Michelle Tuttle’s EDUC 662 Blog

Going back through and reading my posts, the comments, and my comments on other blogs has been like a review of the past semester in regards to my literacy reflection and learning.  I liked how each blog entry helped me to focus on one aspect of emergent literacy.  Reading them as a whole helps give me a comprehensive picture of the different elements of literacy learning and how they are incorporated in my work.  When I began a semester it is overwhelming to think of all the topics we will cover, the work we will do and the readings.  Now that we are near the end, it is nice to look back and see that I made it through all of it and I was able to read so many different readings and learn from them as I thought about my own experiences and current work.

As a teacher I have become more aware of the literacy learning that is occurring in my classroom everyday.  Writing the blogs has also helped me be more articulate on my positions regarding my teaching of emergent literacy and overall work with young children.  Other people’s blogs have helped me shape my own opinion and give me more knowledge as I read a snapshot of their experience.  When other’s have commented on my blogs, it helps me think more about how I articulate my experiences and work.  

I have really liked how this sharing has been an extension to our classroom work and made us more of a community of learners.  I have been able to learn a lot more about the work, perspectives, and ideas of the other’s in our class.  This was my first experience of writing my own blog, and I liked how as a community of bloggers we have been able to share experiences around our professional work and our intellectual thinking in a relaxed, conversational way.

The blog has created a record of my thoughts throughout the semester and going back and reflecting on them has allowed to think about my learning and growth this last semester.  I see how I have reflected on my work and my learning in this class and I plan to incorporate this learning as I continue to improve and grow as a teacher of young children learning literacy.

Families are central to our work with young children.  One thing I was thinking about is that I really rely on that face to face everyday communication with families.  I would really miss this if I were in a public school setting or a setting where children are not brought in and picked up by a family member each day.  It would take a lot more work.  One of the teachers in the video talked about how he schedules morning check in times to talk with parents through out the week.  I think it really pays off to make the effort to have that face to face communication.  When we set up our program, we really wanted the parents to see the same person in the morning as they saw in the afternoon.  I like when larger program make the effort to have at least one of the lead teachers present at drop-off and pick-up.  When I was a student and worked in a large center, I was part of the “afternoon shift” and along with other part time workers was the one that greeted the families in the evening.  There was a real disconnect, as the people they talked to in the afternoon had not really spent that much of the day with the children (and there really was not much talking at all).  We have made the sacrifce of working long hours and the families make the sacrifice of our program only being open 9.5 hrs a day instead of 11 like many centers.

However, when I think of the many ways we try to involve families, one that may seem small, but really has the biggest impact is seeing and talking to them each and every day.  I think this is when the relationships, trust, and community are built.

The articles this week continued to support the themes of working with ELLs from last week. In particular I enjoyed the theme of relationships in the case study of the pre-K teacher.  A popular quote from Carlina Rinaldi regarding the practices in Reggio Emilia is “It’s all about relationships.”  This is really a basic principle of the Reggio approach and should be for all good classrooms and teachers.  Relationships between teacher and children, teachers and families, and between children.  

I consider that my biggest task when working with young children.  However long it takes, from the time I first meet them until that trusting relationship is formed.  It is definitely more difficult and challenging with some children and families and I keep trying to get better at it.  In the real world we don’t have to have a great relationship with everyone, and because of personalities, experiences, and situations we many times don’t.  But, in the classroom/teaching world, I feel I really do have to have as great a relationship as I can with every family and child. I am trying to get better at explaining to families and other adults that so much of my work with young children is developing relationships.  It takes a lot of time and intentionality and can’t be overlooked.  It is the foundation of my curriculum.

A theme that emerged while reading/watching about instruction for English Language Learners is that the strategies to use for ELLs are strategies that are effective for ALL children.  It does involve a lot of thought, planning, and intention to individualize for the children you have, however it is using strategies that help all children succeed.

I really like how it was emphasized to keep using, incorporating and valuing the child’s native language and culture into the classroom.  I think it is important for teachers to make the effort to learn some of the child’s home language and customs and also allow the child to use their native language in the classroom.  With very young children I have found it essential to incorporate their native language, as this is many  times the only language they have when you first meet them.  It is necessary to learn some of their language, so that I can support them in meeting their basic needs.  Knowing  the words they use for family members, the  words they use when they are distressed, the words for toileting and eating, I need to know this to make them feel comfortable and at home when they are away from their family for the first time.  It also shows the child and family that you respect what they bring and are willing to adapt your practice and learn new things.

I chose to read “Representing the ways of the world: How children under three start to use syntax in graphic signs” from the Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. I wanted to find an article relating to toddlers and literacy, as there is not as much about the very young ages and literacy.  This article looked at children’s intentions in their mark making and the differences between drawing, writing, and numbers.  I was able to compare a lot from the article to my own work.  I was able to ponder the issue of how children represent these marks in different ways.  The article talked about these types of marks developing concurrently, which was also similar to what I learned from the article we read for class a few weeks ago with the 2’s and the writing center. To make the point of these marks developing at the same time, the article brought up that most children are able to write letters about the same time they are able to draw recognizable figures. This is definitely true with my preschoolers, that are 3.5 to almost 4, who are just now grasping graphic representation and also writing letters.

It is fascinating how children construct meaning regarding mark making and literacy. The research in the article was used in a discussion with phonics. The article stated:

“The current emphasis on the teaching of phonics as the starting point and central focus of literacy learning and teaching from the earliest stages would seem to be significantly at odds with findings such as these. Such an emphasis offers a reductive model of literacy that would seem to turn its back on a great deal of intellectual work that many children have put in well before they even reach nursery age.”

Children are so competent and capable and we cannot neglect the thinking and construction of knowledge they are capable of and accomplish without formal instruction while they are so young. The children prove this to me everyday!

I am not very familiar with this definition of running records. I have learned about running records and used them in an early childhood setting to keep track of certain behaviors or actions that occur with children in the classroom.  I have always used them as an observational tool.

After reading about running records as a reading assessment I am a bit overwhelmed.  I saw them used in one of the videos we watched, so I had a little idea of how it works, but reading all about them was a bit exhausting to me.  Particularly trying to do one!  I could not keep up!  Guess it is one of those things that training, practice, and experience would help with.  However, I guess not being in an elementary setting, I do not exactly see what the whole point of them is.  I am being told assessment, determining reading level, determining when and how children make errors so that you can give them tools to correct, but I will read around on other blogs and see if I can guage the real world use and effectiveness from you all that use them.

It is hard for me to relate this to my work right now, because this definition and formula for doing running records is quite foreign to me.  I did an internship in a Kindergarten class and they did not use them. I will be interested in finding out who uses them and with what ages and how they do it!

I appreciate the article pointing out the importance of informational texts, many times it is challenging to find informational texts appropriate for early childhood, however I usually look for texts that are on the shorter side, or field guides we can look things up in, or non-fiction coffee table type books with good photographs.

Informational texts play an important role in project work, as they are used for the children to reference when looking up topics of interest or expanding on the knowledge they are constructing.  However, with Reggio-inspired work, I sometimes hesitate to jump too quickly to informational texts, because at a young age many times it is about finding out the children’s ideas, theories, interpretations, and not focusing on the accuracy of the facts.  In a project with three-year-olds last summer, we referenced an Insect Field Guide, as the children were interested in identifying different creatures we were finding in the yard.  A lot of times is is nice to have these texts available and allow the children to use them and interpret them, without the adult reading all of the factual information.  Then if the children ask to have certain parts read, we will read excerpts related to their inquiries. As part of this project we also completed a chart with photographs of the creatures we were finding and their characteristics.  We had the insect guide available, but I used the children’s idea and theories on the chart and we did not check the book for accuracy, as I was more interested in their construction of knowledge from their observations, ideas, and theories, which they are full of!

I do believe it is important to introduce informational, non-fiction texts to young children, because they do read differently and it is valuable for children to be exposed to this different “feel” and how to use these texts.  As with all other elements of what we do with children, it looks like relevance, motivation, interest, and authenticity are the key!

Getting a closer look at the field guide

The social contracts article contributes to the body of research we have about toddlers. As the author mentions there is a lack of research about toddlers, particularly in the field of literacy.  While the article does have a small, homogenous body of participants, I feel it does shed new light on the multitude of experiences and knowledge children must go through and interpret to become literate. While the nine social contracts she dissects may seem like little nuances, they are all things children master at such a young age.  It is amazing the things children this age are learning and understanding that build their foundation for becoming successful students in their later school years.

As I read this article I was thinking about how I do not provide a separate “writing center” or message boxes for my two-year-olds.  I have always seen these centers and activities as part of older preschool classrooms (3-5 year olds).  I do provide pens, pencils, clip boards, note pads, for children to begin experimenting with writing behaviors. I usually provide these as an extension to art experiences when the children begin making marks with markers.  I feel like I provide more support and attention to the children’s artistic representations, sensory experiences, and messing about with art/creating materials when they are toddlers.  I have seen all of the anomalous behaviors she sets out in her nine social contracts.  I have always been interested in how children use different scribbles for writing and drawing and do see this emerging in two-year-olds and some older one-year-olds.

It was valuable how having the writing center in the Walker Preschool classroom made the teachers more intentional about modeling writing for the children when they would take the attendance chart, parent letters, or other notes and complete them at the writing table.  I struggle with trying to model writing for the children in my program.  Unfortunately, when I think about it, and when we talk to families about it, we realize how much of our communication is electronic now, and the children are not privileged to see us engage in these behaviors.  I remember one little girl who was very adept with a marker and was drawing people and writing letters while she was a young two-year-old and would make writing scribble marks a lot.  She would tell us they were e-mails she was writing to her mommy. 

This article will definitely make me more observant of toddlers’ emerging writing and the many social contracts I negotiate with children.

22-month-old writing and crossing the boundary over two papers

I have somewhat mixed feelings on the technology issue.  The test argues that the face of literacy is changing and we need to keep up by accepting and embracing technology as part of emerging literacy.  However, from the vignettes in the text, I am not fully convinced that the experiences represented are crucial to literacy development or necessarily had to have technology involved to be complete.

While our program does not have computers for the children, the more I thought about it, technology is always present.  I use the digital camera everyday, the children are eager to see their image on the camera screen, and I use the photographs that can be printed so instantly to help the children review and remember their work.  I have tried introducing a digital camera for the three-year-olds to use because of their interest in the camera, however it has been difficult to find a camera that is fit for young preschoolers and takes quality pictures and is easy to use.

When it comes down to it, I do believe that children today can catch on to technology so quickly, even if they are not introduced to it until after early childhood.  There are so many important things children this age need to be involved in, that I do not believe they will in any way be harmed if they are not exposed to technology from 0-8.  And I do think if it is used, it should be sparingly and with careful thought about when it can aid an experience the children are involved in.