Building bridges to connect whole language theory and practice in literacy education.

Pollack, H. (2009). Building bridges to connect whole language theory and practice in literacy education. Talking Points, 21(1), 5-10.


There are some good ideas here for projects that get preservice students involved with elementary school children doing authentic literacy activities. As I read, I envisioned ways in which I might implement some of these ideas with my own preservice students in some of the classrooms where I currently and formerly have done one-year residencies.

My favorite examples were the dialogue journals with fourth graders (a variation on the idea of pen pals) and the Language Experience stories dictated by kindergarteners and transcribed by the author’s preservice students.

A point that I believe in was strongly made here: Teacher educators who can show their students that they actually work with children have much more credibility than teacher educators who don’t. Working in the classrooms of our former students is so important. We learn, they learn, and both of our students learn. We can see what in our courses and programs is actually working, and we can make revisions accordingly. There is nothing we can do that would be better for our students.