One of a Kind

Each child is unique and has a distinct way of learning. When setting up classroom lessons, it is important to engage in conferences with each student and meet he or she “where they are”. After getting to know your students individually, providing appropriate literacy lessons can be more beneficial to their growth.

One way to help struggling readers is to learn how reading works.  Teachers can take the time to research different theories on how children learn and how best to help them succeed in the classroom. The brain works in complex ways. Furthermore, there are inner processes we cannot detect working in the brain. However, there are some external aspects teachers can look out for and help each student navigate. According to Catching Readers Before They Fall, students use multiple processes to comprehend information. Some of these processes include self-monitoring, visualizing, and making connections to background knowledge.

Lev Vygotsyky’s philosophy on literacy also supports the theory of “meeting children where they are”. By modeling what we would like our children to learn during lessons, they can start the process of becoming fluent in their own right. Also, providing room for the children to discover meaning in the lessons will allow for a gradual release of responsibility while working with the students Zone Proximal Development.  Vygotsyky’s theory on Zone Proximal Development not only takes the pressure off of children to compete against other students in the classroom, it also helps the student reach other heights in literacy in a comfortable pace customized for their level. During this process, the student explores learning with the teachers help. Therefore, knowing where your student is academically is imperative to helping them succeed.

Another way to implement different strategies for Zone Proximal Development is to incorporate a comprehensive literacy framework. According to Catching Readers Before They Fall, teachers can use various strategies to benefit their students. For instance, incorporating sessions such as read aloud, shared reading, and guided reading can propel students. Also, writing lessons such as morning message, and community writing can complement and connect students to the reading lessons. These lessons and more can guide students on a path to more independent reading and writing.

            Once lessons have been implemented to help students excel, there will be many opportunities to not only meet them where they are, but also to see “where they can go.” This progress allows students to see where they have come from and that they have the ability to move forward confidently with their learning.

Literacy Dig

When reading about literacy digs and situated literacy, memories of a childhood now past came to the forefront of my mind. Our elementary school classroom implemented an experiment of learning to run a retail store. Until this day, I still remember how to set up the store. Not only did that experiment raise my interest in business, it also still applies to how adults start a business today. What a project worth teaching! We learned about our community and what details we needed to pay attention to in order to run our business. I always enjoyed reading, but setting up that project kept me engaged with the literacy details that surround us everyday. These lessons showed us a way that we could contribute to our community. Getting children involved with this type of learning is still as beneficial today as it was for our classroom 20 years ago.

Fast forward to an elementary school in the metropolitan area of Kentucky that produced a Donut House experiment. Some of the children were struggling with literacy and felt little motivation to make it work. That is when their teacher decided to input situated literacy. According to The Donut House: Real World Literacy in an Urban Kindergarten Classroom, the students were prompted to learn literacy by engaging in something that they found fascinating and taught them about contributing to their community; a donut house. Mrs. Davidson and her students visited the local donut shop to observe and take notes on the process of opening their own store. This included learning how to make donuts. Later in the assignment, students also learned to make signs, petitions, permit requests, ask for donations and other types of assistance from other community members to get the store opened. This experience is great because the students were not just told how to open a donut shop; they lived it in real world experience. The confidence gained from this project and increase in literacy will help all types of children in many aspects of life.

After reading the donut shop, I was interested to see how kids learn from other places that they are exposed to on a daily basis. Good thing we had a group assignment to explore that idea. Several members of my class and I met at a local health food co-op in our town. We observed the place and recorded what type of literacy we thought would impact children as they visited the store. There were many types of literacy in the co-op. For instance, children could see signs regarding safety, health and prices. Some of the literacy that was especially helpful for children were signs with images attached. The bathroom had an image of a male or female, fire hose had a clear window where you could see the actual hose, the produce section had drawings of different produce, and there were many types of advertising on the products geared towards children. There were also information packets containing health food information, coupons, and other services. Some patrons also had lists of the food items they needed. Children could also notice the dialogue between shoppers and staff. It was clear that there were a great deal of opportunities for learning literacy in the co-op.

Situated Literacy is an innovative and beneficial strategy for children! This is also a system they can take into adulthood. 20 years ago, we did our project in the conference room of my school. The children who worked on the Donut House were able to go out into the field and really engage with their community. For our class assignment, we also explored a literacy dig at a local co-op to observe. There are many strategies for implementing this philosophy with your class and the children will enjoy it as well as learn form the experience. Situated literacy provides students with skills that they can carry into the future, it teaches children to work well with others, and of course it empowers them to find the motivation to improve their reading and writing!

Welcome to the World of Literacy!

In this blog, I hope to share thoughts, concerns, and inspirations related to K-3 Literacy. As an advocate for holistic learning, I also aim to promote literacy connections to all aspects of a child's fascinating life!