What do you see that might be engaging to many different students?
On page 69, the authors promote the use of different kinds of texts when teaching phonics � some with more sight words, some that are easily decoded, and some with meaning cues throughout. By using different books, the chance of appeal to different readers increases. Page 73 talks about playing games in order to learn blending and segmenting, another effective way to engage many different students. Word games are also mentioned on page 91-92 as ways to teach vocabulary. Page 96 and 97 discuss several different ways to teach vocabulary � clustering techniques, personalized learning and mnemonic strategies. By using more than one means of teaching vocabulary, the teacher has a great chance of reaching the most students. My favorite example was on page 104 with a student made drawing of a shoe that smells describing the word, �vile.�
What do you see that might meet more than one learning modality?
Page 122 shows examples of how a student can physically express if they are understanding a story and what thought processes they are using, a great example for a kinesthetic learner. The example mentioned before on page 104 would be great for a visual learner, as would the word walls described on page 103. Page 72 discusses the importance of singing rhymes and reading a lot of rhyming books. That would appeal to auditory learners. The blending and segmenting games could appeal to both auditory and visual learners if the game was completed using flash cards. (p. 73) The �Rounding Up the Rhymes� game (p. 77) would also meet more than one learning modality. The graphic organizer on page 95 is another great example of meeting different learning modalities, especially when all of the ideas are discussed and then written out.
What do you see that might support/hinder students with special needs? What do you see that might support/hinder English Language Learners?
The practices listed in all three chapters offer a wide variety of activities that would support special needs students as well as English Language Learners. The examples given for the different learning modalities could also apply here as well. Playing �word detectives� (p. 81) would also help both ESL and special needs students because it relates words to other words similar to it. You could even use that with relation to their home language.
What do you wonder about with respect to equity (in regard to what you�ve read in the chapters)?
I don�t see any areas of disparity in these three chapters. All of the classrooms listed showed a wide variety of reading materials, as well as using student�s own work to illustrate words and ideas.
Additional ideas: I appreciated all of the specific tools that could be used to teach vocabulary, phonics or comprehension. I was pleased to see that so much focus was on using games to teach children. Learning should not be a dull, boring process, but a fun, exciting one