After today's guest speaker in (EDUC 316) class, I thought on this question. I did a little bit of research, and found a few ideas to ponder and attapt to fit my future classroom:
- Amend your materials to talking and listening activities
- Design assessments as oral (either for the whole class or just the student who can't read).
- *****Remember! Just because they can't read, doesn't mean they can't learn.
- Get parents involved. Encourage parents to read to their children, starting at infancy.
- If you do organize an activity around reading a text, either plan to devote yourself to helping the illiterate student through the activity, or assign the student a "work buddy." The work buddy should be someone who possesses patience and enjoys helping their peers.
- You may have to spend extra time with this student, in class and after class. Don't be to busy for your students!
- Find resources for the student that can help them gain the literacy skills they need.
- Be the teacher that goes above and beyond!
I am also taking ESOL 335 this semester and as I was researching ideas for differentiating for illiterate students, I realized I could also use these ideas to differentiate for ELLs (English Language Learners). ELLs are not necessarily "illiterate" but they too can struggle when it comes to reading academic texts.
As teachers there will be times when a student enters our classroom and we have no idea how to teach them. That doesn't mean we should give up on that student and allow them to get left behind. Don't be afraid to research new methods. Get creative. Reach out to other teachers. There are umlimited resources out there for you to use. Some of the biggest parts of being a teacher are creating a classroom that is built for the learning of all diverse students (NCPTS 2), facilitating learning for all students (NCPTS 4), and reflecting on what can be done to improve academic achievement for all students (NCPTS 5).
HI Sarah!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you discussed the importance of becoming a teacher that is willing to go above and beyond what is expected, and put forth the effort needed in order to have a student become successful in the classroom. I also really liked how you mentioned that not every student will be able to read on their particular grade level, so understanding how to get that student to understand the material, along with challenging the other high reading level students is going to be difficult, but at the end of the day, thats what its all about. Educating every single child and create growth within their academic knowledge is what teaching as all about. I really enjoyed reading your post!
I loved that you conducted your own research on finding ways to help readers who struggle. It's really hard to believe that there's high school students out there who still can't read. 19% may seem like a small number in some cases, but for students in school is rather high. Normally I was in honors courses in high school, but I was also in a few classes with a diverse classroom. I never remembered any student who wasn't able to read. I feel like a lot of the time teachers stick these students in special ed. I agree that they need special attention, but I also feel like they can learn a lot in the normal classroom. I may be wrong, but teachers should try to let students who struggle to read participate in the regular classroom and monitor the progress.
ReplyDeleteWOW! So much research! That is awesome. I love that you found ways to incorporate these. Bringing in parents is such an important part in a child's education. Their first teachers are their parents and it is so important for them to be on board!
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