For the past couple weeks, we have been discussing the topic of emergent literacy. After taking my own individual notes from the NCREL website, taking notes in class, and from discussing Daniel's pictures, I was able to get a pretty good grasp on what emergent literacy really is. I believe that emergent literacy is the BUILDING process towards reading and writing, through exposure to ones surroundings, and the different events that may take place. Many teachers of today believe that there are certain stages that take place as a child makes his way up the literacy ladder. However, things are beginning to change. Children do not have to exceed in one area before they can move on to the next. No child is alike. Each child learns differently, and at a different speed. The process of reading and learning is interactive. I believe that children work best while engaging in reading, writing, and listening simultaneously. In class we also talked about the different stages and forms of emergent writing, and looked at several examples to support these forms. I looked at childrens drawings before this class, and in their many attempts to write. The scribbles that I once looked at as squiggly lines, mean so much more now after looking at the examples shown in class. I've learned that writing does not have to be in the form of the letters of the alphabet. I hope to make this transfer into my classroom as a teacher. Without the knowledge that I have gained from these lectures, I probably would have pushed these scribbles and drawings aside. However, now I can look at them as stories, and something to build off of. As a teacher, I will now know the next step a child should take as an emergent reader without pushing them too hard or far.