I also think it was important that the author talked about Independent vs. Dependent readers and that at some point everyone can be a struggling reader. It just all depends on what you're reading. I know that I struggle with a lot of literature that was written before the 16th century because the language is hard for me to comprehend. I know we're always going to have struggling students, we just have to do our best to help them comprehend, or decode the information.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Teaching Reading with Literature Chapter 2: Creating Independent Readers
This chapter was really awesome because it showed how we as teachers "listen" and try to explain things to children when they ask questions, but we don't always do a good job of answering. I also think its important to remember that all teachers learn on the job and always get better with time and experience. I like that the author said "you can't teach someone to be a good teacher, they have to learn as they go." I hope I can remember this when begin my career.
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Angel, I can completely agree that this chapter was awesome! I really found it interesting that Beers took some of the blame in not being able to adequately answer her students questions. I found that to be one of the most important aspects of the chapter; communication is essential. My understanding of independent/dependent readers has drastically changed since reading Chapter 1. Beers did an amazing job redefining her definition as well as mine. I believe that reader's confidence is important and like Beers says building confidence in one area will deed create a domino effect. I felt as though, Beers was trying to get us to understand that there needs to be a balance between the cognitive aspects of reading as well as the affective aspects of teaching (motivation, enjoyment, and engagement).
ReplyDeleteI really agree with your post here. As teachers our levels of cognition are often greater than those of our students. Sometimes when we try to answer those questions, we assume that they already know the basics. I like how you also brought up how teachers learn on the job. Sometimes I sit in my principles class and think "Oh this would be great to use but then what if when I'm in the classroom I forget how to implement it correctly." Overtime I hope to be able to really work on that. I also struggle, like you, with earlier writing because of the language and I'm sure that there are a lot of students who we will be teaching that will also struggle with reading assignments too.
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