Literacy Playshop

The Literacy Playshop approach is a way to incorporate literacy into all aspects of a child's day without having to explicitly sit down and read, stay at a table to write, or retell a story read during class. The playshop aspect of this approach comes from the fact that children are actively engaged in the story that they are depicting. They're bringing in ideas from previous stories and experiences that they've had as well as from pop culture. Being engaged in this kind of story telling allows students to work out issues and problems that may be prevalent in their lives in and outside the classroom. They are critically thinking about their storyline, working on resolving problems, and engaging in media production. 

I never thought that filmmaking could be a form of literacy that children as young as kindergarteners could engage in. However, as I've gotten to know my focal child, I see great potential in the types of stories that she can act out and engage in. Every week I learn something new about her through her play and the way she brings pop culture into her dramatic play such as her eagerness to incorporate others and have a balance in their play. The Frozen franchise has made a big impact in her life and she engages in pretend play, acting out scenes from the movie throughout the day. She writes and draws stories about princesses and speaks of what she does as a princess over the weekend. The pop-cultural aspect has permeated every area of her life. I look forward to creating a movie in which she's the author, director, writer, producer, and actor.

Outside the box

Laughter, smiles, and giggles
Children creating, imagining, engaging
A rhythmic flow of learning,
seems chaotic and confusing, overwhelming even.
A dance like flow of ideas and opinions,
Student and teacher sharing their own knolwedge.

A classroom that is outside the box. 

Beyond "Sounding it Out"

The classroom in which I am currently in focuses on a literacy framework called "Daily Five:"

• Read to Self,
• Work on Writing,
• Read to Someone,
• Listen to Reading, and
• Word Work.

When students read to self or read with someone, the cooperating teacher I work with, assesses students periodically. As kindergarteners, these students are not reading perfectly, however, the importance is not placed on children "reading right." The classroom has several other strategies that students can use when reading: use the picture and whether it makes sense, to name a few. Children can use some or all these strategies when reading. When children use the picture to read they are looking at the illustrations and understanding the story that way, using context helps students to make sense of what the word could be.  While being in the classroom I have not heard the teacher use the phrase "sound it out." Other strategies make more sense to children who are making sense of the stories they are reading. Reading should instead focus on children understanding the concept of print, then acquiring language and listening skills, having knowledge of letters, phonemic and phonological awareness, and fostering a love for reading. Sounding it out is not a strategy because most words cannot be sounded out. Children will retain and understand what they are reading when they are creating and acquiring their own meaning and can be engaged with the text. Therefore, context, using the picture and making sense of the word are better strategies to "sounding it out."

Community Literacy

Literacy inside the classroom is an area of focus that many teachers zone in on. We focus on how to bridge the gap between home and school life by sending books home, talking with parents and focusing on skills they can work on with their student(s), and helping children with their literacy in the classroom with interventionists and other supports. However, understanding and know what literacy looks like outside the classroom is also important. Bloomington is a very diverse place in which literacy is a part of every day life and every one from young children to adults can participate in these events.

Living in a community in which there are several diverse cultures present, our public library has many opportunities for children to engage with these cultures through the form of events catered to families, read aloud stories, and/or culturally diverse books. Our public library also has several events throughout the year in which families and teachers can learn about numerous subject areas. Literacy in Bloomington is also informal. The community has several artists and artistic citizens who paint murals, put on performances, or write books that anyone can access and partake in.

The Ivy Tech John Waldron Art Center also offers several art and painting classes in which members of the community can participate in throughout the year. Literacy can take the form of expression through these mediums. Literacy can also take the form of musical arts. Several events throughout the year have artists of several genres present and both children and adults can engage with these experiences.

I think it's important to understand what literacy looks like in the community I'm a part of not only to understand the make up of the community, in terms of culture and practices, but also in order to better provide my students access to these opportunities. Displaying and fostering a love for literacy can positively influence students to be passionate about these opportunities. 

What chidren CAN do

As children enter kindergarten and are working on developing their literacy skills, it's important that as teachers we focus on how each child is learning, growing, and progressing. Each child comes into the classroom with their own personal experiences with literacy, whether they be derived from teachings at home or their cultural backgrounds. Using each child's strengths is valuable when we are focusing on their literacy skills. In her article, "Sounding Out: A Pervasive Cultural Model of Reading", Catherine Compton-Lily states how teacher and family practices should focus beyond the "sounding it out" approach when helping young and struggling readers learn to read. Compton-Lily explains that ""sounding out" draws through a reliance on letter sound association" (2005, p.442) and is giving students the idea that reading is just a form of breaking down sounds, therefore, children are not engaging with what they are reading. Compton-Lily, along with others mentioned in the article, suggest that there are other strategies that draw upon children's knowledge that can be used to help students read. Students and parents who took part in the Compton-Lily's research showed that instead of just "sounding it out" students were looking for context within the reading. For some, that context was looking at the picture and from then drawing on their previous knowledge and being able to work through the word they were reading. While this strategy may vary from student to student, it's a strategy that children are already using when they are making meaning of the stories they read through during independent reading time. Children are constructing their own meaning and stories if they are not yet able to read all or most of the words. It only makes sense that we apply this same approach when they are learning to read and come across words that may seem unfamiliar to them.

For readers who seem to struggle with comprehension it's important that we also look at their strengths instead of focusing on their inability to understand. Modeling strategies for understanding can aid children in using these strategies. It's also important to keep in mind that children may be already using their own strategies when engaging with a text. In their book Catching Readers before They Fall Pat Johnson and Katie Keier talk about the different ways that readers use their previous knowledge and skills to understand or comprehend a text. While some strategies can be taught it's important to understand that not all children use them in a sequential order. The child will use these strategies "when he or she deems necessary to understand a text or solve a problem while reading" (2010, p. 136).  Some of these strategies may include children taping into their previous background knowledge to make connections with the text. Using this in order to help children comprehend can be very powerful. Children may also be able to visualize what they are reading in order to comprehend and that's another way in which teachers can use what children already know in order to connect with the text.

Focusing on students' strengths allows students to be able to tap into their literacy skills in a much more positive and engaging manner. Using the skills they already have and bring into the classroom allows for children to create strategies that helps them with their reading and comprehension.

Second Language Learners

Many times we focus on providing different accommodations and experiences to different types of students. We draw them in with hands on activities, read aloud books, dramatic play, etc. but we forget the second language learner that may be sitting right in our classroom.These types of learners may be students whose home language is not the same language that is spoken at school and therefore, they may struggle to keep up with the classrooms activities.

In a simulated activity, our classroom was put through the experience that many students may go through. We were not told that the language in the classroom would be switched to something other than English. A book was read in Spanish and then instructions to complete an activity were also given in Spanish. We were then given slips of paper that told us what our roles as "students" would be. Some were still able to speak in English, but "it would be frowned upon" while others could only speak, write, and communicate in Spanish. Several people quickly became frustrated as they do not know nor are familiar with Spanish. Given that Spanish was the first language I learned, I was able to understand everything and even be a resource for other people During our activity, I saw how several people became frustrated, angry, annoyed and this let to them feeling incompetent, dumb, like learning was out of their control. Because I was able to help both students who could speak English AND Spanish, I took on sort of a teacher role.

However, I felt that just one person helping everyone out was a bit overwhelming. As a future teacher who is bilingual I felt what it must be like to have students who speak both English and Spanish and how to best help each set of students. I was also able to be in a situation where I could understand each person's frustration with the language barrier so that I'm even more sensitive to students in my classroom who speak a language that I don't. While I don't need to necessarily know ALL languages I DO need to be sensitive to each students' needs. I need to provide opportunities for them to be just as engaged in classroom activities. As a future teacher I need to be sensitive in understanding that being in a classroom with people who don't speak the same language may be difficult, however, this does not mean that a child is any less capable or different than other students.

Authentic Communication

When talking about "authentic" communication we're talking about communication that serves a purpose. The purpose may be to understand what we are reading, saying, or writing or it may be that our purpose is to be able to have an experience or moment. In her book, "Children's Language: Connecting reading, writing, and talk", Judith Wells Lindfors talks about how important it is for parents and teachers to introduce children to authentic experiences through text.  When children are exposed to these types of texts then authentic responses are evoked.  When children are able to identify with a book or story then they get so much more out of the learning process. Lindfors states that children are able to relate prior knowledge when being read to and they in turn apply this knowledge to the text, this may be done so by sharing how they also have a pet dog if the book being read is about a dog. Children are also able to relate to characters and project beyond what is in the text. When authentic texts are used children make logical connections and use their inquiry skills to go beyond the story. Authentic texts also help children who are not yet readers to be able to "read" the story by the illustrations that are on the pages. This creates an experience for each individual child and allows for them to live through that reading experience.

It's also important to note that these authentic literary experiences do not only refer to reading or story telling. Children are also having authentic experiences with text. Lindfors states that if a child's writing (whether it be early stages, incorrectly spelling words, etc.) is communicating some sort of message then it is authentic. Children are learning that words are social tools and that text is another way that we can communicate with the world and those around us. At times we may think that children who are just copying down words or repeating words are not really engaging in an authentic experience; however, if that child's purpose is to communicate by repeating or copying then they are trully experiencing authenticity through writing an reading. Lindfors also points that there are three guiding principles to the authenticy process:
1. ownership - child writes when they want, how they want, and for the purposes that they want.
2. community - child has support from parents, teachers, peers when learning and sharing
3. guidance - teachers and parents help child write and read more effectively and diversely

Communication cannot be classified solely as written or spoken language, therefore, it's important to keep in mind the that both of these things come together when children are engaged in literacy. Authentic communication becomes a tool that brings these two things together.