Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (Summer 2011)

Hi. My name is Holly Lawson, and I am a fourth grade teacher in Rutherford County. I graduated from UNC-Charlotte in 2000 and have been teaching eleven years. I have a nine-year-old daughter and a six-year old son. Last May, I enrolled in the Reading Education MA program in hopes of becoming better equipped in the teaching of reading. Interestingly, my first true love is math, but I am so glad that I decided to pursue a master’s degree in reading.

My earliest memories of reading involved my mother reading fairy tales and nursery rhymes to me each day at naptime. Of course, like most small children, I had my favorites that I requested over and over- “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Gretel”. Although my mom fostered a love of reading early on, I did experience a period in which reading became more of a chore than a pleasure. In elementary school, we frequently were required to give oral book reports. While these required reports did increase my exposure to text and improved my reading ability, they did not foster a love of reading. Thankfully, this love of reading returned to me as an adult, and I now read for both pleasure and information.

Throughout my career, I have learned a lot about reading. First of all, I believe it is much more difficult to teach reading than math. Reading instruction truly is an art. There are so many components which work together to create a strong reader. While vocabulary and background knowledge are crucial, fluency plays a major role, too. Because of this program, I learned strategies which I was able to incorporate into my low flex reading group at school this year. I have been able to better assess students’ reading ability and plan small group instruction geared toward their needs. I cannot wait to learn more this semester. There are so many factors to consider in reading instruction, and it is sometimes difficult for us to understand why students are experiencing difficulty in an area which most likely came easy for us.

With regards to writing, I feel that it is just as important as reading. I am thankful that writing assessment for fourth grade now extends beyond the narrative writing test. Since writing across the curriculum is so important, I require my students to write reflectively. Each day they use their journals to write about what they learn in class as well as how they behave throughout the day. For me, reflection journals are not only a means for assessing student learning, but they also give students an opportunity to share other information with me. It is so important that students have a chance to be heard.

Again, I look forward to this class and am excited about the opportunity to learn from and share with everyone.

Holly Lawson