There are two mainstream pedagogical views on teaching
reading and writing that are heavily debated: Word Recognition and
Sociopsycholinguistic. Those who believe
the word recognition, or learning, view believe students learn literacy through
systematic instruction of phonics, decoding, and recoding. The sociopsycholinguistic view stresses that
literacy is taught through acquisition, and students learn by constructing
meaning from text the same way they acquire a first or second language.
The
following list of activities are taken from my Essential Linguistics What You Need to Know to Teach Reading, ESL,
Spelling, Phonics, and Grammar textbook.
I have gone through each item on the list and labeled it (L) for
learning/word recognition or (A) for acquisition/sociopsycholinguistic.
The students:
- · look up words in the dictionary to write definitions (L)
- · make a venn diagram to compare two stories
o (A)
Teachers can utilize graphic organizers to help students make
connections between two types of text and also to make meaning of
vocabulary.
- · practice sounding out words (L)
- · read in round-robin fashion
o
(L) This
technique aligns with a learning view perspective, an acquisition view is to
have students do most of their reading independently and silently.
- · correct peers when they make a mistake during reading (L)
- · identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound
o
(L/A)
Focusing on phonics is a learning technique but using big books for instruction
is more of an acquisition technique.
- · group cards with classmates’ names by a criterion on such as first or last letter
o
(L)
Phonics activity.
- · write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound
o
(L/A)
This one is difficult for me because it seems like it could be
both. Writing poetry together is more of
an acquisition view and learning view is focusing on the sounds.
- · ask the teacher how to spell any word they don’t know
o
(L)
Students focus less on words being spelled correctly when following the
acquisition view.
- · read a language experience story they have created with the teacher
o
(A)
Students read their writing to the teacher and their peers.
- · work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences (A/L)
- · divide words into syllables (L)
- on a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound (L)
- make alphabet books on different topics
o
(A)
Students can create books of their choice.
The teacher:
- · preteaches vocabulary (L)
- · does a shared reading with a big book (A)
- · makes sure that students read only books that fit their level
o
(L) In
the learning view students focus on their reading level and in an acquisition
view they are reading a variety of literature.
- · has students segment words into phonemes (L)
- · writes words the students dictate for a story and has students help with the spelling of difficult words
o
(A)
Shared writing is an acquisition view technique
- · asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter (L)
- · uses decodable texts (L)
- · sets aside time for SSR (sustained silent reading) each day (A)
- · teaches Latin and Greek roots
o
(L)
Teacher believes it is important for students to understand the
individual parts of words and origins in order to read and write.
- · has students meet in literature circles (L)
- · conducts phonics drills (L)
- · chooses predictable texts (L)
- · teaches students different comprehension strategies (A)
- · does a picture walk of a new book
o
(A) Teacher
can allow the students to utilize their background knowledge and make
inferences to help tell the story
- · uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills
o
(L) Teachers using the learning view can utilize
worksheets to help them teach phonics skills and review lessons taught in the
classroom.
I found this exercise to be somewhat difficult. Many of these activities I feel like fall under both views and I think that is because of my own personal teaching style. At this point I can see the benefit of using a blend of both views; we will see if my perspective changes as I read more of the textbook. “The question of whether written language is acquired or
learned is not merely academic. A
teacher’s belief about how written language is developed helps determine how he
will teach reading and writing.”
(Freeman, Freeman, 2004)
References
Freeman, D., and Y. Freeman. Essential
linguistics: What you need to know to teach: reading, ESL, spelling, phonics,
grammar. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
