Assessing Reading and Language Instruction Research Paper

Assessing Reading and Language Instruction - Research Paper Example The children will continue to read pictures and to improve their basic comprehension skills. First Grade Observation In my observation of the first grade classroom the students’ desks were setup in groups of six. The teachers’ desk was placed by the classroom door. The room was decorated with many posters and projects that the children had completed. The room had many bulletin boards that were used for classroom jobs and notes that the students could look at like the lunch menu and any important classroom events that they can pass on to their parents. Some bulletin boards were to show off their art work in the other areas of the curriculum. There was an independent reading area, a game area, a listening area for stories and music, an art area and a writing area. There was a section of the classroom that could be used to practice the skills with the other students and/or the teacher. The area for direct reading instruction was in the front of the room but to the left whe re there were many charts with the necessary skills that they are going to learn on the journey to learn reading. The teacher also led shared reading experiences here along with language experience where the students could share a story they â€Å"wrote† to the class. There was also a variety of books of all classifications that they can choose and read from. . Reading Instruction and the Curriculum Used In a first grade classroom Reading is considered a subject where students will learn to use word recognition skills and learn about consonants and vowels through Phonics and the Bottom- up theory to Reading. Reading is a subject that must build on what the children already know. These children will bring what they learned at home from watching their parents reading the newspaper, writing notes and lists, reading the mail they received like they did in preschool and Kindergarten. The teacher will need to assess these children to see what the level they will be at during the sc hool year. The children will need to start to make relationships between the pictures and words and to put these ideas together to understand a story that they are reading. The children will learn that the alphabet is the beginning of words. The first grader learns that letters and their arrangement matters in the words that they are learning and reading. First graders are still emergent readers and they will want to learn how to spell and then write the words that they are learning. The first grade classroom teacher must give plenty of opportunities to read and write words. They will learn that reading and writing is their way of communication. They will learn about the concepts of print and that the print represents the spoken words, they have boundaries, and are read from left to right. (Gunning, 2005) Reading can be taught in the classroom by using direct instruction and by using learning centers that were around the classroom. They will also use learning centers for Art, Music and even Computer education. The children can practice their reading and writing using their Dolch Vocabulary List and continue to practice even more sight words. Using these words the children can read and write notes and letters and drawing pictures. Reading is for exploration. â€Å"When the parents and/or the teacher read to the children they learn and develop vocabulary, expand their experiental background and makes them aware of the language of books and introduces them to basic concepts of print