Final Personal Model of the Theory of Reading

Lizzie McCalley

Dr. Ritchie

EDRD 7715

July 11, 2012

Personal Model of the Theory of Reading

            Throughout the course of this semester, my knowledge about reading instruction, reading techniques, and reading philosophies has grown tremendously. However, despite my growth and new learnings, I still whole-heartedly believe in what my first paper explained. Reading is still a practice, a journey, and a lifestyle and I am a true testament to that belief after this semester.

            Through all of the different reading and writing I have done this summer, I have developed in my knowledge of helpful techniques and enhanced my abilities. Despite my ability to read, decode unfamiliar words or understand letter-sound relationships, at times, with certain new materials, even educated readers like myself have to go back to the initial reading steps to understand the text. This is due to the reading in our courses being more scholarly, higher-thinking, or educated texts that I am trying to learn from. It is as though I am Kindergarten student all over again. To a young five year old, their struggle may be letter-sound relationships, whereas for me, my struggle is determining and defining the difference between action research, practitioner research, and teacher research for example. We all utilize different tools in an attempt to understand new and challenging texts. This is why I believe reading is a constant journey.

             Over the first semester of my graduate program, I have experienced my own hurdles in new learning. I have learned how to adapt my reading styles, accommodate to new information, and learn new concepts that interest me and will benefit me in the future. This first semester has already been challenging, eye opening, and incredibly impactful. These qualities have emerged from the constant reading, writing, and discussions that take place every Monday and Wednesday. Through this learning process, I have realized how fortunate I am that I am able to read and how thankful I am that I can read well. Being literate should be a requirement for all. However, far too often, some students fall through the cracks and never learn how to read fluently. This fault limits so many young peoples future and possibility in the world. Therefore, reading is a powerful tool that everyone should master, making my responsibility of teaching reading in a classroom very great.

            In my first paper about my personal model of the theory of reading, I reflected upon the power of reading. Reading has the ability to open new doors, broaden horizons, and create new opportunities. This is why reading instruction is extremely valuable to teach correctly and explicitly. Reading instruction should provide multiple opportunities to read, question, and interact with different texts. Appealing to student’s interests is key in order to help children believe in the power of reading. When reading is simply another subject, that is difficult and uninteresting, it is no wonder students struggle with reading. I was one of those students. Reading was not introduced to me in an appealing and exciting manner, causing my younger years to be very difficult with reading and my lack of interest. Luckily, as I got older, certain teachers changed my view of reading, however, not every child undergoes that change. This is why, as a future teacher, I want to drastically stray from the teaching methods I received as a child, and do my best to make reading appealing, exciting, and most importantly, explain to students its importance and value far greater than they can comprehended in the elementary school years.

            Throughout my continuous growth and learning as a graduate student, I am constantly reassured that I chose the right endorsement. I am enjoying reading different types of literature and bettering my writing style through more exposure to good literature. This is why I want my future students to see reading the way I do. Reading has not always been my favorite thing to do, but I am able to see the rewards that come from reading and I want my students to reap the same rewards. Reading is a tool no one can take from you. I hope to provide this tool, help students interactive with it, and grow into a fluent, passionate reader.