Sue
Halsey (2007) states that it is vital for teachers to keep up-to-date with
ever-changing technologies as they are constantly changing the nature of how
the curriculum, especially literacy, is being taught. Using popular culture can
introduce children to a wider range of technology, such as laptops, Ipads and
gaming devices, where they are able to access a further selection of text and
media to support their reading, writing and comprehension of texts.
I
undertook an interview with a current Year 6 teacher to discover their views on
using popular culture in the classroom. Interestingly, the teacher was
massively in favour of using artefacts, objects and texts, related to
children’s interests, during lessons across the National Curriculum. Similar to
the Futurelab (2010) article, the teacher argued that the use of popular
culture allows children to relate to a familiar context and apply existing
knowledge to their learning. As well as this, the teacher indicated that
children are much more engaged in lessons based on popular culture, as they
have a great-invested interest in the lesson, thus increasing children’s
overall success, progress and outcome of the lesson. The teacher also referred
to popular culture as an ‘invaluable resource’ which I found incredibly
thought-provoking.
The
interview that I carried out was very significant, as I now feel inspired to
include elements of children’s popular culture in my future practice in
schools, to ensure that all children are fully engaged in their learning and
have a deep-rooted interest in all lessons. I strongly believe that using
resources of great interest to children would make children feel more
comfortable and confident with the context of the lesson, especially if they initially
struggle with the topic.
Bibliography
- FutureLab (2010) Digital Literacy Across the
Curriculum: (Sections 3.1 – 3.4 Digital Literacy in Practice)
- Halsey, S. (2007) ‘Embracing emergent
technologies and envisioning new ways of using them for literacy
learning in the primary classroom’ English Teaching; Practice and Critique 6
(2) pp 99-107
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