In the chapter we start reading about the different
types of approaches to children’s literature. I find this to be quite
interesting considering when I was first learning how to read I felt there was
only one way to actually learn. I know my school focused more on phonics of the
words, but after reading this I can see other ways I was taught. I didn’t know
that there was such thing as Emergent Literacy. We all have read focuses on the
child learning from a very young age (pre-kindergarten to kindergarten) to
start writing, speaking, and illustrating images that they make up. They also
start exposing students to books earlier. When I first started learning how to
read in kindergarten, my teacher would always read to us as a class. The
stories she had and the stories I was read at home all had pictures that really
helped me focus on what the words actually meant. I think that because of those
photos I would focus and be able to gain the clues of what the word was. I also
see how Constructivism and Whole-Language is very important if Emergent
Literacy is not quite helping the student. While Emergent Lit and
Whole-Language are very similar, Whole-Language focuses on children that use
other means of learning. Like focusing on pictures in stories this type of approach
is based off of actual life experiences. This helps the student actually be
fully engaged in what they are reading. I know this works well because whenever
I had the chance I would always read a story that interested me. I would seem
to almost read it in half the time. If that doesn’t help the student learn how
to read then the teacher could always use the Explicit Instruction and Phonics
approach. I think that many of us can remember sounding out the words when we
first started reading. We were all taught what certain letters sounded like
together and by themselves. This of course helps the students learn how to not
only recognize what the word sounds like, but also learn how to spell words
much more easily when they are orally given. This could lead to spelling tests
and other things of that nature that help both the child read with basic words,
but also help them focus on how the words sound.
All of these approaches can be very
important to a child’s grasping of the concept Literacy. My question, however,
is very simple, why is it we have these different ways to teach how to read,
but we as a country have one of the largest illiterate population? How are we
as future teachers planning on going the extra step to make sure our students
grasp literacy with these concepts, or are we going to stick to one concept for
all of our students? Are we going to hold ourselves accountable to make sure
all of our students are learning in the way that is easiest for them?
Thank
you.
You have a good point. Why is it that we have all these different ways to teach how to read, but we as a country have one of the largest illiterate population? Unfortunately I cannot answer this question, but I would also like to know the answer! Children's literature is the main source of reading material for instruction and classrooms are filled with literacy materials and literacy center. But as educators do we allow the students to experiment with these materials and centers? If so, are the limited to how long they are able to use the centers or materials? As a country we are always focused on standardized testing and getting the information into our students brains, but do we ever stop to think that by allowing students some time to learn individually rather than teaching lessons may benefit the child's learning . Looking back at my elementary school days my school did focus a lot on the sounds that make up words - phonics. By integrating phonics and whole-language classrooms, I think that teachers are able to combine lessons and focus of some letters and sounds in the initial consonants found in the vocabulary of the particular lesson or theme during that time.
ReplyDeleteZach, I really enjoyed reading your post. Your last paragraph poses some very important questions! To be honest, I don't know the answer to all of them. To your question about why America has so many reading strategies but is so illiterate, I THINK I know the answer. This isn't based off of research, so this could make for a great class discussion. If I had to guess, these teaching techniques that are used during reading were probably created more recently. In the past, teaching wasn't what it is today. The resources we have are much more valuable and utilized more often today. So if I had to guess these adults who are struggling readers weren't taught with these effective techniques. I think that since we do focus so much on standardized testing, "catching" students who are behind grade level has become easier. I don't think it's the best way to do it, but it does give me some hope that maybe things will improve in the future. Zach, you talked about how your teacher would read the book and you would look at the pictures to make logical sense of the words. This reminded me of when I was a little girl. My mom used to read to me before bedtime. The next day, I would always take the book that she read to me and try to retell the story to my "students." (I was big into playing school!) I would pretend to read using the pictures to guide my story-telling. Looking back on that now, I realize I was slowly an emergent literacy learner. It's fun to connect my new knowledge to things I did when I was a kid!
ReplyDeleteI think that you have a very good point! Why do we have so many reading strategies, but yet we are still so illiterate? This is something that is very important that we all need to think about. Reflecting on my personal experiences observing in a classroom, I feel that books play such a big roll of what you're doing in the classroom. The theme of the week would depend a lot on what the book was that the students were reading that week. One thing that I remember the students struggling with when learning how to read was that the teacher would switch the style of learning weekly so that she would get to teach using the different strategies that various students would learn best by. This was tough for the students to follow since it would constantly be changing, and I feel that this is one of the down falls to having so many different reading strategies. I think that this would make for a good discussion topic in class. Do you vary the reading strategies that you teach so that you can adapt to the way your students learn best, but what if students then struggle when being taught other reading strategies that they are good with?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post Zach! At first I was confused about your claim that we as Americans have one of the most illiterate populations. Surely, we have a more literate population than many of the underdeveloped third world countries of the world. I did some research and discovered that of the MODERNIZED nations, like you said, sadly we have one of the most illiterate populations. According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy conducted in 2003, 1/5 of American adults read below a 5th grade level with 14 percent of adults not knowing how to read at all. Shockingly, these statistics have not changed in 10 years and are the same for today. Just let that sink in. 1 in 5 American adults reads below a 5th grade level! As to your question on why we have one of the most illiterate populations I do not hold the definitive answer but I do have a few suggestions as to what we can do as teachers. We as future elementary school teachers hold the key to changing these shocking statistics. We must, I repeat, we MUST foster a curiosity for reading in our students’ minds. To do so, I am a firm advocate of the balanced comprehensive approach. First as teachers we should directly instruct our students about phonics and include visual images to help clarify what the words represent. After our students have a basic understanding of many common words, we must foster their curiosity for reading by allowing them to individually explore different books that intrigue them. Allowing for “reading time” is an essential component to any school day for me. I also am a strong believer in “role playing” for many of the younger grades. Physically acting out a story fosters a curiosity of reading for those students who are having difficulty learning how to read and helps encourage them not to be discouraged but to enjoy the process.
ReplyDelete