Synthesis Blog Post #1 "Subject Matters Chapter 2"
There was a passage that was given in the reading about the game of Cricket. The challenge in reading this was that I had no prior knowledge of the game Cricket, therefore, making it extremely difficult to understand the text. When this was put into perspective, I was able to start to unravel the truth behind reading. The truth is that "reading is about comprehension and thinking... words have to be built into meaningful concepts by the mind of the reader (Subject Matters, 28-30)". Reading can sometimes come as a chore to some students. Most will just scan the pages and say they understand but really they were just thinking of what they are going to each at lunch. As a teacher, I think it will be my job to help with those comprehension skills even if I am not teaching a literacy course. I must be able to motivate my students to read material to gain a deeper understanding of a specific topic. The obvious question to follow this is; how can I motivate young students to read in an area that is not language arts? If I give the students small "clues" of information before the assigned reading, they will be more likely to comprehend the material. Class discussion is also a way to help the students understand outside reading. Asking questions and working together will encourage engagement and steer minds from boredom. I have a strong belief in hands-on learning. Giving students a specific task to do while reading whether that be highlighting, making notes, or putting marks by something they found interesting. This will discourage their minds from wandering off and eliminate scanning the pages just to get the reading done.
(285 words)
(285 words)
Shelby,
ReplyDeleteI like how you brought up in your post how it may be a challenge to encourage strong reading skills in subjects besides ELA--I also worry about that sometimes. I think your solution of providing clues and other background information before assigning readings is great and aligns with the Subjects Matter text. Class discussion and active reading techniques like highlighting and note taking are other good ways to make sure that no student is lost. Great post!
Word Count: 77
Shelby,
ReplyDeleteFirst I love the gif you used because 1. it definitely aligns with what the passage it talking about and 2. i relate in that I usually understand about 20% of what i'm reading especially in these college classes! I like how you posed the question about how to get students motivated in reading when we aren't going to be ELA teachers because honestly reading is pretty important to all our subject areas and we want our students to be strong readers.
Word count: 82