Think Beyond Print - Article 2

In the article, Critical Lessons and Playful Literacies: Digital Media in PK – 2 Classrooms, the author Nicholas Husbye expresses the importance of children developing new literacies and the importance to include print, sound, image, and movement. This article explores different ways children can develop literacy skills in the classroom through play and using new media. Children in three different grades used play to create stories and record them in various ways. 

In the first scenario students were given manila folders with different puppets and scenery items. They students then worked in groups to create a story for their puppets and use their other items to create a set. Through this play/storytelling the students collaborate, negotiate, make meaning, and create relationships. The teachers in this scenario worried this unstructured method might be leaving out important aspects of literacy because the students were not required to write drafts or create story boards. The teachers also worried about individual accountability for the children and how it should work within this setting. Finally the teachers realized that collaboration should be valued more than individual production when looking at student’s work.

As teachers observed the students creating and recording their stories they realized how much the students were learning and growing through creating their own sets, deciding on character movements, and character dialogue. By choosing the puppets positioning they were relaying emotions and unspoken information about their stories. Teachers also realized the importance of all of the students in these groups, even the students who were out of frame. These students were making sure the overall production was matching the story they were telling. Students behind the cameras were getting the correct angles and close-ups that also helped tell the story.

When looking at this situation in a preschool classroom it looks somewhat different. Since the students were just beginning to learn to use a camera their shots were not as consistent and it was more difficult to create meaning from the camera angles and positioning. While using play and storytelling was still successful, the children had more issues working in groups at this young age. Relationships were tested in groups and power struggles occurred. However, I think it is still important to allow students this opportunity so that they can learn to successfully work in groups and negotiate items of importance. I found it noteworthy that interest in the project spiked when the students were allowed to review their work on a large screen immediately after they had recorded it. This allowed the students to fix their mistakes and be critical of the work they were creating.

Overall I think this article should inspire teachers to think beyond print when they are thinking about literacy. Although reading and writing are still important these situations show that students can learn in a way that is more enjoyable for them and possibly more productive. I think that using play and new media allows children to explore techniques other than writing such as acting, set design, and production that they might not have explored otherwise. This article shows the importance of teachers questioning what can count as literacy in the classroom and exploring those boundaries.