Blog #2 - Research on Reading Instruction

    One of most important things to take into consideration from IRA's position would be that "(a)dolescents deserve access to a wide variety of print and non-print materials." In this, we will be able to properly engage in them a love of reading. It might not be what we as teachers love to read, but the students will be learning from what they are absorbing, regardless of whether it is for pleasure or information purposes. This section of the article hints at utilizing the library extensively within every discipline for every assignment, regardless of topic. Any and every form of print and non-print, fiction and non-fiction sources are used. The second most important thing to take into consideration when it comes to adolescent literacy is that adolescents have "a culture of literacy in their schools with a systemic and comprehensive programmatic approach to increase literacy achievement for all." If we as teachers tell the students that they need to read more, yet we are not taking our own advice, what will the students think about their teachers? The IRA's article states that the principals are where it starts to have a school full of students who are passionate writers and readers.

     The major conclusion that I most agree with from Chapter 12 out Daniels and Zelman's textbook Subjects Matter is number 2. Having students read for both information and pleasure will help them establish a love for reading that will carry over to any and every subject in school allowing this love to carry over into their post-school life. On page 296 of Subjects Matter, the authors give a list from a 1999 study of motives students develop from reading for information and pleasure. These motives not only apply to school, but to life in general. Also, these lifestyles the students make during their school years will carry over into their adult life.

     Reading through the ten major conclusions from Chapter 12 of Subject Matter, I was unable to find one whole conclusion to disagree with. As I read more into how each conclusion was suggested to be carried out and the studies which had been performed to back up each conclusion, I was unable to find myself disapproving of any detail.

     The only questions I had about this week’s assignments was how the major conclusions from our textbook and the "what do adolescents deserve" from the article will come into reality in my classrooms.