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Reading Exploration #7

January 30th  – Tompkins  

Tompkins

Tompkins, Chapter 1, “Becoming and Effective Literacy Teacher”  

Big Idea:

To support our students, we should use a balanced literacy approach as well as differentiating instruction for our students and having student centered learning in our instruction.

Nugget:

I thought it was interesting to review the balanced approach. I think it is cool that even within that approach we can provide differentiation for our students.

Readerly Exploration:

After you read, create a work of art that represents/symbolizes your personal response to the readings.

I created a very simple drawing of how I feel about all these components of literacy instruction. From differentiation to balanced literacy to student centered to authentic texts to many more aspects. It is all connected and supports each other. I think by making this visual shows what I think about it. Different concepts can even be done within other ideas. For example, within the balanced approach you could have independent writing. But also, within that you can provide different levels of differentiation depending on the students’ needs. I think by creating this image, it made me think about the approaches we use when planning for literacy instruction. We have to think about what we are presenting to the students and what is the best way for them to comprehend it. We have to be strategic about our approaches to make it most effective and meaningful for our students. Although the picture is simple, the components within literacy instruction are not. They are all connected to best support our students.

Multimedia Documentation: Here is the picture I made.

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #6

March 20th – Manyak  

Manyak

“Four Principles for Enhancing Vocabulary Instruction”  

Big Idea:

When creating instruction for vocabulary it is important teachers keep these key ideas in mind while developing activities for students (routines, deep processing, target words, anchor experiences, universal participation).  

Nugget:

Something that stood out to me was the author provided options to support vocabulary instruction. One of the things I thought was cool was choosing a character trait and writing about it to describe it. I think it is a good idea to have them create it in their own words and their own understanding of it.  

Readerly Exploration:

Learn something about the author of the assigned course reading(s) and use that to draw conclusions about the motivation behind the reading or the credibility/quality of the writing.

I started off by googling who this guy was. I wanted to know why he was a credible source to write this article and why he was interested in it.

                I found out he was a former bilingual elementary school teacher. He also works as a faculty member in literacy education at Wyoming University.  He teaches classes in literacy instruction, coordinates the undergraduate Elementary Education and graduate Literacy Endorsement and Master’s degree programs and conducts research on many aspects of elementary literacy instruction. After doing this he went to teach in a 5th grade classroom in a title 1 school that had 60% ELS. This makes sense because he was suing what he did research on to apply it in the classroom. He will continue to do research from a teacher’s perspective. This helps me because I know he is a credible source and his background. Knowing his background and how involved he was with Els and bilingual instruction makes more sense to me why we would be interested in vocabulary. I think it had a connection that people without that experience can’t make. I also like that he has not only done extensive research, but he is attempting to apply it in a classroom and see how it works every day. I think this is a good thing to do. As a future teacher, I would like to be able to do the same, apply the practices I learn about not just know about them.

Multimedia Documentation: Here is a picture of the online research I found on him.

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #5

April 12th – Park

Park

“A Different Kind of Reading Instruction: Using Visualizing to Bridge Reading Comprehension and Critical Literacy”

Big Idea:

Critical literacy is an important skill for our students to be able to use, this includes talking back to the text and being able to verify if the source is credible and how to use it to learn more about the world.

Nugget:

I did not realize this could be something as simple as having a book club. It does not have to be explicit instruction.  

Readerly Exploration:

For this one I chose, “After you read, document your initial response to what you’ve read. Consider how the ideas you read about made you feel and what they made you think about.”

After reading this through once I was kind of confused. It did not make sense to me what talking back to the text meant. I kind of moved on from that concept since the other things made sense. It made sense to me for our students to be able to visualize the texts. After seeing the other ideas in the text like how critical literacy is understanding the text and characters as well as questioning the credibility of the text. All these other ideas helped me get a better idea of what talking to the text looks like. This helped me to think about it because I now have a better understanding of critical literacy. The students should not only be reading and comprehending but questioning what they are reading. They should be challenging the ideas they are interacting with and allowing that to better define their own personal views. I think by taking even just a few notes it allowed me to go back and reflect on what I understood. It allowed me to make connections between the ideas I did understand and the ones I was a bit confused on.

Multimedia Documentation

 Here are some of the notes I had right after reading.

-talk to the text??? -visualize texts

-getting a full picture of characters and understanding them

-better defining views by questioning sources

-can be done simple ways -book clubs

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #4

April 3rd – Tompkins & Shanahan and Shanahan

Tompkins

Tompkins, Chapter 12, “Reading and Writing Across Curriculum”

Big Idea:

Writing impacts the way we read, and reading impacts the way we write, this allows students to gain a better understanding of the texts they are interacting with.

Nugget:

This idea that reading and writing are interdependent did not make much sense to me until I had more experience with the Zine project. Once you must write a specific text or genre it really makes you stop and think about what is included in that text. When I go to read that same text, I think it makes me more aware of what the author does within that genre to support comprehension.

Shanahan & Shanahan

“Does Disciplinary Literacy Have a Place in Elementary School?”

Big Idea:

Literacy should be taught across disciplines, for example, including history texts or science articles since it gives our students the tools, they need to comprehend that text as they move towards middle school.

Nugget:

I like that this can easily be done in literacy. When we include these different disciplines in our literacy instruction, they can still accomplish the goal or standard we want, but it also exposes them to new texts they will be interacting with in the higher grade levels (middle and high school).

Readerly Exploration:

For this readerly exploration I chose to share with a family member to get his or her insight and perspective on it.

I talked to my dad about disciplinary literacy and his personal experience with it. His experience with the disciplines was strictly textbooks. He said they got a textbook in every subject and the only other things they used were workbooks. He said that he always reads everything on the page but wouldn’t always understand the text features. He was not given any instruction on how to read things like captions or graphs. My dad said that was something he figured out on his own. He said he thinks it would be most helpful for the teacher who is teaching that discipline to show the students how to read those types of texts.

I think this has helped me think about disciplinary literacy more because I do not think I realized that no one was really taught how to read different features in different disciplinary texts. This skill can be introduced into elementary school. A common view is they will figure it out on their own or they will be introduced to it when they are older. Instead, we can set our students up for success in the intermediate grades by introducing how to interact with these texts in elementary school. Like my dad, most people just had to figure these things out as the grades demanded comprehension with those texts. I think another beneficial aspect of disciplinary literacy is using authentic texts. My dad only ever used textbooks or workbooks. I think we should be incorporating much more authentic texts for our students. This supports their motivation and provides support when they encounter these things in their own lives.

Multimedia Documentation: Here is a picture of me talking to my dad.

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #3

February 27th – Gill

Tompkins

Tompkins, Chapter 8, “Promoting Comprehension: Reader Factors”

Big Idea:

During all the stages of reading, reader factors, text factors, and the situation in how a text is used all have an impact on comprehension.

Nugget:

It was interesting to me to see the different ways we can support comprehension within the different stages of reading. They are a lot more closely linked than I originally had thought. As for the situation aspect of comprehension, this is not something I thought of before, but it makes a lot of sense and I feel like is often overlooked.

Readerly Exploration:

                For this experience I chose to take a field trip to a place off campus that connects with the big ideas of the reading. I figured this one was fitting to do since I was home over the weekend. I decided to go to my family room. This is where oftentimes where I read books. When my niece, Bella, comes over she often asks to read books. There are a few specific ones she always requests. Some of her favorites are “5 Ugly Monsters” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “To Make.” Something that stood out to me in the reading was how the context of the text can support comprehension. So, I decided to add that lens to what I read with my niece.

                The context and purpose of reading can oftentimes be viewed as just for the knowledge you obtain from the text. There is more than one purpose for reading texts, and the reader having an understanding of that helps their comprehension. For example, when I am reading with Bella the purpose is reading for enjoyment. For this purpose, she is only focused on the things that she likes about the book. She is not thinking about everything she would have to compared to if she had to read the book for character development, main idea, etc. While she may still pick up on these details, she is not looking for any specific information. This is another reason why it is important that when we are using texts with our students, that we properly acknowledge the purpose of the text. Without this support students can still comprehend the text, just as Bella can comprehend the text used for enjoyment, but we can put the student’s focus on what we want them to “get out of” the text.

                I think looking at it through the lens of my niece was helpful because it demonstrated to me how we would approach using texts depending on their purpose. For example, we may introduce a text differently. Clearly setting the purpose for reading a text is incredibly helpful in a reader’s comprehension. I think it helped me get a better idea of the importance of the context of a text and identifying the purpose of using the text.

Multimedia Documentation:

Here is a picture of Bella reading a book with me.

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #2

February 20th – Tompkins

Tompkins

Tompkins, Chapter 9, “Promoting Comprehension: Text Factors”

Big Idea:

Our students’ comprehension will be better supported if they have an understanding of the text features by identifying genres and structures as well as the themes or big idea of a text.

Nugget:

There are so many genres even withing genres. For example, within Folklore there are still fables, folktales, myths, and legends. That is confusing to me because I view them all as basically the same, but seeing the description of each side by side is helpful to differentiate them.

Readerly Exploration:

For this experience I chose to explore relationships with other people through reading by using texts as a shared experience. I did this by discussing the content with another person in the class to get their insight on it. For this week I chose to talk to Maddy. We started off talking about our own experiences. We both remember being drilled with plot mountain. I did not think this was helpful to me when I was in school, but Maddy said it helped her understand the structure. She specifically remembers being taught about climax. Maddy said she used to have to identify the climax of the story and explain why she thought it was the climax. She said this was beneficial in supporting her comprehension of the text. We then were talking about text features. I remember learning about these, but I feel like it was mostly memorizing what they looked like. I think it could have been better applied in school if they had changed the contexts and applied them. Maddy did not remember every learning about them. I mean always just skipped over things like the author’s note or anything else in the beginning of the book. I never thought they were of any importance. When learning about genres Maddy recalled using her literature textbook. It was split into different genres. She did wish she could have chosen her own books within those genres. Maddy mentioned the teacher even making a comment about the story and how it is going to be long and boring. I think if she could have picked her own books, that would have been way more authentic and motivating.

Overall, I think this was beneficial to talk to Maddy about. It is always interesting to see the different experiences in school. Before talking to Maddy I assumed that it was my fault I did not allow these text factors to help me. I always felt like they were more of memorizing things instead of applying them to texts I am reading. After talking to Maddy I do not believe it was my fault, rather the way it was taught. I think by reflecting on past learning experiences we can improve the way we motivate our students to learn about text factors. As we see in the reading, if we are successful in motivating them, it will help their overall comprehension with the text.

Multimedia Documentation:

Here is a picture of Maddy and I talking.

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #1

February 13th – Tompkins

Tompkins

Tompkins, Chapter 8, “Promoting Comprehension: Reader Factors”

Big Idea:

It is an important skill for our learners to be able to support comprehension through applying knowledge of text factors as well as supporting the reader factors and their own characteristics.

Nugget:

I did not realize how in-depth background knowledge goes. I knew that it was important but after reading about it in the context of supporting comprehension, it seems way more important than it initially seemed. It’s cool to see the impact of something so small. Plus, it doesn’t even take that much time to do with our students.

Readerly Exploration:

For this experience I chose to take a field trip to a place on campus that connects with the big ideas of the reading.

                I decided to go to the basement in Hostetter. I know that seems like a random place, but it is a place of many different Biblical gatherings. For example, sometimes they have Bible studies down here and personally I go to altar down here. Basically, it is just a time of worship and prayer. This is the perfect space to gather with all sorts of people I normally do not run into. So how the heck does this relate to the chapter? The way I see worshipping and praying with other people is how it does. When you gather with all sorts of people, they all have their own ideas, knowledge, perspectives, and talents. For example, some people are amazing at leading worship, others are good at listening, some people love praying with others. But everyone has their own thing to bring to the table. I kinda see students the same way. They all have their own experiences and bring something different to add.

                I think this was beneficial to think about it this way because background knowledge plays a huge role in supporting comprehension.  We need to think about the students we have and consider what they do and what they might not know. We as teachers should set them up for a better understanding before they even start reading the text. It could even be a simple activity or a short activity. But as we think about our students, we need to think about their perspective. This is also why it is important to really create that relationship with our students and learn about their culture or family to get a better understanding of the child. Because we can use their experiences to better support their comprehension.

Multimedia Documentation:

Here is a picture of me in Hostetter!

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #7

December 28 - Katherine Wolf (to replace the last article taken down)

Katherine Wolf

Undivided Through Forgiveness

Big Idea:

We shouldn’t be coddling our kids and telling them everything is okay all the time, because sometimes we need to accept that it is not okay, and we can trust in God and have faith He loves us and cares for us.

Nugget:

Something that stuck with me was her perspective on wheelchairs. She explained how everyone has a wheelchair, just some have invisible wheelchairs. I like how she emphasized seeing our story in her story even though the details are different.

Readerly Exploration:

For this experience I chose to view the reading through a particular lens (faith, socioeconomic, disability studies, feminist, environmental, critical race theory, etc.) to consider the implications of the reading for a specific audience.

If we look at this through a faith lens it is encouraging for us. Although nothing is perfect and everyone will have their own struggles, through God we can have peace and hope. I think this is an extremely important aspect because otherwise we just have the view that everything and the world sucks. We have hope and something to depend on when we have faith in God and that He wants to give us good things and truly wants what is best for us. I almost feel like there is no other way to look at her message than through faith. It has such a huge impact on how we view our daily lives and our struggles. So I think focusing on that lens really helps show the truth in what Katherine says in her presentation. Even throughout her presentation she reminded us that God is for us. I also think it was nice she included Biblical references to what she said. For example, she told is it is important to cherish the treasure in the hard times and references Isaiah 45:3. I think this is extremely helpful when diving deeper into the reflection because we have something to go back to.  Overall, I really liked how she put the focus on God and relying on Him. Because in the end He is the one who will get us through the hard times and situations. It truly does give hope to us as well as our students. I know there are points I can look back on in my life where I really depended on God daily to get me through every little thing. Even just praying and saying God give me the strength to get through these next two hours. I think this is an extremely important concept that gives us hope.

Multimedia Documentation:

Here is a picture of me looking back on my notes to reflect on it through a lens of faith and also eating nachos :).

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #6

November 14- Applegate & Rasinski

Applegate

“She’s My Best Reader; She Just Can’t Comprehend”: Studying the Relationship Between Fluency and Comprehension

Big Idea:

As teachers, when we judge fluency we should focus on growing our students comprehension skills because that is what fluent reader should be expected to perform well in with texts at their grade level.

Nugget:

“The most obvious and disturbing element of these findings is that there may be a considerable number of teachers who are judging the reading proficiency of their students based solely on speed, accuracy, and prosody, divorced from thoughtful comprehension.”

Rasinski

Why Reading Fluency Should Be Hot

Big Idea:

Fluency and comprehension are linked so to judge a fluent reader we should not worry about just the speed we read, rather incorporate the speed we can read with still being able to comprehend and retain the meaning of the text.

Nugget:

“Actors, singers, poetry readers, and other performers have a natural reason to rehearse or engage in repeated readings—the performance itself. They wish to convey meaning with their voice. Thus, in classrooms, when reading can be cast is such a way that the text will eventually be performed, readers will have an authentic reason to engage in repeated readings.”

 

Readerly Exploration:

After you read, document your initial response to what you’ve read. Consider how the ideas you read about made you feel and what they made you think about.

Once I finished both articles, my initial response was “Huh that makes a lot of sense.” It made me think about when I was in elementary school and everyone’s goal was always to read super super fast and finish first. This was not a goal expected or set by the teacher, but it was more of a goal based off our peers. I remember in elementary school when we would all be reading the same texts silently and I would try to read so fast, so I wasn’t one of the last people reading. I remember finishing the reading and even thinking to myself “Wow I did not remember anything I just read.” This makes me think why I even wanted to be the first one done, I just sat there while other people were still reading, and I was bored plus I understood nothing. So there really is no benefit, but students often want to be the first ones done. Even in my placement I have seen students reading the same text and they make a race out of it and make comments of the order people finished in. I wonder what the best way is to show them they will not understand it if they are just reading for speed. It makes me think that you could even model this by speeding through a book, then going back and reading it at a reasonable pace. I think this could possibly help with the “competition” between students. I think it would help in the same way that we learned about effective read alouds in class. I think this was beneficial for me to reflect about it because it allowed me to make real life connections with the text I read on the topic. I never necessarily thought of this as a problem with reading comprehension before, but even in my own experience I can see this. I just thought it was me trying to be competitive, but as I look deeper, I find multiple examples even in placement now. Reflecting in this way gave me a different perspective I did not have while reading the articles and even how I could apply these ideas in my future classroom.

 

Multimedia Documentation:

Here is the proof of the notes I too after reading.

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #5

September 7- Silverman & Crandell and Williams

Silverman & Crandell  

Vocabulary Practices in Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Classroom

Big Idea:

To implement spelling instruction in a classroom, it should be taught not for the students to use memorization but for the students to have a deeper understanding by using things such as word study and applying words in new contexts.

Nugget:

“Although children learn many words from hearing them in context, it is important for children to be taught the meaning of words explicitly.”

Williams

Word Study Instruction in the K-2 Classroom

Big Idea:

Word study supports literacy development by moving our instruction away from the students focusing on memorizing the words, and allows it to be student centered, and allows students to use hands on work to explore the layers in English orthography.

Nugget:

“Before you can craft a systematic word study program, you must determine what your students know about the alphabetic, pattern, and meaning of layers of the orthography.”

Readerly Exploration:

Before you read skim, the assigned course reading for unfamiliar terms. The, take the time to look up the definitions of those terms.

Orthography: the conventional spelling system of a language

Derivation: the obtaining or developing of something from a source or origin

Myriad: a countless or extremely great number

I think this was beneficial because I often just skip over words I do not know. If I can understand them in context great, but if not, I just skip over it. In the past I have stopped every time to look up words that I cannot understand just by the context and that is extremely irritating to me. I feel like I should already know what it means, and I do not like stopping to look it up because then I forget what I was reading. Doing this activity was helpful and allowed me to have a deeper understanding of the reading. It allowed me to already have those words in my head and know what they mean before I get to them. This kept reading it fluid and more motivating. When I am reading and if there are too many words I do not understand and must look them up I get discouraged and do not comprehend any of what I am reading. So, by doing this beforehand it allowed me to focus on the content. I think skimming it without trying to understand the content is helpful because I do not have to comprehend any of it, I am just looking for words I do not know. Overall, I like this process and I think I would use it again, especially with academic texts. (Also Orthographic was a good word to know because of how often it came up)

Multimedia Documentation:

Here is a picture of me looking up the definitions.

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #4

October 31- Hanford & Lloyd

Hanford

Hard Words: Why aren’t kids taught to read?

Big Idea:

The foundation of a students literacy is crucial and can impact them in many ways in the future, which is why we need to have a specific and research based ways of training teachers to teach students literacy.

Nugget:

Something that stood out to me in this article is it talks about Bethlehem schools. This is where I went to school, and I know the people and schools the article is talking about.

Lloyd

Smoke Signals in Reading Education

Big Idea:

Literacy is being debated on the best way of instruction, but it is beneficial for students’ development when they learn how to decode words through systematic and explicit phonics instruction and the alphabetic principle prior to using cues and context in their reading and writing.

Nugget:

“As learners become more competent decoders, they will naturally come to use context and other cues to resolve ambiguous writing.”

Readerly Exploration:

Take yourself on a field trip to a place off campus that connects with the big ideas of your assigned reading(s).

This reading was perfect timing for when I was going home for the weekend. I went to my home in Bethlehem, PA this weekend (mainly for the Halloween parade). I got to see lots of teachers I had while being in that district and it brought up lots of memories. It just so happened to be the week an article talked about the schools in Bethlehem. This made me think of past experiences I have had going through schools in this school district myself. I thought about how things were before 2015 when Silva decided to make a change. When my younger brother and I were in a BASD elementary school we both experienced the literacy taught there. After switching schools after two years my brother had a completely different instruction for literacy than I did. He seemed to struggle a lot more and even had to be pulled out for extra help. The two different schools had different ways of teaching foundational skills and that was clearly seen with how my brother, and I did. But now that I think about it, when I look back to when I did the BBBS program in high school I was exposed to literacy work in the elementary schools (after the change). I remember thinking this is not how they taught this when I went to school here, and it seemed like the students I worked with were excited about it compared to how my brother dreaded it. Overall, it is interesting to see the change. Especially with doing this exploration, it allowed me to think about my experiences and relate to the article on a deeper level. I just think it was cool to see an article and the data on the schools that I have had years of experience with, especially the struggling schools that I have worked with as a high schooler. But it just gets me thinking about how schools can change. I just never questioned it or how things were taught because I never thought I would come across an article about the schools I go to. So, it brings a new perspective.

Multimedia Documentation: Here is a picture of my dog at my house with the chalk art I was working on before the Halloween parade.

[alyssa295]

Reading Exploration #3

October 23- Bissex and Manyak

Bissex

Watching Young Writers

Big Idea:

Children’s stage in writing should not be looked at as what they cannot do and their deficits, instead they need encouragement, time, and practice to master that skill.

Nugget:

Something that stood out to me was the conclusion. Specifically, the part that says, “Children come to see themselves as they are seen by others. Do we see our students as learners or mistake-makers?” This stood out because how we interact with students has a big impact on how they view themselves. We have an opportunity to make that perspective on themselves a positive one, so we should encourage them every chance we get.

Manyak

Phonemes in Use: Multiple Activities for a Critical Process

Big Idea:

Phonemic awareness is a crucial skill to develop in students and will help their writing ability if they have guidance from teachers and exposure to different kinds of sounds in a word.

Nugget:

The different kinds of interventions used within the article, like word mapping, word wall boxes, say it and move it, etc. are interesting to be reading about after seeing it in placement. It is cool to see it being used, it gives it more meaning when I am reading an article involving that kind of instruction. It is cool to connect what I see with them and the philosophy behind them.

Readerly Exploration:

Identify a song that communicates the same or similar big ideas of the assigned reading and choose an excerpt that represents those shared ideals.

I chose the song, “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World. How I came across choosing this song was I thought about what the first article (Bissex) made me think of. So, I thought what is a song that conveys the idea that you are still growing and working on things and don’t worry about what you mess up. I thought about this song I heard at a Halloween parade earlier today and I was like “Wait that kinda fits!”

An excerpt from the song is “It’s only in your head, you feel left out or looked down on” I think this relates to the beginning of the article when it talks about adults viewing children making mistakes as a problem that needs to be corrected right away. These lyrics are how our reactions to their mistakes may make a child feel.

Another part of the song says, “It just takes some time. Little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride. Everything, everything’ll be just fine. Everything, everything’ll be alright, alright.” This explains the process they need. Children need time, exposure, and practice with writing. What adults often see as failure is the child learning and getting that experience. If they just continue with that it will all work out. The child will learn to write correctly and does not need to be “fixed” with every little mistake. This relates to the same idea of the song, especially since that is the chorus and the title.

This experience has helped me better understand that children really do just need time to work on a skill. Sometimes I think that once a child is taught something they should just know from there on out. When in reality they will continue to make those mistakes just as I did and just as I do with what I am learning. I think relating it to a song is also helpful because then when I hear it I relate it to what it makes me think of. So each time I hear this song it will make me think of this article and this assignment, and maybe in the future it will connect something else I did notice right now.

Multimedia Documentation:

Here is a lovely picture of me listening to the song after I got back in my room from fall break.

[alyssa295]

Readerly Exploration #2

September 5- Fischer

Fischer

Reading with a Crayon: Pre-Conventional Marginalia as Reader Response in Early Childhood

Big Idea:

What we classify as children scribbling in a book is really evidence of them having meaningful expression of their life experiences and engagement with the book.

Nugget:

When I was a kid, I do not think I ever colored or wrote in books. In my mind that was a huge no. I just did not want to “ruin them” and change them from how they “were supposed to be” or at least in my mind. Recently I have found that thought is not the same. I found that as I read books, I get more out of it when I write in them or draw or comment. It helps add meaning and helps me remember it. This is the reason I write in my devotional books and got a journal Bible. After listening to this article, I realize that is the same thing kids are experiencing when they “scribble” in their books. That is just their level of annotation and how they express meaning and have purposeful interaction with that text.

Readerly Exploration:

For this experience I chose an excerpt from your assigned course reading(s) and share with a family member to get his or her insight and perspective on it.

I decided to talk to my mom and get her opinion on children drawing in children’s books. I started off by asking what she thought about kids writing or drawing in books. She did not like the idea because she finds it to be destructive because books are destructive. Then I explained the argument that was made in the reading, and she still did not agree and thinks it is kids being defiant. She said, “It’s the same reason you do not draw on walls.” She then mentioned that I never drew in my books. This did not surprise me because what she thought was passed down to me as a child, as I mentioned in the nugget, I saw this as a big no. I also asked if she thinks it could be helpful in any way and she said no.

I then decided to go to my sister and ask her the same thing and she laughed and said, “In books they’re not supposed to.” I wanted to get her opinion because she has a young child. She said, “There’s coloring books and readings books and that is it.” She then mentioned that Bella (her three-year-old) finds it entertaining to read the book she stuck stickers in. I think that can also be seen as expression. My sister continued to say wants to see the artwork created for it not scribbles. She then said them not marking up the book beneficial for the next person reading the book, and it’s not polite when they do mark it up. She at least understood and agreed that it could have meaning and be beneficial to the child but she still thinks it should not be done.

It did not surprise me that both members in my family that I talked to have the same ideas. Especially after talking to my mom, it made sense of how I viewed writing in books when I was a kid. I knew my mom would not change her mind; she tends to be stubborn in her views. It makes sense from their perspective with having to buy the books, and my sister made the argument that she wants to enjoy the book with how they are intended to be. Which I understand that to an extent. I do not think many people have the idea that they it is not graffiti. I think most people have the same idea my family did and believe it to be destructive. I did enjoy to hear from both sides, one being the article and the other in disagreement with it. I do not lean super far either way. I am still deciding on what I think about the topic. I do agree that it is beneficial to the child, but I am unsure of the regulation and the extent a child should be adding to a book.  

Multimedia Documentation:

Here are the logs of the two phone calls I made to talk to my sister and my mom.

[alyssa295]

Readerly Exploration #1

August 31- Cambourne & Britsch and Meier

Cambourne

Toward an Educationally Relevant Theory of Literacy Learning: Twenty Years of Inquiry

Big Idea:

Literacy classrooms should mimic authentic learning contexts.

Nugget:

Something that stood out to me was the “Dat glass” example. I think it is interesting that the exchange of that leads to the parent knowing what the child knows and the parent then fills in the information they do not know. I never really thought of it in a way of parenting or from that perspective. I also find it interesting that language is a skill we are not afraid to use or practice as children to them master it. I think that is something that is unique about language.

Britsch and Meier

Building a Literacy Community: The Role of Literacy and Social Practice in Early Childhood Programs

Big Idea:

Literacy should include these major ideas, ownership, inclusion, and problem solving and use some way of expression to engage in learning.

Nugget:

Something that was mentioned that stood out to me was teacher writing the student’s name for them or fixing their projects it reminded me of other experiences I have had. I used to help teach a preschool at my high school and the teacher always had to remind us to not do their projects for them, even if they look not as we envisioned. It is pretty interesting to think about when people do this, we just see it as helping when it could be discouraging to a student.

Readerly Exploration:

For this experience I chose to take an excerpt from the assigned course readings and share with a friend in another major to gain their insight and perspective on it.

                I chose to gain the perspective of Jeff; he is someone who studies music. We talked mainly about the Cambourne article. His perspective was the ideas in this article basically transfer to the common core of education now. He felt like we have gotten to the point where teachers demonstrate Cambourne’s ideas in classrooms today. Jeff mentioned that it seems like Cambourne uses a variety of things such as different learning styles, giving opportunities, etc. in his ideas of teaching. Jeff said this can be shown in all sorts of teaching not just literacy. Jeff also talked about Cambourne’s “old way of teaching” which included habits and repetition and things like that. He related this to music and being expected to sing something over and over until you know it. Jeff reflected on his educational experiences by explaining when this type of learning was expected of him, he tended to be unsuccessful and not enjoy the teacher.

                I think this conversation was beneficial because I was able to gain a new perspective of the article that related to someone else’s experiences. I found what Jeff had to say interesting because my experience in school was different. When we had to memorize things and be taught like that, I enjoyed it for most of my school years. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I was challenged with a deeper understanding. I just always thought I just memorized things to learn because that was the information I had to know. It is enlightening to hear that is not how other people thought while going through school. I did think it was also helpful for Jeff to relate the article to something else like music. It helped me better understand the ideas being conveyed. I think after talking to Jeff Cambourne’s ideas can be related to all sorts of learning and subjects not just literacy.

Multimedia Documentation:

As you can see here is a picture Jeff explaining his point of view of the Cambourne article while on Facetime