Module 1: Response to Power Point

Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties

I word in a predominately Hispanic community but have other ethnicities in my room as well. Out of my 28 students, all but 5 do not speak English as their first language. I really resonated with the difficulties of ELL's but it's been interesting to me in my classroom how many of my students are not proficient in their native language. My students are able to speak their native language but cannot read or write in their native language. This really shows how there are so many gaps in their English reading and writing as well.

Success is key! Helping students understand when they are successful and making a big deal out of it can help boost their confidence. For my students, focusing on vocabulary is very key in order to help build their background knowledge on a text before and during reading. I have found that allowing students to work with their peers helps boost morale in the room and gets students motivated because they want to perform at the level of the others around them.

I was shocked by how many children are diagnosed with learning disabilities and it's amazing to me that 80% of learning disabilities are reading related but it makes sense. Reading is brought into all academic content areas so it's much easier to notice when a student is struggling in this area.

The biggest challenge I have found with my fifth graders that I noticed in this presentation is figuring out if their reading struggles are language related or if it's something else. I have been trying to work on getting my students to focus more on the big picture while reading to try and take the focus away from the individual sounds. I think if they change their focus to gaining meaning while reading they will find reading more enjoyable.