Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TARGET STUDENTS
Kindergarteners. 30 minutes daily. Monday-Friday. This is their first year of learning Chinese.
and First graders. 30 minutes daily. Monday-Friday. This is their second year of learning Chinese.
READING MATERIALS
Of all the reading materials I used in my classroom, which include story books, culture books and language books, I chose the language book to conduct group reading.
The language books I used contain 80%+ words that they have learned. have structured sentences. have picture hint.
GROUPS
I used small group, no more than 4 students. The students were grouped in two ways. 1) I assigned the students with different reading level in one group. 2) Students paired themselves with a learning partner. Boys were paired with girls. Girls were paired with boys.
ACTIVITIES I USED:
1.
2.
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4. 5.
Activate prior language knowledge Teach the strategies that students can use when encountered with unfamiliar words. Check students comprehension by using I know-I wonder wall. Read aloud. Build vocabulary and language knowledge.
5.2. TEACH STRATEGIES THAT STUDENTS CAN USE WHEN ENCOUNTERED WITH UNFAMILIAR WORDS.
The biggest problem for the kindergarteners and first graders are on the vocabulary basis. Its important to give the students the tool to figure out what to do when faced with unfamiliar words, which include the words they forget and the words they never meet.
Use Pinyin to read the words. Look at the picture to guess the meaning. Activate your previous knowledge. Look at the structures of the characters. Refer to your learning partner. Refer to the word bank.
I know-I wonder is a tool for students to selfreflect. They can use sticky note to write down the content theyve known and the content they are not sure.
Reading aloud helps students to focus on reading. Students are likely to comprehend if read a material for several times. It improve students prosody. Prosody connects fluency to comprehension. (Rasinski& Samuels, 2011) Choral or group reading is perhaps the most common assisted reading form for students. (Rasinski, 2010)
Vocabulary and language knowledge is the basis of comprehension. If students cannot speak out a Chinese sentence, it is less likely they can read in written language. Due to the features of Chinese written language, if the students cannot recognize the key characters, its less likely that the students can finish reading a sentence.
6. ASSESSMENT
ASSESSMENT
Assessment for students comprehension can be carried out in different ways, such as: 1. Ask related question./ Students translate the paragraphs. 2. use the puppet to re-tell the story. 3. Integrate reading and writing.
Reading and writing mutually reinforce one another and rely on some of the same cognitive processes. (Fitzgerald& Shanahan, 2000; Shanahan, 2006; Tierney& Shanahan, 1996) Students must comprehend the sentences structure before they can imitate to write. In turn that if the students demonstrate correct writing and can read their own works, it shows the students comprehend the reading materials.
7. SUMMARY
SUMMARY
Before I conducted my focus project, the mostly common used form of reading in my classroom are story-telling, choral reading, shared reading and guided reading. The teacher plays the major role in reading. After introducing group reading to my students, the responsibility of reading shift to the students. They are more engaged and find reading fun. As a teacher for 24 students, I cannot take care of all the students at one time. When they read with their reading partners, they learned faster. Moreover, after I applied group reading, I found reading can be conducted in many different ways. Though they are not capable of complicated Chinese reading materials, they have developed better social skills for further reading activities.
8. REFERENCE
REFERENCE I
Harvey, S., & Daniels, H. (2009). Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action. (pp. 19-54) Portsmouth , NH: Heinemann. McKenna, M. C., & Stahl, K. A. (2009). Assessment for Reading Instruction, (2nd ed, pp. 148-185). New York: Guilford Press. Duke, N.K., Pearson,P.D., Strachan, S., & Billman, A. K. (2011). Essential elements of fostering and teaching reading comprehension. In A. Farstrup & S. J. Samuels (Eds), What research has to say about reading instruction (4th ed., pp. 51-93). Newark, DE: International Reading Association Shanahan, T., Callison, K., Carriere, C., Duke, N.K., Person, P.D., Schatschneider, C., & Torgesen, J. (2010). Improve reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade: a practice guide (NCEE 2010-4038) Rasinski, T.V., & Samuels, S.J. (2011). Reading fluency: What it is and what it is not. In S. J. Samuels & A. E. Farstrup (Eds), What research has to say about reading instruction (4th ed., pp. 94-114). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Blachowicz, C;L., & Fisher, P. J. (2011). Best practices in vocabulary instruction revisited. In L.M. Morrow & L. B. Gambrell (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction (4th ed., pp. 224-249). New York : Guilford Press.
REFERENCE II
Extending Childrens Special Abilities Strategies for primary classrooms http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm 30 reading group activities for your students http://www.edgalaxy.com/literacy/2010/9/21/30-reading-group-activitiesfor-your-students.html Reading Comprehension Activities http://specialed.about.com/od/balancedliteracy/a/comp.htm Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension http://www.readingrockets.org/article/343/ Making Reading Comprehension Fun http://jenniferwagaman.suite101.com/making-reading-comprehensionfun-a96960 Small group activities for differentiated reading instruction. http://www.ehow.com/info_7996549_small-activities-differentiatedreading-instruction.html