Implications+for+Teaching

= Implications for Teaching =

== "Authentic help means that all who are involved help each other mutually, growing together in the common effort to understand the reality which they seek to transform. Only through such praxis-in which those who help and those who are being helped help each other simultaneously-can the act of helping become free from the distortion in which the helper dominates the helped." (Freire, 1978) == **The pieces I chose to represent "implications for teaching" during this semester are:**
 * 1) What is Literacy? __A Semantic Web__ **(Reflection/Web)**
 * 2) "New Literacies:" A blog documenting tools to strengthen and develop literacy skills **(Blog)**
 * 3) Critical Inquiry: __Negotiating Critical Literacies With Young Children__ **(Wiki)**
 * 4) ** BCS Literacy Site (Website)**

**What is Literacy? __A Semantic Web__** The Brooklyn Charter School, where I currently work as the Literacy Coach, just implemented a new reading program mid-year. The literacy mission statement prior proclaimed, “Balanced Literacy is the basis of all literacy instruction at BCS; it is based on how children learn.” Our new reading program still contains the “components” of Balanced Literacy; however; it is a scripted program with more emphasis put on literacy materials then on actual philosophy. For the purpose of this assignment, I will be comparing/contrasting the new publisher’s philosophy statement with the assigned weekly readings.

One of my upcoming job responsibilities will be to “re-write” the schools literacy mission/philosophy statement. This weeks articles, in particular, “Looking Out Across Columbus: What We Mean by ‘Multiple Literacies,’” served as an excellent “springboard” to assist me in developing an ideology for what that might look like. For that reason, Rather then comparing/ contrasting the views highlighted in this article, I took from it two components that I would like to incorporate in my future work creating a school literacy vision.

__Analyzing the Web__    The two articles I referenced in my web are “Literacy in Three Metaphors,” and “Focus on Research: Historical Considerations.” The viewpoints highlighted in the articles are listed and then linked to either of the following:   1. Previous philosophy statement  2. Working/ publisher’s philosophy statement.

= **New Literacies: A blog documenting tools to strengthen and develop literacy skills**  = __ **Link** __ __Explanation of Work Sample:__ "New Literacies generally refers to new forms of literacy made possible by digital technology developments, although new literacies do not necessarily have to involve use of digital technologies to be recognized as such." (Wikipedia, New Literacies)

This blog is something that I have been working on both personally and professionally. My goal was to compile tips, tools, and whatever else I discovered that could serve as useful resources in the teaching of literacy. I have learned SO much through this process and what excites me most is that this blog continues to grow with me. My hope is that this blog will help others who are passionate cultivating literacy and technology skills for the 21st century learner.

**Critical Inquiry: __Negotiating Critical Literacies With Young Children__**   **__Link__** By: Vivian Maria Vasquez __Book Summary and Analysis:__ Vivian Vasquez talks about a year she spent teaching Junior Kindergarten in Canada (the equivalent of Pre-K). Although these students were too young to decode text, they embarked on a rich critical literacy curriculum throughout the year that consisted of critiquing the world around them, analyzing why things happened the way they did, and then taking social action to address injustices. The objects of their analysis were derived both from events that went on during the year, and from texts students encountered. Though their inquires were guided and supported by Vasquez, they were all initiated by student discussion. She did not plan the curriculum ahead of time, but let it develop organically. Each new step was tracked on the class's audit trail (or learning wall), where visual reminders of the learning throughout the year were posted with arrows showing the connections between their different projects. Example projects included: learning about vegetarians and making sure they were taken into consideration at school functions, petitioning to be included in the school's French Café (an event only open to upper level students), and rewriting //Baby Beluga// to include details about the beluga whale's endangerment and then raising money for the World Wildlife Fund. These students, who many would think too young for critical literacy, did deep and meaningful literacy work during their year in Vasquez's class.

In our own classrooms, we can strive to adopt her principles of letting student interests lead to curriculum, teaching students to examine the social inequities behind the issues that interest them, and encouraging students to take social action as part of their critical literacy work. We can also adopt the idea of an audit trail, to make student learning visible to both our students and those outside our classroom, and to show the connections between what the class is learning throughout the school year.

__**BCS Literacy Site**__    I wanted to put this website in my portfolio in case others from our class could find it to be a helpful resource as they continue on their journey as literacy learners and educators. I originally started it for The Brooklyn Charter School Community but as it has grown over the coarse of this year I can see how it could be helpful to other communities as well. Clearly, I am very passionate about incorporating technology with literacy learning and this website reflects just that. Part of what I did on the to utilize literacy and technology tools (web2.0/free resources), align them with the common core standards (at each grade level), resulting in a digital lesson to teach the standards. I update the site weekly, adding lessons, tips, tools, and standards. My goal is to have digital lessons that are aligned to the ALL of the common core standards for children in grades K-5. It takes a lot of time researching and evaluating, but beyond being something I am very proud to say I created, I am hopeful that it can be used by others who feel as passionately as I do about the value of the sites contents! Please feel free to share the link with ANYONE who you think could use it!

@http://bcsliteracy.com
= **__Summary Statement:__** = This portfolio is a collection of work that represents my journey as I unpacked and re-examined literacy through a variety of new lenses. My work samples document the process of going beyond simply looking at texts for the purpose of technically analyzing language to trying to research and examine the ideologies at work in and throughout a variety of texts. This process has reshaped my personal definition of literacy. This significantly impacted the literacy events I chose for this portfolio and the approach I took when implementing literacy lessons/projects that are included. A noteworthy example from "reading the word" is evident in my new found understanding and recognition of the import foundational to the question: "Where are you from?" The pieces in this portfolio will also reflect tenants of critical literacy. Critical literacy was of utmost importance throughout this journey, referencing with frequency the works of Vivian Vasquez. My understanding that language practices and texts are influenced by power, perspective, and positioning was at the heart of my learning throughout this semester: ==**"We are each a part of a complex history that includes our experiences and expectations, family structures and friendship circles, powerful achievements and marginalized realities. Our locations in this world color the lenses through which we read it." (Jones, 2006) ** ==