So far this year, I have been impressed with my CT's structure of literature presentation within the classroom. In general, many pieces of literature are incorporated to specifically highlight a desirable personality trait or attribute, (off the top of my head: confidence, kindness, commitment, integrity, patience, open-minded) working to not only raise awareness of such characteristics, but to also encourage students to engage in similar behavior. In general, I have witnessed the success of this mode of literature integration as students repeatedly refer to these traits in their daily endeavors (with the help of the teacher pointing out traits at times). Students seem to go out of their way to demonstrate these traits, and their behavior is reinforced through positive reinforcement and recognition.
However, after reading about Critical Literacy and having been in TE 448, I am saddened to say, I have not seen literature addressing significant critical issues presented in the classroom. After engaging with children's literature addressing such critical issues through TE 448, I have become excited and even eager to employ a variety of texts in my own future classroom to provide students with an opportunity to grow in their understanding of the world around them. However, after reading the Langer article, I am now even more convinced this type of literature engagement is a must in every classroom. I previously only realized the obvious benefits of creating a culturally accepting, sound classroom environment prepared to effectively participate in the outside world. I now realize the many additional academic and social benefits that may stem from such critical engagement. Overall, critical engagement with literature is crucial.
I am at the same school at Jessie and I too have observed a ton of literature in the classroom. I am in a kindergarden classroom and literature is something that my teacher really focuses on. Also, because I am in a Chinese immersion class my teacher really only teaches literacy and sometimes social studies lessons while the other teacher teaches mostly math and some science. This means that my time spent in the classroom is revolved around literacy and reading/writing activities.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Jessie however, my teacher has done a good job at incorporating multicultural literature into her classroom. For example, last semester they were focusing on "all about me" and for my social studies lesson I was able to incorporate a childrens book called "What I Like About Me" that was all about children being happy with how they look and what sets them apart. This book was suggested to me along with some others by my CT and she also gave me some great ideas about how to incorporate them. Overall, I think the placement that I am in right now is and will be a great resource for literature resources as well as a good way for me to too literacy activities and lessons.
The two main focuses of my placement school are math and literacy, so I am able to see a great deal of reading and writing during my time in the classroom. My CT gives the students at least 20 minutes of silent reading time every day, even more if they are behaving well. Everyone has their own reading box with 10-15 books at their reading level. Additionally, my CT does read-alouds to the class once or twice a day. The first read-aloud is generally related to a seasonal topic or whatever they are doing in class that day. The second is a few chapters from a Junie B. Jones book, which the kids really enjoy. Although her strategies are helpful in getting the students excited about reading, they see little to no books that could be considered "critical" literature. I think that if more literature about serious or important topics were presented to the students, it might be able to make up for their lack of exposure to social studies and science.
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