Laurel Helm
Reading with Meaning Reflection
Education 342
11/24/12
I came away with so many great ideas after reading Debbie Miller’s Reading with Meaning book. One of the very first things I hope to accomplish in my classroom is creating a great classroom community. It is so important for students to feel comfortable in their classroom because they spend so much time there. When they feel supported by their fellow classmates, as well as their teacher, they feel much more comfortable working in the classroom. Mrs. Miller says that, “When rigor, inquiry, and intimacy become key components of our definition – it’s essential that we work first to build genuine relationships, establish mutual trust, and create working literate environments” (17). It’s up to me as the classroom teacher to begin to build the classroom community. I can easily do this by getting to know my students and what they like to do outside of the classroom. It will take a little bit of time to get this done but it will be worth it. I will make sure that my students know that I truly care about them inside and outside of the classroom. I want my students to know that they can trust me and that I am there for them. It’s also very important that they know that I am really excited to come to class each day and teach them!
Reader’s workshop is very important but it is also something that scares me some. I don’t know if I will be able to get to it more than a few times a week. Hopefully after my first year of teaching I will have a system down and be able to do it every day. I do believe that students will enjoy it. I know that they like getting to discuss books and work with their classmates. I know that I learn more when I can get/share ideas with my peers. One thing that Mrs. Miller pointed out is that students need to have some things that they can be trusted to do themselves. I like the idea of students being able to pick their own book. I will most likely have it narrowed down to a few books and they can pick one of them. I believe that students will be more excited to read if they can pick something they are interested in. I know that when I read books I enjoy them more when I have some say in what it is. When students can pick their own book it also makes it more authentic to them.
Another thing that I think is very important as a teacher is to model what students are supposed to do. One way that this can be done is by teachers thinking aloud. It is a great way for students to learn the processes for doing assignments. Teachers can easily do a think aloud when they are doing their mini lessons. Something I will do in my classroom is develop anchor lessons that I can build off of and tweak each time I do them. I will make sure to save the books that I use and can have them for years to come. I really like that Mrs. Miller gives a suggestion for a book to use for a think aloud for creating mental images. She suggests Night Sounds, Morning Colors. I like that I have a suggestion because we have learned about using anchor texts but I don’t really know where to start to select one. It is nice to read about ones to use because it will help me to develop my own library.
I also got from the book that it is so important to have a good classroom library for my students. I do have to remember to pick books that will appeal to the boys in my classroom as well. I also need to make sure that I have a lot of different topics for my students to choose from in the classroom library. The books I pick need to be relevant for my student’s grade level as well.
Overall I really enjoyed the book and it will be a vital resource in my classroom. It has many different ideas for ways to help my students become better at reading overall. I am excited to try some of the ideas and see what works for my students and what doesn’t. I know that each year some things will have to be changed but hopefully with building a classroom community in the beginning of the year I will know what my students like and need. Hopefully with practice and experience on my part I will more easily be able to recognize what my students need.
Reading with Meaning Reflection
Education 342
11/24/12
I came away with so many great ideas after reading Debbie Miller’s Reading with Meaning book. One of the very first things I hope to accomplish in my classroom is creating a great classroom community. It is so important for students to feel comfortable in their classroom because they spend so much time there. When they feel supported by their fellow classmates, as well as their teacher, they feel much more comfortable working in the classroom. Mrs. Miller says that, “When rigor, inquiry, and intimacy become key components of our definition – it’s essential that we work first to build genuine relationships, establish mutual trust, and create working literate environments” (17). It’s up to me as the classroom teacher to begin to build the classroom community. I can easily do this by getting to know my students and what they like to do outside of the classroom. It will take a little bit of time to get this done but it will be worth it. I will make sure that my students know that I truly care about them inside and outside of the classroom. I want my students to know that they can trust me and that I am there for them. It’s also very important that they know that I am really excited to come to class each day and teach them!
Reader’s workshop is very important but it is also something that scares me some. I don’t know if I will be able to get to it more than a few times a week. Hopefully after my first year of teaching I will have a system down and be able to do it every day. I do believe that students will enjoy it. I know that they like getting to discuss books and work with their classmates. I know that I learn more when I can get/share ideas with my peers. One thing that Mrs. Miller pointed out is that students need to have some things that they can be trusted to do themselves. I like the idea of students being able to pick their own book. I will most likely have it narrowed down to a few books and they can pick one of them. I believe that students will be more excited to read if they can pick something they are interested in. I know that when I read books I enjoy them more when I have some say in what it is. When students can pick their own book it also makes it more authentic to them.
Another thing that I think is very important as a teacher is to model what students are supposed to do. One way that this can be done is by teachers thinking aloud. It is a great way for students to learn the processes for doing assignments. Teachers can easily do a think aloud when they are doing their mini lessons. Something I will do in my classroom is develop anchor lessons that I can build off of and tweak each time I do them. I will make sure to save the books that I use and can have them for years to come. I really like that Mrs. Miller gives a suggestion for a book to use for a think aloud for creating mental images. She suggests Night Sounds, Morning Colors. I like that I have a suggestion because we have learned about using anchor texts but I don’t really know where to start to select one. It is nice to read about ones to use because it will help me to develop my own library.
I also got from the book that it is so important to have a good classroom library for my students. I do have to remember to pick books that will appeal to the boys in my classroom as well. I also need to make sure that I have a lot of different topics for my students to choose from in the classroom library. The books I pick need to be relevant for my student’s grade level as well.
Overall I really enjoyed the book and it will be a vital resource in my classroom. It has many different ideas for ways to help my students become better at reading overall. I am excited to try some of the ideas and see what works for my students and what doesn’t. I know that each year some things will have to be changed but hopefully with building a classroom community in the beginning of the year I will know what my students like and need. Hopefully with practice and experience on my part I will more easily be able to recognize what my students need.