Sound It Out!

(Source)

This week's readings were interesting and I have had experience with similar methods mentioned in the readings. I know that this topic I am about to share is not exactly on cue with the readings, but it was something that was on my mind as I read.

Last year I volunteered in a 3rd grade classroom twice a week. I had to implement a project in the classroom and I chose to focus on reading. I had the opportunity to work with children in four different reading level groups. I was at first taken back on the learning gap between the students. The higher level reading group could read chapter books without any problems while the lower level reading group struggle to pronounce basic words.

After I had spent more time with each group I immediately noticed a huge difference between the groups. It was the confidence of the students. The higher level readers knew that they were good at reading so they enjoyed challenging themselves. The lower level readers knew that they were not strong readers so they were the first ones to give up. A lack in their confidence had a lot to do with pressure from other students openly saying they were terrible at reading. I then made it my goal to change their attitudes in reading and to become confident in their reading skills.

All of the students knew how to use simple methods for sounding out unknown words, but they did not want to try. They would rather have someone tell them the word then trying to sound it out themselves. One particular student in the lower group despised reading aloud and would ask me to tell him the words. I constantly reassured the student that they could do it by themselves. It was a struggle to get the student to cooperate at first but I eventually got the student to give it a try. It was like a light switch had been flipped. All the student needed was to be reassured that they could read and that they were good at reading.

As the semester went on I realized that a large part of the learning gap was not because students were not as intelligent as others it was because they did not have confidence in themselves. In my opinion, this is a huge problem in a classroom that detracts from a student's education. I questioned my teacher about the situation and she explained to me that she had tried multiple ways to eliminate the taunting but it was not feasible to make every single student respect each other and get through the material for each day.

A teacher can have all the methods and materials they need to be an effective teacher but what happens when the students are detracting from their own learning? I have thought of a few questions and I wanted to get some feedback.

• What are effective ways to eliminate taunting in the classroom when punishment is not controlling the problem?
• Did you ever experience a similar situation when another student negatively influenced your learning environment?
• What are some creative ways to encourage students to not give up when they aren't familiar with a word or any material in general?