Tuesday, September 6, 2011

My Students and Reading Before It Starts

            Hello parents and students. This is Mr. L and I just want to state that getting to meet my future students and their parents yesterday has already got me excited for this school year. I am sure it is going to be great.
            One thing I’d like to discuss before classes start is a concern I had from a few parents yesterday. There was some worry as to whether or not some of your children have practiced reading enough to be ready for the 1st grade. I would like to assure the parents that after talking with the students yesterday, I am very pleased to say that I truly think so.  One question that I made sure to ask everyone in my class was what were some things that they read this summer. Some answers that I heard were “I helped my mommy read”, to “I read all my birthday cards” to “I read the words [so and so] was saying on my video-game.” The opportunity to read is everywhere and I am glad to here that my students are taking advantage of it.
            To go more in depth with what I mean I’d like to quote Russian psychologist Vygotsky: “learning begins long before school.” This is indeed true. Becoming literate occurs at home and even out in public. Children not only experience reading through daily activities but also begin to understand literature as well.  When children are read to often, they not only begin to pick up learning how to read but also associate it with good things. Because of good experiences like this students tend to already enjoy and want to read before school even starts. This is all apart of the Transactional Theory, which is something that I hope you look up or ask me about. There is an article entitled “Remembering Critical Lessons in Early Literacy Research: A Transaction Perspective” which says, “children need to be value and be valued fro who they are…” What I believe this to mean is that story time at home, complex pretends play with friends, even storied invented by the child should be valued and condoned. From what I have seen and heard I am glad to say that I believe we are doing just fine already. We will continue to value reading the entire school year.
            Lastly, I’d like to say again that I encourage questions whenever there are some. I will always do my best to give good answers.

5 comments:

  1. I love how you talked about literacy in the classroom. I liked how you took the time to ask about what each student had read over the summer from books to video games. Literacy is all around us and is a very important aspect of children's development. I plan to use literature in the classroom everyday, several times a day. I respect literacy and the power it has in children's lives. Thanks for your insight into literacy.

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  2. This was a great way to address parents with a common concern in a way that takes them seriously while still being realistic and hopeful. That's such a good point to make to them that reading is everywhere! Sometimes we take it for granted, but acknowledging a child when able to point out these literacy opportunities is great.

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  3. I love that you included all forms of literacy when you asked the students what kind of reading they had done during the summer. Although it may seem small, these experiences truly shape the child's experience and prepares them for furthering their literacy opportunities in school. If teachers included these types of literacy brought from home and expanded upon them, a child's experience can be even more enjoyable.

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  4. I loved the quote that you used. It is so important that parents realize that they are the ones that first make a move on literacy with their children. I think it is great that this is something that you openly will recognize in your classroom!

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  5. Your post was different than most, but I liked how it addressed parents as if you were truly starting a classroom. You sound very committed to being a partner with the parents and making sure that your students are exposed to literacy at school and in the home.

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