Eepening learners enjoyment in reading f

DEEPENING LEARNER’SENJOYMENT IN READINGFOR MEANING : 

DEEPENING LEARNER’SENJOYMENT IN READINGFOR MEANING BY GRETA GALLOWAY FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE SCHOOL FOR INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION EAST LONDON 043-704 7102 ggalloway@ufh.ac.za

FOUNDATION PHASEGrade R,1,2,3 : 

FOUNDATION PHASEGrade R,1,2,3 BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY SEGREGATION OF SCHOOLS BASED ON RACE MARGINALISATION, DISCRIMINATION AND INEQUALITY AFFECTED THE LITERACY LEVELS OF PEOPLE FOUNDATION PHASE: PAST EXPERIENCE- 27 YEARS VISITED: 14 FOUNDATION PHASE CLASSES REFLECTIONS FROM 8 BEd 2,3,4 - PRE-SERVICE STUDENTS

RATIONALE : 

RATIONALE Structure of reading lessons in foundation phase classes NCS policy document Teaching reading and reading comprehension at present The process of reading Timetable allocation according to the NCS policy document Lesson structure (DoE, 2002, 2008)

POSITIVIST TENDENCIES : 

POSITIVIST TENDENCIES Daily routine Divided into ability groups Reading from a set series Lesson development is static Mat formation during reading lessons Limited teaching skills Learner’s take turns to read sections of work Teacher-centered: Teacher is in control from a chair, learners sit on the mat No specific learning outcome for the lesson Assessment is based on learner’s reading ability (Letseka, 1995)

CRITICAL THEORETICAL APPROACH TO READING : 

CRITICAL THEORETICAL APPROACH TO READING CRITICAL THEORY EMPOWERING TEACHERS Concerned with social issues Main interest - people How human beings can liberate themselves from forms of domination and prescriptive modes of thinking and acting (Marcuse 1970) Provides teachers with alternative windows for a renewed and transformed way of teaching and learning Empowering teachers to think and act within the context of: SOCIAL CULTURAL, ENVIRONMENTAL and POLITICAL spheres (Higgs & Smith 2002: 80 -81)

EMANCIPATORY FRAMEWORK : 

EMANCIPATORY FRAMEWORK Focus: Related to social issues through critique and questioning , free from imposed ideology, where public opinion can be formed (Roderick 1986: 42). Habermas (cited in Roderick 1986: 5) argues that a paradigmatic shift in social theory, from an emphasis on production to one that STRESSES COMMUNICATION . He argues that interaction is the need of people (learners) to communicate freely with each other. Paulo Freire (1973: 3) argued in sympathy with minority groups against the social injustice by majority domination.

TEACHING READING FOR MEANING : 

TEACHING READING FOR MEANING Classroom pedagogy becomes a transformed environment Learners ought to be active members of the teaching and learning process Reading should engage the life-world of learners Interactive communication A learner-centered approach to reading

THE EMPHASIS : 

THE EMPHASIS Critical theoretical perspective : The emphasis is placed on the social, cultural and environmental needs of learners. The cognitive abilities of the learners would be critically valued in a classroom that takes on a more PARTICIPATORY DISCOURSE Learners develop literacy and reading skills through social interaction

THE FOCUS : 

THE FOCUS HABERMAS’S MODEL OF RATIONAL, CONSENSUS- ORIENTED DISCOURSE Draws critical theory into a more practical understanding of human emancipation This relates to a freer and liberated approach towards classroom pedagogy Engaging the life-world of learners How? Invite learners into a deeper dialogical classroom practice where interactive teaching and learning is being manifested – “COMMUNICATIVE ACTION” (Habermas, 1997)

DISCUSSION : 

DISCUSSION RNCS Grades R-9 (Schools) Policy: Languages (Home, 1st and 2nd Additional Language (DoE, 2002) LO 3: The learner will be able to read and view for information and enjoyment, and respond critically to the aesthetic, cultural and emotional values in texts “Teaching Reading in the Early Grades. A Teacher’s Handbook” (DoE, January 2008) Reading and Writing include: Shared Reading and Writing Guided Reading and Writing Independent Reading and Writing Activities Word-level and Sentence-level Work (DoE, 2008)

COMMUNICATIVE READING : 

COMMUNICATIVE READING Create space for communicative, dialogical and interactive reading environments Habermasian theory informs us that “COMMUNICATIVE ACTION” is transformative (Habermas, 1997) Reading and book discussions embrace Habermas’s theory for the “better argument”. Learners have the freedom to discuss a particular book, deliberate through interactive group debates.

COMMUNICATIVE REALITY : 

COMMUNICATIVE REALITY Habermas (1996: 147) refers to deliberation as “unhindered communicative freedom” which creates space for dialogue, communication, deliberation and freedom of speech Reading for meaning context : Mixed ability groups Developing dialogue relating to literature Deepen social, cultural and intellectual knowledge with other members of the group

BURBULES THEORY : 

BURBULES THEORY Burbules draws our attention to the “tragic” sense of education – dilemma of teaching to a dominant group He argues that this impairs the kind of diversity and critical multiculturalism that has the potential to open boundaries as the voice of others can enrich the teaching and learning practice. He argues that a critical teaching environment would be more open to new opportunities for discovery and for exploring the possibilities of “what it is not to know” by accepting the limitations of one’s acquired knowledge (Burbules & Hansen 1997: 65, 73)

BURBULES - APORIA : 

BURBULES - APORIA He refers to this tragic sense as aporia, meaning the under-explored educational moment. “Rich fertile moments of educational potential” (Burbules & Hansen 1997: 73) Curiosity about cultures and life that is different from our own – a respect for difference Embrace Burbules thinking into our classrooms and reading lessons – valued voice of the minority.

YOUNG’S THEORY OF COMMUNICATIVE DEMOCRACY : 

YOUNG’S THEORY OF COMMUNICATIVE DEMOCRACY Inclusion of others (Young 2000). Young argues that through greetings, rhetoric and story telling the inclusion of others become equal voices. Critical literacy embraces all the voices in order to enrich our social, cultural, political and environmental contexts (Wink 2005: 48).

PRACTICAL IDEAS : 

PRACTICAL IDEAS Develop reading for meaning through the process of communication and active deliberation in classrooms RECOMMENDATIONS Re-design classroom layout Develop stimulating literacy areas Select interesting reading/literature for learners Develop the life-world of learners through reading Design literacy stations that draw learners to reading for meaning and enjoyment Display reading books in various genre

INNOVATIVE READING IDEAS : 

INNOVATIVE READING IDEAS Reading café Lounge around reading Rotational book clubs Buddy reading Book festival Integrate drama and art Dressing up area Staging learner productions based on literature Re-writing a book into your life-world/culture/social context (English four to eleven, 2004-2007– EA & UKLM)

DELIBERATIVE MOMENTS : 

DELIBERATIVE MOMENTS

SOCIAL INTERACTION : 

SOCIAL INTERACTION

Love a book? Recommend it to a buddy? : 

Love a book? Recommend it to a buddy? TO FROM Asking learners to think about WHY they are RECOMMENDING a book to a friend TITLE WHY This encourages thoughtful recommendations (Miller, 2002: 39)

Thinking about Reading : 

Thinking about Reading Choosing a new book? Use your schema about books and what you know about yourself as a reader to make a good choice (Miller 2002: 53) Children combine their decoding and comprehension skills as they read and think about text

CREATING MENTAL IMAGES from STORIES : 

CREATING MENTAL IMAGES from STORIES My mental image of the story Illustrated by: (Miller, 2002)

Digging Deeper : 

Digging Deeper Let learner’s deliberate with each other. This allows them to think their way through a text Taking the conversation deeper about the text Collaborating how to design a group text mural

Creating a stimulating classroom environment : 

Creating a stimulating classroom environment Open plan layout – rich literacy environment Books on display in various genre’s IRP (Individualised Reading Programme) Wall charts about books Sticky notes to draw attention to books Story Mapping The THEME The setting The characters The problem The solution (Miller, 2002)

INFERRING: MEANING OF WORDS – Comprehension strategy : 

INFERRING: MEANING OF WORDS – Comprehension strategy WORD What we infer it to mean? What did we learn? We inferred the meanings of words by using the pictures, using our schema What helped us? Re-read the words in the text and listen to the ideas of others (Miller 2002: 109)

Sticky note format : 

Sticky note format When we came to words in our reading and did not know what they meant, we inferred our own meanings Vanished Shudder Mystery Dither Petrified

Slide 27: 

How does a tadpole turn into a frog? What is the process? Draw the life cycle process Describe a tadpole How do frogs breath? A questioning web

REFERENCES : 

REFERENCES Burbules, N.C. & Hansen, D.T. 1997. Teaching and its predicaments. Colorado: Westview Press. Department of Education, 2008: Teaching reading in the early grades. A teacher’s handbook. Pretoria: DoE Department of Education, 2002. Revised National Curriculum Statement Grades R – 9 (Schools) Policy. Pretoria: DoE. English Association & United Kingdom Literacy Association. 2004-2007. English four to eleven. Leicester. English Association. Freire, P. 1973. Education for critical consciousness. New York: The Seabury Press. Habermas, J. 1996. Three normative models of democracy. Benhabib, S. (ed). Democracy and difference: Contesting the boundaries of the political. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 21 – 30. Habermas, J. 1997. Popular sovereignty as procedure. Bohman, J. & Rehg, W. (eds). Deliberative democracy. Essaus on reason and polics. Cambridge, M.A: MIT Press, 35-66. Higgs, P. & Smith, J. 2002. Rethinking truth. Kenwyn: Juta Academic. Letseka, A.K. 1995. Systems theory and educational discourse. Higgs, P (ed.). Metatheories in philosophy of education. Isando: Heinemann, 285-306. Marcuse, H. 1970. Five lectures. New York: Beacon Press. Miller, D. 2002. Reading with Meaning. Teaching comprehension in the primary grades. USA: Stenhouse Publishers. Roderick, R. 1986. Habermas and the foundations of critical theory. Theoretical Traditions in the social sciences. London: Macmillan. Wink, J, 2005. Critical pedagogy. Notes from the real world. Boston: Person Education, Inc.