Hao Hao Xue Xi : Learning and Lesson Plans

   Author: Julie Johnson Comprehension is arguably the most important part of reading; it is the point after all. If you don’t understand what you’ve read, what was the point of reading it in the first place? As such, learning comprehension skills are critical to beginning readers. There are many strategies that have research-based evidence supporting them, but I have chosen to focus on story mapping for the purpose of this paper. I hypothesize that the use of story mapping in the classroom will significantly benefit ESL and other special needs learners in their ability to comprehend narrative texts.     To support my research into this hypothesis I propose the following questions to drive inquiry;  (1) How does story mapping help improve comprehension? (2) How has story mapping been used effectively with ESL students? (3) What were the results of using story mapping with students who have learning disabilities? (4) What other skills does story mapping help...

   Author: Julie Johnson I had the opportunity to conduct a case study of Norah, an emergent reader who attends my kindergarten. The following text details Norah’s background information, factors influencing her acquisition of reading skills, an assessment of her current reading level, and target areas and strategies for her improvement. I will also reflect on my assessment methods and how to motivate and engage Norah in her pursuit of literacy and education in the future. Norah is a six-year-old kindergarten student at a bilingual kindergarten in Guangzhou, China. In terms of development, Norah is a fairly typical six-year-old. She has no apparent manifestations of physiological or neurological factors that would negatively affect her ability to learn to read. She has normal vision and hearing and shows no signs of speech disorders, ADD, or ADHD. Norah is from an upper class family with two loving parents and grandparents who are committed to her education. Her parents and gr...

   Author: Julie Johnson Phonemic awareness, a type of phonological awareness, is the ability to identify and manipulate phonemes, the smallest units of speech (Yopp, H., & Yopp, R., 2009). It is a critical skill for young children to develop. Phonemic awareness skills facilitate a child’s ability to read and spell. These skills can be demonstrated through the ability to recognize words that beginning with the same sound, isolate a sound within a word, blend sounds to form words, or segment a word into its sound components (Ambruster, B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J., 2010). In this paper I will explore several strategies for developing phonemic awareness, identify the purpose of each strategy, and evaluate and rank each strategy based on a set criteria.             There a many strategies, games, and methods that one could use to help children develop phonemic awareness. One possible method is rhyme generation. The...