Thursday, January 29, 2009

Chapter 1 of Building a Knowledge Base in Reading

I appreciate how this chapter starts off by stating that Reading and Literacy are interchangeable. I think it is important to know that reading, writing, speaking and listening are all key elements in literacy and especially when you are trying to get a young person to read.

"To achieve NAEP's proficient level, readers should be able to demonstrate an overall understanding of the text, providing inferential as well as literal information...to extend ideas in the test by making inferences, drawing conclusions and making connections to their own experiences and to other readings...to summarize and apply information."

-This is an extremely controversial and frustrating goal for many teachers to achieve, especially if they have students who have learning or emotional disabilities. Many students are able to achieve this goal but lately many students are falling behind, because I believe the requirements for students every year is going up. I remember as a Kindergartner I did not have to read but solely work on my letters and sounds. Now, kindergartners are reading along with the teacher and spelling out their names and words. I think this is great for many students who are capable of mastering this at such a young age, but administration acts like all the students should be able to concept this when in fact, I think it is normal for students not to be at that level so young. There is a fine line between being able to master reading a language and being able to apply it in tests. I have learned the different learning styles (kinaesthetic, aural, and visual) and these all apply to many different students, but what about the students who can apply their knowledge to worksheets and assignments but not tests? I may be able to understand test-taking better than others because I am a terrible test taker, and understand many parents concerns when their students do great and excel in the classroom but when it comes to TAKS they don't seem to apply what they have learned.