Literacy

Literacy to me is the ability to comprehend and apply language in all of its forms (verbal, non-verbal, written, ect) in every day life. It is also the foundation for which all knowledge is built upon.

I put this down as my definition because it encompasses a lot of information in a “to the point” sentence. I believe that there are different levels of literacy and that a person can function in society without achieving the highest level of literacy. The ability to interpret non-verbal signals is just as important as being able to convey a verbal message to a friend or acquaintance.

I also believe that without a solid foundation in literacy there is a ceiling cap on how much a person can learn/do in society. Literacy is used in almost every subject from language arts to math and literacy affects every aspect of an individual’s life from driving a car to writing the great American novel. Without that solid foundation or knowledge in this area a person is going to struggle with the more complex tasks of society. Having a solid foundation in literacy makes learning other subjects simpler if you do not have to struggle with the language aspects of that particular subject.

I do not believe the readings this week really changed my definition of literacy since we discussed what literacy is in TE 301.

Now this might sound a little crazy but I have thought quite a lot about how I want to set up a reading area in my classroom. When I was working at my church with my dad we built this massive tree house stage set. The tree has a huge upper level with 4 -5 steps which I plan on putting carpeting on and padding the wood rails with some sort of cloth. Up there will be a reading only area where children can go read books during free time or during allotted reading time. This tree also has shelves below in which I can put tons of books on and angle it in such a way that it won’t take up that much space. I measured my CT’s classroom the last two years and it has fit in both classrooms which leads me to believe that I can fit it in my classroom wherever it may be.

On top of that I want to provide the students with numerous opportunities to get involved in literacy from reading what they enjoy to creating an environment where they can communicate easily with each other and myself.