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| ©Breakey, D. 2015. Word Pan. |
This week I was observing the learning resource teacher (LRT) who works specifically with junior students (kindergarten & grade 1) on their reading abilities. The LRT at our school can be found in a small utility looking room with high ceilings and shelving units to match. Lining the walls are buckets and buckets of different reading samples for students. In the middle of the small room is a round table with miniature chairs that I knew would soon be filled with little people ready to read!
Sure enough, within minutes of the bell ringing 3 students arrived at the door, pulled out their homework bags and took their seat around the table. They pulled out their worksheets for marking and were eager to share what they had read the night before. The goal of the LRT is to give students who are struggling at current grade level a chance to get individual attention by working with a maximum of two other students and a teacher. The goal is to get these students reading at grade level by the time they enter grade 2. Students read stories, learn strategies for identifying words (sounding it out, using their finger to guide their reading, identifying root words they know ect.) and practice reading fluidly with appropriate expression.
The students used the pan shown above to create words using the magnetic letters. The students loved using the pans as a manipulative. Another method of teaching is shown below in the worksheet where students must place the words under the corresponding sound. The entire purpose of an LRT is to help students develop into the strong readers they are capability of becoming. This particular process instantly reminded me of the growth mind set model. Our mind set is developed at an early age and it is important to help students develop a growth mind set which sees failures and challenges as opportunities for improvement. A fixed mind set assumes that our intelligence is pre set and avoiding failure becomes a strategy for maintaining intelligence. With this mind set students are afraid to try because they are afraid to fail!
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The best part of reading with the LRT is that mistakes are rewarded! Students are taught that it's ok to make a mistake as long as they can recognize that they made one and then go back and try again. When a student says a word aloud incorrectly and then sounds out the word again to get it right that student is praised for making the mistake and then attempting it again. The LRT tells the students that making mistakes is all apart of becoming a better reader. This is so encouraging for students struggling with certain words and instead of feeling discouraged they are given the tools they need to be successful. The great thing is, being successful doesn't mean being failure free, it simply means being willing to try again. These students are learning from a young age to have a growth mindset and to believe that with a little practice and persevering they can change their reading ability and improve their skills!
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