Improving Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking...

Determine a topic and develop specific questions At the school that I work at reading classes are only required in sixth grade. In seventh and eighth grade reading classes can be taken as an elective class. I strongly feel that all students in middle school still need guidance and continuous practice with reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. Students who are beyond a sixth grade reading class are not getting these reading skills that can be applied in all other academic classes. As a teacher I can not change the fact that the school principal has decided that students in seventh and eighth grade are not required to take a reading class. However I can find other ways to make sure that all students know the reasons and†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Position Yourself at the Center: Co-Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies.† This article explains and shows how media specialist can incorporate co-teaching. â€Å"Research indicates that reading comprehension strategies should be explicitly taught a nd modeled at all grade levels† (Moreillon, Judi, 2008) This part of the article will be beneficial to defend my thoughts that all students in the middle school level need reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. According to this article, media specialist can position themselves to help improve learning and student achievement in reading when co-teaching is involved. This article refers to several case studies where media specialists are a part of the co-teaching experience. After taking a much closer look at the case studies, I would find ways to incorporate the lessons into my media center and school environment. The second article that I found and would be beneficial to my research is ‘Using Fan Fiction to Teach Critical Reading and Writing Skills.† This article concentrates on one engaging lesson that takes place in the library and in the classroom in a two week period. The lesson was developed when a seventh grade language arts teacher appr oached the media specialist for suggestions on a creative lesson to incorporate both reading and writing. This would support the idea that collaboration can start with the classroomShow MoreRelatedAnnotated Bibliography On Teaching And Teaching846 Words   |  4 PagesTeaching self-direction to enhance children’s thinking in physical science. Journal of Educational Research, 88(1), 15. This article focused on the constant debate concerning the conditions in which students develop the skill of thinking critically. Being able to use critical thinking requires knowledge of facts and concepts about the subject matter. I found this article interesting because I think it is important that students develop critical thinking skills. Most scholarly articles tend to haveRead MoreThe Role of Multicultural Literature Essay1213 Words   |  5 Pagesdiverse student population rising in schools all over the United States, including students who are learning English as a new language. These students are English Language Learners (ELLs); they are learning English for the first time in addition to their native language. They’ve either had little or no knowledge of English before entering the school environment. According to the National Center of Educational Statistics (2013), an estimated 4.7 million or ten percent of the public school populationRead MoreClassroom Comp rehension : Building Comprehension Skills3288 Words   |  14 PagesBuilding Comprehension Skills Brittany Cronin COE 501—Introduction to Research and Evaluation in Education Fall B 2014 Dr. Ray Ostos Building Comprehension Skills Walk into any school and you will hear the word comprehension. Comprehending text is a necessity for all students in all grade levels as well as individuals entering college and beyond. With the launch of the Common Core State Standards, students need to be able to show their comprehension of text numerous ways, and if the students do notRead MoreDo Schools Really Care About Their Students? Do Schools1456 Words   |  6 PagesDo schools really care about their students? Do schools care for Academics? Or do they just care about the physical side, due to the amount of schools in the United States who care about their teams, and how they do? At the middle/high school level many students are encouraged to join the school’s sports team, with the pictures of the football team, the basketball team, the wrestling team, the cross-country team, the baseball team, the softball team and the track team. Persuading them to join toRead MoreHow Content Area Teachers Plan And Design Instruct ion3294 Words   |  14 Pagescontent area teachers plan and design instruction so that students will actively engage in literacy- and subject-related activities? Content area teachers can implement strategies and scaffold learning when planning and designing instruction so that students will actively engage in literacy. According to Dobbs, content area reading instruction includes: the information present in the text, and the instructional plan teachers use to help students understand the content (2003, p.3). Vacca, Vacca, MrazRead MoreEssay about The No Child Left Behind Act of 20013306 Words   |  14 PagesSecondary Education Act, which was designed to help disadvantaged students achieve success in school (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011) The components of The No Child Left Behind included annual testing, academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and funding changes. These measures were â€Å"designed to drive broad gains in student achievement and to hold states and schools more accountable for student progress† (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011Read MoreSchool District : A Public School1605 Words   |  7 PagesKyrene School District is one of the top performing districts in the state. Nestled in Tempe, AZ, Kyrene is a school district with 17,831 students. On average our district spends $6,552 per year per student. 28% of students in this district accept reduced price meals. The most common ethnicities in our district identify as White, non-Hispanic or Hispanic. The Kyrene School District believes the primary focus of school is to provide opportunities for each student to learn and to facilitate the acquisitionRead MorePractice Never Makes Anyone Perfect1490 Words   |  6 Pagesthat the SAT prep not only improved my scores for the test, but continued to develop my communication, reading, and writing skills for future application. The SAT prep was well worth the time and energy because it improved my verbal and non-verbal communication skills. There was a major barrier to overcome while preparing for the SATs and that was the lack of interaction with a live person. No school classroom, no video screen, but just a chat box and a microphone. Ever since I could remember, I alwaysRead MoreEffects of Socioeconomic Status and Ethnicity on a Child1542 Words   |  7 Pageschild’s development. Middle-class families can better prepare their children with opportunities for success than families with low household income. Families with low household income will be reluctant to spend money on daycare because they have other priorities. Credentialed daycare providers increase children’s cognitive and critical thinking skills (Barnett Belfield, 2006). The long-term effects of daycare centers and preschool programs include improving students’ high school graduation rates byRead MoreTeaching Reading Comprehension6449 Words   |  26 PagesIntroduction What is reading? Reading is about understanding written texts. It is a complex activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists of two related processes: word recognition and comprehension. Word recognition refers to the process of perceiving how written symbols correspond to one’s spoken language. Comprehension is the process of making sense of words, sentences and connected text. Readers typically make use of background knowledge, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge