Literacy+Methods+Textbook

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=HOW TO ADD TO THIS BOOK:= Everyone is invited to add to this book. Put the topic you want to add on this page at the Table of Contents and create a link to a new wiki page (highlight the title and then hit the little globe on the editing bar). Save. After your change has been saved, hit the link you made and begin editing that page.

=How to use this book:= The idea behind this book is to create a reference that students and teachers can use as they improve their ability to teach literacy processes and to assess what students know about literacy. Maybe you know some of the technical stuff. Maybe you don't. We suggest you look at each chapter--skim it--to see if there is material in there that will benefit you. Then you can plan to spend a longer time in the chapters that have material that you are less familiar with.

=Table of Contents= Part One: Foundational Ideas These are the teaching perspectives and philosophies that inform what we view as the best practices in teaching literacy. Emergent Curriculum Using Imaginative Education with something that didn't emerge Semiotics and Semiotic Systems Professional Development Disruptive Innovation The Teaching-Learning Relationship Types of Teaching and Learning Traffic Engineering: A new metaphor for teaching Examples of multiple forms of information

Part Two: What is Literacy Literacy and... Literacy Development

Part Three: Teaching Literacy Reading and Teaching Readin g Writing and Teaching Writing Spelling Grammar Punctuation Metacognition Teaching Literacy in Ohio Vocabulary Critical Reading Skills

Part Four: Assessment of Literacy Assessment Without Tears

Part Five: Individualized Instruction Troubleshooting the Reading Process Troubleshooting the Writing Process Addressing the Needs of All Students

Part Six: A compendium of activities Teaching Possibilities

Part Seven: Supporting Literacy and Learning with Grant Writing Research =Table of Contents=



[|The Project Approach to Teaching] Literacy Links [|Speech and Language Development- Typical and At risk] As teachers, you may be vital in recognizing abnormalities in a child's speech and language development that could put them at risk for falling behind, or not becoming aware of a disability such as Autism. Some parents do not recognize the signs for various reasons and if you know what to look for, you can help change the course of a child's educational life and potential. = = =Literacy and...=

Politics
There are a number of political aspects of literacy. One could consider much of the Civil Rights movement to be a literacy battle--the rights of kids to get an education. Literacy leads to authority because through literacy we are able to deciminate our ideas and to get other people to go along with us. In the past, it was illegal to teach slaves to read because people knew that if slaves learned to read and write, the end of slavery would shortly ensue. When we open the door to literacy with our students, we are opening many possibilities for them, including the possibility of leadership. There are some who would argue against this, in part to keep the portion of the education pie for themselves and their children. Yet if we want to reduce violence in our society, we must increase literacy--we must keep so many people from joining the underclass because they have no other options in their lives.

Reluctant readers/writers
The challenge of literacy is that it is a meaning making process and meaning is highly personal. Can you force me to make meaning? Maybe temporarily but not permanently. Reluctant participants in the literacy world ironically have the ability to refuse to be part of using language to make meaning, but at the same time in doing so, they are possibly limiting their lives significantly--and without really understanding the consequences of this decision.

First off, it is important to understand why a person is a reluctant reader or writer. Where do they seem to get bogged down? Has there been a traumatic event that might be significant? Is there some form of technical difficulty? Is there some kind of knowledge they lack? Do they need a topic that is different from what is being offered? Before you can choose to do something about a reluctant participant in the literacy world, it is a good idea to figure out what is going on.

= = =Reading=

Assessing readability
When we are choosing texts to share with students, we may want to find out how difficult the texts are in terms of reading level. While this can be a handy tool to use, the problem is that readability varies: people who read about something they care about tend to be able to read texts at a higher readability level than when they read something with which they are not familiar. In other words, while this is a useful tool, it is not infallible.

Comprehension
http://ed314and316.wikispaces.com/Comprehending+Stratigies Just because a person can sound out words does not mean the person is understanding what is being read.http://www.justanyone.com/allanguish.htmlHit the link for "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut" for an example of language that can be easily read but not so easily understood (the rest of the website tells you how to understand it, but don't cheat before you try this out). http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.htmlThis is another example of something that can be read but perhaps not completely understood. Actually what is interesting about this is how much you understand words you have never heard before simply through context. Reading is not simply the technique of sounding out letters according to the complex rules of the English language. It is fundamentally a meaning-making act, and meaning making is based on many factors such as previous experience with the topic of the text, interest, and so forth. Comprehension is probably one of the most important aspects of reading--in fact, if you do a running record of someone reading, you may notice that the reader occasionally substitutes words that essentially mean the same thing (e.g., using a dialectical version of the verb "to be" instead of what is written in the book). If that is the case, the reader is comprehending even if the reading out loud is not technically perfect.

Teaching literacy in Ohio
http://ed314and316.wikispaces.com/Alphabet+Soup As teachers we often use shorthand to refer to things we expect other people to understand. Here is a dictionary of Ohio's literacy-based alphabet soup. Literacy across the curriculum

Assessment Project Approach to Learning in Early Childhood The project appraoch begins with children's interests and leads to constructing lots of meaning (AKA"learning"). Follow this link to see some [|projects in action.]

Literacy and...
This pdf describes some ways in which children have been systematically taught to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, and constructive members of a community (via empathy). Most of these activities have some kind of significant literacy connection.

=Addressing the needs of all students=

Universal Design for Learning
http://worldowiki.wikispaces.com/Universal+design+for+learning+resources UDL is a way of thinking about how we provide resources to students, including literacy resources. There is a link to a book builder web-based program that allows you to create books that support the reading process by allowing the reader to get hints while reading.

Advanced Readers
Sometimes we get so focused on kids who are behind grade level that we forget about kids who are reading above grade level. Yet it is critical to challenge all students, in part because kids who coast through grade school often have a hard time at higher levels of education because they have never learned good work habits. Fortunately, with the web and good libraries, we can accommodate the needs of these readers. Nancie Atwell's reader/writer workshop style of teaching, which can be adapted even for earlier grades, is a good example of a program that can meet each student's needs because students work independently on reading and writing. In terms of reading for information, high-level readers can be given more advanced texts--look in the library or online for possible resources. For example, if everyone is reading about animals and pooling their knowledge in some ways, you can have struggling readers read simpler texts and advanced readers read harder texts. If everyone has different information in their texts, then everyone has something to contribute from their reading.

Doing Projects
One way of addressing the needs of all learners is to work on projects together that allow students to take different roles according to their comfort level. For example, when writing poetry, it often works well to have students work in groups because the students who are less strong can be part of a successful project and can learn from their stronger peers. Creative projects allow everyone to contribute in terms of ideas.

[|Activity Ideas] added by Megan

Making paper
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/makingpaper.html __http://www.flickr.com/photos/bzedan/sets/967347/____ [|http://www.wipapercouncil.org/makepaper.htm] Paper is, of course, integral to the writing process, even in the digital age. Making paper can meet standards related to recycling (use scrap paper to make new paper) as well as being part of creating something students can use in their writing. Often the paper that students make is very thick, so while it may not be great for writing on, it could be used to create the cover for a hand-made book.

The following website provides students with opportunities to develop comprehension and phonics skills. There are games and online books for students to read and practice with to develop comprehension and phonics. Many classrooms use the website when students have center time or when they have finished an activiity and are waiting for others to do so. There is a section dedicated to helping students with the alphabet, a section for students who are learning to read, a section for students who have the ability to read but still require assistance with challenging books, and a section for more advanced readers that offers a variety of types of literature. Students can also do activities in different focus areas such as holidays and other seasonal themes. http://www.starfall.com/
 * Website for Students to Develop Comprehension and Phonics**

 I think one main idea I have that seems helpful in other classes looking back is the sharing of groups in a short presentation. We could use this by having time in class to find a topic in the textbook that interests us, and to summarize the information in front of the class to peak interest in everyone else exploring it if it is relevant to them. Some topics that might be interesting to explore: at least with 213/313 Folk art as it correlates to Appalachian culture (comparing the way they make art to the way they own their speech) some websites: [|http://www.folkartmuseum.org/default.asp?id=2260] and The university of Kentucky Art Museum Early Appalachian Folk Art. Are there any literacy programs that after we get through the curriculum at Capital that we can get involved with? I also rememberd something from my special education class I took at Toledo that might be relevant: We had a lady come in who was a Speech and Language Pathologist and she gave us this little wheel that we could use when we have children or teach to look for signs that a child is behind or not functioning typically with their speech in order to begin early intervention. There are a couple of websites about this as well that might really help a child in the one of our future classes: Typical Speech and Language Development: [|www.asha.org/public/speech/development/] [|http://kidshealth.org/parents/emotions/behavior/not_talk.html] I hope these are good springboard ideas. One more thing that naturally comes to mind is using art in narrative sequence to tell a story. Not necessarily storyboards, although sometimes kids get into comic books and there are many good comic book artists- I think they are called graphic novelists, though. What I am really thinking of is helping younger kids to get the idea of a story through artwork, real paintings maybe shown in powerpoints or something. [|http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/958] I would also like to learn games for teaching readingother than the obvious scrabble word search types. one game the title one teacher would have our kids play would be to have many images in her room and ask kids to take a minute observing everything they can see and then to close their eyes. Each child got a turn trying to name how many things they could remember. When they were done, whoever had the most won a prize.Some of us have to take the reading endorsement praxis, Introduction to the teaching of reading.Some of the topics found on the ets website under this test might be helpful to review with us as well. Christine