Literacy Moves On II

Throughout the course of the semester I have learned so many new ways to incorporate fun into literacy and writing. It is very important that students enjoy educational activities so that they have drive to improve their basic skills and continue to take part in these literacy activities. Even with our literacy invitation, we are incorporating many aspects of literacy that most people do not consider the same old way of teaching about reading and writing. I am curious to see how actively engaged students become in literacy activities and which ones are more effective than others. I am also curious to see if students learning styles are obvious through these activities. Because there are three different learning styles, visual, audio, and hands-on, I hope to use lessons to target each one of these styles so that all students get the opportunity to learn in the way they obtain information the best.

Literacy Moves On

After reading Janet Evans Literacy Moves on I realized how much literacy has evolved in the way it is perceived by others. There was definitely a lot of information presented in the chapters I read, but I was definitely able to extract some very important points. I had previously thought that literacy strictly consisted to words, written texts, book, etc. After reading these chapters and having other conversations with other professors I have realized that I am very wrong. Text can be read from an infinite amount of places, situations, objects, etc. For example, a person can be read as a text based off of the clothing that is being worn. So many things can be read as a text and can be considered literacy if analyzed closely enough. I found it very interesting how many of the children were observed in the studies presented. I found it absolutely amazing that four year olds were able to use and navigate their way around a software program that creates animation clips. I found it stunning that Sophia was able to construct an animation pattern with movement and sound on her own with barely any guidance. I also think that it is eye-opening that all the responses of the children that involved their favorite out of school activity included some aspect of pop culture. I think this shows the importance of incorporating new ages things and activities into the classrooms today.

MGRP Reflection

After completing my mutigenre research paper on parental involvement and after reading about how to conduct these within the classroom throughout Camille Allen’s book I realized that I have learned a lot. Since conducting my own research and putting together my paper didn’t involve interaction with elementary aged children, I focused on Allen’s book a lot. I realized that an inquiry project can be fun and it can be effective for all grade levels throughout elementary school. One preconceived notion that I had that I’m sure a lot of other educators have had too, was that elementary school children are too young to conduct such an involved and advanced research project. I have realized this is very untrue. Due to my lack of experience in the classroom, I often find myself underestimating the abilities of elementary students. They are capable of so much more than I give them credit for.

I realized that it takes a lot of thinking and planning to pick a research topic that the writer is passionate about. These projects take a lot of time, so if the writer is not fully invested and interested in the project, their final project will not emit their full potential. Therefore, I learned that it is helpful to guide the children to find a topic they are very interested in and to inform their parents of what is going on in your classroom so that they are able to help as well. After all, parents are children’s first teachers and know them better than anyone else so it would be very beneficial to have them give forth their input.

There are many things that I liked about this project. I think it is great how this project is made up of so many different components and that it is stretched along such a wide time span. I really like how this project requires students to go through a process to reach the final project. They must plan, research, analyze their research, write their paper, and then focus on a more creative aspect of research with the genres. I feel that with all of these parts, students will start to realize their strongpoints while also realizing what they need to work on. As for things I would change, it is hard to pinpoint these things because I have not instructed and observed this project in an elementary school setting.

Overall, I really enjoyed this project and definitely plan to implement it into my elementary classroom in the future. This project will challenge students and will show them if they work hard what they are capable of. I feel that this project will be a true reflection of work ethic and students will be able to take pride in their completed project.

Seedfolks and Allen Chapters 5 and 7

Seedfolks really opened my eyes to all the diversity and possible ethnic and cultural differences in my classroom. Seeing all the different perspectives from people of various ages, races, and social classes really made me realize the power of written words and literacy. Some of the lines had such power that I realized that as a classroom teacher I will never fully understand some of the things that my students are going through. I realize that I need to be very understanding and genuine because I will not be able to know the secrets of each of my students that make them who they are.

Reading Allen's book of Mulitgenre Research Papers I realized there are so many ways to enhance a research paper that are very fun and challenging for students. I really enjoyed the way that classes enhanced the quality of a simple work into such a advanced, descriptive piece of writing. It was amazing to me how fun the pieces became with all the questions and tying together the answers to the questions in a piece of writing. I thought it was amazing how the verbs could be enhanced so much and how students learned how to identify the differences between "showing, not telling".

Introducing different ways to add enhancement to a students paper really provides creativity to the students. Giving them freedom to express themselves through the many different types of art allows them to be proud of the work they created and to make it colorful and appealing to readers. Allowing them the freedom to bring in different types of music, or dress up in the costumes they want allows them to feel proud to present their work to an audience. There are many ways for them to play around with their work on different computer programs and designing programs that really increase their confidence and make them feel more proud of the hard work they put into such a long project.

Poetry and Setting Up Invitations

Poetry has always been a subject that has posed difficulty for myself. In no way do I believe that I am a good poet because I always feel that I have to make my poems rhyme and be a stereotypical poem rather than just as a means of self-expression. As Allen says, "When we begin to speak in the language that is ours and tell our own stories and truths, we are surprised that this too is poetry." Introducing this idea to students and encouraging them to write poetry will be a large focus in literacy in my classroom. I feel that poetry has a lot of power and reveals students' individual voices and writing styles as well as helping them express themselves through literacy. I really enjoyed all of the writing strategies that are demonstrated in the chapter, particularly the "six-rooms poem". This strategy really helped to further poems and make them sound very reflective, descriptive, and influential. I am concerned on how I can introduce poetry in a fun way and help students realize that it is very enjoyable and doesn't have to seem intimidating.

Invitations were somewhat confusing and perplexed to me. I thought it was very interesting that invitations could be performed individually for students when they had extra time on their hands. I thought the organization of invitations in their folders is a very good idea, so that the students know what is expected of them when it is time for them to complete one. Engaging in group discussions after these invitations seems very helpful so that students can gain multiple perspectives on the same topic and invitation so that it benefits the whole group.

MGRP Chapters 1,2,3,6 and “The Donut House” Article

Reading the four chapters assigned from, “The Multigenre Research Paper” I learned a lot about how to assign a research paper to elementary students and how to follow through with it. Originally, I thought it to be near impossible to have elementary students conduct a research paper. I realized through this reading how to make a research paper a fun project for elementary students. I was actually very shocked with how the book portrayed these 5^th graders as being so immersed in this project that they lost track of time. I think this is absolutely wonderful, but I know that I never had one of these experiences myself going through the elementary and immediate grades.

I really enjoyed how this project was consistent over a three month period and how weeks were designated to instruct certain topics of instruction. I also found it interesting how much different genres were used as examples through the text. Since I am currently writing my own research paper, and trying to think of pieces of genre work that I can incorporate into it, it was very helpful to see examples such as award certificates, obituaries, interviews, poems, diary entries, etc.

I love how the text described how emotionally involved the students were throughout the course of this project. By students becoming emotionally invested in this project they strived to do their absolute best in all areas. I love the quote in the text, "We know emotion is important in education - it drives attention, chick in turn drives learning, and memory." I thought giving the students freedom to select a topic of their own choice was a great idea because it let students explore an area that they were interested in. This aspect of the project in general helped get students emotionally involved in their topic.

After reading “The Donut House” article I was very inspired. I found it very liberating in some ways to see how excited the children were about this very fun, creative activity. I realized how important real world literacy is in some student’s lives. I was surprisingly shocked at how much these kindergarteners were able to understand about real life occurrences. I realized when reading this article how much I may underestimate the abilities of children. I thought it was very clever that they were able to go to an actual donut shop and take notes on all of their observations, I also thought it was very interesting and fun that they were able to see inside of a back and her about loans and stockholders. I definitely think that I would have been very excited to participate in an activity like this one as a kindergarten student. I feel like this activity made them feel empowered, like they had the capabilities to make a difference in the community. This activity also proved how much literacy is present in everyday life, and in everyday places. By doing activities such as “The Garage” their teacher was able to present literacy to them in unusual, fun ways so that students didn’t necessarily view it as learning. By taking part in these activities, students were able to roleplay, one of children’s favorite playtime activities. They were so caught up in their actions, that they subconsciously were learning all different types of literacy skills. The most empowering piece of information that I gathered from this article was how literacy can have a huge impact on students that come from high-poverty families. These children need to know that their words and their lives can make a difference—that literacy, their literacy, can be used for transformative ends.

Crafting Writers Chapters 10-12

"Success builds emotional support, confidence, and the willingness to try" (Pinnell and Scharer 2003, 58).  

This quote was said in the beginning of Chapter 10 and it is one that has hit me the most as a future educator.  I think it is so important to build confidence in students so that they challenge themselves to try more difficult tasks.  As their teacher and role model, I hope to be a source of emotional support for them and a source of constant encouragement.  One of the characteristics about my favorite elementary teacher is that she was so encouraging.  She absolutely never made me feel stupid if I incorrectly stated the answer in front of the whole class, or did poorly on a graded assignment.  She was always there with a loving, warm smile and encouraging words for next time.  This is so important so that students do not become discouraged, therefore prohibiting them to excel.  As stated in Chapter 10, "the emotion aspect of teaching can either impede learning or cause it to flourish.  

Since these chapters were focused on mini-lessons and improving craft through conferences, it was nice to pay attention to specific detail in the examples so that I could start to make a mental routine of how one should sound.  I thought it was really important when Hale pointed out that if someone is too bust noticing the gap between what students are doing and where they are "supposed" to be, it will be harder to see strengths.  I have realized that there are going to be rarely few times when my whole classroom is around the level where they should be.  Therefore, I need to take into consideration the fact that they are all their own individuals with different capabilities.  While my ultimate goal will always be to have every student be on the level they are "supposed" to be one, I know that this goal is a longshot.  More important than this however, my hope is to help each student excel and understand more than what they first did when they entered my classroom.  I know that the speed at which students start to comprehend certain knowledge varies greatly.  Therefore, it is important to give each student as much individual attention as possible to be able to gather information vital to their ultimate achievement.  

In the examples of what a teaching voice sounds like in a writing conference, I really liked the idea of complimenting student of what they are doing very well that other students in the class may not have caught on to yet.  I think that these are words of encouragement that really make the student feel special, maybe even elite in a way, which will give them an emotional high to keep challenging themselves.   I also thought it was important that in there conferences, teachers do not talk out their students next sentences, but rather get their thinking ready.  I also thought the accountability factor at the end of any conference is vital to make sure that the conference was beneficial.  I never want any of my students to walk away from a conference without picking up something from it.  Therefore, the "say it back to me" aspect of the conference may be the most crucial.  When students start to understand the routine of these conferences, they will know that the question, "Can you say back to me what you are doing well in your writing?" question is coming, so they will be attentive throughout the conference to pick up on these things.  

One very helpful classroom management tip that was explained in these chapters was the idea of group conferencing.  I understand that it is most beneficial to work with students one on one, but group conferencing is a way to get the most out of a small amount of time if there are several students who need extra attention in a particular subject.  At first, I questioned this method, but realized that it is a great resource if there is lack of time.  I also found that the "mean what you say" method is extremely important to point out to future teachers.  I feel that there is definite lack of respect towards teachers to do not mean what they say.  I had those teachers growing up who would always threaten certain things upon us, but would never follow through.  Since as a class we started to pick up on this, we became oblivious to these threats.  

There was so much information in these chapters that it is hard to talk about everything that stuck out to me.  These are the most important aspects that I thought would make the largest difference in my classroom, and therefore will implement them in my future classroom.  

Chapters 7-9: Conferences for Improving Craft

Many important aspects of teaching craft were addressed in these chapters that I found interesting and helpful.  For example, the format structure of using mini-lessons to teach reading and writing followed by a try-it exercise, independent writing, and sharing session seem to be very efficient in a short time span for a given lesson to teach.  I also found it very helpful when comparing concepts and which lessons to teach to consider the what and why.  Thinking about what exactly I am teaching and why I am teaching it to my students will help me focus on the outcomes of the particular lesson.  It is also important when deciding which lesson to teach to not focus on something I have already covered, but an extension or a new topic.  

Live writing was something I found very interesting in the chapter.  I can't decide how beneficial it would be in a classroom setting because I feel like this is one of the first times I have been introduced to the idea.  I know that my elementary teachers did not use this method, and maybe that is why it seems hard for me to envision.  I thought it was an interesting concept because it pointed out that this is one of the only ways students get the chance to see firsthand how a person can verbalize their thoughts into words.  If I only plan to instruct my literacy lessons with published materials my students will not get the opportunity to observe how one transfers thoughts into words.  By having my students watch me go through the thinking process out loud and have them participate with me, it will hopefully help them when they start the writing process individually.  

Also discussed within the chapters that I found very important is the concept that students desire to learn is an internal battle.  If a student does not have the desire or motivation to learn, it is very possible that they will appear very shut-off and disengaged during class.  This is why I found the try-it technique of mini-lessons very beneficial.  As the text states, the try-it method not only creates an opportunity for all students to actively process the lesson, but it also supports accountability.  When students know they are going to have to either talk about or try out the skill you are teaching, their internal motivation to listen while you are teaching naturally increases.  Using student writing is also a way to increase their desire to listen.  Using student writing as examples for the rest of the class reinforces how doable a craft technique really is.  

One technique that I didn't like a whole lot growing up, but still see advantages of, is the talk and turn technique.  One reason that I do not like this technique is because when this is used, I feel like students like to get off track and talk about something off subject.  I understand that this is why Hale says to keep these sessions fairly short, only 30 seconds or so, but I feel that using the technique with elementary aged children, it would not run smoothly enough.  I feel that the only way to efficiently use this technique would be if the students are aware of what is expected out of this 30 seconds and I am not so sure that with their energy and attention span such a goal would be accomplished.  I understand that the talk and turn techniques gives all students a chance to reinforce the lesson just covered, but I am not so sure it would run as smoothly as described in the text.  

The chapters that focused on conferences with children and their writing strengths raised a lot of good, helpful points.  The example in which Hale focused on the writing of Jonathan, and his increased passion for writing was very touching.  It definitely portrayed to me how important it is for a teacher to understand and identify what students are doing well and how to relate this information to the student.  In Jonathan's case, he would have continued to hate the subject if it weren't for Mrs. Hale's praise of how well he used names in his writing.  Just this subtle compliment raised Jonathan's confidence in himself to continue writing.  Students can feel so discouraged, so it is important to make sure that we first focus on craft skills that they are using correctly and well and then focus on craft skills that can be used more effectively in their writing to improve it's quality.

I found the in-depth analyzing of students' work to be both helpful and also somewhat difficult.  For me it seemed easier to identify craft skills such as using color, sounds, and proper nouns in writing over other skills.  It was also a little intimidating reading the section "When Strengths Are Hard to Find", it really occurred to me that students are going to be on such wide skill levels for writing that they are going to be developing craft skills at different paces.  So while one student is focusing on the use of color and sound, another may be focusing on starting sentences with words of variety.  It was also interesting to read that students may not necessarily need compliments and praise for skills that have always used correctly in their writing.  If they have always been using color in their writing, it is apparent that they are used to the skill and it is important to then move on to a new craft skill rather than keep focusing on a skill they have always used well in their writing.  

The main things that I took out of these chapters was it is not about noticing what students are doing as writers, but what they could do.  It is important to acknowledge their potential and to help them reach it on their own.  Looking at student's work through two lenses is also important: one that looks for strengths and one that looks for the next steps.  

The Importance of Punctuation and Developing Craft

The specific techniques that are explained in Elizabeth Hale's "Crafting Writers" seem to be great approaches to begin using with elementary students.  All five topics that are involved in teaching the craft of writing are important:  the five senses, show not tell, dialogue, sentence variety, and word choice.  My favorite of these that I believe will be used the most in my own classroom, is the five sense technique.  It is very interesting to even ask myself when reviewing my own papers the question, "Am I using descriptive words that use my five sense?"  It is amazing how much better the content and description is when going back and adding the way I felt, the way an object felt, the way the area around me smelled, and how it caused me to feel inside.  This is a technique that I think students could use themselves when reviewing their own work.  For example, I think it would be very beneficial if I made a list of questions that I could ask each individual student when going over their paper.  For example, if one of my students is writing about an instance where he was playing in his little league baseball game and was the hero of the game, I could ask him questions about how it made him feel when he hit the ball to center field or how the ball sounded when it smacked the bat.  By adding small descriptive words it will make the work a lot better, and will also help the reader feel that he is experiencing the story rather than just being told the story.  This is a great example of the next topic that I think it very important, showing not telling.  I know this may be a hard concept fora lot of elementary students to grasp at first.  By saying this repetitively and by leading them to examples will eventually sink in for most students.  When students finally grasp how to show and not tell, their work will tremendously improve and will most likely encourage them to write more.  

Reading the chapter that focused on punctuation was very interesting to me.  I never realized how perceptive children are.  I myself have never really thought deeply about why writers use punctuation, and how it benefits us as readers.  I understand that question marks and exclamation points provide large benefits in pieces of work, but it was interesting to explore the purpose of the period in most instances.  Using correct punctuation is a skill that will come slowly to students.  This is why I feel it is important to do a lot of group guided writing and reading, so that if necessary, I can pause and ask the group, "Why do we put a period here?"  Hopefully by doing this as a group, it will sink in amongst them and they will interact with each other while working on things separately.   Punctuation, variety, and choice of words all play a huge factor in the caliber of a student's work.  Therefore, I feel that it is mandatory to try to have my students read as much work as possible so that they will be accustomed to using different words outside of their normal vocabulary.  

The Difficulty of Learning and Teaching Spelling

After reading the Oglan and Sipe articles on spelling, I started to gain a new appreciation for the subject.  Teaching spelling has always been something I have not thought all that much about, because I seem to be more focused on the educating of reading and writing.  What I came to realize through these articles, however, was that reading, writing, and spelling all come hand in hand.  I thought it was interesting how the Sipe article pointed out that for some students writing can be viewed as an easier task than reading, because it proceeds from the known to the unknown, rather from what is unknown to what is known.  It is important to realize that all students will learn in different manners, and that there are several techniques to teach spelling, all of which will have different responses from individual students.  

I understand that experience is what will help students master spelling the fastest.  If students read and are familiarized with words often, it is likely that they will eventually internalize the spelling of that word.  However, I realize that internalizing spellings of words may take years, and that there are alternative ways to teach spelling to students.  I really enjoyed the Sipe article for this reason.  I really liked the approaches of teaching spelling like the sound box and the have-a-go chart.  Both of these methods challenged students to reach the correct spelling of the word through their own efforts with little guidance from their teachers.  I also really enjoyed the outline of how interactive writing can be put into effect.  When reading about how this technique is used I got rather confused, but with the demonstration I realized how helpful and fun using this could be.  Being about to incorporate every single one of the students into the lesson while encouraging them to try even if they make errors seems seems to be a very effective teaching method.  Guiding them with questions that help them reach the correct spelling of the word may also help them learn how they can reach correct spellings on their own, without the aid of someone else.  

It is important to realize that while there are three different kinds of common spellers, there may be students who fall into two different categories:  one while writing and one while spelling.  Like the Oglan article addressed, it is very important to encourage students to write and to develop their own writing voice.  It is important to get them to take risks with their writing, even if they get discouraged due to the inability to spell certain words correctly.  By having students keep a journal or a daily log of activities will help them explore different words and will challenge them to spell words they may not have been exposed to yet.  By looking at these journals and seeing words commonly misspelled, the teacher can then create a word wall or may add them to a words to focus on list so that students broaden their range of spelling.

By reading these articles, I realized that there is an endless amount of methods teachers can use when focusing on spelling.  It is important to focus on each individual student's needs so that frustration does not occur on the part of the teacher, or the student.  Taking note of different methods I come across while reading helps me to feel more and more confident in the classroom.  I hope to find many different ways of getting through to my students so that I can have a different plan for each student if necessary.  

The Important of Being Literate in Today's World

After being assigned the Literacy Dig to go to a coffee shop and observe on the literacy present I have realized just how crucial literacy is in today's society.  It has come to my attention that almost all public areas have some type of text present, whether it be with directions, advertisements, instructions, prices, menu items, etc.  I simply cannot imagine living the life that I live in today's society and no being able to read.  When I think about my daily routines, a lot of it involves reading and literacy.  For example, my morning breakfasts are always accompanied by the daily newspaper, and throughout the day I am constantly in contact with my friends and family through e-mail and instant messaging, which all consider literacy.  I simply cannot imagine what it would feel like doing normal activities, that I always consider easy, for someone who is illiterate.  

 

Even after observing in Seattle's Best coffee shop for a half an hour I realized what a tremendous amount of literacy is present in everyday life.  Observing the atmosphere of the coffee shop in general I realized how much literacy was around.  All over the walls were advertisements and general quotes with book titles.  The people that filled the room were people who all were taking part in some sort of literacy activity.  Some people were reading newspapers, books, and magazines, and people that weren't reading were busily typing on their computers.  Surrounding the coffee shop were shelves and shelves of books since the coffee shop was contained in Borders Bookstore.  For a person who does not understand written text, it would be very difficult and uncomfortable to be present in this store or coffee shop at any time. 

 

After the short amount of observing and analyzing how impacting literacy is in our everyday lives, I have realized how important it is to educate and inspire our youth to learn to read and write well.  It is very important to be able to make connections between each individual student and the most effective way to reach out to them in the classroom.  Each student will be at different reading levels when they enter my classroom and it will be my job to identify what it is that will help them reach their potential.  It will also be my responsibility to help my students realize how fun learning to read can be to get them hopeful to reach their goals.  

When it comes to my students writing abilities, I have realized from Elizabeth Hale's "Crafting Writers" that it is important to be able to identify how to help students reach their full writing potential.  Asking students questions that will ultimately lead them to improving their writing will help them improve and develop craft in their future writing.  I also realized that because all my students have different reading and writing levels it is important to not make this evident in the classroom.  My job as a professional will be to encourage students, not to discourage them.  Therefore, it is important that I make sure and not single out students by giving them different types of notebooks to write in or completely different assignments.  It is important for them to enjoy writing and to realize their abilities.  Therefore I want my students to feel free to express all of their thoughts through pictures and words.  

Online Writing Response

The online writing article and the Talkback Project was very interesting to read about. As technologies are advancing and the popularity of these technologies is increasing, educators are attempting to adapt their lessons and teaching styles to the needs of the students. Today, so many elementary students have been exposed to many uses of technology in their everyday lives. For communication, educational, and entertainment purposes, technology has always been around to the students of this generation. Therefore, it is important for teachers to incorporate technology into their everyday teaching styles in order to keep students interested in the lesson, and focused on the information being covered. I found the Talkback Project to be very useful and beneficial for these reasons.

As the article mentions, students extremely enjoyed writing blogs and writing responses to others' blogs. As one student stated, "Reading the novels and sharing my thoughts with young men and women on the Talkback Project blog was the highlight of my day." This student's statement is one with a great message. This student implies through his words that he highly enjoyed this type of learning. It also shows that if other activities could be slightly transformed to include even brief types of technology, student participation and excellence may increase. If students are enjoying the activities they are engaging in, they are more likely to remember information and are more likely to repeat the activity.

While there are many benefits to the Talkback Project and while there were many good reviews from the students involved in it, there are a few dangers involved. One of these dangers is that information of the Internet can be accessible to anyone. Therefore, it is very important that students are cautious of what they say and post on these Internet blogs. If the student's safety is protected and the blog remains anonimous, I do not think that the Talkback Project would have had as many problems.