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This podcast really made me want to dive deeper into how to help students who are relying too much on print or meaning. What tools/strategies are best for a student who falls into one of these categories? -Katie Carey

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This podcast really made me want to dive deeper into how to help students who are relying too much on print or meaning. What tools/strategies are best for a student who falls into one of these categories? -Katie Carey

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I was particularly intrigued by Kim's discussion of how students rely on print and meaning in tandem and when they struggle to read, there is an imbalance. They are relying on one aspect of reading more than the other. It made me think, how can we help the students learn to appropriately use the skill in which they are lacking?

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I was particularly intrigued by Kim's discussion of how students rely on print and meaning in tandem and when they struggle to read, there is an imbalance. They are relying on one aspect of reading more than the other. It made me think, how can we help the students learn to appropriately use the skill in which they are lacking?

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-Katie Carey

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I noticed a number of connections between the topics discussed in this podcast and the most recent "Great to Greater" literacy coaching series I attended through the district. In analyzing student struggles when reading, it is important to notice whether they favor print or meaning in the text. For many students in the middle grades, they have mastered many of the basics when it comes to reading a text aloud or silently. They can pronounce the words in a text, but struggle to make meaning from those words. There are certain prompts or questions I have learned that help students with making meaning out of a text. The first seems to be asking students to break down a text and summarize what is happening or being discussed. By letting students be responsible for discovering the text and stepping back from explaining, this creates a productive struggle. It is okay to let students struggle and work to come to an answer if they are well-supported!

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I found myself really re-energized by this podcast in thinking about the important work we do every day as English teachers. Middle school is such an important time to support students in their journey as readers, as it is often a "make or break" time period in how they see themselves as learners. The hosts made a comment about how it seems that middle school is where the love of reading goes to die for many students, and while they laughed, it unfortunately is a serious problem. I have had multiple students tell me this year that they used to love to read up until about 5th or 6th grade, and now they hate it. Reading confidence seems to plunge in the middle grades, especially among lower-level readers. I realized that a blow to their confidence could be coming from my over-eagerness to point things out to them in the text. I don't always let my students struggle, I often jump in and try to "save" them. Perhaps allowing students to do the work and have that productive struggle will help rebuild the confidence in themselves as readers.

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I could really connect when it was stated how we get frustrated with working our hearts out and not seeing the knowledge transferred. I want to make sure to take her advice/knowledge given about the print reliance versus the meaning reliance in regards to student conferencing and planning for guided reading. I find my most frustrated self comes out with my groups who are print reliant and meaning reliant -- this helps me take a step back and breathe and understand that their is reasoning behind their struggle and now that I am in the know... I can use that to better plan for my groups.

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This is very eye opening or as the host stated.. it broadened my consciousness. My main takeaway from this segment was what was holding students back. By understanding that there are two types of imbalance in students reading process it really shed light to those students who tend to plateau. This tends to be who I get the most passionate about during reading instruction and tons of effort goes into determining why these students are struggling. It makes sense that if a student is too print focused or meaning focused that they won't be able to progress because they don't have a marriage of the two concepts. This concept combined with the fact that levels aren't the only thing to help drive instruction will help progress those struggling readers forward.

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The part of the podcast I found to be most applicable to my own practices was when Yaris talked about giving students too rigorous of texts for guided reading or independent work time. This is something I have struggled with as I have planned for guided or independent reading because I want to make sure my students are reading things that are challenging but sometimes these texts just seem too technical, disengaging, or adult for 8th graders. I am interested to see what she says in the next part of the podcast to offer solutions for this!

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My main takeaway of Part 1 of this podcast was the idea that leveling students can have negative consequences. It seems as effective teachers, we have been taught to level our students as much as possible in order to meet them at their needs and make their learning more meaningful. However, Kim Yaris pointed out that leveling can actually limit students. This made me think about my own guided reading groups and how I have also found that student data is not always accurate when leveling students and their abilities. It takes time to get to know students as readers and find their individual strengths and needs before you can really assess the correct group for each skill.

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Kim Yaris also made me think about my students who favor print or meaning. Some students might be able to answer questions about the text because they get the "gist" or they are familiar with the topic or structure. However, when it comes to texts that they do not have much background information on they are clearly going to have a harder time. It makes me consider the texts I am choosing for my students. Are my students truly comprehending or are they making more of an educated guess because they have the "gist"? I need to be sure that I am varying the texts I choose for each group with topics they are familiar with and topics that are newer to them. 

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Kim Yaris also made me think about my students who favor print or meaning. Some students might be able to answer questions about the text because they get the "gist" or they are familiar with the topic or structure. However, when it comes to texts that they do not have much background information on they are clearly going to have a harder time. It makes me consider the texts I am choosing for my students. Are my students truly comprehending or are they making more of an educated guess because they have the "gist"? I need to be sure that I am varying the texts I choose for each group with topics they are familiar with and topics that are newer to them. 

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My biggest takeaway from the podcast was when Kim Yaris began talking about levels. Levels are not the end all, be all. In the past few years that I have been an educator in 54 I have seen how our PLC conversations have changed from looking at scoreboards and levels to having more meaningful conversations about what we know and observe about our students on a day to day basis. One level does not define what a student is capable of.

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My biggest takeaway from the podcast was when Kim Yaris began talking about levels. Levels are not the end all, be all. In the past few years that I have been an educator in 54 I have seen how our PLC conversations have changed from looking at scoreboards and levels to having more meaningful conversations about what we know and observe about our students on a day to day basis. One level does not define what a student is capable of.

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The discussion about F&P levels inspired me to try and push my literacy acceleration group beyond their assigned level with some high interest text.  I think that pushing them with text outside their reading level will not only give them confidence, but help them to grow as readers.  I think my PLC team and our district does a great job selecting well written, complex texts.  However, as Kim discussed, there are poorly written texts out there and they can negatively impact struggling readers and their ability to make meaning from the text.  It was a good reminder to ensure the texts that we use for instruction and assessment are complex and rigorous.

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The discussion about F&P levels inspired me to try and push my literacy acceleration group beyond their assigned level with some high interest text.  I think that pushing them with text outside their reading level will not only give them confidence, but help them to grow as readers.  I think my PLC team and our district does a great job selecting well written, complex texts.  However, as Kim discussed, there are poorly written texts out there and they can negatively impact struggling readers and their ability to make meaning from the text.  It was a good reminder to ensure the texts that we use for instruction and assessment are complex and rigorous.

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I had two main takeaways after listening to this podcast.  First, I thought the discussion of F&P levels occasionally being limiting was interesting and encouraging.  She discussed how reading levels are just a piece of data, and not the whole picture of who a child is as a reader.  Additionally, I found the discussion of identifying struggling readers as word callers or meaning makers was important.  If a reader is deficient in one of these areas, it is problematic, and using those skills in isolation is unsustainable.  

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I had two main takeaways after listening to this podcast.  First, I thought the discussion of F&P levels occasionally being limiting was interesting and encouraging.  She discussed how reading levels are just a piece of data, and not the whole picture of who a child is as a reader.  Additionally, I found the discussion of identifying struggling readers as word callers or meaning makers was important.  If a reader is deficient in one of these areas, it is problematic, and using those skills in isolation is unsustainable.  

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Kim’s explanation of “Print” readers and “Meaning” readers was very interesting. When taking anecdotal notes, I feel analyzing and noting this would be beneficial. It would allow me to track if a student tends to be more of a “Print” or “Meaning” reader. Also, if a certain genre impacts which type of reader they tend to be.

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My biggest takeaway from the podcast came from her discussion of levels. Once a teacher determines a student’s reading level, I think it is easy to pigeon hole their abilities (“That student reads at a level _ so they won’t be able to do that”). I really appreciated Kim Yaris sharing and reminding educators that a level is just a small portion and that we want to focus on what they can accomplish at their level.

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Hearing Kim speak about what to specifically look and listen for while students are reading was helpful.  When reflecting on my own conference session notes, I now have a more focused direction in which to record information and use to determine next steps in supporting individual readers.

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My biggest takeaway came when she started talking about “kids reading processes is a reflection of the way students are taught.”  When first listening to students read and conferencing with them early in the year, I can almost immediately tell how they have been taught in the past.  Whether students are currently more focused on print or meaning while reading, her insight has helped me to recognize their strengths and struggles in order to best support them moving forward.

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As I think about my lower reading leveled students, I think it would be beneficial to find out where their imbalance occurs (Print vs. Meaning) and then provide targeted support for that student during guided reading.  A simple whisper read text with picture could give me insight into where that imbalance occurs for each of those students.  I would be curious to see what a lesson would look like for each of those particular readers or some examples in Yaris' book.  But I would imagine that focus and engagement questions would be based on that student's particular imbalance. 

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As I think about my lower reading leveled students, I think it would be beneficial to find out where their imbalance occurs (Print vs. Meaning) and then provide targeted support for that student during guided reading.  A simple whisper read text with picture could give me insight into where that imbalance occurs for each of those students.  I would be curious to see what a lesson would look like for each of those particular readers or some examples in Yaris' book.  But I would imagine that focus and engagement questions would be based on that student's particular imbalance. 

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I had an ah-ha moment when Kim discussed the learned helplessness in the form of reading "levels" and what happens when we rely on a reading level for more than just providing an accessible text for that level of student particularly our struggling readers. She talked about students who are "Print" readers versus students who are "Meaning" readers and how an understanding of whether our struggling student is one or the other is a better more informed way to help that reader.  Rather than providing a blanket form of guided support, this forces the teacher to be more targeted with the individual reader based on their particular imbalanced reading process.  

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I had an ah-ha moment when Kim discussed the learned helplessness in the form of reading "levels" and what happens when we rely on a reading level for more than just providing an accessible text for that level of student particularly our struggling readers. She talked about students who are "Print" readers versus students who are "Meaning" readers and how an understanding of whether our struggling student is one or the other is a better more informed way to help that reader.  Rather than providing a blanket form of guided support, this forces the teacher to be more targeted with the individual reader based on their particular imbalanced reading process.  

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I was so interested in Kim Yaris' explanation of the reader that relies on print versus the one who relies on images or pictures. I had never considered this issue before when addressing my guided groups as to why some students seem to have a good capacity for reading fluency, but often are not preforming extremely well on assessments. In the middle school classroom obviously we are not looking at books that contain images, but I primarily was thinking that my ELLs sometimes fall into the category of readers who can look at print and sound this out, but unfortunately are not actually comprehending the deeper meaning of the text. 

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I was so interested in Kim Yaris' explanation of the reader that relies on print versus the one who relies on images or pictures. I had never considered this issue before when addressing my guided groups as to why some students seem to have a good capacity for reading fluency, but often are not preforming extremely well on assessments. In the middle school classroom obviously we are not looking at books that contain images, but I primarily was thinking that my ELLs sometimes fall into the category of readers who can look at print and sound this out, but unfortunately are not actually comprehending the deeper meaning of the text. 

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When Kim Yaris mentioned the importance of vetting articles that are pulled online for classroom use, this made me think about and reflect on how much time I take when pulling articles for guided reading purposes. Fortunately sites like Newsela or Readworks.org are quick and easy, but "quick and easy" is not always necessarily what is best. It is important to be reading through material to be sure that the articles used are thoroughly applicable to the skills that are taught within the classroom.

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When Kim Yaris mentioned the importance of vetting articles that are pulled online for classroom use, this made me think about and reflect on how much time I take when pulling articles for guided reading purposes. Fortunately sites like Newsela or Readworks.org are quick and easy, but "quick and easy" is not always necessarily what is best. It is important to be reading through material to be sure that the articles used are thoroughly applicable to the skills that are taught within the classroom.