My Electronic Portfolio

I am please to finally have my e-Portfolio up and running!

You can view my cover letter, resume, teaching philosophy, differentiated unit, and letters of recommendation at the following link:  Lisa Kroll, MS Ed

I used the site Weebly.  It took a little figuring out, but overall was easy to use.

Creating an Electronic Portfolio

Coming soon:  Documenting my lessons from Student Teaching

Still working on my portfolio.

Lisa Kroll e-portfolio

Final stages...before my own classroom...

Fall hasn't even arrived, but I am currently student teaching and taking my final class on campus.  I have plans on keeping this blog active and using it to reflect on my experiences.
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Community Building

I have been co-teaching for a month now in a fourth grade classroom.  The days are going past too quickly.  Within five days I found myself in love with all 24 of my students!  I see so much potential within each and every one of my students.  That may sound cliché, but it's true.

Just after school started, I asked them to fill out a "Who Are You" paper.  From their answers, I know if they could be any animal they wanted they would be: cats, dogs, lions, cheetahs, a dolphin, a dragon, horse, bald eagle, a tiger, a lynx, and a hydra.  One third of the class says Math is their favorite subject, while another third listed PE or Recess as their favorite.  The final third was divided between reading, art and music.  When they grow up they long to be: teachers, veterinarians, dancers, artists, basketball players, hockey players, soccer players, graphic designers, singers, doctors, gymnasts, police officers, marine biologists, scientist, and inventors.  

Three weeks into school and I still wanted to know more about my students.  On a whim, I asked them to put their favorite songs onto little pieces of paper, then place the papers on my desk.  I told my students I'd like to create a playlist for us on Spotify.  WOW!  They were really into this and wanting to share!  NOTE TO SELF: I need to learn when it is a good time to engage in something like this.  Questions, and more questions.  Could they put more than one song?  What if they were unsure of the title?  What if they didn't know the artist?  I answered all their questions but was worried I was using valuable class time for a little idea I had.  Over the weekend, I listened and watched on YouTube, every song they suggested.  I pre-viewed lyrics online as well.  On Monday morning I told them I was working on our playlist.  I shared that I was enjoying hearing all their music choices.  Truly I did.  Unfortunately, some of the lyrics are not appropriate for school.  On Thursday morning the playlist was up and ready on Spotify.  As the students came in, I had our music playing.  Talk about happy students!  Such ownership too!!!  "Hey, this is my song!" Boys and girls were singing.  I could feel the community between them growing deeper.  They liked hearing what others chose.  It was sad when the bell rang and our day started, and yet...they were all happy.  The next morning we were able to put their songs on again.  We will see how long this lasts.  I now have a sign up sheet on my desk where they can add new songs.  My weekend homework will include pre-viewing more songs.

While shopping this afternoon, I felt as if our playlist was at Kohl's!  :)

~Lisa

18th Century vs. 20th Century... Children and Books

-evaluating my own consumerism as a parent, and as a future teacher

Where do I fit in the scheme of consumerism?  I am very guilty of perpetuating the ways of Corporations.  I have been captivated by toys that connect to books and movies.  As my children were growing up, I wanted them to have what others had...or even have more. (Ouch!  That hurts to admit, but it is true.)  

This week I read an article in Reading Research Quarterly from 2009, about branded fiction in children’s literature and new literacies.  This article pointed out the history of books for children, and how consumerism has changed the media children have access to use in their play.  This article specifically discussed tweens, children ages 8-12 year-olds or 3rd through 6th grade students.  Based on all the articles and books I have been exposed to in the past year about educating children, I realize that the influences on children start before 3rd grade.  With that in mind, I reflected back on my own consumerism as a parent, when my own two children were very young.  

Comparing the current century to the 18th century, there are so many more products available that are tied to books in the market place.  This article specifically focused on the American Girl, Hannah Montana, Harry Potter, Neo Pets, Disney (Mickey Mouse),  and Kewpie Doll brands.  It compared and contrasted their availability (in their popular time frame), their affordability, globalization...in terms of making media and distribution, and their access via the Internet.  More products are available to more people, which means there are new ways for children to ‘enter’ the story world.  Childhood is different too.  Middle class American’s have more disposable income.  Children are more capable of spending their parent’s money; mostly through mother-child relationships.  Children do not understand the difference between advertising and entertainment, but parents, who should, do not want their child to be left out of the latest fad or crazy. Here I will admit, I fell totally into that trap.  

When my children were very young, Disney’s Pocahontas...the movie, was popular.  I purchased the Disney book that retold the story, I purchased the Little Golden Book that retold the story, I read said stories to my children, I purchased the figurines for play, encouraged my extended family to purchase the “stuff” to accessorize play, and sadly...I took my children out to eat weekly just so they could collect the meal toys from MickeyD’s.  Oh my.  I have picture after picture of old toys: Pokémon, Ty Beanie Babies, Hamtaro, Polly Pockets, Legos, Jurassic Park, Barbie, Harry Potter, etc., that still reside in boxes in my spare closet.  Again, children do not understand the difference between advertising and entertainment.  Parents do.  Clearly, I did not. 

Children are immature, inexperienced and naïve.  This causes them to be easy to manipulate, especially by the marketers of brands.  As a parent, it is our job to step in and educate our children.  But, societal pressures to keep up with everyone else, especially if one happens to have enough disposable income to justify weekly dining out,

(No soapboxes on the health issues, please.  I have changed my ways, and I DO know better.) make it hard to say no.  

Literacy is no longer the ability to only communicate in ways that are bound in printed text.  Literacy truly has shifted to include communicating in ways that facilitate communities that enable people’s learning through new technologies.  In a word, the INTERNET...a wonderful source of entertainment, and advertisement.  

I am proud to admit that my husband and I read every single Harry Potter book aloud to our children as they were growing up.  Many conversations, filled with opinions, wonder, imagination, vocabulary lessons, and curiosity of what will happen next filled our family time.  

As a teacher, I see the benefits of play through branded fiction, or popular toy franchises.  I know not all children have the same access at home to interact with stories.  That may mean they are not exposed to the same books, toys, or Internet as their peers.  But I am also a book lover.  So, I will always try to encourage books first.  Everything else will be welcomed in my classroom, as long as it follows school policy of course, and as long as it adds to creating the reading and writing skills of my students.

Excuse me now...I need to go play with the Jurassic Park toys...they are calling me!  

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RA 5 of 5

Carver Sekeres, D., (2009) . The Market Child and Branded Fiction: A Synergism of Children’s Literature, Consumer Culture, and New Literacies. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(4), pp. 399-414. 

retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25655466

And...Action! (Let's Make a Movie)

Over the past several weeks I have read the book Literacy Playshop, by Karen E. Wohlwend. It is no secret that play time has been replaced in the school day with "learning" time.  Many schools have eliminated or shortened recess time.  In Dr. Wohlwend's book, she describes the importance of play, especially for some, "Equitable access to play becomes a social justice issue when some children get opportunities to play in school while others do not."  Dr. Wohlwend continues, "Literacy play levels the field by giving children access to their cultural expertise and time to play the stories they know best, whether classic children's books or popular media."  In Literacy Playshop, popular media franchise toys are allowed in the play.  Through research, Dr. Wohlwend has found that when young children play with this media, they revisit themes together.  They improvise and create their own characters and revise scripts.  Also, in the end, children work through stereo types, by creating their own heroes, with characteristics that are more inline with themselves.  Most schools have a "commercial-free" policy which translates into 'no toys in school'.   Yet backpacks, lunch boxes, pencils, notebooks, folders, clothing, shoes, etc., easily slip past this rule.  Banning popular media can mean disadvantaging many children's background knowledge.  Children come to school having knowledge, yet most schools want students to "start fresh" with their knowledge.  The more background knowledge a student can connect concepts to, the deeper a student can explore a topic.

Armed with fresh information and thoughts on popular media in schools, as well as having finished reading Literacy Playshop, which has a "how to" framework in the second half of the book, I headed off to make a movie with a second grader.  I'll call my student Buddy (not his real name).  Buddy and I have been meeting once a week, all semester long.  I have worked with him on his reading skills, and his writing skills.  Honestly, he's a smart boy.  But, I sense his boredom set in when I want to do the same old thing with him.  "Let's read this book."  "Can you write about this character...?" He has ten more years of schooling, at least!  Two weeks ago when I came into his classroom, right away I said, "I have a bag of toys and I want you to help me make a movie with my iPad."  Buddy was curious.  He wanted to see inside my bag of goodies! We headed off to his school library and I displayed all my toys on the table in front of him.  I had both boy and girl toys...toys from McDonald's Happy Meals.*

In my collection were Sherman and Mr. Peabody, Smooth Smurf, a My Little Pony, some other pink, round creature, two fairies and my Lego key chain of Capt. Jack Sparrow.  Buddy knew immediately what our movie should be about.  It would be called Everyone Falls off a Cliff, and...everyone would fall off a cliff.  I asked what I should do and Buddy said I could hold the iPad, and film him.  There would be no talking in this movie.  When I asked if they were to all stay on the ground, Buddy said one of the fairies could rescue everyone.  I questioned why the fairy and not say, Capt. Sparrow?  Capt. Jack doesn't have wings.  That is a valid point. The end of the story didn't really end.  After the fairy saved Sherman, who was the original first guy

Buddy and I worked together.  I showed him what a storyboard was, and he sketched figures in the order they would appear:

NOTE: the eye of the Pony (3) and the key chain for Capt. Jack Sparrow (4).
Buddy had his own system for recalling who was in each picture.

Then I wrote out the story as he dictated it to me:

The end of the story didn't really end.  After the fairy saved Sherman, who was the original first guy to walk off the cliff, the silly boy walked right off the cliff again!

What did I learn from this project?

Immediately, I would have to say that Buddy was intensely engaged in working with me on this day.  Buddy knew what would make an appropriate story.  He knew who should be the hero, and what made sense.  In his mind, he knew what would make a good story.  He could easily and logically problem solve. He could create, and make meaning using the pop media Happy Meal toys.   He had fun not doing the same old thing, yet he didn't realize I was talking about stories anyway with him! Buddy really enjoyed seeing his finished work.  It was very rough though to watch.  My skills as a videographer need help!  I promised to edit his movie, and bring it back to him.  

I thought I might be done visiting with Buddy each week after I did this project.  But, I decided I wanted to work with him just one more time...so I went in again this week, and brought some different characters.  Last semester I made a children's book for a science methods class.  I took all my back drops, bases and figurines in for Buddy to use.  I read him my book first, and then he had a blast making up this weeks story.  Mario, Luigi, Yoshi ad Wario are timeless.  I can't wait to edit our second project and to share both movies with Buddy and his classmates.

The Mario Brothers and mischief maker Wario were the cast of our second movie adventure!

* Happy meal toys collected from my last L549 class.  We had used them in class and my fellow classmates didn't want their toys!

Balancing Accelerated Reading with Readers Choices in one Classroom

In November of 2010, the journal Language Arts published the insights of Mariana Souto-Manning as she, along with her class of second graders found balance and acceptance of the AR program used in their school.

It is important to note that in the era of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) every student should read at or above grade level by the end of third grade.  Hence, funding for schools is tied to students’ test performance.  One way to test students regularly is to encourage school wide reading, such as the Accelerated Reading (AR) program.  AR is a computer software program that makes reading assignments based on multiple-choice tests.  It limits students reading choices and disregards teachers expertise.  Implementing AR in kindergarten and grades one and two is meant to be a form of early intervention.  The goal is to accelerate literacy in the early years in an attempt to erase perceived deficiencies that some children bring with them as they enter into school.  

Schools that use the AR program assign points to students based on their rate of accuracy (test scores) in combination with the level of book read.  Accumulated points can be turned in for tangible rewards.  

Problems with AR are that, as noted above, it includes a lack of choice in book selection.  It also disregards readers background knowledge and interests, and does not encourage collective reading and/or discussions.   

Unfortunately, with the adoption of NCLB, children’s learning is constantly being monitored by their teachers.  This leaves little room for a teacher to creatively teach or for students to “play” as a form of learning. 

Ms. Souto-Manning was told by her administrators that she had to use AR.  The year prior to this she had been with the same group of students.  She looped with them as their teacher hoping to build on the previous year experience of creating a culture of inquiry in their classroom.  Together, teacher and students brainstormed to engage in critical action research forming an inquiry of how they could make AR serve their needs better.  The students noted that they were segregated by colors(decided by their AR scores) on their library cards.  They were only allowed to check out certain books based on their AR level, and were actually discouraged by the media specialists when they wanted to check out different, more interesting books.  The color coding worked to censor student choices and discouraged reading motivation.  Also, even if a student read a book beyond his level, he would not be able to receive test points for it.  Students started identifying themselves as the color-coded readers they were as noted on their library cards.  In addition, because peers may not be labeled the same color, they weren’t necessarily able to read, then discuss, the same books.  ‘Reading was reduced to a textual, cognitive process that was striped of it’s sociopolitical aspects.’  Other problems the students noted were that the AR book choices were not plentiful enough to include all their varied interests.  Nor were there many children of color represented in the texts.  

Ms. Souto-Manning’s class worked together and fund raised, earning $800.  They surveyed their families and came up with a list of books they believed would more authentically represent their class make up.  Books were purchased and then the Media Specialist was consulted and these new books were added to the AR lists…with parent volunteers using websites with details on how to write appropriate AR quizzes.  The Media Specialist was able to add these new books to the schools pool of resources.  

The class decided to stop the AR reward system and instead work as a class towards points and then reward the whole rather than individuals for efforts.  To overcome the “you can only check out your color coded AR books in the library”, Ms. Souto-Manning had her students generate a weekly list and she would personally check out books from the school library to have in her classroom.

Ms. Souto-Manning was resourceful with her students.  The lesson she taught them, in my opinion, empowered her students to make take a system they had to use and make it better for all.  The community of learners she started to grow as first graders blossomed into capable second graders who made a difference in their school community.  

Reading needs to make meaning to students.  Students who have more book choice options to choose from, book choices that reflect their interests and book choices in which they can see themselves, they make connections that will propel them even farther in their learning.  

~ltk

Souto-Manning, M.  (2010) . Accelerating Reading Inequalities in the Early Years . Language Arts, 88 (2), 104-113. 

4 of 5

What type of books are you reading to your preschool children?

In an article from Reading Research Quarterly published in 2009, authors K. Hammett Price, A van Kleech and C.J. Huberty discussed results from three studies that compare the talk during book sharing between parents and their preschoolers.  Specifically this article focused on parents engaging with their preschools while reading storybooks and reading expository (non-fiction) books.  

It is widely known that when parents read with their children, they create a dynamic between themselves, their child and the book they are reading.  This early literacy knowledge is a foundation children bring with them as they enter school.  The focus of this particular article discusses the types of books parents read aloud, and the type of skills or language that are gained by their children.  

When parents read books to their children, they typically participate in extratextual talk.  This means they talk beyond the actual text they are reading with their children.  “Even though parents may not view their extratextual talk as a method of explicit teaching, they do adjust their interactions in ways that support the child’s learning.”  (Rogoff, 1990, 2003)

Parents who spend the most time reading to their children give their children a longer-lasting advantage over children whose parents spend less time reading or interacting with them.  The same advantages happen based on the amount of general talk parents do with their children as well.  “(The)...amount of talk was strongly associated with the children’s trajectory of language learning.”

When teachers read aloud to their class, they are not only reading a story they hope their students will enjoy, but teachers are doing a number of different things.  They may be modeling their thoughts to show the students extended ways to interpret the text, they may be connecting students background knowledge by asking if someone has had a similar experience to a character in a story, or they may be asking open-ended questions to encourage deeper thinking.  During book sharing at home, especially if a child is preschool age, parents can and do these very same things!  When parents engage with their child in these ways, they are giving their child a head start on what others may only learn for the first time in the school setting.  Children can learn targeted vocabulary better when a parent both reads, and discusses a text.  

The general differences children can take away from storybooks versus expository books are:  Storybooks have more narrative, include more character’s intentions, perspectives, mental state verbs (e.g.thought, knew) and temporal connectives (e.g. and, then).  Expository books are written with more purpose of providing more scientific type of information about a topic, use more comparison and contrast, and use technical vocabulary/academic words.  Expository texts also expose students to the following literacy extensions:  labels, captions, keys, and dialogue bubbles which are used to aid in interpretation of diagrams.  At the preschooler level, expository books have a higher vocabulary diversity.  

As students progress from grade to grade, the number of storybooks used in the classroom become less and less.  Storybooks are replaced by expository texts.  Therefore, the earlier a student can become comfortable with, and understand literacy feature differences between different genre, the farther ahead the student has the potential of being over his/her peers.  

                                   ~ltk

Research Article:   3 of 5

Talk during Book Sharing between Parents and Preschool Children: A Comparison between Storybook and Expository Book Conditions

Lisa Hammett Price, Anne van Kleeck and Carl J. Huberty

Reading Research Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 2009), pp. 171-194

The Importance of Play in the Classroom...

In today's classrooms, especially from grades one on up, there is a lot of 'business' that MUST get done.  Besides teaching, teachers are required to pre-test, and post test students over lessons.  The testing results are expected to show a mastery of the lesson taught.  Students are expected to sit in their desks, following the rules: quietly sitting, not bothering their neighbors and staying on task.  Time for students to create seems to have vanished with the extra recess part of the day at most schools.

In an article from Reading Research Quarterly, Dr. Karen E. Wohlwend (2008) documented the importance of play in learning within a kindergarten classroom.  Specifically, Dr. Wohlwend goes on to say that playing school at school is an important tool for students.  In playing school the students pair up reading and playing as reading-to-play, and playing-to-read.  Students showed these disciplines connected by reading books, reading charts, pretending to be the teacher, and by teaching pretend students.  In these ways, students made sense of books and multimedia, as well as produced social spaces where they indicated how kindergarteners should acts as readers and writers, leaders and followers, or boys and girls.

If these practices in a kindergarten room reinforce peer learning and set the stage for norms expected within the classroom, why is it that school districts feel teachers should act more as disciplinarians and less like facilitators of knowledge bearers?  Why are students expected to sit and be spoken at all day long?  How drab.

I understand the importance of being able to account for what our students are learning, and agree that tests are a quick and easy way to test knowledge.  But I feel there are also other ways our students can show what they learn.  I feel deeper learning happens when students are allowed to learn through inquiry, and study topics that matter to them.  Upper elementary students still need play in their lives.  I hope to be able to facilitate playing-to-learning within my classroom through role playing.  To learn about different cultures and groups who shaped our history, and to grasp the important lessons to be learned, my classroom will transform into those different cultures.  As an example, when studying Indiana history, we shall become members of tribes or explorers from the early days of Indiana.  We will write about our experiences in authentic ways, keeping journals, writing letters, reading recipes.  We will read stories that connect us, our classroom, to our community of long ago.

I believe no child benefits from being seated at their desk the entire school day.  Truly, most adults in the real world function by interacting with others.  Most adults are not in stationary positioned all day long either.  Why then do we expect that of our students?   In order for our students to become active learners, they need to be inspired by teachers who are willing to interact with them.

~ltk

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” 
                                                                                        ― Benjamin Franklin

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reference:

Wohlwend, K. E. (2008) . Kindergarten as Nexus of Practice: A Mediated Discourse Analysis of Reading, Writing, Play and Design in an Early Literacy .  Reading Research Quarterly, 43(3) , pp. 332-334 . Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/20068350?uid=3739664&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103781288033

2 of 5

Testing. A Necessary Evil?

Testing.  A necessary evil?  Achievement...what is it, really?  How does one measure it and, can it authentically be measured?  These are questions that I am trying to define this semester as I study to become a classroom teacher.  

Standardized testing has been in place for a long, long time.  Not long ago, standardized tests were just one of many tests given to students to measure their abilities.  

As adults, we are tested daily, and in many ways.  Did you get up for work and arrive there at a certain time?  Did you care for or feed any children or pets before you left the house?  If you have children, did you make them a healthy lunch or make sure they have money to buy lunch?  Did you get them to school, or watch them catch the bus?  Did you follow the traffic laws on your own way to work, or to run errands?  Are you wearing appropriate clothes? Are you using appropriate language?  The “tests” we go through are non-stop.  Each “test” tells a tiny little bit about what makes us who we are.  

If I get up late one day and arrive late to where I need to be, most around me would chalk it up to I’m just having an “off” day.  One messed up “test” does not define all of me.  And yet, in our schools...one test can mean a lot.  

No Child Left Behind (NCLB), created in 2001, requires states to develop assessments in basic skills.  In order for schools to receive federal funding, they must give these assessments to all students at selected grade levels.  AND, annual improvement must be shown. 

The assessments given in Indiana, are the ISTEP tests.  ISTEP is given in grades 3-9 each spring.   In grade 10, students take the ISTEP and a Graduation Qualifying Exam.  If students pass those tests, they will be able to graduate from high school upon finishing up their required credits.  If they do not pass the Graduation Qualifying Exam, they would be placed in remedial classes until they pass.  Actually, at any grade level students may be placed in remedial classes based on their one test score.  

NCLB creates high stakes testing.  High stakes tests do NOT mean the characteristics of the test are high stakes, but rather that the consequences placed on the outcome are high stakes.  

A school that receives passing test scores is eligible for federal funding or specific grants.  

As an educator, I know there is more that makes up Timmy than what one test tells.  But to policy makers, if Timmy doesn’t get a certain passing score, or show improvement, he may be retained.  Possibly, I could get fired as well, based on Timmy’s score.  (More than likely though, based on the overall scores of my class.)  And if I get fired based on my student’s scores, good luck to me in getting re-hired else where.  I am expected to teach material that is or may be on the tests...not necessarily things to enhance my student's lives, or make them richer thinkers.  Yet, I know that all students are NOT created equally!  Different techniques for learning work for different students.  Tests can’t always measure, AUTHENTICALLY, what a person/student knows or needs to know!  For example, I can bake a meal from scratch, make Halloween costumes by reading a pattern, and administer shots to my diabetic cat two times a day, and yet there isn’t a test I can think of that would allow me to shine in those areas of my interests and abilities.  

Studies have shown that when levels of teaching to the test increase, the quality in level of instruction goes down.  Principals are walking that line between enforcing policy makers policies and allowing teachers the freedom to teach in their classrooms.  Parents need to take note of what is happening in schools.  It is natural as a parent to want to trust in the system that has worked for so long.  But, the decisions being made in schools are really being made by policy makers removed from getting to know your child.  Parents and teachers need to work together.  Principals and teachers need to be supported by parents.  Parents need to connect with their policy makers.  A hands-off approach will not fix what is ailing in today’s education system.  

We may be creating a majority of students who can take tests, but intellectually we are not stimulating our children.  Future policy makers won’t be armed with creative abilities, and in my opinion, creativity leads to solving problems.  

How sad to label an entire school as failing or needing to be restructured based on one test score.  Teachers are trained to teach.  We need to allow them to shine by letting them do so.    

~ltk

CITATION: Baker, E. A., & Dooley, C. (2010, March 1). Teaching language arts in a high stakes era. Voice of Literacy. Podcast retrieved from http://voiceofliteracy.org

Practical Thoughts and Helpful Words...

“You cannot see into children’s minds, but their behaviors can guide your teaching decisions.” 
                                                                           ~ educators Fountas and Pinnell (2006) 

As an educator, it is my job to: 

• confer with my students as they read, and as they write 

• to take note and take notes

• to evaluate the things they can do, and the things they can almost do

• to be able to note when a student is ready for the next challenge in their reading and writing growth  

A good teacher makes plans for her whole class, small groups of students, and one-on-one teaching. Then, she can almost simultaneously execute her plans!  But, teachers are not superhuman beings.  They do eat, sleep and exercise too!  Sometimes they even spell words incorrectly or mispronounce them. 

To allow me to be the best teacher educator I can be, I will work with my student’s families.  With that thought in mind, here are a few tips I will share with my classroom families:   

• No one is held back from beginning reading, even if they do not know all of their letter or letter sounds!  

• Share with you student, no one memorizes every book they read!  Readers learn to figure out the words.  Remind them that you learned how to do this and they will be able to learn this too!

• Reading isn’t about just saying the words...it’s all the thinking that goes on in your head at the same time!  

• Remember those “rules” about language that WE learned...less than 45% of the time those hold true!  Besides, if you have to stop and recall a “rule,” you might forget what it is you are reading about!  

• If a book is too easy for your student, that’s okay!  Quantity of successful reading builds the assured independence of a competent reader. But, if you think your student needs more variety, send me a note.  We, your student and I, can work together to find some other great books to read!

• It’s more important to me that your student understand and comprehends what they are reading. I place less emphasis on students reading levels.  AND I know each student  will progress at a level and speed that is appropriate for them.  

• To create a love of reading in your student...read aloud to them!  Enjoying books together is a wonderful way to share time. 

• Let them read to you, then celebrate their independence of being the reader! Be a good listener.  

I know these tips may seem more appropriate for beginning readers and their families to hear, but as a mother of two college students, it is ALWAYS important to be a good listen to the children in our lives.  ~ltk

"A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"

     As a Literacy Facilitator, I have been trained to help children develop strategies for learning to read and write.  As I move forward in becoming a classroom teacher, I am realizing that literacy involves so much more than just strategies for becoming a proficient reader and techniques for writing.  This semester I initially questioned, why am I taking Art Methods for Teachers as a class?  Digging deeper into how children learn to read, I am starting to understand the benefits of drawing...or pictures...and art in a young child’s life.  

     In the January issue of Language Arts magazine, Drs. Jerome Harste and Gunther Kress discussed semiotics and children.  Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and how they are used.  Harste’s background is in elementary education, and inquiry-based learning. He spent many years researching what children ages three to six knew about reading and writing before they went to school.  His research sparked his interest in semiotics.  Kress’ background is in linguistics, but he noted that his interest was pique  when in his research he observed six and seven year olds, “that they took as much care with their images as they took with their writing.” He also comments that he observed when children are older, say ages 13-14, and studying science, it is not uncommon for a teacher to say, ‘Write down what you did and draw what you saw.’  Kress goes on to suggest that drawing an image causes deeper thinking. If a student is told by their teacher to “draw a cell with it’s nucleus on the board,” the child will have to ask, or will have had to learn, how big the nucleus is, and where in the cell it may be located.  Drawing may offer more detail than solely writing...’a cell has a nucleus.‘   

     In a second article I recently read on images, called The Writing behind Drawing: Lessons learned from my Kindergarten Class by Wing-Yee Hui (2011), Hui used her own classroom as a study for observing drawing as writing.  From Hui’s research she notes that displayed in Olshansky’s Artist/Writer Workshops (2008) young children intuitively understand the meaning of pictures long before they master reading and writing of words on paper. Hui discusses the Reggio Emilia teaching approach which values the art languages as the way children make their thinking visible.  The light bulb just clicked on in my brain!  THIS is why I am taking an art methods class.  Art is a tool for thinking!  It allows different perspectives to be shown, emotions to be felt, and for properties of the physical world to be connected on deeper levels!  Heading into a classroom as a teacher this fall, I will now restate my writing day manta.  I used to say, “this is writing time, not art class.” I believe I will now be quicker to say, “Tell me about your drawing” or “show me what you mean with a picture.”

      Hui continues and sites Kress where he found that children were able to construct meaning naturally and easily using multi-modal symbols (multi-modality).  Multi-modality in this sense would be combining the visual (drawing) with audio (oral story telling) about what is happening in the student drawings.  In my own experience, while studying Math Methods for Elementary Teachers last semester, we placed importance on not only needing to be able to explain in words what we were doing as we solved problems in our class. We also had to draw a picture in our notes and/or on the board, as a way to make sense of our problems, and solutions.  Therefore, I would stretch Kress’ comments that even in Math classes, we have students draw images as a way to clarify thought, and show deeper meaning.  

     In the Language Arts magazine article, Harste asks Kress his opinions on what classroom teachers should keep foremost in their minds when using images (visual literacy).  Kress responds that society, through its culture, expresses itself in many different ways.  As a future classroom teacher, it is my job and responsibility to allow each of my students to share with me all the ways they understand the topics we are studying.  

~ltk 

references: 

Harste, J.C. and Kress, G. (2012) Image, Identity, and Insights into Language. Language Arts, 89 (3) , 205-210.

Hui, W. (2011) The Writing behind Drawing: Lessons learned from my Kindergarten Class.  Journal of Classroom Research in Literacy, 4, 3-14. 

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Comprehension and the Teacher's Job...and What Proficient Readers DO

Comprehension IS thought.

How does one teach thought?  Everyone can think, so why try to teach how to think? This seems redundant.  In truth, children develop at different rates based on many internal and external influences.  I truly believe that all children want to be successful at school.  Some children need reminders that they all ready have what it takes to be successful.  They need encouragement to see all they possess.  If a child fails to understand a text they are reading, it is the teachers job to help identify first, students who are 'lost' and secondly, how to help lost students reconnect.  When a student doesn't understand something we are really meaning they do not comprehend.  A lack of comprehension may make a student feel inferior, not as smart as their peers, and not very good at school.  If a student has been unsuccessful in understanding things, they may shut down and not participate in the class discussions. Mostly this is seen when children are learning how to read, especially with struggling readers.

A teacher's job is to help identify students who are lost, those who don't quite understand.  It is also a teacher's job to make sure that each of their students develops a reading process system.  A reading process system is simply a set of strategies to become the best reader and the best at comprehending that one can be.  Proficient readers naturally develop these skills.  Struggling or beginning readers need help developing their skills in order to be successful.  These skills are questioning, visualization, inferring, predicting and summarizing.

As they read, proficient or capable readers will ask questions of the text.  They will make mental pictures (visualization) of what is happening.  They infer meaning based on their own background knowledge (schema).  They critique the text by making predictions of what will happen next.  In the end, they can summarize orally, then eventually on paper, what the main points of a particular reading.  Becoming a proficient reader does not mean a student needs to be able to name each strategy they are using.  A proficient reader just knows they can do, and does different things to help themselves understand.

In the classroom, a teacher models how something is done, does shared demonstrations, a guided practice and leads her students to independence.  When a teacher models a strategy she will actually do it AND think out loud.  This shows her students how it helps her to think as she is reading.  Shared demonstrations are initiated by the teacher.  She may say, "Let's read this together, and share what it makes us think about." In other words, she does the thinking with the students.  During guided practice, the students are allowed to practice the strategies on their own while the teacher takes mental or physical notes.  She can still guide the students if they need assistance.  Independence happens when the students initiate the strategies on their own.  The teacher is in the background just waiting and watching her students.  The action she may take at this stage will be encouragement.  She will  reinforce what was done correctly, and or effortlessly by pointing out the students strengths.  Students are also encouraged to talk about how different strategies help them to understand what it is they are reading.

The goal of our schools is not really to teach students how to parrot back answers they think teachers are wanting to hear.  Fact recalling is boring.  Instead, the goal of our schools needs to be to teach our students how to have original thoughts about what they read.  Original thinkers make better problem solvers.  Teachers grow smarter students when they help them make meaning of all they encounter at school.  Smarter students grow up to be smarter citizens.

~ltk

"How's my child doing?"

Day one... a child is born.

Within minutes a parent starts wondering and worrying...am I nursing them the correct way?  Is this the correct way to swaddle?  Do I have them in the bassinet in the proper position?  Will I be able to support them in all the right ways?  Will they get along with others?  Will they be as smart as their peers?  Will they be successful?

At every stage in a child's life, there are new worries a parent will face.  We live in a world where we look at ourselves and compare our success based on our own perception of someone else's success.  And our children are really just an extension of ourselves.

Hence the proverbial question a teacher hears..."How's my child doing?"

As children enter formal schooling in kindergarten, parents suddenly have a tangible system in place to look at their child.  It's easy to compare what they see happening in the form of growth between their child and the other students.   I recall taking my own children to the pediatrician for their annual well check-up and the doctor would hand me a sheet of paper with typical age milestones written down.  I would mentally check off all milestones reached.  Schools have agreed upon benchmarks that teachers are expected to have all children reach each year.  Unfortunately, children develop at different rates. On top of developing at different rates, children do not develop in a linear way!

This week for class, I read an article entitled "Sound Systems: Explicit Systematic Phonics in Early Literacy Contexts", by Anna Lyon and Paula Moore in which the stages of early reading and writing phases are noted.  As children learn to read, they start out in the Emergent stage.  Emergent readers know to read from left to right, they are starting to discover the difference between words and letters, letters and letters, and can read text that is highly predictable with pictures that offer strong clues (or representation of the text).  Emergent readers grow into early readers.  Early readers know their letters and can even identify some letter clusters and word parts.  Early readers benefit by working on phonic lessons that include vowel and consonant patterns.  Transitional readers are the next stage of development.  They are those readers who have developed sight word vocabularies that allow them to read without strong picture clues or patterns of predictable words.  These students can also recognize word chunks if they get stuck and they use other strategies to solve their word problems.  Upper level (more practiced) transitional readers may read easy chapter books.  As a former reading teacher, trust me, being able to read a chapter book means you can read in most children's eyes. As a parent, it also symbolizes success.  I'll admit, I was guilty of telling others...'he/she can read chapter books' when both of my children reached that stage.

Beginning writing abilities parrot beginning reading abilities and vice versa.  Children visually see by reading what they are learning to do in writing.  While reading they learn about letter features, how words are constructed, how to space words, how print on a page works, how to segment sounds in words, and from writing, how to self-monitor their reading (asking themselves 'does that look correct?).

Reading and writing are like Ying and Yang: they compliment and balance one another in a child's development.  Children, however, are not little computers to whom we can feed information into in a particular way. Then expect them all to come out the same, predictable...reaching benchmarks at exactly the same time.  Children are little people who bring to the classroom their own background experiences which color their development.  They may grasp one aspect of a developmental stage firmly and another from a different stage not so firmly, needing time and practice to learn necessary skills to more forward.  It is important to remember, individual children develop at individual rates.  Many children do not develop all skills at typical ages! And, many DO catch up.  Ever hear of a book called Leo, the Late Bloomer?

~ltk

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

     Last semester in my graduate studies class load, I had Advanced Studies of Teaching Math in Elementary School (Math Methods).  The math calculations were not so horrible; and although I was stuck on solving base 5 problems for a short bit, I feel confident I can solve those types of problems now.  My Math Methods class was probably one of the hardest classes I've ever had.  What made that class so difficult?  Understanding how a child learns to do math.  I had never stopped to think about the stages a child goes through when learning mathematics.  Suddenly, I was being required to be able to identify and know exactly what stage a child might be in, what they failed to learn (or what they needed help with), how to help them understand what they were doing, and how to push them ahead to the next stage.  That task seems daunting to me when I think...a teacher has 25 students and needs to think about and help each one.

     This semester, in my Reading and Language Arts class, I am revisiting learning how a child learns, but this time...how to read, and also write.  I feel like I actually all ready know most of what I will be learning in this class.  Not because I am a smarty.  For the past 13 years, I truly have been doing exactly what our readings are explaining!  I feel I have an advantage over my classmates in these particular lessons.  I am most curious about what I may have been doing incorrectly, if anything.  But I am confident in saying, nothing.  I have made mistakes, but I've learned from them.  What didn't go over well the first time in a lesson, I polished and refined for the next time I taught it. But, when terminology is tossed about in our class, such as Picture Walk, 1-to-1 matching, leveled readers, Reading (or Running) Records, miscues, DRA, strategies and cueing, I see puzzled looks on faces around the room.  I have never been an expert on something, but our instructor is speaking a language I know well.  I am looking forward to sharing my experiences, and having things I learned refreshed in my mind.

     In our readings this week, it was suggested that parents can help their child/ren by reading aloud to them, take them to the library, show them all the things they read (and write) daily.  Exposing children to reading and writing, and allowing them to "play" and get comfortable with reading and writing materials is a great way to start a child's learning process.  If parents can do these things, a child has an advantage when they come to a formalized learning program.  They will be a step ahead of their average peers.  Exposure alone to reading and writing materials can give a struggling student an edge to get ahead, or to at least help them not fall behind their peers.   It's never too early to read to a child!  It's never too early to write with a child. It's never too late, either!

     Caution should be used, however, to encourage exploring rather then to expect perfection, especially at an early age.  Too easily adults forget that they did not read or write perfectly the first time they tried.  Children need to be allowed to play as they learn, and that may mean exploring, being creative or experimenting.  Playing takes time.  Some children shut down when expectations are set too high.  Some children shut down if they haven't appropriately developed the necessary skills needed before they begin to read and write (pre-reading skills).  *** Phonemic Awareness is part of the pre-reading skills a child acquires through just being exposed to materials, both visually and orally.   Phonemic Awareness is something I became aware of about three years ago in my literacy teaching.  I was introduced to it when I was to teach kindergarteners how to read.  I had all ready been teaching first graders for a decade.  How different could adding kindergarteners be, really?

     My Job/What I did: I worked with first graders, in groups no larger than 6 students for 30 minutes a day, four days a week.  On day five, the literacy facilitators would meet with the classroom teachers to discuss how our students were progressing.  If one child was pushing ahead or falling behind her/his peers, we would move that student to a group which better met their needs.  Our groups were flexible and could change weekly.  As instructors, we changed tables weekly as well.  By doing this, our students may hear the same instruction said in a different way; they would hear another competent adult sing their praises and encourage them.  When there were three first grade classes at our school, I spent an hour and a half teaching reading; 30 minutes per class.  When there were four first grade classes, I spent two hours teaching.  Each class would enter the literacy room and the students would disperse to tables that each contained a literacy teacher, like myself or their classroom teacher.  Typically first grade classrooms have no more than 24 students.  Each first grade class would come into our room at the same time each day and every single student received this instruction.  Our daily routine, varied depending on the day, but we always had familiar reading, writing, a new book and word work to do.

     When kindergarten classes were added to the mix: The kindergarteners would see me three days a week.  Initially, I would teach the kindergarteners using a different (Kindergarten) model, but eventually I would segue them into the First Grade Model.  The Kindergarten Model went for 16 weeks, I would read and sing a nursery rhyme with them, read them a story book then discuss First, Next, Then, and Last sequencing of the story, define characters, setting, plot, theme (maybe), do Phonemic Awareness, and play with magnetic letters of there alphabet.

     I was shocked when I witnessed children who did not know a nursery rhyme.  I live in a college town where I feel most parents are educated.  I worked at one of the more affluent schools.  Children who hadn't heard, what I think are, familiar nursery rhymes?  The children of today are missing out if they don't get to watch Barney, the purple dinosaur on PBS.  If parents aren't teaching children nursery rhymes, someone must!  Hickory, Dickory, Dock! Kindergarten is a good place for children to hear and learn nursery rhymes.  From these easy rhymes phonemic awareness can happen.  Phonemic awareness differs from Phonics in that it is learning sounds in words(hearing and saying).  Phonics is when letters are recognized and actually matched with the sound they make (hearing, seeing and saying).  A phonemic awareness activity I might do after singing Hickory, Dickory, Dock with students would be to say, "Which word starts like hickory? Dog or Hog?"   Phonemic awareness, hearing sounds, needs to happen before children can learn to read.  Hearing sounds means one can distinguish words from one another.  Phonemes are those tiny sounds that we move around within a word.  What sounds are in CAT?   /c/ /a/ /t/  What sounds are in MOTHER? /ma/ /th/ /er/  What sound is at the beginning of CAT? At the ending of CAT? In the middle of CAT? This is an easy, simple little thing anyone can do just when passing time with a little one.  The only requirements, ears and a mouth!


*** Older children who are struggling as readers/writers may have been forced to do drill work as an attempt to help them learn.  Surely the thought process is, if we drill them enough eventually it should sink in.  Possibly that is true.  But it is also possible that we turn students off with this type of lesson.  I have been guilty of doing this.  My readings this week have emphasized, and reminded me of, the importance of focusing on the positive children do as readers and writers.  Encouraging attempts and successes leads to a student willing to practice more.  With more practice and continued exposer to text, both written and oral, students will make connections and start to mimic what they see.  Students should be given opportunities to be successful at reading, where they can make real connections and make meaning out of drill work they are doing.

blog post based on readings for this week:

Johnson, P. and Keier, K. 2010. Catching Readers Before They Fall. ch 7. I Thought I Knew How to Teach Reading, but Whoa! (107-130)

Cusumano, K. (2008, September).  Language Arts.  Every Mark on the Page: Educating Family and Community Members about Young Children's Writing. 86 (1), 9-17.

Rasinski, T.V. and Padak, N.  (2008) Teaching Phonemic Awareness. In Rasinski, T.V. and Padak, N. From Phonics to Fluency: Effective Teaching of Decoding and Reading Fluency in the Elementary School.  (42-60).  Boston, MA. Pearson Education, Inc.

Comprehension is Thought!

Ch. 2 notes: Struggling Readers

I have basically been teaching Marie Clay's technique of Reading Recovery for the past 13 years to mostly first graders at a local elementary school.  Over the years I have also taught this method to second graders (one's whom were struggling to keep up or make grade with their peers) and also with kindergarteners.  Probably every year I have asked, "How do I teach COMPREHENSION?" Always I have felt I fail at this lesson.  How reassuring today to finally know that comprehension is thought!  There is not a right or a wrong way to comprehend.  If one tries to break comprehension down into little parts, and make it seem like there is a set way to comprehend, then one fails to understand that each person grasps (comprehends/understands) things in ways that are meaningful to them...based on their own, personal background knowledge.

Class readings for this week felt so familiar to me.  Again, most of what I read, I know first hand.  I have been doing this for 13 years.  I know I am a wonderful literacy teacher...for first graders that is.  I want to be able to take my skills and use them at other grade levels too.

Here are points that struck me:

*"every child is capable of learning given the right opportunities, context and assistance."
(TRUE!  In 13 years I have not had a single child EVER fail at learning how to read.  Each may approach reading at their own pace and have their own lessons to learn to help them be the best they can be, but not a single one ever failed.  NOT ONE!)

*Struggling readers struggle because they just haven't developed a process in their brains to allow themselves to make meaning of what it is they are attempting to read! They don't realize the strategies they can use to help themselves, and in many instances, they don't realize they all ready KNOW what to do!  (Again, TRUE!  Time and again I have asked, "Does that make sense?","What does that start with?" ""What does that end with?" "Do you know what that might be a picture of?" etc.)

*Struggling readers wait for someone else to intervene!  Again, they just don't realize they DO know what they need to do to try to help themselves.  This needs to pair up with the classroom being a safe, supportive environment.  Students need to know they will be encouraged when they need help too. ("Have you tried substituting a word?" "Have you tried guessing?" "What makes sense to you?")

One of my favorite thoughts:
*" A struggling reader has a difficulty rather than a deficit...which implies that it can be altered with good teaching." (Lyons 2003, 94)

*"Good teaching means instruction is specific to the exact needs of the learner."
(In two words...flexible teaching!)

Ch. 3 notes: ZPD and Vygotsky

Last semester we discussed Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in our reading class.  From this week I re-learned that Vygotsky states "the role of education is to provide children with experiences that are in their ZPD - activities that challenge children but that can be accomplished with sensitive adult guidance." In a child's ZPD, modeling to a student is as important as gradually releasing the student to become an independent learner.  If a teacher attempts to teach children something they all ready know they may be bored.  If a teacher tries to teach a student something that is well above their abilities, they may be frustrated and shut down.  A good teacher remains flexible!  She must be willing to nix a bad lesson and try something different.

I found myself curious about the different types of speech used as a central learning tool to help a child/student become independent during teacher/student interactions.  Social, Private and Inner speech were each defined.  Social speech is how the teacher relays her lesson.  The words she uses, the strategies the models, etc.  Private speech would be the student using social speech lessons/strategies head and repeating them out loud, but in their own words.  I love the example of adults doing this...how many times have I walked into a room and then talked softly out loud to myself..."Why did I come in here? Oh that's right..." Children do the same thing as they are grasping a strategy. Inner speech happens within ones head as they use the learned strategies that work best for them and silently self-monitor for correctness.

It was a nice reminder that as an adult who is a proficient reader, I take for granted the fact that I integrate questioning, inferring and visualizing as I read.  Struggling readers need help learning how to do all of this at the same time.  By doing so, as they read they will make meaning of the text and with practice become fluid, proficient readers too.

Ch. 5 notes: Comprehensive Literacy Framework

*Comprehensive means complete and broad, not necessarily balanced.  Although the reading doesn't state this reminder here, it should...a good teacher constantly remains FLEXIBLE, basing her actions on what is most needed for the particular student she is working with at any given time.  Some students require more help than others.

*Reading and Writing
*to, with and by

Reading:
     Read Aloud = TO   (for fun or with a purpose)
     Shared Reading = WITH (big books)
     Guided Reading = WITH (literacy groups)
     Independent Reading = BY

Writing:
     Morning Message = TO
     Community Writing = WITH  (stories, invites, thank-yous, retelling, science notes, etc.)
     Independent Writing = BY  (Writer's Workshop)

A Comprehensive Literacy Framework works best in a classroom that values meaningful conversations, allows students to have choice and has a strong sense of community.  I believe this reflects back to the end of chapter 3 and the Sociaculturial Aspects of Teaching and Learning.  Children develop cognitively by learning and interacting with others.  A teacher needs to encourage collaboration within her classroom.  Being social is important in our society, hence, it has a place in education.

~ltk

Third Space...

I am working on understanding exactly what the THIRD SPACE refers to as studied by Dr. K Gutierez and defined in the Voice of Literacy podcast.

The podcast is short and I didn't feel as if I received enough information to clearly understand Third Space.  I found a published article on-line by Dr. Gutierez in Reading Research Quarterly from 2004 which explains the different "spaces."

According to this article, First, Second and Third spaces are defined as:

          First Space: (people's) home, community and peer network

         Second Space: formalized institutions such as work, school or church

         Third Space: space of knowledge and Discourse (with a capital D)

In order to wrap my brain around this, I need to understand the definition of Discourse versus discourse.

discourse: according to Merriam-Webster, is the use of words to exchange thoughts and ideas.

Discourse: according to James Paul Gee, a researcher in discourse analysis, and a nicely defining blog I found (this is a blog), is: "the combination of language with other social practices (behavior, values, ways of thinking, clothes, food, customs, perspectives) within a specific group"

I am understanding now why our class divided into groups and went out into non-formal settings to observe literacy that children are exposed to...my Rollerskating research last week. I am also understanding the connection/difference between teaching by using more authentic "life" experiences, to make more meaning for students, versus standardized cookie-cutter, read-from-the-book teaching.

Reading The Donut House article, by Powell and Davidson, made me want to say, "Of course you should (as a teacher) find ways to bring the community and real life experiences into your classroom!" The real key though, is how does a teacher balance her own teaching life...following the requirements of her school, of her grade (standards to be met), meet the needs of each individual student, help all to become the most they can be (receive passing tests scores), engage her students, connect with her parents, and remain true to herself?  I am hoping to gain many tips this semester to take with me into my classroom.

Don't worry, I'll share what I learn!

~ltk

Research: Literacy Dig...Rollerskating

In a group of five, we met on a cold and snowy weeknight evening to explore a rollerskating rink.  We were to pay attention through the eyes of a child being exposed to literacy.  Specifically we were thinking about a school-aged child, maybe 6-9 years old, knowing that most children learn to read around the age of 5 or 6 years old.  By literacy, we interpreted that to mean every word a child may see or hear. So both visual and oratory signs a child needs to understand.

The basics of the "dig" were that we met at our chosen location for about an hour.  We would each decide on an area/item to focus our attention.  We would observe for 30 minutes.  After we finished observing, we would come together and discuss our field notes.

I was to record bits of talk.  I observed that parents spoke to children about food they were eating.  Children interacted with other children, mostly off the rink. The DJ gave instructions over the loud speaker. The staff, who were both on the floor skating, and were behind the counters interacted with young and old patrons. And cell phones were in the hands of those I judged to be over the age of 10.

Particular words that were needed to be known by skaters were "Normal Direction" and "Everybody Skates."  The DJ announced races (Men/Women races), games (The Dice Game), and special skating/dancing (the Cha Cha Slide).  During the dice game, participants would need to understand how the game was played and know the meaning of "corner number four (one, two or three) comes off, please."  During the dance, skaters or participants would need to be able to follow the directions in the song.  Left, right, side, forward, back, stomp, jump, one, two, cha cha, etc.   Paying attention to the song choice, it was noted that the bleeped out versions of the popular songs were being played.

After our observations, our team met to discuss what we experienced.  We noted numerous signs on the  walls and doors.  There were restroom signs, menus to read and arcade games with many words on them.  T-shirt's had words too.  Many patrons had their cellphones out and were texting or connecting to friends who were not at the rink.

In the real world, we are exposed to more literacy than what is written on the pages of a book.  At the rollerskating rink I felt it was important to be able to use your eyes to interpret your needs.  Reading the menu is a plus if you are hungry, but one can simply look at what is available and ask how much it costs.  The staff was so helpful and pleasant, when they saw someone needing something they would simply step in, and help.  No one would struggle being unable to read here. There were plenty of visual cues to watch showing how something may or should be done.   Written literacy here merely supports what is happening visually.  Cautions signs are in place, but mostly as a form of legal, business protection for the owners of the rink.

What surprised us most at this location was the diversity of ages.  We visited the rink on a weeknight, when school was in session.  We saw an age range from 3 or 4 years old up to retirement age.  The largest population represented being the 20-30 year old age group.  We were also surprised that the staff consisted of all men, mostly all being retirement aged.

Everyone at the rink on the particular night we visited to do our research clearly could see we were not normal patrons.  I believe our note taking and clipboards may have tipped them off!  Even so, we were asked what we were doing.  Many opinions/information being offered up when we asked questions.  We were able to ask specific questions to a third grade girl, Emma (not her real name).

Through our conversation with Emma, it was clear to see how engaged she was with this particular activity.  She was very willing to explain the How's and Why's of this place to us.  After reading "The Donut House" article by Powell and Davidson, clearly the skills Emma had learned while at the skating rink had much more meaning to her, especially as she enthusiastically, in turn, explained things to us!  We learned from her that she also ice skates, so we were able to confirm that skills learned here were being used there as well.  Again, more meaning for her in terms of literacy skills being built!

From "The Donut House" article, "Tapping into students' "funds of knowledge" is inherently motivating, and hence children are more engaged in learning when they perceive authentic purpose for their efforts." We certain affirmed a "good job" in Emma as we sincerely thanked her for her help in answering our questions.

On a side note, our group was able to deepen our own sense of community by participating in this project.  We stayed much longer than the required time constraints, rented skates, and then enjoyed dinner out to decompress while we compared our field notes.

~ltk