Philosophy of Literacy:
I spoke with one of our kindergarten teachers about her philosophy of teaching literacy. As she said, "Literacy is at the heart of student success." She believes that there are many components that contribute to this success. The first two are print awareness and letter knowledge. These two basic things really build the foundation especially at this early stage. Next, is phonological awareness. Having students manipulate the sounds and "play" with words is essential in this foundation as well. She incorporates this through rhyming games and word play. The last two components are listening comprehension and motivation. This is where exposure is vital. Providing students with many opportunities to listen to stories (guest readers, audio books) and to look at a variety of genre of books also helps create this success. On a side note, I like that the retired teacher for which our school is named after comes to read to these students! Her visits are always welcomed by our students! So, through these five essential pieces successful readers will grow according to my colleague and I agree!
I agree that concepts of print (print awareness) and alphabetic principle (name, sound, and formation of letters) are both very important skills for emergent readers to learn. These skills are definitely foundational for literacy growth.
ReplyDeleteMegan