Double Entry Journal #3

CULTURAL DEFICIT

CULTURAL CAPITAL

1. How does elementary reading instruction contribute to poor literacy attainment for older children?
- In elementary school, children are taught the basics of reading rather than how to attain ideas, concepts, information, and instruction from reading. Because elementary aged children are taught the joy and fun of reading rather than what to look for, what you can gain from it, and how reading can be effective, elementary reading instruction usually contributes to poor literacy attainment for older children.

2. What reading test scores good for?
- Reading test scores are beneficial in showing on what level students can read and comprehend. Reading test scores also show in what area the student needs improvement which serves as a guide for the student's educator.

3. What reality about a literacy myth surprised you the most? Why?
- I was most surprised by the myth that students learn the majority of their reading and writing skills in elementary school. Almost every time I picture an elementary classroom, I envision the teacher instructing the children how to read and write and the students learning the basis of their skills in the elementary classroom but now I realize that the students learn based on the grade level in which they are in and they just foster and add to their skills.

4. What do you know about teaching reading comprehension in the content areas? Give an example of a strategy you might use to teach reading during a science or social studies lesson.
- I've learned that reading comprehension in the content areas is of the utmost importance. If the student cannot comprehend the information given to them to read on the content in which you have them study, they will put more effort towards trying to understand how to read the print rather than attain the important information that the teacher is trying to get across to them.
In my class that focused on reading in the content area, I was taught that for a social studies lesson the idea of putting events in chronological order and making sure that the organization of the content is clear and in terms that the student can understand rather than using big, descriptive words that will only puzzle the students is the best way to go when presenting a lesson.

5. What kind of literacy do you have that was not acknowledge in school? (Literacy means being able to use texts and technologies to accomplish one's purpose in the world.)
- As a young child, I always was accustomed to using different types of technology to further my literacy skills. Although my parents read to me from books on numerous occasions, my mom and dad also bought me programs that I used on our home computer that also taught me a majority of the literacy skills in which I gained on my own. I remember one program in particular called " Bailey's Bookhouse" that was one of my favorites. "Bailey's Bookhouse" was a reading program that allowed young kids to create their own stories, play games, read stories, all while teaching valuable literary skills.

6. Give an example of a literacy practice.
- I feel that an important literacy practice is to make sure that the students are interested in the reading that they are assigned to and if they are not, finding a way for them to relate to the reading so they understand the perspective and what they are gaining by reading it. Although I've always loved to read, I felt sometimes throughout school that there were certain books that made me want to never open a book again. (Lord of the Flies!) Certain books made me want to stray away from reading as a whole but I was lucky enough to find a teacher that made me understand the concept behind the piece which made me establish an appreciation for the work rather than closing my mind to reading in general.

7. What is a discourse community?
- A discourse community is a community in which it is very difficult to understand the ways of communication unless you are a part of the community.

8. What can happen if students valuable multiple literacies are not recognized as valuable in school?
- If students feel that a literacy is valuable but they are forced and told that it is not valuable in the school, they may feel estranged from literacy in it's entirety.

9. Give an example of how a teacher might build on the extracurricular literacy practices of their students?
- Throughout my literacy experience in school there has been multiple ways that the school and teachers have tried to build on the extracurricular literacy practices. There was a program called Accelerated Reader that throughout the 9 week term, the students would have to read different novels and then take a test based on the novel. The students were assigned a point value that they had to complete per 9 weeks and each book was worth a different amount of points based on the score the student received on the quiz. Another method I remember was every Friday for a month, the students were required to read for the first 10 minutes of every period. Both of these methods helped me read outside of the classroom because they sparked my interest in the material and forced me to take the time to explore it.

10. Describe a time in which a teacher in your 4-12 schooling experience employed one of the research-base strategies to improve motivation.
- Just like I mentioned above, both methods seemed to motivate me to read outside the classroom. I also had teacher's require reflection journals based on the reading that we were assigned.

11. Give an example from your own K-12 schooling experience that engaged in you in multicultural literacy development.
- I did not have many multicultural experiences throughout my K-12 schooling experience but my family did host an exchange student when I was young and the exchange student often shared with me and my brother the "fairy tales" or " children's stories" of his home.

12. What do teachers her gain recognition and respect from their peer also do well on?
- Teacher's gain respect and recognition from their peers as well as students when they develop a literacy strong classroom that helps students of each and every culture.

Sources:

Bolima, D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding: Educational learning theories . Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu/saki/strategies/101/new_page_5.htm

NCTE. (n.d.). Adolescent literacy. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Positions/Chron0907ResearchBrief.pdf

Double Entry Journal #2

As She Opened Her Mouth


QUOTE:


"In Donny's home, because neither parent could read nor write, the children grew up understanding that life did not include print."


RESPONSE:


I selected this quote from the passage because although the passage made it clear how severely Donny was struggling to get by in school due to poverty levels in which he lived, this quote in it's entirety really struck me as a simple explanation for the reasoning behind Donny's struggle. As a child, my parents always made sure that they spent a lot of time reading with me. They would read me stories before bed, buy me every type of educational learning books, and they even enrolled me in the local library's kinder-reading program. After reading this passage, I realized how extremely blessed I am to have had parents who took the time to work with me as much as they did. I also realized how extremely fortunate I was to have parents that were educated that they were able to pass it onto me. Although my parents were able to give me the gift of teaching me how to read, write, and recognize words, some parents are not able to provide their children with the gift of education. This is the case with Donny's mother Jenny. Jenny is aware that she is not educated but Jenny longs to make the cycle stop with her son, Donny. Therefore she pleas with the teachers and the school in order for someone to help Donny learn to read and to write. Because of the background that I was fortunate enough to have, it struck me as strange that a child of Donny's age had absolutely no recognition of the simplest words. While reading the passage, I tried to digest this information and once I stumbled upon this quote, I realized that due to the parenting received by Donny from his uneducated parents, Donny grew up with little understanding of the different types of communication other than verbal communication because the aspect of printed words on a page was a foreign idea to him.


While many would be the first to blame Donny's parents, I have to argue that Donny's mother was proactive in handling the situation. Donny's mother recognized the situation that she put her son in and she plead with the administration in order to reverse the cycle that her family was facing by taking time to teach Donny how to read and write so he would be successful in school. This opened up my eyes to the fact that as an educator, I will come into contact with student just like Donny that do not understand the basic concepts of education such as reading and writing. It also made me realize that I will also come into contact with parents that are not motivated in helping their children become successful unlike Jenny was with her son Donny. This passage really made it clear to me that I will have to do my absolute best to be an advocate for my students so that regardless of their situation outside of the school building, I can fight in order to educate them to the best of my ability.


QUESTIONS: 1)What is literacy knowledge? Give examples of both print and non print literacy knowledge.

* Literacy knowledge is the concept of recognizing the words on a page and understanding their meaning. How do stereotypes interfere with literacy instruction? How do schools and teachers contribute to poor literacy instruction in school? What is the relationship between language, social class, and the denial of educational opportunity? What are some misconceptions about the relationship between language and literacy? What can schools and teachers do to improve literacy instruction? How do you feel about use of the term "Proper English"? CITATIONS: Purcell Gates, V. (2002). As soon as she opened her mouth. In L. Delpit & J.K Dowdy (Eds.), In The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language culture and power. (Print: Anthology) * Tall Tales of Appalachia QUOTE: EXAMPLE: CITATIONS:

Double Entry Journal #1

When referring to education, the term "inclusion" primarily means bringing all students together in the classroom and finding a way to educate each and every student no matter how diverse the group of students may be. The goal of inclusion is making a number one effort to find a way to enhance learning for all types of students.(various cultures, those with disabilities, various interests, families, homes, etc.) Inclusion provides a classroom where all students are able to feel as if they belong and that they are accepted therefore providing a safe and friendly environment that will contribute positively towards their learning process. An inclusive classroom is geared to benefit all types of students making it absolutely necessary for the students to overcome obstacles such as language barriers, impairing disabilities, differences among ethnic groups, culture variations, etc. The students are forced to come together and learn from one another which will ultimately enhance their educational experience. Inclusive schools share many characteristics that are vitally important in order to operate towards it's fullest potential. An inclusive school must have a sense of community where every student feels accepted and feels as if they are a part of the group which is represented as a school. Sense of community encourages a positive atmosphere that allows students to learn at their highest potential as well as achieve their goals in education. Inclusive schools must also have a flexible learning environment that can be easily changed in order to accommodate every type of learning based of the individual needs of the student. These processes can be practiced by making the student feel responsible for their education by making it an exciting process in which the students have to work together or as part of a team in order to complete tasks. This idea may promote cooperative learning where the students will learn to depend on one another.

* I chose this image because I feel as if this chart does an excellent job mapping out the factors necessary in order to make inclusion a success in the classroom. It shows all of the ways that help promote student achievement regardless of the various diversities among the students they may make up your classroom. Citations/Sources: Inos, R. (n.d.). Research review for inclusive practices. Retrieved from http://www.prel.org/products/Products/Inclusive-practices.htm Huitt, W. (2006). Overview of classroom processes. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [date], from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/process/class.html