This week's post is about literature in the classroom. In my placement, the teacher reads a book to the kids almost everytime that I am there, which is at least two times a week. When I arrive right after lunch and recess, the students come in and sit on the rug. The teacher (or I) read them a story before they start their independent reading time. I also observe the teacher individually working with groups of students throughout the day on their literacy.
The Leland article that we read for this week really opened my eyes to critical literature and its importance. Critical literature deals with emotional and controversial topics. These topics can sometimes make teachers feel uncomfortable because they are unsure if the students will understand. The Leland article reinforced that students, even as young as the first grade, can comprehend these topics and really learn from them. In my placement, I have not seen any critical literature being used. We usually read fun stories where the students are able to get involved, such as books with songs or rhymes. I think it would be interesting to see what the student would think of a controversial book. I can definitely shape my language arts and literacy lessons around the concept of using critical literature.
I also learned that it is important to talk about literature and all of its components. I really like how my mentor teacher asks the students questions about the story during and after reading it. Last week, I observed my mentor teacher asking the students comprehension questions about a story they had just read about weather. He asked them questions such as "what did the story say that children do when it is hot outside?" and "by looking at what the children are wearing, what season do you think it is?" He has been teaching the students to use context clues to figure out the meaning of a story. It is so amazing to see the progress that the students have made in their comprehension skills.
I believe that using literature is extremely important in the classroom. In the Montessori school, a lot of emphasis is put on independent work, but I love how my mentor teacher at least does some group instruction with literature. It is crucial for a student to be able to use the pictures and text to find the meaning of new words, which is exactly what my mentor teacher looks for. A great emphasis is put on reading, and the students have reading time more than once a day. I look forward to observing more literature instruction in my placement.
I, like Heather, see a lot of literacy instruction at my placement. I am in a fourth grade classroom, and almost every day that I am there, the teacher either reads to the students, or has the students read aloud. As they read the story, the teacher asks them questions about what is going on in the story, or about a concept in the story that she isn’t sure they’ll understand. This not only helps the students to understand the story, but it also helps the teacher make sure that the students are getting what she wants them to out of the story. Literature in the classroom is also incorporated into other subjects such as social studies, and science to reinforce what is being learned.
ReplyDeleteThe Leland article, as Heather mentioned, talks about critical literacy, and its importance in building effective citizens. I have seen my teacher use critical literacy when teaching. For example, when the students were learning about slavery, the teacher read them a story about Harriet Tubman. The teacher used this book as a way to start talking about human rights. They talked about how horribly African Americans were treated and how everyone should be treated fairly. One of the things Leland talks about is how students should be taught to “use knowledge to take action that will make the world a just place in which to live and work” (Leland, 2005). I believe that that is what the teacher is doing in this situation. She is teaching the students about a horrible thing that happened so they are aware of the injustices that occurred in an attempt to make sure they never happen again.
I think that it is really important for teachers to incorporate literature in many different ways in their classroom. I think that my mentor teachers do a good job with this. The students have many different opportunities to read about many different subjects in different ways. To illustrate, the students get silent reading time every day where they are allowed to choose their own book to read. This enables them to read something that they are really interested in. Also, the teacher incorporates both group and individual reading from many different topics and genres such as poetry, fantasy, nonfiction, and more. It is important for students to experience many different forms of literature in different ways so they can gain as much knowledge as possible.
Literature plays a huge role in my mentor teacher’s classroom. Every subject is highly integrative and it is evident how important the use of literature is throughout the day. Each week my students are required to type their spelling words on the computers. Every day at stations, the students work on fluency, writing, vocabulary, and phonics. My students are not lectured to and expected to complete worksheets like I was when I was in school. Their learning is hands on and I feel they can use the tools they are given in real world situations. Using these different literary sources is new to me as a teacher and it is important for future educators to understand. As mentioned by Tompkins, “...reading and writing on the internet require students to become proficient in new ways of accessing, comprehending, and communicating information, which is referred to as ‘new literacies’.”(2010) Not only do students need to understand how to comprehend what they are reading on the internet, but they need to be know how to use reading tablets, electronic devices, and other educational tools.
ReplyDeleteThe integration of critical text also is very important in each child’s education. "Using critical text opens their eyes and my own to world issues. This helps to create understanding and provides connections for kids whose lives do not fit what they think is normal- such as a family of four with parents and a dog in the backyard." (Leland, 2005). Just today my teacher did a read-aloud about Harriet Tubman. Throughout the reading she paused and asked for student responses about their thoughts and feelings. After they had read, she gave a prompt pertaining to Harriet’s feelings, and had the students imagine they were in Harriet’s shoes. My mentor teacher created a freedom journal for each student, and they plan to use it for each critical text they read. The students were so motivated to understand how Harriet Tubman felt and it was amazing to see their desire to write and share their feelings. The teacher in the Leland article was hesitant at first to share the diverse texts with her students, but it worked out in the end. I can relate this to my own classroom because not every student can understand what the experience of a slave was. The class is also very diverse and the students did not seem to mind that they were learning about an African American woman. It is so true that critical text can open a student’s eyes to the real world and it can create so much learning and compassion. The compassion and understanding the children took home with them today is something I hope they hold forever, because their understanding and open minds will motivate them to make change in our world. By using different forms of text and making it meaningful, I believe teachers can really connect with students and help create awareness.