Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Group 6-De'Ana Mauldin-Balanced Literacy
Since starting Practicum 1, I have been placed in both a first grade class and a second grade class. I can honestly say that even though the children in these grades are very close in age, their literacy abilities are a bit different. In observing the second grade class, I have noticed that their literacy abilities are a bit more advanced. For example, in my second grade classroom, I witnessed a firsthand experience with Balanced Literacy. What I witnessed was Interactive Writing. I felt that it was wonderful to experience a teacher and her students making a collaborative effort to write text. The teacher and her students developed a story together (this was based on the sun and various components of the Solar System). One great thing here was that the teacher was able to review the writing skills of her students. This was mainly because of this assignment being a collaborative effort. Now that I have provided an example of Interactive Writing, I would like to raise one question about it. Do you feel that another component of Interactive Writing could possibly receive more emphasis than the review of student writing skills? Maybe you will fill that increased spelling knowledge, opportunities to apply what has been learned, etc. will receive more emphasis. Lastly, as I was looking through the book "Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach," I found this to be an interesting quote, "We must teach students the processes of reading and writing, as well as how to use reading and writing as learning tools (11)." What exactly is being interpreted here? In regards to this quote and Balanced Literacy, I feel that children can develop strategies to enhance their ability to engage in independent reading. I also feel that children will utilize many reading and writing resources that will relate to their everyday lives.
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4 comments:
Interactive writing is a great way to involve the whole class. It also entails that everyone work together to get the end result. I have actually never seen this happen yet in my practicums.
I definitely think that by using this technique there is more gained from it than just writing skills. As everyone is contributing, students will learn various skills from each other, such as spelling, and correct writing techniques. This can also include wording of various sentences and phrasing.
I thought that the quote you picked was very interesting. I actually really thought that it made a point. It is very important that we as instructors teach students how to read and write, this is like the basics that are necessary. However I think that its important that students learn to use these skills as tools for themselves. That is what I am interpreting from it. Its almost like teaching something to someone, and then having them use the skills for themselves.
"Do you feel that another component of Interactive Writing could possibly receive more emphasis than the review of student writing skills? Maybe you will fill that increased spelling knowledge, opportunities to apply what has been learned, etc. will receive more emphasis."
Looking at this question I don't agree feel that either option is more emphasized. I think that by doing collaboritive writing that it is more about getitng the students involved and encouraging them to write. I am in second grade and as one of my lessons we made a class book about emotions. I did't feel the need to correct what they felt the need to write. Every student participated and gave their best, even if their best was not great writing skills. This assignment was to encourage writing and it worked. The teacher was impressed because two of the none writing students gave me lots of sentences for the book.
For my practicum placement, I am in a third grade classroom. I have not witnessed interactive writing. I agree that it is a good approach to literacy to help strengthen writing skills by having the teacher guide and correct the writing. I think a handful of the students I observe would benefit from interactive writing, specifically, the students in the lower reading/writing groups. Many of them are ELL and have trouble with sentence syntax and spelling. Interactive writing would be helpful for them because the teacher would be able to assist them in their writing and guide them to write properly. In regards to the quote, I agree that students need to be taught how to read and write so that these skills can be used as learning tools. Reading and writing form the foundation for education. Without being literate, a student cannot learn other curriculums. Therefore, developing a mastery of reading and writing will allow students to be successful in other subject areas.
I have worked with kids for several years in Sunday School and taught several different age groups. Currently I teach the 1st and 2nd graders together, and there definitely is a differnce in their literacy skills. Interactive writing is great for involving the whole class, and it helps to create a team environment. The class will learn how to work with other students to complete a task. They can learn from each other and help each other. I think that the processes of reading and writing need to be taught first and then we can teach them how to use reading and writing as learning tools. Students will need to use reading for learning from their textbooks, and as they get older they will need to write notes in class, these are tools for learning.
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