Chapter 2: A strange fact about not learning to read.
1. What is the strange fact about not learning to read?
The ability to read is instilled in everyone. The reason that students struggle is due to not being associated with an "in group".
2. Why is this fact so strange?
The fact that a select group of students who are generally good in school are good as a result of their social status and not their potential and abilities that must be practiced for master.
3. What is it about school that manages to transform children who at good at learning things like Pokeman into children who are not good a learning?
It is the school's lack of acknowledgement of cultural differences and a child's funds of knowledge.
4. What is the differences between a traditionalists approach to learning to read and more progressive educators?
Traditionalists advocate a sequential, skills- based approach to reading instruction while progressive educators stress meaning- making.
5. Is learning to read a natural process like learning to speak a language?
No. I agree with traditionlists who say that learning to read is not biologically supported. Rather I think that learning to read is a biological process that is a learned behavior. The human brain capable of learning this behavior may or may not be born into an individual. Although it is rare, I do believe that physical determinants may affect a child's ability to read during and after birth.
6. What is the differences between natural, instructed and cultural processes and which process should reading be classified under?
A natural process is acquired by everyone who doesn't have a disorder. An instructed process is one where something is learned when it its learned. And a cultural process is where a cultural importance of a skill causes a member of that culture to learn the skill in order to live in the culture. The cultural process involves masters who create an environment rich in support for learners.
7. How do humans learn best? Through instructional processes or through cultural processes? How is reading taught in school?
Instructional processes are least efficient in learning, which is how reading is taught in school. Children who learn to read successfully do so because, for them, learning to read is a cultural and not primarily instructed process.
8. According to the author, what is the reason for the "fourth grade slump."
Students have a difficult time reading in the content area.
9. What is a better predictor of reading success than phonemic awareness?
Early language ability. (vocabulary, the ability to recall and comprehend sentences and stories, and the ability to engage in extended, connected verbal interactions on a single topic.
10. What is the difference between "vernacular" and "specialist" varieties of language? Give an example of two sentences, one written in the vernacular and one written in a "a specialized variety", about a topic in your content area.
The difference between the varieties of language is the use of the language. Vernacular is a relaxed variety that is used for face- to - face conversations and for "everyday" purposes. Specialists varieties are used for special activities and purposes.
Vernacular example- John's racecar was zooming around the track last weekend.
Specilaist- John's racecar probably reached the highest velocity of all the competitors in the race.
11. What is "early language ability" and how is it developed? Early language ability is the ability to use language at an early age due to the recognition of vocabulary, recalling and comprehending sentences and stories, and other items. It is developed through family, community, and school language environments in which children interact intensively with adults and more advanced peers and experience challenging talk and texts to sustain topics.
12. According to the author why and how does the traditionalist approach to teaching children to read fail?
The skill and drill approach lacks meaning. This causes readers to have a difficult time understanding content area reading.
13. Are parents of poor children to blame for their children's inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school?
No. If anything, there lack of success in school is due to the school's inability to properly initiate an academic language acquisition process.
14. Did you struggle with reading this text? Why? Are you a poor reader or are you unfamiliar with this variety of specialized language?
I enjoy reading this book.
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