This past week I spent some time interacting with the
students and with the parents. I talked to a few parents briefly at drop off
time and asked if they have a few minutes to discuss their child’s literacy
development. One parent told me that she
feels that it is school’s job to teach her child how to read, but once he
learns how to read, she will spend more time reading with him. I asked her if
she would be willing to talk more with me at a later date because I was
interested in her views on early literacy (as a parent who seems to not be very
interested in promoting literacy for her son). She agreed and we’re going to have
a phone conversation next week. I asked my host teacher about this particular
parent and she told me that she’s the type to drop off and pick up without
really engaging in any conversation with her. As much as my host teacher tries
to communicate with this parent, the parent seems to be uninterested.
I continued to observe my host teacher work with her
students on literacy development activities. She works with them on a daily
basis to help them recognize the letters of their name, spell their name, and
pick out familiar letters in text. She also encourages them to practice writing
their names and provides them with laminated examples to copy. I asked her what
aspects of her literacy program work best and she told me that she has had the
most success with name recognition and spelling. She finds that for some
reason, the kids develop literacy concepts from working with familiar words and
letters.
When I was observing her circle time, I noticed that one of
the students commented on the fact that February has 2 “R”s. I was very
interested in this because it proved me that through repetition and practice,
the students are developing emergent reader behaviors. They are starting to
develop letter-sound connections and are working towards being able to
recognize all letters and the sounds they make.
