EDRD 7717 Module 5: Opitz Reading

Chapter 13: Learning Strategies and Study Skills

      Studying is not something one can just catch on to and do it perfectly; it is something that needs to be taught at a young age in order for students to find methods that personally work for them. Its important for students to know the basics of good study habits such as sticking to a study schedule, knowing where to study and understanding that studying needs to be done over time. It is essential that the place students choose to study is somewhere they are comfortable, well lite and free from distraction. I know for me personally I've become comfortable with my study habits because I know I need to go somewhere other than my house or apartment like the library or even Starbucks. Last year I actually had to assist my roommate in finding which study methods will work best for her because its something she had never really ad to do. A method discussed in the book to teach to children is called SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite/Recall, Review) that mostly deals with ways to organize and understand informational texts such as text books.
      Two topics that were discussed in this chapter that would be so beneficial to me as well as my students were the sections regarding concentration and following directions. Opitz describes concentration as " a mental set or attitude, a determination that you will block everything out except what you are reading or listening to" (2011, pg. 325). There were two simple word concentration games that students can do with a partner to increase their ability to fully concentrate. As far as following directions, Opitz also gave a few examples of activities the students could complete in order to understand their importance.

Chapter 14: Partnering with Parents

      I have always been told that parent involvement is essential and I completely agree however the school I did my student teaching in had very very low parent participation. We had one parent who was always willing to help out and do things with the children but that was it. However, the school where I work now has impressed me so much with the amount of parent involvement. I am in constant contact with my students'  parents regarding behavior, academic strengths/weaknesses, and upcoming events/content. My school also has program called Watchdog Dads that gives fathers the opportunity to get involved in the classrooms. Usually when I get the chance to have one in my classroom I allow them to take one of my reading groups and they will read a book along with the children. The students absolutely love when we have guests in the classroom. Parent involment such as through a program like Watchdog Dads enhances student reading achievement.
      A few other examples that is discussed in this chapter to encourage student reading achievement is through Junior Great Books where parents and teachers work together to form reading discussion groups, Reading Olympics where children must read as many books as they can out loud or alongside their parents, Paired Reading which allows the parent and their child to read simultaneously, and Family Literacy Projects that allow the students and their parents to complete various reading assignments at home with a culminating project. I have sent home a Family Literacy Project where the child and his/her parent read Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School and then wrote persuasive letters to one another about something that concerned them within their household. The letters were great and hilarious to read, so this is something I am definitely interested in doing more of in my current classroom.
      However, the most interesting quote from the reading was that "the reading achievement of children of high socioeconomic status decreased when they watched greater amounts of television, whereas the converse appeared to be true for low socioeconomic status children; that is, heavier viewing for these children increased their reading achievement" (2011, pg. 344). While watching too much television can be detrimental to ones reading achievement, it was stated that watching television with the captions on would actually be beneficial. This makes perfect sense to me simple because this was something my Spanish teacher would do for us when we were learning the language. It allowed us to become more familiar with vocabulary while also begin able to read it.