Literacy Autobiography Discussion Group: Suggested Questions

1. How did each person gain the literacy skills they mentioned in their video?
2. What terms and phrases are associated with a particular literacy?
3. How does a shared literacy help define a social group (e.g. all ballerinas, all rock masons, etc.)?
4. Has anyone ever felt excluded for not sharing a certain literacy skill?
5. Are any literacies more valuable than others?
6. How can school provide a place where all literacies are valued while still promoting certain core literacies?
7. How did creating a video push you to develop new media/ computer literacies? How did your frustrations help you get in touch with what students might be going through when they learn new things?

Note the names of the people in your discussion group here:

Before you hand in your Literacy Autobiography II, make sure you can answer "yes" to all of the following:

___My paper clearly describes my own growing understanding of the concept of literacy. My research is evident.

___My paper explicitly connects this experience to my understanding of how a child's culture impacts his or her beliefs and behaviors.

___My paper includes specific examples of different literacies from my group's discussion (and videos) and notes how this experience will help me treat my students individually.

___My paper discusses specifically how I can modify this activity (sharing of literacies) for use in my classroom. I note how and why this will help affirm students and increase their self-confidence.

___I have carefully proofread my paper and had someone I trust check it for errors.