Introduction to Literary Studies class reminds us all that literacy is found in everything we do, and will continue to be a big part of our lives. As future educators (most of us) in this class, it is crucial that we get this view of literacy and embed it in our brains. We see the importance of reading and writing throughout the course and how essential it is for teachers to know their students literacy potential. When I first registered for this class I expected a lot of reading and writing mainly because literacy means the ability to read and write, kind of like a literature class. The class’s name is “The Introduction to Literacy Studies”, meaning it is the overview of the study of reading and writing. So in reality we did just that but in an informative and fun way. I found this class really useful, as we read so much about literacy components like certain practices and the literacy ability in others. We did a fair share of blogging that can be seen as the writing component of this class. The projects in this class like the small group activities, allowed us to take control of what we wanted to present to the class or audience. Kind of preparing us to start thinking and implementing ways to come up with lesson plans as future educators (the majority of the class). We did what the class was meant for and that was educationally and technologically applying the studying the reading and writing of ourselves and others.

The two videos we saw were jaw dropping, the children in both documentaries are astounding. Hobart’s Shakespearean’s was my favorite until I saw Spellbound. As a child I have always loved spelling , I remember love being correct everytime and having that satisfaction of building my vocabulary. I was admired by the fact they tried so hard to study and learn as many words as possible,and languages as well. Each student was very proud of themselves and their parents were 100% supportive. During the spelling bee I saw that it was literally luck to have certain words. As I was watching the video, I was trying to spell the words, as many as I could but I can understand you would need to study before hand. Knowing the country and language of origin, along with the definition and being able to hear it in context is literacy practice that is highly sophisticated Hobart’s Shakespearean’s were also dedicated young kids. I was surprised to see that they were studying and reading books such as “The Lord of the Flies” and “Hamlet”.They were reading books above their grade level. I remember reading “The Lord of the Flies”, in the tenth grade. “Hamlet”, on the other hand was read my senior year of high school, when studying British Literature. They were young actors as well, learning difficult lines as they had a Saturday program and were super dedicated to their productions. They were very priveledged for 5th graders but worked hard for their expierences. I would have taken advantage of such great opportunites to travel and meet celebrities if I had to chance to as a fifth grader.

Jennipher Martinez
Professor Jaxon
English 332
November, 11, 2013
Literacy Groups
I learned a lot and enjoyed from the literacy groups and their presentations. My favorite one would have to be the Adolescent Identity and Literacy. I liked the fact that I was in the pop culture group for picking People Magazine. I do identify myself as a person whole likes to read about current events and things. I like how the group utilized the video of the kids to show that we see people for what they read. Many people are looked down upon for picking up a magazine instead of for example Mark Twain. Another group presentation I learned from was the Gaming and Literacy group. I really enjoyed the group’s strategy of having us play two different games, one that seemed rather point less and the other one which had a purpose but what rather tedious and boring. I really joined the pointless, of having the robot sort through things and get to higher levels over the other game that is rather useful for those applying to college. The group that stuck with me the most was Jennifer’s group “Digital Storytelling”. She showed us a rather disturbing video about a cat that possesses human features. I was scared to see all the frightful things that creature would do in such a short time. But it was all to present a story digitally. It shows us the importance of digital images to aid as in presenting a story rather quickly with precise details. My group taught me the importance of music and the way we it can have deep thought and meaning put into it. Our group focused on the lyrical value and the different images that can be interpreted from sound devices such as alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme and figures of speech (metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, metonymy, apostrophe, etc. I learned the closesness there is between poem and song annotation, cause songs are pretty much poetry in disguised. It can be used to express feelings of oppression, sadness, any kind of feelings. For me it makes me feel secure in an environment that doesn’t care about you.

This article even though has a very long title is very useful for me because I also want to teach at a college level, in the future. I am starting off by getting my bachelor’s degree in English Education, and hopefully teach grades 6-12 and after a while of doing that I would like to venture off into teaching college students. The author does not discuss the best ways of teaching but just habits that are learned and acquired from his experience and the convergence of going from secondary teaching into higher education.
This article describes one man’s take on the different teaching styles, there is for both high school and college and how they are similar. They always involve planning, whether it is for a specific lesson or unit, and how they involve elaborate planning. In high school a teacher has about five different classes, as well as most college professors for each of their classes they must design a specific lesson plan that will accommodate the learning styles of their students for example what they need to know and what they already know, along with having them leave with something they have learned and use it in their life. I like the article and the ease the author gives future teachers that might want to do this as well.
http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/Journal/files/All_I_Needed_to_Know_About_College_Teaching.html#unique-entry-id-163

Jennipher Martinez
Professor Jaxon
English 332
10/05/2013
Just Girls Table 2
Just Girls was a very fun book to read as it reminded me of middle school. Our table discussed our experiences with writing notes, passing notes, having acronyms for different things, signing yearbooks and reading teen magazines. It was what we enjoyed doing the most at thirteen. Margaret Finders exploration of the literacy practices of girls in the late 90’s really captures what it was for teenagers to read and communicate before I-pads, and smartphones. It help remind me of how it was like to transition from an elementary way of reading and writing to a more adult way of going about it.
Northern Hills Junior High was somewhat like my middle school when it came to the social scene, we did have our fair share of “Social Queens” and “Tough Cookies”. As bullying is not very present in this book, cliques are seen as some present themselves as superior to others. I could just imagine what it would be like if there technology involved in this book, and in my middle school. As before the biggest worries of a teenager was for the teacher to read your notes out loud to the class, there biggest nightmare now would be to take their phone away. Even though we did have cellphones in that point in time not everyone had one, and also not everyone had internet or texting. Texting in class didn’t become an issue until half-way through high school.
The yearbook signing was also something that was relatable to me as a teen. I did buy them as for me they were affordable, and although I was probably in it like once or twice, I still bought it for the memories. In the book we see some of the girls did not buy the yearbook simply because they couldn’t afford and or they believe it was irrelevant because they weren’t in it. For me the signing of the yearbook was very important as it was a way of communicating a nice message to a fellow classmate that could possibly be there next year or not. Not everyone signed everyone’s yearbook; some people were selective just like the “Queens” in the book Just Girls
Another key point is where we see Lauren appear to not like reading but very much enjoyed too at home. I remember in middle school being smart meant you were a nerd or geek, so having good grades wasn’t cool. Lauren forgot on purpose not to bring her book, to make her seem like she didn’t care and in a way seem like she didn’t have too, like how I mentioned before as to look superior to others. She cared more about looking cool than learning which the reason she was going to school was. As Lauren’s teacher later found out that Lauren loved reading sports fiction that inspired some teachers to have a different way of teaching, by allowing students to choose what they wanted to read. This way they would get the teens to read and enjoy doing it. Even though some teachers saw this plan as successful, I would have to disagree for me, as a teen choosing something to read in my younger lazier years would have gone with the easiest option. Something that has a movie linked to it, and probably has a lot of Cliff notes. But since this was before technology and Google maybe it would have been successful then but not now.