Read aloud poem: Have You ever seen? by Author Unknown dishes up a clever play on words that highlights the complexity and nonsensical somewhat illogical nature of the English Language:

Have you ever seen a sheet on a river bed?
Or a single hair from a hammer’s head?
Has the foot of a mountain any toes?
And is there a pair of garden hose?

Does the needle ever wink its eye?
Why doesn’t the wing of a building fly?
Can you tickle the ribs of a parasol?
Or open the trunk of a tree at all?

Are the teeth of a rake ever going to bite?
Have the hands of a clock any left or right?
Can the garden plot be deep and dark?
And what is the sound of the birch’s bark?

Read aloud story: The Jumbie of the Silk Cotton Tree from the Book: Folklore and Legends of Trinidad and Tobago  compiled by Gerard A. Besson. Stories folklore and legends were centered around the Silk Cotton tree in various cultures around the world.

We looked at emergent literacy, a viewpoint attributed to world literacy advocate, New Zealander, Dr, Marie Clay (DBE) (1927 – 2007). Remarkably her research on Emergent Reading Behaviour (1966) and Reading Recovery culminated into her focus on early intervention to encourage learning development in children with disabilities and special needs.  The stages of emergent literacy overlap and develop in the observed sequence:

1. Emergent/ cue/ selective stage – Look at print and re read from memorization of books read to them
2. Early reading/ spelling sound stage – Look at words L to R, (beginning and ending letters) to decode patterns
3. Fluent stage – Say unfamiliar words to decode messages; eye scan multiple words; express their thoughts
4. Consolidation – Read and develop an interest in books as messages written by someone
5. Flexibility – Use silent reading, skimming texts, make reading choices based on interesting material

For me this all ties in with the ideas posited by the cognitive development theorists that place emphasis on using relevant tools and material at each developmental stage of the learner.  The home influence as a precursor and contributor to learning and reading development could not be overemphasized,  as the learner’s environment is a key input in the process of the learner developing reading readiness.  Early intervention is the best foundation!  The following tips were shared:

• Write with children/ the learner in mind
• Role play using Reader’s theatre
• Give the learner 2 sentences to read
• To build confidence let the learner read material from lower levels. For example a learner in Standard 5 can be given material from Standard 3
• Encourage the use of fingers to point
• Get creative.  For example use sandpaper to trace letters
• Celebrate new knowledge and the learner’s progress
• Stop focusing the learner on what they are not able to do yet
• Use material the learner is interested in

I point when I read and thoroughly enjoy shared reading.  My main takeaway today is that the learner learns best when they are having FUN with a teacher who CELEBRATES them,

14.04.2021

Read-aloud The Giving Tree by Shei Silverstein presented a stark reality of how mankind draws resources from nature, to depletion without giving back in order to sustain the balance and benefits from a symbiotic relationship.  In one sense it personified the tree as a mother who is ever giving, ever nurturing.  Poem of the day was entitled If – by Rudyard Kipling (1865 -1936). 

Kipling wrote Jungle Book and the nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep, which I never realised encapsulated the bullying he experienced as a child in a foster home:

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, Sir; yes, Sir; three bags full.
One for the Master, one for the Dame–
None for the Little Boy that cries down the lane.

I read because I can and I because I love to read.  Having been exposed to the reading process its complexity is evident.  As a cognitive, social, developmental, language, affective and physiological process it begins somewhere at birth and finds its end in a constant state of evolution.  The process provides an efferent experience through the provision of new knowledge and an aesthetic experience through its sensory appeal to our emotions.  Therefore it naturally involves decoding using the senses coupled with past and present environmental experiences.  When it came to the pedagogical approach to reading  three models were identified:

1. In the top down approach the teacher shares about a topic that the learner is familiar with, without breaking down the material into its phonetic components, for example. The teacher reads the story (input) and the student processes the information and forms their own meaning (output).  It reminds me of  ‘comprehension’ activities at elementary school where a series of questions requiring written responses, followed a printed or dictated passage.
2. The bottom up approach introduces the reading lesson/ story with a focus on deconstructing the written text from the basic unit.  For example the teacher may start by saying, “Let’s talk about dogs” and follow through to, “let’s look at the words (phonemes) we will come across and how they are used within the story,” to, “now let’s read!” In this approach the input is derived from both the teacher’s questioning to stimulate and cue the student, as well as the pupil’s recall of their interaction and experience with the subject.  The output is the meaning the student has derived from the step by step teacher student exchange and the reading lesson material.
3. The interactive approach is described as a blend of the two approaches using selective elements of each as inputs to the reading process. For example the teacher may extract information from the written text to help the student decode and derive meaning about the material (bottom up) which the learner may have been introduced to before (top down).

Naturally we explored the theorists behind the reading process. Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development was most captivating from the point of view that children learn through play and discovery.  As a result the material given to them for learning must be applicable to their developmental stage. The sensorimotor stage named object permanence as a milestone; the preoperational stage cited as a milestone, the emergence of language with perceptive expressions that rejected logic; With learners exhibiting characteristics applicable

31.03.2021

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf as told to Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith was an amazing read-aloud!  It certainly wet my appetite to read aloud, twists on children stories that have been staple favourites.  The poem Words added a soothing contrast to the read-aloud story to prepare me for the evening’s lecture.

One reflective takeaway was that learners learn best when they are READY.  Whether relevant meaningful instruction is given or active participation and practice is encouraged, or modalities such as Reader’s theatre is employed the student will not learn until they are interested and ready.  For different learners being ready has different meanings.  The tactile learner, for example, responds best to the sense of touch; being able to turn the pages or feel different textures or objects related to the lesson stimulates their need for a hands on experience.

Another key point was that the reading process is complete only when comprehension is attained. Some persons may be able to call the words of a sentence but do not understand the idea or expressed thought that the group of words is meant to convey.

I am now more aware of the importance of order in a lesson.  Order exists in our sequence of reading from left to right and from top to bottom.  Order helps to orient the learner and create patterns of expectation.  For example this class will not be the same for me if Sister Annetta does not start with a story and/ or a poem as I look forward to this initial engagement before we dive into the lecture.

Equally important is the material shared with the learner.  It must be something of interest. Males may be more sensory and perceptual learners while females may be more affective learners. A learner’s experience influences their engagement with learning.

We had to create an alphabet related to our learning. Enjoy!

A attitude  B books  C call & answer  D draw, dictate  E excitement  F focus  G grasp content  H hear  I inspire, interpret  J join the fun  K knowledge  L listen, love reading  M message, motivate, moral  N new material  O orate  P pace oneself, poetry, prepare  Q quiet place, question  R repeat, relax  S syntax, social process  T talk & tell, translate  U utter, understand  V visualize  W write, wissdom, win  X xenial  Y youth, yes we can read  Z zeal

24.03.2021

We were treated to Read Aloud The Wolf and the Lamb as well as the poem Precious Stones by Christina Rosetti.  Our collective contributions were referred to as ‘reciprocal learning’ as our individual varied expressions of thought regarding the class content enriched our altogether learning experience.

Guided and shared reading is a technique that encourages students to read and follow.  As a mode of transmitting learning teachers should include the use of visuals to encourage the participation of all the senses.  This helps as each student learns differently.

We looked at the Multiple Intelligence Model by Howard Gardener. It certainly is a concept that empowers all as it helps us discover our multiple intelligences as we assess our strengths and in the words of Thomas Armstrong, “ways of being smart”.

Assess yourself

The cone of learning created an aha moment for me as it reinforced the value of learning by doing.  Our remarkable brain relies on cognitive stimulus and processes for recall:

• 10% of what we read
• 20% of what we hear
• 30% of what we see
• 50% of what we hear & see
• 70% of what we say and do/ write
• 90% of what we do

Further reading on the Cone of Learning by researcher Edgar Dale proved helpful to visually understand what techniques are most helpful to produce active learners.

17.03.2021

I love to read aloud!

Today I learnt that stories are great ways to begin lessons, to connect the teacher with the student, to connect the student with their creative and imaginative self, with the goal to stimulate learning.

Class began with the story of The Knee High Man by Julius Lester where the theme of self actualization was evident.  Then we decoded reading:

1. Word Identification
2. Vocabulary Acquisition
3. Comprehension

Here are some more takeaways. Reading and literacy are inextricably bound to each other.  Just as we cannot separate the clouds from the sky, if a person cannot read, functional literacy will be a challenge.  Reading is important not just for ourselves to negotiate our existence in the world, but also to help us become useful contributors within our community and spheres of influence.

There are many types of literacy such as academic literacy, media literacy, numerical literacy, political, digital and financial literacy, to name a few.  Is it ignorant to postulate that literacy only encompasses the ability to read and write as literacy transcends many facets of one’s human existence?  Assuredly, yes.  As an aside I certainly think that a focus on sexual literacy in schools can help teens make better informed choices as it relates to their sexual behaviours.

Another valuable nugget from class discussion was that literacy uses language.  For us to express language we utilize phonology (speech sounds), orthography (spelling patterns), morphology (composition/formation of the written word), graphology (shape of the language characters) syntax (grammar rules), and semantics (word meaning).

Upon reflection I feel fortunate that English is my arterial language as it is riddled with language complexities and exceptions.

10.03.2021

I was there early anxiously awaiting the start of class and at the end I was pleasantly stirred up to embrace all the course promised to offer, not just from the teaching and content but from the imminent deposits made to my pedagogical bank from the experiences shared by my classmates from different parts of Trinidad and Tobago and the region.

I became reacquainted with the word paucity which I intend to colour my next speech at an upcoming Toastmasters Club Meeting.  At class the concept of multiple intelligences was introduced to categorize the array of human talent that may be highly evident in facets of a human’s talent demonstration while a paucity of talent was not present in other areas.  For example, persons who display exceptional talent in the area of gymnastics may display less ‘intelligence’ in other areas.

At the core of the lecture was the tenet that every teacher is a teacher of reading and ought to create a learning environment that is relevant, creative and FUN for students.

03.03.2021