I love how Beers admits to herself saying “this kid can’t read,” just as many of us have probably said before. Not being able to read can mean a range of things depending on the student. This really confirms my belief that we cannot help struggling readers until we understand why they are struggling. I love how Beers included a list of what not being able to read might mean. This can range from not being able to easily and quickly recognize single-syllable words to having trouble recalling information from a text. It is up to us to identify the problem idea to help our students become efficient readers. Figure 3.2 is a great resource outlining if/then situations with struggling readers. Beers also includes great examples from inside the classroom to allow the readers to practice identifying what each student may need help in—cognitive confidence, text confidence, and emotional confidence.
It is not always easy to articulate what good readers do while they are reading. If someone asked me what I do while I read, I may struggle to explain what I do. Reading comes so natural to me that it is difficult to model what I do while reading without really planning a lesson. Beers does an excellent job laying out what exactly good readers do, other than just reading the words on the pages.
Good readers:
-Recognize the purpose for reading is to get meaning
-Use a variety of comprehension strategies
-Make a range of inferences about the text
-Use prior knowledge
-Monitor their understanding of the text
-Question author’s purpose
-And many more.
I believe the last paragraph is so powerful and really supports my belief of finding the best way to teacher our individual students.
“It’s not enough knowing what good readers can do or struggling readers can’t do. We must also know what we believe about teaching, about learning, and about our role in both. Once that’s determined, we can make intelligent choices about the instruction that best suits the needs of our students.” (p.39)
No comments:
Post a Comment