For me, the big mystery of how web pages get made was finally solved with this project. Not only did I learn how to make and use a website and pages, but it also sparked interest for me to create a professional website for me to help in my process to achieving a job. I had a lot of fun doing this website and after I was done with the New Literacies Project and have been continuing to edit it, add to it, and make it better overall in general. I had heard of people creating pages through google so I started there. From there, I created my account and started to create my website. If I had to do this again, I would probably choose a different medium through which to create a website, because Google gave me very limited templates and options. I would have liked to have the chance to be more creative with images/fonts etc. I know there are many applications out there that can foster a moving images, have sounds, etc. that I would have liked to have the time to learn to do. I now understand why people are hired to create websites for companies! There is so much you can do to be creative with them. But as I said, Google seemed somewhat limited, and I only discovered this after I was halfway done with the project so I decided to just continue with it and finish.
Creating the website was the best part of the project for me. Finding the information to put on the website was not the best part for me. I have always been uninterested in research (but I do believe it is a necessary thing to do!) and every time I hear someone who's life goal is to become a researcher, I get a bit sick to my stomach, because this seems so boring to me. I'm the type of person who wants to get out there and DO IT (Dear Nike, I am not stealing your slogan, merely borrowing your idea). Thank the dear Lord for creating the internet, because it made my research of visual literacy so much more convenient. I can't imagine how much more time this project would have taken had I only the option to use books, magazines, and articles. With technology, knowledge is at the tip of our fingertips, ready to grab at any possible moment. It is now possible to take the internet with us in our pocket. With a few seconds, all sorts of things can be gotten from phones with internet capability. So having the vast database of the internet made my researh woes go away a little bit. And once I got down to it, researching went rather well.
The last part was simply converting knowledge I had gained into my own words and putting them down at creatively and as appealing as possible. Again, I regret not knowing other sources to do my website (ex. weebly) but life is a learning process, isn't it? Knowledge is best retained by learning through mistakes. That's my opinion for many instances.
Lastly, of COURSE I learned a ton about literacy, especially mine. Before this project, and more so, before this class, I had a limited understanding of what it meant to be literate and what literacy was. I learned that it comes in all types of formats, which appeal to all sorts of senses. I gained so many new ideas for how to run my classroom and what I wanted to teach about literacy. Before this class, I thought of the traditional definition of literature: reading and writing, but literacy is so much more that just reading and writing. I learned from my area that literacy can come in a different form: visually. Even this can be done in a variety of different ways using different media (ex. painting, photographs, graphs, charts, etc.) which are awesome for teaching in the classroom. I learned through my aspect of literacy that all people learn differently, and by using visual literacy in the classroom, we can appeal to those who are more visually inclined to learn, thus creating the learning more meaningful. I also learned with Kristin's project that literacy also has a lot to do with how we feel we know ourselves, and how knowing ourselves creates better communication, self awareness, and social interactions. This will help stop a lot of problems before they are even started. I really didn't think emotional literacy was even connected to behaviors, but in a way it might quite possibly be the best form of literacy because it helps in so many other aspects of peoples' lives .
Overall, I think this project was a great learning experience and very beneficial for the class as upcoming teachers of the future. Technology is no longer a tool, but a necessity in today's world, and as future teachers it is out responsibility to keep on top of our education so we have the knowledge and means to be prepared for anything that the world of technology throws our way. I learned so much from our groups' projects and will continue to look at other types of literacies as they are made aware to the world. We must learn to not be afraid. We are all lifelong learners, regardless of where we came from or where we are going.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
For my new technology, I explored how to make a website. The entire process was new for me compared to new literacies, because the only literary thing I am used to constructing are sentences, noteblogs, and scholarly papers. To create this new literacy, I had to develop a lot more knowledge on simple things like which sites provide website creators. How do I find these sites? Eventually, I used our class wiki to access old projects and saw which sites they used and selected from there which website creator I would use: Weebly. After I selected Weebly I had to figure out how to sign up, so I attempted to do this with my internet browser, only, my internet browser did not support Weebly, so I needed to download a new one. As I have never downloaded a browser before (I have a father and boyfriend who do that for me), I had to figure this out. Turns out it’s quite simple! So, I downloaded and installed a new web browser, and then created an account (or four because I could not figure out how it actually worked, meaning you create an account then sign in with that account you just created in the top corner). Once I created an account the typical type of literacy was necessary. I had to find a website, read, process, and reproduce information on my own. This was the easiest part for me! Throughout this entire experience I needed to learn to save my information as I typed it, because as it turns out, web browsers sometimes cannot support what I click on and then things are deleted but with websites, there are no save buttons. I also needed to do a lot of typical literacy work through editing, which was great fun, because often the edit I wanted to make, such as moving a line up or down one line, took twenty minutes with logging in, out, finding the page, saving, publishing, checking on one browser, not showing up, checking on another browser, and re-editing. With my usual literacy, a word document, it would have taken about two seconds.
I believe that a lot of students K-8 have the capacity to create a website already. They are, after all, digital natives, and I am a digital immigrant. As a matter of fact, a friend laughed at me when I told him I was struggling with my website, because he thought everyone knew how to make one. So, I think many students will already have the capacity for this but if they do not, they are in need of a number of things. To begin, they will need to know how to type quickly, effectively, and to preview their work on a computer screen instead of paper, which for me, was much harder. Also, they will need to understand how to use Internet browsers, find effective and credible sources, how to cite these online sources, and how to compile all of this web information into one, cohesive page of information. To prove authentic students need only try to create a website, and each and every instructor will see that this computer work will push students to their literacy limits, because they will be incorporating something new into something they think they already understand, and may potentially challenge and change their own understandings of literacy as I have changed mine.
Since the beginning of the class my conceptual understanding of literacy has changed immensely. When we first began, before I had examined the GLCEs as our participation logs required, I was completely unaware that literacy encompassed listening, speaking, and viewing on top of reading and writing. Why these things were included completely escaped my grasp. For me, comprehending written text and being able to write text that people can understand was literacy. However, when we started this project I realized literacy was more a full understanding of a topic. To be literate did not necessarily mean that one is able to read a sentence or paragraph and translate its meaning, but that one is able to take information from any medium and understand and apply it appropriately. For instance, with environmental literacy it is important for one to understand the inner workings of human and non-human interactions on the environment. Then, they should be able to take what they know of these interactions and their effects and apply them appropriately to help take care of the environment. In regard to visual literacy, students should be able to take information that is presented visually and connect to it in a way that is meaningful, so they can remember it. Furthermore, when working with technology, I realized that digital literacy is definitely something that is a reality, and in reality, I do not pass this literacy test. Technology could easily, from my experience, be incorporated into effective literacy instruction. My website, and our class’ projects prove that many different literacies can be explored through different technological venues, including traditional literacies, like reading and writing.
With this in mind, to provide “effective literacy instruction” has taken on a completely different meaning to me. Considering all of the new literacies we have learned about, I am not actually sure that providing comprehensive and meaningful instruction in all of these areas is even possible with the time that we have with students. However, what I have learned about teaching literacy is that is important to help students become fluent in all aspects of a classroom. For instance, just because a person can read a book and comprehend text, does not mean that they can understand and take information from movies, or websites, which is why the GLCEs regarding viewing and listening are important. Also, as my case study of myself has proven, teaching a new literacy outside of the window of opportunity (a.k.a. youth) becomes an incredibly difficult venture. So, my thoughts on students are that we should incorporate as many of the literacies as we can at a young age. In a school with the finances to have a lot of technology access, young children should be making webpages and digital storybooks, and scrapbooks. For another option, students could at least be exposed to these things, if not making them, via a classroom computer, or literacy activity centers. Students of all ages, K-8 (or even 12) can benefit from exploring these different digital literacies, because they are growing up in an age when they are going to need to know how to use them. The more about technology that they know and understand, the more doors are open to them.
Overall, this was an incredibly educational project. I loved learning about both my new literacy and my new technology, even though the technology was stressful at times. In fact, I was so proud that I immediately showed my dad, who is always my computer guru, and he told me I did a great job. Hearing that from him meant a lot because often I cannot even get my own word processor to work correctly. So, I enjoyed and benefited from this experience quite a bit! I may even explore another new technology in my own classroom, or on my own! Digital storybooks looked really interesting!
I believe that a lot of students K-8 have the capacity to create a website already. They are, after all, digital natives, and I am a digital immigrant. As a matter of fact, a friend laughed at me when I told him I was struggling with my website, because he thought everyone knew how to make one. So, I think many students will already have the capacity for this but if they do not, they are in need of a number of things. To begin, they will need to know how to type quickly, effectively, and to preview their work on a computer screen instead of paper, which for me, was much harder. Also, they will need to understand how to use Internet browsers, find effective and credible sources, how to cite these online sources, and how to compile all of this web information into one, cohesive page of information. To prove authentic students need only try to create a website, and each and every instructor will see that this computer work will push students to their literacy limits, because they will be incorporating something new into something they think they already understand, and may potentially challenge and change their own understandings of literacy as I have changed mine.
Since the beginning of the class my conceptual understanding of literacy has changed immensely. When we first began, before I had examined the GLCEs as our participation logs required, I was completely unaware that literacy encompassed listening, speaking, and viewing on top of reading and writing. Why these things were included completely escaped my grasp. For me, comprehending written text and being able to write text that people can understand was literacy. However, when we started this project I realized literacy was more a full understanding of a topic. To be literate did not necessarily mean that one is able to read a sentence or paragraph and translate its meaning, but that one is able to take information from any medium and understand and apply it appropriately. For instance, with environmental literacy it is important for one to understand the inner workings of human and non-human interactions on the environment. Then, they should be able to take what they know of these interactions and their effects and apply them appropriately to help take care of the environment. In regard to visual literacy, students should be able to take information that is presented visually and connect to it in a way that is meaningful, so they can remember it. Furthermore, when working with technology, I realized that digital literacy is definitely something that is a reality, and in reality, I do not pass this literacy test. Technology could easily, from my experience, be incorporated into effective literacy instruction. My website, and our class’ projects prove that many different literacies can be explored through different technological venues, including traditional literacies, like reading and writing.
With this in mind, to provide “effective literacy instruction” has taken on a completely different meaning to me. Considering all of the new literacies we have learned about, I am not actually sure that providing comprehensive and meaningful instruction in all of these areas is even possible with the time that we have with students. However, what I have learned about teaching literacy is that is important to help students become fluent in all aspects of a classroom. For instance, just because a person can read a book and comprehend text, does not mean that they can understand and take information from movies, or websites, which is why the GLCEs regarding viewing and listening are important. Also, as my case study of myself has proven, teaching a new literacy outside of the window of opportunity (a.k.a. youth) becomes an incredibly difficult venture. So, my thoughts on students are that we should incorporate as many of the literacies as we can at a young age. In a school with the finances to have a lot of technology access, young children should be making webpages and digital storybooks, and scrapbooks. For another option, students could at least be exposed to these things, if not making them, via a classroom computer, or literacy activity centers. Students of all ages, K-8 (or even 12) can benefit from exploring these different digital literacies, because they are growing up in an age when they are going to need to know how to use them. The more about technology that they know and understand, the more doors are open to them.
Overall, this was an incredibly educational project. I loved learning about both my new literacy and my new technology, even though the technology was stressful at times. In fact, I was so proud that I immediately showed my dad, who is always my computer guru, and he told me I did a great job. Hearing that from him meant a lot because often I cannot even get my own word processor to work correctly. So, I enjoyed and benefited from this experience quite a bit! I may even explore another new technology in my own classroom, or on my own! Digital storybooks looked really interesting!
Monday, March 24, 2008
New Literacies Reflection
Before this project, I always considered “literacy” to simply be the traditional definition given in Tompkins: “Literacy used to mean knowing how to read but the term has broadened to encompass both reading and writing.” (p. 22) while I also believed that it included speaking, viewing, and listening, I had not known that “literacy” reaches far beyond these five things. Through this project and this course so far, my conceptual understanding of literacy has changed greatly. I now know that literacy is “a tool, a way to learn about the world and a means to participate more fully in the technological society of the 21st century.” (Rafferty, 1999) This quote, taken from Tompkins p. 11, acts as a window into the new literacies that are becoming more relevant today. For example, there is digital/information/media, cultural, emotional, environmental, visual, social, and numeracy literacy among others. These literacies, although not the traditional types, are still very important for students to learn.
Learning about these new literacies has also altered my ideas about what it means to effectively teach language arts. Previously, I thought that this focused mainly around helping students learn to read, write, and communicate effectively. Now, however, I realize that if the goal is to help students develop tools to participate in society, this alone will not be enough. Providing effective literacy instruction for diverse learners means helping all students, regardless of their background, learning styles or experiences, be able to succeed in society. This means that students need to not only read and write, but they need to understand the world around them: social norms, how to express emotions and interpret those of others, how to be responsible citizens, and environmental issues, among other things.
One way to make sure that all students are becoming literate in both traditional and new literacies is to use new, innovative methods that are relevant to students’ lives to reach them with the lesson content. One great example of this is using technology that students are familiar with. During this project, I decided to gain experience with making a website, because I feel that it is a very useful tool for students and teachers alike. This was an interesting and meaningful experience because it required me to step outside of my comfort zone and try to master a new technology that I use every day but have never created myself. It was “new” for me because I had to approach literacy without a paper and pen in hand; instead, I had to write on an electronic page. And, what I was writing on this page was new for me as well. Through this project, I learned about emotional literacy and that it involves being aware of our own feelings, being able to master the vocabulary associated with emotions, and expressing our feelings to others while also interpreting their emotions.
This project required knowledge, capacities and commitment on my part to make a website just as it has similar requisites for K-8 students to use it authentically. First, I had to know where to go to make a website. After deciding to use Weebly, I had to use my reading and deductive skills to view and interpret the instructions for creating a webpage. From here, I also had to use reading and researching to find information about emotional literacy, and then writing to create the page content. In terms of commitment, I had to devote a lot of extra time to the project because I was in the emergent literacy stage and did not really know what I was doing. Only through time and practice was I able to become technologically savvy with webpage creation (relatively speaking). In my placement, I highly doubt that my kindergartners would be able to use this technology because they are too young and do not have the skill sets yet. However, upper elementary students could definitely use websites to demonstrate their learning about different units or topics. To do this, they will need to be literate in the traditional literacies of reading, writing and viewing, but listening and speaking will not be utilized as much. A benefit of using these would be that students could access them from anywhere, but they will need to be willing to put in the time and use their knowledge of the Internet. One area of concern I do have with websites as well as using the other new technologies in the classroom is that students without a lot of exposure to computers, etc. at home will be at a disadvantage because they will not have the same background knowledge as their peers. A division could definitely emerge, and while it could be overcome with extra time and practice by students, it may make using new technologies in the classroom more difficult.
Overall, this project was a great learning experience. Not only did I learn about a new type of literacy, but I also learned how to make a website. Both of these will be valuable to utilize in my future classroom, depending on the grade level. As I worked, one thing I noticed was that my definition of literacy was much narrower before beginning. While I have now expanded my understanding of literacy, I still think that it is important to remember the necessity of the traditional literacies. While I worked with these new literacies and technologies, I still had to use my reading, writing and viewing skills to research and present the information. This project definitely broadened my view of teaching language arts!
Learning about these new literacies has also altered my ideas about what it means to effectively teach language arts. Previously, I thought that this focused mainly around helping students learn to read, write, and communicate effectively. Now, however, I realize that if the goal is to help students develop tools to participate in society, this alone will not be enough. Providing effective literacy instruction for diverse learners means helping all students, regardless of their background, learning styles or experiences, be able to succeed in society. This means that students need to not only read and write, but they need to understand the world around them: social norms, how to express emotions and interpret those of others, how to be responsible citizens, and environmental issues, among other things.
One way to make sure that all students are becoming literate in both traditional and new literacies is to use new, innovative methods that are relevant to students’ lives to reach them with the lesson content. One great example of this is using technology that students are familiar with. During this project, I decided to gain experience with making a website, because I feel that it is a very useful tool for students and teachers alike. This was an interesting and meaningful experience because it required me to step outside of my comfort zone and try to master a new technology that I use every day but have never created myself. It was “new” for me because I had to approach literacy without a paper and pen in hand; instead, I had to write on an electronic page. And, what I was writing on this page was new for me as well. Through this project, I learned about emotional literacy and that it involves being aware of our own feelings, being able to master the vocabulary associated with emotions, and expressing our feelings to others while also interpreting their emotions.
This project required knowledge, capacities and commitment on my part to make a website just as it has similar requisites for K-8 students to use it authentically. First, I had to know where to go to make a website. After deciding to use Weebly, I had to use my reading and deductive skills to view and interpret the instructions for creating a webpage. From here, I also had to use reading and researching to find information about emotional literacy, and then writing to create the page content. In terms of commitment, I had to devote a lot of extra time to the project because I was in the emergent literacy stage and did not really know what I was doing. Only through time and practice was I able to become technologically savvy with webpage creation (relatively speaking). In my placement, I highly doubt that my kindergartners would be able to use this technology because they are too young and do not have the skill sets yet. However, upper elementary students could definitely use websites to demonstrate their learning about different units or topics. To do this, they will need to be literate in the traditional literacies of reading, writing and viewing, but listening and speaking will not be utilized as much. A benefit of using these would be that students could access them from anywhere, but they will need to be willing to put in the time and use their knowledge of the Internet. One area of concern I do have with websites as well as using the other new technologies in the classroom is that students without a lot of exposure to computers, etc. at home will be at a disadvantage because they will not have the same background knowledge as their peers. A division could definitely emerge, and while it could be overcome with extra time and practice by students, it may make using new technologies in the classroom more difficult.
Overall, this project was a great learning experience. Not only did I learn about a new type of literacy, but I also learned how to make a website. Both of these will be valuable to utilize in my future classroom, depending on the grade level. As I worked, one thing I noticed was that my definition of literacy was much narrower before beginning. While I have now expanded my understanding of literacy, I still think that it is important to remember the necessity of the traditional literacies. While I worked with these new literacies and technologies, I still had to use my reading, writing and viewing skills to research and present the information. This project definitely broadened my view of teaching language arts!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Figurative Language Minilesson
Minilesson
Topic: Introducing Figurative Language using The Song of the Trees
Grade: Fifth
Time: 30 minutes
1. Introduce the topic/share examples
-Share with students the definition of figurative language
-Provide examples of similes, metaphors, idioms that students are familiar with
*Read In a Pickle and Other Funny Idioms (Terban)
*If there are ESL students, make sure to scaffold the lesson, or include phrases in their native language, so they can better understand
-Have children think of examples of figurative language
2. Guided Practice – Whole Class
-Choose one of the funny idioms from the book and as a class create a meaning or the phrase
-Hand out a sheet of paper to each student and have them make a quick picture depicting the literal and figurative meanings of each word (do a teacher example on the overhead)
3. Group Work
-Divide into heterogeneous groups of four or five
-Give each group one of the following examples of figurative language from the book
*Have students use their own books to find the page, read the context, and create a group explanation of the phrase
*Give students chart paper and markers and ask them to make a pictorial depiction of the literal and figurative meaning of each phrase.
Phrases
a) .“Last one to it’s a rotten egg!” (page 15).
b) “I watched until it was settled amidst the tree’s featherlike leaves…” (page 12).
c) “The eart was draped in a cloak of gray mist…” (page 2)
d) “…as the sun chased the night away.” (page 2).
e) “The ripening corn, wrapped in jackets of emerald and gold, was gray.” (page 2)
f) “…I closed my eyes and awaited the whining of the heavy belt and its painful bite against my skin.”
4. Class Presentation
-Have student groups present their work to the class and hang it on the literacy wall, next to the chart paper definition of figurative language and examples of similes, metaphors and idioms
-When students are presenting, remind them to utilize the speaking GLCEs
*Those listening should apply the listening GLCEs
Topic: Introducing Figurative Language using The Song of the Trees
Grade: Fifth
Time: 30 minutes
1. Introduce the topic/share examples
-Share with students the definition of figurative language
-Provide examples of similes, metaphors, idioms that students are familiar with
*Read In a Pickle and Other Funny Idioms (Terban)
*If there are ESL students, make sure to scaffold the lesson, or include phrases in their native language, so they can better understand
-Have children think of examples of figurative language
2. Guided Practice – Whole Class
-Choose one of the funny idioms from the book and as a class create a meaning or the phrase
-Hand out a sheet of paper to each student and have them make a quick picture depicting the literal and figurative meanings of each word (do a teacher example on the overhead)
3. Group Work
-Divide into heterogeneous groups of four or five
-Give each group one of the following examples of figurative language from the book
*Have students use their own books to find the page, read the context, and create a group explanation of the phrase
*Give students chart paper and markers and ask them to make a pictorial depiction of the literal and figurative meaning of each phrase.
Phrases
a) .“Last one to it’s a rotten egg!” (page 15).
b) “I watched until it was settled amidst the tree’s featherlike leaves…” (page 12).
c) “The eart was draped in a cloak of gray mist…” (page 2)
d) “…as the sun chased the night away.” (page 2).
e) “The ripening corn, wrapped in jackets of emerald and gold, was gray.” (page 2)
f) “…I closed my eyes and awaited the whining of the heavy belt and its painful bite against my skin.”
4. Class Presentation
-Have student groups present their work to the class and hang it on the literacy wall, next to the chart paper definition of figurative language and examples of similes, metaphors and idioms
-When students are presenting, remind them to utilize the speaking GLCEs
*Those listening should apply the listening GLCEs
Vocab Mini Lesson
By: Jeannie Jaques
Materials Required: plain white paper, pencil,ruler,highlighters or crayons
Activity Time: 30 minutes
Concepts Taught: Vocabulary Review
How To Play
Children divide a plain piece of paper into five equal rows and columns,putting a free space in the center box. Using their vocabulary list, they chose any 24 words and write the words in any order, one in each box, on their bingo card. All the vocabulary words and definitions are written on strips of paper and put in a container. The teacher pulls a strip out of the container and reads the definition, checking the word off her list. The students highlight the word that matches the definition. The first child to get bingo wins.
Options
Materials Required: plain white paper, pencil,ruler,highlighters or crayons
Activity Time: 30 minutes
Concepts Taught: Vocabulary Review
Vocabulary Bingo is a game for the whole class, that encourages students to study and review their vocabulary words. The objective is to be the first student to get bingo by matching the definition given by the teacher to the vocabulary word on their bingo card.
How To Play
Children divide a plain piece of paper into five equal rows and columns,putting a free space in the center box. Using their vocabulary list, they chose any 24 words and write the words in any order, one in each box, on their bingo card. All the vocabulary words and definitions are written on strips of paper and put in a container. The teacher pulls a strip out of the container and reads the definition, checking the word off her list. The students highlight the word that matches the definition. The first child to get bingo wins.
Options
*Award a small prize to the winner.
*Play four corners.
*Play to cover whole board.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Vocabulary Mini-Lesson: Song of the Trees by Mildred Taylor
Topic: Introducing Book Vocabulary Words
Vocabulary words: boughs, lumberman, hovered, protectively, indignantly, menacing, venomously, elude, sentries, resounded
·Introduce the words by taping word cards on the chalkboard that will later be placed on a word wall before beginning reading the book and reading them aloud with students to practice their pronunciation.
·Students will receive a set of cards, some which have vocabulary words and others with their definitions, and work in small groups to play a matching game and pair the words and their definitions.
·Talk about the meaning of each word as a whole group to ensure that all students understand the words and definitions.
·Have students re-sort the words according to their part of speech. Talk about the answers as a group and use the word cards on the board to show students’ answers and reach a class consensus.
·Students create a word poster illustrating one of the vocabulary words. The posters should have the word prominently displayed, an illustration of the word, part of speech, and use the word in a sentence. The posters can be hung around the classroom for reference while reading the book.
·Have students present their poster to the class. After presenting, they can move that word card from the board to the word wall.
·While reading the book, students will pay attention for the appearance of the word they created a poster for and record how it is used in the text.
Topic: Introducing Book Vocabulary Words
Vocabulary words: boughs, lumberman, hovered, protectively, indignantly, menacing, venomously, elude, sentries, resounded
·Introduce the words by taping word cards on the chalkboard that will later be placed on a word wall before beginning reading the book and reading them aloud with students to practice their pronunciation.
·Students will receive a set of cards, some which have vocabulary words and others with their definitions, and work in small groups to play a matching game and pair the words and their definitions.
·Talk about the meaning of each word as a whole group to ensure that all students understand the words and definitions.
·Have students re-sort the words according to their part of speech. Talk about the answers as a group and use the word cards on the board to show students’ answers and reach a class consensus.
·Students create a word poster illustrating one of the vocabulary words. The posters should have the word prominently displayed, an illustration of the word, part of speech, and use the word in a sentence. The posters can be hung around the classroom for reference while reading the book.
·Have students present their poster to the class. After presenting, they can move that word card from the board to the word wall.
·While reading the book, students will pay attention for the appearance of the word they created a poster for and record how it is used in the text.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Ch. 7/Carlisle Response
When I am reading a good book, I rarely ever stop to make predictions. As one of the first comprehension strategies discussed in Ch. 7, I found this thought provoking. Should I take a step back in my readings and make predictions? I have often times loved books so much that I simply could not afford the time it took to lay a book down and think. For example, I loved the Harry Potter series so much that when I read the first two books on vacation, I begged my parents to buy me the third book so I could continue the story. However, I did find it somewhat interesting how before the last of those books came out last summer that I found myself wondering how it all would end. I discussed it with several people and discovered all people had ideas different than my own. With the second comprehension strategy, I found myself nodding and agreeing with what was written. I definitely can connect and respond more to texts that I myself can relate to. For example, it is difficult for me to get into war books and books about the wars of the past because they simply don't relate well to me. I have nothing to compare it to. As for visualizing, I can definitely say that I do create visuals in my mind. Sometimes though I am more concerned with the story and what is happening than the scene around it or what a character looks like. I don't consider myself to have a lot of visualization in books, but it is evident that I do SOME because I can see it when I watch a movie I have previously read the book of. I am almost always disappointed. I also think summarizing is critical to comprehension because in order to comprehend something and regurgitate it I need to internalize it first, before I can do anything else with it.
Concerning the Carlisle article about helping students in the classroom with LDs, I found to be most interesting, because I have not received much direction in teaching and accomodating students with LDs in the classroom while maintaining the regular pace of most of the classroom. I found myself wondering what these students will be like in middle school, high school, and after. I tried to think of people I knew in elementary school or middle and high school with learning disabilities in the classroom. I could not think of any. Obviously, I remembered students with severe disabilities who were in a special classroom, but none that I remembered sharing a classroom with. Perhaps it was because I was always in an honors, accelerated, or AP classroom, but this makes me wonder even more about how these students will grow up to function. It is clear that these students need to be recognized, and one of the most important things Carlisle points out is to catch learning disabilities early. It is no help to the student for them to continue to struggle and fail. Carlisle also talked about how important assessments are in monitoring progress of students. This will help the teacher to identify those students who are still not responding to monitored or modified changes in curriculum. It is these students we need to recommend for special testing. Most LD students spend a majority of their time in a regular classroom so it is important that we as teachers know how to handle these students and keep them on the road to success.
Concerning the Carlisle article about helping students in the classroom with LDs, I found to be most interesting, because I have not received much direction in teaching and accomodating students with LDs in the classroom while maintaining the regular pace of most of the classroom. I found myself wondering what these students will be like in middle school, high school, and after. I tried to think of people I knew in elementary school or middle and high school with learning disabilities in the classroom. I could not think of any. Obviously, I remembered students with severe disabilities who were in a special classroom, but none that I remembered sharing a classroom with. Perhaps it was because I was always in an honors, accelerated, or AP classroom, but this makes me wonder even more about how these students will grow up to function. It is clear that these students need to be recognized, and one of the most important things Carlisle points out is to catch learning disabilities early. It is no help to the student for them to continue to struggle and fail. Carlisle also talked about how important assessments are in monitoring progress of students. This will help the teacher to identify those students who are still not responding to monitored or modified changes in curriculum. It is these students we need to recommend for special testing. Most LD students spend a majority of their time in a regular classroom so it is important that we as teachers know how to handle these students and keep them on the road to success.
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