Module Activities (EDUC 540)
Module Activities (EDUC 540)
Module 4- Fluency
Please complete the following activities in the order in that they appear. Use the resources posted on Brightspace (readings, instructor lectures, videos) to inform your responses
Reader Response:
Description: Reader Responses should be brief, but should be coherent, cogent, and compelling.
The purpose of these responses is to involve students in high-level thinking about course material.
You are expected to read the assigned materials and view course lectures to write a Reader
Responses. Each response should be between 250-300 words. Reader Responses must include
at least one in text citation and reference using APA format.
Application:
Description: Through application of learning you demonstrate and deepen your understanding
of newly acquired knowledge and skills from lectures, readings, and examples. The activities you
will complete for this assignment will be specific to what was presented in each module with
specific directions for each application activity.
Video Reflection:
Description: Writing reflectively involves critically analyzing an experience, recording how it has impacted you, and what you plan to do with your new knowledge. You will be presented with a video or videos based on course content and asked to reflect, respond, and possibly recommend on the content you have just viewed.
Sub Module 4.1 What is Fluency?
Reader Response
Respond to the following in 250-300 words:
Is fluency practice an aspect of reading that could be shared with parents/caregivers to occasionally be undertaken at home? What might be the advantages or disadvantages of this in your setting?
Fluency practice can be shared with parents or caregivers for home practice. This comes with a few benefits and drawbacks. In the context of advantages, when students are engaged in fluency practice at home, they are presented with additional opportunities for practice beyond regular classroom sessions. From a critical point of view, this collaboration between school and home plays an essential role in reinforcing reading skills in early literacy stages where repetition is needed in speed, accuracy, and expression improvement (Such, 2021).
In the same light, involving parents in fluency practice contributes to provision of individualized attention and guidance in a setting that is familiar to the students. This in turn helps boost their confidence. Besides, home practice is associated with extended learning time and providing learners with relaxed place where they can read aloud, and this helps in enhancing their comfort with oral reading. In addition, when parents participate in the education of their children, they perform better, which is reflected by positive academic outcomes.
Nonetheless, fluency practice at homes is not without its own setbacks. Agreeably, some parents lack the time, resources and skills needed to offer effective support in this area (Such, 2021). Subsequently, these deficiencies lead to inconsistencies in practice. Additionally, some parent might unconsciously foster incorrect habits due to lack of knowledge. Some examples of these habits include putting excessive emphasis on speed instead of accuracy or comprehension. This can be the case because parents may lack sufficient understanding of fluency basics, techniques, and how to match the with individual and unique needs of their children. Similarly, in a setting characterized by low levels of literacy among parents, fluency practice can be frustrating not only for parents, but also the child. This analysis suggests that although fluency practice has the potential of being advantageous at home, it is crucial for teachers to guide parents and provide them with necessary support to ensure that the practice is both beneficial and aligns with classroom learning objectives.
Sub Module 4.2 High-Frequency Words, Sight Words, and Heart Words
Application
Using this link High Frequency/Sight Word Books review 5-10 of the books listed that contain a large number of high frequency/sight words and post your suggestions to our class literacy Padlet https://padlet.com/josephshirvinski/high-frequency-sight-word-book-lists-educ-600-dpfermrt8lvfjhi3
If you would like to select books from another list or suggest books you have used in the classroom, you may do so. You are not to write a summary for each, just tell us the main reason why you selected these books and list your suggestions.
- “Should I Share My Ice Cream?” By Mo Willems. I selected this book because it is an excellent choice for early readers. Just by reading it, one can see how the book is engaging and presents readers with a relatable storyline, capturing children’s attention. The book is also simple in nature and integrates repetitive text and dialogue between characters, fostering accessibility for younger readers that are practicing fluency.
- “I See a Cat” by Paul Meisel. I really love this book because it uses repetitive text and sentences that are simple in nature, promoting fluency and confidence in reading among children. The book offers a familiar theme of animal observation, an approach that plays an essential role in helping children connect words to meaning.
- “Jump” by David McPhail is another formidable choice for young readers. I chose this book because of its playful narrative and use of clear illustrations and visual cues. Agreeably, this approach to storytelling helps young readers in building rhythm, particularly while reading aloud. It also supports smooth, expressive readings, making it one of my favorite and a key suggestion to early readers.
- “I See and See” by Ted Lewin. The rationale for choosing this book is that it is simple and uses illustrations that are engaging, a key factor that fosters observation skills and word recognition. The book also uses repetitive text structure such as “I see a…………..I see a……………..,” which promotes fluency and allows children to recognize patterns in sight words and high-frequency words.
- “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss. The reason behind choosing this book is that it is characterized by interesting rhymes, simple language, and relatable characters. This makes it an ideal choice for learners that are developing reading skills and phonemic awareness.
Sub Module 4.3 Strategies and Assessment
Reader Response
Respond to the following in 250-300 words:
Memorization of sight word and high frequency words has been a long-standing practice in many elementary reading classrooms. Rather than memorization, what are three strategies you can implement for students to learn sight words and high frequency words?
Memorization of sight word and high frequency words plays a crucial role in settings such as elementary reading classrooms. Nonetheless, the use of this technique can at times be unnecessary and debilitating, prompting the need of adopting other strategies such as the use of multisensory methods (Such, 2021). This could involve the integration of visual, auditory, and tactile approaches to increase engagement levels during sight words learning. To be more precise, the teacher can prompt learners to trace words in sand, use their fingers to write them in the air, or form letters with playdough. Agreeably, this has the potential of reinforcing words via different sensory channels, a critical part in making it easier for students to remember what they have learnt (Moats & Rosow, 2020). It can also facilitate creating connections between the physical movement and the word, all of which enhances connection.
In addition to multisensory techniques, sight words can be taught using word in context. In this case, rather than engaging learners to memorize words in isolation, educators can make students encounter words in contexts that are more meaningful, including when they are taking part in shared reading or when they are using simple sentences. Analytically, reading sight words in sentences and stories create room for learners to not only comprehend their meaning but also their use, and this contributes to the reinforcement of their recognition and grasping levels. An example of this is instructing learners to highlight or identify sight words as they read a short passage together.
The other strategy is the integration of games into sight word learning, making practice more enjoyable and interactive. Here, teachers can adopt games such as sight word bingo and flashcard races and instruct students to search for words around the classroom. This can make repetition fun. Students can also be prompted to match sight words with pictures, promoting repletion in a manner that is playful and subsequently reducing the monotony associated with memorization.
References
Moats, L. C., & Rosow, B. (2020). Speech to Print Workbook (3rd ed.). Paul H Brookes Publishing Co, Inc. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781681253343
Such, C. (2021). The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading. SAGE Publications, Ltd. (UK). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781529769241
