Task 4, Debriefing on Visiting Community

After observing the community you actually notice all of the things that can be tied back to literacy. It is amazing how many things are connected and interconnected to literacy. Our school is surrounded by mile roads and what is very interesting is that the mile roads are sometimes written in number form “11 mile” and sometimes written in word form “Eleven Mile” the students are exposed to both of these types and it is interesting to see if the students make a connection between the two. Do they realize they mean the same thing? This connects literacy and math observations we saw in the community during our visit throughout the community.
I was surprised at the amazing resources the students have in their city. The Southfield Public Library is beautiful with a large children’s section included with a lot of variety in text selection. These resources are great and even students with a lower socio-economic status can obtain resources for free and use what the library has to offer. I also enjoyed learning about what our literacy coaches have as resources to our students. I knew that we had a literacy coach but going into their room and looking at the resources they use is very beneficial in my teaching as well. The community experience has helped be understand and learn a lot about my school, students and families. Simply spending time where students spend time helps you understand where they come from, how and what they see on their way to school and home from school. Driving around and looking at resources, businesses, libraries etc helps you to have a deeper understanding for where these children come from. Having this deeper understanding, allows for greater connection among you and your students. Visiting parks, libraries and other places your student might go, gives you perspective on their life. The closer we are to our students, the better we can help them achieve their potential.
When we also make connections with our students and understand where they live and come from, we can use that to help us in the classroom. If students spend a lot of time some where specific in the city, we can bring that in during a lesson. Knowing these facts can help us with the connections of our students and bringing the resources that they have and utilize in the city into our classroom. This makes more meaningful connections and it shows students that we are invested in their learning and care about their lives outside of the classroom.
Referring back to these initial investigations will aid in lesson planning and creating connections and meaningful learning in our classroom throughout the year.