“There’s no secret to balance. You just have to feel the waves” |
Today's chapters reminded me of the balance that is needed in both instructional resources and in strategies for establishing the foundations of literacy. Basal readers, anthologies, textbooks, and other literacy resources play an important role in the development of student performance, and they need to be presented with balance, and used with (my favorite oxymoron) extreme moderation. We know that our students get sick of doing the same thing over and over each class period, so it is imperative that we keep our instructional material fresh and engaging during the year. I think it is also imperative that our strategies for establishing the foundations of literacy are used with balance. We need to teach children how to read using phonological, orthographical, word conceptual, and contextual strategies. I'm sure there are more that I forgot to list, but they all have their place, and it is important to teach all of these strategies. I've seen a "strategy wheel" that students use while reading that lists multiple strategies for the students to use, and they have it next to them while they read. The wheel helps them try multiple strategies in a balanced approach to both decode and comprehend. Eventually, the student will memorize the strategies on the wheel and read fluently. In conclusion, I'm happy the chapters presented many strategies so that we can balance them and create well-rounded, fluent readers.
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With the chapters today, there are many instructional resources that are great to incorporate when teaching. Balance is definitely the key to successful teaching.
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ReplyDeleteAh, a strategy wheel, you say? I think that's a handy, fun reminder for students. I think I may look into that. It's true, though, that lessons have to be engaging and purposeful--and that's a tough balance to strike. With all the many options to choose from in this book, I agree that it will help us tailor our instruction to help us all turn out well-rounded.
ReplyDeleteHey Erik,
ReplyDeletemy favorite oxymoron is: Jumbo Shrimp! something about this class...always leading back to food :) How aabout mildly Hot! On another note, Balance is great because, like we've learned in the past there is no one reading strategy or program to fix things, there must be a good balance, and like you said: to create well rounded, fluent readers! As usual, great insights!
Oh so true about how we have to balance teaching for a purpose and trying to make it engaging and interesting so we don't lose the students to boredom. This can be tricky, especially when teaching from expository texts. So, as teachers, what do we do? Well, tapping into our schemata will be a start. (:
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