The Donut House

 

  "The Donut House: Real World Literacy in an Urban Kindergarten Classroom," by Rebecca Powell and Nancy Davidson (available here with an NCTE membership) explores a new type of literacy: situated literacy. Compared to schooled literacy, the type of literacy instruction we are most familiar with in the elementary classroom, situated literacy presents the children with real-world connections from familiar contexts, such as their own communities. Situated literacy sees reading and writing as skills necessary to experience and contribute to everyday life--not just as skills needed to participate in the classroom or score well on standardized tests. Proponents of situated literacy put those beliefs into practice by seeking outlets for students to read and write that are directly connected to their interests and community.

     Powell and Davidson present an exciting and inspiring example with The Donut House, a situated literacy project from an urban kindergarten classroom in Kentucky. The topic of the project, creating a classroom donut shop, was selected because of the school's proximity to an actual donut shop, guaranteeing that the children had at least a little background knowledge of the subject and a connection between the project and their community. The students were involved in every aspect of creating their business, and many community members pitched in too--from a field trip to the near-by donut shop to experience the donut making process first-hand, to bank employees who taught the children about business loans, to neighborhood "stockholders" who contributed to the project monetarily.

     Throughout the project, the students were engaged in reading, writing, and speaking at every opportunity. They read signs, letters, labels, and their own classroom big book. They wrote thank-you letters, stock certificates, building permit forms, loan applications, and invitations to the Grand Opening. They greeted the public at their Grand Opening, gave interviews to reporters, and practiced phone manners. In the end, the Donut House students learned reading and writing skills through real life experiences that created and strengthened ties to their community. They observed that reading and writing skills have purposes outside the traditional classroom environment. In their touching conclusion, Powell and Davidson write,

"...It would seem that an empowerment model of literacy would be especially critical for these students, whose lives on a daily basis may be marked by hopelessness and acquiescence. These children need to know that their words and their lives can make a difference--that literacy, their literacy, can be used for transformative ends."

     In The Donut House, I see a very real example of the trifold education that I aspire to. Children are learning reading and writing skills (head) by engagement in real life experiences situated in their own communities (hands) through topics that they are both familiar with and excited about (heart). I found Powell and Davidson's article to be inspiring to me as a pre-service teacher. I especially like the opportunities for cross-curricular involvement: math skills in ringing up "customers," social studies in how a business is run, science in the making of dough, art in the design of business logos and signs, music in the possibility of a business jingle...the possibilities are endless. I will most definitely be filing away this example for the future!