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May 31

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Snorkeling and Scuba Diving in an Undergraduate General Education Literature Course: Diving into the Educational Theory Behind “Next” Practices*

 by Mary Buckelew

Student Voices
“Before choosing The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney for my self-selected book, I figured that I’d be reading aesthetically as I wanted to read for entertainment.  After reading, I can say I read mostly with an aesthetic lens, but I did read efferently at times to soak in new information regarding my major.” (Ethan, undergraduate criminal justice major)

“I wish I’d known about the different stances of reading long before this, and I wish my high school teachers hadn’t focused solely on the efferent aspects of reading and books. I only read books in high school to pass tests, write required papers, and other test oriented stuff . . . I don’t think my teachers knew that the aesthetic stance existed. Even summer reading was always selected for us and then we were tested – efferent all the way.” (Sarah, undergraduate biology pre-med major)

“I now like to think about how I am reading, why I am reading, and I even apply efferent and aesthetic to other classes and life in general.” (“Honest Anonymous Feedback” from the end of the semester evaluations, Lit. 165 2:00)

Sarah, Ethan, and the anonymous student were enrolled in my Literature 165 classes this past spring semester. They shared these ideas in their final reflections and in final evaluations. 

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May 30

Books on the Blog: I Survived Preschool Storytime

by Linda Walker

Oh my gosh! I went solo for preschool storytime and I survived. I brought out one of my grandson’s favorite books The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood. What a great way to draw in the listener. The reader speaks directly to a young audience by asking , “Hello, little Mouse. What are you doing?” The simple text and large colorful illustrations encouraged childen to make predictions and discover cause and effect relationships.

Of course any storytime should include partcipation and what better way than going on a bear hunt. Read more

May 24

How to Boost Teaching and Engage English Learners with Technology

by Aileen Hower

One thing every teacher asks when they have an English Learner in their classroom is, what more can I be doing to help support this student? Technology can be a great resource to help a teacher who wants to engage their EL as a literacy learner.

First and foremost, it is important to remember that learning a new language takes time. In our high-stakes testing environments, we want to have ELs reading on grade level as soon as possible. We see that they are intelligent and are curious about the world. We want to learn what they are thinking and share our passion for learning with them. We must remind ourselves that learning a new language, especially when there may be gaps in a student’s education, caused by time away from school due to travelling or differences in curriculum, which insist on us to give the student time to acclimate and listen first.

When the student is ready to work on literacy skills, there are digital tools that can support a variety of learning goals. Read more

May 10

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Tools of the Trade: Literacy and Beyond

by Rita Sorrentino

Print vs. digital. Handwriting vs. keyboarding. Bound books vs. eBooks. There are writing-vs-typing.jpgproponents of each side of these ongoing debates. For some, keyboarding is the new handwriting. For others, handwriting is a crucial cognitive skill that stimulates the brain, aids acquisition of language skills in young learners, and well – it’s nostalgic.  

The philosophers Socrates and Plato were no strangers to the pros and cons of written communication long before its digital debut. As they argued, elements of loss and gain would result as paradigms shifted. Socrates believed that writing would create forgetfulness in the learner; Plato envisioned the intellectual benefits that the alphabet would bring to civilization. Undoubtedly, as teachers and learners, we value the contributions of all systems of communication and incorporate all types of reading and writing into our practices to heighten consciousness of ourselves and the world.

I certainly agree with the Greek philosophers that voice intonations, facial expressions, and hand gestures enhance communication and actively engage the audience. Additionally, knowledge through dialogue and learning through inquiry popularized by Socrates remain powerful teaching methods to this day. Jump through the centuries and ponder if Socrates would find today’s social media a suitable space for dialogue and communication… Would today’s digital doings add to his fear that writing would roam about indiscriminately causing chaos and danger for the masses? Or would he value the potential for dialogue and convenient connectivity to create deeper bonds between writers and readers?  Read more

May 8

Books on the Blog: The Marvelous Magic of Miss Mabel by Natasha Lowe

by Linda Walker

5950971.jpgChoosing a book to review can sometimes be a challenge because there are just so many interesting titles. I will admit the reason I chose The Marvelous Magic of Miss Mabel is not for the engaging title but because the witch caricature has a distinct resemblance to me and green is my favorite color. This book is a fantasy which would interest grades 3-5.

As a baby, Mabel was abandoned by her birth mother. She was nestled into a large terra-cotta flowerpot at the doorstep of Nora Ratcliff. Nora raises the child as her own. Soon it becomes obvious that Mable has some unusual talents; lifting off the ground, sending objects swirling through the air, making things change color.

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May 3

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Teacher to Teacher: What About Vocabulary?

By Lynne R. Dorfman

The investigation of the meaning of words is the beginning of wisdom.  – Antisthenes

 Do you remember getting a list of vocabulary words each week?  We had to look up the meaning and part of speech and use the word in a sentence. Then there was a test on Friday. Although I memorized the spelling of the words and their meanings to do well on the quizzes, most of the words did not stay with me. Often, the words on the lists had little or no relationship with one another. The words were just a random list – and such a list and method to learn new words is inefficient and ineffective.

Words are symbols for concepts, and readers bring meaning to the symbols. Readers develop schema from their reading experiences, and words will have many associations. Associations with each word’s most general meaning that most users share is called denotative, while associations not directly connected to a word’s denotative meaning are called connotative. For example, the word “hand” might connote horse trainers, veterinarians, and equestrians. As students move up the grades, new concepts are added each year.  Flanigan (Chester County Reading Association presentation, April 2017) suggests that the average high school senior’s vocabulary is about 40,000 words.  That suggests learning about 3000 words per grade level.   It makes good sense that our students are able to distinguish which meaning is intended within the context of the reading or discussion/lecture, and must account for and build on the students’ prior experiences.

How do we help students grow a love of language and words while growing their vocabularies? The authors of Vocbulary at the Core: Teaching the Common Core Standards suggest that teachers make use of graphic organizers and word games in their classrooms. They talk about building in opportunities for deep processing, teaching derivations, collocations, idioms, register (level of formality in speech with others; register depends on the situation, location, topic discussed, and other factors) and gender.  The authors tell us that to truly know a word, we should know many different aspects of the word including (but not limited to) the following:

  • spelling
  • pronunciation
  • meaning(s)
  • derivations (how words take on prefixes and suffixes to make new forms)
  • collocations: groups of words that form acceptable phrases (For example: “do the dishes” or “make the bed”)
  • register: (from formal to informal to slang)
  • idioms: phrases whose meaning cannot be discerned by looking up individual words (a figurative meaning – not a literal meaning. When you “tie the knot,” you are getting married and when it’s “raining cats and dogs,” it is raining very hard).
  • opposites (antonyms)
  • words that mean almost the same thing (synonyms)
  • gender: which words or collocations sound more feminine or masculine
  • intentions: how a word can change meanings by changing intonation and gestures

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