March Slice of Life No. 19
I’ve heard it said that to be healthy, we should have at least one roll-on-the-floor laugh each day. My grandkids often provide me one, sometimes shared via texting.
Just the other day, my grandsons were engaged in their daily silent reading, and my daughter was checking to see how they were doing, like what they were reading and how much they were reading.
Now, I’m an advocate of silent reading; however, I’ve always have some concerns about it. How do you know for sure that they are really reading? Or, how do you know for sure that they are thinking the correct pronunciations of new words or words that are unfamiliar to them in print? Now I have evidence that my concerns are justified. Just read the following texts and you’ll see what I mean.
At this point I am laughing as I mentally apply phonics . . . ’cause NB has had a good dose of phonics in his education.
Visual: Psalm Sounded out: /possum/
p – /p/_ – /o/
s – /s/(he doesn’t realize that ps is an uncommon phonogram with a single sound /s/ and there’s no way to blend those two consonant sounds, so he stuck a vowel between them, therefore, the short o sound)
a – /u/(okay, so he gave the vowel a the schwa sound)
l – silent(like it is in talk, walk, palm)
m – /m/(its normal sound)
Our texting continued and I’m laughing tears.
Yes, reading aloud is a good thing!
So is laughter — crying-tears, roll-on-the-floor laughter.
___________
Thank you to
Two Writing Teachers
Our grandchildren are so funny and bring us great joy! This is a perfect example – and yes a reminder to listen to our students read aloud.
Heeheehee! Love this – thanks for giving me *my* daily laugh!
Possum psalms, love it! No wonder you laughed!
Great way to start the morning – with a smile. Thanks. I am ready for the day now.
I like the way you analyzed the use of phonics. always wonder whether my fourth graders are reading, during independent reading times. “How do you know for sure that they are really reading? Or, how do you know for sure that they are thinking the correct pronunciations of new words or words that are unfamiliar to them in print?” Your questions are a good reminder that we should listen to our students read frequently.
Out of context, unknown words can be a real stumbling block. This is a humorous way to show that very fact
This is hilarious. Thanks for sharing. It reminds me to have even my strongest readers read aloud, that kids are so literal and follow rules (even when English doesn’t always strictly adhere to rules/ patterns), and to roll-on-the-floor laugh!