Full Description
"A fascinating piece of writing, presenting ideas that are fresh and exciting."
-Katherine Taddie Kelly, Literacy Coach and Reading Interventionist
Waco Independent School District, TX
"Focuses on enhancing students' metalinguistic awareness and not just their intuitive use of words, fostering the development of higher mental functions."
-Elena Bodrova, Senior Researcher
McREL
Bring out the fun in fundamentals of literacy!
For teachers charged with the great responsibility of helping students achieve basic literacy, delivering instruction in stimulating and engaging ways is not an ideal-it's a necessity. Recognizing this, award-winning author and educator Kieran Egan puts the fun in fundamentals of literacy by helping teachers stir students' imagination and emotions.
In Teaching Literacy, Egan rejects the notion that familiar ideas and experiences are the best vehicles for effective instruction. Instead, he champions a new approach that focuses on teaching core literacy skills using concepts ranging from fascinating to exotic to magnificent to weird. By framing the elements of literacy in the unforgettable, students more readily internalize and retain material, not only preparing them for tests, but also instilling a lifelong love of reading and writing.
This innovative resource supplies answers to the question, "But how do I do it?" by offering:
Tried-and-true activities from practicing classroom teachers
"Teachers, Try It Out" features with instructional challenges (and an appendix of possible responses) for everyday classroom practice
Step-by-step planning frameworks for designing and delivering engaging literacy instruction
Combining playfulness with practicality and creativity with common sense, Egan's strategies apply to beginning readers at any age, bringing about authentic, enjoyable learning experiences.
Contents
Preface
Two Sources of This Approach
Cognitive Tools in Everyday Teaching Practice
Literacy Learners, Young and Old(er)
The Cognitive Tool Kits of Language and Literacy
Planning Frameworks Using Cognitive Tools
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Part I: The Cognitive Toolkit of Oral Language
1. Using the Story Form: Meeting Objectives by Engaging Feelings
Stories and Feelings
Stories in the Classroom
Inventing Comic Characters
Personifying Elements of Language
Creating a Literacy Adventure
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
2. Images We Care About: Too, Two, and To
Images Aid Memory and Understanding
Tying Concepts to Images
From Images to Letter Representation
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
3. Binary Opposites: Goldilocks and Civil War
Using Opposites to Expand Upon Understanding
Mediating Binary Opposites
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
4. Literal and Metaphoric Talk: "Like a Spring-Woken Tree"
Recognizing and Reflecting on Language
Similes
Metaphors
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
5. Jokes: Drawing the Drapes
Joking and "Seeing" Language
Humor in Amelia Bedelia
Reading Puzzles
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
6. Rhyme and Rhythm: Mickey Mouse's Underwear
Echo Rhymes
Rhyme and Rhythm: Ring, Rang, Rung
Nursery Rhymes
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
7. Living Knowledge: Barbie and The Matrix
Embedding Knowledge in Students' Lifeworlds
Children's Lifeworlds
Conclusion to Part I
Part II: The Cognitive Tool Kit of Literacy
8. Extremes: The Queueing Subbookkeeper
The Strange, Exotic, Different, and Wonderful
Fascinating Reality
Metalinguistic Awareness
Exploring Extremes
Wonder in the Classroom
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
9. Everyday Heroes: Spiderman and the Comma
Heroizing Literacy Tasks
Heroes in the Classroom
Heroic Experiences
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
10. Human Contexts: John Montagu, The Earl of Sandwich
Knowledge in a Meaningful Context
Linking Language With Purpose
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
11. Collections and Hobbies: Alphabets and Beanie Babies
Collecting Letters and Words
Literacy as a Hobby
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
12. Graphic Organizers: Lists and Flowcharts
From the Ear to the Eye
Visual Tools
Teachers, Try It Out
Final Words
Conclusion to Part II
Part III: Planning Frameworks
13. Framework 1
Mythic Planning Framework
Example: A Lesson on Homonyms
14. Framework 2
The Romantic Planning Framework
Example: A Lesson on the Comma
The Frameworks and You
Conclusion
Appendix: Responses to the "Teachers, Try It Out" Questions by Gillian C. Judson
References
Index
