Before reading the material this week, I looked at the guided question to see what my thoughts
were. I would say that reading is the acquisition of information through the eyes whether it is for
leisure or studies. I would also include the comprehension and understanding of words on a page.
Now after reading, I would define reading as a process of using prior knowledge to understand,
comprehend, and gain information from a specific text, whether it is content specific or not. It is
much more than reading words on a page.
After reading and digesting the information this week, many things came to my attention
about the reading process. Growing up in school, I would not have considered myself the best
reader. I was a good student, but when it came to reading passages and textbook, I had some
difficulties. Reading this material brought me back to being a student who needed the so called
“prereading” activities to facilitate in my understanding and comprehension of any text.
One thing that really caught my attention is the concept of schema. As a future teacher, I
think it is important to know where the students stand on prior knowledge and to be able to
facilitate them to retrieve that information to be able to gain more knowledge. This idea is stated
very well in the text, “You have to assimilate the information into an existing schema or revise
an old one to make the new stuff fit.” (Daniels & Zemelman, 2014, 33) This is how teachers are
going be able to meet students at a level of comprehension, but also set goals for students that
will help lead them to success. From what I believe and understand, this is what Common Core
Standards strives for.
Word Count: 294
I really enjoyed reading your blog, especially the part about your personal experience with reading. I also struggled with reading, and as a future teacher, I fear that reading difficulty can do a number on a student's confidence. Therefore, as you said, I think it is important to build off of what students know so that they can remain motivated and confident in their reading. I think it takes a intentional effort on the teacher's part to get to know their students and to facilitate ways to connect readings to their students' prior knowledge.
ReplyDeleteword count: 94
Delete