Blog 3

I used a leveled science reader for my assignment so I am able to use this text very easily in my cross-curriculum lesson plans. I love this set of science readers because each book, on every subject, comes in 3 different levels...below, on and above grade level. I am, therefore, able to expose the content to all of students in a way that is easier for each of them to understand.

My school also uses social studies leveled texts. I find this especially useful when studying important people from the past. I love that everyone gets to learn about the major focal points of each individual but that, depending on levels, are challenged to get deeper in their understanding.

Another thing that I love about my informational library is the comprehension questions at the end of each reader. They are open-ended so I am really able to get a good feel for how each of my children are comprehending and retaining the information that is provided.

Blog 2

To utilize the Evidence of Thinking chart in our book, I chose to listen to one of the lower readers in my classroom. Since I teach 5^th grade and have an inclusive classroom, I decided to pick one of my lower “regular ed” children who doesn’t already receive the specialized help from the Special Ed teacher daily. Student H reads on a level Q independently. I asked him to read from his “free choice” novel.

                Student H struggles with anxiety to the point that it hampers his ability to answer questions orally even in a one-on-one setting. I try to allow this child the chance to read to me or work on math problems with me in hopes that eventually he will learn to self-sooth and calm down with his anxiety.

                As he was reading the text, I noticed, again, that the shaking in his voice dominated his thought processes. He would substitute the word “the” at random times as a time holder rather than just taking a breath. He would rush the lines and end up repeating the same line or skipping lines all together. There was no time for any discussion while he read because he was focused on his only end goal: finish the text so this lady will leave me alone.

                This issue of anxiety is something Student H has struggled with for years, according to his parents. He is of average intelligence and his highest level of success is found in reading and writing. He generally has good ideas in his stories and essays and higher order of thinking is evident when provoked in writing assignments. However, when requested to orally give information or answers, Student H is preoccupied by the other issues and answers only minimally.

                After my questions about his interests seemed to only agitate him more, which I found ironic since this was a free choice book and one that he was enjoying, I decided to let him write a short essay on what he liked or didn’t like about his text. In that essay he was able to discuss how the author made the sci-fi animals have human qualities that he could relate to (strength for the lion) and how he thought that it was “awesome” for the author to trick him in that way. He was able to predict how he thought the book would end and, again, seemed excited to continue reading.

I used the above for my LM 2 submission (with more information than above) but I wanted to post it here because it really is my reflection from the chapters of this week. We teach comprehension, comprehension, comprehension...but what happens when outside factors affect the ability to portray that comprehension? My wheels are turning...