Week 2 - Assignment 3

My Reflections on the Reading 101 Video Collection.

In the first video, we discussed how parents can create a strong literacy foundation for their young children in a number of ways. Parents can point out specific letters, identify words, and show their kids how reading and words can be found in a variety of contexts, such as signs, grocery lists, and books. Most importantly, by reading out loud to their young ones, parents will show that learning is a pleasure.

In the second video, we watched a fascinating experiment during which a psychologist proved that young infants can discern subtle differences in language sounds that adults can not, including sounds that baby has never heard before. This shows us that by speaking to young babies, we are helping them get familiar with the sounds of their language, thereby laying a foundation for speaking and eventual reading.

In the third video, we were shown how parents can help their kids establish phonemic awareness by reading aloud and playing word games. For instance, we saw how one child was encouraged to clap every time two rhyming words were spoken together. Even a simple short activity like this can enable children to get a jumpstart on the crucial skills needed for reading.

Similarly, in the fourth we saw how a teacher encouraged her kindergarten students to play with words by switching out and replacing letters to form new meanings. This allowed her pupils to establish critical phonemic awareness skills that will allow them to one day become fluent readers.

The fifth video demonstrated a unique reading strategy, known as a word web. By using a word web, the teacher showed the students how to develop and strengthen their reading fluency through connecting words that relate to the unit at hand. Through becoming familiar with the content-related words, the students can achieve greater fluency and increased understanding.

In the sixth video, the teacher had her students create semantic gradients. The purpose of this activity was to have the students develop their vocabulary and extend their knowledge of words and relationships. I though this strategy was particularly creative - I'd never seen it before!

In the seventh video, we watched a group of students create a "Nothin / E Drop / Double" chart when studying words ending with "-ing." Through this activity, the teacher built on the core understanding that spelling is a sensible, predictable process, not a haphazard guessing game.

The eighth video demonstrated a unique way of student grouping, called "Jigsaw" This strategy is employed by having students divide into groups to read a leveled text. Students then select one specific area of interest, and divide into "expert" groups, with peers from the same interest group. Together, these experts explore their chosen topic using a range of strategies. Finally, students rejoin into home groups, to share the knowledge they've gained with their group-mates.

In the ninth and tenth video, we viewed ways to create a reading environment (by modeling, having students keep writer's notebooks etc.) and how to assess students (evaluating word per minute etc.), respectively. Both of these concepts are fundamental aspects of the teaching process. All in all, this video series presented us viewers with a rich and varied range of strategies to employ in our teaching process.