1
Chapter 2 & 3
Cambourne’s conditions for reading and Writing:
Conditions Description Classroom example
Immersion Libraries, photos on the wall
Demention Children learn to read and write through Posters around the class
dementions through the classroom
Use Children have the opportunity to use reading Throughout the school day,
and writing in meaningful, interesting and children read and write a
authentic ways variety of different texts
that support their learning
about words
Feedback Children learn to read & write by engaging Writing and reading
wit others. discussions, conferences
Spoken language use and language variation
• It is an exchange of meanings negotiated between speakers.
Children continue to appropriate features of both spoken and written language when they enter school –
language that is now oriented to learning in educational contexts:
• Discussions groups
• Morning meeting time
• Small-group discussion
Language variation in response to cultural and social contexts
• Children come into classrooms with a rich repertoire of language from their communities and
homes
• Children’s use of language to make sense of their communities and the world in which they are
living is ever-expanding
Variations in spoken language
• Dialects and varieties of language bestow identity and membership
• A key principle for teachers to keep in mind when thinking about language variation and use is that
any instance of language use is neither good nor bad, neither correct nor incorrect; rather, what is
considered appropriate and effective language use is dependent on the context in which language is
being used (Goodman, 2003)
English language variation and language standard
• It is difficult to impose standards of correctness that all users of English agree with. A more
productive approach is to consider the ways English varies among users of the language (dialects)
and between contexts of use (registers)
Week 2 Reading Notes
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Chapter 2 & 3
Dialect •Dialects are influenced by factors such as race, class, religion, gender
and age of the language users
Language variation as a Language variation as a
• Depending on where one was raised or currently lives, there are
deficit (monolingual
distinct ways of pronouncing resource (plurilingual mindset)
particular words
mindset)
• Dialects carry with them common assumptions and biases. This is
Deviations from standard because language
varieties of English is a socially
Studentsconstructed system
are shown how of communication
to account for different
are viewed as a marker of lower ability. languages, dialects, purposes and registers (topics,
SayingTeaching
'hab' rather than
• It is important childrenaudiences,
'have', or 'dis' rather learn howmodes)
to use as they make
spoken languagevarieties
and written choices.
than SAE as an of SAE
'this', in Aboriginal Creole is a sign that the Students are encouraged to have conversations about
additiona • In the past, many teachers perceived students who spoke non‐
speaker is less capable than others. language variation and the impact of different languages
l dialect standard dialects of English as having a language deficit
and language varieties.
Translanguaging: the different ways speakers of more than one language
Students are prevented from using their home Acquiring multiple languages and dialects expands an
‘integrate, change and adapt’ their language use and combine all their
language or dialect during class time. individual's repertoire for communication.
‘language resources
All instruction is in English with little to unlock meaning and share . . . understandings with
accommodation, if any, others’ (Bakerwho
for students & Wright,
do not 2017)
Being able to use multiple languages is also associated
speak English or SAE. • Students whose first language is a language
with enhanced orcapacity.
cognitive dialect other than SAE
can face barriers to accessing thetocurriculum
Being able communicateandwithto achieving
people fromsuccess
multiple
at school language backgrounds indicates an expansive linguistic
• Learning SAE as an additional repertoire.
language or dialect requires up to three
Schools remediate 'disadvantage' associated
to five years Linguistic
to build spoken and cultural
English differences
proficiency and fromare seen
four as
to 'funds
seven of
with different languages, dialects
years toand cultural
achieve academicknowledge'
Englishfor building literacy
proficiency (Miller,inMitchell,
the classroom.
&
practices (e.g. parenting styles).
Brown, 2005).
Teachers instruct students to speak 'properly' The knowledge and language experiences students bring
• Teachers are ‘responsible for teaching the language and literacy
and do not accept the use of other languages to the classroom are used as a resource to support
demands of their learning areas’, which includes providing ‘students
and non-standard language variation in literacy learning.
students' classroom talk.
for whom English is an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) require
Learning a language is based specific support they need
on a universal ‘to build
Literate ways ofthe Englishdevelop
thinking language skills engaging in
by actively
developmental [Link] for effective communicationthe practices of aand access toofthe
community Australian
learners. Language use
Curriculum’ (ACARA,
All children learn to speak in the same way, all 2016b)
is an integral part of the sociocultural context of the
languages have common structures, and all community.
children learn these structures one after the
other. To learn a language, learners must actively participate in
events or settings where the language is being used.
The use of only standard English is the best Bilingualism and multilingualism, including bi- and
means for, supporting educational and multiliteracy, are highly valued in academic, vocational
economic success. and community contexts.
Register
• Language used for a particular purpose or in a particular setting. It is connected and identified by a
social situation
• The social roles and context influence the form and function of the speech or written text
• A register shows what a speaker or writer is doing with language at a given moment in time
Two contrasting positions on language variation
Week 2 Reading Notes
3
Chapter 2 & 3
Week 2 Reading Notes
4
Chapter 2 & 3
2.3 Language and literacy in the curriculum: implications for teaching literacy
• The Australian Curriculum encourages teachers to use an ‘ecological’ approach, i.e., an approach
that ‘aims to understand how literacy is embedded . . . in language and in learning’ (Barton, 2007)
• Think about how speaking and listening, reading and writing interact with and are dependent on
each other and on other modes of meaning making, such as images and body language
2.4 Learning Language
• Halliday suggests teachers think about language and learning in a systematic way (Halliday, 2004)
• Learning language: as children learn language, they progressively move from the immediate and
concrete to more abstract and metaphorical
• Classroom talk is ‘a key resource for learning from the early childhood years on’ (Jones, 2010)
• Collective, Reciprocal, Supportive, Cumulative, Purposeful, Exploratory
Learning through language
• Students learn through language across all areas of the school curriculum
• In each curriculum area students learn through the specialist language and literacy of that discipline
• For many students the literacy demands of specific disciplines can become barriers to educational
success
• Knowledge about the different ways language is used in each subject area helps students manage
this type of difficulty
2.5 Learning about language
• Teachers who understand how English is structured and organised are able to teach reading and
writing more effectively
• When students build knowledge about language and how it works in a systematic and functional
way, they can use this knowledge to become more effective and productive readers and writers
• Spelling ability is enhanced when students learn the relationship between the letter patterns used
to spell words and the meanings of the words (Adoniou, 2014; Anderson, 2017).
Cueing systems
• Kenneth Goodman established a view of the reading process that involved a close look at the
systems of oral language that make communication possible
• This is known as a psycholinguistic approach to reading
• Goodman & Goodman (2004) write, reading is ‘not simply knowing sounds, words, sentences and
the abstract parts of language’. Reading is ‘like listening’ and ‘consists of processing language and
constructing meaning’
Knowledge about sounds and graphic symbols
• A language for talking about language and its features is called a metalanguage
• A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a language
• In English there are approximately 44 phonemes: 20 vowel sounds and 24 consonants
• Vowel sound: nothing stopping the air flowing through the mouth
• Consonant sound: when airflow is stopped (by teeth, tongue and/or lips
Week 2 Reading Notes
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Chapter 2 & 3
• Vowels and consonant sounds in words are organised into syllables
• Each syllable typically has one vowel sound
• The consonant sound, or blend of consonant sounds, that precedes the vowel in a syllable is
called the syllable onset
• The vowel and all consonants in the syllable that follow the vowel is the rime
Phonemes of English and corresponding spelling
Knowledge about sounds and graphic symbols
• Phonics or graphophonics are terms commonly used for the correspondence between the sounds
of a spoken language and the letters used to write the language down
• The term phonics is also used for approaches to reading instruction that teach students about this
correspondence
Knowledge about grammar, words and punctuation
• When we learn about grammar, we learn about the ways words are organised into patterns to
structure sentences
• The Australian Curriculum states that ‘students’ ability to use grammar will exceed their ability to
explicitly reflect on grammar. Young children . . . will use complex sentences before they can explain
how these are structured’ (ACARA, 2016a)
• A morpheme is the smallest unit of language to make meaning
Week 2 Reading Notes
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Chapter 2 & 3
• Talking about morphemes helps students understand what words mean
• When young children know about the relationship between phonemes and morphemes, they learn
to pay attention to the meanings, pronunciation and spelling of words
• Spoken language activities are a useful way to introduce young children to punctuation and its use
Week 2 Reading Notes
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Chapter 2 & 3
Chapter 3
3.1 Examining cultural diversity in classroom settings
Students bring to the classroom and their learning a vast array of:
• linguistic knowledge
• cultural experiences
• values
• assumptions
These experiences play a critical role in establishing an effective and meaningful literacy curriculum
Recognising differences in literacy learning within the classroom
• Understanding that children do not all have the same linguistic backgrounds, home experiences or
educational history is an important consideration
• In many cases, EAL/D learners are grouped together as though they have similar backgrounds
• In reality, the only common factor is that they are learning English
• They may not need the same instruction but they do need consideration of their previous
experiences
Recognising differences
Factors to consider:
Where in the world the student is from The age exposed to English and the quality and
quantity of this exposure
Language learning aptitude Educational histories
Does the primary language have links with Fragmented or comprehensive schooling
English? experiences
Learning about home and community practices
Teachers need to learn about the home and community literacy practices of their students:
• types of texts the parents, caregivers and community members read and have access to
• various purposes held for such reading events
• how literacy is used and valued in different communities
• refer back to Chapter 1 to recall the guiding assumptions about literacy practices
Cultural and linguistic diversity
• Developing curriculum that draws upon the students’ lives should include thinking about the
resources and knowledge the families use to navigate their daily lives
• Think about ‘funds of knowledge’ – the historically accumulated resources, knowledge and
competencies that families and community members have
• Remember children learn many skills from family and community members
Week 2 Reading Notes
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Chapter 2 & 3
Funds of knowledge
• The concept of funds of knowledge is helpful in thinking about the richness and diversity that
children bring to the classroom (Moll, Amanti, Neff, Gonzalez 1992)
• Teachers learn more about their students through:
• interviews
• surveys
• questionnaires
• observations
• Considering the various funds of knowledge enables teachers to create meaningful and relevant
curriculum
• Learning about a student’s funds of knowledge enables teachers to get to know the child as a
‘whole’ person
• This is a departure from the more narrow view whereby the teacher knows the child as merely a
‘student’
Virtual school bags
• This is a concept whereby the teacher considers the knowledge, skills and ways of being that
children carry with them in a virtual back pack
• Some of these will be accessed and celebrated in classroom experiences
• Others will be hidden from teachers and classmates
• Inviting the ‘whole’ student into the classroom requires that teachers tap into student lives and
their virtual school bags
3.2 Teaching from a culturally relevant perspective
• Culture is the way in which we respond, think, believe, feel, act and learn
• Culturally relevant pedagogy is teaching into the academic and social needs of culturally and
linguistically diverse students
• This is determined by the teacher’s willingness to not only learn who their students are, but also
who they themselves are as cultural beings (Pransky and Bailey, 2002)
Characteristics of culturally responsive pedagogy
• Villegas and Lucas (2002) have identified six characteristics of what it means to teach from a
culturally responsive perspective
• These characteristics:
• recognise that actions are influenced by race/ethnicity, social class and language
• affirm diverse backgrounds
• see learning as an active process
3.3 Supporting linguistically diverse learners in reading and writing
• In the Australian Curriculum there is an emphasis on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history
and culture, and Engagement with Asia
• There will be an inclusion of children’s literature in the primary classroom which explores Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander culture
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Chapter 2 & 3
• Intercultural understanding is one of the seven general capabilities to be developed in the
curriculum
Australian Curriculum
• By accessing students’ funds of knowledge and exploring their ‘virtual school bag’, teachers can key
into ways to connect with a student’s background and culture through real-life tasks
• These connect the classroom and the community resources
• Students engage in learning about Asia by exploring traditional and contemporary texts about the
peoples and countries of Asia
Connecting students’ background knowledge and personal experiences
Linking students’ background to literacy events and texts:
• Multicultural texts honour the diverse cultures and language communities of which students
are a part
• They connect people of different backgrounds
• They become the starting place for deeper examination and discussion of experiences
• Teachers implement literature discussions and interactive or dialogue journals
• These are journals where teachers and students write to each other, ask questions, share
experiences and ideas
• They can be integrated with technology allowing communication through a multimodal writing
process
• They allow for responses to be part of a creative process
Creating opportunities for students to meaningfully apply oral language skills
• Students use language to achieve particular purposes:
• to question
• making understandings more precise
• reinterpreting past experiences
• moving beyond personal experiences
• encourage language development through small group discussions, brainstorming, daily
news, dramatic play, debates, storytelling, partner reading and reading aloud
Encouraging students’ primary language
• Allow students to move between languages
• Students with such flexibility extend and develop their linguistic repertoire
• Literature discussions and writing are opportunities for students to take risks in language
development
• They enhance vocabulary development
• Unfamiliar terms are presented in the context of conversation
Authentic literature
• Authentic literature provides greater opportunities to:
• learn language
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Chapter 2 & 3
• learn about language
• learn new vocabulary
• learn language patterns
• learn nuances in the language
• learn structural features of language
Establishing culturally relevant interaction patterns in literacy events
• The learning environments should include customs and traditions that are different from the
teacher’s own
• Students need to make meaningful connections between their lives and school experiences
• The goal of culturally relevant teaching is to heighten student’s academic performance by providing
materials that encourage students to acquire new knowledge, skills and dispositions
Aspects of culturally relevant teaching as related to a literacy event
Goals of the event
Assessme
Materials
nt of
and texts
learning
Interactio
n patters
3.4 Using early assessment to know your students
• At the beginning of the year find out about your students
• Focus on student interests, preferred genres and ways of thinking about literacy
• Focus on building community in the classroom
• Let students demonstrate what they know, what they value, what they are confident and
competent in
• Let them begin the school year celebrating all that they know and what they want to know
3.5 Kid watching
• A process of closely observing children’s learning processes as they occur in various settings
• It is learning about children by watching how they learn (Goodman 1978)
• Signals to the teacher ways to plan curriculum that will meet the needs of the students
Teachers observe:
• approaches to the task
• enthusiasm for reading
• types of miscues or errors
• sorts of strategies the reader employs to gain comprehension
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Chapter 2 & 3
3.6 Attitudes and interest in reading and writing
Supplementary strategies to kid watching:
• attitude questionnaires and surveys are available to gain information from students and
parents
• no matter what the system or process the teachers develop, it is important that the notes be
reflected upon
• teachers need to step back and reflect on the collected notes to more effectively build
curriculum that is meaningful and relevant to students.
Interviews
• Interviews are an important source of information
• They help create reading profiles
• Information can be utilised to establish classroom libraries
• Help students select books
• Begin thinking about possible inquiries and focus studies
Week 2 Reading Notes