So You Want to Teach?? Some Fundamentals for a Basic Teacher Interview

The single most important factor that influences children’s learning is the quality of their teacher.

What do new teachers need to know about reading and reading instruction?  NCLB and reading instruction  SBRR  Components of reading instruction  How to design a reading lesson  Using authentic texts from a variety of genres  When and how to group for instruction  Effective instructional strategies.  What good and poor readers do.  Assessment

Components of reading instruction (National Reading Panel, 2000)  Phonemic awareness  Phonics  Fluency (oral reading)  Vocabulary  Text comprehension

Print Skills and Meaning Skills  Word recognition  Word analysis (Structural analysis)  Phonemic & phonological awareness  Sight words  Spelling  Word Meaning (Vocabulary)  Background Knowledge  Reading Comprehension

Using authentic texts from a variety of genres Authentic texts are non contrived and come from a variety of genres:  Folk literature  Poetry  Nonfiction  Fantasy & science fiction  Historical fiction  Realistic fiction  Biography  Picture books

Effective reading instruction  Shared book experience  Language experience  Guided reading  Literature circles  Reading workshops  Reading aloud— interactive & traditional  Buddy reading

Grouping for reading instruction  whole room instruction  small-group (flexible) formats  cooperative grouping  working in pairs  individualized reading

The reading mini-lesson is a thought driven demonstration of a particular literacy strategy.  Step 1—Modeling—the teacher as solo performer.  Step 2—Guided practice—the teacher as coach  Step 3—Independent practice—students read/write independent of teacher.  Step 4—Reflection—students and teacher talk about the effectiveness of the strategy.

Designing/teaching a comprehension strategy lesson Before reading:  Introduce strategy (main idea, author’s purpose, etc.) Remember to teach only the strategies that are relevant.  Activate prior knowledge.  Set purpose.  Call attention to tricky or unusual vocabulary.

During reading  Help students self-monitor—You may not do this with all readers. Poor readers may need to have you step in to ask questions to keep them on track—help to ensure that they are making sense of the text being read.  Whisper reading for emergent/early/transitional readers/silent reading for self-sustaining readers

After reading  Follow-up purpose  Elicit additional responses  Do word work  Extend the comprehension strategy through a variety of activities.

Developing fluency in oral reading:  Allow children to rehearse (read to themselves before reading aloud).  Use easy materials.  Don’t let children correct each other.  Ignore errors that don’t change meaning.  Wait when a reader makes a meaning changing error.  Coach for strategies needed.

Two well-loved, but fluency destroying, strategies:  Round robin reading  Popcorn reading RIP FLUENCY

What good and poor readers do:  Use prior knowledge  Determine what is important  Draw inferences  Ask questions  Anticipate and predict  Monitor comprehension and meaning  Use fix-up strategies when lack of understanding occurs  Create mental images  Start reading without preparation.  Read without knowing why.  Read without considering how to approach the material, i.e., read all texts alike.  Do not know what to do when lack of understanding occurs, i.e, have few strategies for making sense of text.  Read to get done

Effective and authentic assessment  Running record  Miscue analysis  Concepts about print  Informal reading inventories  Classroom observation also known as “kid- watching”  Portfolio

What do new teachers need to know about teaching writing?  Steps in the writing process  Interactive and scaffolded writing  Teaching mechanics and usage through the writing process  Types of writing, e.g., descriptive, persuasive, expository

Steps in the writing process (Think circular, not linear)  Pre-writing (brainstorming, tapping background knowledge)  Drafting (putting pen to paper)  Revising (getting paper audience ready)  Editing (getting paper reader ready)  Sharing/publishing (presenting to audience, e.g, author’s chair)

One should know the following and how to instruct or assess using them :  Balanced reading instruction  Guided reading  Shared book experience  Interactive read aloud  Grouping for instruction  Literature circles  Writing process  Running record  Concepts about print

Research shows that if you don’t like to read, odds are you will pass that dislike on to your students. You cannot teach what you do not like. Happy reading!