Reflection

ELNG 310 Portfolio Activity Week 8

Modelling Reading - Think Aloud

Reflection

Why did you choose to include this activity?

I chose this activity because I believe modelling reading is a very important part of the classroom experience. The way a teacher reads a book is engaging to students. If a teacher is enjoying the book the students will enjoy the book. By modelling how to read and what should be done while reading will help the students to get a better understanding of what they should be doing while reading individually or with a partner. By asking questions, predicting, building on prior knowledge, visualizing, summarizing and responding to a text while reading will build a reader's skill and confidence (Crooks, 2021). Reading is an important skill and needs to be a major focus in the classroom. We use reading every day and it helps us as a society navigate the world around us! This activity has helped me to get a better understanding of cross-curricular connections. I was surprised by how many activities my group came up with and discussed that could go along with this book. Modelled reading I had never thought about in such detail until doing this activity.

What course goals does this activity connect to?

What instructional approaches are useful for teaching readers and writers in an elementary context? Teachers can model reading to teach students how to think when reading a text. by reading books aloud and thinking out loud students will get a good understanding of what to do when they are reading. When reading independently individuals should use reading techniques such as asking themselves questions and predicting what will happen next (Crooks, 2021). Modelling is a great way start to learning fluency and comprehension when reading and it will also improve an individual's literacy skills.

What is the role of the literacy teacher in supporting literacy and language learning that is culturally responsive and anti-oppressive? As an educator, it is important to expose students to many kinds of literacy. The books that are shared in the classroom should be for all students to enjoy and connect with. The books should be for all different interests and backgrounds. In the read-aloud book that we looked at for this activity, the girl was original from Syria (E Reading, 2021). This book has lots of educational points that can be taken away from it and discussed as a class. By incorporating all kinds of books give children the opportunity to expand their understanding of the world through books.

What course concepts/ideas are reflected in the activity? Include citations

By teaching children how to read from a young age will help strengthen their literacy skills. There are many approaches to teaching reading, including modelling reading, shared reading, scaffolded reading, and independent reading (Crooks, 2021). All of these ways of reading will improve the student's literacy. By modelling reading to the students out loud they will get a better understanding of what they should do as they are reading. This will help with their comprehension when they read individually. When picking a book to do shared reading in class, it is helpful if the book has a good topic that the class is able to expand on and have a conversation about (Saskatchewan Reads, 2015). A proficient reader has fluency, comprehension and is engaged in what they are reading (Crooks, 2021). There are many levels of reading that need to be done before an individual is a proficient reader. When modelling reading in class is a great way to familiarize students with before, during and after reading strategies (Saskatchewan Reads, 2015).

How has your thinking about the activity changed over the semester and/or what questions do you have about this activity?

I never really thought about all the types of reading practices that an educator incorporates into the classroom. I learn that modelling reading is important for students to experience they gain better reading skills for when they are reading new text that they need to comprehend individually. As an individual, there are going to be many things that you will need to read and comprehend in the future and learning these strategies young are going to be helpful. Demonstrating reading to the students is a beneficial way for students to learn how they should think while reading. I used to love listening to my teacher read books and I was learning from those experiences without even knowing it. When modelling reading there are many types of texts that can be used such as poems, maps, posters, visuals, along with books (Saskatchewan Reads, 2015). Before this class, I thought only books could demonstrate this strategy. I will definitely use the model reading strategy in my classroom the improve the student's literacy comprehension.