Balanced Literacy Programs in the Classroom
Balanced Literacy Programs in the Classroom
I completed my first year of teaching at Tolenas Elementary school in Fairfield, CA as a K5 Special education teacher. My classroom was focused on behavioral management, with academics incorporated into it. I had a population of 5 students with 4 para educators. These students were emotionally disturbed, autistic, and had mild/moderate behavioral problems. I would teach students coping strategies, incorporating social skills into all lessons.
My philosophy of reading and writing instruction is that it is extremely important to be literate in the context of the classroom and beyond. Reading is used daily in every day life. Reading is required for driving, grocery shopping, traveling, school, and work. It is important to learn reading from a young age, so that when students get older they will be fluent in reading to succeed in life. “Over 8 million students in grades 4-12 read below grade level, and 3,000 students with limited literacy skills drop out of high school every school day” (Brozo 2006).It is saddening to hear when a student drops out of school. A mind is never a good thing to waste. I would like to motivate as many students as I can to read, and motivate students to learn. Once reading can become fun and interactive , students become motivated, and take responsibility for their own learning. It is always great to see students learn and grow, and I definitely get to see that with classroom programs such as whole language learning.
My classroom literacy program includes breaking down language into parts. In the morning class begins with morning journal, where I have students read the writing prompt on the board, then explain their answers in complete sentences in their journal, and then sharing their journal aloud with the class. An example of a writing prompt for morning journal is “ What is your favorite sport and why?” Morning Journal consists of reading, writing, and speech components packed into a 5-10 minute activity. Incorporating literacy throughout the classroom is best done for my population through routines. Having a job board posted in the classroom where students can read their names and figure out their daily “jobs”, students are always practicing reading by reading what job they have for the day. The student whose job is material manager gets to pick the book we as a class read in the morning. The students switch jobs daily , allowing each student to choose the morning circle book. Allowing students the freedom to choose what they want to read creates a personal connection to the book, as well as lesson. With classroom literacy program such as this, students interact with peers, all while engaging in whole language learning, growing into successful students at a young age.
The components of a reading program include a balanced framework for remittance of the state standards. Phonetic awareness and phonics instruction are taught to students so that students begin to explore and understand symbol-sound relationships and comprehension strategies to better understand text and speech. Reading instruction is best carried out in the classroom by reading aloud as a class, shared reading where the teacher models, supports, and confirms students reading skills with a focus on meaning and characters in the text. When reading as a class, text should be enlarged, so that students may easily follow a long. Story and picture books are suggested for this type of reading instruction. Throughout the school year, the components of a reading program remain the same in that the same goal is for students to grow and succeed at reading, all while varying the different strategies to help students succeed at reading. Those strategies include shared reading, where the teacher reads aloud and the students take turns on reading sentences, guided reading, where the teacher supports students with troubling words, and independent reading where students can silently read alone. Parents can really get involved with their child in doing independent reading, as the parent can enforce that the child read at home for ten minutes a day. The parent can also take the child to the library or the book store to select a book for reading. It is the parents responsibility to encourage children at home to read as much as possible, and the teachers responsibility to reward the student in the classroom for independent reading so that the child continues to read and succeed. Each style of reading is helpful, as each student is different and benefits from different learning styles.
The components of a writing program include shared , interactive, guided, grammar and conventional writing process, content area writing, and independent writing. Each component breaks down writing into parts, for easier comprehension. Shared writing, or group writing, is beneficial when done as a class or in groups to help gather ideas for brainstorm, and focus on writing detail. In guided writing, the teacher is able to support each student, while still having the student take responsibility for their own learning, since the teacher asks more questions to prompt class discussion. For grammar and conventional writing process, the teacher establishes a writing routine in the classroom where students are required to brainstorm, draft, and edit before submitting papers. This routine is beneficial as it provides repetition, and sets the writer up for success. Content area writing prepares students for college and state exams, as students learn how to task write based on a writing prompt. This writing process prepares students to become writers not only in school, but in the professional workforce as well. Independent writing can be done in the classroom for just about every subject. I have students practice independent writing by having them write reflections on the lessons and activities taught for the day, and projects they have done. Independent writing allows the students mind to be creative, and allows for student responsibility of their work.
References:
Brozo, W. (2006). Tales Out of School: Accounting for Adolescents in a Literacy Reform Community. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,49(5), 410-418. doi:10.1598/jaal.49.5.5
Part 1 Media Literacy Education Framework and Brief History. (n.d.). Global Media Literacy in a Digital Age. doi:10.3726/978-1-4539-1728-2/11
I completed my first year of teaching at Tolenas Elementary school in Fairfield, CA as a K5 Special education teacher. My classroom was focused on behavioral management, with academics incorporated into it. I had a population of 5 students with 4 para educators. These students were emotionally disturbed, autistic, and had mild/moderate behavioral problems. I would teach students coping strategies, incorporating social skills into all lessons.
My philosophy of reading and writing instruction is that it is extremely important to be literate in the context of the classroom and beyond. Reading is used daily in every day life. Reading is required for driving, grocery shopping, traveling, school, and work. It is important to learn reading from a young age, so that when students get older they will be fluent in reading to succeed in life. “Over 8 million students in grades 4-12 read below grade level, and 3,000 students with limited literacy skills drop out of high school every school day” (Brozo 2006).It is saddening to hear when a student drops out of school. A mind is never a good thing to waste. I would like to motivate as many students as I can to read, and motivate students to learn. Once reading can become fun and interactive , students become motivated, and take responsibility for their own learning. It is always great to see students learn and grow, and I definitely get to see that with classroom programs such as whole language learning.
My classroom literacy program includes breaking down language into parts. In the morning class begins with morning journal, where I have students read the writing prompt on the board, then explain their answers in complete sentences in their journal, and then sharing their journal aloud with the class. An example of a writing prompt for morning journal is “ What is your favorite sport and why?” Morning Journal consists of reading, writing, and speech components packed into a 5-10 minute activity. Incorporating literacy throughout the classroom is best done for my population through routines. Having a job board posted in the classroom where students can read their names and figure out their daily “jobs”, students are always practicing reading by reading what job they have for the day. The student whose job is material manager gets to pick the book we as a class read in the morning. The students switch jobs daily , allowing each student to choose the morning circle book. Allowing students the freedom to choose what they want to read creates a personal connection to the book, as well as lesson. With classroom literacy program such as this, students interact with peers, all while engaging in whole language learning, growing into successful students at a young age.
The components of a reading program include a balanced framework for remittance of the state standards. Phonetic awareness and phonics instruction are taught to students so that students begin to explore and understand symbol-sound relationships and comprehension strategies to better understand text and speech. Reading instruction is best carried out in the classroom by reading aloud as a class, shared reading where the teacher models, supports, and confirms students reading skills with a focus on meaning and characters in the text. When reading as a class, text should be enlarged, so that students may easily follow a long. Story and picture books are suggested for this type of reading instruction. Throughout the school year, the components of a reading program remain the same in that the same goal is for students to grow and succeed at reading, all while varying the different strategies to help students succeed at reading. Those strategies include shared reading, where the teacher reads aloud and the students take turns on reading sentences, guided reading, where the teacher supports students with troubling words, and independent reading where students can silently read alone. Parents can really get involved with their child in doing independent reading, as the parent can enforce that the child read at home for ten minutes a day. The parent can also take the child to the library or the book store to select a book for reading. It is the parents responsibility to encourage children at home to read as much as possible, and the teachers responsibility to reward the student in the classroom for independent reading so that the child continues to read and succeed. Each style of reading is helpful, as each student is different and benefits from different learning styles.
The components of a writing program include shared , interactive, guided, grammar and conventional writing process, content area writing, and independent writing. Each component breaks down writing into parts, for easier comprehension. Shared writing, or group writing, is beneficial when done as a class or in groups to help gather ideas for brainstorm, and focus on writing detail. In guided writing, the teacher is able to support each student, while still having the student take responsibility for their own learning, since the teacher asks more questions to prompt class discussion. For grammar and conventional writing process, the teacher establishes a writing routine in the classroom where students are required to brainstorm, draft, and edit before submitting papers. This routine is beneficial as it provides repetition, and sets the writer up for success. Content area writing prepares students for college and state exams, as students learn how to task write based on a writing prompt. This writing process prepares students to become writers not only in school, but in the professional workforce as well. Independent writing can be done in the classroom for just about every subject. I have students practice independent writing by having them write reflections on the lessons and activities taught for the day, and projects they have done. Independent writing allows the students mind to be creative, and allows for student responsibility of their work.
References:
Brozo, W. (2006). Tales Out of School: Accounting for Adolescents in a Literacy Reform Community. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,49(5), 410-418. doi:10.1598/jaal.49.5.5
Part 1 Media Literacy Education Framework and Brief History. (n.d.). Global Media Literacy in a Digital Age. doi:10.3726/978-1-4539-1728-2/11
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