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.