Blog 5

I thought this week's readings were very insightful, particularily Chapter 4 from Creating Literacy Rich School for Adolescents.  I am doing my FEEP course this semester and I have seen many of the issues Chapter 4 addresses in my classroom.  My FEEP classroom is a 7th and 8th grade resource Math and Language Arts.  Just like some of the students the book talked about, the students in my classroom attend regular classes for the the majority of their day.  However, most (if not all) of the students are reading around a 2nd grade level or below.  While in this class I often get discouraged and wonder if these students will ever learn to read.  I also question how they are able to comprehend the lessons in a regular classroom when they are struggling with simple passages.  I have always considered teaching high school students, but seeing the students struggle makes me believe I should teach a younger age so I can intervene and help students start/stay on track.  Luckily this chapter has given me more confidence in teaching older children.  This chapter has helped me see that just because the students are behind does not mean that they are hopeless. 

In this chapter I learned many different strategies to help struggling students.  If caught at an early enough age, I believe RTI can be very beneficial for students.  By using RTI we can try multiple settings to implement interventions and catch struggling learners early.  It also eliminates Special Education for some students; some students may not need to be in Special Ed, rather they just need a little more instruction (or attention) in a couple of areas.  Another strategy I learned from this book is to utilize reading and students interests rather than using textbook programs.  By developing lessons around a student's interest we are able to get them more engaged.  Also, textbook programs focus on one skill at a time.  When we focus on one skill at a time, students are not focusing as much on the comprehension of the story.  If we use stories and have students use different skills as they read they are getting much more practice.  The final strategy I learned in this chapter is to do a lot of small group activities.  By doing this, students are able to recieve more attention and are focusing on the area they are struggling in.  If a teacher constantly teaches to the whole class they are not addressing the different levels of their students.

After reading this chapter I find myself asking...
How can we show teachers that textbook programs are not always as successful as we would imagine?  Is there a way to influence teachers to create their own lessons around readings rather than a program?

I would like to see if these strategies helped the students my FEEP class.  Once again I am so glad I read this chapter!  It definitely gave me some encouragement and makes me want to go out and help teach struggling readers to read!