Planning and carrying out a literacy activity to meet the learning goals - Essay Example

Planning and carrying out a literacy activity to meet the learning goals Introduction Literacy is analyzed in a wide perspective than one could define it as the capacity to read and write. It means having the ability to listen, view, read, evaluate, comprehend, speak, and write systematically and effectively. Literacy stimulates interests and stretches imagination. Literate people are empowered through proper acquisition of skills. Skills and knowledge are instilled into people at a tender age. Children who build up their reading skills and cultivate literacy, influence their abilities, beliefs, and personal worth for a life time. Since literacy develops along an individual continuum, children of same age display variety of skill levels. In this case, literacy activities for both pre school settings and day care are essential (Wellman &Michigan 1992, p.106). This paper seeks to scrutinize how to plan and carry out literacy activities that meet the objectives in children learning setup. It will identify leaning goals and illustrate how a chosen literacy activity has met them. We shall therefore consider an activity about snowman alphabet. Children involved in this lesson are six in number of which four are girls and two are boys and all are 5 years of age. Planning a Snowman Alphabet Activity Ideas in practice have been considered in a variety of genres to effect children writing skills. Children possess a number of attributes that enable them to be effective in writing. Such attributes include, developing consistent spelling skills, recognition and awareness in phonologies and phonemes, ability to form alphabetical letters comfortably, develop the writing concept, having vocabulary in a wide range, and achieving oneself expression through writing. Writing flourishes in an environment with celebrated examples and displays for children writing on their own. The opportunities and purpose for writing are linked to the curriculum activities. Repeated writing and use of writing materials demonstrates what the children are doing in a classroom. It is important that pupils are trained to elaborate sentences from a tender age (Adams, Lundberg & Beeler 1998, p.42). One plans a snowman activity by first selecting the theme. Here, alphabetical letters are selected to represent a given word. For example, we can consider letter S for snow or snowflake. Secondly we analyze activities and instructions. Define the key words to student. Snow is a precipitate form such as sleet, hail or rain that drops from clouds. A snowflake is ice crystals collectively formed in and beneath a cloud during rainfall. Alphabet S is printed and displayed on materials chosen. In this context, I will encourage each of the four boys and two girls to identify the letter on the display. Due to multilingual and monolingual children in my class, I will ensure reading is sound and repetitive. They will trace alphabets in both lower and upper case by using fingers. Demonstrate to children on how to trace the letter by emphasizing the use of continuous stroke through finger and pencil tracing. Children are to color the images with a range of materials. To reinforce the letter practice, use a mini book and activity page to identify the related words. Ask children to also give other words with the same sound as you write them on the board. Displays of the alphabet posts and coloring images can also be used. Lastly, materials for the activity are chosen these materials are to meet all the needs of the four boys and two girls. They include; color poster, coloring page, handwriting worksheet, control charts, writing paper, printable lined paper, and theme coloring pages. Letters on the sand paper is also required to enable a child who requires the sense of touch to identify the alphabets. Broad display working sheet will be provided to the deaf child. In conjunction with working sheets of the American Sign Language, the deaf child will be able to identify the alphabets. In addition, the blind will require audio devices for instructions (Bruner 1966, p.49). The snowman has a letter in upper case on his tummy and on his hat a lower case letter. Letters to place on a snowman are chosen considering a number of styles and fonts. These options can be tracing or cursive. Snowmen can be used to spell words, sort vowels and consonants. They are printed and cut out with use of many letters which are mixed up. The child is then given a chance to match capital letters and small letters by accurately placing the hat on the right snowman. This activity help children learn in a variety of ways. Skills in listening and speaking are reinforced. This is when children are given opportunities to think among themselves and share ideas before they give answers to the class. Children experience visual in leaning which improves their understanding and capability to retain and enjoy what they are taught after the lesson, children can reflect what they have been taught through play (Roffey 2011, p.23). The capacity to connect ideas within sentences through sequencing and combining clauses creates children ability to link and structure thoughts in diverse ways. This generates their interest in reading and makes their writing more varied, surprising, precise and effective. Since children are involved in practical activity through drawing, they develop a positive attitude towards work that involves articulation of body parts and the mind. During the snowman activity, play games and songs are encouraged to enhance language skills even for the six children among those who take English as their second language. Music and other rhyming words instill phonemic awareness into children (Adams, Lundberg & Beeler 1998, p.78). These songs are of types like Woo and Allaby where children play by going around a circle and inserting their own names in every verse of the song. Other songs involve singing the alphabetical letters frontwards then backwards. These children can also stand in a circle as ABC’s music with a rocky theme is played via the compact disk to enhance audio learning. Children then make sounds to each letter after every letter name. Letters for each day can be created and children can be called names using the same letter. For instance, if ‘B’ is the letter of the day, then call Beremy, Bramuel, Bryone, etc (Schickendanz 1999, p.66). Every child is engaged in snap game. In this game, the four boys will say two words as other two girls say ‘Snap’ and snap fingers if the words have a common sound. A listening game is played in which words within same family are used at the beginning of the game. Words like: cat, fat, and hat. According to (Bruce 1991, P. 26), as the game continuous and children have become proficient, then rhymes in sounds can change. This game will be helpful to the blind child who has the sense for audio. Play word game aid syllable hearing by children. It is enhanced by clapping children names in syllables. A set of letter cards and pictures can be purchased or created to help a child sort pictures by beginning letters in the sound. Alphabetical letters are also printed in two sets of both upper and lower case then mixed up for children to match up like, A-a, B-b, C-c, etc. Play contributes to learning. A learning network is built through games, representation, first hand experiences and free flow play. Children learn by discovery, practicing, exploration and problem solving. In this context, play is exploratory, manipulative and reflects practice. First hand experiences drive children into the world thus learning more. It is paramount to involve children in activities that facilitate discovery and exploration through a network of play (Bruce 1991, p.72). The six children reacted differently during snowman alphabet activity. Those who take English as the second language become more curious to match upper and lower case letters and construct words within their respective sounds. Multilingual and monolingual children could relate words within their proficient languages. Since it is an interactive session between children, they compete among themselves to match letters in upper and lower case. Children extend this activity to work where they express their enthusiasm during work. In this lesson, every child involved enjoyed. (Strauss 2000, p.37). Snowman alphabet literacy activity focuses in meeting aims and objectives in learning. Such objectives are; giving children skills to effectively write and enhance their communication through various genres. Provide opportunities to build up their speaking and listening skills through role play, conversation, debate and discussions. Children to use language in expressing their ideas and communicate effectively even in the global environment. To adapt units of primary framework that suit the curriculum needs. These aims are met through laying down strategies and policies which facilitate learning. A strategy to promote reading is acquired through; offering children with opportunities to read with partners in group, alone and at home. Children are trained on how to write through drawing and developing patterns. Policies to enrich literacy within our curriculum are stated. Using a mind friendly approach to learning and teaching where a supportive environment for children is sufficiently given. Our school will provide a plan than will collaboratively work with our government to achieve the learning goals. We are committed to improve the quality of educational outcomes for children after their schooling. It is an approach that will appreciate parental guidance and the requirements for diversity in providing education. In this case, every child is an important icon within a society. To us, any child matters despite their religion, physical appearance and awareness, and sex. Key principles underpin our literacy policies. These principles focus on; reporting and assessment for better education, informing parents fully about their children progress, the children’s needs, education to every child, and creating a greater autonomy in school. Assessing each and every child empowers them with knowledge that enable them succeed and move forward. Teachers also become accustomed to planning and liberate literacy (Wood 1998, p.102). Theories and theorists supporting literacy after evaluating the lesson Emergent of literacy in children has been supported by various theories and theorists. Through a critical analysis and evaluation of this lesson, the six children are able to write, read and speak different languages on their own. Students, who work in an environment of additive bilingual, succeed to better levels than those whose culture and first languages are devalued by wider society and schools. Subtractive bilingualism dangers are not strong for non-native speakers (Cummins & McNeely 1987, p.28). Cummins asserts that, departments and teachers should explore all prospects to incorporate cultural background diversity of learners in their curricula and daily teaching. Jim Cummins believed that, a learning course in one language provides a set of skills that drives a learner to metalinguistic knowledge that is implicit. This theory explains how easy it is to acquire additional language(s) through learning. For example, in this lesson the six children would learn how to construct phrases and syllables to form sentences which is a crucial aspect in enhancing their communication skills that raises their literacy levels (Cummins 2000, p. 52). Through cognitive development, children make sense of the environment around them. This is linked to communication skills and language development when children try to associate with people around them. Piaget emphasizes that learning in children takes place through exploring their surroundings. Adults just play the role of providing them with expected experiences. Children attain knowledge in stages. Real objects in the immediate environment instill experiences in children to help them learn. They use images and words to make logic of their world. In this case, they can access information and make sense to the wider environment through use of language. The lesson met such objectives since this was an interactive session. Children were provided with materials to enhance their skills in reading and writing. The six children gained knowledge from such materials in the surrounding. Children can learn only when they are prepared. They use language to depict cognitive development stage. Piaget theory is practical as questions asked by children enhance their learning since they can memorize what they are told (Piaget & Inhelder 1969, p.81). Semonvich Vygotsky also looked at cognitive development process. He asserts that, a child develops intellectual skills required for thought and logical reasoning through social interaction. Communication and language help children reflect about their world and adjust their actions. Children therefore, acquire knowledge from adults and other children. As adults supervise children, they are able to finish tasks that they would complete on their own. To promote literacy to the young, one adheres to this theory. Adults take the initiative to nurture and monitor development of a given group of children. For children to learn letter sounds and put those sounds together to form and recognize words, it takes a lot of adult input (Vygotsky 1978, p.31). Adults assist children gradually increasing words complexity till the child reads alone with courage. However, language is an instrument for thought. Children develop a one self sense in learning through contact with others. As supported by Vygotsky, this lesson was perfect. The four boys and two girls interacted with each other upon which a social environment was created. This intermingling reinforced their promoted learning. (Vygotsky 1978, p.41), From John Locke behaviorist theory, children have a clear mind when they are born. Language can be taught to children from the scratch. Cares and parents encourage words and sounds to shape children’s language. Children study language by copying words, sounds and phrases within their surrounding and reinforced positively to articulate words and communicate effectively. This lesson supports this theory. It was observed that the six kids were able to identify sounds, words and formulate sentences by the teacher instructing and guiding them (Yolton 1968, p.75). In this lesson, it was clearly observed that most children among the six were curious with formulation of words and could clearly pronounce them. Noam Chomsky states that, babies have some knowledge when born. Language is innate and anybody is able to learn any language. It is complex to learn by entirely copying adults. Human beings have a device for language acquisition. This device is used to exploit the process of learning. Children are able to learn all kinds of language in their early stages of development. Language is designed to pass and convey ideas, messages and express emotions. It is thus an evolving device which is subject to modification by those who utilize it in writing and speech. Particularly children use it in ways that are novel due to their unfamiliarity with proper use of words (Chomsky 1972, p.20). The alphabet letter activity in this lesson enabled the six children to interact among themselves and the environment around them. This feature had positive impacts towards their language acquisition. Burner and Vygotsky developed a social constructivist theory. This theory was strongly supported by Donaldson. They recommended that children are taught language in order to effectively communicate with the rest within their surrounding. Young children are however seen as participants who are active in developing language. Children can control and initiate pre-verbal conversations with people around them such as caregivers and parents Children always attract adults’ attention through their body language, babbling and crying. Adults initiate speech in children by providing a social context to enable communication. Language is learnt as a result of understanding the environment set up alongside social interactions. Donaldson gave a practical example in which she concluded that, if children are denied an interactive environment then, they delay in speech. (Donaldson 1984, p. 91). Throughout this lesson, it was observed that, literacy in children is affected by their environmental set up. Bronfenbrenner Urie developed an ecological literacy theory in which he stated that there exist a reciprocal relationship among people, their character, and those around them. There are four levels that affect children’s language development. That is; Mesosystem, Microsystem, Exosystem and Macrosystems. These are issues of the Family, schools and neighborhoods, societal setup, and parent involvement in interactive environment (Bronfenbrenner 1979, p.108). Conclusion Students of English as a second language greatly benefit from writing activities involving interactive sessions. ESL students are provided experiences in reading, listening, and speaking into inspired expression of English learning through writing. Elementary students who are school beginners need encouragement and constant guidance to improve their writing. Daily writing lessons which are incremental facilitate training to ESL students who in turn learn English through various writing activities. As discussed in this paper, snowman alphabet literacy activity for children attains such learning goals for every child in any given curriculum. Reference List Adams,M, Lundberg, I, & Beeler, T 1998, Phonemic Awareness in Young Children, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD. Bronfenbrenner, U 1979, The ecology of human development: experiments by nature and design, SAGE Publications Ltd, London. Bruce, T 1991, Time to play in early childhood education, Hodder & Stoughton, London. Bruner, J 1966, Towards a theory of instruction, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. Chomsky, N 1972, Language and mind. Enlarged Ed, Harcourt Brace, New York. Cummins, J, & McNeely, S 1987, Bilingual Education and Bilingual Special Education, A Guide for Administrators, College Hill, Boston. Cummins, J 2000, Language, Power and Pedagogy: Bilingual Children in the Crossfire, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon. Donaldson, M 1984, Children’s Minds, Fontana, London. Piaget, J, & Inhelder, B 1969, The Psychology of the Child, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London. Roffey, S 2011, Changing behavior in schools, Sage, London. Satteerly, D 1987, Piaget and Education, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Schickendanz, J 1999, Much More Than the ABCs: The early Stages of Readings and Writing, National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, DC. Strauss, S 2000, Theories of Cognitive Development and Learning and their Implications for Curriculum Development and Teaching, Routledge International Companion to Education, pp.28-50. Vygotsky, S 1978, Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. Wellman, H, Michigan, U, & Gelman, U 1992, Cognitive development: Foundational theories of core domains, Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 43, pp. 337-378. Wood, D 1998, How Children Think and Learn, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. Yolton, W 1968, John Locke and the way of Ideas, Oxford University press, Oxford. Read More