Stages of Spelling, Writing Process, Personal Writing

I definitely remember going through some of stages we talked about in class. In first grade, my reading teacher made us write in a journal everyday. At the beginning of the year I wrote sentences like, " I like school". They were very basic and so many of the words were misspelled. At the bottom of the page we colored a little picture about what we said. I still have my journal and it is really interesting to look back at it. I progressed so much throughout my first grade year and it was very evident by looking at my journal. Some of the words I misspelled, it was obvious that I had some thought behind why I was spelling it that way. I remember I spelled the word mine as "myn". It is definitely incorrect but I understand why I did it.
I really enjoy blogging but not necessarily blogging about school topics. I do like blogging as opposed to a formal paper because it allows me to put my thoughts down without worrying so much about the organization of my thoughts. I really do enjoy writing and I think this class has made me realize it. I don't like writing papers and having to make sure that everything is perfect. I would really like journaling just for my own personal enjoyment instead of having to turn it in.
I have had a really hard time deciding what to write about. The one topic that I think would be interesting and easy to write about is kind of personal so I was worried about doing it. I have decided to do this topic anyway. My younger brother was killed in a car accident my Senior year. I am just going to talk about my life before the accident and then talk about how so many people came together to help my family. It is definitely a sad story but it is also amazing to hear how people can come together to get through things.

Sahara is a fascinating young lady. She seems so bright and intelligent but she does not seem to know how to share her gifts with others. Sahara has a lot of trouble with social skills and really struggles to make friends. I think many children struggle with the same types of issues. Sometimes children may be really intelligent academically but do not have any social skills. Sahara's lack of social skills seems to be holding her back from shining in the classroom.
I think many kids that struggle in the classroom are often very shy. If a child does not succeed in the classroom, they are going to be lacking in confidence. I believe some kids cover up this embarrassment by being funny and making jokes. So often the trouble makers are either the really intelligent children or the kids that are behind. The children that have trouble in the classroom don't want to sound stupid so they do not speak up. I have definitely witnessed this throughout my years of school. I went to a small public school and many of the children were not as lucky as I was. Both of my parents went to college and they knew how important it was to read to me as a child. Many kids at my school came into elementary school with no knowledge of books and reading. Even though they got an education at school, most of the kids did not have the parental support when they got home. I feel like those kids as well as the kids with learning disabilities did not willingly participate in classes. The teacher had to pull answers out of them and beg them to participate. I also think that those kids were shyer in social situations as well. If they were with a close group of friends, I think they were open and talkative but when placed in a situation where they had to talk to people outside of their little group, they were always more shy.
It seems to be the opposite for Sahara. I don't feel like her academics are hindering her social situation but rather her social issues are affecting her academics. She is scared to put herself out there for everyone to see. I think she just hides behind this wall and allows people to think she is stupid so she won't have to do anything. I am hoping that this new teacher will help Sahara show how intelligent she actually is.
I think teaching social skills to students is very important. It really has an impact on how students work with others and on everything that the student does. A teacher is not just there to teach academics. Social skills are so important and it is the teacher's job to help the students improve these skills. I almost feel that social skills are more important than academics in some circumstances. If a child is unable to communicate appropriately with others, it doesn't matter how much they know. I think a teacher can implement these skills into other academic lessons. I feel that group work is an important tool that should be used.

The Reading Wars

I learned to read by the phonics approach. I had actually never heard of the whole word approach until this class. It seems impossible to me to teach children to memorize thousands of words. I definitely think after a while, we do memorize a lot of the words but I don't know how children learn to read without initially having to sound out words. I remember having a new letter each week in Kindergarten. We listened to songs about the letter and practiced writing that letter. I just can't imagine teaching in any other way. Learning a few sounds seems so much easier to me than learning thousands of words. I think there is some use for the whole language approach. Some words don't fit into phonics because they are exceptions. When words are exceptions to the phonics rules, I think it is useful for a child just to recognize the word. I don't remember if we did this or not when I was learning to read. I do remember in upper elementary and middle school having questions about things because they were exceptions. I think my teachers usually responded with, "You just have to know it, there is no rule". I guess I was definitely "Hooked on Phonics".
I think we do create sight words automatically and I think a lot of times teachers encourage it. The more we read, the more we are able to just recognize words by just the first and last letter. We don't have to think about sounding out words at all. When I observed in a first grade class, the teacher had a list of instant words. She taught phonics but these words she felt the kids should know without having to sound out at all.
I think symbols impact literacy learning because it allows for students to make connections with the word and the meaning of the word. Symbols also give students a clue about what the word is if they are struggling. Eventually they will no longer need the symbol but at first it I think it would be very helpful to a student.

What makes writing worth reading?

What makes writing worth reading? I think this is a really complex question to answer. I guess the main reason it is worth reading is because it is how we learn. We can learn without reading, but writing makes it so much easier and accessible. Writing is worth reading because we haven't always had a form of written language. Stories and lessons were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. Now that we have writing, everything is more accurate and we are able to remember details that at one point would have been lost. So many great lessons can be learned from reading.
I think certain writings are worth reading over others. I have different opinions on what is worth reading than other people. I think placing worth on writings is a very individual thing and I think that is part of the reason writing is worth reading. Everyone can write about what they feel is important and people can choose to read what they think it worth reading. Although I feel that certain works are more important to read than others, some people may disagree.
Even though I might not think something is worth reading, it was worth it for someone to write it, and that counts for something. I think all writing is worth reading because someone took the time to write it.