Stewart and Pahl + Rowsell

While some parts of the readings this week were a little confusing, there were a bunch of aspects of them that I really enjoyed, and can absolutely see myself using in my own classroom.

From the "Conceptualizing Artifactual Literacies" chapter, I love the concept of connecting culture and personal touches to literacy. It says that objects/artifacts:
- have physical features that make it distinct, such as color or texture
- is created, carried, found, put on display, hidden, or worn
- embodies people, stories, thoughts, communities, identities, and experiences
- is valued or made by a meaning maker in a particular content

One thing I think of when I read this list is finding a way to make a project (both presentation wise and writing wise) where my students can connect their own "artifacts" to our readings. By this, I mean finding an opportunity in the curriculum where they can bring in something that represents who they are, what they believe, or what is meaningful to them. When reading a story or book on culture, they can bring in something that reprints what makes them them. For me, I could bring in my menorah, since it's such a big part of the Jewish tradition. I could also bring in my ancestry list that tracks back to the Mayflower. These things make me me, and would be easy to present, and write a paper about. Connecting, sharing, and representing.

"Artifacts bring in everyday life. They are material and they represent culture." I love this quote, and strongly agree with it. Using artifacts in the classroom for literature is a great way to keep it relevant, and relatable. It's like Christensen said, if we help make the lessons more relatable, it will help students connect and understand what we're teaching.

"Artifactual literacy acknowledges that everyone has a story to tell and that they bring story into their learning." I don't think I need to say anything about this quote. I love it, I believe it, and this is part of what makes connecting the students to the lesson so important and special.

In the Stewart reading, I loved the REAL instruction part. Relevant, Engaging, Affirmative, and Literacy oriented. Like Christensen and the other reading this week, the value of using relevant and relatable connections to literature and learning makes it so much easier and better for the learners.

Comments

  1. DebaNovember 13, 2018 at 3:48 PM

    Lila,

    I wonder which part that is little confusing to you. I was pretty overwhelmed with the information and I didn't think about feeling confused until I read your blog. I wonder if I really feel confused, too. Yes, I believe I truly did. However, I wonder which part are you confused about. I am confused about how to apply these information with Deaf students who didn't have first language foundation and didn't understand their own culture, as well. How can I teach them what they missed? That's the confusing part for me.

    Artifact activity gives me a biggest relief and like Maddy said a sense of calmness. I can see that all of us in this class enjoy Pahl and Roswell's article because it is FUN and CREATIVE.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ELL Writers (Fu and Martinez)

It's been interesting to read about ELL writers, and the process they go through. It's been something I have discussed in all three of my classes this semester, and it something I'm experiencing now with a student I've been shadowing in Providence. I can also connect it to my own school experience, so there's really a lot for me to talk about this week. I'll start with the Martinez reading. He says at one point "when the languages and experience of Black and Latinx youth deviate from those expected by their teachers, they become victims of language ideologies that exclude them from robust learning experiences". It's interesting, because while we all may say we don't make assumptions, with our students or with others, we do sometimes. So, it's safe to say that a white teacher may look at a Black student and assume that since they come from power backgrounds that they won't be able to handle a certain assignment. Now, this is strictly a...
Read more

Sharing and Responding: Elbow and Belanoff

As a teacher, I think it's super important that we familiarize ourselves with different ways and ideas when teaching and grading. One of the most interesting sections of this reading is the "Procedures for Giving and Receiving Responses". As a creative writer, I am very familiar with giving and receiving responses to work. I've spent many times reading and responding to other's work, and also reading the responses that others have given me on my work. I for one take comments and suggestions seriously, and I think it's a useful tool to use in the classroom. When discussing early or late drafts, I think it's helpful to give and get feedback on both. While there are times when the writers as no intention of changing a specific piece, and there will be times a student thinks their writing piece is great and should earn them an "A", I think that there's always a spot for responses. I'm not saying there will always be bad responses, but the...
Read more

Introduction to 445: Cameron, NCTE, and Hawley Turner and Hicks

For starters, the concept of posting on a blog is foreign to me. Some how, I have managed to slide through all my years of high school and my undergraduate degree without having to post on a blog. I've had to provide constructed responses, but nothing to this level. It's weird, and is confusing to me in a lot of ways, however I'm eager to learn and figure it out, since I assume it will only become more regular in the classroom. The Hawley Turner and Hicks reading was helpful to understanding more of the point of a blog, as well as how to construct one. Going in, I kept thinking to myself, "how long does this have to be?" and "WHAT am I going to write about?!". Thankfully, my questions were answered within the first few pages of the chapter. One thing that stood out to me the most is when "web-based texts" are defined as "more than just alphabetic texts". That, to me, means that in addition to writing words on a blog, it's encour...
Read more