I interviewed two professional that
gave me a lot of information on Early Literacy. Within this area there are many
areas that are of interest to me. Some of the related topics we spoke about are
oral language and language acquisition, and the importance of supporting and
engaging students in developing these skills. Some other topics related to
Early literacy is using language in conversation, listening to the sound of
spoken language, vocabulary, learning about print and connecting sounds to
letters and figuring out what reading is all about.
Some of the current issues we
talked about that are related to these topics are second language learners and
the importance of finding the students’ stage of language development and being
able to support their learning within that stage of development. Also, bridging
the gap between potential and achieving readers and getting the parents
involved by preparing them to be their child’s first educator and factoring in
a daily time for reading.
During the interview we also spoke
of other issues commonly encountered in the work place or discussed by
colleagues. Some of these issues are waiting too long to expose children of
poverty to the basic elements of reading, teaching 4 and 5 year olds with
little exposure to reading at home, the need for continued teacher training in
Early Literacy and how to support families in learning to help their children,
especially families who speak another language.
Advocacy efforts that are under way
in the area of Early Literacy is building a strong foundation in oral language
development and providing children and families with support by regularly
scheduling parent workshops that provides information on development of
per-reading skills and language development. Topics or issues that are of
concern to the two professionals that I interviewed is improving family
literacy, working with parents to promote the emerging literacy of their
children and also, simultaneously strive to improve the literacy skills of the
parents.
Insights that I have gained from my
interviews regarding current advocacy efforts and needs in Early Literacy is
that parents need to be more involved in the education of their children, but
they sometimes lack the knowledge or skills necessary to help their children. I
feel that oral language development and language acquisition is a big part of
Early Literacy and it is important to get that point across. I also feel that
it is important to help the parents to get the resources that are needed to
help their children. The area of interest to focus on
for me will be Early Literacy and the three related topic of my focus will be
oral language development, language acquisition and print awareness.
Hello Rosalie,
ReplyDeleteEarly literacy is a subject that should be near and dear to all teachers. Often I have found that some teachers use the television to teach or ditto sheets which to me is a terrible way to teach. There are so many tools that we can use to help with lesson planning and individualization, that we need to leave the old ways behind.It is time to embrace the new as we go into a new season with our children. As an advocate you will be able to share new ways that Literacy can be taught on an individual basis.One on one sessions are great for teaching literacy, and we will be able to reach the child easier with one on one instruction.Thank you for sharing, I am looking forwad to reading your blog.
I do agree with you, dittos do not belong in a classroom. It is important to plan developmentally appropriate activities that will help to expand children's knowledge. Children should be exposed to experiences that will allow them to develop oral language skills and vocabulary.
DeleteThe most significant aspect of developing literacy is the family. That also can be the most challenging aspect of implementing a good literacy program. You stated an issue you discussed was waiting to expose poverty stricken children to literacy. I am not clear of what this means? Are you saying the family does or the program does? I remember when taking a literacy course that the first stage to literacy development includes oral language first in the infant and toddler years. This is a great topic to study especially since there continue to be great achievement gaps in education between low income children and upper class children.
ReplyDeleteI meant that the family wait to expose there children to school because they think that that are too young to be in school. I have had children that start in my classroom and after two weeks the parents kept them home because the parent missed the child too much. I think that the children are ready but the parents are not.
DeleteRosalie,
ReplyDeleteAs an early childhood educator you not only have to educate the children in your classroom you also have to educate the parents. Children don't come with a 'how to raise your child to be smart, well behaved and socially/emotionally adjusted'.
I do agree that Early Literacy is very important to children's education. I think that Early Literacy starts with the parents and that is why my advocacy plan is the importance of reading to children. the fact that you stated that "getting the parents involved by preparing them to be their child’s first educator and factoring in a daily time for reading" is so true.
ReplyDeleteRosalie, It seems like your interview went very well. I think that you choose a very good topic because early literacy is very important in a yong child life. Language is the most important readiness skills. Children need laguage skills for success in both school and life. Children should be engaged in conversation that use extended discourse, that is, talking at some length in a variety of setting and with a variet of peers. Litercy develops within a social context in which they have the opportunity to interact with and respond to printed language and to other children and adults who are using printed language. teachers should encourage sharing knowledge and ideas through reading and writing.
ReplyDelete