Chapter 5

I wonder...

• She realized that her students can enjoy reading, and has enthusiasm in reading texts that they are interested in. She realized that sustained silent reading does not work for her students because students need to talk about what they are reading. Students need to interact with the texts they are reading to make sense of what is on the text. 
• I think that the guiding principle Ms. Binn was using at the beginning of the vignette in working with her struggling students is that, "Learning is about skill building." She believed, as practiced in her school, that sustained silent reading was helpful and beneficial to her students. She thought that since SSR is an activity widely practiced at her school, it will work. She thought that if students will read independently for long periods of time, it will improve their reading skills. She thought that if they achieve their goal of reading 25 books, they'll be better readers.
• Since she realized that reading should be an enjoyable, meaningful and purposeful activity, she allowed her students choose a variety of texts, texts that interests them. She allowed her SSR time to be a time where students can discuss with each other what they are reading. She let them interact with the book. She allowed her students to engage in activities that are meaningful to them. When students engage in such activities, it develops literacy in the classroom as well as develop enthusiasm in learning itself.

Questions for Further Reflection

• After reading this chapter, and based on my experience in implementing the Open Court, my question has always been, what are their provisions for individualization? When students don't get "it" with the basal reading program, what then? This has always been my frustration because a lot of students get referred to special education just because they don't get "it." When students are reading way below their grade level, teachers in the general education classroom think that there is something wrong with "the student" and not try something else, because MAYBE...the program does not work for this particular student. Also, a lot of the texts that basal programs have, are not culturally sensitive. 
• After reading about the reader/writer workshop model, I still am not confident that I fully understand how it works. I do like the approach though, because it is "student centered." It allows individualization and it also shows cultural sensitivity. However, I still need more instruction to understand the mechanics because this approach requires tremendous planning and precise implementation. Specifically, more knowledge on how to conduct reading and writing conferences, mini-lesson, and independent reading and writing.

Chapter 4

I wonder...

1. What connections does Ms. Yang Herr see between theory and practice?

Ms. Herr sees the importance of theory as a guiding principle and a basis for a teacher's practice. Ms. Herr asserts that if a teacher knows the reasons why she uses a certain method in the classroom, if it does not work, then she will have the flexibility to try out something else that will work. These theories can also back teachers up when they need to explain to parents or administrators why they are doing certain things or why they are practicing certain strategies and methodologies in the classroom. 

2. How do you see theory playing out in your own teaching practice?

I have been teaching for a long time and I have studied about these theories a long time ago, too. Sometimes, due to this length of time, I have forgotten exactly the theories that affected my way of teaching. However, as I read through the different explanations in the book, it refreshes me on why I am doing certain things. 

I believe that these theories have certainly affected me in a way because in my teaching practice, I always regard the parents of my students as important stakeholders. I always include them in my planning, they have to be involved. This is due to the theory that nature and nurture plays an important factor in the development of a child. As a special educator, I have also seen how my students go through different developmental stages or milestones throughout their life. This theory also help me in identifying if my students have needs that require support services since they are not developing as their typically developing peers are.

3. What learning theories are you familiar with?

- Piaget's stages of development

- B. F. Skinner's behaviorist theory of learning

- John Locke & Jean Jacques Rosseau "tabula rasa" theory of learning (I don't agree with this!)

Questions for Further Reflection

1. What were your beliefs about teaching reading before you read this chapter?

I believe that teaching reading is a process where students read by mastering different sets of skills. I believe that decoding is necessary to create meaning of the text. I also believe that texts that should be available to the students are texts that contains students' interests and culture. The classroom should be a print-filled environment and that the teacher will set-up the room so that students can work collaboratively with each other.

2. What do you now understand about literacy learning and development and instructional choices?

I now understand that the instructional choices that a teacher makes on literacy learning and its development reflect an underlying theory. It does not happen just because. I also saw through the different theories that were discussed in the book that there are advantages and disadvantages to each one. Not one is perfect. It is up to the teacher, or the district, or the state, to implement a certain program. I also can see why the country tries to stick to the bottom-up theory and not give districts, or even teachers the freedom to choose their literacy program in the classroom. Literacy is power. If the whole population will be literate, will be motivated to learn, will reach its utmost potential, then it becomes a threat to the ones who are holding power now. 

3. Which theory or theories might you ascribe to as you develop your own teaching beliefs and practices?

As I was reading, I was looking for a theory that will match my belief. I agree with the critical theory and critical literacy. I like the four-resource model because it provides the student all aspects that are effective in literacy instruction. 

Chapter 3

I wonder...

1. In what ways does Ms. Garrity demonstrate to Bianca and the other students in her class that multiple languages are valued and important?

- She uses books that are written in two languages

- She encourages Bianca's mother to continue using her language at home

- She encourages her students to also speak their first language in school in the right context

- She makes a conscious effort to make her classroom environment representative of the culture of her students

- She shares her own experiences when she goes to different places

- She uses materials and activities that represent different cultures

2. What do Ms. Garrity's experiences suggest about the relationship between texts and students' cultural lives?

Ms. Garrity's experience show us that texts and students' cultural lives are intertwined. They are always related and connected to each other. As students read texts, they bring meaning to what they are reading. This meaning comes from a student's prior knowledge that includes a student's culture. Likewise, a student's culture is enriched and more valued when a student develops reading skills and learns about his/her culture through the texts that they read. When students read something that is totally beyond their context, especially if it is written in a language that is not their first language, students find it hard to make connections. Therefore, they also find it hard to understand the purpose of their reading. They find it hard to make meaning of what they are reading. They cannot infer, make predictions, or even note important details in their readings. 

3. What strategies does Ms. Garrity use to foster Bianca's understandings of text and to share her knowledge and experiences?

- Ms. Garrity makes sure that her classroom has very low affective filter. The students are valued for who they are. They are not pre-judged according to the group they belong or where they are from.

- Ms. Garrity uses authentic materials for instruction. She uses texts that students can relate to, or materials that are in the student's frame of reference.

- She encourages students to tap from their prior knowledge and experiences to bring meaning to what they are reading.

- She encourages parental involvement in making sure that her students are successful in her classroom.

Questions for Further Reflection:

1. As you reflect upon the key issues in this chapter, what role do you see culturally relevant pedagogy playing in how you develop and implement your literacy instruction?

I believe that culturally relevant pedagogy just means good teaching. It means, you are conscious as a teacher of who your students are, and what are their differences. You always make sure that your classroom is a safe environment where students learn and reach their utmost potentials.

So what role does it play in developing and implementing literacy in my class? It is the basic and guiding principle that I have to hold on to. I cannot even begin to start planning my class without having that consciousness.

This consciousness will therefore make me research about my students. This does not mean, just sending home a questionnaire to parents, or referring back to former teacher's comments about the students. This means that I really need to get to "know" them on a personal basis. Then make sure that my literacy activities reflect their interests and beliefs, and is relevant to them.

2. What resources might you access to help you gain knowledge and insights about your students' cultures, backgrounds, reading interests, and strategies?

- Parents or relatives

- Books and videos about my students' different cultures

- Personal visits to places that interest my students

- Previous records or cum folder for educational history

- Researches from education journals about different strategies and methodologies in teaching culturally diverse classrooms

- Colleagues 

Chapter 2

I wonder...

1. What knowledge and experience does Angie bring to her literacy events?

Angie's literacy comes from her everyday experiences in dealing with real-life situations in her home. She probably has exposure to music and rhythm, thus she was able to create her own music. She has comprehension and understanding of things that is happening around her. Her mother is definitely an influence towards her literacy. And these experiences with mom has helped her become functional in her world. 

2. What does Ms. Adams's decision to accept a text (song) composed in African American Vernacular English say about her growing understanding of language?

Her acceptance of the song is indeed a sign of her growth towards understanding language. She saw the fact that even if a person is not speaking or reading in Standard American English, there is literacy present in that person and there is a "language" used by that person to communicate his or her need. She also realized that one's academic ability does not rely on one's language or one's command of the mainstream language. 

This experience also showed Ms. Adams that as an educator, it is not shameful that you can be wrong, and that there is always room for improvement and growth. As a teacher, it is not enough that if one strategy worked, it will always work. You have to be open to the fact that there is diversity in the classroom and students are unique individuals with unique abilities and capabilities. You have to adjust and be flexible, and be knowledgeable of different ways that will help these uniqueness develop in the classroom.

3. Beyond interviews and formal school assessments, how can teachers like Ms. Adams begin to learn about the literacy practices of their students?

Teachers can learn about literacy practices of students by giving informal assessments, making anecdotal records based on observations, checking on a students history through their cums or sample work from previous grade levels. A teacher can also give some self-assessment checklists to students on their interests and preferred activities at home and in school. Teachers can also give students options in choosing projects for classroom activities, that way, there is low affective filter and low anxiety.

Further Reflection:

1. As you reflect upon the linguistic variation in your community, what decisions will you make regarding classroom discourse practices?

As long as I use the guiding principle that language is dynamic and that classrooms are linguistically diverse places, I feel that I will be able to make my classroom a good place for my students to grow be successful individuals. With regards to the practices in my classroom, it is a must that my students understand that whatever language or dialect they may have, it will be validated in my classroom although the Standard English form will be taught as a means for academic achievement and social mobility. It will also be practiced that my students will be able to make choices on what language/dialect/register they will use according to the purpose of their communication. 

2. How do models around language acquisition help you make sense of the connection between oral language development and reading and writing?

Cambourne's Conditions for Reading and Writing explains that since oral language is learned through natural conditions, then reading and writing should also be taught or learned given the same natural conditions. In a way, I do agree with Cambourne that reading and writing should really be surrounded with natural conditions. It shouldn't be staged. The environment of the child should be print-rich and a lot of modeling should occur. However, I still believe in the explicit instruction of specific skills needed for reading and writing. Given that a child learns oral language without explicit instruction, by modeling or imitating probably, but still, this will not be enough for reading and writing. Strategies and specific skills are needed to be successful readers and writers.

Halliday's model of language acquisition explains how one learns a language, learns about language, and learn through language. He actually espouses that learning a language is a complex endeavor that can only be achieved by making meaning out of it. Language is also governed by a set of rules, and it is a tool to explore and expand one's understanding of the world. With this model, Halliday does not isolate oral language from reading and writing. He is explaining how inter-related these three are depending on the function of language.

Goodman explains the four cueing systems: graphophonemic, pragmatic, semantic, and syntactic. In this model, Goodman explains that a reader brings his/her knowledge of language, previous experiences, and conceptual framework to make meaning of a text. 

 

Chapter 1 (Further Reflection)

1. How do you see the guiding principles play out in the classroom literacy programs?

If the 6 guiding principles mentioned in this book will be utilized in every classroom, I believe that we will see a tremendous growth in students' classroom performance as well as success for almost all students. Principle 1 in itself has not really been practiced widely yet. There are still classrooms that utilize literacy practices that are not socially and culturally constructed. No matter how diverse the population is in today's classroom, we still see a lot of teachers using "one-way or one-set" of activities because as some would say, "I have used it before and it worked! I have been teaching for a long time, and I don't really want to change my ways!!!" Principle 6 states that literacy practices should include everyday texts and use multi-modal texts but in so many classrooms that I have been in and have observed, this principle has also not been accepted and used still. In the book it was mentioned that a lot of our students nowadays seem to be so good in reading "pokemon cards" but do not exhibit the same skills when reading their textbooks. This section of the book is actually an eye-opener for me because I see it too in my students. They are so motivated and animated when we talk about these different cartoon shows that they watch but when I shift my lesson to the story we have read, there is silence. I did not use that interest as a tool for my teaching my lesson.

2. What tensions do you see between the guiding principles and literacy instruction in an industrial model?

I think the biggest tension between these principles and literacy instruction in an industrial model is the element of time and money. For you to take into consideration these principles, it demands time for the teacher, meaning a lot of planning and research, as well as money, to create a classroom that will foster to the diversity of the students. In terms of the state, these guiding principles when implemented, will create classrooms that will be harder to monitor, thus, making it more difficult to determine accountability.

However, having said those things, I still believe that using these principles as a guiding framework in addressing literacy in the twenty-first century classroom is the best way in moving education forward. These principles are ideal and beneficial to the 21st century student.

Finally! Chapter 1

I finally got my book!!! Now, I can start blogging. Sorry for the delay.

I Wonder...
1. What experiences have you had in classroom settings that remind you of Quantez, Robert, or Elaine?

When I started teaching, I was at my home country. In my country, we follow the American curriculum so we use texts from the US. A lot of stories and passages that we use for Reading are about the culture in America. At first, I did not give it a thought and just used the passages. Then I saw that some of my students, at least 2 of them, who were new to our school and to the city where I work were struggling and showed disinterest in my class. They were not "poor or struggling' students but they did not seem to be motivated. After reading about Quantez, Robert and Elaine, this brought back this memory again and it just reinforced my belief in "authentic" and "culturally-sensitive" education. Now that I am here in the United States, and have actually seen a "maple leaf" after reading about it for a long time...I can see why some of my students back then showed disinterest in reading. Our passages did not mean anything to them. They did not see how these stories can relate to their lives. They were just reading "words."

2. What would you say are some guiding assumptions about literacy that were prevalent in these two classrooms?

Both classrooms assumed that literacy is the same for everybody. They assumed that everybody learns the same way, the book or teacher's manual is enough so that these students will learn how to read. They assumed that "one size fits all!" These classrooms did not take into consideration a child's cultural background, a child's "way of learning", and a child's personal experience that they bring to the classroom. The classrooms did not make learning "personal."

3. These two classrooms used traditional reading textbooks (also known as basal reading materials) to conduct reading instruction. What other options are you familiar with that the teachers might have considered?

The teacher could have considered culturally-relevant and sensitive books. The teacher could have used realia or should have built on the children's prior knowledge to introduce the new concepts. The teacher could have given an "interest inventory" so the teacher can use those as a tool in teaching concepts that seem to be difficult to understand.

Can't find you

Hi Paulette,

I don't see a posting here. Have you posted for Chapter one?