As a teacher, I can design instruction in my classroom to
incorporate the key elements suggested in “Reading Next.” To incorporate diverse texts in my middle
school English classroom, I can use trade books to enhance classroom curriculum
and engage students. Not all reading
available in my classroom will be on grade level, but instead will be at a
variety of grade levels for students to access information with the appropriate
amount of challenge. Not all books in my
classroom will be classic novels and textbooks, but instead I will have young
adult literature, curriculum appropriate picture books, magazines, newspapers,
and website recommendations.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Online Activity
“Reading Next” reveals the many problems that American
secondary students are struggling with in regards to literacy. In addition to discussing the problems, “Reading
Next” discusses elements of effective adolescent literacy programs. A specific combination of the elements is not
discussed, but instead they suggest that different combinations are tried with
an audience to find what makes the most positive progress with that
audience. Many of the strategies
discussed in detail in McKenna and Gunning also appear in a generalized form in
the instructional improvements of the key elements of “Reading Next.” The IRA reading presents “principles for
supporting adolescents’ literacy growth,” that are designed to achieve similar
goals to Reading Next’s key elements.
Both IRA and “Reading Next” present some strategies that classroom
teachers can take ownership of and implement in their classrooms.
It is easy for teachers to find themselves teaching the kind
of essays that will get students through the state exams, but I can be sure to
incorporate a variety of writing assignments that will help students with
writing tasks that they will face in the future. In addition to essays I can help students
develop writing skills through reflections, email writing, journaling, and
response writing. Essay writing will be
important as students pursue further education, but in the job-force students
will face a variety of requirements.
There are a number of ways that I could incorporate text-based
collaborative learning in my middle school English classroom. Discussion groups surrounding novels,
blogging and responding to peer blogs, fishbowl discussions about assigned
articles or reading, and teams using books, articles, and the internet to
uncover learning are a few ways that I could use text-based learning in my
class.
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It is unfortunate that there is so much focus on essay writing, mostly for the purpose of assessment in standardized testing or to expand on the literary elements found in a novel. Written and oral communication skills that will be used in the workplace and beyond is something educators should place more emphasis on. Along with email writing, how to write an agenda for a meeting, resume formatting and cover letter writing are all essential skills that should be addressed in English classes before high school graduation.
ReplyDeleteAt my current internship, I have witnessed a class which is based around preparing students for life after high school; specifically, it focuses on getting into college. Why does this need to be a specific class when many of these skills can be taught in almost any class as you suggest? As a future math teacher, I hope to incorporate lessons on life skills beyond the curriculum. My husband is an engineer and his job not only requires math skills, but much time is spent reading and writing information about a building. Enforcing these skills will benefit all students for whichever career they may choose.
ReplyDeleteI like the diversity of writing ideas that you use to engage your students. It is a great way to engage your students in a variety of ways. I spent most of my early schooling writing 5 paragraph essays and following prompts. To this day writing is not my strongest academic area.
ReplyDeleteKeeping a wide variety of reading materials is critical, especially for the English teacher. I liked that you suggested different mediums as well as different grade level materials. Let's get kids reading!