Instructional-Level Social Studies Trade Books September 23, 2009

With social studies and literature being my two favorite subjects, this article really intrigued me and taught me a great deal about how to use these two subjects to teach.  I believe one of the most powerful statements was at the end, written by Betts.  On page 15, it reads, “Teaching is the practical recognition of differences.  Until differences among the pupils of a given class are recognized, instruction cannot be on a sound, effective, systematic basis.  A ‘class’ or a ‘grade’ is an abstraction; it exists in the teacher’s mind or nervous system…No one has ever seen a ‘first-grade class,’ or a ‘fifth-grade class.’  What a teacher should ‘see’ is a group of individuals, unique unto themselves.”  I do not believe that we can understand any of the levels of instruction without fully understanding this first.  As teachers, we so often think of our classroom as a whole.  For example, they are a whole class of second graders.  They work and function as one.  This could not be more from the truth.  Throughout my substitute teaching experiences, as well as my internships, I have seen this concept of seeing each child as an individual over and over again.  Each child is so extremely unique.  They come from different backgrounds, have different perspectives on education, have different interests, and learn different ways.  I believe the most important here is that they learn different ways.  I cannot simply teach a social studies/literature lesson by reading a passage out of a book.  That would only meet the needs of the auditory learners.  What about the learners who learn best by doing?  By seeing?  By a combination of these things?  I would be doing a major disservice to my students if I did not prepare instruction for students with multiple learning strategies.  Thankfully, this article gave me some great ideas as to how I can do this.

The section of the article that really struck a chord with me was at the beginning.  I have always been a good reader, and I never had trouble comprehending what I read.  Therefore, it is difficult for me to relate to the student, Jon, who was mentioned in the article.  However, as a teacher, I will need to empathize with students like Jon and create real solutions to help students like him.  The section I learned a great deal from was when it discussed Jon, who was unmotivated and quite frankly, beaten down by the instructional strategies employed by his teacher.  He was at his frustration level, proven by the fact that he couldn’t read very well and when he read out loud he asked the teacher when his turn was up so she could pick someone else.  I got the feeling of frustration right along with him as I read this section.  It only makes sense that giving students materials that are too hard to read would weaken interest and cause frustration. 

I also made several connections between our discussion in class today and this article.  Since we know that a poor reading rate will affect motivation, it should also make sense that a poor reading rate will affect comprehension.  This is exactly what we discussed in class today.  If a student can not automatically decode a word, then their ability to comprehend a passage with those words is weak.  This was proven on page 5 which states, “Over time, this restricted reading practice (due to the fact that he can’t read very many words per minute) contributes to deficits in sight vocabulary, fluency, and content knowledge.”  If a student is not at their instructional level, reading material that is not too hard, but not too easy, then they will never make gains.  We want “maximum development” (page 6) to occur.  This can only occur when students are challenged, successful at these challenges, and never frustrated.  As a child, I remember how I used to feel when I would get frustrated doing something.  I didn’t even want to try it again.  This is exactly how our students will feel if they are placed in the wrong grade level.  I also learned that the instructional level is not just giving them “easy work.”  It providing them with work that may require some instruction but comes next in the sequence of their developmental process.  Picking instructional level books also help students practice vocabulary or concepts again and again (page 11).  For instnace, if they see a word pattern they are having trouble on, the teacher can easily scaffold them by using this pattern as a part of their spelling test.

I also learned specific strategies on how to treat each reading level group of students.  On page 7, it discusses the three reasons most children have reading disabilities.  They are lowered expectations, lowered levels of reading practice, and lowered motivation.  I can definitely identify with the fact that lowered expectations have a negative affect on reading.  I was always involved in the A.G. program during my school career.  I can distinctly remember a time when the A.G. students were having to do a different project than the other students, although it was similar.  I will never forget a teacher telling the A.G. students she had high expectations for us, while she did not expect as much from the other students.  One of the students in the other group said that she did not want to workon this project and if the teacher didn’t care, she didn’t care.  We can never, ever give the impression that students at lower levels should not have high expectations for their work.  Most of the time, students want to please, and if we set the bar high, they will more than likely surpass it.

I also really identified with the suggestion that a teacher should get to know a student personally before helping them pick their trade book.  Even though I try to pick books that will broaden my spectrum of thinking, I know that I tend to pick books that I can relate to or am interested in.  A book about the South, the Civil War, a love story, or an adventure are sure keepers for me.  I never realized how important this method would be, and I most certainly plan on using this strategy in the classroom.

After reading this article, I also have some questions.  My mother is a second grade teacher and last year, she had a student in her class who could read any word you put in front of her.  She could decode that word and say it correctly.  However, even when she was reading at her grade level, she could not comprehend what she was reading.  When answering comprehension questions about something she had just read, she was not able to answer the questions.  What does this imply?  How do you find an instructional level for this student?  Also, is it a good idea for students to keep a “continuing dictionary?”  In it, they will write down words they do not know while reading their instructional materials and look up the definition in the dictionary.  Below the definition, the teacher could even have them write what the word means in the context of the story.  I think this would provide students with an opportunity to learn on their own, without the teacher telling them the answer straightforward.

Finally, I think the human aspect of it all is the most fascinating.  So often we get caught up in the academic part of teaching that we do not see the personal side that is so very important.  In fact, most of the reasons students have reading disabilities relates to personal issues such as motivation, practice, and expectation: items that can easily be fixed with the right instructional materials.  As I perused through the list of books, I found some awesome books that I most certainly will use in my classroom.  However, it is interesting, and exciting, to know that I might use books from 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade all in the same classroom.

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