RES 5535: Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (summer 2010)

I really enjoyed reading chapters three and four. These chapters were very relevant to the types of students that I am teaching in our school. I can relate to the typical southern girl growing up in a conservative home. I remember there were certain standards that were acceptable and unacceptable. My parents and grandparents read stories to me and also told me stories that had been passed down through the generations. Manners were expected at home and in public. I was a “good girl” in school. I wanted to please the teacher in all areas. I am still a people pleaser. I try to do my best in my school work even now that I am grown.
Laurie could be a typical girl in my class on any given year. Laurie struggles with the structures of the classroom and school. She is a typical good girl in the classroom because she does want to please her teacher especially in her coloring and writing. Sometimes these types of children fall between the cracks in our classrooms if we are not careful. Laurie is a quiet child that does what is asked of her in the classroom and on the surface she seems like she is with it. But when you dig deeper she seems to be one of those kids who need that extra budge from the teacher to keep going. She seems to be an average student who just needs some extra time in reading. She loves writing and enjoys choosing that as a free choice activity. She does seem to have an interest in reading and writing. She does not move at the pace of the reading curriculum. This is true for many of the students that I teach. My high students need to move faster and my lower students need to mover slower. Five years ago I was teaching mostly whole group just like the teacher in the book. During the past three years I have begun to differentiate my instruction to meet the needs of the students who are moving faster and slower than the pacing guides. I have established reading groups that meet the needs of the different ability groups in my classroom. My reading groups change weekly or monthly depending on the skills that we work on that week or month. The groups are flexible so that students can move up or down a group depending on their progress. I even do one-on-one instruction with some of my lowest readers. Laurie’s teacher that was bound to the county reading adoption had her hands tied. I am thankful that I am able to use what I need across reading books and series to meet the needs of the students in my class. I use older reading series that we have, book sets, and trade books to meet the needs of my students. Since I have started the masters program I see now more than ever that students must be taught at their instructional level in reading. If the material is too hard frustration sets in and other problems begin to arise just as we see happening with Laurie.
I was very surprised to see the diagnosis of ADHD on Laurie. She seems like a free spirited kid that may just need some structure in her life. She seems to be a victim of the instability in her home life. School seems to be the only place that is consistent for Laurie. I have seen so many kids put on medication and it changes their personality drastically. I have also seen the medicine make the world of difference for the better in a child’s behavior and personality.
I think that the main thing to remember is that kids come to us all along the ability spectrum. Our job as classroom teachers is to teach them at their level and to do all that we can to meet their needs in our classroom.

Michelle Moffitt