Reading and Writing in the Classroom

Chapter 7 had some of what I found to be the most important information we as teachers should take with us into our classrooms. I believe that reading and writing are the foundations to not only our education but also to our lives. Without reading and writing communication would be very difficult for young children, well everyone for that matter. 

            I really liked how it pointed out that making mistakes as teachers can actually be very beneficial for the children. Making simple spelling errors, capitalizations errors, and others such as spacing gives children a chance to make the correction. By letting them see the error be made and knowing how to fix it we are allowing them to learn on their own. They would probably catch on that you are doing this on purpose because they automatically assume we know everything at a young age. Knowing we are purposely making errors would more than likely cause them to pay even closer attention because they want to be the ones to fix the mistake. 

            I also find it very interesting and helpful to know how closely writing and drawling really are. Drawling can encourage writing in very beneficial ways. Asking a child to draw their favorite animal would be much easier for them to grasp then telling them to write a paragraph about it. After drawing their favorite animal most children would be more than happy to tell you about what they drew and why. Free writing is also very important. Just allowing them to write and make mistakes is actually a really great thing at a young age. Just taking a pencil and paper and being allowed to express themselves will go a long way. 

            In my time at Appletree so far I have noticed a lot of this going on when the children have time to sit down and draw. If you watch them you will see them drawling and almost telling a story about what it is they are drawling out loud. I will definitely take this knowledge with me into my own classroom. 

            Some questions to think about: Besides drawling and allowing them to try writing on their own what are some other ways we can encourage young children to write? What are some ways we can encourage young children to read? Such as choosing books and topics they are interested in (cars, sharks, etc.). Do you feel as though the literacy center approach is a good method? Would you use it in your classroom?