I don’t know if it was the lack of parental involvement or
the fact that my school career was disjointed (going from public school - to
being home schooled – to private school – and back to public school), but
somewhere along the way I missed out on phonological awareness and still
(sometimes) struggle with spelling.
I am very pleased to have read chapters 4 & 5 in Word Identification Strategies. Now I
have some new tools for my personal, and my teaching, toolbox.
I do not have any problems decoding words while I am
reading, but when it comes to spelling I seem to second guess myself a
lot. I am in love with spell check
(though I rely on it too much and don’t seem to memorize proper spellings
because of it). I do remember learning
the silent e “rule,” and the VV “rule” where the first vowel says it’s name –
but that’s about it. One the thing
that trips me up is the el, le endings, if I don’t have the word memorized, I
guess. I know there are other
things I have trouble with, but I can’t think of them off the top of my
head. I will pay closer attention
now, while spelling words I am unsure of, to see if I can apply the letter
sound (etc.) patterns I just learned about. For instance, I never thought about R- controlled vowels
before. Nobody ever pointed that
out to me. I get all giddy, like a
little preschooler when I learn something new (even something this
simple). I can’t wait to share
things like this with my future students.
I am so happy that I will be able to point out things that will help them
decode the world around them, and enable them to write (and create!) their own
stories!
I think it’s great how Fox has included so many activities
in Word Identification Strategies that we will be able to use with our
students. I plan on teaching fifth
grade, but with the current market the way it is, I know I will be happy
teaching any grade. The activities
will prove to be very beneficial, I am sure of it. To be honest, if the market was different I may not have
been paying such close attention to building phonics into a classroom reading
program. I know I would have been
interested in it, but I would have thought I didn’t need to focus on it if I
want to teach fifth grade. So, in
a way, the current market is helping me pay closer attention to everything I am
learning. Funny how that works…
I keep thinking about addressing our students as readers,
writers, and mathematicians. I
think it is important for students to think of themselves as flexible,
adaptable individuals, who are in charge of their future. I remember one of my preschool students
who got very upset when I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows
up. She started to cry and told me
that she still wanted to be herself.
She thought that when you grow up you become the “job.” She thought she was going to turn into
someone else. I tried to reassure
her that she would still be herself, but would have the ability to “do” any job
she wanted to do, not become someone else. I saw the humor in her misunderstanding, but I also understood
why she was so upset. I
think children are never too young to start thinking of themselves as having
the ability to choose their future occupations. And, seeing themselves as readers, writers, and
mathematicians will help keep their options open. I am excited about helping children see the potential they
hold.
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