The article “Learning About Literacy: A 30- year Journey”, discussed how the theories of learning to read have evolved throughout the year. We went from teachers who just dumped their knowledge onto students like “containers”, to teachers who simply assist their students in the process of learning to read. Teachers now learn as much from their students as their students do from them. This article discussed the change in looking at students’ mistakes in reading as errors to a learning opportunity for the teacher to better understand and learn where there is need for help. Teachers should not just “dump” their knowledge into their students but help them by teaching strategies to assist in the reading process. This article also discusses how students learn based on their prior knowledge. The theories of using schema to aide in teaching reading has evolved over the years. Instead of a teacher thinking “What does a child already know and how can I use that to teach new ideas”, they now should think “What is it that they do not know and how can I expose them to that”. One final theory that this article discusses is that students who are exposed to books as a child prior to and during preschool are the students who are most successful in learning to read during their career as a student.
After reading this article I have realized the importance of choice. Students need to be reading books that speak to their interest or that they had a say in choosing. This enables them to reach their highest potential as a reader since they are engaged. If they are invested in their reading I can learn how to best assist in their learning to read. When they are putting fourth their best effort, I will be able to analyze their errors and decide on strategies that will assist them in the reading process. I find it so interesting that back in the days of early reading interest was not as important. Students didn’t have social media or tv’s to hold their interest. Books were one of the only ways for a child to enjoy a different world. That was all the motivation they needed. Now, books compete with computers, phones, and tv’s. For a student to choose a book over one of the electronic options, it must be very engaging text and geared to their specific interests. Moving forward I will be very mindful of the importance of choice, and try my best to make sure that my classroom is filled with rich engaging literature.
