Building a Knowledge Chps 2-3 Reflection

"...learners must be free to approximate the desired model-mistakes are essential for learning to occur." 

chapter 2 page 26

To often as educators we try to force perfection rather than attempts. This is evident in many teachers' dialogue. For example, a kindergardener spells 'wish' as 'yish.' One may want to rescue this  child from the spelling mishap; however, to an extent, allow students to experiment. Students should do their best, rather than worrying about getting a perfect score or praise. 

"Families influence literacy development in three ways (Leichter,1984): through interpersonal interactions (literacy experiences shared by family members), the physical environment (literacy materials found in the home), and the emotional and motivational climate (the relationships and their attitudes towards literacy.)"

chp 2 page 33

I found this interesting. So much of a child's willingness to learn hinges on their background. As a child, my parents encouraged reading, trips to the library, and other learning opportunities such as museums. As I result, I love reading and encourage others to do so. Others may not have the same access or time to explore libraries or read for fun. Therefore, they haven't truly discovered the love of reading. Not every person is going to enjoy reading, but one must ask, why? What turned them off of reading? When did this occur, and how we can encourage them to get back into reading? 

"Walqui suggests that teachers use the following strategies to create classrooms that are particularly supportive for adolescent ELLs .....amplify and enrich--rather than simplify--the language of the classroom, to give students more opportunities to learn the concepts involved."

chp 3 page 51

I think this is a common misconception of both teachers with ELLs and special needs children. All students should be surrounded by variety and more challenging words than they are used to. This is not to say that one doesn't use smaller words; however, one may want to increase a child's vocabulary and explain the word with other smaller words they are used to. A stronger vocabulary will help their reading as well as their communication skills.