Reading Reflection 1

Olivia
Pierce
9/1/19
LED 366
Reading Reflection #1

For our first reading reflection assignment, we were asked as a class to read a handful of
articles about the use of several reading tactics and exercises in the classroom as well as ideas
on how we can all become better literacy instructors. Each article was unique and talked about
something different, but between all of them, I found three ideas that were new and stood out
most to me. These include the benefit of multicultural books, the use of a story circle in a
classroom, and some guiding principles for teachers.
In Chapter 6 of Mary Cappelini’s book, Balancing Reading and Language Learning, I
found her view on chapter books and multicultural books in read alouds to be extremely
interesting. When I was working as a substitute in a 5th grade classroom last summer, my
teacher decided to read a book to the class one morning about several important historical
women from different countries. Reading what Mary Cappellini had to say made me think of
this experience because I remember visualizing the characters in this book and feeling like I
could understand them and a piece of the culture they came from. Cappellini believes that
books like this can help young readers to draw lines between these stories, and their everyday
lives, a skill that is very useful for future schooling and life. Virginia Massaro continues this idea
in her article about creating a diverse classroom library for students. In her words,
“Multicultural books provide a chance for a diverse group of students to see themselves
reflected in literature, making literature culturally relevant.” (Massaro, 2018-2019). During my
experience in the fifth-grade classroom the teacher always would give out a theme to go with
whatever multicultural book we read that week and I remember how her goal was for each
student to see that goal in themselves, much like these characters. The idea of seeing qualities
of others and reflecting them in yourself is one that I want to emphasize among my students
one day and I want them to be able to understand a piece of where their classmates come
from.
Aside from the use and benefit of multicultural books in the classroom, a second piece
of information I found to be new and insightful was Elizabeth Flynn’s Story Circle. The Story
Circle technique is something I have never really seen in a classroom the way Flynn describes it.
Through my experience in the kindergarten and first grade classroom, I have watched students
gather in a circle for things like show and tell or to watch the teacher read a book aloud.
However, it never occurred to me the benefit it could have for the students to just tell stories to
one another the way it is shown in this article. Flynn opened my eyes to the benefits children
can experience just from listening to their peers tell a story. One particular benefit that really
caught my eye was her mention of Specialized ways of language. Specifically, she notes that
“On the surface, preschool children use language in simple, everyday ways in story circles.”
(Flynn, 2016). However, she goes on to talk about the kinds of specialized language that
teachers can find by dissecting the story, including how children relay events and communicate
significant experiences. All those times I spent sitting in a kindergarten circle I never imagined
that the simple stories I would hear from children about their weekends or what they planned
to do for the summer could mask some key components in their language development.
The last concept I saw in these articles that I found really important for me as a teacher
were several principles and guidelines that I need to keep in mind. Going back to Massaro’s
article, she discussed several aspects of a good classroom library that I had never considered
before. One thing in particular that she notes was that “Teachers who have a classroom library
of leveled books are able to provide students with books within their reading level.” (Massaro,
2018-2019). I have seen firsthand how teachers separate their books on shelves and I can tell
the difference in levels simply by reading a few of them. However, now that I understand how
teachers tend to assume the reading level of their students I realized that it is more important
than ever to make sure that the teacher has books of a variety of levels so that they can better
determine where their student falls on this spectrum.
Building off of this, one other big idea I took away from Gail Tompkins’ book, Literacy for
the 21st Century, was the importance of ensuring that a teacher understands how all of their
students learn. This was the first of nine principles of being an effective literacy teacher and to
me it is the one I can most relate to and understand. According to Tompkins, “Understanding
how students learn influences how teachers teach.” (Tompkins, 2017). In my previous
education classes at JMU I have heard it echoed again and again how each student has a
different learning approach that is best for them. As the teacher, I know that I need to have a
variety of lesson plans on hand for these purposes so I can help each of my students grow in the
most effective way possible. A teacher is dependent on their students in this sense and this
principle from Gail Tompkins is one that I will take with me when teaching not just literacy, but
all school subjects to my children.
This week’s readings were so enlightening for me as a teacher and they taught me so
many tactics I never would have thought to use in my classroom. I learned that literature can
open up so many doors for young students and as the teacher, that is my ultimate goal.

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Olivia

classroom, and some guiding principles for teachers.

In Chapter 6 of Mary Cappelini’s book, Balancing Reading and Language Learning, I

reflected in literature, making literature culturally relevant.” (Massaro, 2018-2019). During my

determine where their student falls on this spectrum.

all school subjects to my children.

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