Fran's+Project+Page

Literacy-Issues Worth Fighting For

Directions: Rank these issues in order of importance to you from 1 to 10. (1-most important; 10-least important)
 * Full-Day Kindergarten || 4 ||
 * Smaller Class Size || 2 ||
 * Achievement Gap || 8 ||
 * Universal Preschool || 3 ||
 * Professional Development || 9 ||
 * Family Involvement || 1 ||
 * Early Intervention || 5 ||
 * Better Access to Books || <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">6 ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Extending the School Day/Year || <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">10 ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">Fairness in Funding Schools || <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">7 ||

“Many factors accelerate the achievement of struggling readers, but they are not all within the power of classroom teachers. These changes, additions, and adaptations usually require a total school effort, an administrative decision, or some form of community action. Some require political action in legislative arenas” (Cunningham & Allington).

It is very difficult to rank these from most important to least important when everything on this list is important for an effective and positive learning experience. While some things such as better books and funding will benefit some students, other things such as universal preschool and full day kindergarten will benefit other students/families. -- Frances M.

I s it better to benefit the family by providing an education or by babysitting? Providing all day preschool especially is like free daycare. Children need their parents/guardians. They also need down time. If their is an emphasis in social at this age I am all for it. Exposure to reading is all well but studies prove it doesn't make a better reader in the future. Reading to children does. -Tori
 * As a matter of fact, most quality preschool programs focus on social interaction and the child's ability to sel-regulate in the educational setting. Some teachers even make their kids write up a plan for organized playtime. Students are provided with different learning centers and there is a set focus for learning and socializing to develop language. It's definitely more than just playtime or babysitting. However, not everyone considers it important. I personally think it's because they are just misinformed or unaware of the implications it has, especially for children in disadvantaged settings. --Prof. K. **
 * I think Preschool is great opportunity for children to develop their language skills, especially if their home environment doesn’t allow for that. The social benefits of pre-school are also undeniable. Young children learn social skills when they interact with other children. Preschool also allows for children to learn self regulation, conflict resolution, how to function in a classroom community and how to follow a routine, which will better assist them in transition into Kindergarten and beyond.---Kimberly **

I guess, Ken, I took this stance here for two reasons. 1, because I figured most of the group would be pro all-day preschool and wanted to explore the other side and 2. after years of working in a school setting, a setting that was child care I might offer a little insight.

I have been the Child Care Director for 11 years. Which means I run the BeforeCare, AfternoonCare, and the LateDayCare Program. When I started at Franklin they only had Pre-School Handicap program and half day kindergarten. The AfternoonCare component of my program existed as child care for the AM kindergarten students if needed by families. Time escapes me now but I am going to say about my 4th or 5th year in the school began offering a tuition based morning pre-school for the general education population. It's concept was the creation on the pre-school handicapped teacher. She sadly passed before seeing the program implemented.

The first years of the program it was a success as Shelia had invisioned it. A place for children to interact, inclusion to happen easily, and also a way to assess children earlier then kindergarten entry tests. My program AfternoonCare then acted as child care in the afternoon for this as well as the kindergarten. There and still are 2 classes for the pre-school what we refer to in the school as the 3 year old class and the 4 year old class. The 4 year old class is comprosed of the children that will be entering kindergarten the following year. In the programs 3rd year there were some staffing issues. I was asked to step into the position of head of the class. I obviously could not be given the title of teacher because I did not have a little piece of paper that said so. I was unsure. Not of the age group but how it would work. The 4 year old teacher was to come over and teach my little guys and I would cover in her class. I was essentially in charge of daily class activities and to oversee the staff. It was an interesting experience. Gave me some insights.

In the morning I would be with the 3 year preschool class and in the afternoon I returned to my primary position as child care director. There is such a difference in children depending on the time of day! These little guys are more active, happier in the morning. This allows for optimal learning. By the afternoon they are tired, need rest, and downtime in general. That is just a quick and general observation. However it did shape my belief that Public School Pre-School should not be all day for everyone. I see public school pre-school being so beneficial to all but it can become daycare. These children need downtime and I don't believe it should be at the expense of the tax payer. I am not saying that learning doesn't happen in the afternoon but I am saying these little ones can't go, go, go.

Unfortunately, I do believe it is a question of zip code. Where I am, where I work, is far from city. I look out my classroom window and I see cows and cornfields. I completely see all day preschool beneficial in an a very urban or low income area. Earlier intervention to these children and families will help all involved especially the children. If all day pre-school is learning based, fabulous. If the argument is to help families so they can work I don't agree with it. There are other organizations that can help with child care payments. I am not so certain in these economic times and cutbacks in education the school system should be providing preschool to "help" families. If help means to give children the chance to grow into amazing children/adults. YES YES YES. If the argument is to help so parents can work then my response is No.-Tori

Literacy Development: PPT We learn from and with others (Socially) -LS Vygotsky: Studied the importance of social facors in cognitive development. || It is so important for children to be socialized because they learn so much from the intereaction they have with their peers. Although formal education is extremely important there are many things that children learn from one another that they cannot pick up from a text book. Learning how to socialize, problem solve, articulate themselves and communicate are essential for functioning in society. This is one of the main reasons I believe children should go to pre-k and have all day kindergarten. It is an important part of their social development. || The support and guidance provided by an adult or more capable peer.
 * **Social Constructivism**
 * **Scaffolding:**
 * Goal:** The learner should not succeed too easily nor fail too often. || I have never been introduced to this concept and it really resignated with me. The goal is so interesting to me!! "The learner should not succeed too easily nor fail too often." This is brilliant.....it is very important to allow students to fail and get comfortable with being uncomfortable because succes does not come easy to all. However it is more important to students to understand what it means to work hard and marvel in the accompllishments as a result. Too often parents/teachers do the work for their students especially if they are experiencing difficulty because it's just easier. ||

AGREE, AGREE! Scaffolding is so important. As well as keeping expectations high. High for each child, given each child's ability is different. -Tori
 * I am a big fan of Vygotsky and his concept of scaffolding. As parents, we scaffold for our children all the time to prepare them for life. As teachers, we should always plan our instruction so that we scaffold the children with the goal that they will be able to continue on their own. Vygotsky is also known for his idea of “Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).” The Zone of Proximal Development is the difference between what a learner can do with help from someone more skilled or knowledgeable than what they can do without help. It is important that children work at level that is challenging yet attainable.--Kimberly **
 * Although brief, you bring up very interesting points of discussion based on the overall "Nature of Literacy." I am interesting in hearing more about some of your reflections from the text. --Prof. K. **

I apologize for my short response. Kim and I just completed an Educational Psychology course. The idea of scaffolding is something we often discussed and revisited. Between running here and there I just wanted to affirm with her that I was in agreement thus far. I will write more on Mr. Vygotsky, his idea of scaffolding, and how it could benefit literacy later today. -Tori
 * I should have been more specific. I wanted to hear more of Fran's responses to the text. Tori, you post PLENTY of reflections and responses for everyone. :) --Prof. K. **

Journal Entry #1 What does a "balances approach" to reading instruction mean? By: Sebastian Wren PhD.

Researchers research. Teachers teach. The debate stems from research. People believe in their philosophies. They research, they test, and they fight for their thoughts because they believe in them. Teachers listen to the research. Then have to apply it not in a control group but in a real life classroom. Some things work, some things don't. It's wonderful to have options out there. As teachers we can not be stuck on one approach. Each class is different, each child is different and we need to adapt. As I read through the different approaches, I take each as knowledge to build upon but not one as the be all and end all. The balance to which they are applied does not have to be 50/50 it could be 25/75 as long as the reading experience comes to 100% for the child.-Toria
 * < Whole language vs.Phonics approach ||< Reflections ||
 * < "Emphasis in a whole language classroom is not placed on reading precision and accuracy but on comprehension and appreciation --children are not expected to read the text verbatim, they are allowed to insert and substitute words as long as the story still makes sense, and as long as the child is understanding the gist of the story." ||< I personally have never heard or been taught using this method. As a student learning to read I was expected to read the word that was in front of me and the teacher would not allow us to move to the next sentence until we were able to finish the material we were assigned verbatim. I uderstand how this method would encourage the love of reading and make you appreciate the story instead of the text but I think this method will also enable the students and prevent them from learning the meaning of specific words, rather substitute them for words that mean something similar yet less difficult. ||
 * "In a phonics classroom, great emphasis is placed on reading precision, and children are encouraged to read the words exactly as they appear on the page." || This method of teaching is more familiar to me. I was taught to read the words as they appeared. Reading is difficult for most students, the most effective approach is to see how the learner learns and cater to their specific needs. ** Different classrooms will also exemplify the different approaches to reading instruction. Some teachers hold onto phonics, others use whole language, and then we have classrooms with a more balanced approach to literacy given the current recommendations set forth by the International Reading Association, NRP Report, new research, etc. --Prof. K. ** ||
 * "Arguably, The Great Debate, or what some have more appropriately dubbed the 'reading wars,' has been one of the most destructive forces in reading education." || I find it somewhat disturbing that there was so much disagreement on something as important as teaching our children how to read. Well, I guess the importance is what leads to the disagreement. Parents and teachers alike would like nothing but the best for their students and unfortunately in situations like these, the students are the ones getting the short end of the stick. The teacher would like to believe that their method of teaching is the most effective and I think ego's are bruised when their techniques are questioned, however in this profession ego's must be checked at the door and what is best for the student is priority.
 * I think that many are starting to realize that no "one" approach to reading literacy is correct. By taking a one size fits all approach, you are essential going to leave out many students. A balanced instruction is a more effecitive approach to teaching because it enables the teacher to reach all students based on their learning style.--Kimberly **
 * Fran, I don't know if it's disturbing I might just have to disagree on that :-) It's rather exciting The fact that teachers, parents, and the community want the best is the fuel behind the different philosophies out there. New ideas are being developed and researched everyday! When I think back to the changes since I was in school, wow! All to better the children of tomorrow. **
 * W **** e are at the forefront of being the teachers in the room. We take this knowledge and apply it. Part of professional development is keeping abreast of changes of opinion and researching what we believe works best. ﻿-Toria ** ||
 * "While an end to the reading wars could not possibally be more desirable, it is important to remember that a compromise between the two approaches to reading instruction will not necessarily result in the single, best approach." || When you combine two different approaches, neither of which were 100% effective it only makes sense that the combination will also not be 100% effective. Every child processes information differently and although each method individuallly as well as combined will click for some students there will still be students who process information differently left behind. The goal is to figure out what approach works for the majority of the students and then cater to the students who are having a difficult time independently. ** The real challenge exists in the fact that every year your students and their individual needs will be quite different than the classes that came before. No one method is great, and many of the studies that show approaches working in one type of school don't necessarily match the needs of another that is similar in nature. There are so many factors that come into play. I wonder if this is why the great debates always continue. --Prof. K. ** ||
 * " Rather than picking the best elements from these two approaches, it seems sensible to simply ask what information about reading and reading instruction has been supported by research, and move forward from there. If we focus on what research has said about how children learn to read, and if we truly focus on the educational needs of each individual child that is learning to read, then we do not need to concern ourselves with striking any sort of balance or making any compromises in our reading instruction. Educators should not be asking whether a lesson is Phonics-based or Whole Language-based, they should be asking whether a lesson is going to help a specific beginning reader to learn to read." || FINALLY!! The article has begun to make sense to me. With advancements in science and researching education, they finally came to a conclusion that actually makes sense. Students are individuals who experience different things. These individual experiences can play a major role in how the student proceses information and learns. There is no one way to teach 20-25 different people. What works for some will not necessarily work for all. ** So true! **
 * Teaching reading should not be based on what philosophy you think is best. Literacy instruction should be based on what works best for each individual child. Until we start looking at children as "individuals" rather than as a "class", will it be possible for all children to be given a chance at success and reaching their potential.--Kimberly ** ||

February 17, 2011 Life Way After Head Start Makes me think of the book "Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman. There are many components to a "balance wheel of social machinery." According to Goleman, it is a rational and the emotional mind that determines one's success. However, I believe that academic development plays a big role in that success as well. -- Kimberly ||
 * "Balance wheel of the social machenery" || Education is probably the most important aspect in growing as a nation. In order to achieve greatness one must be educated and prepared to compete in todays society. There are other things such as common sense, street smarts and savy that cannot be taught in a classroom, rather are developed through learned behavior and experiences. However if you are not formally educated,it is only so far that you will be able to go.
 * "It prevents being poor" || Studies have shown that high school and further more, college educated students make more money than those who did not complete their high school or college education. For many, money is the motivation. Children are taught that if you work hard and apply yourself in school your reward will be financially beneficial in the long run. Especially for those students who grew up in a financially unstable home, they believe that if they get their education they will be comfortable. (Ironically in today's society, a college degree is so common it makes it difficult to compete with those who have their masters and phd's. Many college students are in debt for the rest of their lives behind furthering their education and have difficulty landing a job in their field due to the economy and the stiff competition.) ||
 * "One to five student teacher ratio" || It is no wonder these students progressed!!! With a 1-5 student to teacher ration, it gives the teacher a better and more effective relationship with the students. It allows for a closer interaction and gives the teacher an opportunity to really be effective in the childs learning experience.

1 to 5 is an amazing ration, I think these students would have done well even if 1-10 was the ration. Just the environment alone was positive. 1-5 just gave them a better chance. -Tori

Definately. The teachers were very motivated too. I think by offering extra help to struggling students and making visits to the home; the teachers really made a welcoming environment and reached out to establish relationships with the student's family. Attention was placed on each "student" and not just on the "class". It really makes a difference when a child is looked at as an individual and not just as part of a bigger group.
 * Smaller class size does allow the teacher to have a better assessment of the students' progress. Right now, given that I have a student teacher, our ratio is 1:8, since I have 16 students. We are working nonstop to make sure that all of their needs are accounted for. However, too many adults in a room can also be counter productive. One might be inclined to take numerous "breaks" or engage in conversations about latest trends and places to eat. :) It is interesting to look at qualitative studies where they collect data on what the teachers are doing and saying during the instructional day. --Prof. K. **

Not only might conversation stray but too many adults in the room can sometimes mean to many opinions on how things should run. It's important for everyone in the room to be on the same page. -Toria ||
 * "Such an intellectually rigorous regime, they argued, could actually harm such children by asking too much of them" || I believe that this statement indicates the problem. Children are born as blank slates, it is the responsibility of the family and teachers to educate them despite their financial situation! As my previous professor used to say, "We teach all the children of all the people." You cannot underestimate a child just because their family dynamics says they will not succceed. It is important to push students to their full potential at all times and believe that they will do well. If you only give students the minimum becauces you believe that is all they can do then that is all they will do.

Agreed. However, we have to keep our expectations realistic. Some children may struggle because of a lack of support from home. Just as every student is unique so is their family make-up, environment. Sometimes we don't just teach the children, but the families and community. AND sometimes the greatest thing we can teach children is love before the ABC's. Unfortunately, there isn't a proposed assessment test to provide merit pay for such acts. Teaching is much more rigorous then many think.

Teaching is more involved then some teachers think as well. Not all, but a handful of teachers give up on students... blame their environment instead of putting in more effort. They give up on their students. When this happens they fail their students, their community. Teaching doesn't stop at 3 o'clock. Teaching doesn't stop at retirement. Teaching comes from the heart and a job for life. When we believe in our students they feel it. When we give up the notice even faster. -Tori ||
 * "What is the impact of preschool, not on the test scores of 7 year olds but on their life chances?" || This is a very important question, actually one that I am dealing with in conidering what age I should enroll my daughter in preschool. Preschool is not only for learning basic information such as numbers and letters. It is a place where children are able to interact and play with one another. Work on their independence from their parents or caretakes and work in groups andutilize their natural problem solving skills. It emphasizes at an early age the importance of education and committment to getting up every day and attending school. It gives them a sense of responsibility and self confidence. These are all very important characteristics that are learned at an early age and carried with them throughout their lives.

The term "basic information" is very broad. What is basic is based on prior knowledge. In most cases everything is basic to these pre school students. At this age social skills are so important. Sharing, conflict resolve, and moving from solo play to interaction with others is huge. You can almost see the wheels spinning when a student realizes their behaviors effect another, and when you see caring come out it's amazing. Empathy is a huge trait that can develop during these years. Pre School sets the tone for the rest of their educational and social lives. -Tori ||
 * "These are children of whom we expect the least" in reference to the students at Ypsilantis South Side school. || It is a shame that the students are looked at like this, it is not their fault that they were born into difficult circumstances. Every child should have a equal opportunity to learn and make something of themselves although that is not always the case. Students are not expected to do well based on their situation and therefore they don't do well. It is soooo importannt to hold students to a high standard and believe that they can achieve.

I agree. Unfortunately not all children have the same opportunities afforded to them. However, as teachers we can try and make a difference. We can make each child feel important and special and make them believe in themselves and what they can do. --- Kimberly
 * Absolutely. You need to maintain a quality of great students, excellent staff, and a determination to strive for high standards of excellence. There are many studies out there that share the successes of such schools in such urban environments. They're often referred to as "Islands of Excellence," given the fact that many schools in similar situations are failing. A key component of their success is high expectations, teachers who truly care, and the implementation of research-based best practices in education across the curriculum. --Prof. K. ** ||


 * Journal Entry #2**
 * Chapter 1 The Nature of Literacy**
 * Pg. 4 "Understanding learning is the only true foundation for sound teaching. No matter how good the materials the program, or the instructional approach, teaching will miss the mark if it is not based on a coherent theory of learning." || As a teacher it is very important to be an expert in what you teach. You must be a scholar of education and understand it's basics. If you don't understand learning how can you teach children to learn? Especially in today's classrooms, we have made great advancements in teaching techniques and have studied the different ways students learn, to be effective a good teacher must be informed about all methods and be able to use those techniques to engage their students.

*I just commented and my remarks aren't there odd.I'll try again.

It is important to know what you are teaching. Sometimes hard to be an expert. There is an amazing oppurtunity at hand when the teacher can say, "I don't know the answer to your question, let's look it up." This a great chance to model research. Together you and the child/class can co-investigate the world. Very empowering to the student.

As for classroom teaching techniques again hard to know everything but keeping yourself aware of current trends is very important. Looking for workshops and reading material on such topics is very important. We just had a chance to talk on Wiki with a reading coach. Such a position is a valuable asset to a teacher if used well. -Tori ||
 * Pg. 5 "Children's thinking develops through direct experience with their enviornmment." || Children develop and grow mentally based on what they are exposed to. Exposure to different things both good and bad help shape different characteristics in the child. This same concept pertains to how children learn. They adapt to their surroundings and learn based off the materials that are around them. There are certain things that children learn from their enviornment that cannot be taught in a classroom. ||
 * Pg. 7 "Our behavior is affected by the set of rewards and punishments we have experienced in the past and by our beliefs, thoughts and expectations." (Westmont Psychology Department, 2008) || Known as the Cognitive Behavioral Modification, students behave based on what they have previously experienced. For example if a student studies for a test and receives a bad grade they will be less likely to study for the next test because they already feel defeated. ||
 * Pg. 10 "It is important that you formulate your own personal beliefs about reading and writing instruction. These beliefs will then be the foundation for your instruction." || There are so many different theories about teaching reading such as behaviorism, cognitive, constructivism, social constructivitism, cognitive behavioral, interactionist and reader response. It is important for every teacher to have a clear understanding on what techique/s work best for their students. Having that clear belief will help to properly prepare the teacher and the classroom as well as ensure that the students have the right materials to compliment the teachers learning technique. ||
 * Pg. 14 "The major influence on the size of children's vocabularies is the quantity and quality of the kind of talk they are exposed to." || A childs brain development from birth to age 3 is so important to their growth. I personally do not believe in baby talk to children because I believe it prevents them from learning and becoming familiar with the sounds of real words. Sometimes parents forget that they are raising men and women and not babies. Children learn by observing, mimickig and repetition so if you speak to a child appropriately they will have a better chance to learn and expand their vocabulary. For example if you constantly call a dog a "woof-woof" the child will grow up thinking that it's called a woof-woof! ||
 * Pg. 17 "Children learn to read by reading." || I LOVE THIS!!! It makes so much sense but so many parents and students just give up on reading because they find it difficult or boring. The only way to learn how to read is to actually read, this same concept can be translated to anything in life. It is impossible to get better at something without practice, i.e. sports, instruments, puzzles and cooking.

For this practice to occurr some readers need a purpose to read before they find enjoyment. It is the teacher and the parent's responsability to find and give purpose. -Tori
 * Good point! All too often teacher, parents, etc. think that children learn to read by completing mundane worksheet activities. Dittos are not as effective as teaching reading skills and strategies in the real context of reading. --Prof. K. ** ||
 * Pg. 23 "Perhaps the most outstanding characteristic of highly effective teachers is that they cared for their students and believed in them. They were genuinely convinced that their sstudents could and would learn, and they acted accordingly." || For the most part, students are only going to do what is expected of them and nothing more. If a teacher expects very little from a student based on their background, family or economic situation, the student is only going to do enough to get by. It is so important to challenge students and make them see their potential.

Exactly, keep expectations high! Reach for the sky and shoot for the stars. -Tori ||
 * Journal Entry #3**
 * Chapter 2 Literacy for All**
 * Pg. 30 "The purpose of NCLB is to ensure that all children have fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic, achievement standards and state academic assessments." || I think that it is very sad that it is taking so long to change the education system. I understand that it is a process and there is a list of things that need to be done in order to make changes but it appears that there are still many students in many districts that are still not reaching the goal of the No Child Left Behind law. It seems like even law makers understand the amount of damage that needs to be fixed or else they wouldn't have given the deadline of 2013-2014. Thats a period of 12-13 years to fix this issue and only 2-3 years left. There is a lot that needs to be done in a short amount of time and I am skepticle that it can be done. Although as a whole, the New jersey education system is doing well and there are many very talented and effective teachers there are still many schools that struggle to get textbooks, desks and have overcrowded classrooms that prevent students from working to the best of their abilities. ||
 * Pg. 35 "With the enactment of NCLB and RTI and the recognition that classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse, attempts are being made to provide for the literacy needs of all students. Providing effective instruction requires, first of all, that we get a sense of the diversity of students in today's classrooms." || It is very important to acknowledge all the different students in today's classrooms. Not just the diversity of social and economic backgrounds but also the diversity of how students learn. It is critical that we change or update the standards and teaching techniques to reach all the children of all the people. Classrooms are no longer segregated enviornments where ESL is its own class or children with disabilities are placed in classrooms away from the general population.
 * Mainstreaming/Inclusion is becoming more and more popular in schools today. This is also true of classes where students of various ability levels are mixed together. "Tracking" or grouping students according to ability has its mixed effects on students achievement, however, most of the research suggests that it is ineffective. I love the idea of including all students in meaningful instruction. I actually take a multiply learning disabled student into my classroom twice a week for hands-on science instruction. Watching him work and cooperate with other students in my classroom is so encouraging. However, at times it can also be a real challenge for the classroom teacher to meet the needs of everyone at one time! :) --Prof. K. ** ||
 * Pg. 38 "The key to developing language is to provide comprehensible input. To make input more comprehensible, modify language to make it more accessible." || Many times as a culture we tend to speak quickly or have an accent dependig on what part of the country we are from. Part of providing a comprehensible input is to speak more slowly and clearly, point to objects and use hand gestures to help explain things. This concept also helps to relate a word to an object which helps younger children when they are learning and identifying different words.

I think about this so often! I went to college out in West Virginia. They way I said call. mal, etc. was a clear difference then my WV & Western PA friends. My NJ accent came out big time. It works both ways. 3 years ago I was testing the sight words and a brilliant child who's parents were from India kept messing up, or so I thought. His English was almost perfect but I quickly realized his "W" sounded more like a "V" which through the words off. I modify how I assessed him. I gave him credit for the words and used it as an oppurtunity to work on the "W'" sound. -Tori ||
 * Pg. 45 "Childrens books can provide a rich input of cohesive language, made comprehensible by patterned language, predictable structure and strong, supportive illustrations." || The beauty of childrens books is that they are usually repetitive and consistant which helps when first learning how to read. Repitition is one of the key elements in learning to read, practice makes perfect! The illustrations are key in relating the words to the objects in the picture which helps students learn to identify objects. ||
 * Pg. 45 "Moreover, if educators blame the victims or their backgrounds, they may lower their expectations for these students. Slavin (1997-1998) suggests that we start looking at these students as having promise and give them kinds of high-quality programs that foster success." || Children are a product of their enviornment but they do not have to be, and their enviornment can change. Every student no matter their personal situation should be challenged, lowering the expectations of a student is one of the most harmful things you can do to their educational growth. Although reaching them may be more difficult, that is what we as educators and furture educators signed up for. Teaching is getting through to the students that present the most struggle, not the student who has been set up for success. ||
 * Pg. 45 "More than 20 million of the nations children live below the official poverty line." || This statistic is very disturbing as both a parent and a future educator. How can we as educators expect greatness from our students when their minds are focused on how they will get their next meal or why they dont have the nice sneakers that the student next to them has. There is so much more to be considered besides what goes on in the classroom such as tests, assessments and preparing students to the future. I think we need to continue to bulid them up but it is also understandable why students facing these circumstances perform the way they do. ||
 * Pg. 47 "The teacher should constantly make efforts to become familiar with the literary heritage of the culturs represented in his or her class, and especially with how literacy is used." || There are so many different cultures that make up today's classrooms that it is essential that the teacher is familiar with the the cultural practices and formation of language that may affect their students performance. There are certain things that are culturally different and that is not something that we can change, rather something that we can be informed about and adjust our techniques to cater to those individuals. ||
 * Pg. 47 " In working with children and parents from other cultures, you need to be metacognitive: You need to realize that you perceive your students and their parents through your own cultural lens and that the lives of your students are different in some ways from yours." || Being from a different culture I realize that my family does things differently then many other American families. This goes for the classroom setting as well, however with the advancements in cultural awareness and classroom training I feel that many new teachers are prepared for a diverse classroom and educated on how to cater to the different needs of the students. I think they are also more understanding to the differnt cultures and mostly think of it as a positive becuase it can be used as a learning tool for other students. It opens the door for cultural conversations and exposes the students to people who are different then they are. All important preparation and training for what they will encounter in the real world. ||
 * Pg. 49 "ADD is NOT classified as a learning or reading disorder. A student can have ADD but demonstrate no difficulty learning." || This quote really stuck out to me because although I know what ADD is and I know what it means to have a learning disorder for some reasn I always equated one with the other. Not until I actually thought about what each meant individually did I realize that one has nothing to do with the other. I do believe that having ADD can effect your concentration which can then effect how you learn but thats not to say that you have trouble retaining the information.

ADDer's tend to have awful short term memory but amazing long term memory. The problem with reading isn't that we can't read but concentrating to read. I'll give you a personal example and stradegy. I have good days and bad days. As an Adder I can procrastinate. This becomes stressful and if say I wait to the last minute and do one of these chapters it could be rough. Some days I can read better then others. It will take me 10 times longer to read and get the work complete then on a good day. On a bad day I can read the words 10 times but never be able to focus on them to obtain meaning. It's very frustrating. On a good day I can wiz through. My stradegy is to get my work complete way before it's due. I give myself deadlines. This way if I give myself the deadline to have chapter 5 complete by Sunday and Sunday comes and it's bad day I have Monday. For this to work I need to be disciplined to keep to my deadlines. A good ADD day to me is like a "normal" person's worse day, day-dreaming to give you an idea. Medicine helps but even on some good meds I have bad days.

ADD is attributed to more of a behavior disorder. There are more and more tests but still one of the tests they give us to "prove" we have it is an old fashioned IQ test. ADDer's tend to score very high. Esp. when it comes to math and logic. Give us a story or words and you'll be there all day as we take the test. It's not the score that points to ADD neccisarily but how long or quickly you answer certain questions. When I took it the psychologist couldn't start and stop the timer fast enough on the math section. Yet days could have turned to night on word correlation. LOL-Tori

There are many misconceptions about ADD out there. It's also hard for children to talk about how their brain thinks. If you or anyone has questions I'm happy to talk about my experiences. It's a way to get first hand information to help understand students. ||

Journal Entry #4 Chapter 3 Assessing for Learnning
 * Pg. 58 "Currently all states are required to have standards in reading and assessment devices that measure progress toward reaching those standards. Because these assessments are used to rate schools, they are high-stakes tests." || It has been proven that having standards helps students in reading. However it is not just about having the standards in place but also having means of assessment in place as well. This process done well has resulted in growth in reading performance.
 * Also, teachers need to keep in mind that standards are a shared vision for what we want for our children. We must remember that they are developing learners, therefore a standard does not mean that they have to be at a certain point indefinitely by the end of each grade level. The standards serve as points of reference. --Prof. K. ** ||
 * Pg. 59 "To make summative assesments more useful, they need to occur more frequently so that changes can be made in the program or additional help can be given to students who are not meeting the standards." || Students should be tested and assessed in a number of different ways both formal and informal frequently throughout the school year in order to properly assist them. It doesn't make much sense to me to give students a test that takes a period of time to review and report the results that it is then too late to help the student. It's seems like you are just telling the students where they went wrong and not providing them ways to make it right. Although I understand the importance of the test I do not understand how it benefits the students education. ||
 * Pg. 59 "Assessing for learnning is ongoing and is concerned with process as well as product." || This quote states perfectly how I feel about the high stakes tests. The most important part of the testing is the student and if he/she will benefit from it. What good are any of these standardized tests if the student leaves school unprepared for the real world. Every test administered should be beneficial to the overall education of the student. ||
 * Pg. 70 "To assess comprehension difficulties, probe responses so that you can gain some insight into the causes, which often have to do with the students thinking process." || This is the problem that I am experiencing with the student that I am tutoring. She has no trouble reading the words or paragraphs but she does have difficulty explaining what she just read. According to the list,she has difficulty with syntax, failure to link ideas in a passage and failure to make inferences. ||
 * Pg. 89 "Measuring growth means that you need to make a comparison between where students were at the point of initial assessment and where they are at the end of assessment." || This is why it is so important to assess students throughout the school year to make sure that they are making progress and if they are not making progress, the assessments will allow you to see where they need additional help. ||
 * Pg. 106 "Just about the most important instructional decision you will make is selecting the appropriate level of materials for your students." || A key component in the classroom is the preparation of the teacher. This includes the lesson, time management, assessment tools and materials used. Materials should be appropriate for the lesson as well as the learning level of the student. It should also be effective in the learning process and be a beneficial learning tool. If you choose a level that is too easy the stdents will be bored and if you choose a level that is too hard the students may become discouraged and frustrated. The right materials at the right level are essential for engaging the students. ||

Journal Entry #5 Chapter 4 Fostering Emergent Early Literacy I am a big supporter of small groups. I think it is very beneficial to both the student and teacher. The student is able to get more attention and assistance and the teacher is able to get a better understanding of how each child is performing. I think gives students a great opportunity to excel. It is especially useful for those students that may not feel comfortable participating or in front of 20 other children. -- Kimberly || This is so true and so unfortunate. This is one reason why preschool is so important. If we can get all children in an effective preschool by the age of 3 and 4, they will be exposed to an environment that is rich with books and words. We can then also encourage parents to read more to their children and educuate them as to the benefits of doing so. -- Kimberly || Journal Entry #6 Chapter 5 Teaching Phonics, high-frequency words, and syllabic analysis
 * Pg. 124 "Regardless of where children are in terms of literacy, an essential step in further development is to create an enviornment that promotes active reading, writing, listening and speaking." || The first impression a child is going to have of education is their classroom. To get off on a positive educational path it is important to create a warm, inviting, and friendly learning enviornment. It should be full of learning tools, books, letters, numbers and colors. Next it should cater to the different kinds of learners and their backgrounds so every student feels included. It should be a comfortable place where students can express themselves verbally and creatively. There should also be a big emphasis on reading and writing since they are the basic essential skills needed for every other lesson. This can be demonstrated with reading and writing corners that are inviting. ||
 * Pg. 125 "The key is to make use of whatever opportunities are available to foster reading and writing concepts and skills." || There are numerous way to get kids engaged in reading and writing without them realizing that they are actually learning. For example, pointing things out during lunch or snack time like the name of their juice box or the asking them to spell the different things that they find in their lunch box. It doesn't take a smart board, a computer or dittos to teach a student the basic skills. Another great way to get them engaged is to make it relatable, have the students write about some of their favorite things or turn spelling into a relay race or memory game. The students will be engaged, learning and all while they are thinking they are having fun. ||
 * Pg. 127 "Being read to develops children's vocabulary, expands their experimental background, makes them aware of the language of books, introduces them to basic concepts of print and how books are read, and provides them with many pleasant associations with books." || It is so important to read to children starting at a very young age. Besides introducing them to words and illustartions it also gets them comfortable and familiar with books. If you read to your child every night before bed or every afternoon after lunch it then creates a positive association with reading and they will be more likely to have a positive attitude towards reading. ||
 * Pg. 132 "Cognitively challenging talk includes analyzing characters and events, predicting upcoming events, making connections between the text and real life experiences, discussing or explaining vocabulary words, summarizing portions of the text, and eliciting evaluative responses about the text by asking students to tell whether they liked the story or who their favorite character was and why." || I think this is an important skill to learn as a student and use to assess as a teacher. This allows the student to reflect on what they are reading, relate it to something in their life and analyze the text that way they have a better chance of unnderstanding the material. Too often I read a paragraph and somewhere in the middle my mind begins to wander and by the time I have completed the passage I have no idea what I just read. I think this tool would have been useful for a learner like myself who needs to review the material to make sense of it before I move to the next passage. This is also a good way to start discussions about the text and get other students to interact as well. ||
 * Pg. 168 "Placing students in small groups means that they can be taught according to their needs and get more individualized attention." || It is easier learning anything new when you are in a smaller group opposed to being in the regular class setting. It makes for a better interaction between the teacher and student and it also gives the students an opportunity to teach one another. I am a big believer in students working in small groups because it gives them an opportunity to teach and learn from their peers.
 * I couldn't agree more. Not to mention, who doesn't love the attention? Small group instruction can be so effective. Teachers have the opportunity to work in the students' zone of proximal development and make a real impact on their motivation and learning. --Prof. K. **
 * Pg. 175 "Some parents, not having been read to themselves, may not realize the value of reading aloud to their children or, because of limited skills, may not feel able to do it well." || It is sad to me when I hear that children are not being read to at home. However with that being said, I also have great sympathy for those parents who were never read to as children or who cannot read themselves. If you don't truly understand the importance of higher education and learning to read and write it is hard to pass on that message to your children. I do believe that if you know better, you do bettter. This is when it is important for schools and local community programs should have classes for parents to get them more involved in their childs education. At these programs they should have the resources to learn to read, learn the importance of reading and even just giving them a place to attend with their child where they can see their schoool work and interact with them about what they are learning in the classroom.

Reinforcement. It is important that children achieve skills before being expected to move on to another one. If a child doesn't learn to master the basics of literacy, it can become very difficult for that child to have good success at reading. That is why it is important that teachers instruct, model, and provide ample opportunity for practice and reinforcement of all skills needed for the development of literacy. -- Kimberly || Maybe not reteach, but I definitely believe that you should reinforce and review the skill. --Kimberly || Journal Entry #7 Chapter 6 Building Vocabulary
 * Pg. 197 "Individual stories could be the basis for a group story or booklet that tells about the talents and abilities of all class members." || Learning the different sounds of different letters when learning how to spell can be a difficult task. Some letters have more then 1 sound such as the letter "C" which can have a soft sound like "cease" or a hard sound like "cow". Distinguishing which letter to use when it sounds like the letter "k" however it is the letter "c" can be very frustrating because it goes against the most common spelling technique; **sound it out!** Picture stories are a great way to help young kids identify which letter goes with which word dispite what it may sound like. They have a better chance of remembering when they have an image to relate it to. ||
 * Pg. 207-208 "If they read materials that contain elements they have been taught, they will learn the elements better and also be better at applying them to new words." || Learning to read is a process and can be a difficult one for many students because we are programmed to speak, we must learn to read. The learning process is done in stages and only enhances as the material gets harder. A student must master one element before moving on to the next because the process is continuous and builds off the previous lesson. If a student is not comfortable with one aspect, how can they be expected to do well moving forward.
 * Pg. 210 "An excellent device to use for reinforcing both patterns and high-frequency words is a word wall." || I think the word wall is an excellent way to help students with their reading and writing. This is something that I would like to implement in my classroom. It helps students expand their vocabulary by introducing new words every week, it also helps students to spell the words because although they may not be fixated on the word they see it everyday and subconsciously learn to spell the word. By including the students and having them suggest relevant words for the wall, they feel included and are more inclined to want to parrticipate in the overall lesson. ** Good point, Fran! Having the students build the word wall allows them to "own" their own learning. I am so against store-bought word walls because they have very little connection to the students. My students enjoy a game called "Applause, Applause." We review the word wall words and students are encouraged to applause if the word wall word in context is positive, or remain silent if it's a negative connotation. This idea is from Isabel Beck's book, "Robust Vocabulary Instruction." The students love it. --Prof. K. ** ||
 * Pg. 215 "Don't reteach skills that students have mastered; it's a waste of time teaching them what they already know." || This is a concept that is going to be difficult for me! Although it is common sense in my everyday life, as a future educator I am using strategies that I saw when I was in school which was practice makes perfect and reteaching topics to make sure they stick. It is a habit I would like to avoid beacuse I understand how annoying, boring and unchallenging it can be.
 * Pg. 220 "Long words pose problems for students. Although students might know the words CAR, PEN and HER, they have difficulty reading the word carpenter." || It can sometimes be difficult to understand why students have such a hard time with multisyllabic words. They can read and write all the smaller words within the word but when you put them all together it turns into a different language. This is a problem I am experiencing with the student I am tutoring. Word building has been my main teaching technique for this and although it is taking more time to master then I had thought, it is working. ||
 * Pg. 222 "Research suggests that children who are encouraged to write early and allowed to spell as best they can develop insights that carry over into their ability to read words." || I believe it is very important for children to be able to explore the english language by reading any and everything they see as well and writing however they feel is correct. It is an important aspect of the learning process for kids to become familiar. The more they learn and the better they become at it, their skills will become polished and more accurate. The majority of this should be done at home and reinforced in the classroom. One more reason why it is so important for parents to be involved in their children's education. ||

Building a vocabulary is essential to reading and comprehending. Early exposure to words and vocabulary really gives children an advantage in their literacy development because children use their prior knowledge and experiences to make connections. --Kimberly I agree not only should we ask children to connect what they already know to new knowledge but to set the foundations for new connections. Creating these new experiences is vital for education to be proceed and is important that new experiences like visiting a farm is used in the classroom before and after the trip. -Toria ||
 * Pg. 260 "To be proficient readers and writers, students must build their vocabularies and learn strategies for coping with difficult words." || It is very important to learn new words and impliment them into your everyday writing. I had a wonderful english teacher in high school who insisted that while reading I wrote down every word I was unfamilair with and looked it up and submitted it to him for homework. He also made me use the word in different contexts. This technique was very helpful to me in expanding my vocabulary. He also had "the word of the day" board where he had a wall in the classroom designated for words we may not know. On this wall he would put the word, the definition and a sentence using the word. Throughout the school year he would build off the wall, similar to the word wall for elementary students and at the end of the year we had a new database of unfamiliar words which we later found out would come very handy when taking the SAT's.
 * Thanks you for sharing this. It definitely sounds like you had a wonderful English teacher. Very few teachers are willing to take the risk of introducing a word wall at the secondary school level. An SAT word wall is a great idea! Even as a traveling teacher from room to room you can bring along a resuable display board. Students will clearly appreciate the additional effort, just like you did. --Prof. K. ** ||
 * Pg. 261 "The most effective step that a teacher can take to build vocabulary is to provide students with a variety of rich experiences." || Students learn best when they can take the information that they learn in the classroom and equate them to everyday experiences. It also helps them to remember when have a visual to relate it to. As an educator, it is important to introduce students to things they may not otherwise experience outside of the classroom. These experiences such as visiting the farm, zoo, beach, museum and musicals are great learning experiences that students will rememer and can be used as effective teaching tools.
 * Again, you touch on the point that learning has to be relevant to students' lives. --Prof. K. **
 * Pg. 264 "Multiple exposures to a word create multiple connections, and so the meaning of the word is more readily retrieved." || Different techniques work for different learners. While some students can understand and remember their vocabulary words by reading them, other students need objects that relate to the word to fully understand. As an educator I must cater to the different learning styles of my students and impliment a number of different activities to explain the same lesson so if one activity doesn't click, the other activity will. These different exposures to the words create different connections to the word that ultimately help the students to remember the word and what it means based on their exposure to it. ||
 * Pg. 279 "In-depth study of words and multiple exposures will help students attain sufficient understanding of words and how they are used so that they will be able to employ them in their speech and writing." || Not only does the multiple exposure of words help with recognition and reading/writing, it also helps the creative writing process. Being exposed to a word in different ways helps the student come up with different scenarios in which the word can be used. These different exposures also help trigger the imagination and different ideas that help when writing creatively.

They may trigger imagination in those students that are tend to lean towards the creative side but may cause frustration in those students that are concrete learners. It is important to expose children to all learning styles but equally important to remember to support children of all learning styles. - Tori ||
 * Pg. 285 "The greatest disparity between educational achievers and non-achievers in US schools lies in vocabulary and background, which means that the single greatest need for under achieving schools and under achieving students is building vocabulary and background." || This concept seems so simple and the solution seems so easy! So why are so many schools and students under achieving??? These kinds of problems can be resolved with very little financial contribution and no complex procedures. The suggestions offered in the book can be done in a short period of time and impact students for years to come. "To build vocabulary, all you need to do is make a few adjustments to things you do anyway. Talk in a way that builds vocabulary, read stories aloud using Text Talk or a form of it, make vocabulary development a part of students' reading, make students word-conscious, and have fun with words." ||
 * Pg. 287 "One of the most powerful word attack skills is morphemic analysis, determining a words meaning through examination of its prefix, root, and/or suffix." || I always found it helpful to understand the word if I knew the origin and breakdown of the word. Sometime if you know what each individual part of the word means, it has a better chance of sticking. It also helps when expanding your vocabulary because many word backgrounds repeat themselves so as you are introduced to new words with the same origin, prefix or suffix you already know what some of it means. ||

Journal Entry #8 Chapter 7 Comprehension: Theory and Strategies Comprehension is made up of so many different components. However, if a child hasn't developed good fluency, vocabulary, and word recognition, his/her comprehension would most definitely be compromised. That is why such instruction is important - Kimberly ||
 * Pg. 307 "Comprehension is a constructive, interactive process involving three factors-the reader, the text, and the context in which the text is read." || All three of the comprehension factors must be addressed individually in order for effective learning to take place. Most students in a classroom will be reading at different levels so it is important to understand what they already know and address what it is that they don't know. Comprehension is a difficult aspect of reading and can take some students longer to grasp then others. ||
 * Pg. 310 "Although background knowledge is an essential element in comprehension, decoding and related skills are also important." || When teaching english as well as learning english it is important to keep in mind that each new lesson must build from the lesson before and without fully understaning the previous lesson it will be that much more difficult to move forward. Comprehension is just one part of reading, if the vocabulary, syntax and decoding is not clearly understood, comprehension will be difficult for that student.
 * Pg. 319 "One problem that students have in recognizing or generating main ideas is a tendency to focus on a narrow statement of a single detail instead of on a broad statement that includes all the essential information in a paragraph." || As a student I used to get caught up in trying to figure out a story sentence by sentence instead of reading forward and later decifering the entire paragraph. My bad reading habits which ultimately turned into bad study habits is the same concept as students focusing on one statement instead of the main idea. It is a hard habit to break because it is difficult to deter your focus once it is fixated on an idea.

Thanks for sharing Fran. Were you able to break the habit and if so how? I believe it is so important to learn how to work with children from our own mistakes. -Tori ||
 * Pg. 331 "Some students are text bound and may not realize that answers to some questions require putting together several pieces of information from the reading or using their background of experience plus that information to draw inferences." || This is one of the reasons why it is so important to expose children to a number of different things. Not only does it allow them to relate different vocabulary words to actual images, it also helps with their common/general knowledge. ||
 * Pg. 341 "One of the most valuable repair strategies is looking back, but it is typically underused. Students may not realize that they can look back at a text when they cannot recall a specific bit of information or do not understand a passage." || This strategy is so important!!! It is one of those techniques that you will use throughout your entire educational career. It is important to become familiar with it, it is useful for studying and to stay focused while reading. Especially as the reading selections become more difficult. It is a technique that is so incredibally simple however rarely used. ||
 * Pg. 345 "The degree to which comprehension is fostered depends on the quality of the thinking and ideas exchanged." || Thinking and ideas exchanged generate new ideas. In sharing your thoughts and ideas it creates a better understanding of the topic being discussed. ||
 * Pg. 354 "Through observation, note the strategies students use before, during and after reading. Note in particular what they do when they are stumped by a passage." || This is a great way to assess students progress. There are many great ways to make sure students are on task and this particular way to assess is one I actuallly use with my 1 year old. I like to watch her when she is stumped (during everyday activities because she cannot read yet) and observe her problem solving skills.

Verbalizing these observations to the student is such a valuable tool. Sometimes we may see things about a child's learning that they are unaware of. Helping a child understand how they learn and what works for them is some of the most valuable information we can help provide. Tori
 * Both of you are reflecting on the importance of observing child development. This reminds me of my next door neighbor. I am always telling her to read to her child. The other day she mentioned that her little boy is only 6 months old. The teacher/researcher in me printed out an article and left it in her mailbox. :) --Prof. K. ** ||

__Tutoring:__ 2/19/11 Toni Grade : 3 School: Berkley School, Bloomfield NJ __Day 1:__ We began with the assessment about what she likes in order to break the ice and get to know eachother's interests. She enjoys sports, animals, jokes, friendships, dogs, cooking, music and families. She also included riding her bike, playing with her friends, guitar hero and listening to her ipod. This assessment allowed me to understand what's important to her and how I can get her attention when we begin our reading and spelling assessments. We also did the Garfield assessment today to see how she felt about reading. She scored a 48, she explained to me that she doesn't really like to read especially in front of the class because she gets nervous. She focuses on the words and getting them correctly however doesn't comprehend what she just read. When I asked her to read a paragraph to me out of her favorite book she had difficulty explaining it to me and began stuttering and getting flustered when she couldn't gather the words to say what she was thinking. I could tell she was getting frustrated so we decided to end for the day. __Day 2:__ Today Toni and I worked on vocabulary words, I wanted to start the day continuing the assessment process to see where she was with spelling. I used the words provided by the professor instead of the words she was working on in class. She had difficulty with the "ou" words such as curious and tongue. She finished in the instructional group 14-17/ 70-85%. I then asked her to use the vocabulary words to create her own story, it could be as long or short as she wanted and she could use as many of the words as she wanted but had to use atleast 5. She spent about 20 minutes writing her story and actually got really into it. I was surprised how motivated she was to write. When it came time for her to read it to me she told me about the different characters and even changed her voice when the different characters spoke. I was really happy with her entire attitude about the lesson! She appeared more motivated then the last time we met and was looking forward to working together again. Before we finished I asked her to pick out a book from her collection that she would read to me next time we met. __Day 3:__ I have been trying to figure out different creative ways to help Toni-Renee with her reading comprehension. After speaking with a group of friends who happen to be teachers we collectively came up with a number of fun learning games that I tried out on Toni-Renee over the course of our next few sessions. For the first learning activity, I cut out pictures from magazines that in a sequence will tell a story. I glued the pictures to index cards and mixed them all up. I then placed all of the cards in random order on the floor and asked Toni-Renee to put the cards in order to tell a story and explain to me what the story is. I then asked her to write the story the way she interpreted it in her journal. The purpose of the game is to have the students predict what would happen next in a sequence of events. In creating the story yourself according to the pictures, the student has a better chance of understanding or comprehending what they are seeing. This game was a big hit!! The story that she came up with was so creative and funny and it actually got her interested in writing. ** This particular activity sounds like a great idea for speculative writing. Can you be more specific about how it helps to further develop Toni's reading comprehension? Also, I am a bit confused by the Day #2 posting. The Examiner Word List is intended to measure Vocabulary growth/knowledge, not spelling ability. Your interaction with Toni is really positive. You can tell that she is motivated to continue working with you. --Prof. K. ** __Day 4:__ The next learning activity I worked on with Toni-Renee is a game I like to call Blank-Out. I wrote on a piece of paper a paragraph about something that she was interested in, I then left numerous words out of the paragraph and had her fill in the blank with the words she thought made the most sense in the context of the sentence and the overall paragraph. We then went over the paragraph with the words she chose and I had her explain to me what the short story was about. I was really happy to see the different words she used to fill in the blanks, and I was even happier to see that she had a few different words that meant the same or had similar meanings that she wanted to use before she decided on one. This activity appeared a bit more challenging. We had to re-read the story numerous times before Toni-Renee understood what it was about. It seemed like she was just reading it to read, not necessarily for comprehension. __Day 5:__ Today we worked on Toni-Renee’s vocabulary words for her test. She had to spell the words and define them so we created a flip book and she wrote down the words and their definitions. She used the flip book to study for 30 minutes before I quizzed her. She really liked the idea of the flip book because it is something that she had never seen before. I allowed her to choose different color construction paper and colored pencils to create the flip book and she was very happy with the way it looked.
 * General Observation:** Toni-Renee is easily distracted and appears to have trouble with comprehension and spelling. She can read fairly well however has difficulty understanding the meaning behind what she read. She doesn't enjoy reading for leisure but will when given an encentive. According to her teacher her grades have been good but she is obviously having difficulties in her reading class. After speaking with her mother, I was told that she doesnt spend much time reading at home and usually lies about her assignments for that class to get out of doing it.

While she isn't excited about reading is she excited to work with you, and have a chance for one on one interaction? Getting the child engaged is half the battle if she isn't. A child that doesn't seem concerned about pleasing and doesn't want to work is like a hard piece of clay that needs warmth to be less rigid :-) -Tori *Just hearing your about your observation today it seems like she's a fresh piece of clay ready to be worked!

Fran -- Glad to see she is motivated! Sometimes I feel like that’s half the battle. -- Kimberly


 * Thank you for sharing this information with us, Fran. When we go over our assessments on Friday we will really get a strong grasp on how to help Toni. For the sake of anonymity, I did erase her last name (even though we're the only professionals viewing this site.) I always look forward to our Friday meetings! --Prof. K. **