Citizenship in the Inclusive Classroom (MCLB #6)

Warm welcome to my classroom, MELODY DRAPER!!

Talents include...

-MATH WIZARD

-TECHNOLOGICALLY INCLINED 

-FASHIONISTA 

-ENTHUSIASTIC LEARNER

-EAGER FOR FRIENDSHIP

-INCLINED TO CRACK JOKES

Draper (2010)

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MULTIMODALITY does not only make learning engaging, but also it makes learning inclusive! 

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Universal Design for Learning allows teachers to change the environment rather than changing the student. Melody needs a unique environment to learn in, which includes wheelchair adaptability, the presence of technology, and most importantly PATIENCE. ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE POSSIBLE IN ANY CLASSROOM! 

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In my previous experience working with children like Melody, it is important to recognize that these children are extremely capable if their environment is suited correctly for their needs. I worked at Perkins School For the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts where classrooms and hallways were wheelchair accessible, technology was present, staff was trained, adaptable equipment was readily available, and the interdisciplinary team was cooperative, creative, and always willing to come up with new ideas. This type of welcoming, patient environment is a place where Melody would THRIVE! 

How Can We incorporate Out of My Mind in the classroom?

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Possible Activities

Pre-Reading: Discussion of cerebral palsy to familiarize students with the disability that the main character in the book has. Discussion of respect: explain it, examine it, exhibit it using personal experience. 

During Reading: Compare and Contrast List of how technology changed the main character.

After Reading: Children can write a short story/act out a skit using their knowledge from the book about how they would feel if they were in Melody's shoes as as student. 

Things we can learn from this book:

• Outward appearances should not have an impact on our view of other’s capabilities.

• We can be friends with all types of people.

• We should not prejudge others. 

• Bullying of any kind is not acceptable.

• Standing by and doing nothing is just as bad as being the bully.

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How can we use Kliewer's framework for inclusive literacy to teach Melody and other students historically marginalized in literacy education?

Reading and writing are not the only things that constitute being a literate citizen. For example... 

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Triadic Literate Profile: "Literate citizenship within the community is a dynamic manifestation of a child's literate profile that interactively includes..."

1. The visual, orthographic, and tactile symbol and sign systems within which narratives are caught, fixed, and interpreted, or conveyed.

2. The narratives created by children through which meaning is constructed.

3. A child's symbolic presence (Kliewer, 2008).

Melody is unable to write on her own or speak out loud but  she uses symbols, and technology to convey herself as  her own unique literate citizen.  Everyone defines "literate citizen" in their own way!

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The Workshop Model (MCLB #5)

What makes the workshop model an inclusive pedagogy?

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Let's dive into Mr. Garcia's classroom for a greater understanding!

Read-aloud
Minilesson- Reading Comprehension
Independent reading/Small group activities
Self-Evaluation
Whole-Group debrief 

1 book presented in many ways!! 

"Mr. Garcia's organized approach to time and space in his classroom enables him to immerse his students in print while providing frequent, intensive, explicit, and individualized support and direction as determined by routine assessment of his students' literacy development" (Dudley-Marling & Paugh 2004).  

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PIVOTAL PAUSING 

“Pivotal Pausing” is a strategy whereby teachers freeze a video at important moments in the lesson. This helps the teacher to prioritize important events in a lesson. 

Rick's Reading Workshop: Complete Lesson

2 PIVOTAL moments include...

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1. At 2:13, Rick explains the word "beam" as he's reading. Instead of using words, he asks the students to express with their face what "beams" would look like. All of the students proudly raise their head with a big smile on their face, thus expressing in their own way the meaning of the word. This is evident of inclusive literacy because it is a unique way to define a vocabulary word without using words. 

2.   At 4 minutes, Rick uses silent reading  time to individually work with each student and tailor his instruction according to the  students' individual needs.  For one student he was focusing on  the speed of reading and allowing him to follow  his finger  as  he was reading aloud. For another student he was discussing the themes of the story. This is a perfect example of inclusive literacy because his instruction was unique for each student. 

Does the workshop model fit into Kliewer’s Triadic Literate Profile and Literate Citizenship? 

Define Literate Citizenship: "supported in an imaginative fashion within the written dimensions of school" (Kliewer, 2008). 

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Define Triadic Literate Profile: "Literate citizenship within the community is a dynamic manifestation of a child's literate profile that interactively includes..."

1. The visual, orthographic, and tactile symbol and sign systems within which narratives are caught, fixed, and interpreted, or conveyed.

2. The narratives created by children through which meaning is constructed.

3. A child's symbolic presence (Kliewer, 2008).

ALL OF WHICH FIT INTO THE WORKSHOP MODEL, WHICH ALLOWS FOR VARIOUS INSTRUCTION ON ONE TOPIC. Being a literate citizen includes imagination, which the workshop model enforces. A child's literate profile incorporates literacy in tactile ways, children narratives, and symbolism, evidently embracing DIVERSE LEARNING STYLES!

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Let's look at the little boy I babysit for as an example. He is a thirteen year old happy, outgoing, selfless, beautiful boy who is blind and was born with special needs. He embodies ALL of the characteristics of a literate citizen. He uses his imagination for pretend play, incorporates literacy in his own tactile ways (through music and coloring), and sees the good in every situation. The absence of vision does not hinder his ability to see the world in his own unique way.  

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Conceptions of literacy (MCLB #4)

Classroom Culture and Conceptions of Literacy 

Today, our culture places demands on students when it comes to reading and writing. There are certain reading levels that students "need" to accomplish, and certain stepping stones in writing that students "need" to reach according to grade level. But what if none of that mattered? What if all of us couldn't read or write?

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Here are JUST 2 examples of disabilities that can INTERFERE with culture's idealistic definition of literacy:

"Dysgraphia is a condition that causes trouble with written expression. For many children with dysgraphia, just holding a pencil and organizing letters on a line is difficult. Their handwriting tends to be messy. Many struggle with spelling and putting thoughts on paper." - Erica Pantino 

"Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. Kids with dyslexia have trouble reading accurately and fluently. They may also have trouble with reading comprehension, spelling and writing." - The Understood Team

Just because it's not conventional doesn't mean it's not literacy.

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Let's implement, Donald H. Graves' (1985) Writer's Workshop approach!!! 

"The writing-process approach simply stresses meaning first, and then skills in the context of meaning" (Graves 1985).

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The only way this works is....

The teacher needs to teach by showing how he/she learns AND the teacher needs to provide a highly structured classroom. 

As a student, I learn best when information is portrayed in multiple ways. The conventional way of standing up in front of a class and speaking for an entire lecture is not sufficient. STUDENTS NEED VARIATION!!

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What it means to be literate (MCLB #3)

BEING VISUALLY LITERATE MATTERS

"Images can be very powerful tools for communicating messages." - Allison Reid 

Here is a picture that speaks A THOUSAND words:

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Life As A MILLENNIAL..

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My FAVORITE TV show of the 90s spoken in emojis: 

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5 Ways to Cultivate Visual Literacy in the classroom

1. Present photos without captions
2. Teach graphic design alongside poetry
3. Stop using visual aids
1. LET VISUAL MATERIAL STAND ALONE
4. Stop labeling students as "visual learners"
1. WE ARE ALL VISUAL LEARNERS 
5. Practice representing ideas without words 
1. NOT ALL SERIOUS IDEAS REQUIRE WORDS

Retrieved from: http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/why-visual-literacy-is-more-important-than-ever-10-ways-to-cultivate-it/

Promote Universal Design For Learning!!

• MAKE LEARNING ACCESSIBLE TO ALL STUDENTS
• FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENT NOT THE STUDENT
• REDUCE LEARNING BARRIERS THROUGH BETTER DESIGN
• Retrieved from: Rose, D. H., Hasselbring, T. S., Stahl, S., & Zabala, J. (2005). Assistive technology and universal design for learning: Two sides of the same coin. Handbook of special education technology research and practice, 507-518.



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• 
  

There is more than one way to learn...

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DEFINE Multimodal:

"Multimodal literacy focuses on the design of discourse by investigating the contributions of specific semiotic resources, (e.g. language, gesture, images) co-deployed across various modalities (e.g. visual, aural, somatic), as well as their interaction and integration in constructing a coherent multimodal text (such as advertisements, posters, news report, websites, films)."

Retrieved from: https://multimodalstudies.wordpress.com/what-is-multimodal-literacy/

MULTIMODAL literacy trumps all! 

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Literate Identity (MCLB #2)

How do multiliteracies fit into my conception of literacy?

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SOUNDS

                gestures

Visuals

                      TEXTURES 

technology

SOCIALLY, LINGUISTICALLY, AND CULTURALLY DIVERSE

social justice

(http://multiliteraciesproject.com/about/)

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What constitutes a literate identity? 

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According to Price-Dennis et al. (2015) the 21st century literacies in the classroom include:

Price-Dennis et al. (2015)

1. Develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology
2. Build intentional cross-cultural connection and relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and strengthen independent thought.
3. Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes.
4. Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
5. Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts.
6. Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments. 

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Right vs. Left: Not the politics we're used to

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RIGHT

"Inequality is not unjust insofar as education is one of society’s ‘opportunities’. It is

free and compulsory, and through education you can become anything you like and

succeed on your own terms—if you have the will and the ‘ability’, that is."

LEFT

"The goal of education is equality. Whether their vision is wishful or utopian, nothing

less than equality is an acceptable objective, even if in the short term all that can be

achieved in education is to pursue an ongoing struggle to reduce the gap between the

haves and the have-nots—hence the compensatory programs, the remedial curriculum

for children who have been ‘left behind’ and the special efforts made in schools in

poor neighborhoods."

Retrieved from: Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2009). “Multiliteracies”: New literacies, new learning. Pedagogies: An international journal, 4(3), 164-195.

Disability and Literacy (MCLB #1)

What does it mean to be literate?

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According to dictionary.com, literacy is defined in three ways. The first definition reads, "the quality or state of being literate, especially the ability to read and write." I believe that literacy goes beyond the ability to read and write. Let's take Ron McCallum for example, a man who has been blind since moments after birth and although he can not read with his eyes, he is still considered literate. During his TED Talk, he discusses his life as a blind man in accordance to the advancement of technology. With the help of technology and volunteers, he has become a lawyer, an academic, and a ravenous reader. 

The second definition that dictionary.com provides for literacy is "the possession of education." Although this is a broad definition, this better broadens the population for which literacy encompasses.

Finally, the third definition of literacy, which is my all time favorite, is "a person's knowledge of a particular subject or field." Just as Collins (2011) explains, "printed forms of academic or standard literacy are just one for of making and communicating meaning." In this multiple literacies perspective, visual and graphic forms of meaning making as well as physical kinesthetic forms are all considered literacy practices. 

What is “disability”? 

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In sticking with the theme of dictionary.com, disability is defined as "1. lack of adequate power, strength, or physical or mental ability; incapacity. 2. a physical or mental handicap, especially one that prevents a person from living full, normal life or from holding a gainful job." These definitions pose numerous issues. For starters, it is extremely difficult to understand the meaning of normal. As a society we loosely throw around this term comparing aspects of life to the "norm" and if something defies this notion then it is different, abnormal, or disabled. Dudley-Marling (2004) similarly expresses his thoughts on the social construct of disability. He explains that one can not be learning disabled on their own, it is constructed through a system of professionals, schooling, and various perspectives. These differences should not conceptualize literacy as a disadvantage, rather it expresses to the world that disabilities portray a wide variety of literacies. 

One quote that resonates...

Piper Otterbein profoundly reflects on her disability in a TED Talk, "It wasn't important to figure out why I wasn't comprehending these books that I was reading. What was important is that I found what I love to do and strengthened what I enjoyed." This quote is a beautiful rendition of the saying. "one is not defined by their disability." Although disabilities are apparent and account for differences amongst our population, they are not all encompassing; Piper is a great example of this.  

References 

Collins, K. M. (2011). " My mom says I'm really creative!": Dis/Ability, Positioning, and Resistance in Multimodal Instructional Contexts. Language Arts, 88(6), 409-418.
Definitions of disability: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/disability
Definitions of literacy: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/literacy?s=t
Dudley-Marling, C. (2004). The social construction of learning disabilities. Journal of learning disabilities, 37(6), 482-489.
Piper Otterbein's TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugFIHHom1NU (Links to an external site.)Ron McCallim's TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/ron_mccallum_how_technology_allowed_me_to_read?nolanguage=