Article #1
Effective Reading and Writing Instruction
Lauren Whiteside
September 10, 2015
Main Points:
- Modeling helps students conceptualize and apply skills and strategies
- Teachers use think-alouds to model what it looks like to problem solve and process through what you are thinking
- When a teacher thinks aloud, they verbalize their thoughts while solving a problem
- Modeling should include specificity, flexibility and explicitness and can be used for any strategy
Questions to ask yourself when modeling:
Questions to Ponder:
- Why should we model reading and writing strategies for students?
- How can we differentiate instruction for various learners while modeling?
- Why is it important to be explicit with our instruction?
Personal Reflection
I thought this was a great article that introduced the impact and importance of modeling in the context of the Literacy classroom; I think this is especially important in the younger grades so students are able to see these strategies explicitly and how to use them most effectively. The article presented specific ways in which other teachers have used these strategies with examples which I found extremely helpful. I love that the idea of modeling can apply across various curriculum and to a multitude of strategies; this makes it applicable to all teachers and thus beneficial.
On the flip side of explicitly modeling, some teachers find it helpful to allow students to gain understanding by exploring the concept with no direction. This way, students are discovering for themselves and gives way for more creativity. For reading and writing, however, I think it is most beneficial for students to learn through explicit instruction. The end goal is to have students comprehend what they are reading so teaching them ways to go about this, in my opinion, only benefits them.
Upon first hearing this strategy, some teachers may think it takes up too much class time; however, when you think about the amount of time spent each day, with individual students answering questions and helping them figure things out, I think it would take less time to explicitly model this strategy so students are able to work on their own with fewer questions. This strategy can save time and frustration for both teachers and students.
Citation:
Regan, K., & Berkeley, S. (2012). Effective Reading and Writing Instruction: A Focus on Modeling. Intervention In School & Clinic, 47(5), 276-282. doi:10.1177/1053451211430117