Reading Assessment

This article spoke about the gap seen between state testing and that of NAEP testing stating that our state tests are limited. Although teachers might not have control over what is presented in the state tests they are in full control of what is placed on their own exams. Teachers should still prepare students for state testing to their greatest ability however in doing so to execute more thoughtful reading they should make several additions. These dont include limiting questions to only vocabulary, genre, and text organization but ask that students look deeper into text paying close attention to detail. In doing so there should be a shift from just recognizing to having their own interpretation and finding the intrinsic meanings. I feel that this is not focused on as much in elementary schools as it is in middle and high school what does everyone think?  

RTI

This article really breaks down the three tiers of the response to
intervention process and how it can be used for reading instructors. I feel
that RTI is important for all educators to
understand giving them the ability to implement it in their
classrooms. The reason I feel so strongly is because I believe this
calls for teachers to pay closer attention to all of their students giving
them the ability to accurately identify any struggling students. The sooner
these students are identified that quicker they can receive help. Ultimately
the goal is to receive extra support in the classroom for minor difficulties in
order to prevent these difficulties from becoming any worse or allowing the
student to fall further behind. The question I have is how do teachers
find the time to keep up with all of the progress monitoring that is
now going on in the classroom?  

video

In this session these lifelong
learners were working collaboratively to discuss different forms of assessments
that they use in their own classrooms and to comment on another teachers work.
These teachers seemed to have a vast number of ideas that they implement in
their classrooms many of which pertained to reading at home.

This session has taught me that
collaboration with other teachers and coworkers is key in helping to discover
ways in which might best help us to assess our students.  The most significant piece of advice that this
session offered was the need for getting the parents involved. Not only does
this reinforce and expand the knowledge learned in the classroom but can be
used as an assessment tool as well. We can build that parent teacher relationship
and ask our students parents to reflect on their child's reading and writing
capabilities that they show at home and anything that they seem to be
struggling with so we can center our force on their needs.

 Personally in the classroom the
assessments that I have been witness to have been more streamline and book
based. As in assessments for student reading levels, comprehension, memory,
fluency etc. One particular assessment I felt was affective was in a third
grade classroom where the students were preparing for the listening portion of
their ELA exam. The teacher would read a passage to the class twice and then
the students would listen the first time take notes the  second and when complete they would have to
write a short essay answering the questions. What was so effective about this
activity was the fact that the teacher would choose books that the students
would enjoy many times and relate to making the learning experience enjoyable
and take the stress away from the dreaded exam.    

 

Survey

 What is your experience in terms of working or friends with people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds?

I have previously worked with students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Do you have experience in working with ELLs?

I have very little experience working with ELL students but the experiences I have had have been rewarding and very educational. For example last semester I was observing in the Patchogue Medford school district which has a high population of ESL students. Here I was able to work with some struggling readers to assess them to find their reading levels.   

Do you have experience in teaching ELLs?

I have not personally taught any ELL students only the minimal experience in working through my observations.

What is your perception on ELLs in terms of their learning motivation and performance in general and in reading and writing specially?

If not properly trained to teach an ELL class your students will not receive the proper motivation and performance in reading and writing will be weaker than it should be. ELL students need to be made to feel comfortable in that they can use their native language to express themselves when they fell they cannot using English. They need to be encouraged to use English as much as possible and to be assured that making mistakes is okay and part of the learning process.   

 What learning difficulties do ELLs usually encounter in schools?

The main difficulties that I feel ELL’s usually encounter are not having a properly trained instructor and having the conflict of whether to teach primarily in the native language of the student or in English.    

  In your observation, how do classroom teachers resolve ELLs’ learning difficulties and improve their learning motivation? What strategies do they often adopt? Are these strategies effective? Are you familiar with these strategies? Are family and community involved?

I have not currently started my observation for this semester but for previous semesters I have seen teachers provide extra support for those struggling learners. They will sometimes set up a table in the back of the room and while students are working independently they will announce that they will be providing extra help for those who feel they need it.

What intervention strategies would you adopt if you have ELLs in your class? How do you go about teaching the child? How do you go about reaching out to the family and the community?

If I were teaching a class that had ELL students I would work closely with those students in order to build a student teacher relationship where the student feels comfortable enough to ask for help when they need it. They should also feel comfortable to use the English language as much as possible to broaden their capabilities. They shouldn’t worry about making errors and their families should be as supportive as possible practicing English with them at home.   

hello there ;)

.....................yup