The teacher candidate observed a “Literacy Block” every week in her classroom. The class is reading “Woods Runner” by Gary Paulsen. The majority of the time, the teacher will read aloud to the students as they follow along in their own books at their desks. Jim Trelease says, “Reading aloud to children helps them develop and improve literacy skills -- reading, writing, speaking, and listening. And since children listen on a higher level than they read, listening to other readers stimulates growth and understanding of vocabulary and language patterns” (Trelease, 2013). …show more content…
The setting and vocabulary are unfamiliar to the students. Students could not relate to words like “adzes” and “pulverize”. Mr. Smith would simply explain the words to the students and try to describe what they meant. With some words, he would ask students to try to find pictures for homework and bring them in the next day. The teacher candidate believes that it is important for students to be able to relate to the text they are reading. When students can relate and visualize what is happening in the class or in the text they are reading, they are more likely to be engaged and understand the material. The teacher candidate believes that Mr. Smith should have taught a few of these words prior to the students reading the book. “Some teachable words are introduced before the first read-aloud. These are words whose meaning are crucial to the overall understanding of the story” (Honig, 2013 p.