Broadening our understanding of what it means to be literate Thursday, January 25, 2018

Before I forget--- Literacy analysis due on February 8 Reflection 1, which requires an interview of a “person in the profession” due on February 15

Agenda 1. Group definition of literacy (15 minutes) BLL Ch. 1 –What is literacy? Examples of literacies (45 minutes) What aspects of your literacies are important? Analysis of your interests and hobbies (30 minutes) BLL Ch. 2—What is reading? Thoughts on the first assignment due Feb 8 (20 minutes)

Literacy…a common view

1. Group Definition of Literacy Create a working definition of literacy and be able to provide examples of the application of the definition.

From BLL, Ch. 1 Any message that is received is a text and any text that carries meaning is read. Literacy is the ability to take in information, understand it, and reproduce it by applying it to real life situations. Literacy takes on different contexts based on different cultures, societies, technologies, personal beliefs, etc. Literacy can also take on many forms; it includes but is not limited to: reading, writing, speaking, art, theater, music, technology, and vocational expressions. Literacy is an evolving process that involves making personal connections based on prior experiences in a given context. It is not limited to reading and writing, but extends to understanding different auditory, visual, and kinesthetic stimuli. Literacy is the ongoing process of connecting acquired knowledge and abilities to critically engage in language, written text and other symbol systems.

2. Understanding, application, analysis, and critique of symbols and other information…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy5HEszYA04

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sZblvNV4xw

3. The texts and literacies you are good at… A hobby or activity you are good at (from last week) Describe the symbols or sources of information you use for your activity… Describe the types of questions you ask of your text… Describe the type of background knowledge or skills you need to be proficient at being literate in the activity or hobby Describe the difference between a novice and an expert…

…from chapter 2…. “The sense you make of a text does not depend first of all on the marks on the paper. It depends first on the sense you bring to it” (Goodman, 1996). 

Schema Theory Schema theory explains that a reader must be able to make a reasonable connection between the ideas in a message and an existing schema (mental model) in the reader's mind. (BLL, Ch. 2) Essentially, taking the current information and somehow connecting it to what you already know

Implications for your classroom practice…. A novice may be able to describe a text, but not distinguish it between other, similar texts or apply larger context to the text. An expert can describe a text and distinguish it between other, similar texts. Can evaluate “quality”, among other factors.

Growing level of expertise Novice

In our classrooms, the demonstration of literacy often comes in the form of verbalization…

4. Analysis of oral reading—beginning to assess literacy Pace—speed at which the reading takes place—is it appropriate for the context? Expression—monotone? Variance in tone, pacing, “characterization” of the passage? Insertions—are words that are meaningful and don’t often change the meaning Substitutions—what were they and did they change meaning? Omissions—Not including words that are in text Self—corrections—going back to fix mistakes Repetitions—saying a word or phrase more than once

Describe aspects of these different reading and verbalization samples What background knowledge is needed to demonstrate literacy? Vocabulary background needed to demonstrate literacy? Concepts needed to demonstrate literacy? Given these small samples, how would you describe Brian’s “literacy” in these two areas?

Describe aspects of these different reading and verbalization samples What background knowledge is needed to demonstrate literacy? Vocabulary background needed to demonstrate literacy? Concepts needed to demonstrate literacy? Given these small samples, how would you describe “literacy” in these samples areas?

In different ways, Brian and Joel demonstrated understanding of parts, but perhaps not “wholes”

5. Implications for your classroom practice From content area reading to disciplinary literacy—evolution of what “literacy” means in classrooms

From content area reading to disciplinary literacy—evolution of what literacy “means” in classrooms Focus on the mechanics of reading; lower-order, in many cases. “every teacher is a reading teacher” Content area literacy Developing critical thinking skills in the content Disciplinary literacy How to examine texts from disciplinary standpoints

Subject area examp1e 1: Subject area example 2: Concept being studied   Subject area examp1e 1: Subject area example 2: Concept being studied Vocabulary needed? Describe symbols, sources of information, or “texts” used in this context Describe the types of questions you ask the texts you interact with. Describe the type of background knowledge or skills you need to be proficient at being literate in the concept Describe the difference between a novice and an expert in this concept Describe common mistakes novices make (and not see) that an expert might find obvious

Overall impressions of this evening? Implications for your classroom? Implications for your understanding of literacy outside your classroom? Other thoughts?

While we’re on the topic…. The first assignment is due on February 8. As you begin, it may be helpful to talk about how to approach it. The process is as important as the product….

Literacy analysis project—link your Weebly due Feb Literacy analysis project—link your Weebly due Feb. 8—It may be helpful to have this chart at the outset of your project…analyze and reflect as you engage with the texts…

6. Practicing the first assignment http://www.masanyc.com/ Or https://oyc.yale.edu/astronomy/astr-160/lecture-1# (part 6)

Literacy analysis project—link your Weebly due Feb. 8 To experience growth in new literacies, you will be doing two activities side-by-side; A. Experiencing three diverse texts:   1. Moje, E. B., Ciechanowski, K. M., Kramer, K., Ellis, L., Carrillo, R., & Collazo, T. (2004). Working toward third space in content area literacy: An examination of everyday funds of knowledge and Discourse. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(1), 38-70. 2. Selections from; Bing, Xu. (2014). Book from the Ground: From Point to Point. MIT Press. 3. Weebly.com (Explore, create, and grow comfortable in the Weebly website platform.) As you do, work to analyze your understanding of this site as a text as you did for the other two.

B. A narrative responding to the following questions: 1 B. A narrative responding to the following questions: 1. What are your initial impressions of the text? Focus on both observable and emotional aspects. 2. Describe questions you had regarding the vocabulary or prior knowledge needed for each text. 3. Describe any attractive or unattractive characteristics of each text. Did these characteristics assist in your literacy or hinder your literacy? 4. Describe the characteristics of an individual who might struggle with these texts. 5. Describe an approach you might use to assist an individual in understanding these texts. 6. Describe your impressions of the text once you feel you have a solid understanding of it. Focus on both observable and emotional aspects. 7. Describe how experiencing the text might have changed your understanding of literacy.

For next week… BLL Chapter 4