This podcast "Creating a home reading program, the R4 reading program" is basically about how teachers should educate students on independent reading, to make then better readers. The term "R4" stands for read, relax, reflect and respond; these are the four things that students need to be doing in their home reading program. I really enjoyed watching this podcast. It helped me acquire important strategied on how to help my future students with reading. Basically, this reading program requires that the teachers, parents, and students are all involved to successfully achieve the reading goals, which are to identify and understand the big idea or theme of the given reading selection.
First, it is important for the teacher to select the appropriate reading material for the classroom to ensure that the students are engaged in the text and are interested to learn more about that topic. Next, it is important that students find a quiet place at home to read every night and log their minutes into their reading log. Parents need to be involved in this as well; they initial the log to confirm that the reading was done. For the reflect and respond part, students are given a list of reflection topics called prompts once a week. They choose a prompt and reflect on what they have read in a journal. The teacher then works with students to achieve high quality responses by modeling and reviewing examples. To keep students motivated, it is important for the teacher to comment in the journal entries, and give the students feedback.
Once again, I thought that this podcast was extremely helpful to me as a future educator, because it provided me with specific strategies that I can use in my future classroom. It also helped me to realize that parents also need to be involved and work with the teacher to help the students learn.
I agree, I think this is an important program but the challenge is getting everyone on board. Like you said, if it is to work, the parents need to be involved as well. I am sure some parents are very involved, but others may not be. As teachers we have to work over those hurdles.
ReplyDeleteParents always need to be involved in any aspect of their child's education. However, when both parents are working many hours to support a family, homework and reading at home programs are neglected.
ReplyDeleteIt is true, as teachers we do need to work over those hurdles.
ReplyDeleteI agree that an at home reading program is extremely important to the literacy growth of students. Offering a variety of reading materials within a wide range of genres and topics will help to influence students to become regular readers.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you write that students should find a quiet place to read. For most people, this is the way to go. But there are students that do read better with some ambient noise or music. Personally, I can read to music softly or music without lyrics, but others can listen to anything and still be focused on the reading. I think that part of the reflective process should be to have the students discover how they personally read, concentrate, and comprehend the best. When they know their own learning strategies, they have the potential to go so much further.
Good discussion here. My question to you all is that if you were to set up your Home Reading Program, what would be the prompts that you will be giving to your students for reflection? What would you do to review your students' reading progress at home? :-)
ReplyDelete"For the reflect and respond part, students are given a list of reflection topics called prompts once a week. They choose a prompt and reflect on what they have read in a journal. The teacher then works with students to achieve high quality responses by modeling and reviewing examples."