The Small Pieces of Language

This week the reading was about the components that make of language and how to successfully teach children how to understand the language in which they are learning.  One of the articles talked about steering away from teacher a new letter each week, but instead incorporating all letters into words that the children already familiar with.  Teachers often do not realize how much language children have already been presented with even if they are not in a text-rich environment.  Some examples given were that text is found on the microwave and fast-food boxes.  I think this is a simple way to get all children used to what letters look like and how they form words and sentences.  It is an easy way everyday to point out words and letters that the parent and teacher spot out to get the child used to seeing the letters of the alphabet and can practice on becoming a pro at language.  Open ended questions, I believe, would be an awesome way to ask children about language. I also think that "think-alouds" and interactive writing is a brilliant way for children to see that reading and writing is meaningful but can also be fun.  It is also important to make children understand that they can build upon the language that they already have knowledge of.  Some ways that the reading talked about doing this with is through chunking letters together.  Another important statement made in this reading was the just because the student can name letters does not mean that they can use them to read.  I believe this would be hard for teachers to understand when they are just trying to cover state standards.  I totally agree with what Donna Jarvis said in this reading that it is vital to make children understand that any type of writing they present in a form of written communication that can built upon.
Another reading, Supporting phonemic awareness development in the classroom, took more of a linguistic approach to how language work.  I thought it was smart to put these readings together to see how language is actually made up so that as I become a teacher I am able to understand how language is broken down.  With this knowledge, it should be easier to teach my students how to form language, and be able to understand the differences that there are within language. Metacognition was mentioned in this reading, as thinking about one's thinking.  This definition seems to be the same as any other class that has had this type of vocabulary.  I feel that it is very important to understand how to use the language.  This reading also did a great job about breaking down the parts of speech and providing ways to teach that particular part to children who are learning how to read and write.  Some ways to start this off would be through rhyming, syllables, onset, and phonemes.  I think this is a great video linked below that shows how to break down words that are being taught.

Phonological Awareness Activity