Spelling development over the course of one child’s kindergarten year

I read with great interest about the stages of spelling development in the text (Literacy’s Beginnings: Supporting Young Readers and Writers), and looked back at my daughter’s portfolio of kindergarten work to see if I could identify her progression through these stages. I could clearly see evidence of these stages; she appears to have started the year somewhere between emergent spelling and early letter-name spelling. Here, in the first week or two of school, she is using the beginning consonant “K” for couch.

By the end of the year, she seems to be well into middle or perhaps later letter-name spelling…  

    

But I was even more interested in the authors’ statement that the role of the teacher is not to categorize the student but to support the student’s “continued development so that over time, his spellings resemble later stages more often than earlier stages” (p.106). This is a spot-on description of what I saw in the progression of my daughter’s work over the course of the year. She began the year by needing a great deal of teacher support, but as she gained competence, the teacher gradually scaled back on her scaffolding.

Early on in the year, the teacher was sometimes writing her dictated words…

Or writing the words in a yellow marker for my daughter to write over…

As my daughter learned to write her letters, she did so painstakingly, but was still supported by having the text available for her to refer to…

As the year progressed, she was able to write more words independently, and the scaffolding was gradually removed.  Now, we see fairly simple words, with many high frequency words, others that she is trying to work out sound-by-sound, and others that she is writing from a model. These sentences are from February and March…

By April, she is fairly secure with high frequency words and independently trying to figure out some other mysteries, (i.e. “bacre” for bakery, “becus” for because and “cockys” for cookies).

By the end of the year, she is independently writing, with lots of invented spellings… 

Looking back at her work over the course of the year gave me an even greater appreciation for her teacher, who gave her generous support at the beginning of the year and gradually backed away from that support as she became more competent. She moved from not being able to identify or write all of her letters to becoming secure in writing all her upper and lower case letters, developing a solid grasp of most consonant sounds, and having a good understanding of short vowel sounds as well as a beginning awareness of long vowel sounds (i.e. using a vowel marker to make the long E sound in “beich”).

Comparing her work from the beginning to the end of the year reinforces to me the great leap that occurs during this crucial year. 

McGee, L.M. & Richgels, D.J. (2012). Literacy’s beginnings: Supporting young readers and writers (6^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Concepts of print in a play-based preschool classroom

After our discussion last week about concepts of print, especially all of the elements that were discussed in the article “Look: Examining the Concept of Learning to Look at Print," I began to ponder how these concepts of print are introduced and reinforced in the 4-year-old play-based preschool classroom where I assist a few days a week.

In looking at the list of skills involved in concepts of print included in the article (p. 135), I noted that even in this play-based environment, we do touch on many of these elements. There are many daily routines involving print, we have centers devoted to print and writing, and the students incorporate print into their pretend play.

When students arrive in the morning, their first task is to sign in. The children are at different levels in their ability to write their names, but all have progressed to some extent since the beginning of the school year. For the students just learning to write their names, this arrival time offers an opportunity to sit down with the student for a minute or two and write a few letters of their name together. Students are also asked to sign the artwork they produce during the day, offering them additional opportunities to practice writing their names.

During morning circle time, student jobs are written out on the board, and our day in the classroom begins with reading through who is responsible for each job. A few of these jobs involve print directly. For example, our “attendance” person puts the pre-printed names of his or her classmates on a magnetic board. Here is an opportunity to point out the directionality of the letters (putting the names right side up, horizontally) and some letter features (Lucy and Lealia both start with the same letter). Another daily job is “math survey.” One student polls his or her classmates on questions such as “Do you have a sister?” or “What is your favorite season?” and writes tally marks for each response, reinforcing that print has a purpose. Another daily routine involving print is the time for read-alouds, which is obviously a wonderful opportunity to bring print alive by discussing the characters or setting of the story, gathering information, making predictions, and making personal connections to the text.

There are also some centers in the class that are devoted to print, either on a daily basis or periodically. One permanent feature is the writing center, stocked with markers, paper, stickers, scissors, etc… where we can often find children writing letters, lists, invitations, or whatever else they are interested in. Students often visit the writing center to fetch materials they need for their pretend play in other centers. The other day some students set up a stage in the block area and made tickets for their performance with the materials from the writing center. The book center is a cozy nook in the corner of the classroom with two comfy chairs and displays of the books that have recently been read during read-alouds. Students frequently look or read through these books on their own or ask an adult to re-read them. It is gratifying that when one child asks me to read a book, several other children will often join in to listening to the book being read.

One or two of the centers in the class also often feature a print-based concept. The other day the children put together multiple small puzzles that formed words with corresponding pictures—each piece contained one letter of a word and part of the picture (i.e. p-i-g). Journal writing is also an occasional center activity. The student tells a story (most dictate this to an adult, who writes it down), based either on a prompt or his or her own idea, and then illustrates the story he or she has created.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all of the print-based activities in the class. My point is that even in a play-based classroom, there are plenty of opportunities for children to experience print, and I would assert that since much of it involves their own play, and nearly all of it involves their own choice, it becomes meaningful for them.

Yet, looking at this list and comparing it to the list in the article, we do a more thorough job of placing print in context and giving meaning to print than we do in emphasizing concepts of print involving the alphabet. Most of the students’ work on the alphabet involves their own name. The lead teacher is highly committed to maintaining a play-based environment and letting the children fully experience and appreciate being 4 (rather than preparing them for kindergarten in an academic way), and I am wondering how to introduce more of these alphabetic concepts of print into the classroom in a playful way.

Hovland, M. R., Gapp, S. C., & Theis, B. L. (2011). Look: examining the concept of learning to look at print. Reading Improvement, 48(3), 128-138. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/913286138?accountid=11752

Me, my daughter, and the Fry Words app

“Whatcha doing?” my 8-year old daughter asked me the other day.

“I’m checking out this spelling app,” I replied as she looked over my shoulder. “Would you like to try it?”

“Sure,” she said, snatching the iPhone out of my hand.

I began to explain how to use the app but was quickly silenced. “I can figure it out,” she said. And she did.

We were looking at an app called "Fry Words," which is one of the apps mentioned in last week’s article (A Framework for Using iPads to Build Early Literacy Skills) about integrating technology into the classroom. It has lists of the most frequently used words in writing and reading English.  The app I downloaded has 100 lists of 10 words each. The lists increase in difficulty from “a,” “and,” “in,” “is,” “it,” “that,” “the,” “to,” and “you” in the first list to “book,” “chalk,” “computer,” “crayon,” “letter,” “magazine,” “newspaper,” “pen, “pencil, and “sign” in the last list. For each list, the voice on app says the word and the student taps on the correct word from 6 choices provided.

As a third grader, my daughter knew all of the words she encountered, so we explored the “custom” function on the app. To test out this part of the app, I reached for my daughter’s spelling book to look up the list of words she is currently working with. Before I could get very far, though, she commandeered the iPhone and the spelling book and disappeared into the basement. About 15 minutes later she re-emerged with her list of spelling words entered into the application; she had typed the words into the app and recorded herself saying each of the words. (Her list focused on the long u sound: clue, cool, grew, lose, mood, move, noon, rule, scoop, true.)

What struck me about this experience was my daughter’s eagerness to explore the app. It is not like doing spelling homework is her favorite activity, but she was eager to see what she could do with the app. Secondly, she had absolutely no problem figuring out what the app could do. To create a custom list, you simply give the list a name (my daughter titled hers “words are awesome”), and the next screen prompts you to “click to add text” and add your voice by tapping the “record” button (next to the picture of the microphone). That’s it. How simple is that?

I could envision a center in my daughter’s spelling class containing a couple of iPads, where students would be asked to enter in the spelling list they are currently working with. For this particular app at my daughter’s grade level, the benefit seems to be in creating the list rather than actually playing the game.  But, it would also probably be fun for the students to play the game hearing each other’s voices (which would probably just take a minute or two).

Relating this brief experience back to the article we read, I would agree with the article that the teacher would need to introduce the key concept of the lesson (different ways letters make the long u sound) before the students use the app. This key concept would most likely be lost just by using the app. Moreover, I also agree with the authors when they note that, “Apps offer a fun and motivational way for students to practice early literacy concepts.”  I think my daughter would agree too.

Reference:
Northrop, L., & Killeen, E. (2013). A framework for using iPads to build early literacy skills. The Reading Teacher, 66(7), 531. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1322108843? accountid=11752

Listen up! Let's hear it for audiobooks

As my daughter and I were listening to The Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart while we were driving home from school the other day, I thought about how much she has benefitted from listening to audiobooks through her emergent literacy years and the role that audiobooks can play in a literacy-rich classroom.

Although my daughter has always loved books, learning to read did not come easily to her. She spent her kindergarten year learning to write and identify each letter along with sound-letter correspondences, and she spent the bulk of her first grade year laboriously sounding out words and gradually developing her sight word vocabulary. So, how did she maintain her love for literature through this difficult decoding phase? One way was certainly through audiobooks.

Because of audiobooks, my daughter could enjoy literature that she had no chance of being able to read at age 5 or 6. Not only did this keep her love for literature alive, it also enhanced her listening skills, increased her vocabulary, and made it possible for her to absorb and think about much more complex and involved stories than she could read on her own. When her decoding skills were advanced enough so that reading became easier and more enjoyable, she had a more developed vocabulary and greater comprehension skills due to the time she spent listening to audiobooks.

In looking for some validation about my esteem for audiobooks, I found this title: Listening to Learn: Audiobooks Supporting Literacy by Sharon Grover and Lisette Hannegan. 

This book argues for the value of audiobooks, includes suggestions of audiobooks for different age groups, and discusses specific ideas of how to use these books in class. The authors point out that audiobooks can be used for listening by a whole class, by small groups or individually in classroom listening centers, or at home (especially in the car!). The authors also emphasize that audiobooks can be especially useful for English language learners and can act as a “scaffold that allows students to experience literature above their actual reading level,” and therefore allow English language learners to participate more fully in class discussions about literature (p.12). Along these lines, audiobooks can also play a role in differentiating instruction for learners of different abilities or strengths, supporting students with reading difficulties and developing students’ listening skills.

On a personal note, listening to these stories with my daughter has made for some pretty interesting conversations. Since I am not reading the books to her, we are equals in listening to the books, so we are both free to make predictions, discuss a character’s motivation, or just share a laugh.

So, if you are not yet a fan of audiobooks, I encourage you and your students to give them a try.

A Trip to Reggio Emilia... and Back

While educational philosophy is not a topic I typically ponder on a daily basis, this issue has been more relevant to me lately as I begin my new job assisting in a 4 year-old classroom this week. Since my daughter attended the school, the lead teacher has integrated more elements from the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education in her class. So, to be more useful in the classroom, and just because I am curious, I am attempting to learn a bit more about this perspective. Here is an article from the January 2006 issue of Language Arts, “Teachers and Children Inquire into Reggio Emilia.” (The first thing I learned is that Reggio Emilia is a place, a town in Italy, where this philosophy originated and is still practiced.) This article is useful for a beginner like me because it gives a clear overview of Reggio and also discusses how three teachers unfamiliar with the philosophy integrated it into their classrooms, including their doubts, questions and challenges along the way.

Some key elements of Reggio are: a focus on child-centered learning, where teachers follow the lead of the students in designing inquiry-based long-term projects. The examples from the article are projects on mushrooms, seeds and an on-site pond. Children and teachers work to document their investigations on panels or posters displaying artwork, artifacts, photographs and excerpts of conversations. Multiple intelligences, especially the arts, are essential in the investigations, as children use a variety of modes and materials to “observe, investigate and represent their world” (Multiple Paths to Learning section, para. 2). The role of the teacher is as a “researcher and collaborator,” who assists in “planning for possibilities,” suggests directions for projects and helps “provoke and sustain children’s interests” (What is Reggio Emilia section, para. 9). To put the Reggio perspective into the educational philosophy terminology we discussed last week, it aligns mostly with the Progressive perspective, with a healthy dose of Reconstructionism--the Gardner multiple intelligences. That’s good, since that is where I would place myself.

That’s all great, but what does this have to do with emergent literacy? Is this (and not just Reggio, but other Progressive/Reconstructive approaches) an effective method to teach kids how to read? Some pluses: The first and most obvious is that this method engages kids and gets them actively involved not just in class but in actually designing their learning, rather than being passive vessels to be filled by the teacher’s knowledge. Secondly, Reggio has a broad view of literacy. By employing the panels displaying not just print, but also artifacts, artwork, and photos, children who have a variety of strengths will be validated and engaged in school. This benefit was explicitly mentioned by the teachers in the journal article. Yet, despite my leanings toward this child-centered philosophy, I also have doubts. Can all the “basics” that children need to learn in order to become competent readers and writers be taught through this inquiry-based method? Are there some elements, such as letter formation, sound-letter correspondences, and phonics conventions, which are better taught in a more systematic, teacher-directed way?

I suppose that my answer at this point is that a combination approach may be most effective. Even my daughter’s self-declared Progressive school has a separate, daily learning time for phonics in grades K-2, in addition to the more Progressively appropriate Readers’ and Writers’ Workshops. But, I am not convinced that this is the “right” answer, and I will continue to explore this essential question.

Clyde, J. A., Miller, C., Sauer, S., Liebert, K., & al, e. (2006). Teachers and Children Inquire into
     Reggio Emilia. Language Arts, 83(3), 215-226. Retrieved from 
     http://search.proquest.com/docview/196862815

About Me

I am Cathy Lawler, and I am a former middle school history teacher currently returning to graduate school after taking several years off to stay home with my daughter, now 8 years old and entering the 3rd grade. While I have always been interested in reading education, I have gained an even greater curiosity about the topic as I have observed my daughter and her peers learn to read.

During my previous graduate program, we were encouraged to look at students as learners and teachers as coaches. I worked to implement this philosophy into my own teaching at independent schools in both Washington, DC and Denver, CO. My interest in active, child-centered learning continues today, and I would like to see how this applies to reading education.
Additionally, this school year I will be assisting in the 4-5 year old class at my daughter's former nursery school, a play-based preschool in Silver Spring.
I live in Silver Spring with my husband of 16 years, my daughter, and my cat.