Players Today, Leaders Tomorrow

How does play in early education classrooms influence and shape our leaders of tomorrow?  The answer lies in what we are teaching our children through our chosen curriculum.  As Dr. Karen Wohlwend challenges on the voice of literacy podcast, do we want our children to possess only a discreet set of skills that helps them one time on one test, or do we want them to be innovative, creative, and able to be fast on their feet?

By incorporating play into the classroom, you can actually help build children's literacies. Allow more time for play and provide the children with open-ended opportunities for exploration.  From their play you can introduce new literacies that build on their interests.  One example, as provided by Dr. Wohlwend in Playing Their Way into Literacies, is if a child shows interest and aptitude for making something, you might encourage her to create a "how to" book of instructions to teach others to make the same object.  By also providing examples of "how to" books around the classroom, you've now bridged both reading and writing to the child's play and created a social environment in which they can learn.  From this one idea, you can reach many children from a range of different learning styles, and it all starts with play.   

So how does this play make our children leaders?  "Governments and industries need people who are adept at flexible creativity and innovation" and children learn that through "the practices that play uniquely provides: improvising with new technologies and practices, inventing new uses for materials, and imagining new contexts, spaces, and possibilities" (Wohlwend, 2011, p. 127).

Baker, E.A., Wohlwend, K. (2009, February 16). Play with Disney princess dolls and children's literacy development. Voice of Literacy. Podcast retrieved from http://voiceofliteracy.org

Wohlwend, K.E. (2011). Playing their way into literacies: Reading, writing, and belonging in the early childhood classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Playing and Learning

I'm sure that anyone that has worked with groups of young kids, in one capacity or another, has at some point witnessed a game, a playtime, where one child becomes the "teacher" and the others fill the roles of the students.  It is one that I have seen across many of my experiences as a camp counselor, a daycare assistant, and even in classrooms; and, always I think back on those playtimes fondly.  So imagine my pleasure while reading Playing Their Way into Literacies, by Karen Wohlwend, and reading about the students that were "Abbie Wannabes," students pretending to be teachers.  I could picture the scene perfectly, and it brought me great joy to read about the existing connections between that wonderful play and children's literacy.  
 

Wonderful memories were not the only thing that Wohlwend reminded me of.  I was also reminded of a podcast that I had listened to recently when I read that "In the playing/reading nexus, reading strengthened play and made a pretend teacher's performance more credible" (p. 19).  I was instantly brought back to Dr. John Guthrie's 5 critical points in motivating students to read (see my blog post from March 17, 2013).  Specifically, he says to motivate children to read, help them see the value of it, make reading pay-off for them.  There is no denying that children will see value in improving their play, and since the children engage in this type of play in groups and choose this play for themselves, it further motivates them to read. 

Playing teacher is not the only type of play in which this is applicable.  If you tune in to what children are doing while they play, you can see evidence of all types of literacy strategies.  As Dr. Karen Wohlwend informs us in a podcast with Dr. Betsy Baker, we are in a time where play has gradually been disappearing from kindergarten rooms, and kindergarten is becoming the new first grade.  We need to latch on to children's interests, recognize the literacies built into them, and encourage children to play. 

Baker, E.A., Guthrie, J. (2013, January 27). How motivation, engagement, and reading achievement are related among adolescents. Voice of Literacy. Podcast retrieved from http://voiceofliteracy.org
 
Baker, E.A., Wohlwend, K. (2009, February 16). Play with Disney princess dolls and children's literacy development. Voice of Literacy. Podcast retrieved from http://voiceofliteracy.org

Wohlwend, K.E. (2011). Playing their way into literacies: Reading, writing, and belonging in the early childhood classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Increase Achievement through Motivation

"Engagement is more important to reading than intelligence."  This is a quote from Dr. John Guthrie on the Voice of Literacy podcast from January 27, 2013 titled "How motivation, engagement, and reading achievement are related among adolescents." 

So, as teachers, what can we do to help support our students?  Dr. Guthrie offers 5 points that are critical to students' motivation to read.  He says if they are motivated, they will read more.  Having students read more is our goal since the more they read, the better their opportunities for reading achievement.  His points of motivation are as follows

1. Relevance - Make reading relevant to students and they will be motivated to read.   An example would be to watch a video or conduct a hands-on activity and follow it up with reading a text on the topic to learn more. 
2. Choices - Give the students one choice every day, even if it is a little choice.  They may choose which book, or which chapter in a book, to read.  Another choice might be which character to analyze or which event to read about.  The main point is that with their choice, the students gain a sense of ownership in their reading.
3. Collaboration - Let students see that reading can be both social and independent.  Allowing just 2-5 minutes of reading with a partner each lesson will help motivate students to read.
4. Confidence - Build students' confidence by having them set achievable goals for themselves, whether it is a certain number of pages to read, or a certain number of questions they are working to answer.  And, be sure to match the student with an appropriate text. 
5. Value - Help students see the value of reading, make it pay off for them.  Have an activity that if they read something first, they will perform better, such as a debate. 

 If you sit and think about it, these points are almost intuitive.  How motivated would you be to read a text that was handed to you by someone else, that you had no choice in, is not relevant to anything you are doing or interested in, that is written in a manner that is beyond your understanding, you see no benefit from, and are forced to suffer through alone?  If, as teachers, we can satisfy at least one of Dr. Guthrie's points with every reading our students are assigned, then we can increase their motivation to read and through it increase their reading achievement.  

Assessment and Evaluation are Not Synonymous

My recent readings, along with the recent administering of standardized state tests, have had me thinking a lot about assessments.  As a pre-service teacher, I've learned that assessments are an integral part of education.  In order to help students learn and grow, you first have to know their strengths and abilities.  Unfortunately, the term "assessment" is often used in conjunction with standardized tests, but what is really meant is "evaluation," and the two have different meanings. 

Teachers use assessments to determine students' understanding, what their strengths are and what they are ready to learn next.  Also, assessments help teachers decide what direction to go in for future instruction; they happen regularly and allow teachers to keep a pulse on students' learning and abilities.  Evaluations, on the other hand, are purely about results.  How do the students compare to a set of standards or to other students?  How do they rank?  The results of evaluations are often coupled with some form of accountability, either for the student, the teacher, the school, or a combination there of.  In a Voice of Literacy podcast, Dr. Betsy Baker and Dr. Caitlin Dooley note that in some instances students are being retained based on the results of a single test and, likewise, teachers are being hired and fired based on single test results. 

Dr. Dooley states it perfectly, "One test doesn't tell the whole story."  That is why the distinction between assessment and evaluation is so important.  Essentially, assessment is like a movie of a child's performance filmed from multiple angles over an extended period of time, and evaluation is a single snap shop, taken from one angle (and often a critical one) at a single point in time.  Which would you want to represent your child's abilities?