While reading chapters 1 and 8 in our Fisher and Frey textbook, I found it very interesting that most teachers feel like it is the job of the language arts teacher to teach "writing". If writing is an important part of learning, then does that mean students are only learning in the language arts class? This information really bothers me because children should be writing in every content area.
In the first chapter, the authors discussed many different comprehension strategies that we have discussed in our literacy classes. They also discussed the importance of using "scaffolding" to slowly release responsibility to the students. I feel this is very important because as teachers we cannot always be around to explain things to our students and we need to show them the importance of being independent learners. Another idea that stood out to me was the example of children reading a science textbook. Vocabulary is a very important area of language arts but, it is also very important in other content areas like science. When a child is reading a passage from their science textbook, if the vocabulary words are not already known, or if a thorough definition is not easily accessible then the child may become confused.
In chapter 8, Fisher and Frey gave great examples of how to use the different comprehension strategies in content areas like science, social studies, math, and electives. I really liked the example of Mr. Haydens's geometry class using writing to "talk" through the math problem from beginning to end. I feel like this is a great way to truly understand what the students are thinking as well as for them to understand. I loved the "I am" poems and I also the RAFT strategy would be very easy and useful to incorporate into all content areas.
I was talking to a lady the other day about students writing in the classrooms. She has two children, both who suffer from autism. One child has difficulty writing, and it has gotten to the point where he refuses to even try. So my question is, how do we as educators get students who either struggle with writing, as this child does, or get students who simply refuse interested in writing? Also, as for students who feel like they do not need to learn how to write with a "pen" because they have computers, phones, and all other types of technology to "write" for them, interested in using a pencil and paper?
When reading Memorie's post, it brought my attention back to the mentioning that Language Arts teachers are responsible for teaching the writing process, but literacy comes at all different levels because the way literature is presented across content areas is not uniform. Therefore, I agree with the authors when they present the idea that children need to be taught by all teachers the process of writing to learn across content. For instance, how can the Language Arts teacher instruct the students how to read and write in a Science or Math class when that is not his or her area of expertise, and they do not use that type of literature in their classroom. The other content area teachers know the tools needed by the students to help them develop good literacy skills in that particular classroom. I also recognized how Memorie picked up on the fact that alot of the strategies mentioned in Chapter 1 were ideas that we have been exposed to in previous literacy classes.
ReplyDeleteHi Memorie, I really like what Nicki has to say about your opening paragraph. I agree, it's been my experience that writing is usually delegated to the language arts classroom. But what Fisher and Frey are arguing is that it has its place in Math, Science, Social Studies. Also, I really appreciate when you say, "They also discussed the importance of using 'scaffolding' to slowly release responsibility to the students. I feel this is very important because as teachers we cannot always be around to explain things to our students and we need to show them the importance of being independent learners." This echoes what AnnaMarie says in her posting, and I asked her how can we truly, and I mean truly, transition our students to be responsible for their learning? Big question for me. I'm going to focus on that with my Hawkins 4th grade group this semester. About your question regarding writing, I've never (that sounds ridiculous to write), but I honestly can't think of a child who I wasn't able to "win over" with writing. It doesn't mean they turn into Super Writer Kid, but there's a spark I see and they share a pride in a piece of writing, even a small one. Just my two cents. Dr. B
ReplyDeleteMemorie, I agree with you completely on the insight you gained through reading these chapters. I also feel that literacy should be implemented into all subjects and not taught only in Language Arts classrooms. It was nice to get a refresher on some of the strategies we learned in Dr. Boyce's class as I read Chapter one. I noticed that ou mentioned science when talking about literacy being applied in that subject. I think that this is one subject that would be difficult to incorporate literacy into, but I think through using some of the strategies in chapter one that will aid in teaching and helping with literacy issues in the more difficult subjects with larger vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteAs far as chapter 8, I also really liked the example of the geometry class using writing to reflect on what the students had learned or discovered. I feel that chapter 8 will be a great tool when considering how to incorporate lreading and writing into all content areas. You're post was very interesting to read and I can see that we agree on many different topics discussed in the text. :)