Since I teach second grade, my students are not emergent readers or writers, but with the idea that I could have a new student tomorrow that is an NEP, or I could be told that I am teaching Kindergarten tomorrow, I can use the ideas in this chapter.
First of all, at one time I thought about having a class teddy bear that could be sent home each week with one child, and the child could write in the bear’s journal about the activities they do together. Since then, my son participated in the same type of activity in the older two-year-old class in daycare, and in Pre-K. It made me think that it was an activity for “little” kids, and my second graders would think it was babyish. However, I am now reconsidering the idea. I realize now that the difference is that I completed the writing for my son’s participation in the activity, but in second grade, the students could complete all of the writing themselves. My ELs could have assistance with the writing from their parents, but most of them are more proficient in English than their parents.
Another example of how I already use or will use the information from Ch. 5 in my classroom is Word Walls. I use word walls for Science, Social Studies and Math words. We also have a “Wonderful Words” chart of fascination, powerful words that we come across in reading. Students also have their own personal “QuickWord Books”, which have many words, and they can add any new words to them.
Finally, as presented in the chapter, I know that any Word Study skill (phonics, word families), Grammar rule, or even Comprehension skill must be taught in context. Students must be able to see the skill/rule as it is applied in order for it to be meaningful to them. However, the chapter stated that the text used should be familiar to the students. I always use a familiar text for Grammar and as appropriate with Comprehension, but in Word Study I very often use poetry that is new to them. So, maybe at least for the ELs, I would preview the poem in a reading group before using it to teach the Word Study skill.
I really connected with the idea of the use of familiar text. It was a great reminder. I also used the idea of letting the kids take home a class stuffed mascot and since it is kindergarten, the parents usually do the writing to chronicle his events for the week-end. The kids love it. My daughter did this in pre-k and she loved it. If I do teach a higher grade level, I will see if the kids would be open to the idea. It will be interesting to see. Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteMy children also had a stuffed animal that came home with them. They enjoyed taking pictures with the animal. They wrote their own weekend journal in kindergarten. My friend uses this idea in first grade. The kids still enjoy it. I don't know how it would be received in 2nd grade. It would be a good idea to ask the kids if they would enjoy this activity.
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