Angela Speer’s Blog Post #3; Chapter 4; Teach with a Sense of Urgency by Routman

Angela Speer’s Blog Post #3 Chapter 4; Teach with a Sense of Urgency by Routman

             Routman wants teachers to “teach with a sense of urgency, not anxiety” (Routman, 41). This is my goal for this year and the years to come!!! Teaching five minute mini lessons made me feel like it must count or it is not worth teaching! Again, I love the challenge of teaching in five minutes! This year is allowing me to “introduce students to all kinds of genres, read good literature to them, share my love of literature, give students time to talk about their reading, set aside significant blocks of time for reading, give [my students] choice in what they read." I tell kids, “You are a reader, make reading fun, model and link reading to the curriculum…” (Routman, 42-43). I may not be perfectly doing these things, but I can say that I am trying.

                In second grade, I must model, model, model because my students are very dependent. Even once that they are more independent, they need me to model because they are still learning new material and reviewing, but are not experts in the content.  Routman discusses shared teaching (demonstration) (Routman, 45), guided practice and independent practice (Routman, 47). I demonstrate these types of reading through balanced literacy each day. My students love the groups and so do I because it allows for “working toward independence and respect, joy, engagement, success and encouragement” (Routman, 48). I agree with Routman when she discusses making learning joyful. I feel that if students do not enjoy what they learning or school then they will drop out due to never feeling successful. This saddens me terrible and a goal of mine is to teach meaningful information that is fun and interesting.

                Routman talks about “interactive reading” (Routman, 52). I agree with this type of reading because it gives the educator information about the listeners and monitor student learning throughout the book instead of just the end of the book. Which some students have forgotten parts of the book because you waited to the end. I find that asking questions throughout the story allows students to recall information that you may not want them to forget.  I also have found that allowing students to work with a partner throughout the book will encourage a deeper learning of the text. Students even teach me things that I may not have noticed. I work with coworkers to learn more deeply and thoroughly so I believe that my students should have the opportunity too!

             Routman discusses having the students create their own text and before this year, I would have been terrified to try this, but I think that my students could do it their year (Routman, 54). I have tampered in this type of writing in science and ELA. My students had to create their own fairy tale. Some of their imaginations went wild while some had difficulty putting their thoughts into words. I would love for my students to write to students next year to prepare them for the year! I love the thought that, “Relevant texts that students write…are powerful for readers who struggle” (Routman, 54).  I really never thought about this, but now that I reflect on the past, those struggling readers that loved writing were able to grow through writing. On page 60, Routman talks about activities to help solve words and one, she used photos for the names of students. This would allow my struggling students to get to know each other quicker, but I want my students to know the words on the word wall and use it more for spellings because we already have gone over the words numerous times. 

               On a lighter note, I feel that kids can never let me down either (Routman, 60). I want to model enough were my students are highly effective learners and teachers for the next step in their school career and life. The study that Routman was able to do was on the same type of students that we teach on a daily basis, except 65% of our students are English Language Learners. I do not allow this status to allow for lower expectations.
             I hope to prove that this year with the new curriculum and supported reading/writing, I will not let my students down, but will reflect on my teaching and the student’s learning (Routman, 60)!