Literacy Philosophy

Literacy Philosophy
Southern Oregon University

Literacy Philosophy

This was a very exciting term for me, not only was it my first experience at
Southern Oregon University but also the start to my future career as a teacher. To be
taking classes that are not only very interesting but also practical in my life made school
take on a whole new meaning. I really cared about my involvement and success in my
education classes and in turn it made my future seem within reach. In this class I gained
a better understanding of literacy in the classroom and the how best to teach students the
essentials of literacy. Literacy and the language arts play a huge role not only in
themselves but are a part of all fundamental academics.
Looking back at my own literacy history, I recognize the ways that in which I
learned to read and the methods that seemed to be best suited to myself. I have never
been an enthusiastic reader, and it wasnt until my dad started reading out loud to me that
I gained a greater appreciation for the language arts. It started as solely my dad reading
out loud to me and then we started taking turns, alternating who was reading each
chapter. At this point in my life I feel I gained a wider vocabulary, sharpened my phonics
and started showing more interest in reading. Not only did the relationship between my
dad and me develop more, but my enthusiasm for literature also grew.
While Ive always had a hard time maintaining my motivation to read through
long text, I found that reading the text that surrounded me on a day to day very helpful.
When I would drive with my mom, she would have me read billboards, street signs and
flyers. This was usually done in a game-like fashion and was a good way to make time
pass as well as develop my literacy skills further.

Literacy Philosophy

Literacy is the starting point for all other types of learning. Students start by
learning the letters of the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes. From there they
work on taking single letters and forming words and applying meaning to each of the
words. Commonly teachers use subject based word wall to help students learn new
words. After the students vocabulary has deepened, they are reading sentences. Once
reading in practiced, the student can usually master writing. Without the prior knowledge
of reading and writing, learning science, mathematics and all other subjects would be
impractical. Literacy is a huge part of primary school and should be held at the utmost
importance in schooling.
In class we did a lot of group work and discussion. I found this very helpful and a
method that I will continue in the future. I find progressivism educational methods most
useful within the classroom. I think we learn best through our interactions with our peers
and the discussions we have with others. I also believe that people learn best when they
have interest in what they are being taught. We can better shape our own thoughts and
identities by the comparison and discussions had with others.
In my future classroom I hope my students will gain an appreciation and
excitement about reading. I want them to read books based on their interest in hopes that
they will want to continue reading and developing their literacy skills. I also want to
facilitate a lot of group projects and discussions in which the students can compare
perspectives, opinions and thoughts in efforts to gain a more holistic understanding of a
lesson or concept. I hope to have students involved in literature workshops in which they
can compare their thoughts about a text with other peers and improve their abilities to
communicate their opinions and ideas. I think that schools are not only put in place to

Literacy Philosophy

teach educational curriculum but as an environment to develop their social skills. By

setting up a variety of activities in which students work in groups I hope not only to
sharpen their literacy and communications skills but also the relationships they make with
their fellow students.
While I think its crucial to meet the standards of the state and their expectations
in regards to literacy, I dont want to rely on dried out and overused methods to ensure
my students success. I hope to incorporate as many subjects into literacy to ensure my
students interest and to meet the understanding of the variety of learners. I am fully aware
that everyone learns in a different way and to teach a lesson in only one is to deny this
fact. I hope to incorporate the arts into of my lessons as I find theyve played a primary
role in my own literacy history. I want my lessons to be taught in a holistic manner, one
in which mini lessons of the arts, science, history and literacy are tied together to create a
better understanding for all student. I want my students to see the connections in this
world, how all subjects are connected and how literacy ties into each one. While I plan
on creating a lot of my own lessons I will do so to meet the literacy standards of the state.
To evaluate my students I hope to combine both formative and summative
evaluations to ensure the progress and success of my students. I hope to maintain running
records of where my students are at and what they might need extra help with. I want to
conduct formative assessments often throughout the year in order to better evaluate the
level of literacy an individual is at presently and the areas in which I need to pay closer
attention to in my teaching. I find formative assessments a way to gain a better
understanding of where the student is developmentally as well as where as a teacher; you
need to improve of focus your lessons around. I also want to perform summative

Literacy Philosophy

evaluations in the form of a student portfolio to see the progress a student has made and a
final way to evaluate where they are after the year ends.
This class has been a very helpful experience for me in my efforts to be a teacher.
I feel I gained a lot of tools to better teach literacy to students and an understanding of
how children learn to read and write. I have learned a lot but plan to continue my
learning by using the arts to teach literacy and start collecting childrens books that I
could develop into lessons. I found our book club to be a very relatable experience for
myself. I have always had a passion for the arts and it has been something Ive hoped to
communicate to others. I feel the arts play a huge role in education and to gain the
knowledge from our book titled, Teaching Literacy through the Arts, will be a resource
for me in the future. I also want to start collecting books that I could use in the classroom
and to revolve lessons around. In class we did read- out- louds and to see the lessons
planned by my peers gave me good ideas to start my own collection of books and lessons.
Familiarizing myself with more childrens book will help me develop future lessons and
keep consistent with the interests of my students.
With my future as an Elementary teacher drawing closer, I found this class very
crucial to my success as a teacher. Literacy is huge within the first years of schooling and
I feel I gained a lot of knowledge with how to teach students the skills they need to be
literate and enthusiastic to learn more. I hope to show my students the importance of
literacy and how it touches on all academics and in the real world. Literacy is the starting
point to all learning.