EDRD 345

"So now the jury is in. Not only is choice about student ownership important in and of itself- but it produces significant gains in achievement." (Page 52)

Things to encourage our students to think about when choosing texts- Sort of like the story of the three little bears:

1) the size of the print: Is it too big? too little? or just right?

2)The words and lines on a page: Are there too many? too few? Just the right amount?

3) The pictures: Do they seem like they will help me read the words?

4)Repetition: Is a predictable text what I need?

5)The words: Can I read all of them? Most of them? None of them at all?

"If we mean it when we say we want children to become lifelong readers, if we mean it when we saw we want children to actively engage in text for a variety of purposes and for increasingly long periods of time, we can't teach them to make book selections based on words alone. If we really mean it, we also need to teach children to pay attention to content schema, myself as a reader schema, motivation, and variety and purpose." (page 52-53)

"Because he knows s much about the topic and his motivation is high, he's able to read a book of greater difficulty than a traditional assessment might indicate" This quote once again relates to our other article readings. When there is motivation, children are more inclined to attempt things that may be deemed above their ability level. We want our students to be intrinsically motivated to be life-long readers. This starts with having them interested in what they are reading, and encouraging and supporting them if they want to try reading a text that may be above their current reading level. When a child is intrinsically motivated and passionate about their reading, the possibilities for growth are limitless. 

Strategies for educators to help young readers: 

Book talks: A weekly occurrence, where the educator highlights some books she has picked out for specific children in the class. She reads through them and suggests to the student that the book would be a great fit for him or her. 

Sticky Notes: Personalized sticky notes on a book picked out for a child. I LOVE this idea because it caters to a child's individual needs and interests, while simultaneously makes the child feel special and a significant part of the classroom community. 

Read-aloud: Read a-loud the titles that the children are reading.

Recommending charts: Allow children the opportunity to recommend books for each other.

Go looking together: Take time to spend time one-on-one with a child and help them pick out books that are right for them

Pick one: Offer three books to the child that you know are great for them, then allow them to pick one. As we have learned in classroom management class, giving a child the choice to pick what they are reading makes the activity more appealing and gives them the feeling of ownership over their learning. 

Conferring: take time to meet with the child and discuss their book choices. 

I think many times, adults overlook the value of pop-culture to children. when reading the first vignette about SpongeBob, I am reminded of some of the kiddos I work with in therapy. One child in particular, it is impossible to get him to read and write; he hates it. I started trying to brainstorm strategies of ways to make these tasks more enjoyable in therapy for him. I started paying attention to the video games he loves, the cartoons/movies he watches, and the games and activities he engages in. I would ask him to write about these things, or find books on the topics he enjoys, and almost immediately we started to see a positive difference in his desire to read and write. Our therapy sessions went from behavior and tantrums over reading and writing, to the child taking the entire summer to write and illustrate his own comic book based off of Super Mario Brothers. In addition to this, we also used things like the Lego Movie, SpongeBob, Super Heroes, and so many other aspects of Pop Culture. I realized that these elements of Pop Culture are part of his life. They are important to him. We as adults enjoy reading about what we LIKE !! I hate writing and reading about things that bore me, and kids are just the same. We can use elements of Pop Culture to ignite the learning process! 

There are so many possibilities to use Pop Culture in developing literacy skills. For example, in the article talked about how you can talk about Character traits with Super Heroes. I thought it was important to note that much like Paley's classroom and the article about the Iditarod, once again the learning was student driven. The inquiries the children were making were what guided the learning. This is a reoccurring theme in positive and meaningful learning experiences. 

"These developing readers learned to expand their responses to books and stories by relating material to their own experiences and by exchanging interpretations." From my own experiences, I comprehend texts and have a better memory of the content, when I am able to make connections and relate the text to my own life. We as educators should be looking for reading material and stories that our children may form a connection with and that they will be able to relate to. 

Much like in Paley's classroom, Marcia (the classroom teacher in this article), chose a story that sparked a long-term inquiry. The reading led to questions and study about the Iditarod, and became a much more meaningful learning experience for the children. She allows the children to ask a lot of questions that they are curious about, while also scaffolding them to think deeper and further into their lesson about the Iditarod. Something else I really loved about this lesson was the element of family involvement. The learning did not just stop when the children left the classroom; it was extended into their homes by watching the race on TV and learning about the toll free phone number. The families of the children were involved in their children's learning, which I believe is something that we as educators should strive for.

Marcia dealt with the issue of some texts being too difficult, by reading allowed while the children followed along, which I think is great. Children are going to learn by experiencing the text. By allowing them to follow along and highlight while she read aloud, they are being exposed to more complex sentence structures and more intricate words, which will help their literacy skills in the future. Introducing and exposing the children to these elements might help them begin to understand the more complex texts, as they are continuing to learn.

I love the technique of using bookmarks/index cards to address miscues and difficulties when reading more advanced texts.

Reading is much like our progress through out daily activities throughout our life; we need to know where we are going, why it is important, and the work that will go into arriving at your destination. "Making certain that children and I are crystal clear about where we're going. Why it matters, and the hard work we need to do to get there." It is imperative to give children meaningful and specific directions, so that they know what to expect on their journey through learning to read. 

"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." (page 10). This quote stuck out to me as one of the fundamental ideas that educators need to understand, to be a truly effective teacher. If you understand why you are using particular methods, and you are strong in your understanding of theory and your beliefs of what works, others will trust you and support your teaching style. When an educator is confident, both students and parents are able to put their trust in that teacher's hands. Just based on the teachers and professors that I have, the confident ones always come across as the most passionate ones; the passionate teachers have the most engaging classrooms, where learning takes place every second of the time spent with them. With these teachers, learning is fun and is not just dry memorized material, with them, you gain knowledge that stays with you. This is the kind of teacher I want to be. "There are many effective ways to teach children and live our lives. No one has a patent on truth. Find yours. Read. Reflect." Figure out the teacher you are, your beliefs, and what works for you...and then run with it!

"Reading workshop is a simple framework for teaching and learning that beautifully accommodates my beliefs in how children should learn. Based on the principles of time, choice, response, and community, a workshop format allows for an in-depth teaching and learning, flexibility, differentiation, and ultimately, independence." From personal experience, I can not emphasize how important choice is. We want our students to LOVE reading. When I was in school, we frequently read books that I could not stand. They were boring, I was uninterested, and reading become a chore. It was not something I loved to do. It was not until I was in my twenties, when I started to choose the books I was reading based on my interests, that reading become one of my most favorite things to do! I believe to really bite children with the reading bug, we must be cognoscente of the things they love and the things that interest them. We want them to want to read, not look at it as a punishment!

"Catch- and- release workshop model: I LOVE this workshop model. It assures that we are not over-scaffolding or smothering the children. Children learn by doing hands on activities, talking to each other, and actually doing the reading and writing on their own. If the students start to lose momentum in their work, you can regroup for a short amount of time, get the children back on track, and then "release" the students again, to continue in their own learning/exploration journey. 

"When we began to pay attention to what was going on inside our heads as we read, we were amazed at what we learned about ourselves as readers. We were making connections, asking questions, drawing inferences, and synthesizing information." To me, this is what makes reading so magical. When you are truly engaged in a book and making connections, reading can set a wildfire ablaze to our minds. This feeling of making connections and being truly engaged in our reading, is what makes reading so enjoyable. If we can share this type of metagonition with our students and instill this passion for reading, questioning, and expanding on the text in them, we will be able to have a classroom full of passionate readers! 

- Create a overall, well-thought-out plan for teaching: "There's nothing worse than walking into school each morning having to figure out what to teach, scramble for a book, come up with a plan. When we get caught in that trap, our teaching becomes disconnected and is just a series of lessons rather than a coherent plan for teaching and learning." 

Gradual Release of responsibility

1. Teacher modeling and demonstration

2. Guided practice,where teachers gradually give students more responsibility for task completion.

3. Independent practice accompanied by descriptive feedback.

4.Application of the strategy in real reading situations. 

There was a lot of technical information in the chapter this week. We discussed how to mark miscues when listening to a child read and how to analyze miscues. I felt overwhelmed at first as I read all the different markings, and was asking myself how efficiently I could do this while also listening to the child read. I think this will come with practice, as well as, I may develop my own way of marking the text as I become a more seasoned teacher. 

I also found it helpful that the chapter discussed identifying visual cues....such as noticing how and when the child is using the pictures in the book to help predict the words on the page. For example "He knows that the pictures are helpful to his reading, but he uses them selectively, usually when he comes to an unfamiliar noun, verb, or adjective. He doesn't look at the pictures when he reads function words (such as the, with, and, or very) that he knows do not appear in pictures." (page, 62)

As I continue to read each of Paley's chapters, I continue to become more and more enthralled in the stories of each child and the kindergarten classroom community as a whole. I feel more and more connected to them as we read on. However, I have been so wrapped up in the stories of the children in Paley's classroom, that I think I have neglected somewhat to reflect on who Paley is as a, teacher and person. That all has changed with the reading of the chapter "Mr. McMouse". I felt such a connection with Paley when she states at the end of the chapter:

                “I gaze at the children, who join Walter in his laughter. These are my friends too. They know my real name. And what if the mirror that holds my truest reflection is the one that hangs on the classroom wall? When I no longer hear the name “teacher” will I be left with no name at all?”

 After reading this chapter, my mind was racing in so many directions. We don't know who Paley is outside of the classroom. Who is she? Is she a mom? A wife? A grandmother? A best friend? An artist? A writer? How does she define herself? Furthermore, who am I as a person? This was a point in the book that I felt more of a connection with Paley and the children than ever before. We as humans (and educators) are constantly evolving. With every interaction and experience we have, there is a change within us occurring. At 26 years old, I have had a couple of pivotal moments like this; when I took a step back and had to look in the mirror, just as Mr. McMouse does in Leo Lionni’s book. First, I changed career paths. Theater was something that defined me. It was my whole life and everything I ever knew. Then one day, I had a change of heart. I was forced to take a step back, look in the mirror, and ask myself “who am I without this in my life?” The second occurrence was ending a close to 2 year long relationship. I had become someone I wasn't. He was in the army, and had severe PTSD from deployments. His problems were mine, and my world revolved around helping him get better. However, in that process, I had completely neglected the person I was. I forgot my values; my hopes and dreams. I was completely and totally lost. I could no longer tell where he ended as a person, and I began.  In both these instances, I had to step back, and I did not recognize myself. I had bent, compromised, and given in so much to my career and my relationship, I saw someone in the mirror who was not me at all. In front of me, there stood a stranger. It was time to make a change; time to find myself. Figure out ALL the things that define me and make me who I am, not just one thing. It is an absolutely shocking moment, when you realize that in just a relatively small amount of time, you have changed so much. It is scary, invigorating, and a complete awakening. Paley explains, 

"The author has presented a Kafkaesque situation in which our hero has suddenly lost his image, his name, his entire identity, and he nor we know why." ...... "Does the new book tell us that perhaps, one day, the author woke up in New York City and realized he had become someone else, someone unrecognizable, someone who needed to return home in order to look for himself again?"

What brought me back to being my true self, were my family and friends. They brought me back to life. Paley explains “It is through the mirror of friendship that you find yourself when you are lost.” This could not be truer for me. Without my friends and family as a support system, I probably would not have even realized how much I had gone off path, and how much I needed them to help me return back to the woman I am now. It took me 26 years, but I am now a woman who loves herself, and loves the person she is becoming! However, I will continue to grow, learn, and evolve. There may be more mirror moments in my life down the road. These “mirror moments”, although scary, are moments that I believe we all go through as humans. We step back and say “who am I?” We all become so wrapped up in jobs, relationships, etc… that we sometimes lose ourselves within them. We can become completely defined by a single career or relationship. These are both things that can change, evolve, and end. However, family and true friends will always be there as your home base. They will always be there to weather the storm with you. I believe that is what the Mr. McMouse book and Leo Lionni are addressing. Moreover, what makes this chapter and Mr. McMouse so powerful (and evokes such a powerful response from Reeny and the other children), is that everyone is faced with finding themselves, and figuring out who they are as a person. It is a long, grueling, painful, enlightening, and beautiful thing! Figuring out who you are is not easy, but we all go through it, and persevere with the help of friends and family. I think the reason Leo Lionni’s books have meant so much to these children and Paley, is that they address issues that all children are going through, but also adults experience as well. The themes of all his books are completely complex, and ask the hard questions and address the hard issues about life. His books revolve around human relationships/nature, and the evolution of self.  As humans, not only do we need love and affection from others, but we need to love ourselves. After all, without a relationship with ourselves and others, what would we be?

In the chapter “Brown Baby”, I think this is what Reeny is struggling with. She is stepping back and questioning who she is. She is starting to understand her relationship in the world, and to those around her. For a kindergartner, this is probably a perplexing moment. She is starting to develop self-concept, self-esteem, and understand herself. She is working through issues that, maybe the people around her don’t understand. She knows her friends are there to help and support her, but she needs to do this on her own. Sometimes we don’t know the answer to our own questions. However, we contemplate and ask these questions nonetheless, because that is how we grow as people. We question, so we can evolve.  Paley ends the chapter with making the connection between Leo Lionni’s Mr. McMouse and Reeny’s Brown Baby. She states:

Kidwatching: 

Children start to become literate and have print awareness at a very young age. From birth, a child is exposed to the way print, reading, and writing are used in the lives of their families. "By the time most children enter school, they already have a good sense of how written language is used in their worlds, and have already begun to make discoveries about important print concepts." (page 27) For this reason, when children enter our classrooms, a great way for us to start our school year, is to assess the children's print awareness. 

Developmental moments in print awareness:

1. Understanding what symbols mean- " Three and four year old readers commonly use colors, pictures, shapes, and textures to predict what the print might say. That is why we often see them doing things like hypothesizing that the large print on a Crest tube says toothpaste." (page 28)

2.Understanding How Symbols Mean: Children learn what alphabetic symbols mean, and also how they can be organized and used in patterns.

3. Size and Length: "Some children hypothesize that long strings of letters (PANOBOB) are used to represent big things, like barn or granddaddy while short strings of letters (BMD) are used to represent small things, like a salamander or Rebecca. This makes sense considering that in pictures and real life, barns are bigger than salamanders.  This part of print awareness really intrigued me. I was unaware that children make this common error, however, it really is understandable, how they develop this misconception. 

4. Unique Designs: Making a connection between "Zada for Zoo". Children begin to see a commonality in the appearance of words and the order in which they are used. 

5. The Concept of Word: "They start to notice that words are a certain length, and that they have internal variation (no repeating of a letter more than twice in a row)"

6. Directionality: Important discovery for young children is that (in English and Spanish), text is read from left to right. Another thing that is important to take into consideration is that children who might be English language learners or come from bilingual Chinese, Hebrew, and Arabic families, their language is read from right to left or vertically. We need to be aware of these differences when assessing, and teaching children to read. 

7. Correspondence Between Oral and Written Language: Children start to understand the relationship between Oral and Written Language. They begin to do things such as matching their voice to the print they are reading. 

8. Understanding how letters relate to sounds: Children will understand that certain letters relate to sounds. "They become alphabetic". They will "begin to integrate visual with sound-based hypotheses. It is at this point that a child might recognize that C-R-E-S-T could not spell toothpaste because it starts with a C. 

Informal Print Awareness Evaluation

1.What does the child know about print?

2. What evidence is there that print awareness is developing?

3. When a child produces something unexpected or unconventional, what does it tell about the child's knowledge?

Print From Home

In one of my practicum sites last semester, my coaching teacher did something once a week called "family journals". This was a small notebook that had short letters from each child's family member. Once a week we would take out our family journals, and read aloud as a class what parents/guardians had written to their child. They were also encouraged to bring in books from home that they read with their families. This was nice because it not only worked on the child's print awareness and literacy skills, but it also incorporated each child's family into the classroom community. 

A Rich Talk Environment: 

"If we want children's language to come to life in the classroom, we have to provide a rich environment for learning. " We need to encourage classrooms that are "lively places for inquiry, collaboration, thinking, teaching, sharing, laughing, and learning." I have learned in many of my child development classes, how important conversation is to language and literacy development. In my practicum school this year, I feel as though it is constantly put upon the children not to talk, and that they must be quiet. This confuses me. In past classes, I've had professors tell me that you always know when learning is taking place, because it is not quiet. The children should be interacting with each other and the teacher, asking questions, making observations, and drawing conclusions together. I do love my coaching teacher and the school I am placed in, however there are so many rules about not talking. They are to face forward and not speak when in the hallway, the first 10-15 minutes of lunch they are not aloud to speak to one another, and during classwork, many times we do activities where they are not encouraged to speak with their neighbors. I understand that there must be procedures in place in terms of classroom management, so that the children finish their lunch, and are able to travel efficiently in the hallways, however. I feel that such a restriction on communication during the day is somewhat counterproductive. 

Guidelines for talk evaluation and observation:

1)Focus on children as they talk and listen in different situations and settings

2) as they explore different language functions and forms

3)as they demonstrate different interactional competencies

4) as they demonstrate language and conceptual knowledge 

PALEY (68-80) 

I found the question of relationships and gender stereotypes that arise in "Girls and Boys" to be particularly interesting. In all the discussion of the Leo Lionni books throughout Paley's book, I never once made the connection that all the main characters were male. I did however admire that Reeny acknowledges the fact that the characters can very easily be interchangeable. She also makes the connection that "Leo Lionni he wasn't thinking 'bout girls too much because he used to be a boy". Reeny is making the connection, that many times in literature and writing, we are connected to stories and characters that relate to us. 

"Geraldine" may be my second favorite chapter we have read in Paley's book thus far. This chapter really painted a picture for me of the classrooms, and the relationships that have been created within it. "The book represents nothing less than the moment at which the muse enters an individual soul." This quote really stood out to me. This is a moment we all can relate to as humans; that "ah-ha" moment, where something touches your soul, the light bulb goes on,  and you understand that you were meant to be a certain way, or that you were born to do a certain thing. It's your inspiration and passion coming alive. This is what makes "Geraldine" so very special. Paley writes: 

"All of us are like Geraldine. All of us are like Geraldine! We all have inside of us, something only we can see and hear. It comes out in our stories, our play, everything we say and do!"........ "Instantly a snake-line forms behind me, winding around tables and chairs. I told you so a piece of cheese! Oliver lifts his head from a corner table and swivels around to watch us, a tiny smile on his face."

This quote and scene was so paramount to me. Paley made a connection with Oliver, and (at this point, I believe without knowing it) I think she got through to Oliver. She says "We all have inside of us, something only we can see and hear. It comes out in our stories, our play, everything we say and do." This made me think about how no one quite understands Oliver, or the world that he lives in. There is constant reference to Oliver retreating into his world. However, certain things bring him to life. For example, his writing and pictures of bunnies. Sweetheart and Richard, help bring Oliver out of his reclusive state, and help find ways for him to interact in the class. Sweetheart is Oliver's muse. When Paley makes this connection, it is as if Oliver understands this, becomes an equal with his classmates, and smiles in understanding. 

Kidwatching to Responsive Teaching:

Kidwatching is the beginning to responsive teaching, however, talk and communication between student-to-teacher and student-to-student, is at the heart of responsive teaching.

Communication and meaningful conversation allows us to explore things about ourselves as well as others. "Teachers promote literacy growth by being deliberate about helping children get in touch with themselves and the process." (page169)

"if it is well-written you sort of believe it for awhile." (page 170) This quote really struck me while reading this article. I love to read, mainly because books have the ability to transport you to that time,place,and those relationships being created in the book. When a book is well written, you connect with the characters. In some cases, you almost can become that character and feel the same feelings he/she feels, and become emotionally entwined in that book. You can feel the turmoil, happiness, sadness, anxiety the character feels....you are transported into the story. You become that person, and walk a mile in their shoes. This is what I love and find so magical about reading. This is why it is so important to get children excited about reading. As the child named Chris goes on to explain later in the article, "it kind of taking you with it." Tim builds upon his student's notion by saying "Reading is believing that this thing that is in front of you, which is basically, as William put it, symbols on a page, right? It's just ink spots on a page. You take those ink spots and you sort of transform them into believing this thing that's on the page." This is a beautiful thing. 

Reading explained by Shel Silverstein, "If you are a dreamer, come in." Come into this story. "If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic bean buyer." 

Lastly, the point that Tim O'Keefe makes that made perfect sense to me, is the idea that we come to our reading bringing who we are to the text. How I understand both fiction and non-fiction readings, is that I make connections to my real life. When reading a fiction book, I develop a social/emotional understanding of a character, by thinking about my own experiences. "How does that character feel? Well, when I was in a situation similar to that, I felt like this." When involved in non-fiction reading, such as our assigned reading and textbooks, I understand it by relating it to things I've seen working with kids, or things I experienced myself growing up, etc. How we make meaning of reading, and understand the content, has a lot to do with our own experiences and making connections to real-life. After all, that is why the children in Paley's classroom in Girl with the Brown Crayon fell in love with Leo Lionni's books.... they related to the characters. They identified with the characters and made a connection with social situations and emotions they have experienced in their own lives. It is all inter-connected. 

The Girl with the Brown Crayon (48-61)

In the chapter "Rituals", page 49 gives great examples of how Paley is infiltrating all different areas of academic study with Leo Lionni's stories. She talks about painted posters which incorporate art, making up rap songs which incorporate music and culturally relevant pedagogy, counting which is math skills, as well as literacy skills by recalling and discussing all the different books.

Further more, Paley explains that "We read the book almost to the point of memorizing it, then dramatize it, paint it, and discuss finer points, comparing new characters to those we already know and to those in other books as well. The characters enter our stories, our play, and our ordinary conversations. When we look at common core standards and state requirements of literacy, all of these things are part of the standards and indicators. Paley is successfully teaching the children the requirements, without them feeling like they are being taught to the test. 

"It is passion Reeny wants." ..... "I too require passion in the classroom. I need the intense preoccupation of a group of children and teachers inventing new worlds as they learn to know each other's dreams. To invent is to come alive. Even more than the unexamined classroom, I resist the uninvented classroom." This quote by far is my most favorite in all the reading we have done thus far. It is beautifully written and is perfectly to the point. The classroom should be full of life. A successful classroom, to me, is one where learning is happening in conjunction with socialization, laughter, and little voices constantly asking questions. It is not boring or quiet. It is not children sitting quietly in their seats, writing and reading in silence. It is messy, and a place where students and the teacher are partners in learning; we are learning daily, together, and learning from each other. 

The chapter on Walter had me making connections with our 344 class with Professor Smith. Paley discusses her Polish student Walter, who has struggled in her class. He shows signs of frustration and doesn't seem to have good self-efficacy. He constantly says he can't perform certain tasks, like drawing. Paley starts to reflect and evaluate herself. By the end of the chapter she realizes the extent of lack of knowledge she has about Walter and his culture, and how that might be hurting their relationship. He writes his name "WLADYSLAW" in huge words; his polish name. Paley explains,"his real name". She then makes the effort to make a better connection with the student who she has not quite connected with on the same level as her other students. She explains....."Walter has shown the one-who-teaches a piece of himself. No, he has given me a piece I am missing." (page 54)

Connection to EDEC 344: We just had a class that revolved around the relevance of our names. Without our name, we are nothing. Professor Smith explained to us "the quickest way to dehumanize a person, is to take away their name." She then connected this to the Nazis in Germany, when they took the names of concentration camp members and replaced them with numbers. We then read a story of an little girl of Arabic Heritage, who had a name which teachers in her life wouldn't even bother to pronounce correctly. She felt as though her name was a burden. How that made her feel, changed her demeanor, her outlook on life, and effected her school experience.

I've attached the link to the article, just because the chapter about Walter has, for me, made such a strong connection with this article!  http://the-toast.net/2014/01/15/the-names-they-gave-me/

Lastly, the chapter Swimmy, makes obvious connections to important history lessons, such as the underground railroad, Harriet Tubman, and slavery. This chapter shows me how we can connect the stories/books we are reading to many different areas of academic learning. 

Kidwatchin Chapter 4: Books and Book Handling

"Chloe (age 2) selects Mrs. Wishy-Washy from a low shelf in her preschool classroom." When designing our classroom libraries, we need to be conscious of location. Make sure the books are low and easily-accessible to little ones. 

Indications of book knowledge and early literacy:

Examine book cover

skips over first few pages to where the story begins

turns pages from left to right

reads lines of print from left to right

uses both pictures and text to make meaningful text

- Small children start collecting their knowledge about books from the time of infancy. Their environment and the people in it will tell them a lot about books, such as:

the functions of books

the routines used to share them

the oral discourses used to discuss them

the concepts and strategies needed to construct a meaningful text

"An important part of Micheal's literacy enculturation involves his coming to know why and how significant people in his world use books." This made me ask myself, so how do we help those children who did not grow up in such a book/literature rich environment? Yes, of course all children will be exposed so SOME forms of literacy, but what if there are children who are not exposed to books, reading, and other forms of literacy? 

"Kidwatchers believe that all readers need sensitive and meaningful enculturation into the world of books." (page39)

To learn more about literacy and book knowledge, we can use data collection forms such as taking anecdotal notes, using checklists, and using book-handling knowledge. 

GWBC: I truly enjoyed both The Girl with the Brown Crayon and Reading the Painting readings this week, however, The Girl with the Brown Crayon touched my heart. I relate to the Chapter "Oliver" on a personal level. My job when I am not in school, is to provide ABA therapy to children who have been diagnosed with autism. Many display the same characteristics that Oliver exhibits in Paley's book. I understand how hard it is to bring these children in, and catch their attention when they are not fixated on the particular topic you are discussing. In this case, Paley has found a way to draw in even the children who normally stay on the outskirts of her classroom community. Paley and the children even make sense of Oliver's meltdowns and over-stimulation, by creating him a safe place (his "Mouse Hideout") to go when he is feeling overwhelmed. This not only helps Oliver directly, but it helps the other children better understand Oliver's difficulties. By utilizing the study of Leo Lionni, Paley has managed to create a community that includes each and every one of her students. She ends the chapter with "How easily Leo Lionni brings us together. Even Oliver cannot escape the net." (page 30). This speaks volumes to me. Being able to reach every child in your class is the ultimate goal, and Paley has discovered a way to do that. Lastly, branching off of this, in the last chapter of our assigned reading, "Letters", Reeny is overwhelmed, angered, and saddened by the thought of not meeting the creator of her favorite character Frederick. She herself retreats to the mouse hideout and is consoled by Oliver. I think this chapter helps us reflect on how personal reading can be. Reeny had a need to have her questions answered by Mr. Lionni. She wanted to dig deeper in her exploration of literacy and these wonderful books she fell in love with. It also allows us to better see that at a young age, children are still learning about their emotions and how to express and deal with them. 

Reading the Painting: I had some experience with visual literacy in my ARTE 520 class. We would analyze pictures very much in the same way that Williams had her students do, first looking at a picture we knew nothing about, and then writing a small narrative about it. Later we made our own paintings, many times abstract, and then created stories using our art and our imagination. The most paramount thing that stood out to me while reading through this article, was that literacy is not one dimensional. In order to draw our students in and engage them, we need to spice up our lessons! We need to think outside of the box, and bring fun and excitement back into the classroom. By using visual literacy, Williams's class was able to work on reading, writing, and pushing their imaginations to the limit. It taught them not only literacy, but taught them to analyze, evaluate, and look critically at the paintings. They were more intrigued because each child had a different story, therefore, each child felt a connection and ownership over their writing! This surely is a lesson that will stay with those children for their lives, and to me, that is the ultimate goal as an educator. Williams writes "reading is not neutral but in fact highly individual, filtered through a personal, social, and cultural context. We should strive to give children more exposure to visual images, especially in a way that allows them to freely develop their critical thinking as well as their own meanings uniquely rooted in their personal experiences." 

With standardized testing and Government acts being passed, it is a struggle to keep our classrooms dynamic and engaging. There is more pressure to "teach to the test", instead of providing the children with meaningful and engaging study. Williams talks briefly in the beginning of her article about lawmakers and standardized testing. She stated, "Lawmakers characterized reading as strictly the making of meaning from print, with an emphasis on phonemic awareness, vocabulary,phonics, fluency, and comprehension." This is a "narrow view of reading."  This small part of the article sparked a connection from my very first education class with Dr. Swick, who was quite possibly one of the most inspiring professors I have had the honor of knowing. He had us read "The Blueberry Story: The teacher gives the business man a lesson". It is a very to-the-point article but it is worth reading. It discusses the role of business & government in our public schools. I have included the link here just because I think it is such a powerful message. It is very short and will not take long to read! I urge all of you to read it if you have not been given this article to read in other classes! 

The Blueberry Story:

http://newsroom.unl.edu/announce/csmce/755/3329

Kidwatching: Sociocultural Knowledge and Experience.We can tell so much about a child's home life, culture, and what experiences they have been exposed to just by kidwatching in the classroom. When we kidwatch, the actions, dialogue, and writing give us insight into what the children have seen and experienced. We see what " places they've been, the people they've encountered, their oral and written language histories, and their resources for getting things accomplished." (page16) When we kidwatch we see that children understand that their is different forms of language, and different appropriate places and times to use that language. "Any time we read, write, or speak, we are using a specific form of language fit to and for specific social situations" (page 17) Children hear and observe the adults and other children around them, and will model after them. They understand that there is a time to write in full sentences, and other times when you may just list words (such as a grocery list). Children understand that the way a Doctor might speak and the vocabulary a Doctor uses, will be different from that of a teacher, a plumber, a park ranger, or a lawyer. They assimilate this into spoken and written language, which allows us to see who they have encountered, and their social view of that individual. This is important to understand and connect with the children on a social-emotional level. "Learning about children's social and cultural experiences gives insights into their ways of speaking, knowing, and thinking." (page 17).Understanding a child's social and cultural upbringing will help educators better understand the child's disposition towards school and literacy. It helps us evaluate why a child may feel insecure about their writing and reading skills, and understand cause and effect of the behaviors that come with that insecurity. When this occurs kidwatchers have questions they should ask:

1)Why is the child responding this way

2) How do I modify my teaching to make a stronger connection with this child and their strengths and interests

3) How do I help the child grow and expand their interests/needs/language practices etc. 

We as educators have a responsibility to learn about our students' culture and make an effort to understand it. We will then be able to connect with the child and help guide them through their educational journey. We must bridge the gap between home and school, "Kidwatchers create learning environments in which school practices connect with children's personal and social worlds." (page 21) Make lessons meaningful to them!

"Students do not master any school practice without being motivated to enter into and identify with that practice and without believing that they will be able to function within it and use it now or in later life." (page 21) I connected this to a learning experience I had with one of my kiddos last week. While working with one of my early autism kiddos, we always have HUGE meltdowns when it comes time to do descriptive journal writing. This kiddo HATES to write. My supervisor has these prompting sheets that are incredibly boring, where the child fills in the blanks in order to develop a topic to write about in journal. Although I'm sure that these do help to some extent, the child hates them and has begun to look at writing as a punishment. Last week the child showed an extreme interest in dinosaurs. I took after our reading and decided to try and use this interest to spark an excitement for writing. I brought in a dinosaur encyclopedia, we looked up dinosaurs on the internet, and watched a documentary on netflix. The child was so excited about what we had learned that instead of writing the required 4-5 sentences, he filled his page with what he had learned that day!!! It is all about connecting with the child, and incorporating what is important to them, into their learning experience! 

Relevance, Ownership, and Choice:

1) Find relate-able topics the children want to learn about. "Find the curriculum relevant to their personal and social worlds"

2) Find activities that excite them and are something they can be proud of. This is not just a fill-in-the-blank worksheet! Let students "own their activities"

3) Allow them to learn about something they chose to explore and look further into. Children learn when they are allowed to "make choices about what and how they will learn". (page 22)

These steps were both linked with my real-life experiences with the child I work with, as well as sparked a connection with the video we watched last week on the Auburn Children's Research Center. In both cases, meaningful learning was taking place, due to the benefits of kidwatching and these three steps! 

Lastly, we need to be aware about how our own bias and upbringing may try and alter our observations. We need to make sure to make OBJECTIVE observations, not subjective ones. We as educators need to understand that every single child is different, coming from different families, cultures, socioeconomic status, and environments. We must not let our own view on the world or our own upbringing effect the way we are making observations on kidwatching! 

:)

What is Kidwatching and why is it so important? These are the main ideas, tips, and quotes that stood out to me from our reading!

Kidwatching allows an educator to learn more about each of their students, and capture teachable moments. More specifically, "Kidwatching is as much a state of mind as a collection of techniques for gathering and reflecting on data. It is about getting to know students through observing them intelligently- and helping them work through the concepts and language issues they are raising in their own minds." (page 2) I think a word to emphasize from this quote is the word intelligently. Kidwatching involves first collecting data, then AFTER writing down exactly what you hear and see, then go back and interpret and reflect on that data based on our knowledge of educationally supported theories of child development, learning, etc. 

We build an insider view of our classroom community by kidwatching, and are allowed to more clearly understand the inner-workings and relationships of our classroom. We are able to understand more clearly what children's likes and dislikes are, evaluate levels of understanding of content matter, as well as plan and strategize how to proceed with lessons and teachings for the future. 

"It is not enough to develop insight into children's ways of thinking about and understanding the world; you must also develop insight into your own. 

We must be aware of how our own culture, upbringing, and point of views are influencing our actions and beliefs. We need to be aware that we will have student's who have home languages different than that of what we speak in school, and how that will also play into the teaching and understanding of literacy in our classrooms. 

- I had trouble completely understanding the "Sociocultural Experiences" chart on page 5. I will need to get clarification on this chart and how it functions. 

"In a general sense, the richer and more varied the settings and interactions, the richer the child's language and concepts will be" (Page 5) --- This reminds me of a topic we discussed in my previous education classes. There is a correlation between low-socioeconomic families and their child's reading levels. These children may need more help because these families may not have the resources, materials, or time to work on reading, language, and literacy with their children. We cannot fault them for this, we just need to be aware, and help those children who may need extra attention. 

Mistakes are okay!!! That is how humans learn, by making mistakes! "Dewey argues that insisting upon avoidance of error tends to interrupt children's thought, and may cause hesitancy in their willingness to express themselves through language." (page 7) Mistakes can lead to formation of new schemas- this is how a child learns to adjust their previous schemas through accomodation, and further their understanding and learning. To tell them that mistakes are not okay, will only hinder them.