Comprehension

There are so many awesome strategies available to us, as educators, in the textbook and in other resources. I really want to use a lot of different and new strategies I have learned about in this module. I think that sometimes we get stuck in the different strategies that we use but don't realize we don't have to keep using the same ones over and over. I think that making some sort of file would be beneficial, listing all of the different kinds so that you could easily pull it up and pick a few to use. I really like the story maps shown in the book. I think that students would enjoy using them as well.

Family Literacy

There are so many great idea's for a family literacy night at school. I really like the idea of having a bunch of centers with really fun activities. I think that it is such an important idea to have a night where the parents come in with their children and learn great activities that they can do at home. I really like the activities that do not require a lot of material or any materials, so that they can be done anywhere; in the car, at the grocery store, the mall etc. Although, there are so many awesome activities out there. 

Vocabulary

I thought it was a very interesting point from the textbook that, "Children learn the meanings of most words indirectly though everyday experiences with oral and written language." (Reutzel & Cooter, 2011, p. 237) Ways that children can learn new words is by having a story read to them, reading themselves, and being directly taught words. (Reutzel & Cooter, 2011, p. 237-238) I really want to increase the amount of stories I read in class to my students because of all of the great benefits that it brings. My favorite that the book lists is “ word consciousness” which is defined as, “an awareness and interest in words.” (Reutzel & Cooter, 2011, p. 238) I have a huge interest in words, anytime I hear one and do not know the meaning, I look it up. I want my students to have the same interest in words and their meanings.

Family Literacy

I am so excited to learn about the many different Family Literacy activities to send home. I think that after reading all of the material for this module, there are so many awesome resources for teachers to use to help collaborate with families of our students. We really need to work together in order to let our children reach their full potential. The idea that a lot of kids do not have books at home is heart-breaking. For every holiday this year I have been buying books for each of my students through scholastic through the dollar deals. The students scream every time I give them the books and they can't believe they get to take them home. After reading this module I will definitely keep doing this and want to add more activities to send home.

Assessments

I am so excited to see that there are so many great resources available to progress monitor and assess our students. After watching all of the great presentations and hearing about so many different assessments, I really want to try some different ones, because they seem like great tools for the classroom. I think that sometimes we, as teachers, can get stuck on one type of assessment and not branch out to use any others or research others. I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to hear in-depth reviews of the different assessments available for teachers to use in the classroom.