Guided Reading Case Study Critique

I thought that the case study was really helpful. It actually gave access to concrete lesson plans and assessments. I find that I really learn and absorb material better when I actually see "theories" or "teachings" applied in real situations. This case study did that for me. The assessment of the "Billy Goats McGruff" enabled me to really see how a teacher formally assesses students. Also, for "The Giver", the detailed, very detailed, extremely detailed, lesson plan showed me how much organization and detail is needed to truly have an effective lesson. I thought that activities that went along with this unit were intensely thought out and very relevant to the lesson. I'm glad that the teacher stressed several times that the book was for very advanced readers because after reading about it, I thought that the subject was really advanced and possibly disturbing for 6th graders.

Guided Reading Lesson 2 Video

I liked the approach taken in this video. First, I thought that the teacher's "5 Finger Rule" was very helpful to children when deciding if a book was at the appropriate reading level for them. Also, it's an easy trick for students who are young. Second, I liked that the teacher reviewed the pictures and hard words with the students before asking them to read the book on their own. This gives them an idea about the book and keys them into the vocabulary. Lastly, I liked that the teacher took special time with each student and listened to him/her read out loud to determine progress, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Overall, this was a good video and it gives me a clear picture of what to do when I become a teacher.

Guided Reading Videos

I watched 2 of the Guided Reading videos, the Introduction and Lesson. I thought that the Introduction video gave a comprehensive overview of the program. The overview was organized well because it was separated into 3 main steps: before reading, during reading, and after reading.

I thought that the Guided Reading Lesson video was very helpful. Since I am a visual learner, I like to see concepts put into action, so this video was great. I thought that the "before" and "after" segments of guided reading were extremely helpful. The "before" gave students a purpose for reading. The "after" segment reinforced the guided reading techniques, checked for comprehension, confirmed the purpose for reading and either proved or disproved facts that students already knew.

I had mixed feelings about the "during reading" segment. Two positives were that children were focused on their reading and had a purpose and the teacher was available for questions. One aspect that I didn't like was that the teacher was really engaging one reader and asking him a lot of comprehension questions while the other students were trying to read. I would think that this would be very distracting for other readers. If she needed to focus so intensely on this student, I think she should have pulled him away from the table for further discussion, in order to give the other readers a bit more "silent" reading time. I don't have an issue with her questioning this student, possibly he needed more help, I just didn't like that it was done at the table where the others were trying to concentrate. And if this was her method of ensuring that her students were comprehending what they were reading, she should pull each reader from the table for a few moments while she is doing this. I just thought that it was too disruptive.

My Access Report Critique

I was really impressed with the My Access program. After reading about it in the report, I found four major advantages of using this program. First, I liked that My Access could further assist ESL students because feedback is given in either Spanish or Chinese. This is an aspect that probably couldn't be matched in most school districts because most teachers would not be giving feedback to students in their native language.

Second, the tools available to the students and the adaptability of the program provided a lot of advantages for both students and teachers. Tools like Spell Check, Word Counter, etc. are advantageous for students. The ability for the teachers to turn these tools "off" and "on" provide flexibility for the teachers.

Another signficant benefit of My Access is the accuracy of scoring. The fact that the computer scores the writing about 100% within 1 point of teachers' scoring is truly amazing. Teachers can be assured of the credibility of the program while students can strive to increase their score, as if they were "competing" against a video game.

Lastly, the success of My Access is impressive. All of the statistics showing the significant increase in students' writing scores is remarkable. My question to those school districts that are not using this system is -- Why not?

One point that should be included in the report is the cost of My Access. I would love to know this. Does anybody have any information about the cost? Also, do entire schools implement this system, or just certain classes? For example, if I taught 4th grade and my school didn't use the program, could I, as a single teacher order it and use it for my class?

Learning Page.com

Thanks to Prof. Luongo for posting so many helpful websites. When I actually begin teaching, I really feel that I will be well informed about all of the resources available to me. Prof. Luongo posted LearningPage.com on her website. It's aimed at new teachers, so I checked it out. I thought it was really helpful, so I joined the site, especially since it's free. So far, almost every website that Prof. Luongo has recommended, I have added to my "Favorites" tab on my home computer. Even though I might not join some of these sites until I actually become a teacher, I have at least stored them in an area that I will remember and can easily retrieve them. Kudos Prof. Luongo!

My Access Writing Program

I watched the video about "My Access" Writing Program and I thought that it was pretty good advertisement, with no information for me as a teacher to decide whether it was a tool that I wanted to use. Since I received no "real or relevant" information from the short video, I went to the "Demo" tab on the webpage, hoping for more specifics about the program.

I did receive more specifics and I thought that My Access seems like a great tool. I love that students write on the computers, the computers can grade the papers, give a summarized report to the teachers about students' or a student's strengths/weaknesses, and parents can view their childrens' work online. I also thought that the vocabulary building tool would be a tremendous help for students, especially since it uses a lot of the words found on standardized tests.

From a real world application perspective, this tool is very appropriate. Coming from the businessworld, workers and leaders use systematic tools and reports like this all of the time. Giving students exposure to this prepares them for experiences and skills needed for "real world" careers.