Course Reflection

I have enjoyed this online class to a certain degree. I think we could have benefitted from it so much more if it were not online. I like to get to know my professors better. I felt like this was a self-discovery class more or less. The professors GUIDED US and instructed us on what to look for and what to read, but we did a lot of self discovery, self teaching. This is beneficial but I just prefer face-to-face class sessions. I had no idea there were so many ready-made lesson plans available to teachers. I do want to keep my blog updated and “running”. One of my favorite things about this class was the knowledge and access I gained about other educators’ blogs.

Of course I will continue to find resources. There are so many resources available, it would be a shame to not use them.

Unit 4 Lesson 2: Descriptive Character Analysis

Descriptive Character Analysis http://www.cbv.ns.ca/sstudies/english/ceclang017.html

I have been working with some character analysis in my internship dealing with the book The Outsiders. Students paired up and drew character posters. I like the idea of assigning character role play. I think a game of charades would work well here. I would get my students to draw a character out of a hat/box and they would have 3 minutes to draw him/her on the board or act their characteristics out…no words would be allowed.

Students would develop stronger character identification through art and dramatization. These activities reinforce the character in the mind of the student aurally, visually and kinesthetically. Through reading or listening, character drawings and dramatic role playing, the personality of the character or scene comes alive.

Lesson 1: Poems from Pictures

http://www.cbv.ns.ca/sstudies/english/ceclang006.html

Photograph Lesson

I thought this lesson plan was one that students would actually enjoy doing. The teacher providing it gives enough detail to get you well on your way. There are changes that I would make but overall I really like it. Students are to bring in photos and write poems about their photos or their classmates’ photos. Examples are provided. This lesson includes so many objectives middle grade students are supposed to learn. For example: writing skills, inference skills, vocabulary and grammar usage, etc.

I would use this lesson in a poem unit for any middle grade English Language Arts class. I would require students to trade photos. I think the poems would be more interesting if they wrote about others’ photos rather than their own.

Unit 4 Article 3: Vocabulary Instruction

This article was a report from Kucan, Trathen, and Straits along with 4 teachers at Alleghany High School. These teachers went to workshops that taught them how to effectively teach vocabulary to their students in multiple content areas. There are graphs and pictures portraying examples of how these teachers integrated vocabulary building into their lessons. They share some of the lessons they used in their classrooms. This article stresses the importance of vocabulary enrichment in every content area.

Q1) Should teachers allow students to use the internet or Wikipedia to look up definitions?
I ask this question because teachers are encouraged in the article to keep dictionaries and thesauri in the classroom. I wasn’t sure if it was implying that these are the best resources.

Q2) Should students have weekly vocabulary tests all the way through the 12th grade? After all, vocabulary is a section on the SAT, but not just definitions, students are required to know relations, suffixes, prefixes, etc.

Unit 4 Article 2: Multigenre

I thought this article would mainly be about the pros and cons of using the multi genre paper in the classroom. I was surprised that the article took readers on a process of students’ research done about the multi genre paper. In this paper, students use all of today’s research tools and integrate their findings into different genres or writing. I have witnessed a multi genre book report in my Block I internship and it was great-so different from a traditional book report. The presentation of such a paper/project requires students to think about their researched findings from the subject’s point of view; be creative, and use different types of writing. Bibliographies are a part of this paper but in-text citations are not required or necessary. I love that the article goes into detail about “road blocks” the students ran into while researching what a multi genre paper is….it just reflects a wonderful aspect of teaching-the teacher and student learn together. I thought it was very important that students were still left the choice of doing a traditional paper.

Q1) Would you have a rubric for this assignment or grade students individually according to your knowledge of their “best work”?

Q2) How much freedom could you give middle school students with the multi genre paper?
I ask this question because last week as I was teaching my unit, students took forever when I gave them the least amount of freedom. It took them forever to make simple choices…about stuff like the color of their poster paper. I think giving students a list of 10 multi genres to choose from would benefit some students.

Q3) The article states “Students all saw potential use for the project in High School classes.” Couldn’t this project be easily modified for Middle School students?

Q4) How much of class time should be allowed for working on this project?

Unit 4 Article 1: The “I” Poem

This article promoted the benefits and pros of assigning students “I” poems. I was informed that this assignment invites students to think in the 1st person allowing them to express their own voices and deepen their literary experiences. It also allows students to express their thoughts and feelings from the narrator’s point of view. I particularly liked the idea of the “I” poems being assigned after a read-aloud. I believe if students know they will have an assignment in response to or dealing with the read-aloud they will be much better listeners and retainers during the read-aloud. Having students write “I” poems allows them to try out the poet’s way of knowing.

Q1) What is an appropriate length of time for a whole class to spend on a book?
I know this isn’t exactly relevant for this article but it does mention read-alouds. My 8th graders (at my internship) have been reading and completing different assignments/activities from The Outsiders for like 6 weeks now and they are so sick of it.

Q2)How could we (as teachers) modify the “I” poems for EC children who are low-level readers, low-level learners and for those who have ADD. I was just thinking how hard it would be for them to produce such a piece based on research or a read-aloud. I am teaching my EC class social studies next week and I have to go through my lesson plans and make the necessary modifications so I was wondering how I could modify this one if I wanted to use it. ADD would hinder a student from sitting and focusing on the topic/subject/book at hand and low-level readers and learners would struggle with various tasks as well. I know it can be done; I just wanted some specific advice.

Q3) What would be the best way to grade the “I” poem?
I ask this question because some students need their work graded to motivate their process. Would it be better for teachers to focus more on content knowledge and accuracy, participation, grammar and spelling, multiple criteria, etc.?

Instructional Strategy 4

Name of strategy: Before-During-After Reading Strategies
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education
Link: http://www.pde.state.pa.us/reading_writing/cwp/view.asp?a=196&q=98157
Description:
1. Students are given a stack (based on length of text) of sticky notes

2. Instruct students to summarize, question, jot down thoughts or ideas they are having about the text while reading. (The questions can be raised in class and answered then)

3. There is no right or wrong answer and assessment is solely based on the students’ participation in transacting with the text.

4. Sticky notes can be saved, attached to a sheet of paper or a folder, and used later as part of a study guide to recall what a given text was about.

This is a great way for students to make connections to what they are reading. Sometimes people read words without connecting to the content/material. This is a good way to ensure readers aren’t doing this. This is also a good way for students to be prepared for class discussions on class reads. They will already have their questions, summaries, thoughts, and ideas down on paper.
The NCSCOS under Competency Goal 2 requires students to explore informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
-monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard, and/or viewed
-restating and summarizing information
-making connections between works, self and related topics/information
-comparing and/or contrasting information
-drawing inferences and/or conclusions
-generating questions
I feel that this strategy can help students meet these goals.

Instructional Strategy 3

Name of Strategy: Vocabulary Strategies
Source: All America Reads
Link to the Strategy: http://www.allamericareads.org/lessonplan/wyw/vocab/index.htm
Description:
• Context clues and idiomatic expressions
• Vocabulary journal
• Word mapping
• Blackline masters of all vocabulary strategies
Vocabulary is key! If there is confusion dealing with vocabulary words, students will not be able to follow directions, perform tasks, understand reading, etc! The one I focused on is the following chart which is under the link: vocabulary journal. This is a great way for students to expand their own vocabularies and learn to look up new words.

Word/Phrase (page #) What I think it means Context Clues

The 7th grade NCSCOS under Competency Goal 6 requires students to model an understanding of conventional written and spoken expressions by:
-extending vocabulary knowledge by learning and using new words
-choosing language that is precise, engaging, and well suited to the topic and audience

Instructional Strategy 2

Name of Strategy: Language Arts Skills Builders for all grades. (Of course I focused on 6th-8th)
Source: Internet 4 Classrooms
Link: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills-8th-langbuilders.htm
Description:
This site is broken up into 2 parts: Grammar and Reading
Grammar
• Analogies
• Grammar review
• Nouns/pronouns
• Phrases/clauses
• Plurals
• Proofreading
• Punctuation
• Sentence structure
• Spelling
• Subject/verb agreement
• Synonyms/antonyms/homonyms
• Verbs
• Vocabulary
• Word usage errors
Reading
• Compare/contrast
• Comprehension
• Fact/opinion
• Figurative language
• Interpret graphs
• Interpret maps
• Main idea
• On-line stories
• Reading practice
• Story elements
I chose proofreading out of the grammar section to go in more depth about. 6th grade competency goal 6.02 requires students to be able to identify and edit errors in spoken and written English by:
-applying proofreading symbols when editing
-producing final drafts that demonstrate accurate spelling and the correct use of punctuation and capitalization

If you click on proofreading, you will be linked to different choices to pick from. I chose a proofreading, electronic game. The game requires students to proofread, edit, and correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and usage errors in a particular passages of text. I thought this would be a great activity to get students who are having extra troubles in these areas to do. It would help to improve students’ knowledge in these areas.

Instructional Strategy 1

Name of Strategy: Graphic Orgainizers

Source: Education Place

Link to the strategy: http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
Description: this site has a list of the entire different (printer friendly) available charts:
• Clock
• Describing wheel
• Flow chart
• Ice cream cone
• ISP chart (info, sources, page)
• Problem-solution chart
• Spider map
• Story map 3
• Step by step chart
• Tree chart
• Time order chart
• Cluster/word web 1
• E-chart
• 4 column chart
• Idea rake
• KWL chart
• Observation chart
• Sandwich
• Cluster/word web 2
• Fact and opinion
• Garden gate
• Idea wheel
• KWS chart
• Persuasion map
• Sense chart
• Story map 1
• Tick tack toe
• Venn diagram
• Cluster/word web
• 5 W’s chart
• Goal-reasons web 3
• 5 W’s chart
• Goal Reasons Web
• Inverted triangle
• Ladder
• Planning chart
• Sequence Chart
• Story Map 2
• Time Line

As a student and pre-service teacher, I always wondered where teachers got their diagram and chart papers. I used to play school and would make my own…yes like 10 copies of each to hand out to my “students” (stuffed animals). Well many years and a degree (almost) later, I now know that these charts and diagrams have been pre-made and are available on fabulous websites such as Education Place. A helpful tool this site offers is the Spanish button. With one click you can turn every chart into Spanish!
Since there are too many charts to align them all to the standard course of study, I decided to pick one: the fact and opinion chart.

In the 8th grade under competency goal 2.01, students are required to analyze and evaluate informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
-determining the importance and accuracy of information
To me, this means students need to be able to determine fact from fiction, or facts from opinions. This chart will enable students to sort that information out.