Personal Model of the Theory of Reading 2

Nikole Hilterman

EDRD 7715-W02

Dr. Ritchie                   

July 09, 2012

Personal Model of the Theory of Reading

I chose this endorsement course to improve my ability to teach children to read, and I believe it is doing just that. My theory of reading hasn’t completely changed, but it has definitely been enhanced the past six weeks. It was nice to be reassured that some of the practices and strategies I am already implementing in my classroom are proven to be effective, but this course has also increased my knowledge of literacy and reading practices that I was less familiar with. I now feel that implementing the all components of a comprehensive literacy program is critical for creating a classroom environment that promotes reading success. This approach allows students to be exposed to a variety of reading strategies and text while learning to read which assists students with becoming independent readers.

As I reflect on the past six weeks three points stand out to me about teaching reading. First, the importance of gathering meaning while reading has been reiterated for me. Even though I already knew comprehension was the main goal of reading I now feel that I should analyze the miscues my students make more carefully and focus more on comprehension. This past year I used benchmark books and running records to determine the reading level of my students. These running records focused solely the number of miscues the student made without ever checking for comprehension. I am now questioning if that is actually the best method to determine the students’ reading levels, because even if a student only has a few miscues I have no proof that they actually comprehended and understood the story.

Next, this course has brought to my attention the significance of incorporating student choice into my reading instruction. Sometimes as teachers it is difficult to not always be the leader and make the decisions. From reading the Weaver text and researching the reading workshop model I understand the necessity of providing students with choice throughout their reading journey to make their reading experience more effective. I am now very interested in implementing reading workshop in my classroom in the future and including literature circles as well.

Finally, the significant role that modeling reading plays for developing readers has been brought to my attention this semester. As lifelong learners we are constantly learning from one another, so it is just as important for students to hear fluent reading as it is to practice reading fluently themselves. In the past I’ve often felt like students need to be doing most of the reading themselves, during my reading block, in order to become an independent reader, but this isn’t technically true. I am now confident that listening to a read aloud, participating in book discussions, and reading with a partner are just as important and are all effective strategies for developing independent readers.

Also, I appreciate how some of the activities I’ve participated in during this course have helped to put me in the role of the leaner instead of the teacher. It was interesting to see and understand the process of trying to understand reading for the first time through the activities involving nonsense words, and it helped me realize how important context clues are to understanding unfamiliar words. I feel that reversing roles and being the student from time to time is beneficial to teachers.

As this semester ends, it is still important to me to instill a passion for learning and reading in my students. I feel that when I show an excitement for learning my students are more interested and motivated. I can honestly say that because of entering this master’s program I am more eager to get back into the classroom this summer than ever before. I have thought more about my students and what I would like to implement or change in my classroom due to what I’ve recently learned. I am looking forward to continuing to learn even more about the reading process and effective reading practices throughout the remainder of this course.