Observation Journal 2b: Reading Efficacy Development

Observation Journal 2b – Reading and Writing
Prompt (Week of 02/26/18): Reading and Writing – Observe a reading activity and/or a writing activity and be prepared to discuss; be prepared to discuss the stages in literacy development.
Observation 1: The reading and writing process is iterative and emphasizes ownership and the natural development of reading efficacy. The reading curriculum is partly comprised of workbook and flash card exercises which help the children develop an understanding of phonics. Flash card vocabulary is tailored individually and varies from child to child. For example, in one session, Becky was going over flashcards with June and realized that June was guessing on most of the cards. Becky asked June to instead try …show more content…
Within this environment, students are taught on an individualized basis that tracks each child’s unique progress, allowing Winnie and the other teachers to be sensitive to specific needs. Moreover, the reading curriculum blends elements from two styles of instruction as described by Cohen: a traditional, parts-oriented “alphabet approach”, as well as a wholistic approach which emphasizes the meaning prior to the deconstruction of whole words into their constituent letters. The usefulness of such a hybrid model is made obvious through Becky and June’s interaction. Where June was unable to recall vocabulary based on immediate, whole-word recognition, Becky could call upon deconstructive processes (e.g. by using knowledge of phonics and letter recognition to aid recall) to reinforce June’s ability to actively distinguish words, in turn solidifying the desired connection between words and meaning. By equipping the children with a diverse and flexible set of strategies for reading, Winnie and the other teachers enable the children to learn according to their individual cognitive strengths and give them the tools to develop new constructive methods as their reading abilities improve. Moreover, giving children control of their own narratives and vocabulary banks makes the learning process intrinsically meaningful and motivational by making reading “vital to …show more content…
The two authors outline six main strategies that children employ to aid in word recognition, the first and sixth (which aided in the spelling of the word) of which can be observed in Nate’s case. Interestingly, Nate’s misidentification of the word “crocodile” due to a fixation on the first letter in the word is surprising given the fact that he was later able to use phonics to distinguish letters which appear in the middle and end of the word “chapter”. Though broad conclusions about all children cannot be made, Nate’s case may be indicative that children do not necessarily incorporate and combine different reading rules and strategies as soon as they are invented, and that each of the rules are not necessarily prerequisites for others; at least initially, they may utilize them separately and preferentially based on circumstance or convenience. The natural assembly of these different rules would thus occur over time, making the speed at which rules are assembled potentially one of many factors which distinguish “fast” from “slow” readers. This does not necessarily contradict, but instead complicates, the linear, dependent model of rule discovery and differentiation as described by Willert and Kamii. Winnie’s prompting of Nate to use inventive spelling strategies demonstrates how teachers can encourage children to

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Observation Journal 2b: Reading Efficacy Development

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