Balanced Literacy: Reaching All Readers Summer II: Chapter 5: "Pg. 71 – “Effective teaching is seamless—a good teacher moves fluidly between teaching and assessing, explanation and response, demonstratio..."
As a sub I see the benefits of beginning with assessment as I walk into a different subject daily. Before I can cover the assignment that the teacher left for us to cover that day, I need to know what background info the students have on the topic. Without knowing where they stand before I begin, there is a big chance I will loose their attention in a short amount of time. If I ask the class for volunteers to catch me up on what they've been learning, I can tell if we need time to review or if they're ready to introduce the new material. I will definately remember to use the probing questions she mentioned on p.74"Tell me more about that,"and"I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, please say that again".
"It is only through a great deal of independent reading of meaningful texts that students become readers" p.78. What a confirmation! The key word is meaningful---and we must remember that it is the reader who creates meaning, not the teacher. The books we value are not necessarily what our student should be reading. Do we know what texts they value and why?
ReplyDelete"Formative assessments are the most accurate indicators of what a student can do and where instruction needs to be" p. 80. In this age of standardized mania, teachers must remember that education is personal---we teach must teach people first and subjects second. Build rapport, focus on students strengths, and provide constructive, useful feedback that reflects how much you know and care about the student and his/her learning.