Sixth Class: The Reading Process

We started this class with an inspiring, amazing and insightful video. Please click on the video below to view this eye opening video:

I believe the main message from this video is the following: One Size Does Not Fit ALL!!! Students are diverse and have complex physical, social, cognitive, and emotional needs. When curriculum is designed in a traditional method and refrains from recognizing and celebrating differences, we are failing our students. We potentially prevent students from reaching their full potential and achieving self-actualization. It is crucial we tailor our curriculum to meet the needs of all learners and nurture ALL individuals potentials. 

After watching this video our instructor asked us to identify and share feelings/thoughts related to the video. She used a great tool to collect and present our ideas: www.polleverywhere.com. I am excited to use this tool in my classroom. It would be useful for brainstorming ideas related to any topic. Also, this tool would support the Statistics and Probability unit in Mathematics because it is an innovative method for collecting data.  

We continued the evening with our instructor providing a presentation related to the Reading Process. Reading a passage and engaging in metacognition was challenging. I truly failed to recognize how many skills are involved in reading. When we began to discuss the abundance of skills involved in reading, I really began to assess my teaching strategies related to reading. I currently have one student who isn't reading. He started in my class a month ago and I have been exploring a variety of options to support his reading. I have provided him with a multitude of assistive technology: Lexia, Wordmaker, Simon Sounds It Out, Starfall, Tumblebooks, different  iPad applications supporting reading (Dragon Dictation, Read 2 Me, etc.). What have I failed to recognize when supporting this students ability to learn how to read? His emotional/behavior disabilities, potential limitation in oral language experiences, minimal access to auditor maps, lack of phonemic awareness, deficits with decoding skill, lack of memory, damage to neurons, etc. There are so many skills and abilities involved in the reading process and every component is required to be able to read. Below is a very informative video regarding the necessary skills required to read:

A highlight from this video was when they showed the young boy discussing his struggle with Dyslexia. It was inspiring and awakening when they also found new and innovative ways to teach this boy how to read. They taught him how to recognize behavioral traits associated with the brain and his ability to read improved. This all ties into Universal Design for Learning. Identifying how a children learns and supporting their ability to learn is the goal of Universal Design for Learning.