Post 7 ~ Learn & Serve 3

(Friday, Oct 13th, 4 hrs) If reading came naturally, teaching reading would be a much easier job. Children would learn to read as readily as they learn to speak. Teachers would only need to give students the chance to practice their skills. But children don't learn to read just from being exposed to books. Reading must be taught. For many children, reading must be taught explicitly and systematically, one small step at a time. That's why good teachers are so important. Mrs. Kruse is such a great Reading Teacher. I really do like her! :) I learned a lot today about her believes about why children should read - that are: reading
* is rewarding
* builds a mature vocabulary
* makes you a better writer
* is hard and "hard" is necessary
* makes you smarter
* prepares you for the world of work
* opens the door to college and beyond

I think in a truly balanced literacy program, how you teach is as important as what you teach. Balanced Literacy is designed to help all students learn to read and write effectively. The program stands for the promise that all students can learn to read and write. This balance between reading and writing allows students to receive the teaching needed in order to reach grade level status, while allowing students to work at a level that is not frustrating for them and leaves them their ownership. Balanced literacy programs are a balance of whole language and phonics instruction that includes all aspects of literacy, including the components of the balanced literacy approaches like reading, phonics and other literacy skills, reading and writing strategies, vocabulary, comprehension, literature, oral language, writing, spelling – like we learned in class. It provides and cultivates the skills of reading, writing, thinking, speaking and listening for all students. A Balanced Literacy Program includes: Modeled Reading (Reading Aloud) and Modeled Writing, Shared Reading and Shared Writing, Guided Reading and Guided Writing, Independent Reading and Independent Writing. Children read and write each day independently and in group settings (both large and small). Students also participate in shared and individual writing activities each day. The four types of writing experiences are: shared writing, interactive writing, writer’s workshop, independent writing. But mainly, our goal of the literacy collaborative is to help children become readers and writers who enjoy and value literacy. Therefore, the main point I learned from this project was to understand and see that our students will quickly learn that what they say, they can write, and what they write, they can read! :o)

The main point what got stuck with me from our class today, was that I learned with my future special education students, I would have to consider that children need to learn to read before the end of third grade. If children are not proficient readers by the end of third grade, most will never be proficient. I also will have to take notes about my special needs student to support the special ed teacher!

Furthermore, my textbook was really interesting to read as it was explaining different mental disabilities. Intellectual disability is characterized both by a significantly below-average score on a test of mental ability or intelligence and by limitations in the ability to function in areas of daily life, such as communication, self-care, and getting along in social situations and school activities. Intellectual disability is sometimes referred to as a cognitive disability or mental retardation- which terms we actually don't use anymore but rather say learning disabled!

Children with intellectual disability can and do learn new skills, but they develop more slowly than children with average intelligence and adaptive skills. There are different degrees of Intellectual disability, ranging from mild to profound. A person's level of Intellectual disability can be defined by their intelligence quotient (IQ), or by the types and amount of support they need.

Kirk, S., Gallagher, J, Coleman, M., & Anastasiow, N. (2009). Educating Exceptional Children (12th ed.). Kentucky: Cengage Learning. Retrieved October 22, 2009