Readers often look at the organization of the words within the text they are reading. Often times readers consider grammar (proper syntax), as well as proper word meanings (semantics) that make up the text. Most times the context of what the author has written is based upon multiple schemas. The author writes in order to convey specific viewpoints. Everyone perceives things in a different manner based on connections and the experiences that they are familiar with. I may read the text and see it in a light based on my own schema, you may read the text and gather an entire new meaning.Due to everyone's own experiences and connections, I find this to be a common misconception of reading. No child is the same, and I believe that teachers often forget this while trying to teach reading.
I think we often look as reading as a rote process of memory. You learn words and string them into sentences.Then you can read a book. We often forget to teach appropriate strategies in order to mold avid readers. By surrounding readers with a broad spectrum of reading materials students will be exposed to a variety of new words and will recognize multiple meanings of words. Multiple contexts really allow students to make connections. Contexts are "crucial for emergent and other nonproficient readers to learn and to practice reading". Proficient readers read in order to convey meaning. They constantly look ahead in the text in order to make meaning. Emergent and less proficient readers develop phonics knowledge most readily by learning whole words and deriving phonics knowledge from them, rather than learning phonics first (Weaver, 2002). I believe that exposing children to a broad exposure of print materials, along with proper strategies avid readers will evolve within the classroom.
Each miscue guides us to having broader understanding of how our readers are interpreting ideas. As Weaver states, "We must give children the opportunities and encouragement to correct their own miscues if they disrupt meaning- or to simply read on..." We want to create self sufficient readers. Once we teach appropriate strategies, readers will read to self, and recognize their own miscues. It is at this level of reading in which they really take charge of their learning. As teachers we need to constantly motivate and encourage our students. We want to make reading fun and engaging. If our readers get discouraged, they may decide they do not enjoy reading, and may give up. I think this is another reason that teachers must broaden their horizons as well as their teaching strategies. If teachers continue to teach in the same way, I feel that is it not giving all readers a chance to be successful. Each learner has their own strategies that work for them. It is not fair nor effective to expect students to read a passage and all interpret it all the same way.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thought that reading is more a dynamic process than an exact one, and it is unrealistic to think that every child (much less an adult) could read every word verbatim. The idea of exposing students to a variety of print materials in the classroom is a valid point. Any and every educator should strive to provide that type of environment to foster the love and skills of reading. During my pilot study on reading motivation, I was able to determine several themes, one being that the teacher's perception of how her students approached and enjoyed reading was different than she expected. Teachers should make reading engaging and meaningful, but they should also develop relationships with their students to allow room for trust and the opportunity to be open without hesitation. When and if this occurs, strategies to assist learners will become more apparent, thus supporting our desire to help learners be more successful.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI agree that students should be exposed to all kinds of print materials and taught multiple strategies. This kind of exposure will help them to learn which strategies work best for which type of text. An assortment of reading materials in the classroom will also gaurantee that most students will find literature that will engage them.
I also think that reading is a dynamic process in which the reader is interpreting the author's message based on their own schema. And since a reader is using their own background knowledge to understand a text, I don't beleive the message would be exactly as the author intended even if every word were read as written.