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.