Early Literacy Programs and Preservice Teachers

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Early Literacy Programs and Preservice Teachers
Metaphors We Teach By
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A Personal Journey
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A Literary Journey

• We begin any literacy program by reading aloud.
  
• The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting

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Literacy in the Life of the Preservice Teacher

• Developing a personal awareness of the role of
  literacy in your life.
• To teach reading and writing, you must be a
  reader and writer.
• Demonstrating a commitment to lifelong learning.

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Literacy Hand Tool and Power Tool

• - Views of Literacy
• Straws Literacy Triangle
• Willinsky - The New Literacy
• Definitions of Literacy
• functional
• literacy with an adjective
• critical literacy
• meta-literacy
• - A Personal Theory of Literacy

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A Language Approach to Literacy Development

• A View of Language
• A View of Language Learning

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A View of Language

• Language is a social semiotic system.
• Language is a supersystem composed of
  interdependent, inseparable subsystems.
• Language is manifested in listening, speaking,
  writing, reading, viewing and representing.
• Language is predictable.
• Language has aesthetic qualities.

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A View of Language Learning

• Language is learned through purposeful, authentic
  uses.
• Language learning is both natural and social.
• Language learning is a process of generating and
  testing hypotheses.
• Language learning is a constructive process
  mediated by an expert.

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A Model for Early Literacy Praxis
Describing
Understanding
Lived Experience
Modelling
Facilitating
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Methods of Instruction in Early Literacy Programs

• - Content Concepts
• - Attitudes Beliefs
• - Skills Strategies
• - Experiences Environments
• - The Informant, The Informing and The Informed
• - Research, Record, Reflect, Report

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Metaphors We Teach By

• Classroom Environment
• Students
• Resources
• Teachers

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Metaphors We Teach By Classroom

• reading/writing workshops
• publishing house
• think tank
• research centre
• community of learners
• literacy club

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Metaphors We Teach By Resources

• vicarious experiences
• rich ingredients
• raw materials for knowledge construction
• pièce de résistance
• a smorgasbord

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Metaphors We Teach By Students

• meaning-makers
• artists
• scientists
• mathematicians
• authors, editors, publishers
• full-fledged members of the literacy club

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Metaphors We Teach By Teachers

• facilitators/coaches
• head learner
• models of reading/writing
• managing editors, publishers, publicists
• agents for their students work
• recruiters for the literacy club

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How I Teach IS the Message

• A lived experience, a meaning-making process
• Teaching does not equal learning.
• Learning is not a spectator sport.
• Remember, its show AND tell.
• Modelled on the Principles of Language, Learning
  and Literacy
• Demonstrate - Describe - Discuss - Develop -
  Demand
• Teaching is about purpose, pedagogy and PASSION.
• UPEI A Centre for Excellence in Teaching