Chapter 9

“In the past, many teachers, including diagnostic teachers, used materials organized by others. This approach is convenient and time saving, but teachers need to make sure these materials align with the strengths and needs of the readers.” Pg.148

I think that this is very true. Last class, we talked a lot about packaged reading programs and how they are not always the best programs for our students. Teachers need a variety of materials to use because every student is different, no one programs is going to help every child, and variety is the key. I have noticed that the students in my district do not respond well to these packaged programs because 1) they do not focus on the strengths and weaknesses of all individual readers in the class, 2) they are boring and 3) the topics are not relevant to the student’s lives.

“These books [high interest, low readability] are stories that would appeal to an older student but are written at an easier level to provide interesting stories that help improve literacy.” Pg. 150

At the school I currently work at, we have many high-need, struggling readers. I think that by increasing the supply of high interest-low readability books we would improve their overall reading success. If we gave them books that are written for their age level in interest, but a lower reading level, there will be less stress and anxiety when it comes to reading and it will allow students to focus more on the story and their literacy skills/strategies. In class we discussed that more of these books are becoming available to teachers and students, but I have yet to see many in my building.

“Using videos with struggling readers helps them (a) predict what the words are, (b) understand word meanings, (c) understand the story organization or content information.” Pg. 151

I think that this is an excellent idea to enhance the curriculum and improve reading of students, particularly lower level students. If students already knew the basic outline of the story before they read, they could then focus more in-depth on the content, aiding in comprehension. In my literacy practicum we allowed the students to watch the movie “Molly – An American Girl” before proceeding into our historical fiction unit based on WWII. This movie helped the students to visualize what the events and vocabulary of the upcoming books/stories would be. With something like historical fiction, where topics are often older and less used in everyday language this tool was vital in helping students to understand their future readings.

“Interest is crucial in selecting books. In the topic and/or storyline is interesting and engaging, then the book is usually easier to read.” Pg. 159

I think that student interest is absolutely necessary to think about when picking out materials to read in class with your students. If the students are not interested in the topic, chances are they could care less about reading it. We need to find someway to connect the piece of text to interesting topics that the kids like to read about. One way to do this would be to give the class an informal reading survey, asking them their general likes and dislikes.

“The attention span of many struggling readers is relatively short; therefore, as the diagnostic teacher selects books, she looks for texts, such as chapter books, that are short.” Pg. 160

I think that this is a very important point that I had never really thought about before. I have noticed that when I tell students we are going to be reading a certain chapter, that many of them instantly skip to the back of the chapter to see how long it is. They dread chapters that are long in length. Currently, the book I am reading with my students in the practicum is a chapter book, and thankfully most of the chapters are very short. It helps the struggling readers get through them easier. I also find that they stay more engaged and focused with shorter chapters as well.