Sunday, January 29, 2012

Jones Family's Culture

The two readings for this week bring much motivation to me wanting to teach children how important and interesting reading can be. In The Jones Family's Culture of Literacy article, Amy Johnson writes about the endless amount of exposure to literature this family has from childhood into adulthood. I had never thought of spirituality being included in literacy exposure, but it makes complete sense. Each and every opportunity this family had with literacy, they used to help the children become more comfortable with and enjoy reading. They didn't just narrow it down to books, they included finances, numbers, church, print in the environment, etc. Chapter 3 in the book also explains the importance of giving children this exposure at a young age, so they will have the foundation and motivation to read once they get into school. Once, they are in schools, having a print-rich classroom will keep them motivated to learn new words and incorporate new vocabulary in their everyday lives.
1. What do you do with children who have been immersed in literacy since they were young, and still have no motivation to read?

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4 comments:

  1. Rebecca CherryJanuary 29, 2012 at 8:10 PM

    I agree with you about the spirituality and other relevant topics being a good way to promote literacy habits early on. I never thought of road signs or menu items as "reading" but I can see how it lays a foundation for young children. I think that children with little motivation to read need someone to maybe show them how reading can be linked more with their main hobbies or interests. Instead of reading for reading's sake, maybe they can read to learn more about cars or dinosaurs if that's what they love.

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  2. Erica JonesJanuary 30, 2012 at 8:30 AM

    i think that this is our place to challenge our students bc if they are adjusted to the idea of reading, but simply do not choose to... it is probably because they are either bored by the content (not relevant to them) or by the reading level required to read the book. Either way, we should assess our students individually to ensure we meet their needs as readers.

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  3. S. MathisonJanuary 30, 2012 at 5:57 PM

    In the past, when I have thought of literacy, images of story books came to mind. The Jones Family article definitely opened my eyes to the countless ways foster literacy. As a mother myself, I now feel a responsibility to present "reading" in as many forms as possible, not just in story book format. Along the same lines, I think a great way to motivate an uninspired reader is to offer some non-traditional ways to experience reading that may catch the reader's attention.

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  4. Chevy EdingtonJanuary 31, 2012 at 3:50 AM

    i feel that if you have a student that does not have a desire to read, whether that students has experience or not, the teacher should present reading in a different way. Start with a game, then maybe a picture book (with little to no words). then maybe introduce a easy recipe or a short set of directions. After that you could introduce a comic book, or a children's book that is humor based.then maybe introduce a easy recipe or a short set of directions Slowly bringing in harder material. I think a teacher should go back and forth between books and things in real life, while also slowly raising the reading level of the material.

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