Chapters 5 -7

I posted my blog previously but I am not finding it in my blogspot. So I'm posting it again.
Laurel

Chapters 5-7
For decades various theories have emerged explaining how children’s early reading ability develops, ways to develop and facilitate early reading, and symptoms of developmental problems in reading. Chapters 5 -7 examine many of these literacy/reading development theories. It is worthy of note that several aspects of these theories continue to influence classroom practices today.

In chapter 5, the focus is on literacy development. Several theories such as Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, Maturation Theory, Stage Model Theory, and Family Literacy theory are put forward. All of the theories, with the exception of the Maturation Theory seem to recognize the significant role the home plays in literacy development. The Maturation Theory suggests that reading instructions should be postponed until the child is 6.5 years old where as the other theories highlight the fact that literacy development begins at birth.

Many of the concepts put forward in the theories that, in my opinion, should continue to influence today’s teachers include:
Reading is a complex behavior comprising of several skill components therefore the subskills approach may be useful;
Children learn through play and activity that involve direct experiences and social interaction with peers;
Understanding the thought process at the different stages of the students’ development facilitate the creation of developmentally appropriate learning activities;
A rich literacy classroom environment will stimulate students and promote learning;
The home play a unique role in the development of literacy therefore the home and school should work in together.

The focus of the theories examined in chapter 6 is on language development/ reading as social skills. Language learning is dependent on the students’ interaction with their social cultural and historical environment. The Sociolinguistic theorists recognize the critical role oral language plays in the development of reading and writing. Children who grow up in language rich environments tend to have a better foundation for building vocabulary, fluency and comprehension skills. The Socio-cultural theory highlights the role of social, cultural and historical factors in the learning experience. This strengthens my belief that new information has to be associated with previous experiences or knowledge if meaningful learning is to occur.
As the text suggests, the classrooms are not designed to deal with the multiplicity of culture present. Most of the materials are either American or European. As a result, a number of students, especially the Hispanics are marginalized as they are unable to associate culturally with the lessons taught.

The Social Constructivism theory, mentioned in the chapter, makes reference to the “Zone of Proximal Development” which I understand to be the ideal level of difficulty that will facilitate learning. This zone may be different for each student, hence the need for differentiated instructions – the buzz word in today’s classroom. Other classroom applications consistent with the social learning theories, such as use of literacy centers, shared reading, guided reading, paired reading, process writing, shared writing are current classroom practices.

Chapter 7 examines cognitive processing of information. Cognitive theories state that individuals learn as they attempt to ‘make sense of the world’. They become active learners as they initiate experiences, solve problems, and gain insight from new information. The chapter explains the various stages that information moves through as the brain attempts to process it. The concept of cognitive overload was mentioned. I agree that if the student has to focus too much attention on decoding of words, for example, then he will have limited cognitive resource to apply to comprehension. The text suggests that a simpler passage should be given to such a student. I end with the question, how does one lower the level difficulty of a grade 1 level text for a grade 5 student?