The article I liked most was "Letting Go of the 'Letter of the Week'". A main part of this is making the students feel confident by letting them know that they are already valued readers and writers. I think that this is a great idea. Learning these skills can be a daunting task for young children, but by instilling confidence, the task is made easier. Kids are better readers than they are aware- recognizing food labels and media sources. Another idea I really liked in the article by Bell and Jarvis was that reading is about making sense. One example in the article was making an alphabet using pictures of classmates and environmental print. This had real life value to the students, and they could place meaning with each letter, and transfer that into reading other words.
I have seen these ideas in action with the girls I babysit. They may not know how to read officially, but they are readers. They can name every movie in their collection (they have a million- it's impressive) and know which microwave button to push to make popcorn.
They also know how to write, maybe not in a way that you and I can understand, but in a way that means something to them. One of the girls just turned four today. She is all about writing letters. She'll draw a scribble and say- "what letter is this?", sometimes I'll take a guess, but other times I'll ask her. It might not always be right but she is having fun and is practicing. She is also starting to recognize letters. Her name is Sarah so whenever she sees a word that starts with 'S' she says "this says Sarah!". Last week she asked me to write out her family members' names, then she got a crayon and traced over them. I praised her like crazy and she seemed pretty happy. Next however, she got another sheet of paper and put long swirls all over it- telling me she wrote her family's names on her own. This time she was beaming. It wasn't necessarily that she was writing properly, she was just happy to be writing something that was important to her.
1. What are some other ways to empower kids to feel like valued readers/writers?
2. Did you ever feel defeated or put down when learning to read or write like the authors of the 'Letting Go' article? How did that affect your later learning?
I think a great way to start empowering your kids to feel like valued readers and writers is to assure them that they already know how to read and write on the first day of school like the "Letting Go" article discussed. That way when they realize how much they already know they will have a positive association with continuing to better their understanding of reading and writing concepts and will feel special that they already know how to do something that they see so many others doing on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you incorporated the little ones that you nanny. You made a great point by saying that they were already readers based on being able to identify movies in their collection and the popcorn button on the microwave. If you start off having the attitude that your students are readers and you show them how that is true, it will make them much more confident entering the classroom. Also, the point about Sarah recognizing her name is just like what we learned in class today; a child's name is the most familiar word to them and is a great bridge to introduce and learn new words.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the "Letting Go" article about incorporating writing into all of your activities in the classroom. You could help the students write down their assignments for the day or the schedule for the day. I also really liked the ideas that were in the article that we read in class that suggesting mailboxes. I know that my first grade classroom had a mail center and I used it each and every day. I also think that you need to convey to they parents of your students that they are growing in their writing abilities and what they may not concieve as writing to them needs to be encouraged. It's important that your students' self-esteem be kept high during their learning process.
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