Friday, October 19, 2012

Research Article Summary/Reflection


The article “Every Child, Every Day” by Richard L. Allington and Rachael E. Gabriel suggests that research studies support that effective Language Arts instruction can be implemented in any school setting by using six elements of reading instruction that do not require a costly amount of resources. If research-based strategies are applied to reading instruction in the classroom, students will become more engaged and successful readers. These research-based reading strategies are used to enhance the achievement of successful readers and motivate struggling readers to accomplish the goal of reading instruction, which is that every child has the ability to read.

The first element of effective reading instruction states that students are more eager to read and understand what they have read if given the opportunity to make their own reading selections.  The two main components of reading instruction that can improve student motivation, as well as reading comprehension is to create student access to reading material and allow the students to select their own reading material. This approach to reading instruction can motivate students through the personal experience of choosing a book they are interested in and can help them further develop the skills needed to choose a book that is appropriate for their reading level. If students choose reading material that matches their reading level they will be able to understand what they are reading and be more likely to read outside of school because of successful in school reading experiences.

The second element mentioned in this article claims that if a student’s reading accuracy is above ninety percent they are able to improve their word recognition, decoding, and analysis of words skills. In order to ensure that a student progresses in their reading accuracy is to have them read and reread language arts material. The more time spent on reading helps accelerate reading accuracy, but students will only benefit from reading material that they understand, therefore they will enjoy reading. Struggling readers are more likely to become frustrated when they encounter words that they don’t understand and begin to lack confidence in their reading accuracy, which will affect their word recognition skills and decoding skills.

The third element stems from the previously mentioned idea that students are more willing to read material that they understand and is appropriate for their reading level. It has been proven in research studies that when working with struggling readers the focus should be on reading comprehension and not basic isolation reading skills. This evidence was observed through the changes in the structure of the brain’s white matter, which showed an improvement in reading ability when struggling readers were exposed to numerous readings and rereading of texts that they comprehended.

The fourth element involves students writing about meaningful topics that can improve their reading skills. When students are able to write about something they are passionate about they take time to address how they want to communicate their ideas, so other people are able to understand what they are attempting to say. This helps students develop and organize their ideas by allowing them to write something they know about and want to communicate what they know to others. Then the student is able to read, reread, and analyze what they have just written to ensure it conveys to other readers the main idea of what they were trying to communicate.

The fifth element of effective reading instruction proposes that students become more effective readers when they converse with peers about what they have just read. Students will become more engaged in the reading when they work with a partner to answer questions and think about what they have just read. This gives students an opportunity to analyze, comment on, and to highlight the important information from the reading. It is more helpful for struggling readers to be engaged in a conversation with a peer about what they have just read instead of answering literal questions to see if they understood the reading. This type of instruction incorporates reading, listening, and speaking skills, which many students who struggle with reading difficulties can benefit from.

The sixth element states that students reading fluency and comprehension of reading are likely to increase when an adult reads aloud to model fluent reading. This method of reading instruction can also aid students in the expansion of their vocabulary, background knowledge, and components of a story. It is a suggested that the teacher reads aloud to their student’s every day, even if only for 10 minutes as a way to use class time more effectively and it doesn’t require any special materials to implement this strategy.

                As a teacher it would be beneficial to all students to invest in a classroom library, so that students have access to reading material that range from lower level to higher level texts. The six essential elements of reading instruction aid in the improvement of reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. This is accomplished though reading strategies that allow self-selection of texts, read-alouds, as well as conversing with peers.

                                                              Reference

Allington, R., & Gabriel, R. (2012). Every child, every day. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar12/vol69/num06/Every-Child,-Every-Day.aspx

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                         Welcome to my Practicum III blog!

Journal Entry: 10-19-12

Tonight's class has been very informative regarding how to successfully administer the BRI to our selected student. I feel confident in knowing the specifics of our Practicum III requirements for this fall semester. I also enjoyed the learning activity that helped me better understand Lexile ranges.

My First Prezi:
http://prezi.com/c8elnh_cnjae/research-article/


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