Courtney Latorre

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Crafton

After reading the Crafton article, I began to deeply think about how inquiry would work in a class room. I was never able to articulate that this is a type of learning I value greatly, but after reading this article, I have come to realize that this is something very important to me. I absolutely love that the students are able to take ownership of their learning because it is completely driven by their questions. Students are full of questions and unfortunately all too often teachers ignore the questions being asked or even worse, shut them down. Inquiry based learning really embraces the many questions that children ask and allows that to direct the content in the classroom. It is also amazing how one book, such as the one about the dogsled races, can lead to a whole project on a particular topic that the students find interesting and want to discover. This makes learning fun for the children because they are the ones investigating and I feel as though this allows the students to take the lead with their learning, which is important that they learn how to do this early so they can continue it throughout their lives. Another strength of the teacher in the article is her involvement of parents. Just by sharing the research being done by the students, the teacher was able to stumble upon all types of great resources, such as the phone calls and newspaper articles. This was also a great subject to get the children involved in learning how important it is to have awareness for what is happening around the world. The students were able to watch TV to keep track of the race and what was happening in Alaska. This article also displays how exciting inquiry based learning can be when the author states, "Marcia had dealt with the difficult texts problem many times before and had never let that issue prevent her students from pursuing questions they were dying to know the answers to" (Crafton, p. 87). These students are so invested in the study of the race that they are dying to get their questions answered. Marcia also used a lot of multimodal learning with the inquiry by allowing the students to complete interviews or view maps. In my opinion, the best part about this type of learning is the final outcome. At the end of the article, the students are motivated to do something when they discover in their research that the dogs to weak to race are being killed. The students work together to write letters to investigate this matter which teaches that students how to be learners in the real world. These students are learning how to be contributing members of society who are using their learning and their knowledge to do something good. Overall, this lead to the discussion of investigating for truth in writing and other ideas such as what other causes they can fight for. These lessons are invaluable because these are skills they will need to use the rest of their lives. What I like most about inquiry is the real life aspect it brings to the classroom and I cannot wait to use that in my own classroom. 

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Writing Workshop

After reading about Ms. Ramirez's classroom in the Samway article, I was extremely impressed by some of the ways in which she ran her writing workshop. In 401 we have discussed the writing workshop quite a bit and I have always loved the idea, but after reading this article I was able to see how valuable it can be for English language learners, which is something I had not previously thought about. The most striking part of her writing workshop is that she allows students to write in whatever language they want. I unfortunately do not think I would of thought of this myself, but after reading her justification, I absolutely love the idea! Why force a child to write in a language they are not comfortable with? Allow them to fall in love with writing in a language that they already know. They will become comfortable with articulating their thoughts and ideas through writing which in my opinion, is the beautiful part about writing. Once the child becomes comfortable with writing for themselves and wants to write to an audience, they will have to write in the language that the audience is familiar with, which could be a motivation to begin writing in English. I also really enjoyed how Ms. Ramirez let her class have control over what they wanted to do during the writing workshop, but still had everyone report to her so she had a general idea of what each child would be working on. I think that it is great that the students are responsible for their own topics and this is something I would really like to model in my own classroom. I am extremely interested in the writing workshop and am eager to continue to see various examples of how it can be done. 

[sarahmassung-deactivated2016032]

Writing Notebook Idea

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A heart map to include in a writer's notebook. When writing inspiration is needed, they can go back to this visual. 

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Doake

After watching Harmony read, it was amazing to see how much she understood about reading and how excited she was about it. From the very beginning, it was evident that she had been read to frequently because she knew how to hold the book and turn the pages. Doake discusses how children can reproduce predictable parts of a text (p.2). Harmony mimics the expression of being scared when she reaches the point of the story about a scarecrow. This is most likely something that she has modeled from an adult who has previously read the book to her. Harmony even goes as far as understanding how to predict text by asking questions such as, "Let's see what happens!". When I first viewed the video, I really thought that Harmony was actually reading the book. It was not until the end of the book where I could see that there were more words on the page than Harmony was speaking. In addition to already being familiar with the story, it is possible that Harmony used the pictures to tell her story. Doake mentions that regular reading in the early years results in children who enjoy reading (p. 3). It is evident that Harmony enjoys reading because she shows such excitement and energy while reading to her dad. It is obvious that Harmony's family reads books to her often, which is fantastic for her development as a reader. Harmony's next step in her reading might be to continue trying to match the words of the book to the words she is speaking. I would help Harmony with this by exposing her to as many books as she would like as well as re-reading the books she already is familiar with. I would also be sure to point to the words I was speaking as I was reading to her so she could associate what I was saying with the words on the page. Harmony has a great understanding of reading which shows that she has been read to frequently. 

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Decentration

"Learners begin to understand that in order for a wider audience to understand their writing, there is a need for shared conventions; they see a perspective other than their own; it "involves being able to take another person's point of view"(Bissex,p. 200)" -Sherbs 

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Differentiation

"Learners start with whole or bigger concepts (like marks on a page that tell a story) and then begin to move toward a specific understanding of how it works (i.e., letters create words that tell a story." -Sherbs 

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Bissex

After reading the article by Bissex, I understand differentiation to be dividing a whole into specific parts with a specialized function. It describes learning as something that does not happen in stages, but rather something that is developed over time.  Bissex described a boy who was using his own inventive spelling to express his feelings. This fascinated me because he was creating language in a way that made sense to him. During this section Bissex also discussed the various compositional forms the boy used as a way to write. This is the part that really struck me on how these theories impact my approach to fostering writing development. I would love to encourage my students to build up their passion for writing through whatever compositional form they'd like. I think keeping writing fun and stress free for students will result in them actually enjoying to write. 

Decentration goes hand in hand with differentiation, but according to Bissex, it refers to a child's view and how they begin to take another point of view. This is great because it means that the child will understand that writing can have different audiences. As a teacher, I would support this by having the children write various audiences of their choosing. It could be really powerful for students to recognize the difference between writing a letter to a friend and writing a professional letter. This is part of what makes writing so fun and exciting. 

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This video shows how we could  use a slinky to teach the stretching of words and sounds. I think this would be a really great way for students to see how a word can be stretched and be able to get hands on with it. It also may turn into Slinky chaos, which would also be fun. 

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Phonemic Awarenessssss

Phonemic awareness is the sound structures of language (Luongo-Orlando, p. 60). It is the ability to understand and acknowledge that words are made up of sounds. Students who have phonemic awareness are aware of words, sounds, patterns, and structures. Phonemic awareness is an important part of early literacy because it is a foundation to reading. Phonemic awareness is what allows students to differentiate between cat and hat (Luongo-Orlando, p. 59). Students with strong phonemic awareness possess skills that are necessary to become a strong reader and writer. According to Luongo-Orlando, some of the ways that phonemic awareness might emerge in the class room is through rhyming, sounds, or even tongue twisters. I would be sure to include this in my classroom by using songs. I feel as though music is a great way for students to be exposed to rhyming and sounds. One song that I could use is Willaby Wallaby, where we could replace names with silly rhyming sounds. Also, This Old Man uses rhyming through the entire song which would expose children to rhyming in a fun and musical way. Rhyming hop scotch would also be a great kinesthetic learning opportunity, where the children would have to hop on squares that rhyme. I would also love to have little suitcases for each student in which they could fill with items from the sound of the week. For example, a stuffed DOG or a DOCTOR kit. This would be a great way to get the students moving throughout the classroom while exploring sounds. I think a way to make phonemic awareness extra fun would be to have daily tongue twister and even practice it throughout the day or have relay races of which team can say the tongue twister faster. I feel as though these ideas are fun and easy ways to make phonemic awareness more prevalent in a classroom. 

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PLAY: The language that all children understand.

Imagine being a four year-old, fluent in Korean, in a preschool room full of only English speaking people. You do not know what the teacher is saying and she does not know what you are saying. However, as you see the other children running around in costumes and roaring like lions, you know that it is time for play. Pate states, "Children gain social skills as they play, learn, and interact with others in a group" (p. 13). Luongo-Orlando also supports using play in the classroom to develop language skills. She discusses how children learn language through everyday activities such as shopping and dressing. Because of this, I would be sure to include materials in my ideal classroom that would allow for dramatic play where they can act out these everyday activities. I would include a cash register so that the students could play store and practice using some of the terminology used in a shopping experience such as, check out or cashier. This would also be a great way to include money, which could be from various countries allowing for cultural language to be used. Luongo-Orlando states that these every day encounters allow children to use language as a way to express themselves. Another great everyday natural experience would be getting dressed. This is simple to recreate in a classroom by having a costume trunk. This would also bring fourth the opportunity to discuss occupations such as doctors, firefighters, and ballerinas, and the lingo that is associated. This type of play allows students to, "rehearse the oral language they hear in daily use" (Luongo-Orlando, p. 46).  Using dramatic play such as this, the students may even make connections from books they have read or stories their teachers have told (Luongo-Orlando). By making dramatic play materials available in my classroom, I hope to create an environment where students feel confident to use language freely and expressively. 

[erinmarieyevins]

General Format of a Weeklong Shared Big Book Experience

Day 1: Picture walk, student predictions, teacher reads

Day 2: Teacher reads, students mumble read, make and confirm predictions

Day 3: Teacher reads, students-various participatory strategies, students create predictable books

Day 4: Cooperative reading, students engage with predictable books

Day 5: Students share predictable books 

*There are often ongoing response activities that integrate the arts* 

[cat5262]

Lawrence Sipe takes a unique view on story telling. What some teachers may refer to a filler time or just a ‘fun’ activity, Lawrence sees as a prime learning opportunity time. Through both verbal and non-verbal expression kids are able to demonstrate their engagement in a book and their reading comprehension. Lawrence stresses the idea of observing and documenting the children’s many reactions to reading aloud and what these actions actual mean in a learning context. 

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The Importance of Play

"Through play, children become wrapped in narratives as they recreate favorite stories or invent tales of their own that bring meaning to play" (Luongo-Orlando, p. 11). This quote from, The Cornerstones to Early Literacy, summarizes why I feel so strongly about the importance of play and the connection to literacy. As a teacher, I cannot not imagine a better way for young students to make connections with literature than they can through play. Play allows students to take risks and use their imagination all while engaging in literate behaviors such as reading and writing.

 Allowing students to make connections to stories and use these connections to recreate stories is a powerful tool that can keep students engaged in literacy. Sipe discusses the act of dramatizing a book, where children can translate the story into their own meaning and can physically engage in it by acting out or imitating the characters. I would love for my students to actively engage in a book by physically acting it out because they are making meaning of it in their own unique way. Also mentioned by Sipe, I share the belief that stories are able to be changed and made into something the children can call their own. By allowing students to retell the stories with a new twist or acting it out in their own way, I feel as though students are gaining confidence in their literacy abilities. The students are taking ownership for their creations and can therefore develop a greater interest in reading and writing. A possible way for play to occur with a read aloud is to allow the students to reenact the story but with their own spin on the story. For instance, SIpe mentions how students read Where the Wild Things Are, and then reenacted the story. Rather than a boy playing the lead character of Max, a girl played the character and went by Maxine. I like the idea of allowing the students to reenact a story because it lets the students make personal connections.

Holdaway discusses the idea of read alouds and how to engage students in stories. One of the ideas mentioned by Holdaway is the suggestion to allow students to illustrate the stories themselves. The students are processing the story and thinking about the text because they have to draw something that is described in the text. Students have to paint the picture of what that page's idea is about by physically putting it into an illustration. This allows the students to be active and creative which really gives meaning to the text that they are engaged in. 

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Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, said the Sloth

Essential Questions: -What makes this animal different and how does this contribute to the ecosystem?

-Why is it important for all animals to have to different qualities? 

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"...all youngsters become literate by growing up in a literate society."

Luongo-Orlando, Katherine. The Cornerstones to Early Literacy. Markham, Ontario: Pembroke Publishers, 2010. Print.

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Reading with Meaning

Quotes and Ideas for Chapter 1 from Reading with Meaning by Debbie Miller "When we know the theory behind our work, when our practices match our beliefs, and when we clearly articulate what we do and why we do it, people listen" (Miller p.10). -This quote really struck me because one of my struggles is articulating myself in a professional manner. I would love to be able to speak about education in a way that makes people listen and this quote totally summarized exactly why that is so important to me. "It's messier-- nurturing creativity and independence always is-- but now the children are the ones digging in, figuring out, and working hard to read words and make sense of stories, content, and big ideas" (Miller p. 10). -When children are the ones doing the discovering, they are doing the learning. In my opinion it is important to let children be the ones to do most of the writing and talking. -Page 17 discusses the importance of seeing the big picture. This is important because it helpful to think about what will still be important to a child's success in the long term. -Page 18 catch and release learning (don't keep the "fish" out of the water for too long). Don't keep the children out of the action for too long or you will lose them.