Hmm. You got me thinking, Nancy. The thing about the phonics vs. whole language frame is that there is no vs since phonics is one of the cueing systems we use as readers and whole language is a philosophy of teaching and learning, and for some of us it's also the way we live our lives. On a very basic level, whole language teaching is about looking at the whole (comprehension) and then moving into the parts (the pieces that help us to become better comprehenders). But, if we don't recognize that we are already comprehending when we approach a piece of text due to our background knowledge (schema) and other cues that the text provides us, then we are stuck in the false dichomoty of phonics vs whole language. For example, my almost-five-year-old son can read the McDonalds logo and knows that he can get a Happy Meal with a toy and that there is a playground at McDonalds despite the fact that he has never set foot in a McDonald's in his life. He is comprehending the "McDonalds text" due to TV commercials, his friends experiences, etc. Whole language teachers understand that there is no contest here because we understand this fundamental difference. However, many teachers have been led to believe that there is a "legitimate war" (still) being waged out there (and that it should continue) and phonics is the way to go because the way children learn to read is to phonicate them to death. Of course, this may be considered the extreme but so is the phonics vs. whole language nondebate, as far as I'm concerned. If we can begin to understand this a little better then maybe we will all be in a position to fight back.
Just to make my point as redundant as I can make it: whole language teachers teach phonics but phonics teachers can't teach whole language. Make sense? Elisa Elisa Waingort Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual Dalhousie Elementary Calgary, Canada The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. —Helen Keller Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ On another listserv, some of us are talking about George Lakoff's book. In it he talks about how political dialogue shapes our thoughts by the frames that surround it. Apparently the mind set of the separation of whole language and phonics has framed some thinking by some posters here. Whole language teachers have been stating and restating the point that whole language includes phonics. Several whole language teachers have posted that whole language includes phonics, and yet people are still repeating that they are exclusive of each other. Since this is a list about comprehension, I think this is a perfect example of how to tackle this kind of problem if it was in our classroom. What strategies should be used to help increase understanding? And as whole language teachers, do any of you have any ideas of how we can reframe this long held belief to strengthen understandings about whole language and let others know it is a strong and current theory of how children learn to read? Nancy In a message dated 7/23/2009 12:54:07 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: I have been reading the responses to your question. I think we need a balance of phonics and whole language. My father taught high school English, he always pushed phonics which I found difficult at time. I also loved reading which he gave me. As student I wish I was given a balance of both. Today we need to look at the strengths of our students to see to direct our teaching. We can't use just one way to teach children words and reading. This is what differentiation is all about. Diane Weiss New Hyde Park-Garden City Park **************What's for dinner tonight? Find quick and easy dinner ideas for any occasion. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?ncid=emlcntusfood00000009) _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. **************What's for dinner tonight? Find quick and easy dinner ideas for any occasion. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?ncid=emlcntusfood00000009) _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
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