Daisy Corral

English 1A
Professor Rivas
April 22, 2015
Child Development
A discourse community is a group or a community of people who share a similar
interest. The community in which I belong to is Child Development. Child Development
is typically defined as a normal progression by which children change as they grow older
by acquiring and refining knowledge, behaviors, and skills. Child Development involves
in learning and mastering skills which are Cognitive, Social and Emotional, Speech and
Language, Fine Motor Skill, and lastly Gross Motor Skill Development. Therefore, its
important to know the language that is being distinguished in this field because teaching
youths and observing them is how we are able to manage and know what they are
developing. In the community of child development the reading and writing have come
to discovering methods and engaging with youths to be able to succeed in their future.
The reading that is being brought up to in the discourse community of Child
Development is based on a lot of research and studying youths in which they are being
managed to learn different ways in order for them to get engaged. For example, the article
Thats More Like It: Multiple Exemplars Facilitate Word Learning by Katherine E.
Twomey, Samantha L. Ranson, and Jessica S. Horst, is an article that is being read for
researchers who observe these youths and indicates with categorization which then

affects the process of the word learning for these youths. Therefore, the article is an
example of how they learn and inform themselves on what they do in that community.
They have their own set of keywords that theyll use and are repeated throughout the
article. For example, one of the vocabulary words they used was fast mapping which
means the term is used for the hypothesized mental process whereby a new concept is
learned. The readings that are being put out to child development discourse community is
very specific and precise on what they see because they are visual learners and have to
see what they will be observing and notice the little things that happen which then
indicates what they are trying to prove.
When writing in the Child Development discourse community field it tends to be
more of a way to engage the reader and make it fun to read but also includes research and
important information. It has bolded words that section off the paragraph so its easier to
see and know when a new topic will come up. It also includes different models of what
they are referring to and show different images by trying to explaining it where its easier
to see and understand. The language that is being distinguished in the writing in this
specific discourse community is very complex because the vocabulary that they use to
describe different things is in a higher level dimension to make their vocabulary better
and descriptive. For example, in the article The Challenge of Audience Reception: A
Developmental Model for Educational Game Engagement by John L. Sherry includes a
picture model diagram based on Game engagement. The diagram that is being referred to
is (Figure 2.1. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development), it sections off

three boxes that are in order which is a way how the Child Development discourse
community is seeing the different factors of that engagement towards young children.
The writing is being proposed for those who will be involving with children and giving a
brief better understanding of how learning can be fun for young children when playing
games with their peers and can engage, and learn.
My first interview that I did is a professional in the Child Development field who
teaches at an elementary school called Beyond the Bells and she is a kindergarten teacher
and her name is Marisol Ruvalcaba. When interviewing her some of the artifacts that she
mentioned that she uses is she keeps a daily agenda for herself to know what she will be
teaching each day, gives out letters to parents to inform them on important dates news, a
class syllabus, classroom rules, H.W passes and etc. When interviewing her I asked her
what kind of knowledge you value in the teaching area? She said that based on what she
has learned and come across is to be patient, genuine, and observant because kids are
very smart, and know when they are being lied to. Also, its important that you need to
earn a kids trust because kids are easily influenced and look up to you for guidance. The
second question was what kinds of written communication skills are valued in your
teaching? and why?, in this career being observant is one of the key components of
having a successful career. When it comes to attitudes, behaviors, you need to observe to
understand the child well. Also, writing is also a key component because you have to
observe and keep notes of what youve researched. Kids dont stay the same they change
throughout the years and develop and they notice it for themselves. Finally, The last

question that was being asked was what do these reading, writing, and research practices
reveal about the power/role of the language and literacy in your field and beyond? She
said that it is divulged that in the field of child development communication is the key.
Its such an important tool because its important to know and understand the needs of a
child. You want to be able to help them and overcome their troubles when it comes to
language and literacy and help them improve. Therefore, it plays a major role in their life
as they gradually move forward in their education, because being able to communicate
with others in the reading and writing communicating becomes as important factor as one
gets older. Being able to understand the language and literacy that is being taught, is what
will help the children be able to get through life as they go on in their future.
My second interview is going into the field of teaching and will be transferring to
pursuing her teaching career, her name is Debanhi Escobar. The artifacts that she
mentioned were report cards, letters to parents, calendars, and a daily routine schedule to
follow. When interviewing her I was going into depth based on what the reading and
writing she had to do base on her discourse community. The first question I asked her was
what do professionals in your field read, write, and research for their career? She said a
lot of research on theorist and developers. The education is really based on Pedagogy
which is the way you teach others. For example, in one of her classes she had to read a
book called The Pedagogy of Oppressed and its a really dense book that talks about
different ethnic communities. The second question that I asked her was what are the
methods used to create written texts in your career? Her answer was well as a teacher you

have to have some sort of self because you want to make sure you set your own standards
based on the curriculum that is applied at school. For example, as a Latina she wants to
work with the Latino community because they are the most oppressed that tend to
struggle. The third question was what are the types of knowledge that are valued in your
field? She said as a teacher its really just the English language so the grammar,
punctuation basically what an English professor would look for in your writing. Also,
there are a variety of languages that you dont know because youre not a teacher as far as
for writing its mostly more focused on the English language because its common and
we know it well. Lastly, what would you suggest for students that are in the field do to
prepare them for written communication demands? Attaining the language and
knowledge because it can transform itself into power meaning you can begin to make
things happen for yourself.
Subsequently, the discourse community of Child Development is finding out more
research based on the types of readings and writings that are being distinguished for this
specific field. In addition, the analysis of the reading and writing have come to the
development for teaching youths different methods and engaging with their peers and
putting them in a successful path that will benefit them to be hard workers in the future.
There are many different development skills that as a young child goes through when
they are slowly developing. There are five main developments that occur and one of the
developments is called Cognitive Development which is child's ability to learn and solve
problems. Second, is called Social and Emotional Development which is the child's

ability to interact with others, including helping themselves and having self-control. Third
one is Speech and Language Development which is the child's ability to understand and
recognize the language. The fourth one is Fine Motor Skill Development is the child's
ability to use small muscles, specifically their hands and fingers, to pick up small objects.
Lastly, the Gross Motor Skill Development is the child's ability to use large muscles. For
example, a six-month-old baby learns how to sit up with some support. Therefore,
teaching young children is really important because they really depend on the teacher and
look up to them so the teacher has to be able to communicate well enough and have
patience for them because these developments dont happen quickly for a child it takes
time and it comes naturally. Finally, Child development is psychological and emotional
changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence.