Read Alouds, Shared Reading and Story Mapping

"Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." -Marva Collins

My 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Zak was an awesome teacher. I remember that we had spelling contests in her class. The class would line up in front of her and each of us would get a turn in spelling a word. The first student to get to the front of the line three times would win the contest. I won many spelling contests. Mrs. Zak always encouraged me to read more to find new words to spell. At the end of the year, I received an award for being an excellent student in her class. She made me feel so special!

In Chapter 7, it mentions read alouds, shared reading and story mapping. These are great strategies to use in the classroom to improve student achievement. I remember having a student that had trouble recalling what he read after just finishing a story. I used story mapping to help the student with this problem. We labeled the paper with the characters, setting, problem, main events and the resolution of the story. At the end, when the student realized that he accomplished this task of remembering what he read, it was great to see him smile for the first time.

Retellings

"A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank...but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child." -Forest Witchcraft




This quote summarizes why I became a teacher. I know that the teaching profession has many demands and is not the best paying job. I became an educator to inspire my students to become the very best that they can be. Hopefully, I make them realize that they have the potential to see that sky's the limit and everything is within their grasp with hard work and determination.


In Chapter 6, it mentions retellings. The activity of retelling involves reading a book to your students. After the read aloud, students are to draw a picture from their favorite part of the story. Then they try their best to recall the story through their writing. I have used this strategy in teaching. It allows me to see if my students understand what is being read to them. It displays their writing potential or abilities and how I can help them improve their writing.

Reading Success

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." -William Butler Yeats

Even after ten years of teaching, the greatest feeling in the world is when I see the "spark" in my students' eyes signifying that they understand what is being taught.

In Chapter 5, it mentions running records. A running record is a method of observing and recording a child's oral reading using any text he/she happens to be reading. I have used this strategy in the classroom. My students read a portion of a book that interests them. I record my observations. Then I show my students their miscues and have them practice reading the book. The next day, I have the students read the book to me again. It is great to see their progress and over time their reading fluency improve.

A Teacher's Role

"The greatest sign of a success for a teacher...is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist." -Maria Montessori

Every year, my goal as a teacher is to be able to have each student work independently. It is the greatest satisfaction that I can have when my students are able to do a task without my assistance.

Chapter 4 mentions that the author at the beginning of the year gathers "just-right" books for her students and schedules reading conferences for each of them. The author also uses writing conferences and guided writing to see their ability. In my very first year of teaching, I used these strategies when grouping my students. At the end of the year, I did individual conferences again to see if each student improved in their reading and writing. It was a great feeling when I did see progress in my students.

Think, Think, Think

"Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think if only you try!" Dr. Seuss

You have to be able to think about the decisions that you make. Everything that we do in life, there is always a decision and a consequence. Educators think about the ways that we can make learning fun in our classroom, we think about the appropriate materials to use with our students, we think about the teaching strategies that we should utilize that meets the needs of our students, we think about games to play, books to read etc ..Oh, we think, think and think....

Ready or Not

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely." Auguste Rodin

Through my years of teaching, there were times when I would think about the set up of my classroom, the materials I chose to use, my methods of teaching and what would happen if I had done things differently. I never had just one way of doing anything. With all I've been through and all I've done, I never thought any of my experiences were a waste of time.

The wisest decision I've ever made was trying it out.

In Chapter 3, Taberski points out the organization of classroom space, materials, and class schedules. I really enjoyed this chapter because I was able to relate to many of the experiences mentioned by Taberski. I love to organize! Organizing my classroom space was by far the best experience for me. Materials and class schedules were always worked out with colleagues. I had a very supportive grade level when I first came in to teaching. I had an abundance of resources and materials to execute any lesson. As a teacher, I believe that my classroom reflected the goals I had set up to achieve. Teachers should continue to create classrooms that reinforce strategies and methods that allow children to practice and experience learning.