Chapter 8 Q.Q.I.

Quotes:

• "What is necessary in creating a productive and effective literacy curriculum is to consider that students need to be engaged in curriculum that is meaningful in their lives." (pg. 218)

This quote expresses an important over going theme in this book. Its constant presence is very reinforcing. The effectiveness of this is demonstrated in the opening vignette. Ms. Bell is able to engage her students in more active writing by allowing them to write about one of their favorite subjects.

• " In the early 1990's, researchers with a skills orientation noted that fluency was an important skill and that in order to determine fluent readers, timed reading tests were administered. Students who read fast on these test were touted as better readers than those who read more slowly or those who struggled to complete the test in the allotted time." (pg.227)

Fluency is an important skill to have. From what I have observed in classrooms, some students seem to think that fluency is strictly speed of reading. I've walked around a 5th grade classroom and I've heard students quickly reading through passages using limited to no expression. It sounds like words are pouring out of their mouths without any meaning. I think students should be reminded to focus more on being able to recognize words, reading clearly, naturally pace themselves and they should be allowing themselves to capture the meaning of what is being read.

Questions:

• On page 232, It is discussed how written expression deals with a lot of creativity with words to compensate for the use of gestures and tones used in verbal expression to convey an idea. ELL student's might find difficulty in reading when encountering interesting vocabulary that is being used to describe something. An ELL can easily be labeled as having a reading disability if this isn't looked at beyond the surface. I wonder how carefully are these diagnoses being monitored in the classroom? How often are these student's being assessed? Are student's being encouraged enough to have confidence in admitting that their not familiar with a word?
• On page 231, it is discussed how turning to easier books can raise confidence and performance in readers who are struggling with their fluency. How often should a teacher monitor a students progress? Should a teacher present the student with a variety of books that are gradually reaching their grade level?

Issue:

In pg. 242, Critical practices are discussed. It shares an example of students doing individual research on the president of the U.S. They are instructed to jot down questions and comments about the material. I felt that this isn't enough. It is great to have individual opinions and being able to write them down, but I also think that it is important to teach our students to engage in expressing their ideas. Students should be taught and encouraged to conduct discussions with their classmates. They can continue to use their journals as guides of issues that students would like to further discuss and learn more about with their classmates This will not only allow students to become more critically aware of the text but it will also give the text more meaning. Students should learn to challenge ideas at a young age. In my education, I don't recall being encouraged to challenge ideas until I started high school and college. Students should start thinking outside the box sooner than never.

Chapter 7- Begining Readers and Writers

I wonder...

• The teacher demonstrated to her students that literacy is a socially constructed event by exposing her students to real life examples of some of the details in the story. Walking her students to the grassy hill where the horses roam allowed at least one of her emerging students not only to make a connection but to actually express himself to his teacher. By allowing her students to read along with her has also allowed the students to socially connect to the story and the rhymes of the book.
• Ms. Simon promotes rhyming and repetitive patterns in the "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly story." She also has her students identify rhyming words by listening carefully and clapping when they hear a rhyme. Ms. Simon writes out the rhyme words that her students identify and hangs them in her hanging word chart. Posting these words allow students to have visual knowledge of what the word looks like. The students are also asked to go around the classroom to find more words that also rhyme with their list of rhyme son the word hanging chart. Allowing students to go out in their environment to look for more rhymes, adds more meaning to the task. Students are also encouraged to make up their own nonsense words that also follow the rhyme being focused on. Ms. Simon uses a variety of methods to help her students find meaning in her instruction. Students practiced their writing in their writing journals. They expressed themselves by drawing pictures and writing short phrases. Some used words from the word wall and drew pictures to support their text.
• When students explore a book that allows them to interact, the students automatically make a connection with it. Students help this book come to life when they help their teacher read it. The old lady who swallowed a fly story offers an ongoing pattern, some repetitive lines, and rhymes. Students are able to pick up on these things. Ms. Simon leads her students to truly explore this book. She teaches them an array of ways to seek meaning from the story. Allowing her students to identify the rhymes and seek out more rhymes around their classroom allows students to make more connections, work together with other students, and to review and create new meaning to words that they're surrounded with. Writing and sharing about the story will help develop their ability to write and draw and this will also demonstrate how words and illustrations can support one another.
• Books with predictable patterns support beginning readers by allowing them to predict what is coming and it allows them to interact/read along the with the teacher. Their being able to help their teacher read the book promotes the joy of reading. It is an encouraging way for students to become familiar with the reading process. These patterns and rhymes can also help readers figure out the context of the story. This can also help students figure out the meanings of words.
• When I was in the second grade, I remember reading a book named, Stone Soup. We read it in our reading group with our teacher. I recall reading through it and stopping at the word, chuckle. I wasn't familiar with that word. The teacher asked me if I know the word in a really silly way, I chuckled nervously and she told me, there! you just did it. You just chuckled. A couple of days later after exploring the book in detail we made our very own stone soup. We cooked it as a group and we all added stones in it and then we ate it. It's amazing how by incorporating a fun cooking activity and my teachers humorous way of asking me if I knew what the word chuckled meant lead to my vivid memory of an even that happened twenty years ago.

Further Reflection

• Code breaking strategies have dominated reading instruction because it teaches the very basic foundation blocks in reading. Making emerging readers become very comfortable and knowledgeable of the alphabetic letters along with the sounds that they produce is an excellent tool that students can use during instruction or even on their own exploring. Students also become aware of the different sound relationships between different letters.
• Ms. Simon used Language play and rhymes when she read, There was an old lady who swallowed a fly, I don't know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps, she'll die." Students were able to pick up the pattern and rhymes and joined her in telling the story. Students were also allowed to make up words that rhymed with /Fly/ and /Die/. Ms. Simon also used the word family method. She wrote out and hanged, the rhyming words from the story and hanged them in her hanging word chart.
• It is important to have a variety of reading text materials in the classroom to provide a diverse and multi level library for your classroom. Every classroom is made up of students with different interests and from different cultural backgrounds. It is important that you provide your students with a colorful array of literature that allows them to connect with previous knowledge and new literature to make new connections with. Such an environment can promote and encourage our students to become great readers.
• In my observations I've noticed a lot of code breaking. Students review their entire alphabet and they also go through all their phonemic sounds. There is also a lot of language play and rhymes. Students are really good at picking out rhymes in stories. When students are introduced to new words it is done so by phonemic blending. They also practice phonemic segmentation when they are trying to write out a word. I've also observed word families written out with the help of students phonemic segmentation.

Chapter 6- Entering into the Literacy Landscape:Emergent Readers and Writers

I wonder...

• Kadin's enriched exposure to many different reading experiences has lead him to gain literature awareness. Kadin knows how to handle a book. He is able to pick a book up and he knows how to open and properly hold a book.He knows to turn to the first page, ready left to right, and he also is aware of the relationship between the illustrations and the text. He uses the illustrations to help him bring meaning to the text . Kadin has picked up on the verbal patterns that go on in a story, like rhyming. He displays this while he's reading Hop on Pop. He also displays knowledge of voice inflection.When reading a book, he tracks the words with his fingers displaying that he is examining every word that he's coming across. His knowledge allows him to be comfortable in approaching a book. He knows how to open a book and thoroughly examine it and to say "The End" and close his book once he concludes the story. Kadin is a very bright boy who is showing great interest in reading. Being given opportunities such as attending story time at the library, being read to by his mother, helping his father read recipes, and watching his siblings do their homework and text their friends has shown Kadin the relevance and pleasure in reading.
• The textual features that help Kadin's reading process include: Repetition- in Bubble gum Bubble gum there is a repeatable refrain, :chewy-gooey icky-sticky mess," this also offers a rhythmic quality. This book goes through a series of animals that are illustrated allowing Kadin to identify the word that represents the animal. Illustrations in these stories also contribute to Kadin's understanding of the text. When Kadin saw a new animal in the bubble gum mess he knew to read the ."Chewy-gooey icky-sticky mess, " line. Rhythmic rhyming patterns also contribute to Kadins reading process. He demonstrates this while reading Hop on Pop. He reads the book in rhythm and makes sure the text he is reading corresponds to the text. The repetitiveness, rhythms, rhymes, and illustrations are all factors that draw Kadins attention and interest in books.
• Kadin is aware of the rhythmic relationship to the text along with the relationship with rhymes. He displays this when he read Hop on Pop by talking in rhythm when he is reading and also by repeating a common phrase that is presented in a story when an event keeps re-occurring, (animals falling in the bubblegum mess.) Kadin is aware of the relationship between the illustrations and the text. He displays this examining the illustrations to predict and understand what is happening in the text. He knows that when he comes to the last page of the book it is "The End," of the story.

Further Reflections...

• A preschool environment needs to be very visual for our early literate learners. I would Cover many of the walls with colorful pictures of letters and corresponding pictures that begin with that letter sound. It would also be nice to dedicate a space to an array of big colorful books for students to explore on their free time or during a book exploration designated time. I would make sure to bring in big books with inviting texts that include rhymes and rhythms. I would invite my students to interact with me while I'm reading a story with to them, once they become more familiar to the text. Having familiars rhymes on display in the classroom and referring to them and reading them out loud can also help our students literacy development. I would make sure to learn about my students culture and background so I can tie in some of their culture into the books and writing activities that I present to them. I find the language experience approach to be very benefiting to our students. This introduces them to a new medium of expression. It also allows them to create connections between their experiences, texts, cultures, and their illustrations. I would also like to set-up listening centers where students can follow along to a recording that reads a book to them.
• Principle #5 Literacy practices invite readers and writers to use their background knowledge and cultural understanding to make sense of text is aligned with theories of underlying emergent literacy. The theories discussed in chapter 6 included the importance of being aware of a students initial literacy experiences at home. Students may experience literacy by having their parent read to them or simply by attending a weekly service at a local church. They are constantly making connections to literacy and its function in the world. Being aware of a students background and culture can help one determine what kind of relevant materials one should bring. this can allow our students to have a more meaningful exposure and connection to the materials that are being presented. Principle #6 Literacy practices expand to include everyday texts and multi-modal texts. Our students are immersed to thousands of ads and prints at home and especially when out in the community. Children learn to make connections to some words and symbols that are so iconic in our society, Like The yellow arches from McDonald's and etc. The beginning of literacy and language development is through images and sounds. Students learn to operate and bring meaning to these symbols, graphics, and sounds as they become more aware of literacy.