My literacy group plans to explore a few different places. We chose to visit a restaurant, the library, and the media center of our own school. We decided on these three places because our students frequently visit these areas after school.
We have decided to choose a restaurant near to the school to learn more about the students potential connections between literacy and mathematics. We choose to observe restaurants because our students talk about their weekend activities which include frequenting restaurants. Our group expects that students will be able to read a children menu and choose an item based upon what they would prefer to choose. However, we expect to see the children engaging in creative processes. For instance, we expect to see children coloring menus, solving word problems, and other items that a children's menu would provide. Secondly, we decided to explore the Southfield Public Library. The students should be exploring their own public library, so we felt that would be a beneficial place to explore literacy. At the library, I expect to see children engaging in literature and resources available. Lastly, our group has decided to examine the library/media center of our own school. We would like to understand what resources are available to students during school instruction.
Michelle - I love how your group is thinking about the connections between mathematics and literacy. I think that teachers often get so caught up in what they are supposed to teach in one specific subject that they forget how all subjects are connected in real life. For example, you guys are visiting a restaurant and using the menu to tie in aspects of literacy. What a perfect opportunity for a connection between math and literacy! After all, aren't our students forced to make this connection when going to a restaurant and reading the menu and looking at the prices? I believe there is no better way to prepare our students for the real world than to make our instruction as close to realistic as possible!
ReplyDeleteMy group also chose to visit a restaurant and the public library, so it will be interesting to see the differences between the types of literacies we find. From looking at your ideas for the restaurant menu, I can already tell you that we didn’t even think about coloring being a part of literacy. How could we forget this? After all, I am in a 1st/2nd grade split and a good amount of instruction time is spent with them coloring! I also think that it will be interesting to see if there are any differences in the types of literacy found at the public library and at the school library. I look forward to learning from your presentation!