Thursday, November 10, 2011

Critical Literacies/ Already Ready

I thought that the critical literacies article was very interesting.  I was really thinking that the idea of have a cafe' for the children to practice the language would be a fun way to get them involved.  I think that too often we assume that children this young do not always have informed opinions.  We may assume that we, as teachers, know what is best for them without even asking them what they prefer.  I really liked that the children were encouraged to write a petition.  It is important that all children express their opinions and feel that they are being heard.

In the "already ready: article, I really liked the section on talking to students about the different parts and purposes of a book.  I think that many times young students may just look at picture and do not always understand what the rest of the book is about. In my head start room, the teacher always mentions who the author is and where the book was published.  I think that it is important that children are seeing these different sections in books. I also really liked the part where teachers would write down what the children said their pictures were. I appreciated that the teachers would write down, verbatim, what the student said.  It is great to expand on what the children are drawing or saying but we do not want to mix their words or influence what they say about a picture.

6 comments:

  1. One of my favorite points from the Critical Literacies excerpt was their discussion on their petition as well. Creating a petition touches on so many different skills.
    Cognitive-Knowing that they do have the ability to make social change
    Literacy-reading and writing for the petition
    and Social/Emotional-learning the ways of society and learning how to make use of them appropriately

    That's so great that your teacher takes the time to discuss the author and publishing information. Unfortunately, it does not seem as though many teachers are doing that. We could all use this as a learning example to follow!

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  2. I think it is important for teachers to view children as capable of thinking for themselves. Too often do teachers feel like children are just empty vessels they can fill with knowledge.Children are very curious and filled with ideas.

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  3. It is important for teachers to nurture children's opinions and to show them how to make their opinions count. Children need to know that they can make a difference in the world if they try and are given the tools to do this.

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  4. We definitely need to make a conscious effort to appreciate children's thoughts. Sometimes we might overlook their little comments without realizing how important it might be to them. Like you said, even very young children have informed opinions!

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  5. Its great to remember to take into account what the children say that their pictures are about because later on they can remember creating them and appreciate the imagination and creativity that they had!

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  6. Not only are teachers encouraged to point out all portions of a book so the children can identify those sections, but also so children can identify with those authors and texts. Providing additional information that leads a child to pondering how the author created the text opens the door to this child seeing himself as an able writer, too.

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