I particularly enjoyed this article because it pertained to the primary levels which easily could be used in the upper levels as well. When given the task to complete a WRI with a student at Hardin Park I was a bit nervous. I learned all about WRI and teaching students to read this summer in Block 1 with Ms. Queen, a 2nd grade teacher at Hardin Park. I knew I had learned “how to teach students to read”, but my thought was did I know how to implement what I had learned when it comes time to teach my own students.
I was relieved to hear that spelling words were already written out in spelling books, and all I had to do was get my hands on multiple spelling books to make sure I had all levels of my students covered. I never thought to give multiple spelling tests. I always had the same spelling test as every one else, and every room I have observed has the same words for all students. However reading this article and the discussion in class a light bulb went on. My students at Hardin Park in 2nd grade had a spelling test last Friday and only 5 of them passed the test. This made me realize there were multiple levels of spelling in my classroom and there was nothing being done about it! It is n’t that my teacher is taking the easy way out and giving one test, she may not even be aware of the different ways to give multiple spelling tests at once!
I hope by reading this article and learning about all of my resources, I will be able to teach my students to read the best that I know how. I know it will be a lot of work and preparation on my part, but those students are depending on me for their education.
