Tompkins Chapter 5

I am in a fifth grade classroom for my field placement and I was able to make many connections to the reading in regards to what I observe each week in field. My CT holds reading centers each week to help students promote reading fluency. One center is called the "fluency" center and each student at the center is given a paragraph or passage from a higher level piece of literature. The goal is to have the students practice the passage out loud over and over until they believe they can read through it fluently, and this includes specific concentration on punctuation and expression as well as correct word pronunciations. This connects to Tompkins ideas of improving reading speed and promoting fluency through "repeated readings". Tompkins claims that this form of practice does enhance the students' expression, ability to chunk words into meaningful phrases, as well as deepen comprehension. Once the students in my placement feel they are ready to present their practiced paragraph or expert, they are supposed to do it for the teacher or me if I am there. Once they read I am then able to give feedback and I am given insight to the improvements that the students' have over a period of practice. If the students do not do it well enough, they must revisit the passage and work on it further. My CT also holds reading circles every week which I have been able to be a part of. This is essential to enhancing the fluency of each student. Reading practice is very present in the classroom. The students also read chapter books. Sometimes they are chosen by my CT and they read as a class, and other times they are given a choice from a selection of books. Tompkins says, "The best books for reading practice are ones that students are interested in reading..." It is very beneficial that the students are given a choice, because it is more likely for a student to become engaged in reading if they are interested in the material. When it comes to vocabulary and word recognition, I have noticed that many students in my field placement use large words in their writing. I attribute a lot of this to my CT and the way she speaks. She chooses to not dumb-down the way she speaks so that the students understand every word. She uses big words constantly, and if she knows she has never used it before she will ask the students if they have ever heard the word or if they know what it means. The students use many of the big words my CT says in their writing, and I see this as a reflection on the way she interacts and speaks without carefully choosing words that she is sure the students understand.