Sunday, October 13, 2013
Reflection 6: Help for Struggling Readers
The Daniels and Zemelman chapter on strategies for helping struggling readers helped me realize where some of the bumps in one of my classes may be coming from. The idea of forming mental pictures and scouring word problems for pertinent data is something I should take into account when I assign word problems; I've noticed my students have trouble going from a purely verbal description to a diagram, a crucial skill in geometry. I also liked that one of the main strategies that they focused on was that of having readers make note(s) of where they become confused. This helps students develop self-monitoring skills as well as be aware of content area knowledge they may need extra help with. I like that they mentioned that the teachers in the vignettes had set up a chain of actions that were to be taken at the points where students become confused, but I wish that they had explored those actions a little more deeply. Where should students be going and what should they be doing after they realize they've lost the thread of a reading?
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ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteI completely agreed with the idea of students making notes where they lost the concept or became confused, and using "sticky tabs" is a great way for students to easily mark their text. In relation to your question, I think it would be beneficial to have students get together in groups and discuss what they did not understand and help each other to understand and may even provide an alternative perspective. The idea, is for students to be able to monitor THEIR understanding. Furthermore, students accept the values and opinions of their peers much more than that of a teacher. Of course if things still ended up fuzzy, then the teacher would step in to assist