Tyler-CO3

My last classroom observation was reading with Michelle Downie. Michelle was very nice and filled me in on what was going on in the class. The class was having a reading comprehension test. The test consisted of a short text about the reverend Billy Graham, and several questions pertaining to the text. The class was given about 30 minutes to complete said test. Michelle explained to me that this was the best way to see how far the students have come in their reading comprehension.

After the test was done Michelle passed out a short story for the class to follow along with. She read it aloud as the class read the written story. It was a short, almost Zen piece called the idiots guide to peace of mind. After Michelle had read the story aloud she asked the class if there were any words that they didn't understand. There were a few words and concepts that the class had trouble grasping, but after some encouraged discussion, they seemed to comprehend.

After class, Michelle spoke to me some more, and our conversation led to reading and culture. I found out that in many Arab speaking countries, people don't read very often. An Arab student verified that for her, and explained that culture is very social and verbal, but that they don't read like we do. That is the reason most Middle Eastern students excel in speaking, but have difficulty with reading comprehension.