secondary Readers and learned helplessness. My student thought he was dumb and there was nothing he could do to get better at reading. I'm not sure how the authors test students with dyslexia since most tests are of the reading variety, but it clearly shows this disability doesn't mean the student cannot learn. I read with interest the methods to use with dyslexia and will incorporate them. One strategy that I used with my student was using visuals to explain a new concept. It helped him "see" what he needed to grasp.

I liked what Celeste wrote about being able to help her students to read "just right" books as well as the red books that showed they were better readers. I believe that focusing on how fast students read as the measure of success encourages students to compete (dibels). Thankfully, good assessments will help us to understand what individual students need to become better readers, and teach reading skills like questioning, comparing and contrasting, and rereading.

I got a lot of great information out of the chapter on ELL students since the new eighth edition I have is almost fifty pages long. I noticed some of the techniques they talk about can be used for any student who might need extra support. For example, pre-teaching, mini lessons on problem areas and using visuals help many kinds of learners within a classroom.

The last thought I had was about the statistic claiming that 70% of older students are below-level readers and deficient writers. Why we don't retain more students and how we can get better at helping the low students before they reach middle and high schools? Great, relevant chapters!