Top Ten Things I NOW Know About Literacy:

Top Ten Things I NOW Know About Literacy: After taking Reading and Writing in your Content Area, I can explain Literacy through a new and highly improved lens.

1.

“D”iscourse - the ability to "fit" into various groups that we encounter in our lives

v

“d”iscourse – “connected stretches of language that make sense” (Gee, 1989)

Therefore Gee says discourse is a part of Discourse.

2.

Apprentice – One who is allowed to practice and interact with people who have already mastered the Discourse

v

Master – One who has acquired fluency of a Discourse

Therefore we are striving to be masters of our Discourses, and as teachers we are masters that need to teach our students the importance of learning. We must model LOVE for learning, reading, and writing.

3.

Primary Discourse - Our first group / family / we begin to relate, speak with, listen to, and learn from

v

Secondary Discourse – apprenticeships we are allowed to take part in / school / work / etc.

Therefore we master our primary discourse and use that as a point of reference for all other discourses (Gee, 1989).

4.

Blogs – can aid in the teaching of literacy by encouraging students to write what they read as well as their opinions

v

Wikis – a great resource for students to produce a collective written work

Therefore more teachers need to utilize such great online resources, oh and blogs aren’t so badJ

5.

Assisted Learning- as part of apprenticeship, the aid of a master in the discourse one is studying

v

Independent Work – through modeling and teaching problem-solving, teachers assist their students towards independent learning

Therefore scaffolding is an essential part of learning for students to be able to get from assisted learning and move into independent study.

6.

Text – simply ink on paper (Rosenblatt)

v

“Poem” – when the reader brings the text to life

Therefore my goal is to provide opportunities for “poems” in my classroom.

7.

Efferent Stance – the informational aspect of literacy

v

Aesthetic Stance – an experience one has along with the text at hand

Therefore as a teacher just learning about this difference, it is essential for me to also learn efferent and aesthetically for the benefit of my teaching. I must use my students past knowledge to help them have a better experience while they learn.

8.

Learning to Read - is all about one’s senses working together; the technical aspects of reading (Dorn, et. al., 1998)

v

Reading to Learn – occurs once comprehension of the meaning of the text is revealed rather than just the meanings of letters and words

Therefore learning to read and reading to learn have two different objectives. Both are equally vital, and one must learn to read if they are going to be able to read to learn.

9.

Cognitive Apprenticeship – a knowledgeable adult using guided instruction to assist the child in obtaining cognitive and metacognitive processes

v

Traditional Teaching – the power, responsibility, and control of the learning environment are the main concerns of the teacher

Therefore the teacher has to use what the children already know in order to help them acquire new information, and utilize the seven principles of an apprenticeship approach to literacy (Dorn, et. al., 1998).

10.

Reading – utilize the efferent and aesthetic stances to enhance your students’ learning and understanding

v

Writing – text in the poetic, transactional, and or expressive forms that are created to be read

Therefore together reading and writing make up literacy, and teachers can never forget the importance of teaching literacy well to their students.

Routines & Organizing Your Classroom

Throughout a typical school day in our classrooms, our students need the opportunity to work with assistance from us, and independently. As we teach, all of our students are making connections to the content with the foundation of their individual prior knowledge. They utilize their existing knowledge to help them learn new information, and this happens at different rates for different students. Apprenticeship in Literacy states, “an important principle of apprenticeship learning is the role of routines in promoting literacy development” (Dorn, et. al., 1998). The book explains that our classroom environments need to be well organized and encompass routines to help the children succeed in their learning process. This is where we as teachers come in, and have to map out and execute routines and lessons that promote our students’ independent learning. Part of the process of creating classroom norms and routines is utilizing the children during the planning, rehearsing, and organizing of your classroom. I believe this gives the students a chance to take ownership for their classroom, and move from simply gaining knowledge to also having an experience. Using Rosenblatt’s notion of efferent and aesthetic learning together while establishing routines and organization. Once children understand the classroom routines, it is easier for them to focus on the content they are being taught.

The book gives a few organization techniques that are directly linked to the development of self-regulation in our students. Having an organized system will help your students learn self-management techniques. A few ways of doing so are, teaching your students to put things away properly, how to correctly move from one activity to another, and everyday classroom routines, such as when to line up at the door. As children comprehend and enact classroom norms, the students can build upon their experience with the lessons we teach.

As we think about our students, it is also important to be well organized when planning and delivering small group activities, whole class instruction, and independent learning times. We are responsible for not only teaching the students present that day, but have a system that never leaves behind a student that was absent. This becomes more difficult since we have so little time with our students and so much information to cover. Nonetheless a well-organized teacher can even help their students learn routines to catch up if they are absent. A beneficial resource for not only having time for children that missed school, but also ones that may need more assistance in general, is a Literacy Corner. I think that all grades can incorporate a learning center or literacy corner into their classrooms. Such designated areas allow for additional resources for reading and writing that promote self-paced learning.

It is important for teachers to organize their materials to enhance their students’ learning. I believe that all teachers have this ability; some more so than others, but that is when teachers need to help fellow teachers find better ways to promote student learning. Along with teachers helping each other organize, it is also important to share resources with one another. So often I hear of teachers not wanting to give up their prized resource, or share their amazing library. I think this is crap, and that those teachers need to not be hoarders but understand that they have the opportunity to teach and help other teachers. Makes sense to me, but anyways. As for literacy corners and learning centers, it is important to always remember to have age appropriate materials and yet still challenge your students. If we continue to think outside of the box, include both aesthetic and efferent learning, create and perform classroom routines, and design productive learning opportunities, our students will in turn move from apprenticeship to masters.

“Apprenticeship literacy implies that children will become more competent learners through guided participation with a knowledgeable person, which the student then applies to independent work” (Dorn, et. al., 1998).

Metacognition: Learning about Learning

Very Creative and Useful.

Assisted Writing & Independent Writing

According to the authors, during assisted activities the teacher uses language prompts and adjustable levels of support to enable children to accomplish writing tasks they would be unable to accomplish on their own. The progression of children’s writing is developed by their experiences of different types of writing activities with assistance. These new skills and strategies are then reinforced through independent practice.

The continuum of assisted writing includes:

Interactive writing.

Writing aloud.

Revising and editing.

Throughout the different types and levels of writing proficiency, teachers’ support and clear instruction are vital to the success of the student. “A common characteristic of struggling writers is their reluctance to take risks with their writing” (Dorn, et. al., 1998). Children do this with an overdependancy of specific letters and words. This then causes the students to miss out on opportunities for new learning and problem-solving. They focus on their words rather than the story they are trying to share.

Teachers guide the process, assist children as needed, and evaluate the level of learning, to always be planning the next steps to teach. As for group revision conferences, this book uses two important principles to convey successfulness: Children must be comfortable having their work displayed to the class for group revisions and editing, and Teachers must ensure a supportive environment that focuses on collaboration and problem-solving. I think that if we learned more of this while in school, maybe more teachers would utilize collaboration as a resource.

According to the book, children’s writing ability is directly influenced by three important factors:

The appropriateness and quality of the demonstrations provided by the teacher.

The types of opportunities they have to revising and editing techniques.

The teacher’s feedback during group and individual conferences.

Practice is the key in order for our students to continually move to higher-levels of development.

It is important to distinguish between the zone of proximal development and the zone of actual development. ZAD is what’s known as the child’s ability without assistance, whereas ZPD refers to the child’s learning capabilities with help, assistance of any kind or level. In regards to literacy, progress is measured through these two levels of performance. “What the child is able to accomplish today with the teacher’s assistance she or he will be able to accomplish independently tomorrow” (Vygotsky, 1978). Just like balanced reading programs, balanced writing programs are essential to the growth and development of our students’ learning. The authors define a balanced writing program as three types of support that build on one another: assisted writing with a group of children with similar needs, independent writing, and individual conferences about writing.

When teachers are trying to figure out the level of learning taking place in their students, they must measure both assisted and unassisted work in order to acquire an accurate report. As for the independent learning abilities, this must be an objective of the teachers. The child’s independent work will assist the teacher in knowing how to better help that student. “Independent writing gives children personal opportunities to apply recently demonstrated techniques and strategies” (1998). Journal writing is a great way to promote independent writing, whether it is in class or their personal diary. Both reading and writing are reciprocal practices, in that one practice may contain simple and or personal stories that will support and strengthen the other process.

Guided Reading:

Guided reading is the process of children with the same instructional needs working together in small groups on their reading development. As students read through a story or a book, the teacher tries to provide resources to elevate their understanding. The teacher’s role is to plan the types and amount of support the group will need. Guided reading lessons should be designed with the strengths and weaknesses of the children in mind. There needs to be an emphasis on supporting students on a continual learning process. It is essential that each lesson have the appropriate levels of progression for each group’s needs.

“Children begin school with varied literary backgrounds – some have so little experience that they may not even understand that the print conveys the message” (1998). This makes me sad to know that there are children that start school and do not have literacy resources from home. However, hope is not lost, teachers are there to aid this process. As children begin to read, more and more comprehension is possible. Competency in literacy can be portrayed through simple strategies such as introductory discussions. These discussions, or conversations can begin to include content, characters, setting, plot, writing style, and intended audience. This type of book orientation can supply a foundation that the readers can use as they go through the text.

One important element of this chapter is that the teacher moves the children into higher-level guided reading groups as they become more competent readers. My question is, is there a way for guided reading to be a part of scaffolding for children that need more help than others? If so, doesn’t that idea go against groups of specific proficiency levels? And instead mix up the groups?

Moving on… This chapter reveals three levels of guided reading interactions, which are emergent, early, and fluent. …Progressing from awareness to apprenticeship to mastery. The teacher is responsible for the success or failure of guided reading interactions. “Observing the children’s processing behavior and responding accordingly, using language prompts that focus on cue integration and effective processing strategies, and selecting appropriate materials that support reading development” are all ways teachers can facilitate successful guided reading lessons. It is also essential for the teacher to be aware of the children’s prior knowledge, utilize scaffolding instruction, as well as developing language techniques such as modeling, articulating, and reflecting. All of these concepts lead to children experiencing successful interactions with the text.

The Big Pig Song

Just For Fun!

Learning to Read

Learning to read is all about one’s senses working together. Your eyes have to see the letters, which connect into words that string into sentences, you have to hear the sounds and match them to the letters and words, and all while your brain is processing and translating the information. It is the activation of new connections and the stimulation of higher-level processes in the brain that create deeper levels of thinking (Dorn, et. al., 1998). As for cognitive apprenticeship, the apprentice learning to read uses known information, prior knowledge, as a bridge to acquire new knowledge and understanding that the expert reader utilizes. Each student is unique and has specific strengths and weaknesses. This is vital for a teacher to tap into; because by knowing this information about a student, the teacher can begin to design problem-solving based learning experiences.

Since apprenticeship is the necessary step before mastery, the end goal for teachers is to get each student one step closer to mastery by being proficient at grade level. The role of the teacher then is to teach children different strategies and techniques to becoming independent readers and writers. Modeling for students that adults have a large repertoire of strategies to pull from for any circumstance is a great place to begin this process. I think modeling is the most basic teaching strategy, and yet the one I hope to learn to use effectively in my classroom. This chapter says that, “instructional interactions are based on the theory that children become proficient readers as they engage in strategic activity for integrating the semantic, syntactic, and graphophonetic sources of information in the text.”

Learning to read and reading to learn have two different objectives. However, I think that no matter where one is in their apprenticeship of literacy, reading should always be message driven. In order for students to comprehend harder texts as they grow up, teachers need to start providing the necessary skills for children to find the meaning in the stories, even when they are learning to read. Again, modeling can help a teacher demonstrate that successful readers integrate cues as they are reading.

Apprenticeship in Literacy states, “A low-progress reader has developed a processing system that is either ineffective or inefficient.” It is imperative that a teacher recognizes when this is taking place, because there are certain strategies the teacher needs to utilize to help students move towards proficiency. When teachers are planning and creating literacy programs for their classrooms, teachers must first observe their students in order to gain the maximum use out of their program. By doing this, teachers are able to witness which strategies their students are instigating and which ones the teacher needs to develop.

Along with teaching strategies is the assurance that as teachers we are providing a balanced education. This includes a balanced reading program for all ages of students in all grades. According to this chapter, “a balanced reading program includes a range of literacy activities, carefully selected material, and structured interactions that move children to higher levels of understanding.” A few ways to insure a balanced reading program is to include: reading to children, having them reread familiar books, shared reading, and guided reading. The strategy I never really thought about is rereading familiar books. This allows children to use their familiarity of the text as a support system to better enable them to practice integrating cues and problem-solving. This notion focuses on students’ capabilities and independent learning.

At what point in the student’s education does an emphasis on accuracy occur? Accuracy versus problem-solving based teaching mentalities are two ways of looking at and teaching literacy. This book emphasizes problem-solving teaching strategies as well as students’ learning. But is it not necessary to emphasize accuracy to some degree? Or at some point? Don’t we, teachers and anyone else attempting to understand the child, need to comprehend what the child is saying, reading, and writing in order to claim proficient or move them on to the next grade? Elementary prepares children for middle school, which prepares for high school, which is designed to prepare students for college. So does this not suggest they must learn accuracy as well as problem-solving? Or do I just not understand, in that problem-solving is a perspective and accuracy just occurs with it? I guess all of that to say, I do not know of a tangible example and therefore am finding this concept more difficult.

Engaging Boys: Collaborative Structures: Activating Prior Knowledge

Just thought this was interesting and possibly helpful...

Strategize

When communicating with others, it is important to make sure there is a clear understanding of what is being said. The same is true for teaching. It is necessary for both the teacher and the child to share an understanding of the task at hand. This idea in the book is referred to as Intersubjectivity. If this does not happen, then the students and the teacher will have a harder time cultivating the students’ learning, and most likely one or both parties will end up frustrated over unmet objectives.

There are tools to help aid the process of Intersubjectivity such as modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulating, and reflecting. As children gain literacy skills it is important to remember that we must teach by modeling both language and action. We can teach students different types of strategies and skills that can help them move to independent learning through problem-solving. Language again is an essential part of guiding students’ experiences, and when used to teach properly can promote a deeper level of understanding. Scaffolding is a very useful tool where teachers set and regulate different levels of support for their students temporarily. It is based on the children’s comprehension level of the task and information being presented. The most important aspect of scaffolding is that it must be self-destructive, that is when the child no longer needs the help it encourages independent learning. As for articulation, the idea is for the child to take ownership of their learning. This skill teaches students to become aware of their own cognitive processes, and their ability to plan, organize and reflect on their literacy performances. This flows right into teachers promoting students’ self-reflection by utilizing questions that encourage students to focus on personal accomplishments.

“During any given literacy activity, teachers must employ a range of language forms and provide interactive and adjustable degrees of support for each one.”

Cognitive Apprenticeship

This book defines cognitive apprenticeship as a knowledgeable adult using guided instruction to assist the child in obtaining cognitive and metacognitive processes. The teacher has to use what the children already know in order to help them acquire new information. This mainly comes from the language the teacher uses as well as the instructional strategies. Apprenticeship is a way for children to acquire stronger problem-solving skills and apply them to literacy activities. This master and apprenticeship relationship makes me think of Gee’s same notion of one in the process of an apprenticeship or have mastered one’s discourse. These shared problem-solving interactions allow for the apprentice to see the more skilled individual as an example, and increase their comprehension.

This method encourages students’ behaviors towards the objective by the teacher properly giving feedback. So often I hear of teachers only commenting on the negative, when instead they could potentially increase students learning by reinforcing what the child has done right. This would in turn boost moral and confidence, which would liberate the child to learn on a deeper level.

According to Apprenticeship in Literacy (1998), there are seven principles of an apprenticeship approach to literacy:

Observation and responsive teaching: Teachers observe children’s literacy behavior and design instructional experiences based on children’s strengths and needs.

Modeling and coaching: Teachers use modeling and coaching techniques with clear demonstrations and explicit language.

Clear and relevant language for problem solving: Teachers use language prompts the enable children to plan and initiate cognitive actions for resolving problems during literacy activities.

Adjustable and self-destructing scaffolds: Teachers provide adjustable scaffolds that are removed when they are no longer needed in a particular area.

Structured routines: Teachers provide routine interactions with organizational structures that enable independence.

Assisted and independent work: Teachers provide balanced opportunities for children to work at assisted and independent levels.

and Transfer: Teachers teach for the transfer of knowledge, skills, and strategies across shifting circumstances and for varying purposes.

Each of these principles can help teachers understand what is needed in their classroom when creating lessons and deciding what instructional strategies to use. To help support these concepts, it is important for teachers to be aware of their language usage. It is easy to have a goal or outcome preconceived in our minds, and project that onto our students. However, we must monitor our language for the students’ benefit, and this chapter states that “teachers can monitor their language be asking two simple and important questions: is your language meaningful to the child, and is your language relevant to the task at hand?” If a child does not understand the relevance of a teacher’s language, then often the child will not move to comprehension or independent learning. We cannot expect a child to apply information properly if they do not have the necessary concept knowledge, even though there are teachers that still try to do so. I feel that the example of Jeremy told to highlight the important aspects of the text, even though he did not comprehend all of the information, is a teacher expecting something that Jeremy is unable to do on his own at that time.

To Continue…

I love thinking about how and why things work the way they do. This chapter brings up memory and senses. Dorn, French, & Jones said that objects and events are registered by the body through seeing, hearing, touching, etc. When multiple senses are used several memory networks are interrelated and able to store the experience. This makes recalling the information from the brain easier and a smoother process in general. If we teach in ways that allow students to utilize more than one sense, we are enhancing their memory and their speed of accessing stored information. “During instructional interactions, students acquire strategies for remembering, comparing, searching, checking, and confirming relationships.” As teachers we need to be continually developing and improving these processes in our students.

As we teach students to obtain and enhance their skills, we need to move away from dependent learning towards independent learning in our students. The book uses the term self-regulated learning described as: “generating, monitoring, confirming, linking, planning, reflecting, and guiding dependant on the readers ability to activate information beyond the initial response and to use the personal form of feedback for problem-solving in the new situation.” This model emphasizes problem-solving and not the words on the page. We need to teach knowing our students will make mistakes, and we need to encourage them that they can figure it out, younger kids might need a little more help, but we should be supporting every student.

The Right to Literacy

Apprenticeship in Literacy: Transitions across reading and writing by Dorn, French, & Jones (1998) state, “For children to be successful learners, they need us, as teachers, to be knowledgeable about the literacy process and to provide them with constructive reading and writing opportunities that guarantee their right to literacy.” In this book, literacy is construed by social and cultural contexts. It is a process of interacting and interpreting students’ knowledge and learning needs. Therefore it is imperative that teachers create and use instructional strategies that support the child’s primary discourse, in terms of Gee, as a way to construct new learning. Educators must be able to articulate what children already know, so that they may guide them towards deeper understanding and learning. Wells and Chang-Wells (1992), coined the notion of “leading from behind,” which is this exact idea of teachers enhancing the level of development within their students by utilize the student’s foundational knowledge.

Scaffolding is a hot topic in the education world, and I say this because many teachers believe it is a good idea, yet do not practice it. Why would someone know that scaffolding students’ learning processes are beneficial, but not put more effort into utilize it as a resource? According to Wood (1980, 1988), “the critical part of scaffolding is the adult’s ability to determine the child’s zone of proximal development, thus providing appropriate instructional strategies that create a shift in the child’s level of cognitive functioning.” All research seems to point out that scaffolding is a temporary way to help enhance children’s learning.

Apprenticeship to Literacy continually relies on foundational theories by Vygotsky to conclude that a child’s learning is not an individual process. Children need the assistance of adults to guide them to higher levels of understanding. “Learning awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to operate only when the child is interacting with people in his environment and in cooperation with his peers” (Vygotsky, 1978). This book gives an example of a young girl, Allison, learning literacy, while being guided along by her teacher. Things for teachers to think about in such a situation are, is what I am saying helping the child relate the story verbally to the written version, am I encouraging the student to use reflection as a way to evaluate their work, and does the student understand that written work is communication intended to be read in a coherent and meaningful way by a particular audience.

Paulo Freire (1987) says that people read and write the word, as well as read and write the world. This is most evident in children as they become aware of their world they are continually reading, writing, and rewriting it. It is not until a structured system, such as school, is added to their world that they read and write the word. A child’s consciousness is formulated through their interactions of the world, namely their interactions with other people.