TEXT: true, togetherness, and too important!

Learning to read starts long before a child enters school, and reading is what helps a child

become a good student. Prior to entering the academic world, a family’s involvement can affect the child’s literacy skills dramatically. I truly believe that one’s love (or dislike) for reading starts at home. If, however, a child is not fortunate to have this love nurtured at home, then it is the responsibility of the educator to instill it. Having success in fostering a love for reading in a child involves selection—a selection in the forms of literature, book styles, books themselves, and how you present it to the classroom. Each child will be different. Perhaps a book club would be useful, depending on the age group. Regardless, most children appreciate authenticity. Oftentimes, children need authentic and meaningful objectives to build on their literacy and writing skills. What are they writing? Who are they writing to?

Another thing to consider when trying to build enthusiasm for literacy and reading comprehension is EXCITEMENT. If we want our children to be excited about it, then WE need to be excited about it!

-Peer interaction

-Games

-Contests

-And involvement from other resources that display enthusiasm are great means to unraveling a well-rounded child. For example, take a trip to the newspaper print building, the library, or have a guest speaker come in.

Reading is All Around Us

ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT

Environmental Print is everywhere, and being able to recognize and read it is one of the beginning stages of literacy development. Essentially, environmental print is the letters, words, numbers, and even colors found in logos and signs of products, stores, and street signs such as Barbie, McDonalds, and STOP. There is an innumerable amount of opportunities that provide (emerging) readers with the opportunity to interact with various forms of print in the environment around them. As adults, it can be easy to look over the importance of a child's use of environmental print, but it truly is the first type of print a child learns to read.

Keeping this in mind, there are many things we can do inside and out of the classroom to engage our children in the relevant realm of reading. Our classroom will practice use of it in multiple ways including:

-Classroom discussions of favorite toys and other brands

-Classroom activities such as "Dine-in Day" where we turn the classroom into a restaurant that includes menus, recipes, and invites to families and other participating classrooms!

REMEMBER: Environmental Print is just one of the many ways we can instill confidence in our young children. Using contextual cues of things that excite them, we are essentially infusing enthusiasm into those things they were already excited about--but now with a literary take!

When this happens, children will inevitably learn literacy skills at a swift pace; thus, transitioning them into the use of "school" print more easily as well.

READ ON CHILDREN AND PARENTS! :)

Creating The Third Space

FAMILY IS EVERYTHING.

As it should be in any realm of education, working closely with the family is crucial for all members of this special partnership. Since a child divides their time quite equally between school and home, it is especially when there is frequent and friendly communication about the practices in both environments. Every child that enters their classroom has a different story. Every one has a unique social and cultural upbringing that gives way to their academic lifestyle.

That being said, let me shed light on The Third Space. Creating a third space where a child's 'funds of knowledge' (79) from home become evident in the classroom is vital for success. In order to make the connection of the third space, a teacher must investigate and explore each child. Although it may seem overwhelming, taking the time to go beyond knowing the culture and family setup of a child will end up creating ease in the long (and possibly short) run.

When you get to know an innumerable amount of details about each child, you can plan your curriculum especially suited for them. Inevitably, children learn how literacy is understood, valued, and practiced within their families formally and informally. Whether it be from cultural practices or pop culture, literacy is everywhere!

RESOURCES: Packet handed out in class. ISBN: 978 85856 459 3

Reading In Motion--A fun way to early literacy instruction!

READING IN MOTION!

About "READING IN MOTION":

Originally named, 'Whirlwind Performance Company', this non-profit arts organization was founded in 1983 by three artists. At this time, the program mostly focused on the arts in school systems. However, in the mid 90's, it became clear to the Board of Directors that the biggest challenge within the realm of education was children's literacy. From there, the company began to shift its focus toward improving the reading skills of all children, especially those from where the program was founded--Illinois, at the Chicago Public Schools.

MISSION:

"Reading In Motion’s mission is to get every at-risk student reading at or above grade level within the first years of school through the power and discipline of the arts. To accomplish this we partner with schools and teachers to create and deliver an innovative, supplemental reading program that uses music and drama to engage students. Reading In Motion is currently in 140 Chicago-area classrooms and has helped more than 45,000 students since it was founded in 1983."

MORE:

Essentially, the program strives on innovative use of music and drama to engage young students to not only get them reading but to also get them reading above grade level! The program has been derived from research studies. The Reading In Motion program takes on the process of evaluating the program and its participants in a number of different ways. They are assessed using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) at the beginning and end of each session.

"The Reading In Motion program is a series of carefully designed sequential curricula. Each step builds upon the previously mastered skill, one after the other until the student reaches the final goal of proficient reading. The sequence was developed from our years of experience working with students and is based on well-documented research about how children learn."

This is a program I would really like to implement into my curriculum. Kids need enthusiasm in nearly everything you want to encourage. By using music and drama and choreography, this can be made possible for eager readers. Check out ReadingInMotion.org for more information--including a video!

RESOURCES:

http://www.readinginmotion.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=10