Entry # 5 Literature Review

I was excited to pull out two of my favorite books I like to read to my students each year. I chose Bintou's Braids by Sylvaine Diouf and The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola. Both of these books have greater meaning to the reader if the vocabulary is clear and the audience understands the different settings in each book. There is rich culture throughout both books and meaning would be lost without understanding and scaffolding to readers who are not familiar with Senegalese culture and American Indian culture.

Bintou's Braids is a children's book set in Sengal in a tribal community. This is a beautiful story about a little girl who really wants braids like the older girls in her village only she can not quite yet. In her village you have to be older before girls can wear braids. The tradition was set in place so that little girls did not focus on their outside beauty but remained focused on their inner beauty until the time was right. Bintou does something very brave and saves some lives. When the village tells her what a great job she has done and asks her what she wants to celebrate, she says she wants braids. The elder women say they will make her hair beautiful. The next day she is woken with her same tufts but with beautiful barrettes and ribbons.

The vocabulary that may need scaffolding are words such as (tufts, cornrows, baptism, village, fish balls, fritters, papayas, mango).

The setting may need some scaffolding such as what is it like to live in a village, it is near the water, what are palm trees?

Some if the cultural aspects that could be scaffolded are what is a baptism, why did the parents not name the baby when it was born, why do little girls have to wait to get their hair braided, and why do the girls put gold coins in their hair.

The story "The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" is about a boy who wants to keep up with the other boys in the village but struggles greatly. He is not as fast as they are or as skilled as they are. When the boy gets a little older he goes to the mountains to think about being a great man someday. He has a vision there and is told he will be a great painter and that is how people will know him in the tribe. After the vision the young man begins to create paintings and through several more visions he begins to paint silhouettes of nature. Because of his beautiful paintings his tribe has beautiful flowers growing amazing sun sets and he is then known as He-Who-Brought-the-The-Sunset-to-the-Earth.

The vocabulary that may need scaffolding are words such as (tee pees, plains, buckskin, tribe).
The setting may need some background knowledge such as what is it like living in a tribe.
There may need to be some scaffolding on context of meaning within the story such as why would someone go to a mountain and see a vision, why would someone collect animal skin, why do they give the boy nick names such as "gopher and He-Who-Brought-the-Sunset-to-the-Earth?

I would like to re-read these two books to my students making sure that vocabulary, setting and context is clear to everyone so they can enjoy these stories as much as I did!

Before I read the two books I would first introduce the vocabulary words mentioned above through pictures, video, and conversation. I would also have the students discuss some of their personal tradition in their families and then talk about the traditions of Senegalese and American Indians. I would have the students talk about what is similar and different in the cultures compared to their own cultures at home. Throughout the readings I would pause the story and make sure students understand the context of the vocabulary.

Dayna~

Entry # 4 Decoding Skills

This week I was challenged to read a text I was unfamiliar with and do whatever I could to determine meaning. The book I chose was called "Que Puedes Esperar Cuando Estas Esperando" I thought I would attempt to multitask by completing an assignment while reading some fun facts related to my life at the moment. The book in english is called "What to Expect When Your Expecting." I had read this book in english about 16 years ago and wanted to pick it up again for this pregnancy but have been too busy to give it a second thought. 

I honestly thought this reading would be a little easier than it actually was. I found that even if I could figure out a couple words here and there it was hard to use the vocabulary in context to the actual information written in the book. If I had to rely on my spanish reading skills and comprehension of what I read on my own I would not have very reliable information on pregnancy. In fact I would have gained a lot more anxiety knowing there was a whole book of helpful information that I wanted but could not access through my own literacy skills. When I think about my students I wonder if they sometimes have that same sense of anxiety when I hand them something they can not read without any scaffolding. I have to honest with myself, that no matter how conscientious I intend to be, there must have been moments that my lack of understanding of what my ESL students need in order to be successful has at some point caused anxiety or frustration in some way. I am so thankful for the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how to best meet all of my students needs. 

The strategies that I ended up using to decipher the information are as follows:

* I first knew enough about pregnancy that I could use my background knowledge as a resource.

* I used the limited pictures that were in the book.

* I referenced a spanish/english dictionary and an online translator tool.

* I finally asked my daughter and a co-worker for help translating the reading. 

Entry # 3 Relationship Between Oral Language and the Reading Process!

Oral language and the reading process go hand and hand with each other. Oral language skills feed reading skills and reading skills feed and nurture oral language skills. The moment babies are born they are exposed to oral language being spoken to them directly or voices they hear around them. Children develop natural oral skills from mimicking those around them, however there are some oral skills people need to be taught for instance the use of accentuating our words etc.

One of the most important skills when learning to read is mastering phonemic awareness. Students who are taught phonemic awareness skills become better readers. Students who are better readers tend to read more. Students who read more have a greater exposure to vocabulary and building oral language skills (Freeman, Freeman, 2004).

Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2004).Essential linguistics: what you need to know to   teach reading, ESL, spelling, phonics, and grammar. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Entry # 2 Reflect on Writing Instruction...

As I begin to reflect on my personal experiences when it comes to learning the writing process I certainly was taught the traditional learning view. My teachers each taught me writing conventions, how to spell and format my papers. It was not until College did I have the opportunity to choose my writing topics to some extent and really feel connected to my writing.

I love the idea of beginning with a message and then develop the skills needed to produce the intended message. We as educators often stifle creativity within our students unnecessarily, which in turn keeps them from fully enjoying the writing experience as a whole. when students enjoy the process they are more likely to put their best effort in to their work as well as learn at a greater capacity.

As a kindergarten teacher I have to be careful to teach the basic writing skills but also allow creativity and room for students to make choices on what they write, create drafts and work together in order to get the full language/writing development opportunity. I believe there is a need for a balance of both the learning view or the more traditional classroom as well as implementing the acquisition view or the process writing classroom.

Dayna~

Entry #1 Philosophies About Teaching Literacy!

Greetings Everyone!

I had a fun experience talking with one of my co-workers about their personal philosophies about teaching literacy. First, I must say we could honestly write a dissertation specifically around literacy if given the opportunity!

Here is the respinse I got from my co-worker!
Philosophy on teaching literacy

- literacy is the foundational skill for all learning and skill building
- students need to develop literacy skills in order to take other learning into their own hands
- giving students strong literacy skills will allow them confidence to tackle learning


Teaching literacy must be a balanced approach of phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension, and vocabulary

Must be targeted towards students and what they need

Teachers need to know what questions to ask students, where their gaps are and what they need to grow a level

Guided reading and other types of small group instruction are essential and help target skills

Assessments should be used for learning and teaching as opposed to summative and giving a score

Students need to be given materials interesting to them and independent practice should be with levels students can tackle on their own.

Most of all, if students learn to love to read out of enjoyment and curiosity and are supported they will be life long readers.

I would add that I could not agree more with her words! 

Welcome!

I am excited to learn and grow with each of you as we create a space to discuss our passion for our diverse learners. This is a place where we can share ideas and concepts so we can all cultivate our craft of teaching.

One thing I know for sure is every moment matters and we can never get a day back! Thank you for joining me on this amazing journey as educators! 

Dayna~