Entry #11: My Semester Journey Reflections on Learning About Literacy Development

At the beginning of the semester, my understanding of literacy development was initially challenged and expanded as I considered and reflected on Kucer's (2015) four dimensions of literacy, which he calls "varied and dynamic:" linguistic, cognitive, sociocultural, and developmental. As we have studied various aspects of literacy throughout the semester, I recognize that literacy development is a lifelong journey and not a one-time destination for all of us. Before being in this course, I had a very limited view and impression of literacy and how to work with students to help them learn to read and write. But now, I have the unique opportunity to provide my students with various avenues to explore and grow in their literacy development with the many components of literacy we've discussed in this class. As Kucer (2015) argues, "despite what literacy curricula may indicate, there are many paths to literacy and no one-size-fits-all" (p. 22). I've learned a great deal about these "many paths" from Tompkins et al. (2022), Muhammad (2021) and the various articles we read, discussed, and compared and contrasted. Moreover, the Deeper Dive Discussions effectively solidified different ideas and activities while simultaneously demonstrating ways to implement various literacy strategies.

In the Cline & Necochea (2002)  and the Yoon (2019) articles, emergent literacy practices were highlighted in ways that will help me support my ELLs students by focusing on the valuable funds of knowledge and storytelling traditions they bring to their learning instead of seeing them come into the classroom with deficits compared to Western-based values of preparing students to learn to read and write. Muhammad (2022) also provides a wealth of ideas to approach and weave into the literacy development curriculum as I consider Historically Responsive Literacy pursuits: identity, skills, intellect, and criticality. In my work as an ENL teacher, I have seen the benefits of using a variety of texts, including picture books, narratives, expository texts, audiobooks, and videos, to provide differentiation and consideration of different learning styles. In addition, giving students different perspectives on the same topic helps not only with their comprehension but also intertwines the HRL pursuits that are so important for their understanding of the diverse world we live in and the vital contributions of all students, no matter their backgrounds.

In Tompkins et al. (2022) and articles on spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension, I now understand the importance of scaffolding, think-alouds, and working with individual students to discover what strategies work for them in their literacy development. Tompkins et al. (2022) give a wealth of ideas for "instructional procedures" such as grand conversations, semantic feature analysis, language experience approach, and possible sentences that provide ways for teachers to make learning these different aspects of literacy exploratory, fun, and personal. Students are actively involved in learning how to read and write and can see what they already know and how to connect their knowledge with the new knowledge they are learning. These are great ways to prepare our students for learning which Hammond (2019) argues is so important for students to thrive and grow in their learning development or, as Muhammad (2021) would contend, "to cultivate the genius" of all of our students as well as bring out "joy" in learning for all of our students, no matter their cultures, backgrounds, or experiences. The more we can help excite students about the journey of learning and involve them in their own learning, the more they will desire lifelong learning.

Finally, keeping a blog was helpful because we covered many aspects and ideas about literacy development. The blog has been a way to reflect and consider all that we have read, reviewed, discussed, compared and contrasted, and evaluated as it relates to how we will teach literacy development in our classes. This blog has aided me in considering all that I'm learning and how to incorporate these ideas and strategies into my teaching. Reading literacy development thoughts and ideas from my classmates' blogs has also been enlightening to ascertain how they are digesting and reflecting on this information. Overall, using this blog and receiving input from Dr. Jones and my classmates is yet another example of an effective and creative strategy I can use in my classroom for the literacy development of my students.

                                                    References

‌Cline, Z., & Necochea, J. (2003). My Mother Never Read to Me [Review of My Mother                            Never  Read to Me]. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 47(2).

‌Kucer, S. (2015). Literacy: Varied, Dynamic, and Multidimensional. Journal of                                       Family Strengths, 15(2).                                                                                                               http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/jfs/vol15/iss2/1

Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating genius: an equity framework for culturally

and historically responsive literacy. Scholastic.

‌Yoon, H. S. (2019). Playful Literacies, Creativity, and Multilingual Practices. The 

           Reading Teacher, 72(5), 551–557. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1788

Zaretta Hammond: Using Neuroscience to Help Students | #PLtogether. (2021). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiOrIN2oJi8

Entry #10: Develop "Learn to Spell" Strategies to Meet Students' Various Needs

    In Amanda C.'s blog Entry # 7, she compares and contrasts her classroom experiences using various activities to teach her students spelling with the strategies that Tompkins et al. (2022) highlight in their discussion in Chapter 6 on "Learning to Spell." Amanda provides good details about how she is teaching her students spelling each week, and she discusses how she is seeing her students having success in these activities because she has noticed fewer spelling errors in their work since the school year began. I think that Amanda does a great job of demonstrating in her description of her class spelling activities that the "30 minutes of valuable instruction time spent each day in completing spelling activities" (Tompkins et al., 2022, p. 174) is not "excessive" but is being used in a way that is benefitting her particular students' needs.

    Both Amanda's experiences teaching spelling and Tompkins et al.'s (2022) discussion of different strategies are examples of the importance of teachers knowing, understanding, and assessing the needs of their students in developing and growing them as good spellers. Amanda lists several spelling activities her students complete, including the following: "roll and write, rainbow words, stamp words, silly sentences, and tic tac toe words." She says the students "buy in" to her updating the spelling activities, which helps them want to be engaged in learning to spell, which can be difficult for some of them with their particular needs.

    Tompkins et al. (2022) also focus on using the individualized approach to spelling instruction by letting students have a choice of the words they will study based on their writing projects, as well as choosing high-frequency words on a master list. The teachers first give a pretest of the selected words so students know what they need to work on during the week to prepare for a final spelling test at the end of the week. Tompkins et al. (2022) recommend different strategies for studying words. Still, I believe, as Amanda pointed out, that teachers must know what works best for their students, even if it is a strategy that isn't used as often as in the past (i.e., using words in sentences) or if it is a more popular strategy used in educational settings today, such as word study. Teachers must be flexible and knowledgeable of all the different ways to spark interest and the desire to learn to spell in each student. As an ENL teacher, I will really need to be aware of the native languages of each student, so I can work with them to understand differences in spelling words from their language versus the English language so that my students can be more alert to their tendencies to spell words based on their home languages. I think the assessment is critical, though, for all teachers when they teach spelling so that they focus on knowing what errors the students are making, why they are making the errors, and the best strategies that would engage them to learn how not to make those spelling errors. Our main goal as teachers is to see each of our students succeed and find their own "genius" and joy in the learning journey (Muhammad, 2021).

                                                    References

Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating genius: an equity framework for culturally

and historically responsive literacy. Scholastic.

Tompkins, G.E., Rodgers, E.M., & Rodgers, A. (2022). Literacy for the 21st century: balancing reading and writing instruction. Pearson.

Entry #9 Supporting Students' Construction of Vocabulary Knowledge

     After reading Tompkins et al. (2022) chapter on "Expanding Academic Vocabulary" and the Graves et al. (2017) article on "Empowering Students With Word-Learning Strategies: Teach a Child to Fish," I realized that there are so many different strategies and activities available that I didn't even consider that can support and help students with acquiring a robust, varied vocabulary throughout their elementary through high school careers. From my own reflections on learning and developing vocabulary in school, I recall more of a focus on understanding individual words and using a dictionary and thesaurus quite often to figure out word meanings and definitions. I thought it was so interesting that in two separate places in the Tompkins et al. (2022) chapter, the authors' frowned on teachers encouraging students to rely on dictionaries to discover word meanings. In fact, in a side box on "Classroom Interventions," Tompkins et al. (2022, pg. 209) argue that having students look up words and write sentences from a list of unknown words can actually be detrimental to students having a deep understanding of the word. Hence, the students cannot recognize these words' various forms and meanings in multiple texts. Also, I know from my own experiences this activity can be very dull and uninspiring for students to do as it feels like one is "checking off a box" and is required to memorize the definition. Both Tompkins et al. (2022) and Graves et al. (2017) do an excellent job of demonstrating the complexities, nuances, and opportunities of working with students to help them to develop a recognition of the power of words, to motivate students to learn the many strategies for figuring out the meanings of vocabulary by themselves, and to give students a sense of confidence that they can mine the vocabulary of any texts.

    As an online ESL teacher, I have had the opportunity to use various strategies to help students develop their vocabulary knowledge. When I was first introduced to the idea of the students constructing their knowledge by figuring out the vocabulary (which was a part of the online curriculum I used), it was a new experience for me. Graves et al. (2017) mention the importance of using this strategy in the Word-Learning Strategies (WLS) Program he describes in the article. As I used a similar type of vocabulary learning program in some of my online ESL lessons, over time, I could really see the benefit of the students figuring out what affixes meant and different strategies that were best to use at different times. I believe that the process of them constructing the knowledge really did help them to remember what they learned and to be flexible in adapting it to similar situations. Tompkins et al. (2022) also describe different strategies that students can use to help construct their knowledge of vocabulary, such as the semantic feature analysis and writing possible sentences, as well as in prereading activities, figuring out their understanding of words that they will encounter in the reading. These activities help to give students confidence and empower them that they have background knowledge, experience, and the techniques needed to solve the vocabulary challenges that will inevitably come up throughout their lifetimes of being readers. I recall many times the satisfied look on the face of one of my ELL students when they recognized that they knew how to use a particular vocabulary word after figuring it out themselves. They truly did have a feeling of accomplishment they probably would not have had if I had them look the word up in the dictionary or tell them the meaning.

This discussion of teaching vocabulary strategies to students has made me more aware of how I encounter and deal with words in texts that I read and don't understand. As a teacher, I think it is essential to think about my own strategies and learn new techniques that I can teach to my students as they expand their vocabularies. It will be so important as both Tompkins et al. (2022) and Graves et al. (2017) stress to use Think Alouds and to discuss with students the processes and strategies to use when coming across unfamiliar vocabulary. I want my students to believe that they can stretch their minds and use all they know to figure out what they are reading. Of course, putting into place rhythms of silent sustained reading and reading aloud to my students will be critical for them to expand their vocabularies. But, it will also be fun to use different wordplay strategies with activities related to reading, such as spoken word presentations, poems, riddles, word games, dramatizing words, and word-finding challenges in their homes, communities, and leisure reading. Supporting students in growing their vocabulary can include many different intentional strategies that tap into the interests,  background knowledge, and experiences of both the students and the teacher  

                                                                    References

Graves, M. F., Schneider, S., & Ringstaff, C. (2017). Empowering Students With Word-Learning Strategies: Teach a Child to Fish. The Reading Teacher, 71(5), 533–543. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1644

Tompkins, G. E., Rodgers, E. M., & Rodgers, A. (2022). Literacy for the 21st century : balancing reading and writing instruction. Pearson.

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Entry #8: Reflecting on Being a Culturally Responsive Teacher

In Adeline's Entry 4, 3-2-1 Understandings, she was inspired by Zaretta Hammond's comment, "All instruction is culturally responsive. The question is to whose culture is it responding" (Hammond, 2021). Adeline commented that this statement made her question how our educational system is set up and structured. I thought Adeline allowed this statement to sink in as she reflected on her role as a culturally responsive teacher. It was insightful for her to recognize that being culturally responsive as a teacher is not something we do or do not do in our classrooms. She mentioned in her blog that it is up to all teachers to recognize that we are either "benefitting all students in [our] class equally, or favoring a dominant culture." 

     As I considered Adeline's comments and all that I've been learning in the SOE graduate program about culturally responsive teaching, I must recognize that I have my own biases and perspectives, which I bring into the classroom about such aspects as the students, the parents, the educational system, the curriculum, and the school environments and neighborhoods. For example, I recall that one of my first courses in the MS TESOL program required me to write a paper reflecting on my educational experiences, which really enlightened me about my own expectations about schools, students, and teaching. This exercise helped open my mind to other ideas and perspectives on what being a student and teacher in the classroom entails in today's world of education. Hammond (2021), Muhammad (2021), and Yoon (2019) all question the way classrooms are set up today to focus on one cultural experience or perspective and/or language being desirable and being communicated in all aspects of the learning versus classrooms being structured in ways that value and present varied cultural, language, socioeconomic, historical and political perspectives so that all students feel represented, seen, and known in what they are learning. In fact, Hammond (2021) believes that if students' brains are not prepared to receive new information and insights because they do not have any connections, background, or experiences related to what is being taught, then students will not be able to grasp, benefit, and from the educational experiences they encounter in classrooms. In addition, I believe it is valuable for all students to be educated about the importance of diversity in our world by learning in ways that benefit everyone in the classroom so that each student can recognize that the differences around them can come together in ways that make the world better for everyone.Thus, it is vital that as teachers we are in tune with providing the best educational curriculum and strategies that can benefit all students irrespective of their backgrounds. Adeline's reflection reminded me that it is so important that I'm aware of the power I have to create a culturally responsive classroom environment that supports and values the diversity of each of my students.

    

                                              References

Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating genius: an equity framework for culturally

and historically responsive literacy. Scholastic.

Tompkins, G.E., Rodgers, E.M., & Rodgers, A. (2022). Literacy for the 21st century: balancing reading and writing instruction. Pearson.

Yoon, H. S. (2019). Playful Literacies, Creativity, and Multilingual Practices. The                  Reading Teacher, 72(5), 551–557. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1788

Zaretta Hammond: Using Neuroscience to Help Students | #PLtogether. (2021). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiOrIN2oJi8

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Entry #7: Developing Fluency Skills with Intention in the ELL Classroom

       As I consider the importance of ensuring that I'm helping my ELL students become fluent in reading and writing, I found it informative to realize if students are using so much of their "cognitive energy for word recognition," then it would be difficult for them to have the focus to make meaning or comprehend the text (Rasinski, 2014; Tompkins et al., 2022). This realization makes it even more important to consider strategies and be intentional as I develop ways to incorporate activities that would help my students build their fluency. Rasinski (2014) gives a great example of ways to model fluency and make students aware of the components of reading with fluency. He not only believes teachers must read to students out loud to encourage students to want to read, to increase their vocabulary, and to help them understand the text, but he also suggests demonstrating "disfluent reading," which could include not reading at the correct speed, in a dull tone, and not doing the proper chunking of the text parts. This would help students recognize why it is essential to be fluent readers for comprehension and "enjoyment of their texts" (Rasinski, 2014, p. 7). In addition, Tompkins et al. (2022) recommend using the "think aloud" strategy to develop the prosody skills of my students so that they have information on specific techniques I'm modeling or that are being modeled in audio or video versions of texts to help the reader to "come alive" and be understood by the listeners.

      It will also be necessary for my students to be interested in the texts we read and to have some background knowledge and experiences that would help them connect to the reader. I will need to ensure that before we read texts in class, we preview vocabulary, survey the text overall, especially noting the layout of the texts with pictures, charts, or other distinguishing features, and perhaps have activities beforehand that point to the text we will be reading. One day in my field observation class, I recall that before the ELL students read a chapter about the Statue of Liberty and its significance and meaning for immigrants and refugees, the ENL teacher showed the students a black and white photo of these people on a boat looking at the Statue of Liberty in the distance. The students discussed what they saw with some guiding questions in small groups before the class talked about the picture as a whole and the teacher focused on different background vocabulary that would help guide the discussion. This strategy was essential to set up the next steps of reading about this symbol in their textbook. The students also created their own symbols of family, love, and peace to further use the vocabulary and guiding conversations about the topic that the class already had together. In addition, the ENL teacher used close sentences to help the students with writing fluency skills to write about their symbols. All of these strategies and activities are very important to help students develop confidence and the ability development of reading and writing fluency.

    Finally, both Tompkins & et al. (2022) & Rasinski (2014) recognize that authentic activities are essential to developing fluency. Both authors agree that repeated reading of texts to gain automaticity, speed, and prosody skills can be helpful, but it can become rote for the students. So it will be so important to use texts such as songs, chants, readers theater, speeches, and now, spoken word and rap, which is so prevalent in our culture, to help students practice fluency in authentic ways in which they can prepare forward to collaborating with their peers, as well as students having opportunities to present their texts on special occasions for classmates, school programs, and parents. I think it may also be interesting to develop different ways to use the same or similar vocabulary, sentence structures, and themes from units by using a variety of texts, including songs, chants, audio, and video presentations, books, and interactive writing. Perhaps varying the way the students encounter high-frequency words, vocabulary, and familiar sentence structure will make the process of developing fluency more interesting by using diverse texts. Also, it will be important to introduce the element of fun and joy in developing fluency to avoid the drudgery of reading the same text over and over. In another field placement experience, I recall an ENL teacher recommending that a 5th-grade ELL student be assigned to go to his sister's Kindergartner class and read to the students as a way to help with his fluency and enjoyment of reading. In addition, sometimes ELL students could be encouraged to take the books home that they are reading and read to their parents and especially younger siblings. This is a way to foster a sense of accomplishment, authentic experience, and community in the ELL student's fluency development.

                                                 References

Raskinski,

Tompkins, G.E., Rodgers, E.M., & Rodgers, A. (2022). Literacy for the 21st century: balancing reading and writing instruction. Pearson.

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Entry #6 Using the Power of Classroom Print to Promote Students' Writing and Literacy Growth

    According to Gerde et al. (2016), teachers invest major efforts in creating a classroom environment where students are surrounded by print in creative, meaningful ways. But, research has shown that teachers do not use that print, which may be on bulletin boards, charts, or labeled objects, to help direct students' attention to the print in ways that will support their writing and literacy development (Gerde et al., 2015). The authors note that "young children do not look at print unless their attention is drawn to it" (p. 285). This idea of the power of classroom print made me recall the many times I've been in a classroom as an assistant or for field placement, and I was drawn to inviting walls covered with attractive, timely, and valuable print. But, I do not recall hearing the lead teacher draw students' attention to the words around them.

    Perhaps the task of getting the bulletin boards and printed posters (and perhaps student work) up in the classroom is sometimes seen as a one-time event that a teacher does, maybe, seasonally, to make the room look colorful and interesting. Also, on parent-teacher conference days or field trips with volunteers, teachers may want to make sure the room is spruced up and looks great for visitors to see. But, I have seen teachers use chart paper and pocket charts during lessons with students that are intentionally designed to go with the topic the teacher is teaching. Whereas, I think it may be more challenging to get into the habit of regularly referring to the already displayed print throughout the class day. Thus, I believe it is essential to plan the classroom print carefully to be displayed throughout the school year, focusing on different themes, topics, and subject matter that the students are studying.

 Gerde et al. (2016) give several ideas on how to incorporate classroom print so that its power to promote students' writing and literacy growth is utilized well. The authors point out that making efforts to make sure that the students see the connections between the print and words that are around them to perhaps label the scissor box or instructions on washing their hands will help as the students see text in books and the teacher points to the words while reading. Interestingly, they noted that "pointing to words helps children understand that we read the print and not the pictures" (Gerde et al., 2016, p. 288). This idea is a new thought for me to consider as a teacher and reminds me that it is important not to assume what a student understands or does not understand. 

Thus, recognizing the importance of connecting the print that is in the classroom to what is going on with my teaching during the day is important as I consider what print I want to have displayed in my classroom or area where I do my "pull-out" lessons for my ELL students. I must be culturally responsive, intentional, and thoughtful as I consider the various bulletin boards, labels, charts, and other print to display. I must also ensure I'm using the displayed print to help my students understand the connections between sounds, letters, words, and objects. I also believe I will need to really use the "think-aloud" strategy that Gerde et al. (2016) mention to help my ELL students see the connections between the displayed print and the English language, as well as to listen to my own thoughts processes as I'm writing the displayed print or maybe asking them to write it to display. It will also be essential to incorporate my students' languages and their evolving English print artifacts in my classroom displays.

                                                                  References

Gerde, H. K., Goetsch, M. E., & Bingham, G. E. (2016). Using Print in the Environment to Promote Early Writing. The Reading Teacher, 70(3), 283–293. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1508

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Entry #5 Dear Dr. Jones

 Dear Dr. Jones,

        Thus far, the "Foundations of Language Literacy" course has been very interesting as my thinking about literacy has been challenged and expanded. I liked having the opportunity to express my thoughts on literacy during the first class by filling out the Literacy Beliefs Profile and then comparing my ideas and my classmates' ideas with current research on the topic. It has been helpful to have the anchor texts of Kucer (2015) and Muhammad (2020) to refer back to and compare and contrast as we read about literacy strategies and ideas in Tompkins et al. (2022) and in articles by other authors. The information for the class is being presented in a way that I can apply it to my background, experiences, and viewpoints, which I think is helping me make connections that will further my understanding and ability to use the strategies in my classroom. In addition, I really like the way you are modeling the reciprocal teaching method on how to lead "grand conversations" on important literacy-related topics. Seeing you use the techniques we will have to utilize when we lead the Deeper Dive discussions has been quite illuminating. I'm learning a lot through this process, and it also informs me on ways I can model strategies for my students in their literacy journeys.

        As we have been tasked to use strategies to support our literacy habits, such as close reading and SQ4R, I've had the opportunity to think about ways I read and comprehend texts that are helpful and ways that I can change to be more aware of what I'm reading so that I can engage critically with the information. I have not been in the habit of surveying and doing a "walk" through the text I'm about to read to better understand the text. I am very in tune, though, with the information on the page or pages I'm reading and have always tried to synthesize it by taking notes that will help me organize my thoughts as it relates to what I'm reading on the page(s). From our discussions on these other literacy strategies, I see it would be helpful for me to have a more holistic approach to the text and to help my students do the same so they can have a better understanding of the parts of the text and be able to connect the overall themes and concepts within the text they are reading in order to be prepared to make connections to other texts, their individual backgrounds, or what's going on in the world.  

    There are three topics that I'm looking forward to discussing in class as it especially relates to my being an ENL educator. Those topics include developing fluent readers and writers, expanding vocabulary knowledge, and teaching comprehension. I think these areas of literacy are critical for helping English Language Learners (ELLs) successfully learn English. The topics are important because they can give my ELL students confidence when using English as listeners, speakers, readers, and writers. The three topics also influence one another because to read and write fluently and comprehend what they are reading and writing, students must have a robust vocabulary that is constantly growing and expanding.

    In this second half of the semester, I will continue to work to better understand, synthesize, and apply what I'm learning about literacy so that I can continue to grow and thrive on my "becoming literate" journey and effectively help my ELL students on their "becoming literate" journeys, too. 

Best regards,

Lida

MS TESOL Student

                                                                         

                                                            References

Kucer, S. B. (2015). Literacy: Varied, dynamic, and multidimensional.  Journal of ‌

            Family Strengths, 15(2), 1–35.

Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating genius: an equity framework for culturally

and historically responsive literacy. Scholastic. 

Tompkins, G. E., Rodgers, E. M., & Rodgers, A. (2022). Literacy for the 21st century: balancing reading and writing instruction. Pearson.

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