Assignment 10

I liked creating a blog for this class. Although I've never blogged before and therefore was not accustomed to the process of blogging, I enjoyed the experience after awhile. It was nice trying a new vehicle for posting reflections on the readings. The only thing I did not like about blogging is that I cannot see my classmates' blogs. I don't necessarily want to comment on their blogs, but it would be nice to see other ideas and strategies for teaching literacy.

If I ever work in a traditional school (such as for APS, instead of a very alternative charter school), I might use blogging to communicate with parents. I would post newsletters and other anecdotes about class activities/events on the blog. Depending on the age of students I might teach, I would allow students to use a blog to post certain assignments. For example, I might use it for journal entries as well as story and essay assignments.

Overall, I found several of the strategies I learned in this class very helpful for teaching literacy. I enjoyed the blogging, LFE Parts 2 and 3, and I imagine I will find the curriculum project helpful.

Assignment 9

A language disorder is impaired comprehension and/or use of spoken, written, and/or other symbol systems. The disorder may involve the form of language, the content of language, and/or the function of language in communication in any combination. In other words, a language disorder may include both comprehension of language and/or language production and includes either written or spoken language.

A reading disorder is a a reading achievement level that is below a person's chronological age and below the level that would be expected for a person's level of intelligence after given age-appropriate education. Oral reading would be characterized by distortions, substitutions, and/or omissions and both oral and silent reading would be characterized by slowness and errors in comprehension.

A writing disorder includes difficulty in one or more of the following writing elements: written composition, spelling, and/or handwriting. Examples: telling/retelling a story, identifying sounds in words, tracing shapes, holding a pencil.

Specific exceptionalities that are often linked with literacy difficulties are: learning disabilities, intellectual disability, autism, hearing/vision impairments, emotional disturbance.

Strategies I use in my classroom include using technology (for students with handwriting difficulties to express their thoughts, for example), giving and getting information activities, giving students responsibility and say in their treatment plans/goals, using materials with larger print, building background knowledge, giving ample time for reading and writing in the classroom (DEAR, journal entry writing), and trying to pick books that interest the students, among others.

Strategies I like and will try from the reading include mediation and bridging as well as expository text strategies. Although we do not have class meetings where we bring up feelings about the students' treatment/difficulties (this is because the kids are already living at a treatment facility and spend almost every free moment they have outside of school working on these exact issues, and I don't want it to become more overwhelming) except in IEP meetings, I like the prompting questions/statements in the mediation/bridging sections of Chapter 7 from the reading. I will try using some of these when necessary. I like the expository text strategies in that they help develop students' comprehension and language production.

Assignment 8

The literacy strategies for teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities that caught my interest were: incidental teaching, Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS), augmentative and alternative communications (AAC), whole language approaches, involving parents, and incorporating technology. I believe all of these strategies, except for AAC, may be used for all students including general education students. I imagine they could provide support for students who are at various literacy levels. I work with students who are emotionally disturbed as well as intellectually disabled and all read and write at different levels. Although none of my students have a disability which requires them to use AAC, I certainly support the use of such devices/means of communication. I've seen AAC in action as there is a deaf/hard of hearing class in the school I work at and they use ASL interpreters for the students, which I highly support. 

I often use incidental teaching and whole language in my lessons. For instance, I may start a discussion about video games and their affects on youth based on my students' interest in them and because we're conducting a literary unit on Ender's Game (incidental teaching). We read often and take turns reading in my class, I encourage students to read (we have DEAR every day), I talk about books I love and information I've learned from reading, and I support connections students might make between their own experiences and books they're reading or interested in (whole language approach). For one student in particular, I also incorporate phonics instruction into his lessons as much as possible because he is in 9th grade at a 1st grade reading level (example: sound-symbol relationships, vowels, and consonants). I involve parents as much as possible by keeping in communication with them via phone and e-mail. I work at a treatment center, so there is not always much involvement from parents, but I occasionally meet them if they come to IEP meetings. I also incorporate technology, when possible, through math and literacy programs like E2020, Compass Learning, and MyLexia.

I'd like to learn more about PECS. Although I do not teach non-verbal students at this time, it sounds like an effective system for encouraging and supporting children to communicate. 

No questions/concerns at this time.