Diving into the World of Struggling Readers

Branching off of my previous post about children first learning how to read, I would like to zoom in and take a deeper look at proficient readers and struggling readers...

In Catching Readers Before They Fall, by Pat Johnson and Kate Keier, one of the biggest concerns mentioned are readers who are continually falling behind despite the plethora of programs, resources, teachers and teaching styles out there. Many questions started to fill my mind.

What is the right path to successful reading?

What does it mean to truly be a successful reader?

What is reading?

Why does reading come so naturally for some and not for others?

As Johnson and Keier mention, Why aren't all kids successful readers?

My first reaction to these questions was to question myself, as I am learning what it means to be a reader and how reading actually works. I wondered if I would feel truly prepared to teach reading to children who struggle when I finish my program and become a teacher. I was, and still am, afraid to fail these children. Struggling readers, and Johnson and Keier explain, "are not doing the kinds of thinking that proficient readers do in their heads as they read...They are not constructing a reading process system in their heads to make meaning from texts and solve problems as their nonstruggling classmates are doing" (pg. 10-1). It is quite terrifying to know that I am responsible for a child's reading difficulties. It is frightening to know that I am responsible for molding these young, eager children into successful readers. My racing thoughts were calmed by Johnson and Pat's insight into what is actually going on in the heads of readers.

So, what exactly is going on in the heads of these readers alongside the teaching they are exposed to? The answer is simply... something else. Children are developing a thinking system, or network of strategies, that helps them make meaning when they read. We each have our own subconscious reading process, and as proficient readers we automatically use our handful of strategies to understand what we are reading. Johnson and Keier suggest that noticing your own system at work is one of the best ways to gain understanding of reading as a processing system (pg. 13). Slowing down and paying attention our thought process as we read will help us understand how we arrived at our understanding of a text. "Reading is thinking guided by print" and proficient readers are actively working to comprehend what the author has written, rather than calling correct words (Lucy Calkins 2005). This efficient reading process system being constructed by proficient readers is not being built by the struggling reader. Therefore, these readers struggle to make meaning from texts as they do not have active strategies to use and are not able to solve problems when stuck.

If reading is thinking guided by print, how can we get those struggling readers to hop on board the strategy train? After noticing your own system at work, you will begin to understand that constructing a reading process system crucial to each individual. Comprehending my own thought process was a very eye-opening experience for me. As a future teacher, I need to be able to talk about the kind of thinking that is going on as a person reads. I need to be able to model it and show students what a proficient reader does. Before panicking about the questions I listed above, I need to take a step back and look at how struggling readers are not constructing their own reading process system, or web of strategies. Instead, as Johnson and Keier recommend, I should be asking myself,

How do I teach a child to construct this reading process system?

"Modeling, thinking aloud, and doing shared demonstrations are a few ways we begin to make our thinking visible for struggling readers" (pg. 18). It is key to remember that the reading and writing process is the same for everyone no matter what level reader/writer you are. In order to help children become successful, proficient readers, teachers must be knowledgeable of how reading works. Also, remember that each child has their own individual way of learning. Be sure to keep in mind that readers need help constructing a system of strategies that makes sense to them. It's all about making meaning of the text!

Literacy Dig and Rollerskating

Sitting in class on Wednesday night, I couldn't help but daydream about the exciting adventure I was going to go on after class. Four classmates and myself chose to complete our community literacy dig at a local rollerskating rink. We thought this would be a fun place where children would often come to play and were curious to see what literacy the children were being exposed to. Of course, in order to truly experience literacy from the perspective of a child, we had to become children ourselves. Therefore, renting skates and taking a few laps around the rink was a must! :)

Our adventure began when we all hopped into Nicole's* van and attempted to drive through the snowstorm headed our way. This mighty-miracle-van was a thing of beauty as it smoothly sailed across the icy blanket of snow and safely brought us all to the skating rink. As we walked through the front door, we were all warmly greeted by a delightful DJ who, I might add, was an elderly gentleman presumably in his 70s. At first glance, there were many signs, arcade games, candy/prize machines, and even an air-hockey table. However, there were only a dozen or so children at the rink. Some of these children were eating in the small cafe area, while others were skating with friends or family members. Looking around at everyone, I noticed it was somewhat of a diverse crowd. There were parents and children with different ethnicities ranging from elementary school to high school. The staff members would help people when necessary and also skate along with everyone else. After we got our skates, we heard the DJ announce Men and Women races. I heard a little girl cheering, "Go Daddy!" for her father to win the race. The DJ seemed to play music for about 15-20 minutes and then announce a game to play before playing music again. He played a variety of genres and used age-appropriate versions of songs. 

The sign for the "Rules" had short phrases with giant, capital letters and seemed easier to read than other signs. There was actually numerous opportunities for children to read things. There were words on all the games, menus in the cafe, restroom signs, t-shirts, and wall signs. While roaming around, I heard conversations about crushes at school, children's bed times, and what to eat at the cafe. It was quite interesting to see children eating and talking to each other, while the parents were quietly typing on their cellphones. There were also parents who were holding their children's hands and skating. One mother and son even had matching roller-skates that lit up blue, green, and red in the dark. It was obvious that skating -something they were all probably good at- and spending quality time with their friends and family meant a lot to these children.

 As a newbie roller-skater, I was quite terrified to lace up my skates and make observations of people and activities on the rink. However, determined to become a pro roller-skater by the end of the night, I stood up and wobbled to the edge of the rink. With legs feeling like jello, I joined hands with my classmates and started floating across the floor. Although it was hard not to stare at my own two feet, it was quite amazing seeing little children zip by me at lightning speeds. I held on to the railing along the wall as if my life depended on it, too fearful to let go for I thought I would fall and make a fool of myself. In that moment, I was reminded of how frustrating and frightening it can be to learn something completely new.

As we get older, we forget how difficult it is to learn something for the first time as most things we routinely do become second-nature to us. Things like riding a bicycle, driving, and even solving basic math problems are so familiar to us all, that it is hard to see how someone would not know how to do those things. We forget how we first learned those new things, and even more, we forget what strategies and motivations we had for learning them. The same idea applies for children who are first learning how to read.

"The Donut House" article, written by Rebecca Powell and Nancy Davidson, provides an interesting perspective on schooled literacy versus situated literacy. When introducing literacy to children in an educational setting, the focus should stray away from "learning to read" and move more towards "reading to learn." Incorporating literacy events that are situated in students' lives, or situated literacy, helps children engage texts and stories in a more critical way. Teaching literacy only using workbooks and exercises, while leaving out the historical and lived contexts of student lives only distances students from literacy events. It is no wonder why many children struggle and resist schooled literacy in various ways. This type of literacy carries no real and valuable meaning for children. It offers no room for creative and imaginative thinking.

One useful model that Powell and Davidson describes in their article focuses on the idea of empowerment. This type of model "engages students in real-life literacy and values students' worlds and their ways of making meaning" (pg. 3). When children perceive an authentic purpose for all of their effort and hard work, they will feel more encouraged to learn and be engaged in learning (pg. 7). An example of this from the article was a teacher who helped his students design and build a new playground in their neighborhood the old run-down playground occupied by drug dealers. In instances like these, the literacy skills and strategies learned are more meaningful to the children because of how passionate they were about solving this real-world problem. In this way, children are able to embrace written language, rather that resist it. Students feel empowered when they recognize their capability to solve problems like these.

Who doesn't like to feel a sense of accomplishment when they have achieved something important to them? 

If there are a couple of pieces of advice to take away from this post today, I hope they would be to:

1.) ADOPT AN EMPOWERMENT MODEL!

2.) Take time today to think about how you felt and what it was like when you had to learn something for the first time. Try to learn to count in Base 5! ;)

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of my classmates!

Welcome!

Photo

George R. R. Martin

 

Welcome to my blog!

 

Although I have been living in a world filled with literacy, I have not taken the time to truly appreciate what that means for myself as a learner and a future teacher. My goal is to become a person who has a passion for reading. I hope to encourage my future students to dive into books and live those thousand lives that George R. R. Martin speaks of.

 

Join me as I explore questions, challenges, and strategies surrounding K-3 literacy.

 

Thanks for stopping by!