Double Journal Entry #3

CULTURAL CAPITAL

 

CULTURAL DEFICIT

 

1.       How does elementary reading instruction contribute to poor literacy attainment for older children?

Elementary reading instruction contributes to poor literacy attainment for older children due to the fact that teachers focus more on the process of reading rather than reading to find information, concepts, and ideas.

2.       What reading test scores good for?

Reading test scores are good for giving an idea of how much a student understands about literacy, but only to a certain extent. Test scores do not prove to be the most accurate way to pin point a students’ literacy ability.

3.       What reality about a literacy myth surprised you the most? Why?

The myth that surprised me the most was the one that states “students who struggle with one literacy will have difficulty with all literacies”. This surprised me because it is something that can be easily observed in a classroom. The teacher can see that a particular student may struggle in one area of literacy, but may also be excellent at another. For instance, my teachers in elementary school knew that I struggled in word problems, but was great at historical facts. They recognized this by listening to me read aloud, watched what books I’d pick up during silent reading, and by listening to the questions I asked during each tasks.

4.       What do you know about teaching reading comprehension in the content areas? Give an example of a strategy you might use to teach reading during a science or social studies lesson.

Teaching reading comprehension in the content areas can be very vocabulary dense. Students have to learn the term in order to understand what is going on. History is a great example of this vocabulary dense content area. With this type of lesson you may want to have vocabulary games, split the words up between students in small groups, complete an “Own your word” diagram, or even create graphic organizers for vocabulary terms, or important information.

5.       What kind of literacy do you have that was not acknowledge in school? (Literacy means being able to use texts and technologies to accomplish one's purpose in the world.)

Technology was not at imperative in school when I was growing up like it is in today’s classroom. Although, I can operate much of the new technology, I was not taught how to do so in a classroom. I was self- taught. Technology was just becoming big when I was in middle school and high school, and it wasn’t until then that I was shown how to use the basic technology.

6.       Give an example of a literacy practice.

 

7.       What is a discourse community?

A discourse community is all different types of literacies that people excel in. For example, my knowledge of cheerleading puts me in that discourse community. Someone that knows about reptiles is in his/her own discourse community.

8.       What can happen if students valuable multiple literacies are not recognized as valuable in school?

Students with multiple valuable literacies that are not recognized as valuable in school can become unmotivated. Being unmotivated can cause the student to shut down and stop learning. This affects the student in the long run. Keeping the student motivated requires the teacher to recognize each students’ multiple literacies and use them to their advantage.

9.       Give an example of how a teacher might build on the extracurricular literacy practices of their students?

For example, a teacher who is trying to teach students about the different types of triangles may use a students’ extracurricular literacy of basketball. Taking the students to the gym and visually showing the students each triangle (in regards to their position on the court and the position of the net) may help this student understand this concept a little better. Teaching students to use what they are good at to figure out a solution.

10.   Describe a time in which a teacher in your 4-12 schooling experience employed one of the research-base strategies to improve motivation.

In sixth grade I had an awesome English/Reading teacher. We started out each class period with a journal in which we could write anything we wanted to in. Then she chose people to share it if they wanted to. Every Monday we went to the library and we had 15 minutes to pick a book that we wanted to read. After the teacher approved it, we had to check the book out. Each Friday we had a 1-2 page paper due. This paper was a either a summary of the book, a prequel/sequel to a book you read, or a note to the author. She allowed us to choose what we wanted to do. If we decided that we didn’t like the book we chose then we were given the option to write a paper based off a topic she gave us, or we could write her a paper on what we would do different to make the book more interesting for the next reader. I loved that we were able to choose what we wanted to read. It gave us a sense of freedom and provided us with different literacy experiences. Some weeks she’d give us a specific genre we had to choose a book from (usually the one we were studying), but we were always given the right to decide for ourselves.

11.   Give an example from your own K-12 schooling experience that engaged in you in multicultural literacy development.

In fifth grade we had two new students enter our classroom late in the year from Mexico. Our school provided an ASL teacher full time to help with these students. Our class was struggling to involve these new students in day to day activities because we could not relate with them. So our teacher decorated the classroom to look like a festival in Mexico. She had help from the ASL teacher to do so. For an entire week we studied Mexico and heard stories from these new students (Mostly translated by the ASL teacher). They showed us where they were from on the map and what it was like there. On that Friday, we had a party with different Mexican food, decorations, and music. Although we could not always understand the new students verbally, we were able to connect with them on a different level, and this helped us relate to them more.

12.   What do teachers her gain recognition and respect from their peer also do well on?

Teachers who gain recognition and respect from their peers tend to well in other aspects. These include: providing a caring environment for their students, addressing diverse literacy needs of students, use approaches that foster critical thinking skills, develop quality relationships with students, participate in on-going professional development, and use many different teaching techniques. All of which make the teacher a great literacy instructor.

Citations

Bolima, D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding: Educational learning theories. Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu/saki/strategies/101/new_page_5.htm

 

Double Entry Journal #2

After reading "...As Soon As She Opened Her Mouth!": Issues of Language, Literacy and Power by Victoria Purcell-Gates, one quote stood out to me. On page 135 of the reading she states that teachers can do many things to help students achieve in literacy. The "First, and most obvious, teachers and schools must accept, believe and act upon the belief that children of poverty are learners, have been learning since birth, and are ready to learn at anytime, and will learn". For me, this quote is very powerful. I actually felt appalled when I read this. To think that some teachers disregard students because they don’t come from a family where literacy experiences happen every day is kind of unreal to me. I highly believe that given the right tools, experiences, and support any child can succeed in life. I believe that it’s the kids that come from “bad” homes that are destined to do great things. They have a lot to offer the world, but they need the help from educators and schools to be able to use that greatness in their futures.  I believe she is absolutely right in saying that we need to believe in them and believe in the fact that they can learn and have been learning. If we do this, then they, too, can believe in themselves.

Questions and Answers from the Reading

What is literacy Knowledge? Give examples of both print and non-print literacy knowledge

Literacy knowledge is the concept of children acquiring knowledge of reading, writing, and printed materials before having actual informal instruction, in kindergarten and first grade. Children often imitate the process of reading and writing without the ability to actually read and write. This imitation is extremely important in these early years. For example, my four year old niece, Sierra, will pick up a book and read it out loud to me. Although she remembers some of the lines in the book, she is not actually reading the book word for word. She knew she was reading by looking at the book and speaking out loud but was not aware that the words on the page were what she was supposed to be looking at. I have also witnessed a one year old who was learning how to talk. When we would ask her to say “thank you” she would mimic the sound of the words, but was not annunciating. She did this for most of the phrases she was taught. Although she thought she was speaking, in reality she was only verbalizing the sounds she heard in each phrase.

How do stereotypes interfere with literacy instruction?

Stereotypes interfere with literacy instruction because there is a lack of experiences the child has with written and spoken language. The fewer experiences the child has with reading, writing or speaking, the more of a struggle the formal education becomes. Learning how to read and write becomes more difficult for students who have never been shown letters and words. They don’t understand that each letter stands for a sound and all the sounds put together make up a word. It is not impossible to teach these children how to read and write, but it makes it more difficult for them to understand. Stereotypes also interfere when the parents are more interested in the success of their student rather than the teacher. When the parents are stereotyped their child becomes that stereotype whether it is bad or good. They are put off and seen as a student who will follow in their parents’ footprints. Thus, causing the student to slip through the cracks, and ultimately drop out of school altogether.

How do schools and teachers contribute to poor literacy instruction in school?

Schools and teachers contribute to poor literacy instruction in a few ways. The biggest reason for students to fail at reading and writing is the fact that the teacher and school does not show concern for the student who is not excelling in those areas. They allow for the students to move through the grades without the pertinent information necessary to complete the next grade level. Teachers often stereotype their students and instead of taking time to help the struggling student they pass them along to the next teacher. It takes one caring teacher to help a student learn more efficiently, but it also takes one teacher giving up on a student to allow that student to give up on himself.

What is the relationship between language, social class, and the denial of educational opportunity?

The relationship between language, social class, and the denial of educational opportunity is simple. Students who come from parents that are illiterate are often deprived of the literacy experiences necessary to succeed in formal education of this topic. These parents are often from the lower economic classes. Without the knowledge of how to read and write causes them to be unsuccessful in life which is why they are in the lower class. Teachers stereotype the low socioeconomic family and do nothing to help. They allow the student to pass each grade because they don’t want to help. If a middle class family had a child that could not read or write, the teachers would be all over that particular student. This is not the case for students of the lower economic classes.

What are some misconceptions about the relationship between language and literacy?

What can schools and teachers do to improve literacy instruction?

Schools and teachers can do many things to improve literacy instruction. First, teachers must believe that all students are leaners regardless of the economic status. Teachers can also give the students many experiences with written and oral language. This will allow the students to learn the more concrete aspects of the topic. Accepting the students own language and using it to their advantage is another way to help improve literacy instruction. Lastly, teachers must realize that students will use the appropriate oral language register.

How do you feel about use of the term "Proper English"?

When I hear the term “Proper English” I ask myself “what is that?”. Now I know what it means, and I know that we all should use proper English. I also know that most people in today’s society do not use proper English. There are so many slang terms for real words and there is many different ways to says different things. I do feel like there is a time and a place to use proper English, but those opportunities are growing smaller by the year. I feel as though students should still be taught proper English and should also be taught when it is appropriate to use it.

Related Article

This article was written to express the findings of a case study done on emergent literacy and social class. They chose 43 families from all ranges of family income. During their case study the researchers found a relationship between the families of lower social classes to those of higher social classes. The research concluded many things. One of the bigger findings had to do with the race of the family and the literacy involement had a direct connection to oral language development. You can find the other information on the link above.

Citations:

         Carolyn Chaney (1994). Language development, metalinguistic awareness,
                       and emergent literacy skills of 3-year-old children in relation to
                       social class. Applied Psycholinguistics, 15 , pp 371- 394 doi:10.            1017/S0142716400004501

         O'Brien, J. (2003, May 10). Tall tales of appalachia.
                       Retrieved from
                       http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/10/opinion/tall-tales-of-appalachia.html

          Purcell-Gates, V. (2002). ".. as soon as she opened her
                       mouth!": Issues of language, literacy, and power.
                       In L. Delpit & J. Dowdy (Eds.), In The skin that
                       we speak: An anthology of essays on language
                       culture and power

Double Entry Journal #1

Inclusive Education is the practice of including all students in every aspect of learning. This practice is beneficial to all students including, but not limited to: students with complex learning needs, students of diverse ethnic backgrounds, students having trouble with linguistics, students of diverse socioeconomic statuses, and students with varying abilities. Students in special education programs, bilingual students, homeless students, and mental health students are all included in this practice, too. Schools utilizing the Inclusive Education Practice typically form a sense of community for their students. Each student is urged to perform at his/her best and is recognized for each success. Problem Solving teams are created to devise plans that meet the need of each student. Parents and teachers are recognized as partners in the success of the students, and are advised to communicate with each other to form strong bonds. Students are only successful when they are made to feel welcome in the community and are given responsibilities within the school community. These responsibilities can include peer tutoring, peer mediators, and cooperative learning. Through inclusion, students learn to listen and respect others, and to communicate effectively.

I chose a Teacher’s Network Video that I found on youtube. The reason I chose this video is because it outlines the exact same thing the reading was talking about. It is about two teachers who co-teach a third grade classroom. One of the teachers being is a special education teacher and the other being the general elementary educator. They work together throughout the year utilizing many different techniques and practices. The inclusion practice is the main strategy they are using. This practice allows students to recognize the different needs of each student. The classroom evolves into a community in which all kids are welcome and can feel safe.  

Inclusion: Collaborative Team Teaching (CTT) in 3rd Grade


Works Cited:

Inclusion: Collaborative team teaching (ctt) in 3rd
            grade [Web]. (2009). Retrieved from http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?