edr201 project 6: observation & critique of a reading class

EDR201 Project 6: Observation & Critique of a Reading ClassBy Maria Ediliza “Edel” Margarita C. Ramilo (Sem 1. 2010-2011)

SummaryThe Reading class begins with the teacher fixing the students’

chairs in front of the blackboard, getting ready for the activity. Tables were left at the back part of the room, as children were asked to sit boy-girl-boy-girl. The Reading teacher then greets her students good morning and receives an energetic response. The class reviews previous vocabulary words posted on the classroom wall by reading them aloud one by one. The Reading teacher introduces the next activity by showing the “star” as a reward to be given to most behaved students.

The teacher shows a picture of sailor and asks the students who they think the man is. She relates the sailor to the famous cartoon character Popeye and explains what a sailor does for a living. She posts a colored cartolina paper with the vocabulary words written on it, with its respective definitions. The teacher then proceeds to the “unlocking” of the vocabulary words, guiding the students in the proper pronunciation of words and providing a reward for every correct answer. At instances where students get rowdy, the Reading teacher simply says, “I love you, ____” to catch their attention.

Before the teacher reads the very short story, she shows a picture of the two characters in the story, namely “Simon and Sam.” They were wearing the fisherman’s clothes, so children would easily identify their job. The teacher reads the story aloud once and then invites her students to read aloud with her next. Students repeat after the teacher reads each sentence. After reading the very short story, she then asks comprehension questions which her students were very eager to answer. They had an exchange of thoughts as she encouraged students to answer in complete sentences, guiding them in sentence construction. Each student who tries to answer the question is given a reward.

After making sure that the students understand the short story, she proceeds to asking the students about what the first letter of the vocabulary words were. The students unanimously answer that the words start with the letter “S.” The teacher then writes the letter “S” on the board and sings a song called “Mommy S-Baby S,” emphasizing the words that start with letter “S.” She then shows pictures of things that start with the letter “S,” asking the children to identify what the pictures were. Identified pictures are then posted on the blackboard. She writes the names of the words under each picture. The students read the words aloud.

To give children an opportunity to differentiate which words start with “S” and which words do not, the teacher introduces a game


called “Superman” where the students are asked to raise their hands and stand up upon hearing a word which starts with the letter “S.”

In her effort to relate the topic to the student’s daily life, she asks about the students’ opinion on what things could happen if thrash is thrown on the sea. The teacher and students exchange thoughts as the teacher leads her students to the idea that improper waste disposal can be harmful to the environment. She then encourages her students to take care of the environment.

As a final activity, the teacher asks the students to bring out their Reading book and plays a game like activity called “Fingers Up. Fingers Down” where students are prompted to point at the pictures in the book that start with the letter “S.” She then asks the students to answer an activity in their Reading book where object starting with letter “s” were encircled.

Analysis, Synthesis, and ConclusionsIn viewing Reading as a skill, I would say that there was

greater focus on Reading as skill and not as skills. The evidence for this is the greater time spent on reading the short story to the students, having the students read the story aloud, and asking them comprehension questions afterwards. She gave literal and integration questions related to the text. The teacher was more concerned with whether the students were able to understand the story or not. She was making sure of the students’ comprehension of the material. After making sure that the children understood what the short story meant, that was the time when she shifted her focus on Reading as skills. She identified words starting with the letter “s” and used the whole-word or look-and-say method for word recognition. She also used pictures to aid children in giving word meaning. As a whole, the reading teacher provided children with opportunities for integrating the subskills through reading of an authentic and meaningful text. She gave direct instruction on subskills with a definable content and not through phrases or sentences that do not relate to each other.

In viewing Reading as a process, it can be said that the teacher is subscribing to Rumelhart’s model where reading draws from the top and bottom simultaneously. It says that processing begins with either the print on the page or the reader’s prior knowledge of the world and language. In the same light, in viewing Reading as comprehension, the teacher took advantage of the schemata theory. She used the students’ prior knowledge of what a sailor or fisherman does for a living as she also related the characters of the story to the famous cartoon character named Popeye. She did this before reading the story to the children so that


the text would be more meaningful. According to Rumelhart, the meaning produced in reading depends in part on the meanings already stored in the reader’s schemata and that the reader takes information from various sources and these sources act together to produce meaning. Such is what I have observed in the Reading class.

In viewing Reading as development, it can be said that the students in preschool are in Stage 1, called the Transfer Stage. It is the period during which the child learns the relationship between the visual symbols that stand for the auditory symbols that he already knows. In the reading class observed, the teacher was introducing the words that start with the letter “s.” The students are being taught to distinguish the letter “s” from the rest of the alphabet. In the same light, in Chall’s development model, the students in preschool are under Stage 0, called Prereading Stage. The major characteristics at this stage are the naming of letters of the alphabet and “pretending” to read. This was seen as the students were reading the story after the teacher reads it aloud. The students take cues more from listening to the teacher than the text itself.

The positive traits observed from the reading teacher were competence, warmth, and enthusiasm. I would say that the Reading teacher I observed was highly competent as it was seen in her organization of the physical set-up inside the classroom, the choice of the reading material appropriate to the class, the smart use of time, the smooth transition from one activity to another, the feeling of confidence in teaching, the provision of clear and concise instructions, the use of words appropriate to the child’s language ability, the use of sufficient visual aids, and the ability to control the students’ undesirable behavior. I would also say that she was exhibiting warmth towards her students as she chooses to use “I love you” to call their attention rather than just call the student’s name and ask them to behave. She would also use a very caring tone of voice that sends a message of appreciation and acceptance to the students. She smiles at them instead of frowning whenever she hears noise. She asks them to sit properly without saying “sit properly.” Instead, she says “Children, let your angels sit on your lap.” I find that sweet and creative. Lastly, I consider her enthusiastic because she seemed to have a lot of energy that she looks like she is having fun explaining things to her students although she was actually pressed for time. Her enthusiasm builds excitement in her students, prompting them to participate in discussion actively.

In general, I did not find anything that I would want to change in the reading class, other than the visual aids used by the teacher. Since, the pictures were mostly black and white; I would have wanted it to be colored. I would also want to use a bigger picture, something that everyone can easily see and distinguish from


afar, although at that time, it was not meant to be viewed from too far away. I simply have a bias for bigger images because I have a visual impairment. I personally cannot see pictures clearly from long distance. Because of this, I give high value to the visual aid’s appropriate size and presentation.

As for the best part of the presentation, I would say that it was the question and answer portion after reading the text aloud. It is when the teacher is able to evaluate the understanding of the students regarding the text, as she tries to dig towards the students’ ideas on the story by asking related questions. It is when the students are able to prove and disprove their understanding of what has been read to them and of what they “pretended” to read. In this part, comprehension was given much priority.

RecommendationsFrom my point of view, I feel happy and proud of how Mrs.

Alvares presented in her Reading class. She exemplified most of the positive traits noted in our class’ reference material which describes a good reading teacher. Again, if there is anything that I would want to improve on her strategies, that would be her use of visual aids. I believe that bigger pictures and more realistic images would greatly help students to imagine what the written words symbolize in real life. The closer the images are to reality, the better it could aid the student’s imagination.

Reflection“I am an amateur teacher.” That was what I told myself after

observing Mrs. Alvares, a preschool teacher for more than 10 years. Her skills were incomparable to mine and it made me feel inferior. Well, yes, that is a fact, that I have tons of things to learn about how I can be the best teacher to my students, but that fact should not stop me from moving forward. As mentioned in our class’ reference material, learning is a continuous process. Realizing my shortcomings, I ought to work harder to bridge the gap from what I am now and what I should be in the future. I need not be ashamed of my current skills for there is still so much that I can do to build a better me. I am sure that through practice and constant education, I can be an excellent Reading teacher, someone whom my students and teachers can be proud of.

edr201 project 6: observation & critique of a reading class

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