Motivation

The word motivation is really the one-word reason that I am now working on my reading certification.  I teach Special Education English Lit. classes at Cass High School.  I have grown increasingly frustrated with not being able to help my students ENOUGH.  I can teach them the literary concepts.  I can help them write better essays.  I can build strong, supportive relationships with them and give them a safe haven to spend an hour each day.  What I have not been able to do is teach them to become better readers.  By the time they enter the 9th grade, if their reading skills are weak, most of them have given up.  The most difficult part of my job is trying to convince them that improving their reading skills is worthwhile.  They don't see any enjoyment in reading, it is just a waste of time in their opinion. Most of the time, their parents don't think it's all that important either.  It is sad to me that they are missing out on something that is a vital part of life.  To be honest, it is also scary.  Teachers are increasingly held accountable for their students test scores.  If my students shut down on a test and "Christmas tree" the answers, or if they simply lack the reading skills to comprehend the passages, that reflects on me.  It doesn't matter that I am supposed to be an English teacher or that I have followed all the Special Education rules to a tee--the test scores make it look like I have failed them, and I feel like I have failed them.  My sincere hope is that I can build my arsenal of teaching tools with this endorsement.  I want to help my students become better readers and become more confident learners.

A learning experience

As I said in my last post, I am feeling optimistic and excited about earning my reading certification.  I have learned so much this week!  I have learned words like schema, which means integrating new information into things we already knew and experienced.  I now know that a morpheme is the smallest meaning bearing part(s) of a word. Changing morphemes can change a word into a completely different word.  A phoneme is the smallest unit(s) of sound within a word.  A rime is the first vowel and everything that follows it in a word.  And a rime should not be confused with a rhyme which is the repeating of the ending sound pattern in a group of words.  I know now that the very first milestone is learning to read is becoming phonemically aware.  That is gaining the knowledge that words are made up of sounds, that sentences are made up of words and being able to segment words into sounds.  I had a lightbulb moment this week when I finally understood the purpose of a word wall!  We have been told for the last couple of years that we must have a word wall, and I am a rule-follower so I have complied.  Learning the new concept of placing no more than 5 words per week on a Word Station and, after they have been taught,THEN adding them to an on-going Word Wall makes so much sense!! No more blindly following directions!  Now I know how to make my word station and wall a useful tool in my classroom.

A week of firsts

Wow! I am blogging.  This is a new experience for me, so bear with me please.  In fact, this has been a week of new experiences for me.  Monday was the first day I have been a student and not the teacher since I finished my master's degree in 2003.  I have, of course, attended workshops and trainings, but this is a completely different feeling. I usually leave those trainings thinking, "Well that was a day of my life I will never get back."  This week, though, I have left class feeling optimistic that these classes and certification experience will help both me and my students. 

Testing

Testing, testing 1  2  3