Laura Jordan
EDRD 7715
Due: 6/13/13
Module 1: Reading Reflection Chapters 1 & 2
In Weaver's first two
chapters several important literacy and learning concepts were brought
up. The ways in which children understand why they read is directly related to how the teacher views the
purpose of reading. It is important to
teach not only how to read, but why to read, and to read with meaning so that
each child can be as successful as possible.
When viewing ways in which we teaching children to read both the
sociopsycholinguistic approach and skills approach were explained and discussed
in the first two chapters.
The difference in
these two approaches is based solely on how the teacher teaches the students to
read. When using the skills approach to
literacy the student is taught to learn letters, then letter sound meaning, and
just assume that the meaning of what the child is reading will take care of
itself. This approach completely ignores
our schemas, or our background knowledge, to which we have built up what these
words might mean through experiences of our own. If reading is taught this way the student may
know the definition of a large number of words but when faced with the
challenge of reading for meaning (our ultimate goal), the student will struggle
through putting all of the pieces together to form the big picture.
In contrast, the
sociopsycholinguistic approach teaches the student not only to learn what each
word means but also for the student to be able to extract a meaning from the
sentences or passages by understanding how the words relate together in
sentence structure. Connie Weaver points
out many instances in which students can be able to define a word and name the
part of speech but not piece together the total meaning because they are not
relying on their prior knowledge. The
sociopsycholiguistic approach allows the student to be aware of their prior
knowledge when actively learning the true meaning behind the text.
When teaching young
children to read I think it is very important that we use the
sociopsycholinguistic approach so that the children are able to build upon what
they know and become smarter and stronger readers. If the student is taught to read for meaning
at an early age they will be more successful as the texts continue to grow more
complex.
References:
Weaver, C. (2002). Reading
Process & Practice (3rd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
I completely agree with the need to use the sociopsycholinguistic approach when teaching young children. I am a prek teacher and at that age it is easy to just focus on the skills approach and forget about schema and gainging a full understanding of what the children is reading. After reading the text, I have found many changes that I need to make as far as how I teach my students to read. My eyes where opened to things I am doing right and things I need to work on!
ReplyDeleteI taught 5th grade reading this year and I was surprised at how many of my student had little back ground knowledge in many aspects of life. When talking about a foreign country for example, some of my students have never traveled outside the city in which we live which meant the topic we were covering was completely foreign. I feel as though children should be taught to read from a very early age by reading things that have meaning to their lives and the world in which we all live. I also feel as though making connections personally with reading will make students more interested and eager to read. Naturally the more you read, the more fluent and accurate reader you become. So I definitely agree with the comprehensive approach to reading.
ReplyDeleteI liked what you said about the skills approach discounting so many important factors in teaching literacy. The skills approach does not take in to account the need for schemas, background knowledge, and the meanings a reader can derive from those. When I come across a difficult reading passage, I rely on previously made schemas as well as my past experiences to help me filter through the information and comprehend it. If we are not teaching our students those same skills, how will they effectively understand the meaning of a text? Without understanding the meaning of a text, what was the purpose of reading it? I definitely agree that the comprehensive approach will benefit our students more.
ReplyDelete