Entry #1: Discuss with another teacher, his/her philosophies
about teaching literacy. (This can be a casual, short conversation with the
purpose of gathering another teacher’s philosophies on his/her practices of
teaching literacy.)
I chose to discuss
the philosophies about teaching literacy with a 2nd grade
teacher. She felt that literacy if the
foundation to all other learning, in that, you need a good foundation in
literacy to be able to access other information from other subjects. She believes that children spend the first
few years of school learning to read but the remainder of their school careers
are spent reading to learn. This teacher
had previously taught 5th grade and had many children in the
classroom that struggled in all academic areas because they lacked a strong
literacy background.
This teacher has a
very linear approach to teaching literacy.
She believes in developing a strong foundation for children. Even in 2nd grade, she spends a
great deal of time on phonemic awareness activities as well as phonics. She believes that children will have greater
success in reading in the future if they have a strong foundation when they are
young. Her school uses a reading
assessment program DIBELs to determine the acquisition of phonemic awareness
skills, phonics, decoding, and comprehension.
The teacher I interviewed felt that comprehension was the ultimate goal
when teaching literacy because once a child can comprehend what they are
reading; they can learn from the material and enjoy the material.
The teacher I
interviewed believes reading should be an activity to enjoy for a lifetime, but
children need the basic skills to be able to read. Once these skills are developed, children can
really begin to explore genres and decide what type of reader they will be for
the future. This teacher feels her role
as a 2nd grade teacher is to continue to build the skills and start
to help children explore reading as a means of gaining information and for
pleasure.
There are many
components to this teacher’s philosophy that I found interesting and
enlightening. I agree with her statement
that children learn to read and then read to learn. I also agree that a strong foundation is
important to reading, as with many other skills, to be successful later down the
road. Literacy is such a complex topic
and there are so many components to literacy that I can see why she has chosen
to break it down into the various components.
I was glad to hear her say that her ultimate goal is to help children
develop a love of reading for entertainment value. I do worry sometimes that schools get so
systematic about teaching literacy, that the “fun” of reading can be lost. As an adult, reading is an enjoyable pastime
and this started when I was much younger.
I would like to think that children are developing strong literacy
skills and also a strong desire to read for fun and knowledge.
Jennifer -
ReplyDeleteThe following comment you made really stands out as something that should be a part of every teacher.
"I do worry sometimes that schools get so systematic about teaching literacy, that the “fun” of reading can be lost."
Unfortunately, I have to agree with you that reading has become very forced. Students read not because they love to read, but because they have to for academics. That in many ways is the tragedy to literacy in many schools.
Great input. - Matt
DITTO! My building is experimenting with a new approach to SSR in the hopes that it brings the joy back to reading and learning. Naturally, it is different for every kid, but I feel like if we lose our zeal then the kids certainly won't feel motivated to take risks and develop a love for books. I can't stand it when teachers approach reading as an assignment, as work, or (worse) as a punishment. It is completely defeatist.
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