Week 3, Entry 6: Learning vs. Acquisition

I know my classroom approach is mostly Learning, maybe because of the curriculum and instructional materials and/or programs that I am required to utilize. I also believe the pendulum swing toward greater accountability and emphasis on assessment has created a tidal wave of requirements of classroom teachers to approach language teaching from the Learning perspective. In many ways the Learning approach is easier to test or evaluate.
However, the Acquisition approach certainly holds merit in teaching language in a context that preserves meaning above all else. Interestingly in reflecting on these 2 approaches, I experienced my foreign language study in high school with both approaches. My freshman year I started French I and heard lots of rumors that the instructor and her class were very hard. The teacher's approach was mostly Learning as we practiced conjugating verbs and memorizing vocabulary. It certainly was a tough class and I had to really study to stay on top. The following summer my family moved and I started a new high school. I proceeded with French II and found Monsignor Groves approach was very different. While we still conjugated verbs and learned new vocabulary, we practiced these skills through a variety of skits, social settings and games. Every quarter, we would have a Culture Day. We would peruse French recipes and choose one to translate, then make at home and bring in to share on Culture Day. All discussions in class on Culture Day had to be in French. Sometimes we would watch a movie in French where Monsignor Groves would pause frequently and ask us to describe what was happening. We would of course discuss vocabulary but also non-verbal cues and gestures to make meaning. Now I know his approach was Acquisition and I know I benefited from this language approach. I could "use" French outside the classroom and even began dreaming in French (my senior year). It was easier to learn and more meaningful.

Week 2, Entry 5: Review of Children’s Books

Mr. McGill Goes to Town by Jim Aylesworth

Quick summary: This story is about Mr. McGill fixing his mill. He wants to get it done before it gets dark. He asks his neighbors and they need help with their own jobs. They agree to work together to get all the jobs done. By working together, they are able to get the work done fast.

ELL’s will need to have an understanding of the following concepts in order to fully comprehend the story:

Vocabulary-rough, leaned, lane, hitched: To best introduce the word lane, I would provide a detailed picture of a lane and compare it to a picture of a highway or street. The rest of the vocabulary words we could act out, discuss and create several examples together. After reading the story I would scaffold the following questions at each student’s language acquisition level:

·         What objects can you leaned on?

·         What kinds of jobs are rough?

·         Point to which is larger a lane or a street.

·         Why would the man hitch his horse to a post?

Other concepts that students will need background knowledge on:

“Fixing a mill”: I would provide a picture of a working mill and discuss its primary job (to grind wheat into flour). I would question what would happen if the mill couldn’t work (it wouldn’t be able to grind the wheat and make flour. Families wouldn’t have flour to make bread.)

“Nailing on horseshoes”: I would show my students a short you tube video demonstrating a horse being shoed. After reading, we could discuss why it was easier for 4 men to shoe the horse instead of just one man. I would bring in an old horseshoe for students to pass around and investigate.

“Going to town”: Mr. McGill wanted to finish his work before the sun went down so he could go to town. Some people live out in the country far from town (sketch a map to demonstrate). Because it takes so long to go to town, people in the country may go to town only one day week instead of everyday like you and me. After reading the story I would question students how did Mr. McGill and the other men go to town? Did they take a train, a car, a bus? No they walked. Why would Mr. McGill want to go to town while the sun was still up?

The Little Red Hen adapted by Paul Galdone

Quick summary: The Little Red Hen teaches the others animals a lesson about teamwork. The animals learn that if they do not help out, they do not get to share in the rewards. The hen works hard and earns herself a tasty treat.

Vocabulary- gathered, tended, ground, mended: All of these vocabulary words are easiest to understand through demonstration so we would gather our pencils, mend a torn folder or a broken crayon and discuss how the aquarium helper tends to the fish each week and the plant helper tends to the plants each week when watering. For ground I would explicitly teach the different meanings of ground: we fall on the ground when we play outside. We will also explore grinding herbs in my mortar and pestle. I will demonstrate how my coffee grinder grinds the coffee beans. We will explore whole coffee and ground coffee and discuss the differences.

Other concepts that students will need background knowledge on:

Not I: I would explain during reading that when the animals say not I, they are saying I will not.

Pull weeds: I would show students a picture of a garden with weeds and without weeds. We would discuss how it is better for the flowers or vegetables to get all the water and sunlight to help it grow. Weeds can steal the flowers water and sunlight and make it harder for the flower to grow, so good gardeners pull the weeds out.

Wheat ground into flour at a mill: Recall our experience with the mortar and pestle and coffee grinder demonstration and show the picture of a mill from earlier unit story: Mr. McGill Goes to Town. Then I would show students strands of a wheat plant and ground flour. We would compare and discuss the differences.

Week 2, Entry 4: Foreign Language Reading Attempts

For this exercise I chose a Polish book published in 1994. While I never figured out the title; exploring inside the book I was able to correctly identify some words even though I do not have knowledge of the Polish language. I used the following strategies:

• Picture labels: A picture of men with instruments with the word muzykanci in the label, I correctly guessed musicians.
• Cognates: I found the word Biblii within text and discovered it was the word Bible.
• Text features: On the title page I found the phrase tytul oryginalu (original title). In the back of the book I found Bibliografia (bibliography) and Autorzy (Authors).
• Context clues: A sentence under an old picture ended with roku 1896, I learned the word roku meant year.
• Visual cues: A map labeled with Polska ( Poland) and Swjedzen (Sweden)
• Google Translate: I confirmed all these discovered word meanings.

I could not determine what kind of text I was looking at. This exercise caused me to recognize how much meaning is lost when only a few words can be decoded for an English language learner or even a non-reading learner with little decoding ability.  It was a humbling experience to consider their attempts to make sense of a undecodable text. It becomes obvious that the student would need to begin at ground zero- knowledge of the alphabet, letter sounds, word structure, semantics and syntax to build meaning and reach understanding.

Week 1, Entry 2: Writing Instruction

The writing instruction I received as a young student consisted of elements that better describe the learning view or traditional writing classroom. There was certainly an emphasis on the final product of writing rather than the process.  I don't even remember hearing the word "edit" or "revise" until college.
Starting in about 4th grade, the steps to create a five paragraph essay became a central and universal theme that I would hear repeatedly for the next 8 years! When my teachers were not teaching about organization of the five paragraphs, the focus was on sentence structure, grammar, parts of speech, diagraming sentences, and spelling. I distinctly recall Language Arts workbooks with skill and drill exercises for all these concepts. Interestingly, I was very good at skill and drill and could practically diagram a sentence with my eyes closed. Language Arts was definitely my forte however I never really saw myself as a writer. Even though most of my written essays were free of spelling and grammatical error, they often lacked good content, smooth transitions and solid reasoning or explanation.
As a writer now, I can still see the strong influences of my grade school teachers, however I am learning to use writing opportunities to venture out of my comfort zone and take time to appreciate the recursiveness of the writing process. I value my writer's notebook above all since I know I can freely write and express my ideas without being overly concerned with how it looks. I can always revise and edit later!

Week 1, Entry 1: Philosophy of Literacy

Mary Beth teaches middle school English to students at Ave Maria Catholic School. She believes the foundation for teaching literacy begins with the students and their interests. She devotes time in her classroom to interviewing her students individually about their hobbies, interests and independent reading material. She believes that without this vital foundation, students will not be engaged as learners or readers. Throughout the school year, she meets with each student to discuss his/her growth, genres of interest and to set goals. She consistently offers students free reading time in class. Of course they also read novels together in class and use literature circles for discussions and reinactments. Initally she assigns each student a role for literature circles and makes certain everyone has the opportunity to try out each role. Then students are allowed to choose their role that is comfortable for them. Above all, Mary Beth works to keep students engaged and motivated to explore reading and find their own niche.

Week 1, Entry 3: Oral Language and Reading

For me the relationship between oral language and reading is most evident when I consider the amazing journey of learning for Helen Keller.
Watching the movie, Miracle Worker, you can imagine the pain and frustration young Helen must have experienced when she had no avenue to communicate except through tantrums and fits of rage. Eventually as Annie Sullivan steps in to teach Helen and provide her with a basic means to communicate and express herself through sign language, Helen is able to learn, make sense of her world and ultimately read.
I have tried to imagine if Helen Keller never developed the ability to sign, what an impact it would have made on the rest of her life. I certainly believe it is possible that without sign language, she would never have become a reader.
Researchers have proven that modality of language (either spoken or signed) does not matter, only that children develop a capacity to communicate; and that capacity appears to be innate and implicit. Which in layman's terms to me means we come with all the hardwiring necessary to become literate beings. However our individual experiences, environment and exposure mold our language development and set the stage for who we become as readers.
As teachers, we hold the mold in our hands as we guide and instruct learners to deepen and develop their own awareness of oral language that serves as a bridge into written language.