Literacy, Week 4

Routman writes, "All students, especially those who begin school with limited literacy skills, need to think of themselves as readers and writers, see the processes as meaningful, and have positive attitudes about literacy before they can successfully engage in literacy practices."

I strongly believe that parents are key in developing in their children a love of reading and writing from an early age. Children who come to school without this passion for literacy can still learn to experience that same joy. Teachers who engage students in read-alouds, journaling, and art are opening up a world of imagination and real life identification. As Routman points out, one of the most important facets of developing this love of writing is to make students aware of the stories that surround us--other people's stories and our own. Also, when we focus on meaning, not mechanics, children will be more willing to take the risk of putting their stories down on paper. A child's first experiences with writing should be personal storytelling and themes that children can relate to. A child will also respond positively to a teacher sharing his/her own personal story.

In my dyad experience. our teacher administered a writing assessment whereby kids (first graders) were asked to write a short piece about something fun they did this past summer. They were given paper with lines on the bottom and blank space above for them to also include a picture. When the teacher first informed students about the assessment, she had them brainstorm (verbally) what they might enjoy writing about. Kids shared their ideas with the whole class before even setting pencil to paper. I thought this was a good way of valuing children's personal stories and giving them permission to use this for an assessment; it has meaning to them.

As I wrote my book review of Amazing Grace, I was again reminded about the power of stories. Grace, with her love of books and stories, was set free to explore her talents in other areas. In this book, she ventured into drama. And I believe she so fully embraced her passion for stories that she was able to choose to follow her dreams and try something new. Any time we can expose kids to stories (e.g. books, plays, TV, recordings), we are setting the stage for them to become creators of stories themselves. And if we can find out what appeals to them personally, they will be much more receptive to venturing into this new territory!