My Belief Statements

The following are my belief statements about the teaching of reading. These are the principals I will use to create my classroom. My beliefs are based on the things I have learned in my Language, Literacy and Learning course, from our class readings, texts outside of the class and other events from my life.

1.) I believe students will be excited to read and get more out of the books, if the teacher provides the enthusiasm.

By reading Nancie Atwell’s, In the Middle: New Understanding about Writing, Reading, and Learning, I have realized when she talked about how much she liked a book, it made her students want to know more about it. If the teacher is not interested in the class activities, how are the students going to be? Also last semester when I was teaching for Kent State’s First Year Colloquium course, my students told me they were more engaged in the activities by my enthusiasm. They informed me that when I portrayed a good attitude in class, they became more interested in the work. I made it seem important and they wanted to know why. From these two sources I have determined a lot of the success comes from the teacher’s outlook.

2.) I believe doing reading workshops in class will help students become active readers in their adult life.

It is very important to stick with canonicals texts, and bring out the inner meanings which make them the classics. Teachers can make these fun and creative, but I also strongly believe students should get the opportunity to read novels they are interested in during class time. When I was in school, teachers often told me why a certain novel was so great and fascinating, but I did not always get the chance to find out for myself. By students choosing their source of reading, teachers are helping them engage in books they are interested in. I want to inspire students to make reading part of their life after they graduate and by getting into the routine of choosing books for themselves will help them in the future.

3.) I believe students should write letters to their peers and instructors about the books they are reading in the workshops.

Nancie Atwell suggests this strategy and shows several examples of her student’s letters in, In the Middle. By writing to each other about their novels, they are informing their classmates about what they do and do not like about their current reading. This is similar to what they will do someday. Students will discuss their reading and what they think about it. Also in the future they will suggest what they think someone else should or should not read. Writing these letters will help guide students down that path. By writing letters to the instructor they will be able to address issues or certain events in the novel they may not understand. In the end, they are embracing discussion of books.

4.) I believe students do not have to write book reports or long papers to evaluate their progress or understanding of a novel.

In my Language, Literacy and Learning course I have learned that extensive papers are not always the best way to assess a student’s learning. Throughout the semester, our class has learned ways to evaluate student’s work without giving extensive writing assignments. I think the most beneficial assignment was the weblogs because they allow students to pick three quotes and why they thought it was so relevant to the story. It also incorporates technology and how to send an appropriate e-mail. I got more out of doing eight weblogs through out the semester verses doing a research paper that is usually crammed in a two-week period. I think students will as well. Also having students participating in blogs or a book bistro is allowing each student to express what they believe is essential in a story. These types of assignments are more engaged in conversation and this is how people discuss novels when they are older and not in a five-page paper.

5.) I believe educators should do a reading record form throughout the school year along with their students.

If teachers are documenting their reading territories then it will show students how interested and important reading is to them. Reading is a lifelong activity and this show’s student’s that their teachers have reading goals as well. I think it could be interesting for teachers and student’s to discuss their reading records together. They can express books they enjoyed or ones they abandoned. By joining in this activity students will know teachers think their variety and quality of reading is important and it should be for the student’s as well. I thought the reading records we did this semester were important, but I would have liked to hear how the process went for my classmates.

6.) I believe instructors should create reading activities that help advanced as well as struggling readers.

This semester in my reading methods course we read collections from Kylene Beers, When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do. This book demonstrates mini-lessons teachers can use to build confidence in their students that are not at a high reading level compared to their classmates. In our classes, a lot of the time activities go well because we are working with other people who like to read and are able to pick up strategies that will help them become better readers. In this environment, the activities will go smoothly, but in the classroom some students will be struggling. I believe Beers provides activates educators can use to give advice to improve student’s reading and help them learn these guide lines to use with their pleasure reading.

7.) I believe students should read multi-cultural texts, to learn diversity and about different backgrounds.

This semester when I attended my first educational conference, the workshops were focused on teaching multi-cultural texts. I was so excited to learn new lesson ideas geared toward this topic. It is very important for student’s to understand other ethnicities and learn about their culture. We live in a country with so many backgrounds and it is respectful to know the lives of others. If students read more literature driven in this direction, then they will be more aware of the world around them.

8.) I believe using technology in the classroom will help students understand and learn the material better.

Throughout the semester, my instructor Dr. Kist and the other cohort professor Dr. Bruce, encourages using multi-modal activities in our classroom. My class and I have practiced several strategies that our instructors are suggesting will help with learning and they were right! By doing the weblogs and the canonical and literature circle wiki’s I have gotten so much out of the reading. Doing the video poem was my favorite use of technology and I believe this will be the student’s highlight assignment as well. Doing the blogs I have been able to connect more with the class and learn new things about literature and politics in the teaching profession. I think my future student’s will have the same type of experience with technology.

9.) I believe mixed-ability grouping is beneficial for struggling readers.

I think by putting successful readers combined with less-advanced readers will help them learn strategies to improve their level of reading. Successful readers have picked up ideas and specific approaches to their reading to help improve there level of ability. I learned the concept of mixed-ability grouping from my Educational Psychology course and applied with Beers activities will help students see what their peers are doing to succeed with their reading. This approach will be a good way for students to get advice from someone besides their teacher.

10.) I believe teachers need to supply their students with before, during and after reading activities.

Throughout the semester my Language, Literacy and Learning course has given several strategies that can be used at anytime during the reading of a text. I have discovered it is not only important to do activates during the reading to assist with learning and after to assess the student’s learning, but also before. By doing before reading activities, it introduces and gives the students the chance to make predictions about the story. By introducing the novel, students can also learn the time period is was written in. I am thankful we have been keeping track of all of our activities because it will be a great source to reference to.