Optiz Page 14 Activity

As a first grade teacher, reading is a subject area that students tend to show the most progress in. Some students arrive reading chapter books, while other students are able to read short decodable books but progress to more difficult text. After reading the chapters in Reading Diganosis and Improvement and this activity, I knew I specifically wanted to focus on a student this year that arrived in my classroom with little knowledge of how to read. When reading with him in a small group during guided reading time, I noticed that he fell into the less proficient reading category. When listening to him read, I noticed he depended heavily on the pictures. This book was a predictable text. He was able to get the first few words, "I help my," but then after that he used the pictures to determine who was being helped in the story. Often times he said a word that could match the picture, but it did not match the graphic cues of the word. He also would guess when he came to unknown word and when the picture was not helpful. This student was not using any other reading strategies to determine the word. He attempted to read the text correctly, but he was unable to read the text correctly or comprehend what the book was about. Seeing that this student is showing behaviors of a less proficient reader, I need to be sure that I work with him on his needs and provide the necessary interventions to help him become a more proficient reader.

Watch & Learn: Assessing Reading Skills Video

This video shows a young girl who is ten years old and is struggling to read. I found it interesting that the girl was in the 94th percentile in math, but in reading she was in the 12th percentile. This video shows how this child is struggling with decoding words, and therefore is not comprehending what she is reading.Ongoing assessment is needed by the teacher in order to cater to each student and his or her needs.

 I like how it was mentioned that reading is an emotional battle too. A struggling reader can get discouraged and become embarrassed and gain low self-esteem, all from struggling to read. With fluency, the girl will be able to improve her comprehension and become a better reader.