While reading chapter 9 I was very interested in the section about
differentiated instructional materials. We have talked about this in class a
lot because this topic has come up several times throughout this semester. This
chapter gave a more in depth look at the organization and management of
differentiated materials used in the classroom.
The section starts by introducing different types
of published materials such as basal readers, anthologies, supplementary
materials, and workbooks. These books have been used for years to teach young
children but do they work? These materials come pre-leveled making them easier
to organize and manage in a classroom. Today some teachers are starting to shy
away from these types of books and starting to use more authentic types of
literacy while other teachers are still using published materials in their
classrooms. Which type of differentiated literacy materials would you use in
your classroom if you were allowed to choice?
This section also provides a few general questions
that should be applied to the selection and use of commercial materials. One of
the questions that I had never thought about was: Do the books have adequate
multicultural representation? I believe that even though I never thought of
this question it is an extremely important one. Classroom today look very
different from classrooms 20 years ago and the materials in our classrooms
should reflect these changes. The materials in our classroom should be as
diverse as our classrooms are or even more diverse than our own classroom. What
is a question that you would ask before choosing a published material to use in
your classroom?
My favorite part of this section of the chapter was
a paragraph at the bottom of page 403. The paragraph talks about children’s
needed to learn a great deal of literacy aside from what is included in basal
readers and practice phonics with more than a published workbook. But it also
says “that without published programs teachers may feel there isn’t enough
direction for them when teaching reading.” The book makes a good point here
because as a teaching major it does scare me a little knowing that if the
school I work at does not have a basal reading program that I am responsible
with creating my own differentiated materials. The next sentence in the paragraph
states, “Such programs often feel too prescriptive.” This also makes sense to
me because as a teacher I want to provide my students with the most
individualized instruction as I possibly can and if the program I use is too
prescriptive then I am not going to be able to accommodate everyone of my students’
needs. I think it is important for teachers to find the perfect combination of
the two in order to make your classroom a rich literacy environment.
I think within my classroom i would want to use both leveled and authentic reading materials. I feel that leveled reading is very important especially for beginning and struggling readers. It allows students to work through what they can and gradually grow and ability. Authentic reading is also very important because i feel that it helps make reading more relevant to the student and keeps them encouraged to keep progressing. I also loved how you pointed out the multicultural subject as well. i feel it is very important to all our classroom and reading materials to be as diverse as possible. It allows students to understand that no two students or people are alike we are all different and unique and should embrace those qualities. Questions i would ask when purchasing a book would be, how does this book best represent all my students and future students uniqueness and individuality?
ReplyDeleteI think within a classroom that you need to have differentiated instruction. I think it is important to make sure that everyone in your classroom is getting the best instruction they can get. I like how you talked about multiculturalism. I believe that you have to have books that deal with multiple cultures because then it makes every student in your classroom feel like they belong. Also with different reading materials I believe that you should have books in different languages, not saying that your students will be able to read them and understand them, but they will be able to see how others write and what it looks like.
ReplyDeleteWithin my own classroom I would love to make leveled and authentic reading materials. It is important to have varied texts, enough to challenge a student but not too much. The thing with books is that you must make sure to carry different cultures that are accurate for students to learn from.
ReplyDeleteIn a classroom, you, without a doubt, need to have differentiated instruction. Certain children learn in different ways and with differentiated instruction, you are able to expand your teaching and let children learn in different ways so they can get the best outcome from your lesson. In my classroom I want to have many different types of text in the classroom. The books in your classroom should be of various topics. They can range from fiction, non-fiction, fairytale, biographies, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think that no matter what, one needs to differentiate instruction. Not every student is the same! Some learn by just telling them what they need to know, some need application. Furthermore, having a wide range of reading materials shows that the teacher appreciates all levels of reading.
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