Double Entry Journal #9

Ch.2 A Strange Fact About Not Learning to Read

1. What is the strange fact about not learning to read?
The strange fact about not learning to read is that it is usually the majority of poor children, or children from minority groups who are not learning to read in school.

2. Why is this fact so strange?

This fact is so strange because going to school is to create a level playing field for all children.  All children are supposed to be given the right to an education no matter what socioeconomic group they are from. 

3. What is it about school that manages to transform children who at good at learning things like Pokeman into children who are not good a learning?
School manages to transform children from not wanting to learn because of the activities that the teachers are doing.  Many teachers hand-out worksheets to students and expect them to learn and be interested in the content through completing a worksheet.  This is not the case, students need to experience hands-on activities and have a choice to act upon their interest, such as Pokemon. 

4. What is the differences between a traditionalists approach to learning to read and more progressive educators?
The traditionalists approach to learning to read is described as a sequential, skills-based approach.  Phonemic awareness is taught first, then phonics, practice with fluent oral reading, and then finally comprehension skills.  It is like an assembly line where if you complete the first step it will lead automatically lead you to the next.  The progressive educators believe in making your own meaning “meaning-making”.  They believe that learning to read is done best through picking up the skills when attempting to give meaning to written texts. 

5. Is learning to read a natural process like learning to speak a language?
No, learning is not a natural process like learning to speak a language.  The child has to be exposed to the right environment in order for the languages to be a natural process.  The author says, “Learning to read is not a natural process like acquiring a first language or, for that matter, learning to walk.  Such natural processes simply happen when a child is exposed to the right sorts of input and environments”. 

6. What are the differences between natural, instructed and cultural processes and which process should reading be classified under?
 A natural process is where humans can learn the language they speak or how to walk with no effort; it comes naturally to them.  It is the biological clock in their bodies that tells them when it is time to learn to talk or walk.  The instructed process is where students acquire knowledge of subjects such as physics, social studies, and mathematics.  Some people succeed in one subject that others may not succeed in.  The cultural process is where students have a purpose for learning.  An example would be learning how to cook.  Most people know how to cook, even though some people may not be very good at it; they know the gist of it to not starve.  Cultural process is learning because you want to learn something such as playing video games or even reading.  Reading is a cultural process because most students want to learn how to read in order to succeed.    

  7. How do humans learn best? Through instructional processes or through cultural processes? How is reading taught in school?
Humans learn best through a cultural process.  This is because they have a purpose for learning and are not instructed to learn through worksheets.  Reading in school is taught through an instructed process by learning phonics and going through the steps as in the traditionalists approach to learning. 

8. According to the author, what is the reason for the "fourth grade slump."
The reason for the “fourth grade slump” is because of the “failure to bring prototypes of academic language to school”.  The author says, “Children who do not bring such prototypes to school can learn to read in the sense of decoding vernacular language that is written down. But they cannot later read the early versions of academic varieties of language they see in books and sometimes hear teachers speak around fourth grade. 

 9. What is a better predictor of reading success than phonemic awareness?

A better predictor of reading success other than phonemic awareness is semantic and syntactic skills.  The author says, “Measures of semantic and syntactic skills” means how well children deal with what language means and with its structure (“syntax”). 

 10. What is the difference between "vernacular" and "specialist" varieties of language? Give an example of two sentences, one written in the vernacular and one written in a "a specialized variety", about a topic in your content area.

Vernacular language is the type used for face-to-face conversation and for everyday purposes.  This is how a person talks to their family, friends, and other people in their community.  Specialist language or also known as “academic language” is connected to learning and using information for school-based content areas. 

 11. What is "early language ability" and how is it developed?

“Early language ability” is when students bring to school with them the academic language that they have learned by being in their home environment. 

12. According to the author why and how does the traditionalist approach to teaching children to read fail?
The traditionalist approach to teaching children to read fails because they are not teaching children how to read academic language; they are teaching them how to read by doing phonics and dealing with superficial literal meanings that are mostly in the vernacular language not in the specialist language. 

 13. Are parents of poor children to blame for their children's inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school?

I do not feel that parents of poor children are to blame for their children’s inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school.  Some parents do not know that there are two types of languages that students need to bring with them to school.  Most parents, including parents of higher status, do the best they can to create more experiences for their children. 

14. Did you struggle with reading this text? Why? Are you a poor reader or are you unfamiliar with this variety of specialized language?
For the most part I did not struggle while reading this text.  There were a few parts that I had trouble with because I was unfamiliar with the terms when it came to reading about Pokémon.  I have heard of Pokémon before, but did not know all of the names and terms that went along with the game.  This is one part that I struggled with while reading.