Do you know about your family?

After reading the NY Times article "The Family Stories that Bind Us-This Life" I reflected on my own family stories. Dr. Robyn Fivush developed a measure called the “Do You Know?” scale that asked children to answer 20 questions. Some of them include: Do you know where your grandparents grew up? Do you know where your mom and dad went to high school? Do you know where your parents met? Do you know an illness or something really terrible that happened in your family? Do you know the story of your birth? I was actually able to answer all these questions. Dr. Fivush concluded that "The ones who know a lot about their families tend to do better when they face challenges,” They have a stronger sense of control over their lives and a higher self-esteem. I guess my family did the right thing by passing down our families stories about our past. As a teacher, I would like to help teach my diverse students to understand their families' struggles and develop both resiliency and potential for success. I would create a project in which each student has to interview a family member about their past and how they became the person they are today. What struggles have they faced and how have they overcome those challenges. I think this is very important for children to understand their families past and the challenges they have faced as well as their successes. It is very important for ELL's to understand that must be resilient while learning English and adapting to their new culture and that hard work pays off. I would also like for my students to share their family experiences with the class if they feel comfortable so that their classmates see that no matter where you are from everyone will face challenges and somehow find a way to move on and never give up.

Bedtime Stories

As a child, I would love to fall asleep hearing my parents read me a book. I felt safe and it felt like the natural way to fall asleep after hearing stories of princesses or nursery rhymes. It is natural for children to develop literacy skills when a parent or caretaker reads to them. According to the article, "What no bedtime story means", children learn certain customs, beliefs and skills from written materials. Bedtime story reading is a preparation for the kinds of learning and displays of knowledge expected when the children go to school. When parents read to their children not only are they bonding with their children but they are also teaching them morals and values. It is evident from watching the bedtime stories on YouTube in both English and Russian that bedtime stories not only help children become literate but they also teach life lessons. In The Little Toot and the Loch Ness monster the tug boat and the monster become friends despite what others say about the monster. It also shows bravery and true friendship. In the story of the Four Friends in Russian it seems that these four animals a deer, crow, turtle and mouse are good friends even though they are very different, they save each others lives from the hunters. Bedtime stories no matter what language they are in are similar because they help children expand their vocabulary through sight words and pronunciation when someone is reading to them. They also help children predict and recall events from the story. Children can also understand and use their imagination through the pictures and the way the reader is telling the story through his or her voice. I do not speak Russian but I understood what was going on by just looking at the pictures and words and their use of punctuation. After viewing it in Russian I watched it in Spanish and Italian so I could understand the specific details of what they were actually saying. Therefore, it is very important for children to have stories read to them every day or night so they will become successful readers and do well in school.