Learning Goes On in the Time of COVID-19

Here are my answers to the questions that Mr. Francis Jim Tuscano sent over. This is in preparation for the podcast about literacy and learning through and during the pandemic. The interview can be listened at when you tune in to Jim's empowerEd Podcast channel. The links are at the end of this blog post so have a look and listen to more podcast of thought leaders in education today. 

What challenges in terms of literacy are we seeing or anticipating at this time of school closure?

Literacy has many kinds, so allow me to identify five kinds of literacy that are relevant to have in the time of COVID-19. These are Family Literacy, Digital Literacy, Financial Literacy, Media and Information Literacy (MIL) and Cultural Literacy. At the core of these kinds of literacy is critical thinking. So I think, the question we can ask ourselves as parents and teachers is, how can we learn and harness critical thinking skills especially in children?

So, for the purpose of discussion, I will focus on Family Literacy, MIL and Digital Literacy as the most challenged literacy skills today.

It is important that families know how they learn, individually and collectively. It is in the family where creative and productive habits of using media and digital technology begin. Conversations and experiences in language grow and develop at home. Parents are the first teachers of the child, so an awareness of how each members of the family learn and grow is the beginning of learning at home.

Today, parents are challenged to provide a learning environment for their kids at home. What routines are in place to help and assist children in learning about themselves and the immediate environment? How are children using technology at home? What models of reading and learning habits do children take after from their parents. I think these are challenging times for parents and they do need support.

How can teachers continue to foster literacy despite school closure?

Teachers need to communicate well with parents. As many schools move to remote and online distance learning, schools must support teachers and parents in the transition. A big expectation is set for teachers to do an efficient job at this. The design of learning and instruction that is age appropriate and creative is of utmost importance. All these changes has to be relayed to parents in clear and meaningful ways.

How can the home help in ensuring that kids continue to love and appreciate reading?

I think it is important to strike a balance the use of digital technology and exposure to media. As a librarian, I do a lot of paring, deconstructing and unpacking of information found online. Metadata is not easy for children to understand and make meaning all in one go. Some symbols, signs and context can be lost especially when children engage in the news and when they receive an influx of information from social media.

So, for parents, I recommend that they take time listening to their children. Be aware of the questions children ask. Entertain their curiosities and wonderment. Tell each other stories. I am big on storytelling and this is an experience where children can acquire language and literacy skills. take advantage of the time spent at home. This is also a good time to learn and develop life skills.   

What have been the most important learnings that you got at this moment? 

I think it is really important for us all to work together. This health crisis can break us apart or it can bring us together. I prefer the later one.
 
Follow these links to know more about empowerED Podcast Channel, you may visit our channel on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2kHX53u or Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2kEpabQ. Our empowerED Podcast is produced and distributed for FREE to educators globally. 

The Language Experience Approach (LEA) Part 1 of 2

“...the language experience approach (LEA) is a whole language approach that promotes reading and writing through the use of personal experiences and oral language. It effectively helps develop learners' print awareness, since learners see the direct connection between images and words. It effectively connects known vocabulary and new vocabulary with print words, since the experience and image(s) correlate with words in the written caption(s).” 

The Literacy Bug, June 2018 Retrievedhttps://www.theliteracybug.com/using-the-language-experience-approach/

Using LEA in the classroom for group and one-on-one sessions has many benefits. It allows teacher and students to discuss experiences and to have these written down would automatically familiarize students with the structure of language and the dynamics of using them. From speaking about experiences, listening to responses and writing these down, students learn reading skills along the way. In LEA, students engage in the communication of their experiences, there is a deeper connection to content making learning more meaningful.

The Language Experience Process

Before and During the Experience

1. Establish a common experience.

2. Pay attention to this common experience and how language (vocabulary) is used and documented (organizers, journals, cards, digicams, social media, etc.)

3. Be aware of instructions that take place and how discourse is built from the common experience.

After the Experience

1. Display and show evidences of learned vocabulary, new, old and how it is constructed through graphic organizers (mind maps, flow charts, semantic maps).

2. Review how sentence structures and cycles manifest in students documented writing.

3. Provide feedback on their writing that will help improve and enhance reading and writing skills.

4. Repeat the reading of newly constructed texts and observe how memory further shapes of improves the telling or writing of the experience.

5. Use newly constructed texts and vocabulary for further study.

Extending the Experience

1. Find an opportunity to link new readings to the common experience, for example, poems, magazine articles, social media posts, advertisements and flyers.

2. Provide a connection of these readings to writing activities.

3. Reflect on select areas of the experience and activities with students. 

4. Record these reflections by keeping them in a learning portfolio.

Teacher Training in Mindoro : Tandem Telling with Teacher Nelsa

Last weekend, I was in Mindoro to run a two day workshop for K-3 teachers in the DepEd. In the next few days, I will be sharing this experience to you all, my dear readers, because we had a blast with the public school teachers there. Also, there were many learning experiences gained from working with DepEd Mindoro Oriental that are worth trumpeting out loud.

For the meantime, here is a short video clip of my tandem telling with Teacher Nelsa, a member of the Hanunio Mangyan community.

Imagine! Play! Wonder! Storytelling Workshop 2017: 10 Reasons Why This Workshop Matters

Imagine! Play! Wonder! Storytelling Workshop by Zarah C. Gagatiga from Zarah Gagatiga

WRAD 2017: Reading Aloud Tips and Book Activities

A day after  International Book Giving Day, (IBGD 2017), we campaign for World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) 2017. LitWorld has freebies to drum up and celebrate this literacy event. Go register in their website before the big day, February 16, 2017. Download the free picture book. Have it printed and let your young reader color the pictures. Read the story together. Celebrate books and reading in your community!

I have curated blog posts on reading aloud, tips and suggestions, book making activities and the roles that adults play in language and literacy development of young children.

1. Make reading aloud as a family affair. My mother read aloud to me. So, when I had kids, I read to them too. As they grew up, I fed them books and involved them in choosing books they like to read. My kids and I talk about books too.  Even now that they are teenagers, we still get to talk about books they have read, movies and plays they want to watch and music they enjoy listening to.

2. Model the reading habit. Begin at home. Parents play a big role in modeling the reading habit. Click the link for my ten tips in creating a reading environment at home.

3. Books for kids of varying ages are aplenty! Bookstores and libraries have them. Buy or borrow, just have books within their reach and can be accessible for their reading pleasure. Picture books. Illustrated storybooks. Concept books. Even picture dictionaries are available for kids beginning to read. Folk tales also abound the market and selections in libraries. Feeling unsure about reading them folktales? Here are things to consider in choosing folktales for your young reader.

4.  Are books inaccessible to your young reader? Create them! Here is a simple activity to start you off and your young reader in making books!

5. If you are a teacher, a school librarian or an adult working with and for children, tell stories to them! Extend the experience and write stories together. Make books! Build Libraries and Reading Corners!

Happy World Read Aloud Day!

Workshops with Teachers and Librarians: Philippine Lit Fest, TeacherTraining Institute & AKLATAN 2015

Trash or Treasure: Turn these trash into teaching treasures!

I had the wonderful opportunity of working with teachers and librarians over the past months and recent weeks. My workshops with them were all about storytelling, books and reading, creative thinking and the use of technology for teaching and learning. Why I am still doing this after a decade or so affirms how important literacy development is in this day and age. I learn a lot from these workshops. I do design the modules I conduct and deliver, but the interaction I get from participants fuels me to further create.

Knowledge shared is knowledge gained.

In the Philippine Literary Festival, I was amazed at how thirsty we all are for authentic and genuine human connections. Stories and storytelling can quench that thirst. Weaving tales and stories is magical. In the Weavers of Magic workshop, we reaffirmed our commitment to pursue the magical path through the process of creating children's literature for young readers today. In the training I had with public school teachers of Estancia and Carles, Iloilo, we discovered how materials in our immediate environment can be used as instructional materials. What we deem as trash can actually be a treasure trove of instructional materials. All we really need is to look at our deepest needs and desires to surface the imaginative power that has been hidden with in ourselves for so long. After all, creativity is a natural talent. How it is nurtured is another story though.

Teachers read children's books. My favorite part of the workshop.

In the AKLATAN 2015 Conference of the PLAI - CLRLC, I realized that we all need to go back to books. Back to Books. Back to Basics. To fully understand why we are librarians, we need to take a closer look at why books, as a technology, is still around in this age of the digital divide. How does a technology, like the book, can magically bridge gaps, make connections and celebrate the human spirit in the age of smartphones and social media? Why do we need to talk about reading in the era of ASEAN Integration and how do books play a part in learning how to read? These thoughts came to mind as I conduct my workshop with the librarians of Central Luzon. While they make their own books, I reflect on the work that Filipino Librarians are challenged to do.

The work is plentiful but the workers are too few. I only know of one thing -- we shouldn't stop learning. And as we learn, we need to reflect on our actions; on our insights; on the next step of the journey.

Adarna House Workshop: All for the Love of Reading

The past three days had been an exciting journey with teachers, librarians and day care givers. I have had the pleasure of sharing with them activities, initiatives, strategies and techniques that promote books and reading. One goal of doing such workshops is for teachers, librarians and care givers to instill in children a genuine love for books and reading and develop a deep appreciation of culture and one's identity.

Last March 12, I conducted Adarna House's workshop for Love of Reading. There were eighty five teachers, librarians and school administrators who came together to interact and engage in different activities I designed. This led towards achieving the goal mentioned above. I combined activities with the traditional use of books  with digital formats emphasizing the importance of print in the growing child's reading experience and achieving a balance on the usage of digital books. We had book talks, book reviews, use of graphic organizers, LitCircles, storytelling and readers theatre.

Before I ended the workshop, I presented trends in e-reading and e-book publishing as well as fun ways to celebrate books and reading in the school community.

Surprisingly, only a few know about Wattpad, GoodReads and other ebook freebies online. When I asked how many of them have accounts on ereading apps and groups online, around five hands went up.

Librarians, we have the work cut out for us!

Storytelling Workshop in Cagayan Valley