Integrating+Theories+and+Practice

====The prep classroom I observed was a clear demonstration of diversity and multiculturalism. The school was based in a low economic area residing many immigrants, yet encompassed values and teaching practices which may be viewed as untraditional, thereby also attracting a sample of students from areas of higher social-economic status. This classroom was therefore a fantastic example of highly multimodal pedagogy which instilled a wide range of theories and approaches, particularly in its literacy practices.====

==Hill (2012 p. 47) states that '//__play in literacy-rich centres helps build connections between oral and written modes of expression__// //__**'**__//. This theory perfectly sums up pedagogical style and the values demonstrated in the observed class room and it was through this learning through play framework that a range of literacy practices were demonstrated.==

__**Embedded phonics-**__
====This approach, simply put, **__uses rhyming or word families to establish familiarity with a wide range of words__;** for example if a student can recognise 'cat', based on the theory of embedded phonics, they should also be able to recognise 'sat, hat, mat and fat' with more ease through the familiarity of the 'at' word family.====

The embedded phonics approach, on the basic level of being able to hear rhyming words, was a strong whole class focus in the observed lessons.

 * ====During modelled reading the teacher would place strong emphasis on the rhyming sounds, making them very clear for the students to hear.====
 * ==== In shared reading the children would join in with the teacher, and shared their own rhyming words. While these were often made up, it demonstrated an understanding of the embedded phonics concept. ====
 * ====The Dr. Seuss text 'There's a Wocket in My Pocket' was used as a resource for this approach.====

====In a prep classroom, it can be expected that most children are only in the very early stages of developing the skill of linking their own reading a text to a strong understanding of the text's meaning. For this reason in the observed classroom, this approach was used primarily during modelled reading .====

**//__ 'Implicit and embedded approaches benefit children who bring high levels of literacy to the classroom' __//** (Hill 2012, p. 12)
====In a classroom with roughly 10% ESL students, and many students who did not have a background of literacy in their home lives, the most evident approach was therefore **direct code,** which is said to be more effective with children who have difficulties. ====

__**Direct code-**__
====Direct code teaches literacy on quite a simplistic level, with __**the main aim is to develop letter-sound correspondences**__ and this places less focus put on comprehension. Due to the lack of comprehension which can be gained from this approach, in the observed classroom direct code was not used in whole class lessons, but was a focus in small group guided reading sessions, as well as when taking advantage of everyday opportunities (Hill 2012, p. 50).====
 * ====the guided reading text 'Dog In Cat Out' encouraged the children to identify the letters D and C to assist in the development of actual reading, rather than just repetition.====
 * ====The guided reading texted 'Mrs Wishy Washy' used rhythm to emphasise the letter W, and its corresponding sound.====
 * ====the teacher selected one student at the end of each day to hand out the children's diaries, with a focus on identifying each students name through its first letter or sound.====

====The way in which several different literacy approaches and practices were used, ensured that all students were reached and engaged at some stage during the lesson. A multimodal focus on pedagogy was particularly essential in such a diverse classroom and the way in which all children were so engaged demonstrates the effectiveness of being open minded, creative, and broad when planning pedagogical literacy practices.====

__**Group Comments**__

I was in a Year 3 class, where most of this was already taught, although with the slow learners they were taught a bit differently. Although different children were designated different tasks such as lunch, diaries, boardwipe etc. The children all spoke english fine so no issues there. (Ethan Tartaglia)

On my placement i was able to observe a reading recovery session which used the embedded phonics method. The child was asked to read the word cow and then talked through with the teacher how: now, bow, and how all have the same sound and the child was then able to familiarize himself with the 'ow' sound which enhanced his reading ability when given a text to read at the end of the session. (Libby Salter)

In the grade prep room they taught direct code using an interactive program, Letterland which focuses on one letter of the alphabet at a time. One activity involved students looking at pictures and answering if it started with the letter of focus. They also read books such as Dippy Duck and Wally Walrus to focus on the first letter sound. (Mark Tapscott)

In the prep class I observed, the teacher used Embedded Phonics frequently. Every second day the children participated in a rhyming word game to establish the sounds they had learnt. They also sung a rhyming riddle or poem every morning with the diretion of their teacher. (Sarah Mcilroy)