April Harper

RE 5040

Spring 04

What I Believe About Literacy Learning and Teaching,

and How I Came to Believe It

Learning to read and write is destined to occur in everyone’s life. For the majority of people it is a task that is easily achievable; however, for some it is a task that is a life-long struggle to achieve. There are ways to make reading and writing, for those who are new learners and strugglers, more approachable.

In my personal life reading was never a struggle, although I don’t remember it ever being an easy task. My parents spent many hours reading to me when I was growing up. I remember reading stories from the Bible and reading The Little Golden Books. I have always wanted to be a teacher. I can remember my brother and my cousin always being my students and playing school. Of course, I was always the teacher. If they were not around, my Barbies were my students.

It is interesting that as kids we play what we want to be when we grow up and we actually pursue our childhood careers as life long careers. I can remember that every time my teachers in school had materials that they wanted to give away, I always tried to get them. I could never have enough school stuff to play with. My dad made me this cool chalkboard stand when I was little that I still use today. On one side was a chalkboard and the other side was a huge clipboard. I use it now for a chart holder.

My grandmother was a special education teacher and worked with many ages of students from elementary to high school. She played a key role in my childhood dream of becoming a teacher. I looked up to my grandmother in many ways, but most of all her ability to work with children who had special needs. Through her work I realized that all students learn differently and some struggle with reading and writing.

Along with my grandmother, my students, my undergrad and grad classes at ASU I have developed my beliefs about reading and writing. There is a systematic way to approach reading and writing by using phonics and comprehension instruction, associating reading and writing with positive feelings, and believing all students are capable of learning to read and write, just with different ways and paces.

Teaching reading to students, especially those who struggle, should involve a systematic approach. One might think that the best way to teach reading is to simply pick up a book and begin to read. While picking up a book to read with a student is acceptable, beginning to teach reading requires much more than that. Reading instruction should begin at an appropriate reading level and begin with intensive phonics instruction. One of the best ways to find a students reading level is to give an Informal Reading Inventory. This inventory will allow the teacher to see where the reader is in his or her reading levels. The instructional level is the level the student learns best and can make the most progress. It is vital to find the appropriate instructional level for each student. If the reading is too difficult, it can result in failure or the student will not make adequate progress if it is too easy. It is a priority to seek an instructional level of reading.

Another key element is phonics instruction. The level of phonics instruction can be determined by giving a student an appropriate list of words to spell. Through their spelling of the words you can determine their phonetic level. This is key in determining where phonics instruction should begin. Using a good phonics assessment and informal reading inventory will get the student on the right track to reading. The phonics instruction goes hand-in hand with reading and writing. It will allow intensive study on what the students do not yet know. Often times short vowels are many problem areas with struggling students and their writing. This can be determined by giving students a phonics assessment. The assessment would allow the teacher to know where to begin teaching phonics.

It is valuable to teach not only phonics but also to use read alouds to promote conversation and comprehension strategies. These are key elements that are vital to begin with when beginning to teach reading and writing. Using a systematic approach will guide students through a process that will allow them to progress through different levels at their pace.

Reading and writing instruction should be associated with positive feelings. I have had the experience of having some of my students hating to read and write. They dreaded when I said it’s time to read our selection for the day or we are going to begin writing. I thought about why they hated reading and writing so much and what I could do to change their feelings. I realized that there were no positive attributes the students had with reading and writing. I began to think of ways to get students to enjoy what they were writing about and worked with them on their reading to make it more enjoyable. One way that I have found to be successful is to ask students to write about personal experience stories. Also taking the pressure off of my students by allowing them to work at their own pace. Shortening their reading assignments and reading selections out loud as a group also provided positive success. The constant encouragement of letting my students know that they are doing a good job and making progress has been positive as well.

Students who struggle know that they cannot read and write as well as their peers and it can place a tremendous burden on them to read and write. As a teacher who works with struggling readers and writers everyday I feel it is important to create a positive atmosphere in my classroom. Every teacher should associate reading and writing with positive energy in their classroom. Parental support at home can also help to provide positive support for reading and writing. Ultimately, for my students and me, the goal of knowing that they can read and write has changed their outlook. They know that they are able to do certain things, for instance, all of them can write their names. You have to begin with something the students know and then create a positive link to the students. It is necessary to provide students positive feelings for reading and writing to get students to feel like they can succeed.

All students can learn to read and write; however every student has a different way of learning. There are many learning styles among students. Whether they may be auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic, or combined learning styles; students learn and may need different styles of presenting material. Students also learn at different rates. Some students catch on quickly while others may take longer. Figuring out what students need and adapting our teaching styles to them is key. It is important to form lessons that can relate to several different learning styles. This is what can make our job challenging. Students who struggle need more individualized attention. They may need several ways of presenting material to them. Students are capable of learning to read and write, it may take some longer than others.

My beliefs about literacy learning and teaching have come from my personal life and my teaching experiences so far. I am continuing to grow as I gain experience and knowledge of helping students learn everyday. My goal is to help students be the best that they can be.