"Matching texts and readers: Leveling early reading materials for assessment and instruction"
This article addresses the difficult task of leveling texts for our young readers in the classroom. It begins by outlining all the differences the reading programs available have in their leveling system. Bottom line, none of the reading programs offered in schools rely on the same leveling rubric, thus making it confusing for teachers. So this article takes leveling into its own hand. They develop a 10 step leveling system for beginning reading instruction, using 5 considerations:vocabulary, size and layout of print, predictability, illustration support, and complexity of concepts. A nice chart of each level, examples of what the levels contain in terms of the five factors, as well as an example of an anchor book are represented in the article. Leveling books is never going to be a one size fits all approach. A student can not decode a word that is not already in their vocabulary. And when a beginning reader is reading independently, the material should be at least two levels below the students instructional level. Leveling books is hard enough, but you must also know your students very well to know what type of books interest them and what level suites them best.

"The schools we have. The schools we need"
In this article Richard L. Allington elaborates on the image of public schools as portrayed by the media and the reality of the schools we have. In schools, we often confuse terms such as experience v. ability. When a disadvantaged child who has not been exposed to a print rich environment comes to school and performs at a lower level than a student who has been exposed to a variety of print, we mistake them as less able. When the real culprit is their lack of experience. We also think that we need to "slow things down" for these students. Again, we are misdirecting our instruction by labeling their intellectual ability as low. There is also to great of an emphasis on sorting students into groups based on ability. The lowest performing students also get taken out of the regular classroom to have one on one time with a paraprofessional. This can actually damage the student's development. This article argues that students need to remain in a print rich classroom. Instruction, not as much curriculum, attributes to student success. High quality instruction that models, demonstrates, and engages students is key. Students are also spending less time reading in school. Reading is the way to develop vocabulary. There is a lack of books in lots of schools and even schools that have lots of books lack in variety. Schools also place an importance on students ability to recite facts. This memorization is confused with comprehension. We must engage students in conversation about what they have read and been taught for them to actually understand how to apply it meaningfully. Allington proposes that schools open earlier, stay open later. Provide students with extra support and more experiences.

"Looking inside classrooms: Reflecting on the "how" as well as the "what" in effective reading instruction"
This article focuses on a study of techniques and strategies highly effective teachers use versus those with less effectiveness. The subject focused on promoting reading skills through student interaction, more small group instruction (as oppose to whole group instruction), higher level thinking and questioning, and a preference for coaching versus telling. It seems as if these techniques of highly successful teachers would be obvious, but too often it is ignored for low level thinking, rote memory, and telling as oppose to coaching the student to find the correct response. The way we all learn best is to do it ourself. When someone just hands you the answer, you are bound to forget what you have jut been told. Teachers also need to ask higher level thinking questions. This will help the students apply what they have read or been taught and get them thinking in a more complex manner. When you read aloud to students, take time to ask questions, also allow the students time to ask questions. Some teachers seem (and may feel) so rushed to hit all the points outlined in basal, that they ask the questions themselves and may even answer them before the students have time to respond. According to the findings of this study, it is more beneficial to the students, to slow things down. Give them an opportunity to ask questions and provide open ended questions to get them thinking for themselves.

These articles offer thoughtful strategies and techniques for being a successful teacher. I agree that we, as teachers, need to be more conscious to ask students higher level questions. Teachers face many pressures to cover a lot of material, thus they feel rushed. This can contribute to the lack of higher level thinking and taking time to make sure topics are fully understood. This is a sad reality, but one that we as teachers have to face. Finding a balance and compromise that best suites you and your students is the only way to make this work. It will not come easily. But I think it is a critical topic for discussion. We all want to have our students succeed that is why we are there everyday. We just need to take time to focus on the material that matters and strategies that we can implement to help foster student growth. Teachers also need to be weary of the misconceptions Allington addressed in his article. It is easy to judge a student based on performance, but we need to take a closer look at environmental factor that have played a role in shaping the students intellectual development. Also beware of too much labeling in student ability. When a student is labeled as too low achieving, they are taken out of the classroom and provided assistance from a paraprofessional. While this may help some students, it has the ability to keep the student further behind. The student needs to be immersed in a print rich classroom. The most normal instruction a student can have.