Chapter 5- Literacy Programs and Approaches

I wonder...

• Ms. Binns discover how much more engaged her students are in reading when they are presented with an array of reading materials that cater to her students interests and knowledge. She accepts this approach to reading when she begins to observe her students reading, sharing, and analyzing of information excitedly form the books and magazines in the library. She saw the students creating their own purpose for reading, finding meaning form pictures and texts, and they demonstrated comprehension by sharing the information they had just read with their peers. This was a big change from the silent reading that went on, where the classroom was quiet and the students simply shuffled uninterestedly through books not really gaining any information from the book.
• Ms. Binns includes Teaching Reading guiding principle #1: Literacy practices are socially and culturally constructed. She does this by allowing her students to choose relative reading material that really interest and engages them. A diversity of material is presented that students respond and create valuable meaning with it. Ms. Binns is allowing her readers to create social connections and networks with the information and their classmates through their reading.
• Ms. Binns begins allowing her students interests to cross over into her curriculum. She is gaining more and more knowledge of her students interests and is using this information to create and implement more meaningful and diverse mediums of text. Her new approach is allowing her students to share and work together. This kind of environment has made her students more engaged in reading and learning. Literacy is becoming more and more meaningful to her students. This vignette is a wonderful portray of the importance of engaging students through their individual interests.

Further Readings...

• I've recently been exposed to LAUSD's Open Court Literacy Program. I had mostly heard mixed reviews about it in my classes here at CSUN. The questions I would address to a district level curriculum specialist would include: Do you think the topics of the reading material is relative to our diverse student population? Are there alternative approaches to presenting materials for students who are struggling in grasping the concepts? Are there any bilingual alternatives or options for our ELL students? Are currently developing literature that brings more social and cultural awareness to our students?

In my observation I've noticed that not all students are learning at the same rate. Some of the students can go up to the teachers book and identify and read out loud vocabulary words they're familiar with while others can only identify a period. What happens to the kids that are falling behind?

• The reader/writer workshop model sounds like an exciting way to approach reading and writing. I like how there is designated time for many activities involved with the story the students are reading and/or writing. I find that this approach might be exceptinal for some students but I worry about the number of students with learning dissability. I worry that they might become a bit overwhelmed with the process. More consistant guidance is recquired of some of our students. How would one accomodate the process for those students? Perhaps designing an individual schedule with that student can help the individuals mange their time and assignments. I like that every student has a designated conference time with a the teacher. This allows a teacher to evaluate how each individual student is performing. I've actually seen and example of this model in a video in one of my previous classes. It worked very well in that classroom. But, not every classroom is going to be a replica of another. Every classroom calls for unique methods that better serve their students.

Chapter 4- Theories of Literacy Development

I wonder...

• Ms. Yang Herr feels the need to have theories present in her practice to help her envision a classroom where her students fully value their experiences and are able to powerfully connect them to new concepts in the most meaningful and benefiting possible way. Ms. Yang Herr also takes some of these theories and facilitates them and uses them in a way that is more effective for her and her students. It is important to analyze and explore the different theories of what good teaching is and to take what we find most benefiting and apply to our classrooms.
• I've encountered some theory in my Teaching education. I think it is very important to explore the many different findings theorist have made in education. I think it is very beneficial to be aware of the base of the many teaching methods we see today. Studies on education are still being developed. We do it ourselves in our own classrooms. Exposing ourselves to these theories is a form of collaboration. One can read through many findings and pick and choose what theories best work for you and your students. When I would find out a new interest of a student I would usually make of note of it and try to incorporate it the skill matter being presented. For example, I had a student that was pretty verbal but didn't care much to use her verbal language to communicate. She would instead whine or cry. This student was also pretty obsessed with food. During lunch I would work on communication skills with her. I would have her request for each item of her lunch before she could eat it. I then began a communication circle where all students would sit at their desks and practice asking for whatever food snack was being passed out. The students that weren't verbal used PEC's and/or sign language. This helped my student begin being more expressive when in came to her wants.
• I'm familiar with Jean Piaget's very interesting theory of the many stages of development a child goes through. This illustrated a child's genetic epistemology. I'm also familiar with Vygotsky's theories behind the impact of cultural and social factors has a developing children. One of my favorite theorist is Howard Gardner and his theory about multiple intelligences. Gardner argues that all children learn in different ways. He has presented seven different categories that include: Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Music, Kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, and visual and spacial. It is important to keep all these things in mind when coming up with a lesson plan. All of our students learn differently. It is an easy thing to forget. It is important to let our students be aware of this fact and allow them to discover what kind of learners they are.

Further Thoughts:

• Before reading this chapter I thought teaching reading was only limited to teaching students' letters, phonics, spelling, word building, sentence structure and comprehension through writ ting samples, basal worksheets, district selected books and other mandated supplies. There are way many more factors one has to take into consideration just in a building a unit to teach these things.
• I learned the importance in introducing material to our students that actually interest them. We want to introduce them to a new world of reading and not introduce them to other task that is expected of them in order to pass the standardized tests. Reading is the key to knowledge. When I was in elementary school I was occasionally given a choice of what book I wanted to read. I always and still to this day continue to love visiting the library. I've learned that it takes a lot in preparation in trying to tie in children's subjects of interest into the subject matter. I think all the effort one makes in creating their students driven program is very well worth it.
• All theories I've read about in this chapter are great. In an ideal world I think the use of all of them would be most beneficial to our students. I would probably begin the school year using the bottom-up theory and skills approach. I would do it this way to get a clear picture of where my students skills were at. It would be a form of assessment. Once I gathered that information I would move on to the Top-Down theory and whole language model. This would allow me to meet with students individually needs and their interests. It would also allow them to be a little more creative in their expression. Later on I would introduce the Transactional theory and reader response. Once students have built their repertoire of books they can begin comparing and analyzing books. They can also begin exploring different interpretations of the book. I would lastly but not least introduce the critical theory and four resource models. I would begin having my students relating their readings to outside the school, out in our society. This will allow our students to build more connections with their readings. They will now be able to apply them to their everyday lives.

Chapter 3- Getting to Know Students:Developing Culturally Relevant Practices for Reading and Writing

I wonder...

• Ms. Garrity demonstrates the value and importance of different languages in many different ways. In her classroom, she makes sure to acknowledge foreign languages. By reading "Gathering the Sun", she introduces English and Spanish words to her students, which are mostly English Speaking. Creating a bilingual environment in a classroom can be very beneficial for both students who know the language and also students who don't know the language. Non-English speakers become more comfortable in their classroom and begin picking up meanings of words. The rest of the students are exposed to a new world that can also help facilitate their interaction with their English learning peers. I think Miss Garrity did an excellent job bringing in books of Mexican culture to the classroom. This allowed Angie to feel more comfortable and accepting of her cultural background.


• Miss Garrity's experience's illustrate the positive impact multi-cultural literature can have on students. Angie was resistant in acknowledging her culture due to her uniqueness in the classroom. She was just trying hard to blend in with the rest of the students. It wasn't until Ms. Garrity began introducing Mexican culture to the entire class, simply by incorporating Mexican themes in story telling and writing, that Angie began to open up and share some of her personal representations of her culture. It just shows how important it is to encourage our students to be proud and aware of their culture by offering themes that are representative and relative to our students and their lives.


• Ms. Garrity decision in meeting with Angie's mom was very beneficial in helping Angie's acceptance of her culture. After talking to the mother, Miss Garrity became more aware of what Angie's home life and culture was like. She used the information she learned from Angie's mother and applied it in the classroom. Ms. Garrity shared her pictures and stories of her visits to Mexico with Bianca. This gesture created a personal connection between the teacher and the student.

Further Reflection...

• Culturally relevant pedagogy is making literary instruction more meaningful to students. Multi-cultural literature is being introduced to children allowing them to open their mind to new cultures and their own cultures. This also allows teachers to research and discover more about who their students are. Gathering this information can help teachers develop curriculum that is more relevant and applicable to their students. This can make instruction more impacting to their students.
• One can better get to know their students through observation. Observing your students while they're working alone or in group, or when they're playing outside. Taking a closer look at their working and social habits. Distributing surveys to the students and/or the parents can help one cultures and traditions or students can be asked to interview a parent or grandparent to learn more about their own culture. When I was in the 3rd grade we had an assignment where we were paired up with a partner and we interviewed each other and then created a book about our partner that included all the new information that we learned about them. I found that to be a fun informative activity that I would probably apply to my own classroom. I also recall doing Family tree projects. In my fourth grade class we each had to create an all about me board that we presented in front of our class.

Chapter 2 Oral language Learning in and out of the Classroom

I Wonder...

The students in our classrooms are all diverse individuals. They all bring different enrichment to the classroom. This was illustrated for us in the opening vignette. Angie enriched her classroom with her culture through her language and music. I really respected the way the teacher in this vignette decided to deal with Angie. Angie was simply bringing a little bit of home with her to school. She's only in kindergarten and is only beginning to explore and learn language. She is also being exposed to many different peoples and languages. I agree that one should correct a student like Angie once or twice and then allow them to decide for themselves what standard English is to them and whether or not they will par take in it.
Ms. Adams accepts Angie's Vernacular English because she is using it while acquiring new knowledge. Her language is helping her find meaning in the material that are being presented to her. She is displaying a special gift that she has that allows her to express and retain new knowledge.
Teachers can learn more about their students literacy practices by handing out surveys on what kinds of subjects their students like to read among other interests. I would even suggest having students bringing a favorite book or picture to share in the classroom. Observing students during their recess time might be helpful. Finding out what kind of games they are playing and what kind of play songs they're singing can also be helpful. Being knowledgeable of such things can help one build lessons that are more appealing and relating to the students. Making students more engaged in learning.
Further Reflection
I want to have a classroom that is welcoming to all students. I will welcome linguistic variation into the classroom and have every students share it with one another. This will allow students to become more culturally aware and also culturally accepting. I feel very grateful for having the opportunity of going to a school in a very diverse setting. My friends are a diverse bunch and we have always shared some of culture with one another.
Cambourne's conditions present the idea that learning how to read and write is very similar to the way that we learn to speak orally. Oral language, reading, and writing is all connected. Students learn to orally express themselves and later make connections to literature when they begin being exposed to it. This becomes more prevalent when they enter a classroom. They see writing, Reading, and speaking modeled all day by their teachers and peers.
The teacher in the beginning vignette became aware of the importance of allowing students to express themselves. Self expression helps define our individuality. It is very important to promote and encourage self expression through different mediums. We read about Angie's gift of self expression through music. She demonstrated that she understood the the material she was working on and she also represented the information she had just learned in a unique way.
Posted by Nercy

I'm trying to find out who this blog belongs to? :)

Examining Literacy in the 21st Century

Chapter 1

I wonder...

I once observed a classroom where a teacher was conducting a reading group. She first had her students go through the vocabulary words form the book. Then the teacher read the book to her group of students. Then the students took turns reading a page form the book. Then finally the teacher picked a student to sit at the teachers chair and had them read the story to the rest of their classmates. Many of the students were engaged throughout this whole process. I did notice one of the students having a hard time reading when it was his turn to read aloud. He also seemed extremely nervous when the teacher was deciding on who to pick to group and read the entire book to their classmates. I was reminded of this students when I read about Robert.

Being asked to read aloud can be pretty stressful for students. I recall how nerve wrecking it was for me when I was in grade school. If we were taking turns reading pages while sitting in a circle I would figure out what page I would be ask to read and go directly to that page and mentally skim through it to make sure I would be able to read all the words on that page. This can be distracting. I've been in classrooms where teachers have a can with a Popsicle sticks for every student. They use these sticks to call on students to read or respond to a question. Students were very attentive. If a student didn't know the answer to a question they were allowed to consult with whoever they were sitting next to.



Both classrooms displyed a "one size fits all model." It seemed that their methods of reading instruction was pretty standardized and in some cases lacked differetnt mediums for expressive opportunities for students. Studnets need to be given a diverse variety of literaturenot only in subjectsand themes but also in different mediums.



I understand that there are models, scripts and materials that have beeen enforced to be put in use when teaching reading but we should try to stretch it out a bit more. This can be done by bringing outside materials such as magazines, newspaper articles, exploring the internet, exploring song lyrics, poems, short stories, and etc. These different mediums can bring further understanding of introduced concepts.

Further Reflection

I'm beginning to see a little more cultural diverse themed literature in classrooms. This is a big step from when I was in school. I've been in classrooms where computers are used by students to complete assignments. We are slowly starting to welcome new technology in to our classrooms. Classrooms and Educators are lacking the proper tools to fully incorporate guiding principles due to constant budget cuts. I think the effort is definitely being made out there by teachers but they are often not fully supported. I hope this changes soon.

Incorporating the guiding principles into industrial modeled classrooms may be a bit challenging due to its focus on standardization. To me, it sometimes seems that this kind of model is not allowing students to really grasp the meaning of the subject and connect to it but rather only learning how to come up with an answer and immediately bubble it in their answer sheets. We need to guide are students in becoming free thinkers, in being expressive in many different ways through: music, art, literature, drama, and etc and not only how to take exams.

-Nercy A.