Literacy Focus

Literacy instruction in the 3rd grade class at Fairview takes place in the morning and afternoon. Students do word work individually at their desks right when they start class, while my CT is working on students individually or in a small group for assessments. Then reading is in the morning after they go to a special. My CT tells them to grab their reading binders and to go to the book nook, which is in a corner of the class by the bookshelves (with a poster board and teacher chair). The bookshelves have several crates of books that are organized and labeled in different categories. Students sit on the floor, while my CT stands or sits by the poster board. My CT does a mini-lesson on finding the “just right” book, and another time did a mini-lesson on types of books (science fiction, fairytales, biography, autobiography, etc.). Then the teacher tells the students to go read (using comprehension techniques, like rereading, using pictures to understand, questioning, etc. to help see if understood text if it is a “just right” book, and encouraging students to read a biography or non-fiction text). Students go to their cubbies, and get their crate full of books they are interested in, and bring it with them to wherever they would like to read in the room (in their “nest” or “nook”). They pick a book they want to read, or go to the bookshelf and find another book they want to read. After they read the book, they write the title of the book and log it in their reading binder as easy, just right, or challenging. They can go on to read another book if there is more time. Once time is up, the teacher tells them to go back to their seats and to open up to their reading response page, and right why the book was just right or not, and/or what they liked from the book.

RTI is between math and writing in the afternoon. Students are pulled aside to work individually or in a small group. My CT had me watch one time when she was doing a running record with a child. She explained how it works and how she calculates it to show if the child is reading limited, instructional, or challenging. For writing, my CT usually gives them a prompt, and they write and draw a picture. They write in their journals at their desks, or they are provided a sheet of paper with a box for their picture and lines for writing a description. They did this for why they like or dislike writing. Another time, they wrote about what their favorite wild animal is and had to draw a picture.

This connects to what we have learned at ISU. We have learned about mini-lessons, assessments like running records, grouping strategies (individual, small group, and large group), Vygotsky's theory of social learning, using children’s interests, comprehension strategies, journaling, etc. My CT incorporates all of these things in her classroom. I think that these things work well in the classroom, and I would like to use in my own classroom. The students are engaged with what they are reading and writing. But I have seen some students be off topic and not really reading or writing when they should. They talk to their peers next to them about different things. But sometimes they do talk to each other about the book they are reading.

This helps inform my future teaching in literacy. I see how these strategies work, and may not work sometimes. I would like to have a book nook, but have it be more inviting and comfortable with couches, chairs, bean bags, etc. I also would organize by books by categories, and have a wide variety. I think that it is a good idea to have my students have their own crate of books that they are interested in. But I would make sure they are expanding their reading and don’t keep reading the same type of books. This also helps to know that letting the students find their own nook, can help them be more interested in reading if they want to read quietly to themselves or with someone else. Small groups also help in social learning, but I would need to watch the behavior issues when students aren’t doing what they are supposed to. Also, the writing time and prompts can be limited, I would want to make sure students have opportunities to expand on their writing and what they write about using different activities.