Elisa didn't say there wasn't a war; she said she didn't name it a war. She said that's why we teachers needed to "fight" back.
On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 11:07 AM, Laura <lcan...@satx.rr.com> wrote: > If there is no war nobody needs to fight back. > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Waingort Jimenez, Elisa" < > elwaingor...@cbe.ab.ca> > To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" < > mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> > Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009 7:39 AM > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] phonics question- 2nd grade teacher-Framing > > > > Hmm. You got me thinking, Nancy. The thing about the phonics vs. whole > language frame is that there is no vs since phonics is one of the cueing > systems we use as readers and whole language is a philosophy of teaching and > learning, and for some of us it's also the way we live our lives. On a very > basic level, whole language teaching is about looking at the whole > (comprehension) and then moving into the parts (the pieces that help us to > become better comprehenders). But, if we don't recognize that we are > already comprehending when we approach a piece of text due to our background > knowledge (schema) and other cues that the text provides us, then we are > stuck in the false dichomoty of phonics vs whole language. For example, my > almost-five-year-old son can read the McDonalds logo and knows that he can > get a Happy Meal with a toy and that there is a playground at McDonalds > despite the fact that he has never set foot in a McDonald's in his life. He > is comprehending the "McDonalds text" due to TV commercials, his friends > experiences, etc. Whole language teachers understand that there is no > contest here because we understand this fundamental difference. However, > many teachers have been led to believe that there is a "legitimate war" > (still) being waged out there (and that it should continue) and phonics is > the way to go because the way children learn to read is to phonicate them to > death. Of course, this may be considered the extreme but so is the phonics > vs. whole language nondebate, as far as I'm concerned. If we can begin to > understand this a little better then maybe we will all be in a position to > fight back. > > Just to make my point as redundant as I can make it: whole language > teachers teach phonics but phonics teachers can't teach whole language. > Make sense? > Elisa > > Elisa Waingort > Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual > Dalhousie Elementary > Calgary, Canada > > The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even > touched. They must be felt within the heart. > -Helen Keller > > Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. > http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ > > > > On another listserv, some of us are talking about George Lakoff's book. In > it he talks about how political dialogue shapes our thoughts by the frames > that surround it. Apparently the mind set of the separation of whole > language and phonics has framed some thinking by some posters here. Whole > language teachers have been stating and restating the point that whole > language > includes phonics. Several whole language teachers have posted that whole > language includes phonics, and yet people are still repeating that they > are > exclusive of each other. Since this is a list about comprehension, I think > this is a perfect example of how to tackle this kind of problem if it was > in > our classroom. What strategies should be used to help increase > understanding? And as whole language teachers, do any of you have any > ideas of how we > can reframe this long held belief to strengthen understandings about whole > language and let others know it is a strong and current theory of how > children learn to read? > > Nancy > > > In a message dated 7/23/2009 12:54:07 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > ds...@aol.com writes: > > I have been reading the responses to your question. I think we need a > balance of phonics and whole language. My father taught high school > English, > he always pushed phonics which I found difficult at time. I also loved > reading which he gave me. As student I wish I was given a balance of > both. > Today we need to look at the strengths of our students to see to direct > our > teaching. We can't use just one way to teach children words and reading. > > This is what differentiation is all about. > > Diane Weiss > New Hyde Park-Garden City Park > > **************What's for dinner tonight? Find quick and easy dinner ideas > for any occasion. > (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?ncid=emlcntusfood00000009) > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > > > **************What's for dinner tonight? Find quick and easy dinner ideas > for any occasion. > (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?ncid=emlcntusfood00000009) > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > _______________________________________________ >> Mosaic mailing list >> Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org >> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to >> http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. >> >> Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. >> >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
