This Study Examines Closely How Elementary Teachers Talk About Teaching Children Who Are
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Whole Language Teachers in Action
Whole Language Umbrella Conference
July, 2004
St. Louis, Missouri
Whole Language Teachers in Action
Nell Jackson
Stacey K. Medd
Kathryn F. Whitmore
Renita R. Schmidt
Iowa City Community School District and
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
BRAINSTORMING
Unpacking your suitcase
Stacey brought knowledge about multiple sign systems, language acquisition, and writing voice to the conference. What did you bring?
Listing verbs
Nell will share what the Iowa City Community School District wants children to be able to DO as readers and writers. What does your district expect of your students? We will work in small groups to list verbs that indicatedistricts’ targetsfor literacy development.
Verb List Check
- ______
- ______
- ______
- ______
- ______
- ______
- ______
VIGNETTE VIEWING
We will view and discuss two video vignettes of children engaged in literacy learning grounded in events happening in the real world. The vignettes illustrate the power of inquiry, talk, literature, and teachers making decisions about content that is relevant to students’ lives. As you watch, compare our brainstormed verb list to the video examples of literacy in action.
Vignette #1 – Paired Text Literature Discussion
Nell Jackson’s fifth and sixth graders allow us to listen in on their intelligent classroom discussion about the war in Iraq and early literature discussions from paired texts: So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashawa Watkinsand The Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi. This was in part influenced by current events; the United States was planning for the 2003 war against Iraq during this time and the actual attack on Iraq began just a few days before this discussion was filmed. The real world events made the experiences of the children in the novels very real and urgent to these students.
Vignette #2 – ESL Space Exploration Inquiry
Stacey Medd and her third to sixth grade English-as-a-Second-Language students invite us into an inquiry study about space that occurred at the time of the Columbia disaster. In negotiation with their teacher, the students decided they would carry on one of the astronauts’ many dreams and goals – to teach about space. These students make meaning with multiple sign systems (painting, construction, photography, music, maps and globes, literature and language) that demonstrate rich learning in an engaging environment. The video vignette illustrates dramatically how children may learn a rich vocabulary and the conventions of oral and written English when invited to make meaning.
Following each viewing, Nell and Stacey will share real examples from their classrooms to extend the images of the video and there will be time for questions and discussion about the vignettes.
STRATEGIC TEACHING DECISIONS
Since the kind of teaching seen in these videos is in jeopardy in many of our schools across the country, we will co-construct concrete strategies teachers can use to connect the rich worlds of children with the world of curriculum mandates.
Nell will share how mandated curriculum can spark genuine inquiry in your classroom as she highlights how she “takes the basal and thinks bigger.” Stacey will share a question mat she uses with kids as they answer questions in many different ways and demonstrate how to mesh topics and pieces of reading in order to create a genuine meaning-making experience.
More ideas will be charted by the group at large and sent to interested participants via email.