Blog #2

    My definition of literacy has always been the ability to read and write. However, it has changed significantly since our last class discussion where we talked about the pros and cons of our group definitions. I now think that literacy is more or less the ability to successfully extract meaning from a text whether it be written, spoken, or seen. Literacy is much more than just being able to read. This definition could cause trouble if we make it too vague. Just because a child is in fourth grade and can not read, does that necessarily make them illiterate? It is a tricky situation.
    My ideal literacy learning environment would cater to all children. Students who come from different backgrounds, have slower learning abilities or are special needs would be able to benefit from my literacy instruction. The first reading we did for this week talked about how teachers must be prepared to teach a variety of literacy strategies so that all children can benefit. This includes being able to challenge the students who might be ahead of their grade level. I would hope that in my classroom someday, I am able to help all children succeed in an equivalent manner.
    My mentor teacher does a pretty good job with the way she handles literacy. I have never actually been there to see the kids do their reading groups, but I do know that there are six groups and the kids are divided up based upon their ability to read. The two struggling groups work with the teacher and the intern so they can receive the maximum amount of help. The other groups work with one another to help each other out as well as practice reading at their own pace. When my students do class activities, the teacher encourages all students to sound out words and write sentences at the bottom of their paper. This is good practice for the students who might be ahead of the others. It is not acceptable for any student to be sitting without an assignment because they finished early. My mentor teacher also does Read to Self. Each child has a bag with their name on it along with four books inside that fit the child's reading level. Once a day for 20 minutes this kids sit silently and read their books. I feel that these strategies promote literacy learning for all abilities in the classroom. 

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Literacy is access to information through reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking.  Literacy is highly based upon prior knowledge and experiences.  Forms of literacy vary as do as individual experiences.

 I hope to create a literacy environment where learners feel excited to interact with a variety of literacy-based activities in a student-driven format.  For example, during whole-group read-alouds I will facilitate an ongoing analysis of the story through class discussion.  During discussions, students will be scaffolded to utilize comprehension techniques such as prediction, making connection to existing schemas, and exemplifying for intrinsic and extrinsic understanding.  Students will be given opportunities to develop their literacy in a variety of formats including keeping their own journals.  I will use students’ journals as the basis for other lessons and activities because their journals will be a strong tool for assessing student attitudes, interests, writing processes, and literacy skills. 

Language Arts time at my current field placement is not reflective of my ideas of literacy enrichment.  The students are often instructed to find a comfy place in the room and “read-to-self.”  Students each have their own bucket filled with books supposedly formulated to fit specific reading levels.  However, almost all of the books are the same simple, repetitive and uninteresting stories in each bucket.  More advanced readers are commonly bored with their designated books and are often being disruptive to other students.  Struggling readers are also not concentrating on reading because they are not receiving any attention or assistance at most times.  The teacher is usually grading assignments during read-to-self and only pops her head up to squawk at the kids to quiet down.  During writing time, students are usually given a topic, told to draw a picture and write about it.  I have never witnessed instruction beyond that.  These activities seem to be a waste of time because the students are not being given the guidance that they need. 

Blog 2: Defining Literacy

I define literacy as anything that can be "read".  This can be any text, words, music, images, or knowledge.  From a teaching standpoint, when I think "literacy" I think of literature.  After the class readings, I believe that literacy should have a large emphasis on online technologies.  My ideal literacy learning environment would be a classroom that has a broad availability of literature, with multiple ranges of reading levels, in multiple forms such as tangible books and online resources.  My current teaching placement has a lot of reading material and the availability of computers.  The computers are not used often, but the teachers library is put to good use and the students are able to use and read all of the books.  The way that the teacher presents literacy as engaging and exciting is similar to how I would like to present literacy learning to my students.  The students in my placement have quiet reading time where they each have a personal bin of books chosen specifically for their reading needs.  The students can sit anywhere in the classroom with pillows and stuffed animals and read to themselves or in small groups.  I would like to have as many up to date resources available for my students and to be able to present literacy in exciting way, such as having family book clubs, online reading/writing, journals, and family reading/writing nights (Allyn & Bacon, 2010, p. 32).

My Definition of Literacy-Blog #2

My definition of literacy is any written, spoken, or heard text. It connects people to the past, present, and future. It allows people to connect from around the world. It is the most basic way that we communicate in any form. I can definitely say that my definition of literacy has changed over the years. In the beginning I thought about it in the context of having to be written texts, like books. Since then my definition has expanded to include various texts, including "spoken texts". I liked when we watched the video in class about the kindergarten teacher who had centers where every student had their own task in the morning. Each task was linked directly to literacy. The students were focused and it seemed they were having so much fun they didn't even realize they were learning. This is how I would like to see literacy in my classroom.
In my placement, I do see various types of literacy in reading pages in workbooks, reading out loud, listening and speaking, though I don't see as much as I hoped. I think there could be more instruction. My students were working on contractions, and when I asked them what they knew about them all I got was blank stares. They didn't even realize what it was they were supposed to do on the worksheet. Even though they are in second grade, I think they can benefit from centers similar to those we saw in the video.

Blog #1 My Literacy Learning

When I think about how I began to love reading, two people come into my mind. My mom is the first. She always bought me a book for Christmas, Easter and my birthday every year. She would always read me stories when she put me to bed. Even to this day I sometimes receive children's books from her as a gift. She was the one who bought me books when I was in kindergarten and read with me. This greatly impacted my learning. By the end of kindergarten I was able to read simple books on my own or with little help from my parents. My literacy journey continued as I grew up, which was largely due to my aunt. She was a kindergarten teacher who focuses heavily on literacy concepts in her classroom. I remember that when she came up to visit she would read with me and encourage me. She taught me tricks so I could pick up a book and decide if it was too hard for me or not. She would pick a random page out of the book I was reading and every time I came to a word I didn't know I had to put up a finger. If I put up 4-5 fingers on a single page then the book was too hard for me, and if I had less fingers then it was just right. I think that this reading strategy was huge in helping me learn to read. I have seen from my experiences working with students that if a book is too hard, many times students get frustrated. When a student is constantly frustrated then they are discouraged to read. I absolutely love to read, but I can imagine that if I hadn't learned and used that strategy myself I might not love reading. This is something that I keep in mind now when I am working with students on reading. I make sure that I pick materials that are challenging, but will not be so difficult that my student will become frustrated.

Blog 1: Literacy Autobiography

A literacy event in my life, specifically in my childhood, changed the way I understand and feel about literacy.  I have enjoyed literacy throughout my life because my parents read to me as a child every day.  I grew up surrounded by literature.  As a young child, I vividly remember being read to every night before I went to bed.  My love for literacy grew throughout my years in school.  I had many teachers who had a passion for literacy.  These teachers inspired me to want to teach and inspire others in the future.  I had one literacy teacher that I remember well for his enthusiasm, patience, and good humor.  We read Shakespeare's Hamlet in eighth grade, and I still remember it to this day.  He challenged us to think outside of the box when thinking about literature, as well as the challenges presented to us in life.  I will draw on my own positive literacy experiences to teach and encourage my future students to love literacy.  There are so many ways to use literature, the possibilities for engaging students in literacy are endless.

Blog #1

I know that my love for literature comes from the relationship I had with books as a child. The “reading” I did from the time I was born until I finished elementary school has played a critical role in who I have become today. My mom has always told me how important it was to her that she read to my brother and I when we were young. One of her main priorities as a mother was to surround us with books and instill in us a desire to read. The most vivid memory I have of my childhood is being read to by my mom. I grew to love books and would literally beg her to read to me until I was able to read them to myself. She would read every book with a different tone, volume, and voice. These stories became so exciting to me. When someone tells me to think back to my childhood, I instantly think of the books that I loved so much. Children's stories such as Fireman Small and What Will Minnie Wear? are the highlights of my past. It is clear to see how this act of reading to me on a daily basis has held such an impact on my memories and attitude towards books. I am now a firm believer that all children should be read to frequently, from the moment they are born until they learn to read on their own.

         The experiences I had with reading in elementary school have also deepened my love for books. I have very, very vivid memories of reading in school, all of which are positive. Library was my favorite special when I was younger; I distinctly remember getting lost into another world through these books. When I was in the fourth and fifth grades, I had teachers who read aloud to our class from a chapter book a few times a week. Although we were old enough to read on our own, they felt it was important to read aloud to us in addition to periods of silent reading. These are some of my favorite memories from elementary school. The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Shiloh were two of the books that I remember my teachers reading to us. This reading time was usually done at the end of the day with any extra minutes we had. My classmates and I would look forward to this all day long and actually count down the minutes until we could hear the next chapter of the book. The ability that those teachers had to make reading exciting for us has had a HUGE impact on my role as a reader. 

         Another memory that I have from my childhood is participating in the reading programs that my school would hold. Each year our librarian would choose 20 books that she felt relatively strongly about. These books would be set out at a special table in the library for us to check out. Each time we read one of the books we would take a short 3 question quiz to be sure that we had read the book. For every book we finished, we would get to pick out a prize. The more books you read, the cooler the prizes became. I remember participating in this program every single year. I usually ended up loving each and every book Mrs. Alatello had chosen for us. Having this opportunity to set goals for myself while reading was exciting for me. When I finished a book I felt accomplished and proud. 

        All of these events as a whole have provided me with a great love for books. Without these experiences, I am sure that reading would not have the same meaning for me as it does today. Exposing children to books from a very young age is key in aiding their desire to read as well as their ability to learn. Reading needs to be made exciting to students and I am looking forward to taking on that task as a teacher.