C&R Chapter 2
First let me say, I love this book. It’s easy to read and
the research described relates directly to teachers and students. Chapter 2 is
titled “How Writing Develops” and the authors point out right from the
beginning that writing development depends on “multiple factors” including “cognitive,
social, linguistic, cultural, and instructional” as well as solid oral language
skills. These skills are important for handwriting and spelling development, as
well as for composition. Handwriting
Development: Coker and Ritchey point out two important factors in relation
to handwriting- fluency and legibility. Fluency includes the ability to produce
numbers, letter and punctuation marks easy and with speed. Speed increases with each grade level.
According to a study by Berninger and Rutberg from 1992, the average number of
letters produced in the first 15 Seconds-Grade 1—4.6; Grade 2—6.8 and Grade
3—8.7. Legibility refers to the how easily a reader can read what was written. The neater the writing speed can be affected.
Girls tend to write more legibly and quickly than boys with growth continuing through
9th grade. This section was very interesting to me; all my students
currently receive OT services and handwriting is a daily skill incorporated
into our work. I also completed the task on page 10—its similar to the Greek
alphabet activity we did in class. I appreciate even more how hard my students
work to get their written thoughts down. Spelling
development: This is a critical skill for writing. An important study by
Charles Read (1986—I think his last name is fitting!) coined the term “invented
spelling” by analyzing spelling mistakes and his work led to developing
different models of spelling development. There are three linguistic components
which are vital to spelling: phonology (sounds), orthography (writing), and
morphology (meaning). Stages of spelling development (Ehri, 1997) contain the
prealphabetic stage, semiphonetic stage, full alphabetic and consolidated
alphabetic. There seems to be some discussion about the stage models of
spelling development. Some researchers don’t believe the stage models are fully
accurate, it’s too simple, students don’t necessarily progress in a sequential
order, and that children learn from using all types of spelling knowledge
(phonological, orthographic, morphological). Composition development: Composition development is usually broken
into two components—written product and the writing process. The written product approach examines
children’s writing over time. Children learn to write in different genres
gradually, and in each genre skills develop differently. Hence, one student
might be great at writing narratives but have difficulty with informational
writing. I found it interesting that McCraw (2011) discovered that children had
better oral opinions that written ones—which goes back to having a solid oral
language foundation.
A few questions I had when reading this: What will be the impact of iPads on writing
development? What areas of writing development do you think would be important
for novice teachers to understand? Why? What stages of spelling development do
you think your students are in- or do you have a conflicting idea of the stages
of spelling development as some of the researchers stated? Why do we start with
print and not cursive handwriting—is it based on a developmental theory?
S&H Chapter 1
Vocabulary is crucial to comprehension of both oral language
and to make the connection to reading and writing. The simple view of reading
is referenced by Gough and Tunmer (1986) as decoding with linguistic
comprehension equals reading comprehension. Compared with the simple view of
writing, by Juel, Grffith, and Gough (1986) states the process of encoding with
ideation equals writing proficiency. Having a strong vocabulary breadth
(surface-level knowledge) and depth (knowledge of different meaning of words)
are important for both views. On page 7, once again, having a strong oral
language background is paramount for vocabulary development—and children learn
vocabulary in their home and build upon the knowledge of language.
Contextualized language is used in conversations, and involves all the nuances
involved when speaking to one another (intonation, gestures, facial
expressions, listener feedback). Decontextualized language refers to academic
language, and does not depend on communication between two to convey meaning. I
was happy when the authors stated that to use context to figure out unknown
words, a student needs knowledge of the words surrounding the unknown word
(page 17). Vocabulary must be explicitly taught to increase the vocabulary
knowledge of all students. A few questions I had when reading this: Is there research to identify what amount
of time in a classroom is devoted contextualized language or decontextualized language?
Can effective instruction merge the two types of language? What would you want a
novice teacher to know about vocabulary? Why?
H&F Chapter 1
To have solid word recognition skills, a student needs to
have foundational literacy skills.
Skilled readers automatically recognize words which enables processing
of written language and helps reading comprehension. There are three essential
components to word knowledge: phonological (sounds), orthographic (visual), and
semantic (meaning). When these three areas are well formed, a child will be
more likely to be a stronger reader. The exercise on page 7 in trying to spell
unknown words was interesting—spelling patterns/chunking by syllables matters! Literacy
instruction must be differentiated to be effective. There are three stages (not
divided by grade) of word
recognition, emergent, beginner, transitional and page 12 outlines the stages and
the book will outline three areas based on the developmental model of what,
when, and how to teach. The spelling-reading slant is interesting—meaning that
children will be able to read words they are unable to spell. Most my students
fit this category. A comprehensive approach or balanced literacy “diet” should
include: reading for meaning at an independent or instructional reading level,
writing for real purposes, exposed to rich oral language. To facilitate this,
the book provides an “instructional word knowledge toolkit” based on four areas—reading
words, writing words, manipulating words and transferring words. This will
provide activities to help develop word recognition skills in your students. On
page 19, I appreciate the authors reminding me that word knowledge/spelling
knowledge takes lots of practice to become an independent skill. A few questions
I have after reading this chapter: Is
this where the 90-minute block of ELA instruction originated? I am curious as
to where that time was determined to be most appropriate. Based on a theory?
What do you think is important for novice teachers to know about word
recognition skills? Why?
DS&G Chapter 1
Constrained theory defines a continuum of skills related to
reading comprehension. Highly constrained skills are mastered quickly and stay
constant once mastered. The book describes letter identification and phonics as
highly constrained. Vocabulary comprehension is unconstrained as it is
difficulty to identify as a skill that is completely mastered (I learn new
words all the time!). There is a visual representation on page 2 which shows
the continuum of constraint. One important idea I found reaffirming is that
deliberate teaching of comprehension is crucial and should be taught even if
some foundational literacy skills are not quite fully developed. Essential
elements that should be considered in a comprehensive curriculum involves the
reader at the center with other contextual features overlapping (page 6). Students
should be involved in Discourse. Gee (1990) describes Discourse (not discourse
as in language use) as a certain way of using language that represents a way of
thinking, feeling valuing and identifies one as an insider within a specific social
network. This definition gave me pause. As I read further, from my understanding,
Discourse is used when talking about what one reads, writes, or discusses
literary texts but not science or social studies text. I liked the teacher
self-assessment and goal setting on page 9 and completed this form Questions as
I was reading: How did you interpret the
definition of Discourse? What idea did you find important for a novice teacher
to know? Why?
This comment has been removed by the author.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Karen. These chapters were very engaging to read, not only because of the content, but the interactive components of it, like the assessments and stimulations. Your question about iPads and writing development is a great one! And I'm glad you asked it! Technology is being used more and more daily. However, with technology I think we need to find a good balance for its use. As the chapter stated, handwriting is essential writing fluency. As young learners practice the strokes of the letters, the fluidity of their writing enhances. If they do not practice writing, their focus is more towards the shapes and forms of the letters and their ideas are not translated into the writing as well. You can argue with me that there are applications on the iPad that will allow handwriting practice, yes I agree, but I do believe it is a different feel and more control is required when using a pencil and paper versus a tablet and stylus.
ReplyDeleteLike Cynthia's students, the majority of my students are practicing invented spelling as well. They are sounding out letter sounds and associating the sounds to the letters they think are being used to spell the word. I also have students that are in the semiphonetic phase of spelling. They are using some sounds of the words and recording letters to spell, but some letters are left out, like "showed" would be spelled "shwd."
These chapters are so relative to my everyday classroom experiences, it's great! Today we were working on our spelling patterns for the week and listing off words with long "e" sounds but with an "-ea" spelling pattern. One little friend of mine says, "Ms. Tran, I can write 'read' and 'reading' and it both counts!" I was very impressed by his manipulation of words, so I told him that what he was doing was morphology, all thanks to my newly acquired knowledge from this week's readings. He was very intrigued by the word and used it again for our next spelling pattern by saying "Yes, time for some more morphology!" Not only did I feel so satisfied that he was spelling his words correctly by using the pattern and metacognitively using morphology, but I was expanding his vocabulary and the vocabulary of the students listening to our conversation. I felt so accomplished!
The chapter stated that spelling is essential, should not be overlooked, but practiced during the primary ages. What are your thoughts? As a second grade teacher, I'm happy to see my students write sentences and use their inventive spelling because it allows them to be more fluid writers. If I ask them to focus on their spelling, and make it all correct, they are not as fluid and will stop and worry about spelling mistakes more. Do you see this in your classroom as well? How big of an emphasis is spelling in your classrooms and do you plan to change your instruction after reading this chapter?
Theresa, how could our students benefit from intensive phonics instruction from teaching them clusters that make long and short vowel sounds to avoid the pitfalls from traditional a say ‘a’ apple? There are eleven long a combinations. Knowing these and the short vowel combinations will eliminate spelling miscues of letters are left out, like "showed" would be spelled "shwd." Where do teachers obtain the professional development to teach reading skills to students?
DeleteIf I ask them to focus on their spelling, and make it all correct, they are not as fluid and will stop and worry about spelling mistakes more. Do you see this in your classroom as well? Initially, spelling is a challenge. When I teach phonics they use spelling rules associated to the consonant vowel patterns to alleviate the issue. Spelling is critical for me because I was taught the reader judges the writer based on what we say. Further, the writer is not present to clarify meaning and intent, so our writing and spelling had to represent us correctly. As a child, I did not want to be misconceived by my inability to effectively communicate in writing! We also use resources to help spell words correctly in class. When children know how to use resources and where to find information, it helps them work toward independence and take control of language processing. I am considering changing my teaching practices after my research supported readings that have proven successful.
Theresa, I strongly believe spelling is an important skill. I have weekly spelling tests and my spelling program (it is also my reading program) is based on phonology, orthography and morphology components. In my room, for writing, we use edit, revise and peer edit. Rough drafts are where spelling mistakes happen and then we go back and revise.
Delete
DeleteWhat areas of writing development do you think would be important for novice teachers to understand? Why?
In regards to your question, I couldn’t agree more with the section in the book that mentions the importance of teaching the writing process and its positive effects on strengthening writing. This part of the chapter explained that we can help students become better writers through teaching them how to effectively plan, revise, and edit. It also talks about how through teacher modeling and scaffolding the students learn to use these process skills as well. In my own classroom, I have seen significant growth in my student’s writings when we work on these areas. I think so many students get overwhelmed with the writing process in general. Just like a beginning reader needs to be taught strategies to use in attacking unknown words, a beginning writer also needs help in developing their skills to “attack the daunting” blank page. In regards to planning, it’s important for students to be shown different ways to express their planning. Not all of my students like to express their ideas in the same way when they plan. I introduce them to various ways, and give them the freedom to choose how they plan. Some students like to make bubble/concept maps. Others prefer to make outlines or lists, and some of my students even like to sketch their plans with simple pictures. The book also mentioned the significance of teaching students to revise and edit. Through teacher scaffolding and modeling, young writers can see that the first time you put something on paper its not going to be perfect. Students need to see this process, and like the book suggested one of the best ways I’ve shown this to my students is through my own shared writing experiences where I model each step of the process. I think it is so important for them to see you write, erase, write and rewrite. In doing so, it eliminates some of the stress that comes with trying to get ideas on paper. I also liked that the author stressed the importance of scaffolding students’ writing by allowing them to orally respond. Though doing this students see that just like talking is a means of communication and conversation between people, writing is also somewhat of a conversation or communication tool between the person writing the text and the reader.
Theresa,
DeleteI have also seen how my students can get so caught up in spelling the words correctly that they give up on wanting to even start writing. When we write our rough drafts, I always try to tell them to work on spelling the words as best they can, but not to get caught up in having every little word spelled correctly. After reading this chapter, I struggle with knowing if that is the right thing to say or not. I think this idea goes along with the statement that the author made about how when writers are able to spell fluently, they can use more of that attention for focusing on the meaning of what they are writing. What do you do though when you have students who can't spell in a fluent manner. I still they think they need to practice independently writing and the process itself. Therefore, I provide my students with a word wall, reference materials, personal dictionaries, or even lists of words that have to do with the topic that we've brainstormed together. I agree with the authors that spelling is a key component for writing, but I struggle with how much emphasis needs to be put on spelling when actually practicing writing. I really enjoyed the part of the book that Karen mentioned in regards to fluency with spelling and writing and what that has to do with cognitive attention levels. I was aware of the concept of how when too much attention is used up for decoding, there is even lesson cognitive energy for comprehension. I never thought about fluency in terms of writing, but see how this could cause problems for a student trying to produce a piece of writing.
I did find it interesting in reference to the two models referenced in the writing process approach. The sociocultural model states that writing is a natural process, similar to oral language, and doesn't prescribe to a common developmental pattern- cultural and local factors play a larger role. When I first read this, I'm wasn't sure my philosophical teaching perspective fits this model, due to the oral language delays all my student have. This greatly impacts their ability to write for meaning. When I read further, I found the Writing Workshop approach grew from this model--a model which I think has merit. I use 6 Traits plus 1 model- but I'm not certain what developmental model is what based off of, if any?
DeleteAs I stated earlier, I strongly believe spelling instruction is important. I wonder what the link is to reading? Page 12 talks about spelling and writing but I couldn't find in the chapter any connection/reference to spelling and reading. I wondered if someone saw reference to spelling and reading in the readings?
DeleteJamie,
DeleteI appreciate that you brought up the idea that it is important for novice teachers to understand how to give their students the tools they need in order for them to even begin thinking about what they will write on the sometimes daunting blank sheet of paper before them. I'm sure that the amount of difficulty a student faces with beginning the writing process is very much related to the composition development and how children learn to write in different genres at different stages that Karen mentioned in her original post. If a child is unfamiliar with the genre they are supposed to be writing about-it stands to reason they are going to have that much more difficulty with the "attack" aspect you mentioned.
Karen/Theresa,
DeleteI tend to agree with you Theresa about the use of iPads on handwriting development. It's hard to find that balance where technology is helping versus hindering and I definitely agree that you cannot compare pencil and paper with an iPad and finger/stylus. With that being said, I don't necessarily think that iPads should be completely avoided when it comes to practicing handwriting. I think there are some instances where using the iPad with writing programs is definitely appropriate, for example with special needs students. Whether they have a physical or mental disability that hinders their ability to write, technology such as the iPad is certainly a valuable tool to have. I also feel like the iPad could perhaps be put to good use as a motivational tool for a student who is particuraly struggling with handwriting. Knowing how many students love (and are familiar with technology), it might help break that barrier of "I hate writing!", as I've heard many of my students say. On the other hand, I definitely don't think that frequent or sustained iPad use would have positive impacts on handwriting development for the majority of children. Also, although some students really enjoy using technology, not everyone does. If a child is not literate or familiar with an iPad or simply does not like tablets/technology, this would obviously not be a good idea.
Karen and Cynthia,
DeleteI can see why spelling is very important to you both and why you focus a substantial block of instruction time on spelling during the school days. However, even after reading the chapter in the C&R book, though it was just a small section, in my mind, I would still rather have my students sound out words and focus on content and the fluidity of writing sentences, versus the accuracy of words spelled.
According to the text, the authors noted that there had been research done over grades 1-9 that stated how spelling errors were still present in phonological, orthographic, and morphological aspects. And I honestly don't blame them, due to all of the different spelling patterns in the English language that make the same sounds (like long "e" can be spelled -ee, -ea, -y, - ie, etc.). This shows that spelling is a continuous practice throughout the years and students will show errors even through an abundance of practice.
Therefore, as a teacher, I will continue to provide word banks, word walls, and re-correct my students spelling mistakes, but when it comes to grading writing content, I will focus my grading on just content and allow room for error when it comes to spelling.
As it states on p. 9, writing is a difficult process enough, as the student isn't getting feedback from the teacher, like how oral conversations involve facial expressions, nodding or shaking of the head, etc. So when it comes to writing, the ability to create sentences that convey meaning is more of my focus at this age level, rather than spelling.
I do know that there is a chapter later on in the book titled, "Teaching Spelling," so maybe with more explanation, research, and reason, I will be more convinced to drill my students more on spelling. However, as of right now, with the age they are at, all of the possible spelling patterns to use, and thw fact that some students are struggling with reading on-level texts, spelling is not a big of a priority of mine, it is more so creating complete and thoughtful sentences.
Theresa,
DeleteI have great success with an explicit spelling program--which I have had to differentiate based on needs of my students. I do believe that teaching patterns in spelling ( including the 6 syllable types), to students is paramount to developing stronger readers and writers.
Clay, page 226-227 provides a table that suggests 30-minute lessons be devoted to (inferred) contextualized language or decontextualized language during reading recovery to address processing issues among children. Critics have called this ideology “regimented inflexible straitjacket.” The lessons provide activities, prerequisites, to address issues such as reading volume and compiling, successful processing, structure and print, guide self-correction, problem-solving, monitoring, confirming, revising, making appropriate links. Prompting for attention to detail, segmenting syllables, clusters phonemes, stresses order and constructing, operating on phonological or spelling knowledge, how language is constructed and texts are compiled from letters and words, writing in segmentation to name a few.
ReplyDeleteThe implications from makes me believe, effective instruction can merge the two types of language. Clay believes teachers should learn why they do what they do. She also realized teachers need to learn to teach within the student’s zone of proximal development which enable to teacher to determine with text will be challenging with scaffolding. She stresses the importance of teachers articulating their reasons for doing what they do so well which might increase the effectiveness of a learner’s learning.
The ideas novice teacher should realize vocabulary development and word recognition skills are built from oral language. Culture, background knowledge and environmental print are key pieces to the foundation. The novice teacher should begin include the family in the process because where they child lives, include their interests, what the child eats, family events are the cornerstone to supporting and adding new words to what they already know.
Cynthia, I agree with your statement concerning what novice teachers should put into consideration about vocabulary. As students develop and expand their vocabulary, word recognition becomes an easier task because they are able to predict the upcoming words in the sentence and read with fluidity, as stated in our readings. As you pointed out earlier, culture, background knowledge, and environmental print are big influences on a child's vocabulary development. Something that stuck out to me in the text was the importance of using rich vocabulary with children and giving detailed explanatory sentences to convey meanings (S&H p. 7). By doing this, the child is not only being exposed to new vocabulary words, but they are truly understanding the meaning by the context of the sentence. For instane, the example of the child reading a story about Frog and Toad (S&H p. 1). The student understood the meaning of the word "afriad" as being mad, therefore comprehension of the text is inaccurate due to the misinterpretation of the word. By using sentences that are detailed and explain meaning, children are able to better understand the vocabulary being used.
DeleteOn page 17 of S&H, a study was done in kindergarten and found more instruction time focused on phonics and phonemic awareness than vocabulary. Continuing onto the next page, studies showed other prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms only practiced vocabulary breadth and not vocabulary depth, even with professionally trained teachers. In consideration of the limited instruction time throughout the school day, what are your thoughts on vocabulary practice in kindergarten grades and lower? Do you think vocabulary breadth will suffice due to the practice and exposure of the future years to come? Or should we provide age 5 students and younger a definite block of time to practice vocabulary?
Theresa, thoughts that relate to vocabulary practice in kindergarten grades and lower according developing vocabulary, Silverman advocates using the power of family/school interactions to build vocabulary in children. Family literacy programs are very powerful. Educating parents, involving parents in the classroom, sharing what parents and teachers are doing to promote vocabulary skills enhances vocabulary development and motivates children to add more words.
DeleteThe most effective programs have been those which included breathe and depth to have the greatest impact on practice and exposure in the future. Teachers can help parents create a language-rich environment at home that builds children's vocabulary breadth and depth. (S&H, p.198)
Children age 5 students and younger are encourage develop vocabulary at home with their family. Typically, parents who participated in family literacy programs involving writing performed better in vocabulary, sentence structure, and spelling. (S&H, p. 206)
Theresa,
DeleteGreat questions as I struggle with appropriate quality time for developing vocabulary growth in my own classroom. From the chapter we read, vocabulary is considered a unconstrained skill so it is hard a hard skill to measure--so exposure to new vocabulary will be beneficial. The example for myself is last semester--lots and lots of new vocabulary!! One word in particular--extant--didn't know what this word meant so I looked it up. I saw this word again and again in different articles, reinforcing my ability to understand this word. Last semester, I felt like one of my students with the amount of new vocabulary.
Cynthia,
DeleteI whole heartedly agree with you that new teachers really need to understand the importance of vocabulary and how it is going to affect their students long term. I also think that it is important for new teachers to know that "vocabulary" does not have to mean a set list of targeted vocabulary for the week or unit they are currently on. A language-rich classroom will have vast amounts of vocabulary! Students learn much of their vocabulary by simply having conversations with adults. Even though I am not a classroom teacher, one thing I wish I realized before working with my students is how easy (and essential given time constraints of the day) it is to use transitions and breaks for vocabulary and language enrichment. While children are walking into the classroom at the beginning of the day, restroom breaks, transitioning from classroom to specials, and even clean up time can be made into a learning experience through song, conversation, etc. Another thing I hope all new teachers realize is that they do not need to refrain from using larger vocabulary words for fear of their students not understanding what they are saying. Obviously for instructional purposes, it is important to speak using words clearly understood by the student. However I think throwing in large vocabulary words and having to explain it to your students is a great thing, especially in general everyday conversations.
The 90-minute block of ELA instruction originated by Lucy Calkins is the Founding Director of the Teachers College Reading & Writing Project at Columbia University
ReplyDeleteLucy Calkins influenced by Vygotsky-Social Learning Theory, works closely with policy makers, superintendents, district leaders, and school principals in regard to educational reform
She is the author of ten books, including the popular classroom materials Units of Study for Primary Writing and Units of Study for Teaching Writing, The Art of Teaching Writing, One to One, and The Art of Teaching Reading
Lucy Calkins is the Richard Robinson Professor of Children's Literature at Teachers College, where she leads the Literacy Specialist program
For more information visit:
lucycalkins.net
Lucy Calkins: Units of Study for Primary Writing (K-2) contains:
balanced Literacy
originated in California in 1996 (California Department of Education, 1996; Honig, 1996).
Balanced Literacy was born in response to low reading scores on a national examination. A new curriculum, called Balanced Reading Curriculum was formed. Later, the name was changed to address elements of reading and writing to Balanced Literacy.
ReplyDeleteOriginally, Balanced Literacy focused on presenting both skills-based teaching and meaning-based teaching during separate literacy blocks.
www.lucycalkins.net
Balanced Literacy is...
a philosophical orientation that assumes reading and writing achievement are developed through instruction and support in multiple environments by using various approaches that differ by level of teacher support and child control
a philosophy for reading and writing instruction that includes the best elements of both systematic and explicit phonics instruction, with a whole language base
intentionally delivered instruction to help students who can read, write, listen, and speak with increasing complexity across several disciplines
a program that includes community, home, and library involvement as well as structured classroom plans and the use of activities (Read Alouds, Guided Reading, Shared Reading, and Independent Reading and Writing)
Whole Language + more Systematic Phonics Approaches to reading instruction = Balanced Instruction
Cynthia, this is not the topic of this week's blog. Please respond to Karen's questions in the original post.
DeleteA blog post from reading teachers suggest, “Don't look at it as a 90 minute block. Look at it as three 30 minute chunks. Your first chunk would include any warm-up you want, or any closure from the previous lesson. Then, you might move into any direct instruction for the concept of the day. After that, I like to take a little brain break. Get them up, get them moving.
ReplyDeleteAfter you return from the break, it's time for guided instruction. This is the perfect time for collaborative. You can go around and make your checks on the groups you want to see and go into depth with. Take another brain break at the end.
After this, it's time for some independent work. Make sure you save time for closure and/or reflection at the end. That's how the lesson sinks in. (Perhaps you get them to link it back to their warm-up.)
Obviously, not every period goes this smoothly. But it's a decent guide.”
A recommended block schedule from a classroom teacher implicates the most appropriate time allotment.
First Third (Recall/Discovery)
10 minutes warm-up and review of last lesson
20 minutes partner work and intro to the new lesson
Second Third (Direct Instruction)
30 minutes lecture, notes, and discussion
Third (Practice/Extension)
20 minutes individual/partner practice
10 minutes closure (exit ticket, preview of next lesson)
Here are a few other tips for working with long blocks:
Block scheduling organizes the day into fewer, but longer, class periods to allow flexibility for instructional activities. Generally, block scheduling is introduced at junior and high school levels. The expressed goal of block scheduling programs is improved student academic performance. Some other rewards of these programs are heightened student and teacher morale, encouragement for the use of innovative teaching methods that address multiple learning styles, and an improved atmosphere on campus. In fact, in a national survey on high schools, Cawelti identifies block scheduling as one of the primary indicators of major restructuring within a district (Cawelti, 1994).
Initially this concept was designed to target students who are well below grade level because they needed greater amounts of small group instruction than others. Students who are not meeting reading goals will benefit from small group instruction during the reading block and often an additional 30 minutes beyond the 90-minute reading block. It is important to provide small group time even for students meeting reading goals because it is an efficient and effective way to provide high performing students with accelerated and enriched instruction
Karen, the impact of iPads on writing development according to New Literacies for New Learners: The Need for Digital Technologies in Primary Classrooms, Forzani & Leu indicate (2012), ‘the ability to read, write, and communicate online will profoundly impact all children’s futures.’ Further, the authors state, this is “an important gateway to learning for digital tools to support learning and potential for new understanding. Digitized speed, e-books, apps, video Web sites, interactive animations, online games, social networks populated by younger learners can motivate students.” The also deem the realization that ‘digital tools may hold special learning opportunities for young children that come times are overlooked in schools.’ Lastly, the research community owns partial responsibility children for “children falling behind”, they coined it as ‘tragic and unnecessary’. They admit there is ‘little empirical data with which to inform new literacies learning in the primary grades.’ How do you suppose we afford training for the inexperienced teachers who are new to the digital age, to assist children in acquiring new literacies?
ReplyDeleteMy students are in the invented stage of spelling. My theory is the rules of spelling have not been taught to students. When I was a primary student, it was expected for me to know the rules, follow the rules and practice the rules of spelling. Today, students are told, spelling does not matter. Thus, reading, writing and spelling lag, since spelling originates from phonology, it is incumbent upon teacher to teach morphology and orthography so we can continue the composition process with automaticity.
Parents begin with print when teaching writing because it is constrained according to the text. It is crucial for children to understand the concepts of print, shapes of letters, directionality, and alphabetic principles before moving to cursive writing.
I interpret the definition of discourse as, employing decoding, encoding, morphology and morphemes to dissect semantics with automaticity in decontextualized language for composition and pragmatics.
Cynthia, I agree that iPads and technology are important tools for the classroom. However, I am wondering about the impact on handwriting development. Since handwriting development depends on fluency and legibility and these increase with each grade level, I am wondering if the iPad could be detremential to developing fluency. Or, could it be beneficial? Using your finger and holding a pencil are different activities. I have the Handwriting Without Tears App on my classroom iPads and they are very sensitive and will make a student start over if he or she makes a tiny mistake (using a small stylus). Most of my students prefer a rice/sand tray or the Handwriting Without Tears little chalkboards!
DeleteA study from the Journal of Occupational Therapy Schools & Early Intervention compared handwriting practice performed on iPads to handwriting practice performed through traditional means to determine the extent to which iPad-mediated handwriting practice transfers to traditional assessments. Twelve kindergarten and first-grade students from an urban public elementary school in central Texas participated in this small-scale study. The results indicate that traditional methods, while similar, were superior in terms of letter formation and letter orientation to iPad-mediated practice. Likewise, letter recognition increased for those using traditional handwriting methods but stayed stable for the iPad-mediated group. Similarly, iPad-mediated letter production was increased more so than with traditional methods. (Wells, 2016)
DeleteKaren, thanks for the great beginning and questions that you posed (although you don't need quite so much summary). Theresa, thanks for staying on track. Cynthia, contact me for clarification on the purpose of this discussion as you have goon off topic as well as away from the readings. for the rest of the group,looking forward to your responses to Karen's questions in the original post and the group's discussion about the key ideas that she brings up.
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ReplyDeleteQ: How did you interpret the definition of Discourse?
ReplyDeleteKaren, the part about Discourse chapter in chapter 1 of the S&G book was a bit tricky for me as well. I believe what Gee meant by Discourse is that even as young children we have learned a language at home that has been shaped by our culture and social interactions with others. These speech patterns that we’ve learned at home may differ from those that we encounter in different genres while reading at school. Therefore, I think Gee believes that even young children should be provided with experiences to engage in using Discourse across the genres that they are not as familiar with. Through these experiences they can grow in their understanding of various discourse communities, which in turn would help to further develop a reader’s comprehension. This idea goes along with what the authors said and with what you mentioned in regards to vocabulary and comprehension being unconstrained skills. For example, as we learn more about the world in our experiences with others, or through texts, and various lessons in school we continuously are growing in our abilities to comprehend more challenging texts. This part of the book made me think of how reading, writing, speaking, listening and interacting with others are all interconnected and how each is an important component to comprehension.
Like Jamie, I had to go back and reread the section on the difference between discourse and Discourse a few times before I could grasp a better understanding of it. Afterwards, I was able to interpret Discourse as the experience a person goes through while they are engaged in the conversation at the time being. Its the full experience they are undergoing, as they think and incorporate emotions into the discussion. Like the example in the chapter on p. 7, if a group of students are discussing a scientific experiment, they will be expression their emotion and experience of the observations they made, the results they found, how they analyzed their findings, and so forth. However, if a group of students were casually discussing a chapter of Little House on the Prairie, that Discourse would be comprised of their self, world, or text connections to the story, themes that were noticed, and vocabulary words that made them wonder or spiked emotions, etc.
DeleteFor novice teachers, encouragement of Discourse groups in the classroom to engage students in deep and higher-level thinking discussions would be greatly suggested. Due to the amount of verbal exchange and use of vocabulary and language, this will allow students to share experiences, while practicing oral language, listening, and social skills. It can also extend student knowledge and allow for great opportunities of scaffolding.
Do you all see Discourse in your classrooms today? If so, what Discourse communities do you see? If not, how do you think you can incorporate it into your classroom?
As I've thought more about discourse in regards to a classroom setting, I can't help but think of how we encourage students to use academic language. We ask students to practice using these types of discourse in their writing and speaking. The students also listen to how their peers use the terms when sharing aloud. The more they become familiarized with these terms, the more automatic and fluent they are with using them. They also become more aware of these words in text. This process seems to again reiterate the idea of interconnections between reading, writing, speaking, listening, and interacting with others and the positive effect it has on comprehension.
DeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteAs far as the definition of discourse with a capital "D" goes, I understood it to mean social language "circles" we obtain (i.e. family, school, friends, church, etc). The thing that stuck out to me was when the author mentioned that it was like being an insider. To me, the author was emphasizing Discourse to reiterate how important it is for children be exposed to wide breadth of topics and areas of life. If they only belong to one or two circles, their interests are going to be much narrower and therefore their vocabulary, reading comprehension, and presumably all of their literacy skills would ultimately suffer. As Jamie mentioned above, it made me ponder how reading, writing, speaking, etc are all connected. These are not skills that are learned or grown in isolation. I came away from that reading thinking that there is Discourse of social studies and science texts, it is simply different than the Discourse of literary texts.
Thanks ladies for continuing the interesting discussion on key ideas.
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