Covering the Basics

For this weeks reading, we had two articles – Every Mark on the Page by Casumano and Phonemic Awareness by Rasinski – as well as Chapter 7 “I Thought I Knew How to Teach Reading, but Whoa!” from Catching Readers before They Fall by Johnson and Keier.  Every Mark on the Page was an article intended to inform parents and interested members of the community on children’s development as writers. Casumano states that “Too often. I have seen the fun go out of writing when family~

get involved, especially when they demand adult writing conventions from six- and seven-year-olds.” Instead, he urges parents to look for signs that the child is working to communicate ideas through a symbol system, which is, after all, the ultimate goal of writing.

Too much focus on spelling and grammar conventions at an early age can take the joy out of writing and actually stunt a child’s growth. Also, it is undoubtedly easy to see first all the mistakes a child has made, from rampant misspelling to forgetting capitalization or punctuation, etc. One must remember to take note of the things a child does well, of the conventions they have learned through simple exposure that we have used for so long that we take them for granted.

In the example given by Casumano, a child began with “once upon a time” based on her love of fairy tales. Her 3^rd person narrative had a beginning, a middle, and an end, was written from left to right and top to bottom. Casumano adds that, “The story is about a flag flying, not about the shape of her letters, the spelling of the words, or the lack of punctuation, yet those last three elements may be the first thing an adult notices about the story” (11).

The latter two readings supported what I suspected from the reading The Donut House (discussed in a previous blog). While situating literacy in topics children find personally interesting and rewarding, there is still value in studying the basics. Phonics is an important part of learning to read! It is not the only part, of course, and the “just sound it out” strategy often falls flat because English is not the most phonetically-friendly language. The trick seems to be to balance basic skills such as phonics, phonemic awareness, and one-to-one voice/print match with analytic skills such as thinking strategically and self-monitoring. Please understand that when I say ‘basic’ I do not mean simplistic. These skills can be challenging for some students, but that should not condemn them! They are simply the building blocks, the foundation of reading, and should be made accessible to every student.

            One part of Rasinski’s article that I found particularly interesting was the usefulness of playing with sound from a young age. This can include nursery rhymes, chants, and songs, especially if they include playing with sounds (like Hey diddle diddle). One exercise I thought would be enjoyable (even for me, because I like word puzzles) is called “Hinky Pinky”.  A clue describes an two word object or idea that rhymes. Here are a few examples:

a bashful insect = shy fly


a bed on fire = hot cot


a better cafe = finer diner


a better knife = nicer slicer

etc.

Without sound and word play, it becomes very difficult for children to differentiate between individual sounds, syllables, and words. There is a child in a 6^th grade class I am working in who was having a great deal of trouble writing Haiku. The literacy coach at his school discovered that this was because he did not really understand what a syllable was! Sometimes certain skills fall through the cracks, especially when a child is below grade level and always working to catch up, and this deficiency is now being corrected. He has one Haiku completed and is working on three more. But how much easier would his education up to this point have been if he had understood this basic skill?
After much reading and reflecting over the past year as I journey toward my teaching certification, it seems to me that teaching is nothing so much as a balancing act: teaching convention and encouraging invention, complimenting organization with controlled chaos, filling the role of both social worker and professor, finding time for the emotive, artistic subjects as well as the standards, etc. It's like trying to walk a tight wire and somehow carry 20-some kids along with you.
On a completely different note, I had my first day doing field experience in a new school today and it was great! Such adorable little 1^st graders J I bonded with one girl over falling asleep during the Super Bowl and with another about my earrings. And just in general, they seemed happy to get to know me and I them. I’m looking forward to a wonderful semester with them and, of course, with their lovely teacher! After some further reflection - not on theory but on the actual experience of being in a classroom - teaching is not just a balancing act. It is also everyday interactions with young, energetic, creative minds. It is also fun.