Please read the article linked below from the New Times about how poverty effects reading performance, then post your response to the article on your blog. Remember, just as on blackboard discussions, the expectation is that your postings will not be a summary of the article but a reflection of your ideas and questions about the article. Also, don't forget to respond to the blogs of at least 2 classmates. Happy blogging!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/nyregion/for-poorer-students-an-attempt-to-let-new-experiences-guide-learning.html?_r=1&ref=education
Reading and Poverty: Field Trips!
ReplyDeleteIt is unbelievable to me that there are children in our country who have never ridden in a car. It's easy to think about that being uncommon in other countries, but here? I've never thought of having a car as a luxary. I guess in New York it would be though since it is not a necessity like it is here. In special education we talk about integrating every day life skills and knowledge into curriculum all the time, but I had not really thought about it being important to use in the regular eduation classroom. These "field trips" are such a unique way of getting students involved and interested in the materials they are learning. This teacher is stimulating every one of her student's senses by teaching this way. This is a great way to make sure that you are reaching every type of leaner in your classroom (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
I thought this article was an eye opener...I take so many things for granted...this article revealed a side of education that needs to be brought to the attention of all teachers. We may not have everything we want or need, but we can be creative and accomplish some pretty cool things.
DeleteI agree, kids who have never ridden in a car? Who would have thought. This article really hit home with me when the teacher took them on the field trips, cause I have never been to some of those places either. Or did I know what a parking garage was, till I was in high school.
DeleteI love the point you made about stimulating the senses. When students are given the opportunity to fully experience something through as many senses as possible, it makes a much bigger impact. It stays with them for the long-term.
DeleteI love the point you made about the senses. It is important in any classroom to make real world connections with the students. Rather that be using examples in the classroom or references... This teacher used field trips... It was a perfect way to make that happen!
DeleteThis comment was to Madison Bourland:
ReplyDeleteI sometimes get so caught up at looking at the poverty in other countries that I forget that we have families struggling here as well. Being aware of our student's home life is something that will be beneficial.
This comment was to Courtney Bullen:
ReplyDeleteI also couldn't believe that there are children who hadn't ever ridden in a car. I guess it's like how our student's here are not sure what a subway is.
This article allows the reader to be more aware of issues that are in the classroom. Poverty exists everywhere and the impact it can have in the classroom is devastating. However, in this article, teachers use resources that would not normally be considered a resource for students. Yet, teachers have taken the trip to the "sidewalk" and made it a learning activity. This so amazing to me and very encouraging. Students can learn when teachers can take a "nothing" situation and make it into an impacting tool for her students to learn by. I loved this article.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Everyone knows poverty is everywhere but the small things teachers can do to make connections for students the better a teacher they are. I give this teacher points for creativity. I love this article as well.
DeleteShawna-
DeleteThis article did help me to open my eyes to some of the real issues that are in schools. I thought it was interesting to read about how the teacher used the resources in her community that we usually do not. I agree with you that it is very inspiring when teacher's can make learning experiences simply by just what is around them.
I loved this article as well! I like the part of you passage that says "Students can learn when teachers can take a "nothing" situation and make it in to an impacting tool for her students to learn by." I couldn't agree more with this statement. I hope that in my future years as an educator, I can take an unusual thing/place and make it unforgettable. This is so encouraging to me!
DeleteI also enjoyed this article. It is very inspiring and is an encouragement to me to use my imagination when connecting lessons to the real-world.
DeleteSierra-I was shocked at some of the statistics too. Thirty-five millions words seems like it would make the gap in children's knowledge almost to big to fill. I love that the teachers work to give the students experiences that will make them more successful in the future instead of sitting them down with books and getting frustrated with them when they don't understand what they are reading. I think we can take some of the methods used in this school into our own classroom regardless of the socioeconomic status of our students.
ReplyDeleteCaitlyn James-I agree that the way the teacher handled her hands on experiences reached every learner. It's important for us to know our students and help fill in the gaps that they have in their experiences even if it is just showing a video, picture, or online tour. The more background experiences a child has to pull from, the better off they will be.
ReplyDeleteA Field Trip to a Strange New Place
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this article it really hit home for me. I thought of the things that I have never seen but on television. I believe the teacher taking the students just to parts around the neighborhood was a really good idea. This really helped the students understand what was going on around them and to me it seemed really fun to get out of the classroom for a little bit. I would really love to be able to do this with my students.
Growing up in central California I had experienced the ocean, mountains, national parks, and crazy over crowded cities on a fairly consistant basis. When reading about these things in books I have substantial background knowledge of these topics and can easily picture what they look like. Thinking as a teacher I did not realize many kids from this area have probably not seen these things. This isn't just a poverty issue, some families just do not do vacations. Either way, I need to make sure that as we read through books and explore new topics I utilize all resources to help my students learn about these places and things they haven't experienced yet.
DeletePoverty is such a hard concept to understand unless you have been there yourself. I cannot imagine never riding in a car, or being in the second grade and never stepping inside a zoo. I loved how the teacher looked at her students and found what they really needed. She understood that students cannot comprehend ideas that are presented to them in books if they have never had the experiences themselves. I had a first grade teacher who works at a low socioeconomic school tell me that she begins the school year with Dr. Seuss. She explained that many students will tell her on the first day of school after she reads to the class that they have never been read to. She says that most of her students do not even know about Dr. Seuss. I think these are things that we just assume children get at home. This article really points out that we need to have some background knowledge of our students. There are little things that we can learn about them that will help us to understand their learning strengths and weaknesses.
ReplyDeleteI too like that the teacher was meeting the needs of the students. She took them into the environment they needed to learn and did not read about one from a book.
DeleteI agree that it's hard to imagine,unless you been there yourself, never riding in a car or going inside a zoo. But unfortantely there are those kids who haven't experiences either one and this article was a real eye-opening in reminding us of that fact.
DeletePoverty is definately somethign that you could not understand until you have been there. I have never lived in poverty and hope that I never have to. With that being said, two years ago, my dad got injured at work and until workmen's comp kicked in, I had to look at a lot of things differently. For about two months, I felt as if there were so many things I could not do. I quickly learned that going to the movies, going into Wal-Mart and picking up extra things that we didn't really NEED, eating out, ect... were really a luxury. It took an eye opening experience for me to really see that.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMaddison Lindsey My Post: maddlin2.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeletePosted to Brenae Russell: http://brenaer.blogspot.com/2012/02/article-field-trip-to-strange-new-place.html?showComment=1329965220186#c8791624970330331383
Posted to Madison Bourland: http://madisonbourland.blogspot.com/2012/02/poverty.html?showComment=1329965547383#!/2012/02/poverty.html
Reading & Poverty:
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that stood out to me in this article was the fact that by age 4 most upper-middle class children have heard 35 million more words than children in poverty. This is amazing to think about. As an educational student, thinking about this has opened my eyes to how my classroom will be very diverse in this aspect. This article helps future teachers have an understanding of how social class can impact our students. Also, as a future teacher, we have to realize this gap exists between upper-middle class and poverty and try to narrow that gap. I thought taking a trip to the parking garage was a great way for that teacher to use resources available and make it a learning experience. The fact that some of these students have never sat in a car really shocked me. Some things we take for granted that others never get the chance to experience. I believe as teachers, we should offer these experiences to students to broaden their horizons and hopefully with a good education they can get out of the poverty level and contribute to our society in a positive way.
I agree, it was mind-blowing to think about the fact that by age 4 most upper-middle class children have heard 35 million more words than children in poverty. It does almost seems unreal.
DeleteThe fact that 4 year olds have that much of a difference because of being in a different "class" blew my mind also. I also was shocked by the fact that some children have never been in a car.
DeleteI agree that teachers should be able to give these experiences to their students. Being a teacher in a school surrounded by poverty would make the desire even greater to provide these students with a positive outlook on life and giving them opportunities that they would not have any other way.
DeleteThe most shocking to me wasn't that some children have never been inside a car since many New Yorkers use public transportation or walk. To me that's just a part culture in that area. However, it was disturbing that many of her kindergarten students were behind in vocabulary. I think this kindergarten teacher is doing a great job of providing her students with new opportunities for education.
DeleteI agree that after reading the statistics about how by age 4 most upper-middle class students have heard about 35 million more words, this will definately change the aspect of my classroom.
DeleteSierra-
ReplyDeleteI thought the article was mind blowing as well. I grew up in a small town and we had poor kids, but not to this level. I feel that I can be naive to these things. I also think that the parents should be involved, they shouldn't rely ONLY on public schools to educate their children, they should contribute to their educate too!
Brenae Russell-
ReplyDeleteI agree that we, as teachers, should go above and beyond and use the resources we have available to create meaningful experiences for our students. I liked this article because it shows that we can use our community to educate our students. We aren't limited to our textbooks and classrooms to learn from!
Blog 2- Poverty in Education
ReplyDeleteThis article was very inspirational to read. Francis Sachdev didn’t let it bother her that almost her entire class was considered to be in the poverty level. Although it was upsetting to hear that, “by age 4, the average child in an upper-middle-class family has heard 35 million more words than a poor child,” she still did her best to teach every student. I also learned a few extra strategies to use from reading this article. She used her surroundings and the community around her to help educate these children. I liked that she took them outside and on field trips often and used street signs as vocabulary. Plus, she had students reflect on their field trips, like the one to the parking garage. The children were also asked to expand on their background knowledge because she would ask them to make predictions before they went on a field trip. Overall, I thought this article was great. It taught me that even though many important resources may be lacking in a school environment (involved parents, money, school resources, etc.) that any teacher can still use the tools and people in their community to create long-lasting learning experiences.
I agree with you, a teacher can use the resources in the community to achieve many excellent learning experiences. I believe it takes attentiveness for a teacher to create such experiences that benefit his/her students.
DeleteI also think that it is great how the teacher used her surroundings and what she had to help improve her students knowledge. This teacher sounds really great and is not afraid of a challenge.
DeleteReply to Lindsay-
ReplyDeleteIt was very upsetting to hear the differing number of words that the average child hears compared to one from a poor background. Just like you, I was used to field trips to places like the Omniplex or the zoo. However, after reading this article, I too learned that many educational field trips can be centered around the community.
This article amazed me, I could not believe the number or words that a child misses out on due to his status.I loved how the schoold did not just stand by and watch children struggle with their reading because they didnt know what something was. Not only did the school try to famiarize them with the things in the world around them, but they introduced them to it. I cant even imagine not knowing what a car is like.So I say props to this school for not doing away with educational field trips due to lack of funding.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this Sarah. Educational field trips are usually thought of as being costly, but organizing field trips in this manner is not only cheap, but great for the students as well. These students should have the same education as students more well off. Regardless of if that means they have to take a field trip to sit in a car, or ride in one everyday to school.
DeleteThis is an eye-opening article for the effects that poverty poses on students. On one hand, it is amazing what some of us take for granted like everyday car rides whereas some children have never experienced such a privilege. On the other hand, this school has provided some interesting neighborhood experiences that provide each student with a richer knowledge base. I think the outings are a great idea for the children to experience life that happens around them every day. I love the idea that the teacher used the parking meters to create real-life math problems for the students. The children responded with excitement to the outings and seemed to embrace the learning experience. I believe it would prove beneficial if schools would adopt a “long view” concept towards such outings and allow students to benefit from these learning experiences.
ReplyDeleteThe article about the kids visiting a parking garage was a learning read for me. I was surprised at some of the facts they stated like: kids from middle-class here 35 million more words before school than those who live in poverty. That's mind-blowing to me and seems almost too much to be true. I was more interested in what they had to say about 2/3s of the wealthiest 20 % of households read to their children at home everyday, where only 1/3 of the poorest 20% don't. Things like this make a difference because to me, this is what matters the most- parent's involvement. Another aspect of learning for a child is in experiences. I'm realizing how important it is for children to get out and see different things. It gives them a great background knowledge for school and for everyday life in general. I really like how this poverty stricken school has incorporated experienced learning in their program. They knew it would take time, but eventually students start to gather a lot of background knowledge and places to build in-school learning on. This article made me sad and happy at the same time. I was sad to read about such poor conditions, but happy to see that the school system took action and did the best thing for the children! They will remember those educational experiences for the rest of their life, and they will know their teachers cared about them enough to give them the opportunities to experience them.
ReplyDelete@ Maddison Bourland- I agree with both of you, it's very sad. Yet, at the same time, we have to reach out the best we can to these students and provide them with the best learning experience we possibly can. Yes, Courtney, this would be perfect for using thematic units. Getting them a real world aspect is very important for students like the ones described in the article
ReplyDelete@ Courtney Bullen- I liked how the teacher noticed the students' needs as well. I think that is something overlooked a lot in teaching. We need to look at our kids and what their true needs are before we start throwing all these new concepts at them. We also need to tune into their strengths and weaknesses and play off of those.
ReplyDeleteWow! This article really made me think. When the boy said he had never been inside a car it made me do two things... one, realize how good I have it. Two, see what the students I will have in my class have and have not experienced. I DREAM of teaching in low-income schools and school in other countries so this is real life stuff to me. I have seen this in person already and have been in class with students who have never been inside a car before. I think the teacher in this situation is doing an awesome job of getting these students out and about to learn their vocabulary with real life stuff. Just from that one field trip, the students were reading, learning definitions, and math! It is awesome to see administrators at this school trying to get it right. These children are the ones most see as being doomed for failure... this school is trying to change that!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! It is crazy to believe that some students have not been in a car. I think this teacher has done an excellent job also! It is easy to see how much she cares about her students.
DeleteI can't believe that you have been around students who have never been in a car before. It makes sense around big city areas where riding on a subway or bus is almost more convenient, however it is still mind-boggling. I wish more administrators did more "getting it right" and hired exceptional teachers like the one described in the article so that the ones who are expected to be doomed will excel.
Delete@Sarah: I am with you and completely agree. Most schools would do away with field trips or sit and watch a studnet struggle or perhaps send them to a reading specailist classroom. These teachers are putting them in an environment that they need to be familiar with and helping them learn it so they can succeed out in "the world".
ReplyDeleteThis article was a real eye opener to me. It's hard to believe, unless you been there yourself, never having the opportunity of riding in a car or going to a zoo. It also amazing me that by age 4, the average child in an upper-middle-class family has heard 35 million more words than a poor child. That just seems almost unreal to mean.I completely love the teacher in this situation. She's doing a great job in finding out what her students love and what they really need. I also really liked how the teacher used the parking meters to create real-life math problems for the students. I thought that was a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI loved that the teacher used the parking meters for math problems as well. I believe the students will benefit from real-life examples versus textbook examples.
DeleteWe often forget how being from a different class than others we are exposed to different things. I also like how the teacher utilized the outside surroundings to teach the children
DeleteWhile reading this article, I was shocked to read that "By age 4, the average child in an upper-middle-class family has heard 35 million more words than a poor child." I never realized there was such a huge difference. Another quote I was surprised by was "about two-thirds of kindergartners from the wealthiest 20 percent of households are read to at home every day, about a third of children form the poorest 20 percent are." This just goes to show you that there is a gap in our student's education.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was really good. It just goes to show you that children can learn outside of the classroom. Sometimes, to bridge the gap of them understanding something, they need to be able to see it or touch it. I think this is a great way to show different ways to teach.
I was taken back at the beginning of the article in which it says "By age 4, the average child in an upper-middle-class family has heard 35 million more words than a poor child." This quote sent chills through my spine. Some never really think about exactly how big the educational gap between middle-class students and the poor students is. That should give proof right there.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of a field trip, I think of the science museum, however if you teach at a school such as the one described in the article where almost all of the 436 students attending that school qualify for free lunches, field trips such as the parking garage seem appropriate. This is a place where they are familiar and can relate to. This unique place to learn also broadens my horizon when I think of places in which my class can make predictions, observe, and ask questions. This excites me that simple things like this can be such a huge influence on the daily lives of students everywhere. Becoming familiar with their environment is crucial and gives the students a base in which to apply skills such as reading the signs, and calculating mental math problems when figuring out how much money will be needed after 40 minutes at the parking meter that costs 50 cents for 10 minutes.
I really enjoyed this article because it started to sprout my own ideas for field trips in my classroom one day.
I felt the same way when I read that statistic at the beginning of the article. How sad to think that there is such a large gap!
DeleteIt is very exciting and encouraging to know that we can use simple trips like going to the parking garage as a meaningful experience for our students. I enjoyed reading your insight on this.
I felt the same way about the statistic at the beginning of the article. I also think that the field trips that provide background knowledge are very important for a child's learning experience.
DeleteI found it disturbing that the students were so excited about visiting a parking garage. I understand why it would be exciting for them to experience this, but it is still unsettling. I have never thought about the fact that children who live in poverty probably have never been in a parking garage. It is unimaginable to me to not have a car, because I have had one ever since I turned sixteen.
ReplyDeleteI understand the principal’s concern about not wanting to adopt the program. Taking these kinds of field trips is truly unnecessary to meet the curriculum. However, giving the students the opportunity to experience this part of normal everyday life will help them see what life outside of poverty could be like. Perhaps this will let them desire a more luxurious lifestyle and want to get away from the lifestyle they are accustomed to.
Reply to Brenae Russell: I completely agree with you, teachers should be inspired by this article. We should want to break out of norm and untilize any sources we can to make sure children are getting a good education.
ReplyDeleteOriginal Post-
ReplyDeleteExtreme poverty is a topic very close to my heart. Having been to a third-world country, I've seen real poverty up close. I've seen what the absence of education. Fortunately in our country, children have the opportunity to have a free public education. This is not something that exists in every country. The many children in the small African country where I visited know this all too well. Just as the second graders in the article were excited to see a parking garage, some of the children I came across in Uganda got ecstatic over an empty water bottle.
An education may be different for everyone. Whether an education consists of traditional time in the classroom or touring a parking garage, it opens doors. I believe that poverty often has a way of reminding us of that fact. As educators, doing our best to find and address our students' needs should be automatic.
-Danna Borntrager
@Sierra5890
ReplyDeleteYou're right on when you discuss the importance of "experiences." For learning to be real, students need to experience it. Memorizing facts just long enough to regurgitate them on a test doesn't benefit the student. However, when students are immersed in learning and applying knowledge and skills, the result is long-lasting.
-Danna Borntrager
The Article A Field Trip to a Strange New Place: Second Grade Visits the Parking Garage illustrated just how important it is for teachers to make learning meaningful for students. The students in this second grade class are learning about the world around them, which is more important than studying for a bunch of tests.
ReplyDeleteBy making learning engaging and fun, I believe this teacher will see positive changes in her student's math and reading performances. They have a desire to learn because they are having fun! Making real life experiences as the center of her lessons is enabling her to help her students not only with reading and math, but other essential life skills that they may not be receiving. This article should inspire all of us to go beyond what the curriculum calls for and create experiences that are truly meaningful for our students.
@Samantha Bottoms ~
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. This teacher is doing a great job of connecting education to real world experiences, and is building up strong background knowledge. Well said!
This article was very interesting. It made me realize how blessed we are here. As a teacher most of our students will at least know what the inside of car looks like and how it feels to ride in one. Our students will have some general knowledge on the things that these teachers were having to teach their students. However, I loved the fact that the teacher acknowledged that her students had no idea about most of these things and faced it. Sometimes I feel that I just assume people have the same background knowledge that I do about things. I believe it is important that students learn the simple things in life. The teacher is showing the students a world outside of what they know and in doing this it will give the students something to work towards.
ReplyDelete@ Samantha Bottoms:
ReplyDeleteI agree that this was an excellent way to provide students with an experience that they will always remember. I think that this will allow the students to see a world outside of the one they are living in.
@ Sierra Barnhart:
ReplyDeleteThis article made me sad and happy too. I was almost in tears reading that the students had never even been inside a car, but was happy that the teacher was helping students experience these things.
I have a strong believe that education must have a real-world connection or learning will mean absolutely nothing to the student. This article proves my belief by leaps and bounds. Francis Sachdev used public places and private sector businesses as no-cost resources to help her students make real-world connections to their education. Allowing her students to explore a ‘world’ beyond the walls of home and school opened many learning opportunities, such as math. As a future teacher, I realize many of my students will struggle due to lack of exposure from any or all subject areas but also from their surroundings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Sandra. It is important to make real world connections with the students and be sure to refer back to what goes on in their everyday lives. As teachers we must be aware of the economical differences each student will have and take it all in consideration when teaching.
DeleteSunday, February 19, 2012Reading and poverty go hand in hand. Just because kids from poor families aren't exposed to much reading for fun and a wide range of words. I like this article because it talks about how they are helping build background knowledge for these children and making it fun. They are also using this trip to tie in mathematics, vocabulary, and social skills. I don't think this particular project would work everywhere but some variation of it could do wonders.
ReplyDeleteJanelle Birney original blog post
Wow! I can't believe in today's society there are still children who have never seen the inside or rode inside of a car before! It truly reminds you that you can take the little things in life we have for granted. It is important as future educators, that we value what we do have but also know our students and their backgrounds before we talk about what we have and things in everyday life. I really liked how the teacher took the students on outings and showed them different things out in the real world that go on in their everyday lives. As teachers, we must GET INVOLVED and sometimes that means learning things about the students that maybe heartbreaking and hard to understand.
ReplyDeleteIt is eye opening the things that children today haven't seen or experienced. I know the summer program I worked in the children got exteremly excited when we would drive by downtown OKC just because they hadn't been there. AS teachers it is very important that we are aware of their background knowledge.
DeleteI read the article A Field Trip to a Strange New Place: Second Grade Visits the Parking Garage and the author stressed the importance of a teacher knowing the students' background information. The article also stressed the importance of creating the background information by providing students with learning experience. "The teacher and the education specialist at the school made real life experiences the center of academic lessons, in hopes of improving reading and math skills by broadening children's frames of reference." I know that when I begin to teach I want to be sure and discover what background knowledge my students have and establish that knowledge for future learning. I also want to create meaningful learning experiences in my classroom as well as in my community. Another thing the article mentioned was " When reading, children are taught to make predications of what is to come in a book, based on a variety of evidence -- the cover, chapter headings, foreshadowing. The students also used their field trip booklets to do the same before their field trip." I really liked this idea and thought it was a great way to get the students engaged and motivated in what they were going to learn.
ReplyDeleteReading and Poverty
ReplyDeleteA Field Trip to a Strange New Place: Second Grade Visits the Parking Garage
I think that the idea behind this woman's teaching is great. Learning in context is the best kind of learning. It sticks in your brain. She's doing everything she can to create some type of relationship between her children's experiences and their own lives. She also is creating background knowledge. Those kids had no idea what the inside of a car looked like. If they had been asked about it on a test question, they probably would have gotten it wrong. Now, they know what a car looks like, they know about street signs, they know about paying a meter in order to park somewhere. It's amazing what a little bit of background knowledge can do to boost test scores. Deciding to taker her kids on field trips within walking distance was a fantastic idea. School districts are already strapped for cash and some of the first things to go are field trips. Instead of relying on the district to make some type of experience for her students, she did it herself. She's inventive and I hope I can use that same technique in my own classroom.
@ Brenae Russell
ReplyDeleteI think going beyond what the curriculum calls for is the most important part of being a teacher. We have to go above what the standards are. We need to teach our students what we know they are capable of learning and what intersts them. In doing that, we create a fun and engaging learning enviornment.
@Sierra Barnhart
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about parent involvement being what matters most. Teachers can only do so much, it's the parents job to make sure their child is getting what they need to succeed. I know that time restraints can be a factor, but a parent should always make sure their child is the most important. They need to read to their child and expose them to everything life has to offer. It blows my mind when children tell me that their parents don't read to them. It's one of the most important activities a parent can do with a child. It exposes them to ideas they may not know anything about.
At the start of reading this article, I knew it was going to be about a very poor school when you read that almost all of the 436 students in the building qualify for free lunches. I was also shocked when I read that children from upper class homes have heard 35 million more words than a low class child has, and also that only a third of low class children are read to at home. This literally breaks my heart. Antother thing that I thought of while reading this article was comprehenion is relate to background knowlege so much. I love that this teacher takes the students out on these field trips so that they can increase their backgound knowledge. Most of the children are not and do not have the chance to expericence these things outside of the classroom.
ReplyDelete@Jessica Fixico
ReplyDeleteI agree about the background experience this teacher is bringing to the table for her students. They don't have background experience on a lot of this stuff and for some, this is the only way they will ever gain any knowledge on the subject.
I was amazed at a lot of the things that I read in this article. It saddens me that we have students that are so unfortunate right here in our own country. This article has opened my eyes as to how I can go about doing things with my students. Even the simplest things like taking your students to a parking garage can be a great way for them to learn something new and be exposed to things that they are not used to. Doing things like this that is so simple and something you would not have thought of as a field trip could be just as great as doing something that requires a lot of money or a long road trip to see. I think this teacher thought out side the box and worked with what she had and got the job done in a great way. I really liked how she incorporated the Muni-Meters into a math activity once they got back into the classroom. As much as I enjoyed reading the little comments the students made about being excited to see a parking garage, it breaks my heart that this is the highlight of some of their days.
ReplyDelete@ Samantha Bottoms
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about how stuff sticks better in the brain if used in context. For the teacher to have the students experience that field trip the way they did is going to be very beneficial for the students in the long run both in life and during tests.
Original Post:What an awesome experience for children who live in a high poverty area! The statistics in this article blew me away. The fact that by age 4, the average child in an upper-middle-class family has heard 35 million more words than a poor child. 35 million. No wonder there is such a gap in children's ability to read. Children who have more experiences are able to better understand and connect with what they are reading. Reading comprehension increases when children have had similar experiences or can at least relate to what they are reading. The examples in this article say that few children have been to a zoo or have ridden in a car. Many children's books are centered around those two subjects and it would greatly benefit young readers to be able to relate to as many topics as possible. Affluent families have the time and money to take their kids to museums, parks, movies, and zoos and lower income families do not have those luxuries. To help bridge the gap, teachers can follow the model set by the P.S. 422 school in the article. I believe that all children, not just those who are in poverty would benefit from more field trips and more learning focuses on experiences.
ReplyDeleteReading and Poverty Original Post
ReplyDeleteThis article is very eye opening. I am not surprised to hear that some of the children have never been inside of a car, being that they are in a city full of public transportation. However, I still believe that this is very sad. I agree to the fact that when children are asked to read about cars they should have some background knowledge of what that is. Otherwise how could a child relate to the story? Given that these children do not have the background knowledge that most children are blessed with, I am really proud that the teacher is making the effort to take these children on trips. I especially loved how she made these trips educational lessons that went across the curriculum. For example, I loved how she taught a math lesson using the parking meters. This allows these children to receive the knowledge that is learned when these type of every day experiences occur. I wish more teachers were allowed to take trips like these in order to teach the children important skills. I hope I am able to provide my students with these types of experiences.
Reading and Poverty Response to Sierra Barnhart
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Sierra. These statistics that the article mentioned also blew my mind. However, I am so thrilled to see what this teacher and school is doing to help these children. I think background knowledge is so crucial to children. They need some background knowledge before coming to school so they can build upon that knowledge through lessons they learn at school. In order to get this background knowledge I think it is very important for children to be exposed to many different places, cultures and ideas. That can be by children being read to by their parents, simple trips to a children’s museum or the zoo, or even trips to different culture events. For example, especially in Oklahoma it would be great for children to experience a native tribal experience to learn about a tribe that they may even be decedents from. Children can and should start being exposed to many different things at a young age in order to develop a vast knowledge base.
Reading and Poverty Response to Shawna
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I love this article. It is truly a great example of a teacher taking a very challenging situation and turning it around to be a positive learning experience. I love that the teacher made a simple trip such as visiting a parking garage into a learning activity. I love how the teacher used a field trip to not only give those experiences to the children but also to teach them lessons out of it. For example, the teacher made a math lesson out of deciding how much money to put in a parking meter based on how much time it would allow to park at that location. I hear children ask teachers all the time, especially about the subject math, when they will ever use what they are required to learn. This is a great real life example of using math every day.