Perhaps, the most surprising aspect of this class is just how complicated the English language actually is. Reading and writing is something that I have always taken for granted. The vast breakdown of the English language is fascinating and it’s no wonder that so many children struggle with reading. Looking at different writing samples of different levels of children was very helpful. It is fascinating to use these models and understand exactly where a child is in terms of writing. It is much more complex than what I would have expected. The 6-Trait Assessments are extremely useful in evaluating beginning writers and helping a teacher pinpoint exactly what needs to be fixed! I have gained a lot of valuable information thus far. I am excited to learn more about spelling. I found it fascinating to discover how and why children spell words incorrectly based on salient sounds and the point of articulation.
The article is very useful guide for teachers. It promotes oral language acquisition, something that tends to be overlooked in many classrooms. One of the many useful points in the article is the idea of generative language. English is constantly evolving and it is important to have a general understanding of the fundamentals. (2) It is important for teachers to understand that children need to be taught to understand all parts of English language. The teacher needs to take full responsibility for a child’s reading development. While Moats points out students can achieve success by reading with parents and tutors, it all begins with the teacher. A teacher with a strong background with language and creates systematic and consistent lesson plans has the best potential to reach a student. (5) Students must be taught based on their own levels with both spoken and written language. (13) Students who are deficient in reading skills will not have success in other areas of education. (4) According to Moats, it is essential for children to develop these skills early on. Those who cannot read cannot fully succeed in society.
It is up to the teacher to formulate the best possible reading and language lessons. The teacher needs to know the students and understand the levels. It can no longer be assumed that students who struggle in upper grades do not comprehend the material. There is a strong connection to weakness in phonological processing. (8)The teacher can get the student involved by introducing a wide variety of literature. It is the job of the teacher to create strong relations with sounds and letters at an early age. Finally, Moats provides a guideline of principles of effectively teaching reading, spelling, and writing. Moats hopes to create a feeling of confidence in both teachers and learners by teaching both structure and fluency.
You are astute to realize the difficulty of our language - it explains why our kids struggle so. And don't worry about being confused about PA awareness - we will spend lots of time on this. The Moats assessment was meant to show you how much teachers who teach kids need to know!
ReplyDeleteI have only read one sentence into this post and already I feel the same way as you do about the English language. When I was a kid, one of my best friends really struggled with reading. I never understood why. I always thought that after mastering the alphabet, it was as simple as "see the word, read the word." But after only a few classes and a month of student teaching, I understand why my friend struggled so much.
ReplyDeleteI am also excited to learn more about spelling. I have seen some pretty interesting spellings of what I thought to be some very basic words while student teaching. I have already learned a little bit about why the students make some of these mistakes and I am very excited to learn a lot more.
This post says so much. It is amazing to think that when we are young, we took so much for granted and did not care so much when it came to enjoying reading. Reading was something that I did not love all the time when I was younger. As I have become a teacher, this has changed. I think that I felt this way, because of your first line in this post. English is one of the hardest languages to speak, teach and learn but someone has to do it. As my students are beginning the formal reading workshop, we are working on all of the short vowels. It is so interesting to see how the children, no matter how much they can already read, are beginning to comprehend the stories that they are reading.
ReplyDeleteI am also looking forward, like you, to learning more about Phonological and Phonemic Awareness. Although I have begun to understand this more, with time I am hoping it will become more clear.