What I Learned In My Literacy Course

The vocabulary lesson for my EDU 363 (Literacy Across the Curriculum) was co-taught and co-created with two of my classmates. Our lesson demonstrates that standard 5 has been met. The standard says, “Teachers create instructional opportunities to encourage all students’ development of critical thinking, problem solving, performance skills, and literacy across content areas.” This means that teachers must create materials that encourage students to fully analyze and evaluate material to form their own ideas and opinions. Teachers must understand which role they need to take at what time, and to allow students to actually practice what they are being taught, rather than to just witness it. Our lesson particularly applies to standard 5.3 that says, “[teachers] make instructional

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This is how Dr. Seuss thought of reading, and I think of it in much the same way. Literacy is everywhere and influences us every day, therefore, it plays a major part in each of our lives. I believe that reading is an interactive activity in which learning happens, or as Clay (2001) defines it, “…a message-getting, problem-solving activity” (p. 1). Reading is the process through which one reads information and from doing so, constructs meaning about the material. The more exposure and practice one has with reading, the more knowledge one gains. In this paper, I will begin by discussing my own personal educational philosophy, then continue by stating and explaining four of my beliefs about the reading process and the research that is found to support each of them before sharing the remaining questions I have about literacy. I am an existentialist, and a strong supporter of a balanced literacy approach. My beliefs about literacy come from these foundations and perspectives that I embrace. For students to be successful in their literacy development, I believe that identity acceptance in the classroom is crucial, instruction for all students must be differentiated, direct and explicit instruction is at times necessary, and vocabulary is a significant component in the ‘Big Five’ of children’s literacy development.

Literacy plays a huge role in my daily life. Every single day I read and write. Whether it’s writing an email or reading a text message, class assignment, discussion board, etc. My literacy journey is unique because I have had different experiences. As a result, this is how my literacy journey has let me to be the reader that I am.

One of the most eye opening experiences of my life occurred in the second grade. I would have never thought that doing one simple assignment in elementary school could change my whole perspective on literacy. My understanding of literacy was sparked when I had read my first real book. I remember sitting down on the vividly colorful carpet day dreaming about playing Mario Cart on my Nintendo 64 while everyone was obediently listening to the teacher read a book out loud. It wasn’t that I did not know how to read or listen, I just didn’t care. Reading to me used to be tedious because I did not understand the purpose of it. I did not grow up with the luxury of my parents reading to me because they weren’t literate in English, so I had to figure out for myself why literacy is vital in everyday life. My ongoing learning experience with literacy can be traced back to one simple visit to library.

What does it mean knowing how to read and write. I take literacy skill very seriosly that will help me in the future. I know such skills don't come easy, it requires hard work, sleepless night. The reason why I go to school is to make mistakes, correct them and not to repeat them again. I always improve my skills through curiosity to learn something new, not being able to read and write would keep me in a darkness without seeing beautiful things that surround me.

When I was a child I truly detested reading. I thought reading was dull so I never wanted to do it. I remember my 2nd grade teacher would have us read a specific number of books each week. I would always try to sit in the back in the classroom behind everyone so the teacher could not see me all that well. I did this so when it came time to read I would be able to switch between doodling in my notebook and pretend to read when the teacher walked by me. I would never meet that goal so my teacher contacted my parents. I remember hearing my teacher talk to my parents over the phone and a feeling of dread took over me. On my way home on the bus my stomach felt like knots knowing with each passing moment I would be closer to my destination. When I got home my parents scolded me and gave me a lecture on the importance of reading. They told me that if I wanted to be successful then I should take the opportunities that they themselves did not have as children. They also told me that being able to read and write would mean I have the chance to get the job of my dreams. The next day I woke up with the words that my parents shared with me still on my mind. I got dressed and went outside to wait for the bus. When the bus arrived, I got on and sat down the usual noise of laughter and chatter was drowned out by my intense focus on my future. when I arrived at school the very first thing I did was head straight toward the library. The library had an enormous selection of books I had no idea where to start. I wandered around the library for what felt like hours not really sure what I was looking for. The librarian must have noticed my confusion because she came straight toward me

I am currently a high school teacher of Living Environment in a public school in the Bronx. Over 80% of the students at my school are on reduced lunch. Additionally, over 98% of my students are Latino/Hispanic and African American. As I come to define what literacy means to me as a teacher, I begin to come to realize that my own definition of literacy is highly influenced by my personal experiences in life. I grew up in a single parent home in a rough part of town and attended a school that was majority Latino/Hispanic and African American throughout my academic career until I reached college. The university where I attended was the complete opposite: most of the students were white with only a handful of students of other ethnicities. While in college, I remember being self-conscious about my ability to both read and speak. Public speaking was one of my phobias during my undergraduate career. I noticed that all of my white colleagues were articulate with their speech and never seemed to stumble over words. Myself on the other hand, I struggled with certain root words and for that reason I never wanted to speak out in class. However, I believe the most frustrating part of this whole experience was the lack of understanding from my colleagues. For them, reading and speaking was something that just

The most useful event for my learning was the literacy activity, where students learned how to create an alliteration poem. When I assisted with the activity, I provided a definition for the students to grasp a further understanding of the concept. An alliteration is a sentence or line of a poem that has at least two or more words starting with the same sound or letter. For example: Marlon makes a marmalade with mangoes.

In general, the first time that I utilized this kind of literacy practice in the aspect how I see it now was in the United States. Even though I have studied in my home country the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but it was not like the way looked the education now. It is very different because of the community in both sides. Her in the United States the quality of education much higher.

In “The Literacy Myth”, Harvey Graff and John Duffy argue that the standard way of thinking about literacy has been that it is mandatory for achieving wealth, appreciating democratic ideals, improving intellectual capabilities, and gaining social status. I agree with the myth that one can only receive these results through literacy because it has become the foundation of growth as evidenced by Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me” and Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read”. In “Superman and Me”, Alexie uses his passion for reading to attain literacy at an early age. Using his own success, he strives to change the ways society has set up for Native Americans to fail. Likewise, in “Learning to Read”, Malcom reflects on his past of utilizing

Throughout my first year as a middle school Language Arts teacher, I have developed a theoretical understanding of what I believe are the necessary components to providing a meaningful and generative environment in which students develop and expand literacy skills. The teaching of literacy needs to include a balance of reading, writing, speaking and listening activities, and needs to be a social endeavor that provides a variety of instructional strategies to meet the needs of all diverse learners. My teaching strategies, beliefs and personality that I bring to my classroom can be characterized as a blend of two types of philosophical theories: social constructivism and relational teaching and

The concept of literacy confused me. The fact of learning to read and write at the same time both baffled me and intrigued me. As I approached the classroom I hesitated, wondering whether I was capable of holding up my own weight. The image is still clear; A scanty 4 year old boy reaching for the puzzle shaped carpet. I ended up sitting down on the salmon coloured puzzle piece, crossing my legs and hoping to pass unnoticed. In Angola, the most common language spoken is Portuguese, which was ideal for my learning. I was born in Brazil, but 5 months later I moved to West Africa. As a 1 year old, there is no such thing as adaptation, however, I had no language skills at all, which makes this story interesting. English and Portuguese were my first

Literacy is defined as being literate, that is, being able to read and write in a language. My personal experience with literacy began at an early age, at the age of 4 when I began to sit and read words and letters in the back of my mother’s car. Soon enough, she would bring me a magazine called “Majed” which, in the 90’s, was a popular magazine. With this, I began even more interested in reading and writing and reviewed every word in the magazine associated with each of the short pictured stories. It was the first memory I deeply recall of literacy and it was what laid the foundation for my personal love of reading and writing. The methodology used for this is an interview. There are three interviews which are analyzed and brought together in the form of a narrative. This narrative serves to better explain the emotions and thoughts that the interviewees had about the idea of literacy.

I enjoyed reading about your journey into literacy, possessing the ups and downs of learning to read, write and talk. It may just be the way Canva is set up in the discussion, but the format of your essay is not the standard appearance I am used to. I am definitely not saying this a bad thing, but so many paragraphs threw me off. This only confused me because it has been beaten into my head that a new paragraph introduces a new idea or concept. Thus, it seems as if you change the topic in every paragraph. Personally, I feel you can go into more depth regarding the topic discussed in each paragraph rather than having so many different topics in one essay. Basically what I am saying, reduce the amount of paragraphs you have and go into more depth

Literacy pedagogies have a developing and complex history in education, intertwined with social and cultural change and evolution. Each change has paved a new path for more significant approaches and strategies, which cater to diverse learners allowing them to create meaning and communicate more effectively. These literacy pedagogies brought out by the changes in education have both strengths and weaknesses. As such, educators need to explore and understand the four knowledge processes portrayed by Kalantzis, Cope, Chan and Dalley-Trim; didactic, authentic, functional, and critical literacy approach (2016), to be able to consider how they can influence teaching and learning so they are able to make informed decisions with regards to their students’ literacy learning. Teaching is becoming increasingly complex; this is particularly evident in the area of literacy. This paper will explore the four literacy pedagogies, their limitations and their strengths, and how they have impacted literacy learning within the Australian educational context.