The articles assigned for today held a common thread- the elements of learning. One covered family history, another covered teachers, and the last addressed environment.
I found this interesting because I had written my paper on how I learned to read before reading the articles. Surprisingly, these were the exact aspects of learning I identified in the paper as most important. From my own viewpoint, I discussed how my parents loved reading, the ways my teacher motivated us, and how my environment nurtured a love for literature. As a future kindergarten teacher, I should also approach these elements from the viewpoint of an instructor.
What is this student's family history with education?
What can I do as a teacher?
How do I inspire learning in my classroom?
These are three questions I would like to remember while in the reading process with my students. Another thing that stood out to me was the six T's from Richard L. Allington's article. They are:
Time: aiming to have students reading and writing for HALF of the school day
Text: providing students with appropriate reading material for their personal reading level
Teaching: model how to learn and how to contribute to the classroom
Talk: encourage and incorporate purposeful student talk
Tasks: "more substantive and challenged and required more self-regulation" (745)
Testing: know your students well enough to implement an 'effort and improvement" evaluation process
Allington, R.L. (2002). What I've learned about effective reading instruction. Pi Delta Kappan
This is an image of my all time favorite book family- The Berstain Bears. I'm almost 100% certain that Brother and Sister Bear taught me everything I needed to know about life and learning.
I agree with your post, especially the comment about Brother and Sister bear. They are good teachers! But aside from that, I agree with the goal of trying to have your students read and write for at least half of the day. I look back at elementary school and I don't remember doing a lot of this, all the time. I would read my books under my desk and write in a journal just for fun. Although it isn't for every student, it would be a good thing to try to incorporate within the school day. I would like to try either free writing and reading or including these aspects within regular instruction.
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