I Read It...But I Don't Get It - Journal Entry #3

Chapter 6 in Tovani’s book taught me a lot about why it is important to make connections to the text we are reading and some strategies on how to teach this to our students. The concept that I really took away from this chapter was the section titled “Personal Knowledge or Personal Experience?” I never heard these two terms before in relation to making text connections. Personal knowledge is information readers have from stories, movies, television, books, anything that helps them acquire information secondhand. Personal experience is information readers gain from direct experience. Tovani said that when students can’t make a connection to something they are reading, even if they find it interesting, they often get bored, the reading loses their attention and they abandon the text. I think that this is something that I can bring with me into my grade 5 classroom because the curriculum will be more content-based and this is one way I can make sure that the students will want to learn about certain subjects.

Tovani listed several ways in which connections may help a reader. They include: 1. Make visuals in your head; 2. Make the text more interesting because you can interact with it; and 3. Bring meaning to the words instead of expecting the meaning to reside in the words.

I would share these three reasons with my students so that they can understand why it is important to be able to make connections with the text.

“The more connections a reader makes to the text, the better her comprehension is.” 

I Read It...But I Don't Get It - Journal Entry #2

Chapter 2 of Tovani’s book also really caught my attention. The title of the chapter was the first thing that got me thinking. “The Realities of Reading” is something that we as teachers think about all the time. As Tovani said in the first paragraph of this chapter, a lot of people (mostly non educators) believe that learning to read is a very simple process and they don’t understand why students in middle and high school are struggling readers. However, as we learned in the article, The DRIVE Model of Reading: Making the Complexity of Reading Accessible (Cartwright and DUke, 2019), the process of reading is not simple and there are a lot specific things happening in our minds when reading. As stated in this article and in Tovani’s book, many of these processes need to be taught.

Tovani discusses two types of struggling readers found in secondary school. They are resistive readers and word callers. Resistive readers are those that can read but choose not to and word callers are those that can decode the words but don’t understand what they read. I don’t have much experience with teaching middle school or high school students as I am a primary/elementary teacher, however I can see how this would be an issue in these grades and how students manage to get away with doing this throughout their secondary school time.

I really connected with the section “Redefining Reading”. Tovani discusses how parents often think that if students are able to decode words then they are good readers. However, reading is more than decoding words. They need to be able to comprehend what they are reading. I had a student in my kindergarten class who was able to read words at a grade 3 level and his parents thought he was an exceptional reader however he could not tell you a thing about the book. Not even the sequence of events that had happened because he was not comprehending what he was reading.

Tovani listed seven strategies that are coined by P. David Pearson and colleagues that were used by successful readers of all ages. The first thing that caught my attention was the use of “successful readers”. I like this term much better than “good readers” that Tovani tends to use throughout her book. I feel that the term good readers implies that someone is a bad reader and that doesn’t go with my idea of teaching children to read. I have more experience of teaching young children to read and my philosophy is that any child that takes an interest in a book, whether they can read it or not, is a good reader. I feel that having enjoyment and purpose of reading is very important at a young age and will later enhance learning the strategies of reading. The other question that I thought about when I read about the seven strategies is “Can we use these strategies to define where a student is in their reading instead of leveled texts that are pushed on children in the school system?” I also have an issue with using leveled texts with young children. I see too many children identify with a letter at the kindergarten and grade one level and get frustrated with having strategies pushed on them instead of having a full comprehension of why they are leaning certain strategies. I wonder if my thinking about leveled texts will change when I teach grade 5 in the upcoming school year?

I Read It...But I Don't Get It - Journal Entry #1

“Authentic reading is pleasurable as well as purposeful.” 

I got interested in this book as soon as I read the first chapter “Fake Reading”. Tovani discusses so many of the same ideas that I had experiences of thinking about at various times before. For example, on page 7, she talks about how many teachers think that students who are not good readers by a certain grade, will never be good readers. I am ashamed to admit, but this was my thinking for so long. Tovani describes her own personal experience of how she taught herself strategies when she became older. It really got me thinking about the topic and I have decided to do further research to help me come to a better conclusion.

I also loved how she defines “strategies”. She defines a strategy as “...an intentional plan that readers use to help themselves make sense of their reading. Strategies are flexible and can be adapted to meet the demands of the reading task. Good readers use lots of strategies to help themselves make sense of text.” All of the years that I have teaching reading and reading strategies to students, I don’t think that I had a proper definition of what strategy actually meant. Tovani gives a very clear and precise definition that I will be able to remember.

I also loved how she discussed how people who love reading have a different view of reading than those who struggle. She says that people who read often take for granted the real-world payoff and struggling readers seldom get to experience how great it feels to finish a book. I am an avid reader. I love to read anything and everything ever since I was a little girl. It is my favourite pastime and I always have a book with me. Therefore, I do not understand how people do not like to read. But as Tovani said, “They don’t know how much fun it can be to escape day-to-day life by jumping into a good book.” It puts into perspective that people who don’t like to read are like that because they struggle and they cannot get the same enjoyment out of it as I do because when they are struggling to decode or comprehend a text “Reading has lost its purpose and pleasure.”

The last thing I want to comment about is the literacy histories activity she talked about at the end of the chapter. She asked each of her students in her class to bring in a book that had an impact on their life. She stressed that it didn’t have to be a favorite one but an important one. She went on to talk about how she told the class about the book she chose and then she told several stories about some of the students who shared. I found this so touching and moving that I literally cried. It was so impactful to hear about it. Maybe because I feel that books are such an important part of my life. It also got me thinking about an important book in my life. Little Women. I just have such a vivid memory of the first time that I bought that book and read it. I was only 10 or 11 and for some reason, that memory still stays with me. I still have that exact copy of the book on my bookshelf today.

Final Thoughts and Takeaways

I  want to begin this final blog post for my course by saying that I have learned so much in the past 3 months about so many important aspects of education that are very relevant today. Since beginning my journey of completing my Masters of Education at MSVU, I have had the privilege to learn from some very intelligent and compassionate instructors. Each of the instructors has portrayed their passion for learning and education throughout the various courses we have completed. I am looking forward to what I will learn next.




Overall Takeaways

I have learned so much in this course. Some of it was things that I have encountered during my teaching but increased my knowledge. And some of it was brand new that really challenged me to level up and helped me expand my knowledge of technology and specifically in the area of assistive technology. Our instructor, Barbara, gave us an amazing repertoire of resources that connects with the area of reading and writing and how we need to be conscious of ALL learners in our classroom.

Here are some of my favorite takeaways from the whole course:


Blogger: I have always been intrigued by starting my own blog, for teaching as well as personal, but I was always nervous and didn’t really know how to go about doing it. By using this type of platform to do assignments, I have gained confidence and some knowledge on how to start one. I think it is a great tool to use in the classroom and I have already started one to use.

Read and Write 4 Google Chrome: This is a very valuable resource that needs to be used in every classroom. I am very happy that I got a chance to really explore in depth the toolbars that are related to Read and Write. I will definitely be using this in my classroom in the Fall. 

Universal Design for Learning and Katie Novak: Learning about UDL in this course has been a life-changer. I have tried since the beginning of this school year to try to get my head around this concept. Listening to the video “The Myth of Average” really put the idea into perspective to me. Being introduced to Katie Novak was also a game-changer. I have enjoyed going through the website, Novak Educational Consulting has been very beneficial to me. I have purchased her book that she co-wrote with Allison Posey, “Unlearning: Changing Your Beliefs and Your Classroom with UDL” and I am looking forward to reading it this summer.

                                                     

   

Resources: I want to give a big shout out for all the resources that Barbara shared with us. I now have a large repertoire of websites, apps, etc that I can bring back into my class as well as share with my colleagues.

How will I share this knowledge with my colleagues?

I am very excited to have so many resources to share with my colleagues.  I have already shared, through email and our PLC meetings on Google Meet, some of what I have learned in this class.  I did up a list of the apps and websites in a google doc and shared it with the primary teachers in my school. I have also informed them of edWeb and I am hoping that we will get a chance to partake in some of the webinars together for our Professional Learning days.  I am hoping that I will get a chance some time throughout the next school year to share my knowledge, hopefully with my presentation, of Read and Write 4 Google Chrome with my colleagues. 

                                       

How has the information I learned impacted my teaching? 

My way of thinking about teaching and the way I go about planning lessons has been impacted greatly after doing this course. I have learned so much information and I now have so many resources at my fingertips.  I now have a much more in-depth understanding of UDL and how I can incorporate this into my daily teaching. I understand that I need to reach ALL learners and have more knowledge on how to do this. I think one of the main ways that my teaching is impacted is that I now know and understand that it is ok to let go of control. I think that as teachers, it is in our nature to want to control how our students learn. But really, the students need and should have control over how they feel it is best for them to learn.

Class #4 Takeaways

 

edWeb


Our instructor, Barbara Welsford, introduced us to another great resource called edWed. This is a free professional learning community where educators can share their teaching practices and learning styles with other educators through webinars. It is a great platform for schools to present Profesional Learning opportunities for their staff. I am looking forward to taking part in the webinars this summer and learning from other educators about their teaching experiences, especially anything that can give me more insight into teaching more digitally.

Here are a few webinars that I have scheduled for next week:

Packaging Your Digital Assignments: Creating Efficient and Easy-to-Navigate Lessons for Learning at Home

Leading Through Uncertainty: An Emphasis on Social Emotional Wellness

We’re All Teaching Reading: Why Does the Instruction Look So Different?








Unite for Literacy

I am over the moon excited about this resource!

Unite for Literacy is a website that offers FREE (yes free...can you believe it?) books for children. This website being free is not even the best thing about it. The books that are offered are rich in diversity and culture as well as offering the books to be read aloud (bonus!) in multiple languages.

This is such an amazing resource for teachers, parents, and students. I am looking forward to implementing the books in my classroom this fall. I have already told several of my friends with young children about it and they are also very enthusiastic to share it with their children.


“At Unite for Literacy, we picture a world where all children have access to an abundance of books that celebrate their languages and cultures and cultivate a lifelong love of reading.” -Unite for Literacy

Read and Write 4 Google Presentations

I really enjoyed looking at all of the group’s presentation’s on Read and Write 4 Google. It was really interesting to see how everyone choose a different and unique way of representing all the information regarding this excellent tool. I look forward to looking through everyone’s presentation and seeing if I can learn anything else about Read and Write.

I have really enjoyed learning about this resource and by completing this assignment, it has given me the confidence and knowledge to be able to really use this tool with my students and be able to fully get all of the benefits out of it. I am hoping that I will also get to share my presentation at some point with some of my colleagues at my school.

3 Takeaways from Class #3

Dinner Party

The Dinner Party activity was such an eye opener for me. It really put the difference between UDL and DI into perspective for me. Throughout this past school year, I’ve been trying to understand more about UDL in the perspective of the Responsive Teaching and Learning system that we have in our school system right now.  Everyone kept telling me “Teach to the edges, teach to the edges.” But what did that really mean to me as a teacher and how could I implement that into my daily classroom teaching? After participating in the activity and seeing how different groups took on the task, I started to see the difference between differentiated instruction and universal design for learning. I watched the video and read the article by Katie Novak which I found very beneficial and gave even more clarification on the difference between the two terms. 

Apps

As with class #2, I found the overview that Barbara gave on the various apps that are available very beneficial.  Some of these apps included Speech Tutor, iMovie, Voice Dream Reader and Immersive Reader (Chrome extension for reading websites). Having a repertoire of available apps and websites to use for different types of learners is very helpful to have on hand. I am looking forward to using these apps with my students and also sharing them with my colleagues. 

Read and Write 4 Google Chrome

Getting the time to work in my group for our Read and Write for Google Chrome Presentation was very beneficial. It is allowing us the time to explore and learn all the features that are available within the toolbars.  Read and Write is an excellent tool that can and should be utilized for all students and also holds many benefits for teachers as well.  I am currently completing the Read and Write Level I certification. Read and Write for Google Chrome fits well into the Universal Design for Learning concept.  Here in Newfoundland, it is only available to students who have a diagnosed LD. I wish that it was available to ALL students.

Main Take Aways From Class #2

The first main takeaway from class #2 that I would like to discuss is the website Understood.  This website gave a stimulation fo what is like for children with certain difficulties such as reading, writing, and behavior issues. You pick a grade level and an issue and then a child will give an example of what it is like to have that issue from their perspective.   Then you get to experience through an activity (the stimulation) what is like to be someone with that issue. After the stimulation, a professional will give you suggestions on how to help that child o that certain issue. I picked a kindergarten-aged student with writing difficulties. I found listening to the child explain what it was like the most interesting and heartbreaking.  Children generally don’t express their thoughts and feelings that much in Kindergarten because it is such a new concept for them. So it really affected me to hear what someone with writing issues may feel like. 

The second take away from class #2 is all the accessibility features that I learned about on an iPhone or Ipad.  I did not realize that there were so many features that could be used.  Most schools have iPads to be used, however, from my own experience, I do not feel that most personnel at schools are aware of all the accessibility features they have at their fingertips every day. It is definitely something I will be bringing back to my colleagues. 

The third takeaway is all the apps and websites that Barbara showed us.  They were all good and new to me. Some were for older students but there was a lot that I would be able to use in my classroom.  One thing that I loved about the apps and websites that I learned about during class #3, was that they would benefit all students. 

Critique of Take the Pencil out of the Process

“Fair is not giving everyone the same thing, fair is giving people what they need.” 

The article titled Take the Pencil Out of the Process written by Leslie Broun discusses the difficulties that children that have been diagnosed with ASD may face when it comes to written output, especially with printing and writing. It goes on to discuss that it is not unusual to go into a classroom and see students who struggle to produce legible print. Broun states that many children have difficulties with the physical printing and writing process.  The article goes into detail about the concerns of motor impairment with children who have autism.  Some of these concerns include hypotonia and apraxia. Although motor dysfunction is not required for a diagnosis but is considered a “soft” sign by many researchers.  According to Broun, studies have shown that for a student with ASD, difficulties with handwriting can underscore all areas of academic participation and that early substitution of the keyboard for students experiencing difficulty will help with graphomotor skills. Broun’s article continued to discuss the importance of the use of computers in the classroom, not just for students with ASD  as a UDL tool; the implications for using a keyboard for nonverbal students and strategies for using a keyboard. 

I really connected with the article because it was a conversation that I had had with several colleagues in the last several years.  My first experience with handwriting difficulties and a child diagnosed with ASD was when I taught in a Kindergarten classroom last year.  The little boy would have major meltdowns when it came to printing on paper with any type of writing utensil.  I had many conversations with his mom, IRTS and the guidance counselor to try to come up with a solution.  The guidance counselor had told me that she had also experienced this in other children diagnosed with ASD but did not have a reason for it. We had discussed using technology but being in a small school with little resources, it was hard to come up with an actual plan on how to implement it. This article answered so many questions and supports a lot of the observations that I have relating to the correlation between ASD and handwriting.  I will definitely be using the information provided by Broun to implement various technology in my classroom and not be so concerned with the fact that children have to learn to write with a pencil and paper.  Her suggestions were very straight forward and put me at ease in implementing a keyboard in the class.

I found the TedTalk The Myth of Average very interesting. Here are my 3 main takeaways:

• It really got my attention when he started off talking about the planes and the seats.  This was the analogy that I needed to really put the UDL concept into perspective for me. I was having a hard time understanding what it meant and how I could apply it to my Kindergarten class.  It really made me think about how I teach to the “average” child and that it is not suiting them. 
• The second thing that I took away from this video is how I started to think about how everyday things are related to “the edges”. For example, the seating for a pilot and an iPhone. 
• The third takeaway was when he said “The question isn’t do you want the technology?...The question is what do you want it to be?” 

I found this video very informative and eye-opening. I will definitely be sharing this video with my work colleagues. 

3 Main takeways from class #1

The main thing that I took away from this class was when it was said that supports should not for individuals but should be accessible to all learners. For example, alternative reading materials.  This really stuck in my mind because I think that it put into perspective the whole idea around UDL.  I was finding the concept of UDL a little difficult to understand but that statement made it so much clearer to me. 

Another concept I took away from the first class was the SETT framework.  The idea that really caught my attention about the framework is that the student’s supports are based on the changes happening. For example,  if the environment changes then the technology may need to change. Everything changes and it all depends on the other factors involved. 

The third takeaway was Tyler.  He is such an inspiration. I really enjoyed the video call we got to have with him after hearing his story

Making Secondary Literacy Accessible for All - Reflection

The article Making Secondary Literacy Accessible for All written by Christy Palmquist and Heather Prenevost discusses various tools and strategies that are effective for a wide range of learners.  The tools and strategies talked about in the article include visualizing and verbalizing, thinking reading, vocabulary, and comprehension and retelling.  They begin the article by explaining the pillars of reading, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension; and how each of these are used to assess student’s literacy skills. They emphasize that after assessing the students’ literacy and language skills, then consideration needs to be given to the supports needed for each individual student to achieve their goals. 

There were several main takeaways that I got from this article.  I really liked that they started off with the questions “ How do I meet all of their needs?”, “What curriculum can I use for such a wide variety of kids?”. These are questions that teachers ask themselves multiple times throughout every day. It got my attention because these are questions I that can relate to and made me curious to see if they had any answers to those questions in the article.

I found the paragraph where they discussed Elizabeth Keefe’s book Effective Literacy for Learners with Complex Support Needs to be very thought-provoking.  I agree with the statement that it is important to “...develop plans for providing the correct technology tools helps maximize the learning opportunities for each student.”  However,  I have to bring up the point that Keefe did say it takes time to develop these plans but where are we, as teachers with an already heavy workload, getting the time to develop these plans? It goes back to the amount of support and time we are allotted for prepping.   

I found Palmquist and Prenevost’s article to be very well written and gave support to the fact that the needs of students and the use of technology varies with each individual student and teachers need to be cognizant of the appropriate learning tools or each student.