Welcome to the Millennium Reading Specialist (Mrs-Genevieve) Blog Spot
As an educator with over thirteen years of experience of working in many ‘Schools Facing Complex and Challenging Circumstances’, I can attest to the fact the teaching of Reading is no easy task. Teaching children to read is perhaps the most important responsibility that any individual could undertake. Reading itself is a complex and challenging matter and I believe that every child CAN and SHOULD be able to read proficiently.
I propose that individuals must BELIEVE that they can achieve, they must seek deep UNDERSTANDING of what they are learning and they must ENJOY what they do. The use of cutting edge technology that caters for the Millennium Reader is of paramount importance to my practice. My clients are engaged with a range of research-based best-practices focused on the integration of WEB 2.0 technologies in an exciting and interactive learning environment. This is the main part of a holistic reading programme created by the MRS. Keep reading for details!
Watching children learn is my pleasure!
That’s the reason I became a Reading Teacher!
The Millennium Reading Specialist
Genevieve Thompson B.Ed Language Arts (Hons)
Hi G.
ReplyDeleteYou sound totally motivated and energized for the challenging task ahead. Keep that focus as you engage with your students. I am also committed to making a difference. Full speed ahead.
Genevieve,
ReplyDeleteIndeed you have set yourself some great goals,remember too that the potential for each of our students differ and that different students would and could reach their goal at different times.
As Reading Specialists we would certainly help that experience to be a rich and rewarding one.
Genevieve, I was hoping that I would have been the first to respond to this blog but I see other persons think that your post is interesting, as I do.
ReplyDeleteI agree that every child can learn to read. Presently, we are being trained to integrate technology into the Reading programme.As you rightly said we would become Millennium Reading Specialists and we should use the technology to teach reading.The children of this millennium are exposed to the technology and are showing interest.
I want to read about the strategies and activities you use to engage your students.
I am also interested in finding out about the strategies and activities that you used to engage your students in using the technology. As far as I am concerned a reader is a reader anyhow you take it. He has to learn the basic skills anyhow. The only difference in this millennium is that he/she has to develop multiple literacy skills, one of them being literate in the use of 21st century technologies. Thus as teachers we have to become acquainted with the technology and be able to infuse it into the curriculum. Thus we still have to teach the content and students have to become literate in the content knowledge and this involves reading. In the end having the tools is a great thing, but they still have to read in the process of using the tools and this boils down to the basic skills in reading. I am really interested in exploring this phenomenon
ReplyDeleteI thank you for the interest you have shown in my blog. As the weeks progress I hope that I would address all your issues especially posed by Paulad and Jennifer thus far. Thanks also to Merle and Lyn.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I agree with Merle that children have different capabilities and we must recognize this fact. When I used the term used “ proficiently” however, I recognize that there would be various shades of proficiency depending on the abilities of the learners. I have been forced to accept this harsh reality from my interaction with a class of special needs children in the past year.
Paulad and Jennifer, I agree that children have to learn the basics of reading and writing, this is irrefutable. The use of technology could greatly enhance this process. I have used games from Leap frog for example that were very interactive and motivational for the early learners. I remember one child learning all the alphabet letters and sounds in two weeks. There was also the opportunity to learn to write the letters using magnetic pens. There are also many simple websites with games that reinforce concepts taught in the class. The important thing to note is that the technology does not replace the teacher but assist her and the learner in ‘working smart’.