I would define literacy as a way of understanding language through written text. Literacy is the act of learning to read. It goes beyond understanding the letters that symbolize sounds and make up words. When these words are put together it provides the reader with meaning. Literacy is a way of understanding language, culture, ideas and stories, literacy is the ability to comprehend words and their broader meaning.
Class 2:
Should you allow your students to choose their own reading materials?
I think that teachers need to educate their students on how to pick the right book for themselves. When a student chooses a book way beyond or below their reading level it is not going to benefit them at all. Teachers need to be explicit about this. At the same time if a child tries a book that is way beyond and they get frustrated they may just learn the lesson on their own. I do think that teachers need to choose students reading levels for reading groups in class. Children may go to a certain group because their friend is there and they really need to be with students at their own level.
Class 3:
How can you motivate your students to read at home?
This really relates to last week’s question, you can motivate your students to read at home by letting them choose their reading material as well as providing interesting material for them to read. I do not think that incentive programs really work, they work for the students who already enjoy reading at home. I found in my practicum the students who were strong readers were the ones who read at home. I thought they were strong readers because the read at home, but I think they enjoyed reading so they chose it as an activity often. Role model reading, I think that students who see adults enjoying reading are influenced to read. Visit the library as a class.
Class 4:
What do you think the term authentic means? How can you create authentic writing experiences in your classroom? I think that being authentic means that you make that material you present to your students meaningful and real. They must be able to connect with what they are learning. Giving students a worksheet on what police officers do is not authentic, but creating a lesson where they have to solve a mystery using real police detective skills is. I think you need to think outside the box and be create, it’s a lot more work though. In order to create authentic writing I would really tap into kids emotions. I would try and get them to think about experiences that they have had and learn how to express them on paper.
Class 7:
How would you use/modify reader’s theatre in your classroom?
As a Kindergarten teacher it is not easy to use reader’s theatre because my students are only learning to ready by the end of the year, but I do think it is possible. In my literacy program that I used Links to literacy we read these little books that had very short sentences. Then after we used them in a lesson they went into our class library. The kids would read them and could almost memorize them. I think that with a lot of practice if you used a very basic story you could do it with kindergarten. I would even add sound effects like doors closing and musical instruments to make it more fun.
Class 9:
The benefits and drawbacks of the “novel in an Hour” exercise. I found this activity to be really interesting. I liked how you had to work as a team to get through the chapters. At times even for us it was challenging to think of ways to act out different parts. It really put me out of my comfort zone. As a teacher I would try and be very aware of grouping because some shy students may be very uncomfortable doing a skit, but put with the right people would do just fine. Students do not get to read the whole book and only really remember or understand their part. A skit may only tell them a part of it and it may not make sense.
Class 10: Would you use negotiation or debate in your classroom? Yes! I love these types of activities because it really gets students thinking critically about topics. In late high school and in post-secondary there is a lot more work done using critical thinking, but I think that debates and negotiations allow younger students to apply their knowledge to different topics. It’s also a great way for them to gain greater understanding on a topic because they have to pull it apart and really know their argument.