“I Learned in My Head and Felt Good in My Heart”: Creating "Mirrors and Windows" in First Graders’ Student-Generated Decodable Readers

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Fostering a Love of Literacy for Early Childhood Settings (Table 15)

Abstract

Culturally and linguistically diverse children from historically marginalized communities can co-author student-generated decodable readers (SGDRs) using phonics skills they have been taught, their lived experiences, and home languages to develop decoding skills. Then, children can access “mirrors and windows” during foundational literacy instruction by creating and producing their own SGDRs. SGDRs can become a culturally responsive resource with “mirrors and windows” by sparking children’s interest and reflections in beginning reading materials, creating a bridge between the two. This paper will discuss a quantitative and qualitative study conducted in an urban intensive, first-grade classroom. Culturally relevant education and the language experience approach were used to place children at the center of instruction during foundational literacy instruction, furthering their decoding development.

Author

• Amber Lawson, Bowling Green State University