Blog #6 Freeman and Freeman Activity

Student Activities: Learning or Acquisition

Look up words in the dictionary to write definitions

Make a Venn diagram to compare two stories

Practice sounding out words

Read in round-robin fashion

Correct peers when they make a mistake during reading

Identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound

Group cards with classmates' names by a criterion on such as first or last letter

Write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound

Ask the teacher how to spell any word they don't know

Read a language experience story they have created with the teacher

Work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences

Divide words into syllables

On a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound

Make alphabet books on different topics

The student activities in red support the goal of learning to read: identifying words to get to the meaning of a text (Freeman D. & Freeman Y, 2004, p. 25). One way students learn to new words is to use a dictionary to identify their meaning, rather than context clues from the text. Round-robin reading is a quick and easy way for both the teacher and students to "correct" the student reading. The word recognition view of reading supports students breaking words into its syllables and using the teacher as a resource for spelling. 

The student activities in green support the acquisition of reading: using background knowledge and cues from 3 language systems to construct meaning from a text (Freeman D. & Freeman, Y, 2004, p. 25). Each of these activities requires students to use 3 different cueing systems to construct meaning from the text. For example, identifying words with the same sound and grouping classmates' names require students to use graphophonics. Drawing a line from the picture to a word with the same sound requires students to use their knowledge of semantics and graphophonics. 

Teacher Activities: Learning or Acquisition

Preteaches vocabulary

Does a shared reading with a big book

Makes sure that students read only books that fit their level

Has students segment words into phonemes

Writes words the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words

Asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter

Uses decodable texts

Sets aside time for SSR each day

Teaches Latin and Greek roots

Has students meet in literature circles

Conducts phonics drills

Chooses predictable texts

Teaches students different comprehension strategies

Does a picture walk of a new book

Uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills   

The teacher activities in read support the word recognition view of reading. As Freeman and Freeman write "[teachers] attempt to help students with words that many of them might not know so that when they encounter those words during reading they will be able to recognize them" (2004, p. 28). Many of the activities above are teacher-centered and help student develop vocabulary through word recognition. For example, phonics is a large piece to learning vocabulary. Another example is preteaching vocabulary. Teachers give students the words they must know to construct meaning of a text. 

The teaching activities in green support the acquisition of reading because the activities provide students opportunities for extensive reading to learn vocabulary and construct meaning (2004, p. 28). Learning comprehension strategies allows students to construct meaning on their own as they navigate a variety of texts. Meeting in literature circles allows students to apply these skills and learn from their peers. Teachers guide students in developing comprehension strategies to use during silent reading.  Students are expected to read a variety of texts to increase their vocabulary and understanding of reading.