- Published: January 19, 2022
- Updated: January 19, 2022
- University / College: Georgetown University
- Level: College Admission
- Language: English
- Downloads: 44
Literacy Enhancement Teaching
I planned to work with a child on a one-to-one basis because for me interpersonal communication is the key to success. Building healthy relationship with children before teaching them anything helps foster their learning and facilitates teaching. If the child is having fun while learning, it is more likely that he will grasp the concept much sooner and will get a strong hold on it. I developed friendship with the subject, my nephew Evan who is 4. 5 months old, and then applied my teaching strategies. My goal was to get the kid develop memory and sound of Chinese language, by making him familiar with sounds, pictures and textures.
I made two colorful books, with splashing colors. One book contained the photographs of those persons whom Evan was familiar with, like his parents, his aunt, and me. I showed him the pictures twice a day for two weeks. Initially, he would not take interest but that was only for a day. From second day on, he started taking great interest which showed that he was recognizing the faces. When I showed him the pictures, he gave me smiles and giggled as if he was too pleased to see the faces. He also did some baby talk which included little sounds. This helped me learn that this activity enhanced his recognition capability and memory. In understanding the patterns of cognitive development in infants and children and how families affect their development, the contributions of Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and Erik Erikson (1902-1994) hold a very significant importance. Children go through a number of cognitive stages in intellectual development, and they learn to develop emotional attachment right from their infancy. This emotional attachment made Evan recognize the faces in the photographs and smile at them.
In the second book, I attached pictures of things that Evan saw on daily basis. They included his feeding bottle, diaper, a fluffy little cushion, and some of his toys. First I showed him the things in real, and then I would show him the pictures. I noticed that every time I showed him the pictures, he would raise his legs in the air and do some baby talk like “ oo-aa”. This activity helped develop memory and initiated speech. Evan would also touch the pictures as if wanting to get a feel of them.
My experience proved that Evan loved to see the pictures and feel the textures. This revelation can help me format such teaching material for him that emphasizes more upon visual learning and activities that enhance his kinesthetic ability.