Collaborative+group+14

Hi group 14, I am still in the middle of reading and gathering my thoughts, but will post my response very soon! Mellina :)

Hi everyone, thank you Mellina for setting our group up, I have had so much trouble trying to figure out where to post. I have posted some thoughts let me know what you think and if they are okay. Regards Ange

Agree with Kohn – or For Whole language approach

The importance of understanding text is... important because according to Green & Campbell (2006, p.1) "All language -written, spoken and visual -arises from cultural and social contexts and is understood by people in terms of their own social and cultural backgrounds." Therefore, understanding text is very significant, the whole language approach is all about understanding text. The whole language approach, teaches phonics as part of reading and writing and uses real stories to connect symbols and sounds in an effort to teach enjoyment of literacy (Kohn, 2000). This is important because if students are enjoying their learning then they will possibly have better understanding. It is difficult for students to understand or to learn abstract texts which is why whole language is more beneficial to learning than the more traditional phonics based - approach where learning text/skills is removed from context and learned as abstract rules (Kohn, 2000). Ange 10/3/10 at 10.23pm)

Active learning... means students are not passive vessels who are expected to read or learn what they are told, it means they are active learners and choosers in the learning process. This requires that students take responsibility for their own learning which means students are thinking for themselves and practicing reading material that matters to them; not memorising blindly or where reading is practicing as a set of skills (Kohn, 2000). Ange (10/3/10) 10.23pm

Disagree with Kohn - or for Traditional approach Phonics is a sound base for learning how to read and it does not use invented spelling but rather teaches children phonics explicitly through direct instruction which is beneficial for at least 20 percent of students in the classroom (Kohn, 2000). A negative factor to the whole language approach is that for students to actually learn they have to have the skills in the first place before they can apply them or to even use them in an appropriate way. Therefore, with this understanding children do have need of a more direct instructional approach to phonics (Khonn, 2000). The teaching of phonics and decoding are fundamental skills and are the building blocks to learning, reading and writing. A back to basics approach to learning which includes the teaching and learning of grammar, punctuation and sound relationships is vital in improving students literacy skills; especially considering Australian literacy levels are failing despite the endorsement of the whole language learning approach supported by Kohn, (2000). Ange (15/3/10)

​ Hi Ange & Melina, Sorry I entered in the wrong place too! I'll put my cmments in here now.

I think that the 'whole language' idea, that is contained within the Kohn rading, has the potential to enable non-readers to become readers and actually enjoy it. I work, as an aid, in a boys Primary school (Gr3-6) and work with lower readers within a 'Reading Link' program that primarily looks at phonics and is really repetitive. Most older boys (Gr 5-6) hate it. I would love to see a more whole language approach introduced to these students as I feel there would be more enthusiasm for reading and sitting down and reading a list of words,over and over again,four morning a week.

If I was to sell the more traditional language method I would emplore the necessity for students to be able to phonetically identify the English language. This, once mastered, will ensure that each student can read anything and also be able to decipher challenging words and obtain a greater sense of letter recognition of the English language as it is written.

This is just my interpretation of the reading but as a group we can conbine all our thoughts into one statement 'for' and one statement ' against'.

Hi everyone, Sorry it's taken me so long to post anything. I had a crappy computer that wouldn't let me access sites such as this and google.docs. Because of this computer issue, I was unable to download the Kohn reading, however now that I have my lovely new computer I will be able to download and participate fully.

My thoughts about whole language, before looking at the reading, are that it would be a successful way to teach and learn literacy. However many people only implement aspects of the whole language theory, immersion for example, and dismiss the other elements. Whole language does not exclude core elements to literacy, such as spelling, which is another reason why it has been viewed as difficult to implement in the classroom.

I'll have a look at the reading and write something up. Great to finally make contact! //Jess//