Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Away We Take The Knowledge We Have Gained
I don't think I could have found a more perfect resource than this to share as our semester ends. This document on Language & Literacy Development encompasses much of what we have discussed in class not to mention a great list of resources at the end.
http://www.nde.state.ne.us/ech/ELGLL.pdf
There is so much more to a child's development than crying, eating, walking, and talking. Child development is a process in which children master various obstacles. A process in which many theorists and psychologists differ enormously. No matter who you agree or disagree with we now know many strategies and skills that we will use in order to be more effective when it comes to emergent literacy. Having worked in 5th grade for the past few years it was difficult for me to think about the beginning stages of emergent literacy. This class has provided me the opportunity to dive in and learn about the stages that young readers and writers go through. I've had the opportunity to learn many new ideas, lessons, & strategies that can be used when teaching vocabulary development, phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, word study, and writing. Now that I will be teaching third grade I will definitely be utilizing the knowledge that I have acquired.
http://www.nde.state.ne.us/ech/ELGLL.pdf
There is so much more to a child's development than crying, eating, walking, and talking. Child development is a process in which children master various obstacles. A process in which many theorists and psychologists differ enormously. No matter who you agree or disagree with we now know many strategies and skills that we will use in order to be more effective when it comes to emergent literacy. Having worked in 5th grade for the past few years it was difficult for me to think about the beginning stages of emergent literacy. This class has provided me the opportunity to dive in and learn about the stages that young readers and writers go through. I've had the opportunity to learn many new ideas, lessons, & strategies that can be used when teaching vocabulary development, phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, word study, and writing. Now that I will be teaching third grade I will definitely be utilizing the knowledge that I have acquired.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Professional Development Where Are You?
Barbara Wasik wrote, What Teachers Can Do To Promote Preschoolers’ Vocabulary Development: Strategies From an Effective Language and Literacy Professional Development Coaching Model which appeared in The Reading Teacher in 2010. The article was written to inform readers that vocabulary development is a critical aspect of preschoolers’ learning experiences, given the important role that it plays in learning to read. However, I also took away from the article the critical need for teachers to be given the opportunity to attend professional development sessions that assist teachers in strategies and provide them time to absorb the information before being expected to deliver, no matter what the subject area may be. Wasik stressed the importance of teachers needing to learn skills and strategies that are essential in using to successfully teach young children new words and develop oral language. The issue of more training and additional professional development sessions have come up a lot lately, especially the need for teachers to have easier access to receiving such vital support. The ExCELL Program is a comprehensive professional development model designed to train teachers to implement effective language and literacy strategies and practices in their classrooms to promote the development of children’s language, vocabulary, and preliteracy skills. Wasik wrote in great detail about the program and the successes it has had. The program provides teachers first with intensive and ongoing group staff development training. Then, teachers receive individual guidance on ways to integrate the content into an engaging instructional day for students. This program sounds incredibly supportive as most times after I leave professional development trainings I get back to my classroom and forget how the instructor advise we implement a certain element and feel as though I am not using the training to its fullest potential. Having an “expert” come into the classroom to observe me actually deliver the particular strategy and then receive feedback on it sounds extremely supportive. The ExCELL program is just one example of a successful program available for teachers and it includes a focus on the five areas of language and literacy.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Writing Motivation
While discovering resources on children's literature, I came across an encouraging article on ways students can create successful poetry writing. "The Poetry Cafe Is Open! Teaching Literary Devices of Sound in Poetry Writing," by Beth Kovalcik and Janine Certo had many ideas on how to help students to become motivated and eager to write poetry. The teachers began with poetry mini-lessons in a writing workshop format. Each workshop begins with a poetry read-aloud--allowing students to use auditory skills to understand the power of language and texture of poetry. Following a read-aloud, the teachers taught a mini-lesson, had students write for 5 minutes, conferred with students for about 15 minutes and ended the workshop with a 10 minute student sharing exercise. Teachers found that offering models for the structure in poems creates successful poets in the classroom. The mini-lessons taught to the class varied from alliteration and onomatopoeia, to color and rhythm. Some of the lessons were more teacher-directed, where others included students performing the literary devices out to their class. At the conclusion of the poetry unit, the teacher opened up a "cafe" in which parents were invited to come and listen to their child read their poetry.
In my classroom, we study literary devices and write poetry for a quarter of the school year. We also arranged for a published poet to come in and work with our students for two weeks. This article reminded me of much of what she does with our students. At the beginning of each session, the poet hands out a page of the poems the students wrote the previous day. Each student reads their poem aloud to the class--taking ownership in their writing. At the end of the poet's two weeks, parents are invited to come and listen to their child read one poem they wrote. Students rehearse their poem leading up to the actual performance. After our poetry unit, I created an anthology for each student including all of the poems the student wrote. This provides the students with their own book to take home and that is filled with the poems of their classmates. Students also have a published "book" to keep.
Motivating students to write can be challenging and poetry is no exception. Teachers need to create motivational writing experiences for students. Doing so will ensure students have an enjoyable and meaningful poetry experience.
In my classroom, we study literary devices and write poetry for a quarter of the school year. We also arranged for a published poet to come in and work with our students for two weeks. This article reminded me of much of what she does with our students. At the beginning of each session, the poet hands out a page of the poems the students wrote the previous day. Each student reads their poem aloud to the class--taking ownership in their writing. At the end of the poet's two weeks, parents are invited to come and listen to their child read one poem they wrote. Students rehearse their poem leading up to the actual performance. After our poetry unit, I created an anthology for each student including all of the poems the student wrote. This provides the students with their own book to take home and that is filled with the poems of their classmates. Students also have a published "book" to keep.
Motivating students to write can be challenging and poetry is no exception. Teachers need to create motivational writing experiences for students. Doing so will ensure students have an enjoyable and meaningful poetry experience.