Natalie DiSalvo! Guided Reading

After going to youtube and searching for a video clip to watch about guided reading, there were tons of options of videos to choose from. I chose to watch the video called “Guided Reading in elementary Classrooms”. I chose this video because I wanted a video that would overall recap what guided reading consists of and to try to get the general concept more clear for me. This video started off with statements about guided reading and why it should be used in a classroom. It mentioned how guided reading can be the most important part of the students’ day, if done correctly, since it allows the teacher to see what students understand, what areas students seem to be struggling with/on, and what students can do consistently in reading. The video covered the different levels in her classroom in that year- non-readers, pre-readers, and readers. The teacher mentioned how the overall plan is the same for all of the students. In the guided reading video, it also showed how to organize the books and how they are set up in the classroom (in bins separated by level). The teacher mentioned things to go over from the beginning to the end. The first thing she mentioned was allowing time for the children to flip through the book and look at the pictures. This enables the children to have a better idea of the story/book and prepare for the reading. The video mentions how each student needs to read at their own pace; otherwise some children might be rushed or even slowed down. The students should read aloud and the teacher should go around and listen to see how students are doing and try to notice what types of strategies they are using. This will give the teacher a better idea of what strategies that he/she will need to discuss next. After the reading, the teacher has the option of going over sounds of words (beginning of word or end of word) along with sight words. The video mentioned various games to incorporate the activities, such as writing in shaving cream. After the practices are completed, the teacher should have the students reread the story before going back to another station. Make sure to be excited and happy to read to get the students engaged as well as excited. Overall, the video was very informative and did what I was hoping it would do for me-recap what was gone over in class. I think that the video reflected a lot of what we have learned thus far in class. There were not any additional strategies within the video except various ways to go about the after reading section-shaving cream, games, flash cards. I would recommend watching the video to anyone as a way to review the topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17mnwPrCTFQ

Natalie DiSalvo!

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) has been used for quite some time. I had never really heard or Vygotsky until I came to Indiana University, but ever since I have been here, I hear about Vygotsky and his marvelous stages. As we have studied over the past few years, Vygotsky’s ZPD is the idea of a child gradually being able to have the ability to achieve certain tasks without help or assistance. The difference between what one can do and what one cannot do without guidance is what the ZPD is. Whenever I hear about the ZPD, I think of scaffolding and how one can use scaffolding to assist a child until they no longer need the assistance and are able to grasp the concept without help. As I look back at my own learning experiences, I can think of multiple examples in which the ZPD has taken place and I eventually reached a period in which I could accomplish the task individually. One example was when I was trying to learn how to play euchre. When I was younger, my older siblings would play euchre all the time when they had a big group of friends come over. Trying to fit in with the older group, I wanted to be able to play along with them and hang out with the older people. I would watch them and have them explain how the game worked. Over and over again, they would have to keep telling me what to put down and what to say when it came to my turn. Over about a couple of weeks, I finally grasped the concept of the game and can play on my own without any type of assistance. The feeling of being able to reach the goal and play on my own was a huge accomplishment for me. Another example of a learning experience that connects to the ZPD is when I was learning how to read. I am sure many people have had this experience, but when I was younger, I was extremely frustrated with reading. I was very slow and had trouble reading aloud. My parents would read with me and help me with my reading assignments at home every week until I thought that I could do it on my own. The one-on-one interaction and focus really seemed to help me and give me confidence. I am still a little slow, but I can read on my own without assistance! When I thought I understood the way to read, I then taught my younger sister how to which really proved that I mastered the basics of reading.

Natalie DiSalvo!

Trying to think about how I think about material I encounter really seems to confuse me! I have never really thought about it until the question was asked and also when I was reading the reading for class. They kept mentioning how important it is for students to be aware of how they think and make sure they are listening to their inner conversation. As a teacher, it is important to have examples and make sure students know that it is not uncommon to stray from the topic that they are reading. When I think about how I read, I always find myself reaching the end of a paragraph and wondering what I just read. I always seem to have tons and tons of other things going on in my head-such as what homework I have left or what I will do later on after I finish reading. When I am really trying to focus on the readings at hand, I usually take notes or highlight in the book. That tends to keep my focus on the pages in front of me. Another way I try to organize my thoughts is after I read a paragraph, I try to write a note/say in my head a summary of that paragraph to make sure I got the main point of what I previously read.
A lot of teachers have different techniques to see how the children are interpreting the information or organizing their thoughts. One way teachers do this is by making webs. The webs usually have the title of the book/article in the middle with the key points branching off of it. Another idea to organize thoughts is making an outline. Outlines take more time or at least for me. The outlines can highlight the main points along with smaller facts underneath them if one would like to (just like a web could). Teachers need to make sure that they do not think that the way they organize their thinking is going to work for all of their students. As teachers, it is important to be prepared and have several different types of techniques for the students to choose from. This will allow the students to try various kinds and see which one works best for them. The more choice students have within some assignments and classroom activities, the more the students will feel motivated since they will be able to pick and choose; hopefully be more creative and focused.