After reading the articles for this week (specifically focusing on "Out of the Box: Critical Literacy in a First-Grade Classroom") I have found that incorporating literacy is easier than we think, and that our children are probably smarter than we give them credit for. Within the article, teacher Kim Huber discusses how she felt uncomfortable discussing controversial issues at first. She read the children a book about a homeless woman living in a box, and didn't know how much her first graders would be able to relate to this. I can understand her fears because, after all, they are young children, but I think that we underestimate them! The teacher mentioned that she used to only focus on simple things like having the kids point out the beginning/middle/end of the story or talking about the characters' names. However, once she was given a grant for critical literacy within the school, the classes were exposed to a number of social issues that were often times on controversial topics. We had a guest speaker during our social studies section of TE 401 who really stressed to us the importance of addressing controversial issues (that may make you uncomfortable at first!) throughout your classes. I think this is so important because these kids will all be exposed to these issues (race, class, gender, etc) at some point or another, and I think that the earlier we start, the better.
I have noticed that when my CT chooses stories for the children, they are often "happy" stories with simple characters. Although the stories are fun to listen to and the students can identify important characters, they are not really able to relate to the issues in the books because there aren't any issues! I would LOVE to introduce "critical literacy" into my classroom, and I think my students would be able to have an intelligent first grade discussion about the stories. I think that reading a story on homelessness (like the teacher used in the article) would open them up to what is really happening in the world around them. I like that the teacher did a canned food drive with her students after reading the stories on homelessness. This gave them an opportunity to get involved and really connect to the characters in the stories that they were reading.
I think that teaching our children about controversial issues should be exciting - not scary. I know that there are some serious topics out there, but as long as you go about the story/situation the right way, it should be a positive experience for us (as teachers) and our students. I think it will allow us to get to know our students better, push them to think critically about a story/topic, and introduce them to the world around them.
- Kelly P.
These articles were particularly interesting to me, due to the fact that literacy is one of the major content areas that I enjoy. Much like Kelly, I never really took into consideration how easy it is to integrate "controversial issues" into the curriculum, and how I in fact due take my students prior knowledge or understanding for granted. The article that I read was "Theories and Practices of Multimodal Education: The Instructional Dynamics of Picture Books and Primary Classrooms". Although all articles complimented each other, I felt this particular article related closely to the Langer article; "Understanding Literature".
ReplyDeleteMy article focused on the multi-modal aspects of text, in which a mode is a "socially and culturally shaped resource for meaning making". That definition alone reminded me a lot of what was discussed in the Langer article, in particular the ways in which there are "four major stances in the process of interpretation". These four stances are the ways in which students get involved with the text, and walk away with meaning that draws upon their prior knowledge. Now according to my article, social and cultural aspects are of great significance when it comes to students interacting with texts. With the vast array of technologies and the ways text are printed (concepts of print), the way in which students read texts are not the same as when I read them years ago. Something as small as different colored texts, or altering the font (away from traditional "safe" Times New Roman), promote new ways in which the students understand the text. These are things that I don't necessarily recognize when reading to my students or my own child, and according to this article it needs to be taking into great consideration. This means new methods of practice (pedagogy), when administering or reading these texts. I loved how my article talked about the physical aspects of interacting with a text, which I'm learning through a Creative Dramatics course, is very vital in bridging understanding. There is something about the human body, that movement while involved in the learning process opens the mind more.
In relation to what Kelly spoke about in her blog in regards to controversial issues; administering lessons or texts that cover such issues can be done. Like Kelly said, we do take our students prior knowledge or understanding for granted. My article spoke about the socio-cognitive process, and how this influences or also creates new "modes" while reading the text, but how these modes carry into other social spaces as well. Exposing students to controversial issues, can be done, it just may mean finding more creative (non-traditional) texts to do so. To draw upon the idea again on how text is represented on the page, students are aware of these changes (in the text), and if not we can point these out. A small thing like the change of a text font, color, or size, will point to the student that the text is making a statement. This is a perfect way to perhaps integrate controversial issues.
After reading these articles I'm full of some new awareness of the importance of how text denotes meaning, without necessarily recognizing this meaning at first. I'm saying this through the perspective of an adult, and again, students may have a more keen awareness to pick up on such things. I'm still amazed and even more romanced by the ideas of what literacy can do, and the way in which people interact with the text.
There is one instance where I thought my CT did a fantastic job at using literature to get her students to think critically about controversial issues. Around Thanksgiving, my CT read aloud a traditional Thanksgiving children’s book to the class. She then continued by talking to her students about how the conventional meanings that we are often taught in school about Thanksgiving are not the same meanings that Native Americans have towards Thanksgiving. My CT is part Native American and spoke very passionately about different perspectives that people have towards the holiday. The class then talked about how the book differs from how she described Thanksgiving. The students seemed to be giving their full attention and respect to the discussion, the teacher, and the other students. This goes along with what both of you were saying about not underestimating our students. Even though these students are young, they were interested in the topic and responded well to the discussion.
ReplyDeleteDuring this class discussion, my CT was very open to the students’ responses. She let everyone share and express their own feelings. This reminded me of an important point that Langer makes in her article “Understanding Literature”. My CT wasn’t searching for a “right” answer from the students; she was just trying to elicit their responses and thoughts. This allowed them to create their own meaning for what the text meant. The students asked questions and hypothesized about the meaning of the text. One student asked, “So did we really invite the Indians to dinner like it said in the book?” He was trying to figure out how the pilgrims invited the Native Americans to dinner since the dinner was located on the Native Americans’ land. He was trying to make meaning and create his own understanding between the two, differing perspectives.
Other than this, though, I haven’t witnessed my CT tackling any other controversial topics. I’m usually there for at least a portion of the students’ Literacy Block, and the students mainly just read to themselves or to one another. Like what Kelly noted, most of the books that the students read have “happy” endings. After reading the Hassett article, my first response was that the books in my classroom are more of the “traditional” sense, but now I realize that I need to take a second look at them because it is possible that I passed over some of the different modes.
From what I’ve seen thus far, I can see some areas where literacy could be incorporated into the curriculum. Like the Langer article talked about, using literature is a great way to get the students thinking about a topic. It is important to make sure they have sufficient time to really explore their ideas, beliefs, and questions on it before any analysis takes place. This creates a “horizon of possibilities” for the meaning of a text. It dissuades the students from trying to reach the “correct” answer that they believe the teachers want and helps them to think meaningfully about a text.