Entry #1: Literacy Discussion

     As a secondary teacher who only has experience teaching younger students on a one-on-one tutoring basis, I sought out an elementary school classroom teacher who has taught in less-advantaged schools (Vaughn and Jewell in APS) for thirty years to get her philosophy for teaching literacy.  She began and ended her career teaching Title One reading to small groups, but the bulk of her experience is teaching second through fourth grade as a classroom teacher.  We reached a general consensus that one of the most important elements of a strong literacy program is maintaining student interest where students feel they are being successful readers, writers, and communicators.  Students need the opportunity to feel that they are the experts on things they write about, and they must have the opportunity to share their learning/expertise with their classmates in creative and varied formats. 
     Another thing we both found in common for secondary and elementary education is the necessity of a purpose for the assigned work. Students retain information so much better if there is personal relevance and a reason for completing a task.  They also need to be made aware of their own thinking and understanding as they read and write to be able to comprehend the varied course material.  Therefore, thinking maps, graphic organizers, guided questions, discussions, and free response questions should be used to integrate the processes of reading and writing in the classroom. A very nice part of scaffolding reading is the potential to differentiate instruction to fit the varied needs of the learners in the classroom. 
     Students also need to be exposed to a variety of texts and learn the processes needed to comprehend the diverse material--there are different ways to approach poetry, picture books, fiction, and content-specific texts, to name a few.  Fostering and promoting student independence and student interest will continue in a successful lifelong interest  in literacy that will serve them well across the curriculum at school and beyond.