The ABC Train Case study 12, Reponse to question 1

Kenji suggests that the kids are at various levels of developent at this time. Some are going to have a stronger understanding of the alphabet than others at this time. For some of the less advanced kids, they may not be at the point yet where they can put the letters of the alphabet in order, because some of them do not know all of the letters yet. He suggests that they think about teaching the alphabet to the class in a more broader sense where the kids are activity they plan can be accomplished by everyone in the class, no matter what their skill level is. By allowing the kids to pick out their own letters and put them in any order, the kids are given alot more freedom to explore the alphabet according to their skill level. Most likely, the letters that they choose to put on their train will be ltters that have meaning to them in some way. They may be found in their name, or they may have seen them many times in a familiar book. Kenji suggests that by allowing kids to explore the alphabet on more of their own terms, they are less likely to get frustrated and they are more likley to get some sense of meaning from the activity. I definitly agree with the recommendations that Kenji gave to the students. I can remember when I was young and starting to learn my letters and the ones that were most important to me were the ones I saw in my name. My teacher was very good about allowing us to explore the alphabet on a level that suited each of us. I found that the more I was given free reign to explore the alphabet in my own terms, inspired me to want to learn more and more about the alphabet as the meaning of it developed.


Response to question #2

In the second plan the students have modified it so that they read a book to the kids about trains and discuss the book. This is a great way to help introduce the train theme to the kids. By reading the story to them it may help to introduce or reintroduce new words or letters to the kids and inspire them to use them in the train they create. By discussing what the train's function is and how it is all connected may introduce to the kids that are a little more advanced that the letters of the alphabet follow each other in a certain sequence, just like the cars on a train follow each other. Another way the team sparks the interests of the kids is they make the letters out of different types of material. For tactile students, this would be a gret way for them to associate a letter possibly with the wy that it feels. After each child completes their personally designed train, they display them on the bulletin board for the whole class to view and eah child is given the chance to talk about their train. This helps to introduce new ideas and ways of thinking about letters by seeing them dislayed in the many different styles on the board. For the teachers, it also llows them to get an idea of where kids are skills wise in their understanding of the alphabet.