Double Journal Entry #3

 

 

Reading instruction at an elementary level aids to poor literacy attainment for older children. This is due to the fact that a majority of the attention is placed on the reading process –overlooking/neglecting the purpose of reading (whether it is to generate ideas, grasp concepts, or obtain information). The two combined, however, are crucial to literacy attainment for older children.

Reading test scores are beneficial when trying to decipher the degree of achievement in terms of the student’s current reading level.

What surprised me the most about the literacy myth was the importance of making connections to the outside world based on hands-on experience. When you think of classroom, you think of a place of learning; I guess I failed to acknowledge all of the ways that learning takes place outside of the classroom.

When teaching reading comprehension in the content areas, you (as the teacher) want to have the students work independently first; you want them to read silently and focus more on the material being read than what they may sound like while reading –which is what may occur if you have the students take turns reading the material aloud or when they read aloud collectively. Following, it is important to incorporate collaborative learning to help further place the focus on the material verses reading style.

I engage in literacy through communication, whether that is through voice, e-mail, texting, instant message, etc. –none of which were acknowledge in school.

When practicing literacy, students might be asked to produce an online document, as I am now while completing my blog. Today’s group of students is well aware of technology and the proper ways to use technological appliances. By engaging the students in an activity that uses a form of technology as a primary source, students will feel comfortable and will be eager to complete the activity because it is something that allows them to feel enjoyment.

A discourse community is a group of communicators with a common goal or interest. The community, as a whole, finds a common way to participate in group discussions.

If students have multiple literacies that are not recognized as valuable in school, those students will most likely be reluctant to learn literacy inside of the classroom. 

A teacher might build on the extracurricular literacy practices of their students by assigning a project for each student. That student could use his/her favorite book as a basis from which they would create a power point, model, game, or art form to describe the main idea and important events within the story. By allowing students to choose the book themselves, the assignment becomes more “free” (less structured) and thereby enjoyable.

During my junior year of high school, an English teacher of mine assigned a book to be read and instructed us to create some sort of model representation to correlate with the book chosen. Then, we had to collaborate to find ways in which all of our models connected. This strategy motivated us complete the assignment in a way that was representational of the book but also of ourselves individually and collectively.

During high school, we were required to take one foreign language course for at least two years. I decided to take two years of Spanish; I found the language rather fascinating and feel as though the language engaged me in multicultural literacy.

If a teacher is respected by his/her peers, students tend to show them that same form of respect which aids in their performance in the classroom.

Bolima, D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding: Educational learning theories . Retrieved from
http://staff.washington.edu/saki/straregies/101/new_page_5.htm

The National Counsel of Teachers of English. (2007). Adolescent literacy. Retrieved from
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources