Jessica Quezada

LRC 321c
March 4, 2013
Literacy Walk Reflection
1. With your team think about signs that you identified and that children could recognize as
part of their emergent literacy.
The signs in this area that students are most likely to be able to identify are the typical street
signs that are seen on every corner. These signs include stop signs, crosswalk signs, and street
name signs. Students probably recognize a stop sign as a place to stop, and a crosswalk as an
area where people walk, in other words they associate it with a specific action. Through the use
of these signs students will understand that there are rules in society not just in their school.
Since there is a motion that is associated with this specific sign, students can associate the word
with the name. For example they will know that the word STOP, says stop. The same goes for the
crosswalk sign. They will start to associate the yellow sign with the yellow sign with a specific
motion. Every time they see this sign around town, they will know what it represents. Students
will also start to associate the words they hear in about these sign to associate words, and
meaning with it.

On the other hand students will not know what every single street is named, they will only know
that the sign represents the beginning of a street. Another print students will be likely to
recognize are the images on the garbage around the neighborhood. For example one thing that I
saw that I personally recognized was the Takis garbage. It is food that is available in their
community, and possibly food that they eat on a regular basis. Students will be able to recognize
the garbage on the ground and even though they will not be able to actually read what the
garbage says, they will be able to tell you what it says because they recognize the symbols on the
packaging. Students might also relate this garbage to the community around them. For example
they might relate the Takis garbage to the Circle K at the end of the street, where they can most
likely buy this kind of food.

nother abundant form of language in this neighborhood were yard sale signs, they were on
almost every corner. Since these are so relevant in this area, students most likely have a general
idea of what is meant by the signs. Since these yard sales are so common student have most
likely gone to one of these events at least once in their life. When students see these signs they
will understand what those signs represent, as well as what goes on in these events. Some student
might even have some experience setting up these events, as well as writing these signs. These
students are likely to recognize the letters that are used to make up the words yard sale. The last
sign that students are likely to recognize are in the large mural across their school. This is an
image they see on a daily basis as they arrive to school, and it depicts images that are common
based on where they live such as the Circle K sign, the saguaro cactus, and electrical plugs. Even
through there is not language in this mural, students will be able to recognize the images and
give the images names.

2. How do you think the community literacies you identified in your walk could be
connected to classroom curriculum and projects?
All of the literacies that were identified on this walk can be brought into the classroom in
order to connect the students home life with their school life. Some of the ideas I really liked
from Kidwatching were the print displays, and the word study centers. The images used in the
word study center can be gathered from the neighborhood around Ocotillo. These can include
pictures of street signs, murals, yard sale signs, as well as other items around their neighborhood
such as graffiti, and images of stores that are common in their neighborhood. The center can
include images of a common thing in their neighborhood with the names of each of these objects.
This can lead students to associate the words with the images around their neighborhood, as well
as practicing writing the words that are associated with the images. Students will be more likely
to recognize these images since they are exposed to them frequently. These prints can be placed
in a writing center, or they can be used to create activities for students. The print displays can
help students recognize prints at home, and they can also help students start conversations about
the prints in their posters. It would be interesting to see the similarities and differences in the
prints in students homes.