The Four Reading Roles

           

retrieved from: http://www2.palomar.edu/pages/reading/

Many students in elementary school read without understanding the text. When I was in elementary school I was one of those students. I would read the text in front me as fast as I could with barely picking up information or key words. I would then finish the reading and try to answer questions only to realize that I had to go and re-read the text to find the information I was looking for. While I do not remember the reading roles that are now a significant part for understanding the reading process, they would have helped me enhance my reading skills and comprehension of the texts.

What are Reading Roles?

            Reading Roles consist of four different categories. The four categories, code breaker, meaning maker, text user, and text analysis, all contribute to a readers understanding of the text. The different roles are assigned to four students who then work as a group to break down the text in regards to their specific role. For a deeper understanding of the roles, my read, explains how the readers can be successful through using the roles. The roles help the students examine the text for specific criteria that can help them better understand the information. The reading roles also allow students to work in a group setting and gain different perspectives from the multiple members in their group. The following image breaks down what some expectations of each role is. If all students complete the roles, then they will have a significant understanding of the information.

retrieved from: http://barefootliteracy.weebly.com/the-four-resources-model.html

The Importance of Reading Roles

            Reading roles can play an integral role in a students understanding of literary text. Reading with roles gives the students an idea to focus on while reading. The roles also help students make connections to other texts or other readings that they have done in the past. Reading roles gives students a chance to work with their peers and use collaboration. While students may be afraid to speak up and ask the teacher for help in fear of being wrong the reading role groups can help the students deconstruct the reading and find the meaning on their own.  

  

How to use Reading Roles

            Reading roles can be integrated into any classroom where reading is present. The roles can be assigned by the teacher or by students which allows for choice. If the teacher is assigning the roles they can assign roles to identify student’s strengths or to help students work on their reading weakness. The roles can also create class discussion whether in between groups or a larger full class discussion. For more information on how to use the reading roles in class use edutopia for further ideas. This website contains many articles on how to use different teaching resources in the classroom. This specific article examines specifically the four reading roles in the classroom.

Reading and the Curriculum

            The reading roles also help the students achieve the overall expectations of the reading curriculum. The students will better be able to understand a variety of texts using a range of strategies to construct meaning. The students can take turns in each role which would help them better understand the texts using different strategies. The students will also use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently. The student who is the code breaker will use their prior knowledge to read the text fluently and decipher new texts. This specific role will help the students read fluently by identifying words that are new. The reading roles are not only useful for helping the students understand the text by also achieve expectations set out by the Ontario curriculum.

            To enhance the reading of all students, teachers should look for any resources that they can access. Reading Roles can be implemented in a variety of grades. The connections that students make to other words or readings should improve as they age. The roles will help all students create a better understanding of the text. Reading role will also help the students read for meaning as they are trying to understand the text instead of just skimming through the information looking for the answers to questions. Reading roles can and should be brought into classrooms to create a better understanding of reading in elementary students. 

Use of Media in Elementary Classrooms

            In elementary schools today, technology has become an essential part of the learning experience. On my first day of placement I was surprised to see the students sharing laptops or iPads as they completed their assigned work. I couldn’t help to think back to when I was in elementary school and the lack of electronics that we had access to. The times have changed since then and so has the curriculum in the schools. Students are now encouraged to use the technology, and more specifically social media to extend their learning capacity.

Social Media in the Classroom       

            Social media can be a great enhancement to a lesson if it is used in the proper way. Below is a video I found that demonstrates the positive use of social media in the classroom. In the video it is a grade one a two classroom that is using social media. The results that these students receive from the use of social media in the classroom is an example as why it is necessary to use media aids in the classroom.

TVO Parents (May 21, 2013). Using Social Media in The Classroom (Video). retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno

Safe Social Media

            The regulation of social media and any form of technology in the schools can be hard for the teacher or principle. When I was attending elementary and high schools cell phones or any other electronics were prohibited on the property. While we still used them teachers and other faculty members had a hard time regulating their use within the school day. The regulation of electronic devices that students bring to school has improved greatly. Parents are to sign a permission form that acknowledges the students have brought the device and also gives the faculty member permission to confiscate the device if used inappropriately.

St. Luke Personal Device Policy

This hyperlink is an example of a bring your own device school policy in the Hamilton catholic board. It is the permission form that the parents have to sign. The form also states what is deemed as unacceptable behavior that the parents are to go over with their children before sending them with the device.

Using Social Media as a Teacher    

            As a teacher I would not only use social media to enhance the students learning but also as a communication tool. Social media is a great way to connect with people around the world but also with people that you may not see or talk to every day. Using social media in my classroom would be a great way to connect to parents to inform them of upcoming events but also would allow myself to provide them updates about what is ongoing in the classroom. It is a chance to share the work that the students are completing as well as the progress that they are making throughout the school year. Here is a list of ways that I would possibly use Social media in the classroom.

(May 22 2104). "School Media." Photograph.
  Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/2dJMkHY

Connect to other classrooms          

Create a class blog that parents can access            

Post status updates as a class

Research

Social Media and the Curriculum

            Media Literacy is one of the identified strands in the literacy section of the Ontario elementary school curriculum. Media literacy is not identifying individual words based on the spelling, instead it focuses on the construction of meaning through images graphics, sounds and/or words. Social Media is an excellent way to teach students about the media literacy strand. Social media allows students to interact with each other around the world using images, words, voice clips and much more. Through the interaction on social media students will be exposed to a plentiful amount of different media that all aim to get a specific point across. The student’s ability to interpret the media text is an expectation of the media literacy strand and is something that can be gained through the use of social media in the classroom.

            The use of social media in the classroom has become an integral part of a student’s education. With technology at their fingertips we should continue to encourage the use of social media in the classroom. If social media is being used for appropriate reasons and teach the language curriculum it is great and necessary resource.