National Reading First Conference...St. Louis

My teaching partner and I were blessed to be able to attend the National Reading First Conference this year. It was held in St. Louis. After a nine hour drive (we did stop for lunch and gasoline!), we arrived in St. Louis. I had never been in Kentucky or Missouri and only had been in the Chicago airport for a layover. The drive was not too bad! We relied on the GPS to for the majority of the way. I was shocked at the condition of the interstate in St. Louis. It was in very poor repair.



Things We Learned at the Conference:



1. Fluency. We learned several things to do to increase a child's fluency in reading. My favorite suggestion involves post-it flags and re-reading text. The child reads the passage for a minute and then places a post-it flag where he or she stopped. The child then re-reads the passage in an attempt to "beat" his/her last time. This process should be repeated three or four times. This puts the air of competition into reading but the child is not competing with others, only himself.



2. Behavior. I have a difficult time with student behavior. I find that I have a difficult time being one-hundred percent consistent. One of the presenters helped me realize another problem I know I have in this regard. She said that you tell students what you want only one time and then you scan the room for those who comply. Reward them with a small trinket and say "Thank you for _____. You never know when you will get a reward." I have a very bad habit of repeating myself over and over. It can be to the point of nagging. I know that many children stop responding if you "nag."



3. Comprehension. Interestingly enough, we learned that comprehension is mainly based on fluency. Reading must sound like speaking for the brain to understand it. (I guess we always knew this...but it is interesting to think about!)