I thought that it was cool in how easily it was to relate these two article, because the IRA and NAEYC position paper gave definitions to the practices in the article "Letting Go of Letter of the Week." I really enjoyed reading, "Letting Go of Letter of the Week," because it put into perspective just how difficult being a first year teacher will be, and the level of responsibility that will be placed upon me. The article also reminded me that there is always room for improvement, and there is not one solid solution for each problem. I appreciated that Donna Bell and Donna Jarvis saw there students as readers and writers before they walked into the classroom. And it is true! A child can see a "McDonalds" bag and know it says "McDonalds." They learned that it was "McDonalds" through word recognition and familiarity. They had a basic understanding of the concepts of literacy and its function. Just like they read "McDonalds," they also knew that it meant a burger or fries.
As "IRA NAEYC position paper," said, "birth until age 8 are most important for reading. These articles really gave me great ideas on strategies that will help my future students reading abilities. Building confidence, relating letters to other childrens names, writing letters, reflecting on work, and testing them in a way in which they can understand such as the example with Pedro, will have a lasting affect. Letting each child write how they know how to write will build their confidence. The lack of confidence can start from an early age and can lasts until the end of someones life if they are not exposed to fun and encouraging activities that get their brain activated. Writing is not easy, but creating opportunities where each child can relate, grow, and be challenged will create great writers like the children in Mrs. Jarvis and Mrs. Bells class.
In the position paper, they gave recommendations on how to better help children at certain ages in their reading and writing. When reading those, it was hard to think of examples that would be beneficial, and most importantly challenging. After reading those, I reverted back to Donna Bell and Donna Jarvis, and realized that incorporating writing into daily activities, and making reading tangible for each child will be create a supportive environment for reading and writing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q30BdJm3Eeg
I agree that being an elementary education teacher will be very difficult. When you tell people that you're going to be an elementary education teacher a lot of them think, "Oh wow that sounds so easy!" In reality it's not. Early childhood years are the most important in a child's life. It is when they will learn and retain the most information in their life.
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