Module 6: Reading Reflection

Chapter 15 does a nice job of bringing together many of Weavers main ideas from the text. After reading the text and chapter 15, my personal philosophy has definitely evolved for the better. In chapter 15, Weaver shows data to support a comprehensive literacy approach in a kindergarten classroom. This data further shows the benefits of implementing a comprehensive literacy program into the curriculum.  I found the graph on page 370 to be really interesting in that is shows the 21% difference between traditional instruction and contemporary instruction like the comprehensive literacy program.

I also found Weaver's perspective on background knowledge to be incredibly useful. It makes perfect sense that students will have better comprehension when they have the appropriate background knowledge. This makes me think about the way I introduce a story and the importance on ensuring the each student has to background knowledge needed to comprehend the text. The purpose of reading is to comprehend, thus as teachers we must set our students up with the skills to read text and derive meaning form it.

Chapter 15 also discusses the importance of access to age appropriate books. This is not only important in the classroom, but students also need access to appropriate books at home. This is a more difficult task to monitor students' reading at home, but I try to have good relationships with parents in order to encourage them to spend time reading with their child.

When I first took the DeFord TORP I felt I leaned more towards the importance of decoding and phonics instruction. Looking back at it, I see my ideas have developed greatly from this course. My second set of scores reflected a more balanced approach to literacy instruction. I think this comes from learning about the comprehensive literacy approach we discussed so frequently this semester.