Literacy Moves on Chapters 6-10

Chapter 6 talked all about Beanie Babies. When I started reading this chapter I felt that it made no sense. I did not understand why this one toy could take up a whole chapter. But as I read on I was interested by all the facts on how Beanie Babies became such a phenomenon. I remember as a child trying to collect as many Beanie Babies as I could and even trying to collect all the mini- McDonald's happy meal ones. I also never really thought about how these can relate to literacy but I do remember always reading the name of each Beanie Baby and the little description of each animal. Literacy can come from anywhere, even toys! It is sad however that Ty the company producing the Beanie Babies, manipulated the market to get rich but I think that is how most of our society works these days. It was cool though to read kids responses to this news. It was a great idea to have kids write their reflections on Beanie Babies before and after hearing that information because it got children to write and think about the world around them.
Chapter 7 was all about children writing about their experiences and neighborhoods and also reading about things that relate to their neighborhoods. This is the best thing for kids to write about because everyone loves to write about their past and their story and where they come from. I also think it is cool how teachers had the children think really deep into all the aspects of their neighborhoods, families and even their cultures. I still don't understand how children would use their own local, cultural texts it does not make much sense to me unless they are an ESL student. The alphabet book idea was really cute. I really enjoyed how it tied in children's personal experiences with the alphabet and it even allowed them to get extra creative and draw pictures.
Chapter 8 discussed linking reading and play which I think is a brilliant concept. Children, especially younger children, love nothing more than to play and if they can learn while they are doing that then that is great! I think kids would have a lot of fun creating stories with toys. That is how I used to play as a child with my Barbies and I never imagined that could be related to literacy but after reading this I understand how it can be part of a curiosity kit.
Chapter 9 talks about introducing different genres to students by having them write about certain character types. Having children write about heroes and villains does a lot more than just help develop students creativity. Usually when students begin writing about these characters they are developing stories from scratch. This is introducing the genre of fantasy. It is a big part of learning literacy to develop an understanding between the differences of reality and fiction. Children are taught about fictitious characters from the moment they can walk and talk, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy are two examples. At some point in time they have to learn what is actually reality and what is fiction and there are subtle ways to start that lesson.
Chapter 10 ties in a lot of these prior lessons about connecting culture, community, and school. As I said before this is a great way for students to learn because they relate to their own life experiences which is something we all have in common, a past. Journals or Govies are great ways to get students to open up with their writing and to even reflect on things they have read. Literacy comes in all shapes and forms and if we open our eyes to it we can find it anywhere!

Literacy Moves on Chapters 1-5

One thing I am still curious about is how much technology is important and appropriate to include in the classroom? These chapters give some interesting ideas of how to incorporate computers, television, and other forms of media. I really liked the idea of having students retell stories using the computer or by acting them out. Last week in class we did something similar by retelling a story or making up a story and using puppets to tell it. The only difference is that did not involve technology. Another question that came to mind however is are students in lower income schools not receiving the same educational benefits as students in schools that can afford this kind of equipment? At Fairview Elementary, where we are currently doing our field experience, most of the students do not even have computers at their homes and there are not enough computers for all of them to use them at school. Some students do not even know what the internet is. Since our society is expanding so rapidly when it comes to technology I think it is important to incorporate it in lessons even in elementary school but how can that be done if the resources are not available? All together these different lessons seem like great ideas to really expand students minds about different stories and help them become more creative for their futures. The examples shown of what some very young students created were amazing to me.

Van Sluys- Literacy Invitations

This article really explains what a literacy invitation is. It took me a while to understand what exactly a literacy invitation entails but as I read on and through our discussions in class I came to the conclusion that it can be any literary activity that expands students minds by having them create something on their own. My favorite quote from this article comes from page 10, "invitations are not about seeking right answers or rushing to be done; rather, invitations are experiences in which learners, working together, reach new insights that lead them to take action." I really like this because I am a strong believer that if a student is rushing to get anything done then they are really not learning much about it. Assignments are not just meant to keep students busy but to engage students' minds in a certain topic. Our job as teachers is to teach students vital information for their lives. I know that not everything is going to be fun for students but I believe it is important to make as many assignments as possible enjoyable.

Multigenre Research Paper

The multigenre research paper put a new twist on something I was already familiar with. I remember writing research papers in middle school but I never had to add genres to it. When I had to create the genres for my paper at first I did not understand why it was important but as I really thought about my different genres and how I was going to use them I understood their purpose. Creating these pieces really helped me think about my topic more in depth and understand the perspectives and view points of all the people it was affecting.
The Multigenre Research Paper book gives a lot of great ideas on how to make the most out of your different genres. I really enjoyed the section in chapter five where a student answered many questions about the character he or she was trying to understand. I have not been researching this person and I even got a better understanding of the person just by reading the student who has been researchings answers. I had no clue how many different ways a person could be creative with this project. The book provides a list of about 110 different options for genres. This is a great way for students to be creative and also get good practice on researching topics. The book was right in stating that this is a great way to expand students minds.