Final Synthesis Blog

Coming into this semester I really had no idea of what to expect in this class. I could figure it would have something to do with reading in content area classes, but I had no idea the extent of what that would look like and just how much it can help my students in the long run. I had no idea think alouds would have to be so thought out with certain strategies to really be focusing on. I didn’t realize that there were so many different reading strategies I could use before, during and after the “reading” and just how much it can help my students in my class. And last, I didn’t realize just how fun and interesting I could make reading for my kids.

               Before this class I had heard of read alouds but didn’t know just how much went into them. The point of read alouds I learned was to model what a good reader should be thinking while they are reading. Page 30 of Subject Matters was a great resource for this. When we had to practice our read alouds in class I found myself always being drawn to the strategies of connecting and questioning. By practicing how to do read alouds and focusing on these two strategies I learned more about how to think like a middle schooler and to make connections to the reading and to question the reading like they would. And while there is so much that can go into a think aloud, I always have to keep in mind why I am doing this and what my students need to be getting out of it. This video does a great job of describing exactly what a think aloud is and the point of it. Mr. Thain describes a think aloud for more of an elementary classroom, but I think he makes some great points that can be used in the middle school classroom. For example, he talks about how to use a think aloud not only in reading and writing, but also mentions that it can be used in working out a math problem. This is something that I plan on using in my future math classroom because middle school math is hard and students need a lot of guidance. By showing them what a thought process looks like for working out certain math problems it will help them to better understand what is going on and show them how they should be thinking through problems.

               Another thing that I found really interesting were all the different strategies to use before, during, and after readings. I really enjoyed all the strategies lessons that were presented this semester and I definitely see myself using those strategies in my classroom. For example, there was a strategy lesson on dramatic role play that I found very interesting. I remember doing role plays in my middle school classes and loving them and it also helped me to remember the material better. One way I plan on utilizing this strategy is in my science class with teaching kids about the phases of the moon. By doing this it allows the kids to first get up and waste some energy, but it also allows them to be creative in their learning of the moon phases and has them acting them out. This is just one of the many example I thought of listening to strategy lessons.

               These two things, along with many other ideas and strategies I have learned in the class, have really opened up my eyes to see just how important it is for me to be aware of these things. Not only are they helpful to students while reading, but they can actually be interesting and fun. It was a fun semester in LLED 3530 and I certainly will miss it, but I know the information I learned in here will be making good use in my math or science class one day.   

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