Class reading--July 17

After reading Clark's "What Can I Say Besides 'Sound it Out' ?" I got to thinking about how vital classroom "coaching" is. There has to a mix between guiding the students and not always putting them on the spot causing embarrassment. I can remember a teacher I had in second grade made me terrified to read out loud because if I did come to a word I didn't know, her response was, "sound it out, you should know this." It made me feel awful every time! I think that this article is really helpful because sometimes it seems like that is the only real answer we have to give the students. But by practicing these steps and being well versed in how to actually coach a child through the process, we can build confidence within our students and actually help them learn more than they might if they just sound it out. I also thinks this leads us to the concept that sometimes the work and student does on an individual scale can be really important. By working and reading with children one-on-one, you are allowing for those mistakes to happen without all of the pressure that comes along with reading out loud to the whole class. Also, this is important for student's because their weaknesses can be targeted more effectively when they are alone. Although it does take a lot of extra time, it is worth it. In my future classroom I would love to be able to work one-on-one with each of my students at least once a week. That way I can track progress, target insufficient skills,and build their confidence as well. I found a good example of this on Pinterest this week. Shown above, in the picture, this is an example of one of the programs that The Young Storytellers Foundation does each week. One person said, "In just one hour per week, mentors are able to give elementary school children the one-on-one attention they need to feel confident, intelligent, and creative! The children tell us that they perform better in their classrooms because they feel stronger about their abilities to share ideas. I love this program!." They do a lot of other things, but I thought this was a perfect example of how important individual reading coaching can be. Here's a link to their website if your interested Young Storytellers Foundation