Dr. JoAnne Deshon and The Critical Link Between Literacy 2.0 and Critical Science

            Dr. JoAnne Deshon is a very inspiring science teacher who has shared how she incorporates literacy into her classroom in the podcast The Critical Link Between Literacy 2.0 and Critical Science: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/critical-link-between-literacy/id357933877?i=81092235&mt=2

            I enjoyed listening to this podcast because it was interesting to hear from a teacher who teaches a subject that seems difficult to use literacy techniques in the classroom. She seems to have a passion for teaching and knows exactly how to use her time in the classroom effectively. Reading and writing is very important in the classroom. Dr. Deshon likes to use children’s literature because it motivates the kids. She uses it before, during, and after each unit. I love that idea of using it throughout the unit because it can help to summarize what they are learning. She explains that the quietest parts of her days are when she does read aloud in the classroom because the students love listening to the stories. By reading non-fiction books she can help clear up students misconceptions. Non-fiction science books allow students to hear about real life experiments that have been performed. Writing is very important in every classroom. In science class Dr. Deshon has the students keep daily journals. This is a great idea because it allows the students to reflect on what they learned that day or what they thought about a lab experiment that they did. Students are required to keep data tables and descriptions of each step of the experiments. She finds ways to use fun activities that involve literacy. For example, she has the class make a class newspaper together. That is a great activity because students would have a fun time making it. Her classes connect with science classes at other schools through podcasts and emails. She even has her students write the emails and communicate with the other students. All of these different activities are great ways to have the kids keeping up with their reading and writing. She demonstrates that not only English is a subject that involves reading and writing, but also every subject can find fun and interesting ways to incorporate literacy into the classroom. This podcast was very helpful and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in furthering his or her knowledge in content literacy.