Before taking LLED 3530, I had taken three other LLED
classes. They were about language development and reading development. I
assumed this would be similar to their structure and content. However, to my
surprise, this was totally different experience than previously! This course
had me thinking about teaching math and science in ways that I had not before. READING
IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL A STUDENT CAN LEARN! While I knew that reading was
important, I did not really think about how much reading I would or should incorporate
in my math and science classes. To be honest, I was not a fan of reading growing
up. I struggled, so when I first heard that I need to incorporate reading into
content areas, I was a little hesitant and not that excited.
However, now I feel like this is something that I can actually
make happen in the classroom and present it in ways that engage students into
reading. This realization came to me through learning about the many different
strategies that can be used when reading, listening, watching, or observing a
text. A few of my personal favorites are Sketching My Way Through The Text and
Think, Pair, Share. These are ways to allow students to read and think critically
in certain content areas to ultimately improve their reading comprehension and
skills. Another learning and growing tool that was used was the creation of the
Text Set. I was just talking to my roommates about how this was by far my
favorite thing I have created for school. It made me want to teach this in a
class right now! It allowed me to think outside of the box and bring in a
variety of text that are not your average textbook
readings or old articles. This is what is neat about education today. We have access to so many resources and technology that education has never seen before. This is to our advantage and why are we not using them to their full potentials. The text set allowed me to see content literacy in a whole new light. I am no dreading to bring these text into my classes, rather I am excited for them to read and explore critically.
readings or old articles. This is what is neat about education today. We have access to so many resources and technology that education has never seen before. This is to our advantage and why are we not using them to their full potentials. The text set allowed me to see content literacy in a whole new light. I am no dreading to bring these text into my classes, rather I am excited for them to read and explore critically.
Do I think I will use these ideas and concepts in my future
classrooms? I will do my very best too! I think where there is a will there is
a way to make it happen. In Hall’s article, it discusses the methods of
pre-service teachers to try to change their views on content area reading. As cliché
as it sounds, I am a living testament that courses provided to pre-service teachers
about content area reading can change the views of pre-service teachers. “Their
exposure to a variety of literacy materials during the course left them with a desire
to locate more engaging text that placed higher demands on students’ reading
abilities.” (Hall, 2005, p.409) This quote sums up how I feel leaving this
course! A huge thanks to Dr. Robinson for providing us with many ways to assimilate
reading into content areas, but for also revealing to us a plethora of
resources through helping us create blogs like these and text sets!
