3. What is your opinion of requiring students to read out loud in front of peers?
I think it is good practice to encourage all students to read out loud in class. However, if I find that a particular student is having difficulty and is embarrassed to read, I will have a private conference with him/her to discuss his/her feelings about public reading and to make some reading goals together. If the student is adversely affected by being asked to read out loud in class, I may stop these requests for a time until the student has gained confidence. I will have the student record him/herself reading or read privately to me so I can assess his/her progress and so the student feels responsible and able to learn this skill.
4. How can we use music and art to enhance reading for students?
Music can be used to signal transitions in the classroom, energize the students when they need a quick brain boost, and to introduce or complement a concept being taught. Students remember songs about math, science, and social studies far longer and more effectively than they would if they only learned about these subjects through lecture and worksheets alone. Some students prefer to have classical music (no words) playing while they read. Studies have shown this increases concentration.
Art can be incorporated into reading by having the students draw pictures of the plot of a story or draw a diagram of something they are studying in science. Students can be inspired to write poems and stories, using great works of art as starting points. For early primary grades, students can mold letters out of play-dough or clay, write in sand, and create collages of pictures that all start with the same letter. The possiblilities are endless!
I think it is good practice to encourage all students to read out loud in class. However, if I find that a particular student is having difficulty and is embarrassed to read, I will have a private conference with him/her to discuss his/her feelings about public reading and to make some reading goals together. If the student is adversely affected by being asked to read out loud in class, I may stop these requests for a time until the student has gained confidence. I will have the student record him/herself reading or read privately to me so I can assess his/her progress and so the student feels responsible and able to learn this skill.
4. How can we use music and art to enhance reading for students?
Music can be used to signal transitions in the classroom, energize the students when they need a quick brain boost, and to introduce or complement a concept being taught. Students remember songs about math, science, and social studies far longer and more effectively than they would if they only learned about these subjects through lecture and worksheets alone. Some students prefer to have classical music (no words) playing while they read. Studies have shown this increases concentration.
Art can be incorporated into reading by having the students draw pictures of the plot of a story or draw a diagram of something they are studying in science. Students can be inspired to write poems and stories, using great works of art as starting points. For early primary grades, students can mold letters out of play-dough or clay, write in sand, and create collages of pictures that all start with the same letter. The possiblilities are endless!
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