Here’s your new posting: Sharing what you are learning
27 02 2008As you prepare to become literacy specialists/coaches, teachers will be asking you for help with literacy learning in their classrooms. Based on what you have learned so far with your student, what can you extrapolate to share with your teachers? In other words, what should literacy specialists/coaches tell teachers based on your experience ?
Well, I feel that there needs to be some sort of assessment to take place. The teacher needs to do some form of formal or informal assessment, to gage where the student is. That would be my first piece of advice. Then once we find out the information from that, we would be able to recommend some intervention strategies/instructional strategies to help that student.
I think I might have a slight advantage in answering this question as compared to others who might not have taken LIT 669 which discusses what literacy coaches and specialists do exactly! I am learning a lot in that class as to what the job of a coach is and I realized that I did not really know what the role of the coach is. Most important for me to realize is that literacy coaches don’t really work with students, they work with teachers and it is the job of the coach to remember that their role is to instruct teachers how to better work with their students.
In working with my student, although I have only met with him twice so far, I think the most important thing I am seeing and learning is that high school students have almost lost the drive to want to succeed in reading or achieving other literacy goals. For example, Will, my 19 year old 12th grader, told me that he does want to read better, but he feels almost let down because he is about to head off to college and he still struggles a lot and he doesn’t understand why some teachers in his high school have sort of “given up” on him.
Taking this into stride, if I had to tell teachers, as a literacy coach, it would probably be to never give up on students, no matter what their age or what their exterior may seem to present. Even if students give off the impression that they might have no interest in learning more and improving their reading, I find it very, very difficult to believe that there are students out there who don’t want to know how to read better. Teachers need to just remember to never give up on their students, even if they are 19 years old and almost done with high school!
I agree with Kristin that the first thing the teacher needs to do is some sort of assessment, first informal (observation) then formal (Flynt-Cooter Reading Inventory) with the child. As I learn more and more about literacy and becoming a specialist/coach, I will be able to help him/her become familiar with the different assessments that I find beneficial. Even though I have not completed the Flynt-Cooter Reading Inventory yet, I really like the step by step process it provides for the teacher, and anyone whether they are a reading specialist or not, can administer it easily.
After the assessment process is complete, as a coach I would sit down with the teacher and figure out what type of reader the student is and look at his/her strengths and weaknesses. With this information, we can then research different instructional strategies to help the student become a successful reader. The teacher has to realize that this won’t be an overnight process, but that it will take some time. Teachers need to have patience and like Stacey said, never give up on their students.
With the following information that I have learned about Logan, I would inform his teachers that he has difficulties in the areas of phonetics and basic reading and writing mechanics.
Phonetics- In this area Logan has a difficult time with sounding out unfamilair words. I believe that due to his speech problems this area will be a concern because he is not properly pronouncing the words. But, I also find him spelling unknown words incorrectly that he does pronounce right. We are focusing on trying spell by breaking the words into sections- I have found an improvement with this method because he is able to slow down and take his time with these words.
Reading- Logan often has difficulties choosing books that appropriate for his current reading level. Like I have mentioned in my previous postings he often chooses books that are not at his level. This leads him to get frusterated with the material often wanting to give him. I believe that this is an area that needs to be monitored so he doesn’t quickly give in to material that becomes too difficult. I would suggest that Logan would be pointed into the right direction of where he could find proper material that he will be able to succeed with.
Writing- Currently Logan has a great and active imagination. While talking to him you can clearly see this portayed. Verbally he can describe any situation and paint a clear picture. But, when it comes to writing he lacks the detailed aspect of his pieces. I would suggest that Logan uses a graphic organizer while wriitng. This would allow him to put down his ideas on paper and then look back to see where he needs to go from where he currently is.
With these following suggestiions I feel as though Logan would be able to succeed in areas that he is struggling with.
From the many different interactions and discussions that I have had with different reading specialists and reading coaches is that it is very important to work with one another and be on the same page. A reading coach is one that is there to assist the teachers in working on different strategies to better instruct their students. Teachers as well as reading specialist need to maintain a openmind on new trial and error assessments and strategies to find what works best for individual students. If I were a reading coach, I would research different ideas and strategies that could benifit the students and the teachers. I know that I would also want to observe in the classroom to get a better understanding of what the teacher is doing with the students and see how the students are working in that environment and if it working for the students.
I also completely agree with Stacey. Teachers need to never give up on their students and give constant reinforcement and support when it comes to reading. No matter what the age is of a student is that might be struggling, it is never too late to still help them become good readers and enjoy reading as well.
I think the most important thing to bring to the table when speaking about children and their reading difficulties is that all students are different. They all have difficulties in different areas, enjoy different things and learn in different ways. Therefore the biggest thing with these students that are having difficulties is to learn all about this student using something like the interest inventory and with conversation. Once you learn about the student having difficulty make helping him fun.
On the first day that I met with Ethan he wanted no part of me. I had all of these plans for what I was going to do with him. When I arrived he was crying on a chair in the living room telling his mom that he didn’t want to work with me. He has difficulties and he realizes this. I ditched all of my plans and just talked with him. I showed him a picture of my dog that was in my phone. We talked about things that we like and then I told him about this project. Then we read a little of the comics that I brought. He was so excited about working with me that he’s always asking his mom if this is the day that I’m coming. What a change:) If you notice though I went on his level, showed him that I was a person just like him and gave him different reading material besides an average book. Now we will all win in this, Ethan will get help and I complete this task for college.
As a special educator I am communicating with my students’ classroom teachers on a consistent basis. This is something that a literacy coach should also be doing with their teachers that they work with, in order to follow up on strategies and movement in the classroom. I actually just found out, from Stacey, what a literacy coach is and what his/her responsibilities are (thanks Stacey!) As a coach I think it is important to identify a teacher’s teaching styles and relate his/her styles to the learning styles of a focus student. Students learn in all different ways and a coach is a great tool in providing teachers with a variety of tools for assessment as well as instructional strategies that teach to students’ specific learning styles. This is where differentiated instruction may occur, as the literacy coach and classroom teacher can work together to develop differentiated ways of addressing students’ weaknesses within that teacher’s lessons.
From my experiences working with Kalleigh, a literacy coach should tell teachers that they need to work with what students are good at in order to make progress towards improving their areas of weakness. For example, Kalleigh is very observant and recognizes details but has trouble distinguishing which details are relevant vs. those that aren’t. For this, I want to provide Kalleigh with activities that have her use her observant nature while providing her with strategies on how to rank them or relate them to a main idea. Overall, a coach needs to be supportive and resourceful and honest with the classroom teacher.
I agree with Christine and think it is important to remember how different students are from each other. We have to be open minded and willing to try different strategies to help struggling readers. I try to make my students “own” or relate to their literature. I also try to share ideas with my colleagues that work well with different students (reading guides, sqr3, 321). One of the best methods of getting to the bottom of reading problems (with students that are not labeled), is simply talking to them and finding out what is going on. Many times, reading breaks down when students are just simply stressed out or overwhelmed by being a teenager. Many teachers tend to forget what it was like to be in high school- I know as a teacher it is easy to get lost in the academic aspect of high school, but we can’t forget the students are much more motivated by the social piece.
After working with Sam, I am starting to agree with the idea that a teacher should have different-style reading groups set up in his or her classroom. Some students read better by themselves, others read better by hearing it and following along, and yet others would do well if they could read aloud with a coach. When I first heard about this, I thought it would be virtually impossible to do in a classroom and not worth the work involved. However, I can now see the benefits of doing this, and I would definitely encourage high school teachers to set up this kind of structure in their rooms to maximize student learning.
A central theme that runs through all the responses so far is that literacy instruction, especially for struggling readers, needs to be as individualized as possible. That doesn’t mean that each child in the class has his/her own learning plan. The profession tried that and it was much too much for teachers to maintain. But rather, in the class, there is the opportunity for students to do some independent or small group work that suits them.
For those readers who struggle and are behind in reading, they need indivdual attention and explicit teaching.
Leslie–The term is PHONICS not phonetics which is someting else altogether different. Does Logan know the sounds of the letters? It would be a good thing to do assessment on his knowledge of letter sounds. He may not write much because it is so difficult for him to form/spell the words.
I think David touched on a really important point here. It is evident that my student is a struggling reader because of many elements in her history that have limited her exposure to reading; this alone is a stressor to her. In order to be a good literacy coach or specialist, you must first master being a good teacher, and that includes monitoring your student’s needs and problems outside of the academic arena.
That said, assessment is essential. Gauging a student’s ability level allows an instructor to choose appropriate instructional tools. Teachers should be aware that every student learns differently, and because of this, materials may need to be altered in order to achieve comprehension. Much emphasis needs to be placed on the individual characteristics of each learned in a classroom. Although this is sometimes impossible due to class loads and class sizes, teachers can still learn some strategies from literacy coaches/instructors that will allow for a one-on-one connection with a struggling reader.
Dr. Summers, I agree that literacy needs to be as individualized as possible for students who struggle with reading. Literacy coaches need to communicate with teachers as well as assess student’s lndependent reading levels, areas of need, and of course the student’s strengths too. Once the informal and formal assessments have been completed a plan must be developed with objectives in place to foster the student’s growth and improvement.
I definitely have to agree with Stacey since I am in her LIT 669 class as well. We did learn the major difference between a coach and a specialist is the audience that you are working with. I also agree with everyone else on the fact that each strategy used has to fit the student’s individual needs. As all of our students differ, so do the strategies that each one of us are using and the instructional techniques as well.
While working with Emily, I have found that although she struggles with some words and I tell them to her, that is not enough for her to learn the word. After each word I find her struggling with, I write it on an index card and make it into a sight word activity. These may not be the common sight words, but they are words that she will see in the future and will hopefully not be an obstacle if she practice them and repeat them continuously throughout each session. As a coach working directly with the teacher, the piece of advice I would give is to practice, practice, practice. But that is not enough because some students may need more practice than others. Students who do need more practice can get a stack of sight words sent home with them or run quickly through them with the teacher each morning when they come in. The student will enjoy the more individualized attention each morning and it may create a positive atmosphere atmosphere. The teacher must always remember to end on a good note. Do not let their last sight word be a new word that they struggle with. Instead make it one that they have been practicing and let them put it in a “words I know” pile to make them feel successful.
Also, I have found Emily’s motivation to read at home and to read school textbooks to be lacking. While the textbooks I have no control over since I am not in charge of her school instruction, I can help a bit with the reading at home. Finding books for Emily from the library that interest her will help her read more on her own at home because she will want to read the books. The advice I would give a teacher from a specialist perspective would be to find books that interest/motivate children. Do the inventories to find out what interests students. Even if they are reading a graphic novel or a sports magazine, at least they are reading because they are interested. Suggest to the teachers that they do their own interest inventory on the students and expand their libraries based on the interests of the children. Bring in magazines about cooking and sports. Bring in graphic novels on superheroes and history. Bring in old cookbooks and jokebooks. Any type of literature can motivate a child to read if they are interested in the material.
Literacy specialists should be available to support teachers in what they are currently trying in the classroom. Then to help teachers extend those practices if changes would benefit the program and students. Personally from my experience I think specialists can help teachers learn more about small reading groups. This is one method that can provide more individualized instruction without the burden of a different plan per student. Also I agree with what others have said about extending the reading materials available in the classroom. If my student had the choice she wouldn’t choose what the teachers typically provide in classroom libraries. As a reluctant reader she would have benefited from a variety of choices. I would coach a teacher into extended their definition of text and encourage an assortment of reading materials.
I would also encourage teachers never to give up on the reading skills of students. Some students take much longer, or learn best in a different style. Teachers keep those students reading a lot and expose them to many opportunities with text.
I do agree with others, that some students do need individual help. But sometimes they also need to work in a group. For example, Crystal really needs to work one on one, since she needs the extra help with her ABCs. However, she also needs help forming sentences and working with other students. This is why the teacher wants me to first work with Crystal one on one and then work with both Crystal and Brevan together. This way Crystal will be able to see how Brevan talks and form sentences. They will also be able to work together playing ABC games. It will help both Brevan and Crystal.
I think specialists can help teachers learn what strategies help their students learn better. I am going to work with both Crystal and Brevan on their ABCs, especially with Crystal. Once I am done, I will tell the teacher what strategies have worked and what ones have not. This way she will know what to do when I leave. Also I will let her know, where both of the students stand, how much they have learned and know, before I go. This way the teacher does not have to start all over.
I am pleased that the distinction between a literacy specialist and a literacy coach was highlighted. One aspect that wasn’t mentioned is one that is kind of sticky to talk about and hard to label. That is the aspect of relationship building between the teachers and the coach and/or specialist. When you have your position as a literacy leader in the school or district, you will have to think about how you teach adults/peers and in some cases, teachers who have been teaching longer than you have been alive. How will you get them to listen to you and incorporate the strategies you tell them about? I guess it’s an issue of respect.
Being a first year special education teacher, I am the one who is usually searching out advice on how to reach my students who are struggling with ELA issues. I taught third grade last year. The reading teacher took my struggling readers for one hour each day to provide ELA AIS services. That left me with the high achievers who enjoyed reading and writing. Teaching 2nd grade special education has been a huge change from last year, and I find myself frequently asking my reading teacher for advice. Currently we are concentrating on decoding skills and phonics in reading. My students are showing improvement, however, progress is slow. Several of my students spend much time and effort trying to decode which makes comprehension very difficult for them. My advice to my teachers would be to concentrate on basic skills, phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding strategies – all of which will consequently improve fluency and reading comprehension. Zack (my case study student) has not been very motivated to improve his reading skills. Recently I’ve noticed that Zack is quite interested in Dr. Suess books. So, we’ve been reading Dr. Suess books which Zack really seems to enjoy. We’ve been discussing word families, onset and rimes, which has help Zack to improve his vocabulary and spelling. He is experiencing success reading these books, which has increased his confidence and improved his attitude.
Based on my experiences with my student, I have learned that it is extremely important for the reading specialist and teacher to communicate. The teacher needs to be aware of what strategies and techniques the reading specialist is using with the student. This will allow the student to get reinforced by the teacher in the classroom. I think it is also important for a student’s program to be as individualized as possible. I think different assessments are able to pin point a student’s needs and without figuring out a specific need, students are not receiving the full benefits of reading programs.
What I have leanred is that not all students that need help from a reading specialist gets that help.
I think the main thing is that every student doesn’t learn the same. Also that not all students are at the same reading level. But that does not menat that all students should not participate.
purchase levitra
Here you can buy levitra without prescription, be well
Buy Levitra
If you want to order levitra cheap click here