Double Entry Journal #3

  Some problems can develop later is that the ongoing reading process is ignored or diminished as kids go through school. Reading is a skill that must be practiced and used throughout our lives in order for us to be efficient and effective readers. Our brains work just like any other muscle and it has been proven the more they are used the better they work, and this directly relates to reading

It has been found that elementary schools hinder later reading by only focusing on the mechanical process of reading instead of the ideas and concepts necessary for reading comprehension which is crucial at later levels.

 

Reading test scores give us some sort of concrete evidence to determine how a student is doing in this area. I don't believe it tells the whole story but it can be very helpful to teachers and people coming up with policies and guidelines to improve reading in our children. It shows teachers what areas students are excelling at and what areas students need more attention and practice with.

I was most surprised that literacy performance isn't standard for students across subjects and that some might have much higher literacy levels in one subject compared to another. This does make alot of sense because a student who is math-oriented will have a much higher literacy reading a math book compared to a social studies or english book.

I know that it is important to teach the vital vocabulary that relates to the specific content area. Students have to know the basic language of the subject area to be able to connect and learn ideas presented to them later on. I always wondered when I was in school why every class seemed to make us do vocabulary assignments and take vocabulary tests but now I understand why knowing the vocabulary for each subject matter is crucial.

Social media is a good example of a discourse community. They are ways of communicating with established norms in ethnic, online, or popular culture. Students can become discouraged or even completely withdrawn if their multiple literacies are ignored. All educators should understand that the way students comprehent different literacies are very important to helping them across other literacies they may struggle with.

I had teachers when I was younger let us pick things to read that interested us. We would have free time where we could read Sports Illustrated for Kids. This helped us be excited about reading and use that experience across other areas of reading. If we were forced to read things we weren't interested in all the time it would hinder the learning experience because students would not be as engaged.

I went to a school that was pretty diverse and I had all types of friends. I do remember taking a sociology class in high school for college credit called race, class, gender. It helped us be exposed to some deeper issues and give us more knowledge on diversity.

      Sources

The National Counsel of Teachers of English. (2007). Adolescent literacy. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Positions/Chron0907ReserachBrief.pdf

 

Bolima , D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding: Educational learning theories. Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu/saki/strategies/101/new_page_5.htm