Jenna Fudge - Tompkins Ch. 5

I thought this chapter again, like the others had a lot of useful ideas that can be implemented in the classroom. Unfortunately again, it seems like I am not seeing these things in my current field placement. I am in a 2nd/3rd grade split and they do not have any word walls. The 2nd graders however sometimes have their spelling words posted on the wall and they are ordered based on like parts of the words (something we previously learned in class is not a good idea). The 3rd graders do not have their words posted but they are given handouts with their spelling words but written in cursive. Again, this is something we previously learned is not a good idea as far as teaching spelling. When I am trying to remember the spelling of a word and need to write it out or picture it in my head, I'm not doing it in cursive. Cursive is important for them to learn and they enjoy learning it but I think it should be kept away from spelling.

Tompkins Chapter 5

This chapter served mostly as a review for me because my TE301 class last year really focused on many of the same topics and especially on fluency. Reading the section on word recognition reminded me of the Kindergarten field placement class I was in last year; the CT in that classroom used a lot of strategies to help the students become fluent readers and writers. In particular, I remember that she had an enormous word wall that covered almost one whole wall. She started off with several high-frequency words that the students were familiar with. Then she added words to the word wall as the weeks progressed, and she would constantly refer back to the word wall during intruction.

Also, I always thought that word walls were only used for younger children as they learned to read and write, but in the chapter it mentions that "teachers can create word walls for older students too." After reading this part in the chapter, I realized that the second grade classroom I used to be in used a form of a word wall to aid them while writing. Each of the students had writing journals that included a glossary of high-frequency words and other words that the students may be familiar with but just not know how to spell. There was also space for the students to add more words in themselves. I thought this was a good resource for the students while writing and also for reading. I have not seen evidence in my new field placement of any type of word wall, but I haven't been in there that long and I haven't gotten to see a lot of literacy instruction.

Tompkins Chapter 5--Jessica Thelen

The topics covered in this chapter are what we just covered in CEP 301. We talked about the importance of teaching students to become fluent readers before they reach third grade. We also talked about how it takes a struggling reader much more exposure to a word before they can recognize it. I think it is important for all classrooms to have a word wall especially for struggling readers/writers. It is just another place they can find needed words.
In the kindergarten class I'm in they have two word walls. One that has seasonal or unit words on it. For example for Valentine's Day they had Valentine, cards, hearts, etc. They other words wall has removeable words so the students can take them off the wall and bring them back to their desks to copy them on their paper. This has helped a lot of the students write complete sentences because they are not worried about how to spell or stretch out words they should have already learned. After the students know how to spell the words on the word wall they no longer walk over and get them. I have noticed a decrease in the amount of students that need to take words from the word wall when they write.

Tomkins Chapter 3

I really enjoyed this chapter on young readers and writers because I'm really passionate about teaching younger students at a time when they are just learning to read and write! In my TE 301 class, we spent a lot of time on literacy instruction particularly in the younger grades. We even made binders full of resources on concepts of print, alphabetic principle, fluency, phonological awareness, etc. Also that year I was in a kindergarten classroom for field placement and I was able to really observe some of the strategies talked about in this chapter within that classroom. As this chapter mentions, my CT in the kindergarten classroom gave her students a variety of different types of print to work with. They worked with calendars, newspapers, narrative and informational books, song lyrics, etc. Allowing students to work with different types of print makes them better prepared for literacy in the future. If students are introduced to a wide array of print at a young age, they will feel more confident, know what to expect, and understand the purpose of the lesson more so than their peers with less experience with different types of print.

Jenna Fudge - Tompkins Ch. 3

I found this chapter to have a lot of good practical ideas as far as how to teach children in lower grades to read and write. I have never been in a Kindergarten or first grade classroom before and have always wondered how this is done. I wondered how teachers get a Kindergartner who has never even held a pencil to learn to read and write. I never even thought before that a person actually has to teach children how to make letters.

It was interesting to read about all of the different centers, activities, and styles that can be used in order to teach young children to read and write. I specifically like the idea of the writing center. I can see how young kids would really enjoy this and learn a lot from it at the same time. I thought the idea of writing friendly letters to fellow students was a great idea. I’m sure the students writing them are just as excited as the students are receiving them. I agree that this would be a great way for students to practice writing, learn the format of friendly letters, practice reading, understand the social aspect of reading and writing, as well as being able to practice spelling.

Chapter 7--Jessica Thelen

Teaching comprehension is very important at every grade level. I was happy to see a chapter that would offer strategies for teaching this. I just wish they would have included examples of how to modify these middle school strategies for lower elementary. Being in a kindergarten placement, everything is pretty basic. The students have just started learning about how to make self to text connections. Other than the sequence of events that is about all the comprehension they have done. I think there needs to be more comprehension strategies used in this classroom because this is their first year of school and they need to see the importance. I know it is hard to teach comprehension when everything the students are reacting to is something that has been read to them. They do not have the option of picking out a book that is interesting to them, which makes comprehension easier.

Tompkins Chapter 7

While reading this chapter I was very interested in learning about different comprehension strategies that I could use in my field placement classroom and next year in my internship classroom. Although the example in the book was of a middle school class, I could see how I could adapt those strategies to fit a lower elementary class.

In my field placement class, which is a second grade classroom, there seems to be a lot of focus on comprehension more so than spelling. It seems backwards to put an emphasis on comprehension and not spelling when the two seem to go hand in hand. To me, it seems that in order to understand a word, you would associate the word with it's spelling. Personally, when I learn a word I hear the word and then picture the spelling in my head in order to better remember it. Also, when students are given spelling tests in my field placement they are expected to understand the word in context and be able to spell it correctly.