EDR201 Project 6: Observation & Critique of a Reading Class

By Maria Ediliza “Edel” Margarita C. Ramilo (Sem 1. 2010-2011)

Summary
The Reading class begins with the teacher fixing the students’
chairs in front of the blackboard, getting ready for the activity.
Tables were left at the back part of the room, as children were asked
to sit boy-girl-boy-girl. The Reading teacher then greets her students
good morning and receives an energetic response. The class reviews
previous vocabulary words posted on the classroom wall by reading
them aloud one by one. The Reading teacher introduces the next
activity by showing the “star” as a reward to be given to most
behaved students.

The teacher shows a picture of sailor and asks the students

who they think the man is. She relates the sailor to the famous
cartoon character Popeye and explains what a sailor does for a
living. She posts a colored cartolina paper with the vocabulary words
written on it, with its respective definitions. The teacher then
proceeds to the “unlocking” of the vocabulary words, guiding the
students in the proper pronunciation of words and providing a
reward for every correct answer. At instances where students get
rowdy, the Reading teacher simply says, “I love you, ____” to catch
their attention.

Before the teacher reads the very short story, she shows a
picture of the two characters in the story, namely “Simon and Sam.”
They were wearing the fisherman’s clothes, so children would easily
identify their job. The teacher reads the story aloud once and then
invites her students to read aloud with her next. Students repeat
after the teacher reads each sentence. After reading the very short
story, she then asks comprehension questions which her students
were very eager to answer. They had an exchange of thoughts as she
encouraged students to answer in complete sentences, guiding them
in sentence construction. Each student who tries to answer the
question is given a reward.

After making sure that the students understand the short

story, she proceeds to asking the students about what the first letter
of the vocabulary words were. The students unanimously answer
that the words start with the letter “S.” The teacher then writes the
letter “S” on the board and sings a song called “Mommy S-Baby S,”
emphasizing the words that start with letter “S.” She then shows
pictures of things that start with the letter “S,” asking the children to
identify what the pictures were. Identified pictures are then posted
on the blackboard. She writes the names of the words under each
picture. The students read the words aloud.

To give children an opportunity to differentiate which words

start with “S” and which words do not, the teacher introduces a game
 EDR201 Project 6: Observation & Critique of a Reading Class
By Maria Ediliza “Edel” Margarita C. Ramilo (Sem 1. 2010-2011)

called “Superman” where the students are asked to raise their hands
and stand up upon hearing a word which starts with the letter “S.”

In her effort to relate the topic to the student’s daily life, she
asks about the students’ opinion on what things could happen if
thrash is thrown on the sea. The teacher and students exchange
thoughts as the teacher leads her students to the idea that improper
waste disposal can be harmful to the environment. She then
encourages her students to take care of the environment.

As a final activity, the teacher asks the students to bring out

their Reading book and plays a game like activity called “Fingers Up.
Fingers Down” where students are prompted to point at the pictures
in the book that start with the letter “S.” She then asks the students
to answer an activity in their Reading book where object starting
with letter “s” were encircled.

Analysis, Synthesis, and Conclusions

In viewing Reading as a skill, I would say that there was
greater focus on Reading as skill and not as skills. The evidence for
this is the greater time spent on reading the short story to the
students, having the students read the story aloud, and asking them
comprehension questions afterwards. She gave literal and
integration questions related to the text. The teacher was more
concerned with whether the students were able to understand the
story or not. She was making sure of the students’ comprehension of
the material. After making sure that the children understood what
the short story meant, that was the time when she shifted her focus
on Reading as skills. She identified words starting with the letter “s”
and used the whole-word or look-and-say method for word
recognition. She also used pictures to aid children in giving word
meaning. As a whole, the reading teacher provided children with
opportunities for integrating the subskills through reading of an
authentic and meaningful text. She gave direct instruction on
subskills with a definable content and not through phrases or
sentences that do not relate to each other.

In viewing Reading as a process, it can be said that the

teacher is subscribing to Rumelhart’s model where reading draws
from the top and bottom simultaneously. It says that processing
begins with either the print on the page or the reader’s prior
knowledge of the world and language. In the same light, in viewing
Reading as comprehension, the teacher took advantage of the
schemata theory. She used the students’ prior knowledge of what a
sailor or fisherman does for a living as she also related the
characters of the story to the famous cartoon character named
Popeye. She did this before reading the story to the children so that
 EDR201 Project 6: Observation & Critique of a Reading Class
By Maria Ediliza “Edel” Margarita C. Ramilo (Sem 1. 2010-2011)

the text would be more meaningful. According to Rumelhart, the

meaning produced in reading depends in part on the meanings
already stored in the reader’s schemata and that the reader takes
information from various sources and these sources act together to
produce meaning. Such is what I have observed in the Reading class.

In viewing Reading as development, it can be said that the

students in preschool are in Stage 1, called the Transfer Stage. It is
the period during which the child learns the relationship between
the visual symbols that stand for the auditory symbols that he
already knows. In the reading class observed, the teacher was
introducing the words that start with the letter “s.” The students are
being taught to distinguish the letter “s” from the rest of the
alphabet. In the same light, in Chall’s development model, the
students in preschool are under Stage 0, called Prereading Stage. The
major characteristics at this stage are the naming of letters of the
alphabet and “pretending” to read. This was seen as the students
were reading the story after the teacher reads it aloud. The students
take cues more from listening to the teacher than the text itself.

The positive traits observed from the reading teacher were

competence, warmth, and enthusiasm. I would say that the Reading
teacher I observed was highly competent as it was seen in her
organization of the physical set-up inside the classroom, the choice
of the reading material appropriate to the class, the smart use of
time, the smooth transition from one activity to another, the feeling
of confidence in teaching, the provision of clear and concise
instructions, the use of words appropriate to the child’s language
ability, the use of sufficient visual aids, and the ability to control the
students’ undesirable behavior. I would also say that she was
exhibiting warmth towards her students as she chooses to use “I love
you” to call their attention rather than just call the student’s name
and ask them to behave. She would also use a very caring tone of
voice that sends a message of appreciation and acceptance to the
students. She smiles at them instead of frowning whenever she hears
noise. She asks them to sit properly without saying “sit properly.”
Instead, she says “Children, let your angels sit on your lap.” I find that
sweet and creative. Lastly, I consider her enthusiastic because she
seemed to have a lot of energy that she looks like she is having fun
explaining things to her students although she was actually pressed
for time. Her enthusiasm builds excitement in her students,
prompting them to participate in discussion actively.

In general, I did not find anything that I would want to

change in the reading class, other than the visual aids used by the
teacher. Since, the pictures were mostly black and white; I would
have wanted it to be colored. I would also want to use a bigger
picture, something that everyone can easily see and distinguish from
 EDR201 Project 6: Observation & Critique of a Reading Class
By Maria Ediliza “Edel” Margarita C. Ramilo (Sem 1. 2010-2011)

afar, although at that time, it was not meant to be viewed from too
far away. I simply have a bias for bigger images because I have a
visual impairment. I personally cannot see pictures clearly from long
distance. Because of this, I give high value to the visual aid’s
appropriate size and presentation.

As for the best part of the presentation, I would say that it

was the question and answer portion after reading the text aloud. It
is when the teacher is able to evaluate the understanding of the
students regarding the text, as she tries to dig towards the students’
ideas on the story by asking related questions. It is when the
students are able to prove and disprove their understanding of what
has been read to them and of what they “pretended” to read. In this
part, comprehension was given much priority.

Recommendations
From my point of view, I feel happy and proud of how Mrs.
Alvares presented in her Reading class. She exemplified most of the
positive traits noted in our class’ reference material which describes
a good reading teacher. Again, if there is anything that I would want
to improve on her strategies, that would be her use of visual aids. I
believe that bigger pictures and more realistic images would greatly
help students to imagine what the written words symbolize in real
life. The closer the images are to reality, the better it could aid the
student’s imagination.

Reflection
“I am an amateur teacher.” That was what I told myself after
observing Mrs. Alvares, a preschool teacher for more than 10 years.
Her skills were incomparable to mine and it made me feel inferior.
Well, yes, that is a fact, that I have tons of things to learn about how I
can be the best teacher to my students, but that fact should not stop
me from moving forward. As mentioned in our class’ reference
material, learning is a continuous process. Realizing my
shortcomings, I ought to work harder to bridge the gap from what I
am now and what I should be in the future. I need not be ashamed of
my current skills for there is still so much that I can do to build a
better me. I am sure that through practice and constant education, I
can be an excellent Reading teacher, someone whom my students
and teachers can be proud of.
EDR201 Project 6: Observation & Critique of a Reading Class
By Maria Ediliza “Edel” Margarita C. Ramilo (Sem 1. 2010-2011)
EDR201 Project 6: Observation & Critique of a Reading Class
By Maria Ediliza “Edel” Margarita C. Ramilo (Sem 1. 2010-2011)
EDR201 Project 6: Observation & Critique of a Reading Class
By Maria Ediliza “Edel” Margarita C. Ramilo (Sem 1. 2010-2011)
EDR201 Project 6: Observation & Critique of a Reading Class
By Maria Ediliza “Edel” Margarita C. Ramilo (Sem 1. 2010-2011)