Lit. Reference Project

I'm not sure about other people but while I was reading all of the readings for this week I could not help but think about my lit. reference project almost then entire time while I was reading. Article after article and chapter after chapter all dealt with how the different stages of the literacy learning process interconnect with each other. In my 301 class we were encouraged to focus a lot in our projects about how the different areas were all intertwined together with each other. My 301 prof met with me on several occasions to go over my specific project and one thing he stressed over and over again was that these topics are very hard to teach disconnectedly because it is very hard to view them disconnectedly and that children do not learn them disconnectedly either.

Specifically this week I think the readings really tried to connect comprehension to a few of the other aspects of literacy and here are a few quotes that I pulled from them that I think speak nicely to that effect:

From Tompkins:

“Students’ knowledge of words plays a tremendous role in comprehension because it’s difficult to comprehend a text that’s loaded with unknown words.” (pg. 260)

“Comprehension instruction involves teaching students about comprehension and the strategies they use to understand what they’re reading. The three components are explicit instruction, reading, and writing…teachers create an expectation of comprehension in these ways: involving students in authentic reading and writing activities every day, providing access to well-stocked classroom libraries, teaching students to use comprehension strategies, ensuring that students are fluent readers, providing opportunities for students to talk about the books they read, linking vocabulary instruction to underlying concepts.” (pg. 270)

“Motivation isn’t something that teachers or parents can force students; rather it’s an innate, intrinsic desire that students must develop themselves.” (pg. 278)

Gibbons - Chapter 5

“Language is learned through reading; it is not simply a prerequisite for it. Given appropriate texts, learners develop their language skills in the course of reading itself, perhaps because the patterns of language are ‘open to notice’ in written language in a way that they are not in spoken language.” (pg. 97)

Scott - Scaffolding Vocabulary Learning

“As a word is encountered repeatedly over time, information about the word builds up, and it moves up the continuum toward ‘known’” (pg. 279)

“We need to increase exposure to sophisticated and academic language with instruction that helps students become conscious of words as tools for powerful communication.” (pg. 289)

While these quotes do not encompass all of the readings assigned for this week I feel they do give a decent look into how information that we have learned in our previous classes can cross over into what it is and have a very immediate impact on the information we are learning now in 402.