Final Project

http://prezi.com/o7ripept9is6/michelle-labbies-final-project/?kw=view-o7ripept9is6&rc=ref-38609435

I decided to represent the reading process as a tree.  A reader is just like a tree because they both go through many stages and have different parts that influence the big picture.  As a beginning reader we start out as the seeds of the tree.  Every seed has its own genetic makeup that will help determine the growth, size, look, etc. of the tree.  This is the same with a beginning reader because we all come with our own prior knowledge, experiences, and background.  The things we come into the learning process knowing about helps influence our reading learning process.  After you plant a seed it is important to provide it with the proper care and nutrients.  I think this is comparable to the literacy environment we create for our students, children, etc.  In a proper literate environment we are nurturing our students and helping them to become successful readers.  As a tree starts to grow it begins to develop branches.  These branches can be represented by a reader's new knowledge of phonological awareness, fluency, and vocabulary.  Just like a branch is important for the tree to grow leaves and flowers/fruit...it is equally important for a reader to have these 3 skills.  Without these skills a reader will not be able to comprehend what he or she is reading.  This is why I would say that comprehension is like the leaves.  When a tree has grown its leaves it looks full of life, and when a reader is able to comprehend they have completed their reading task.

Reference list...
Gallagher, K.. (2003).  Reading reasons: Motivating mini-lessons for middle and high school.  Portland,  ME: Stenhouse Publisher.

Graves, M. F., Juel, C., Graves, B. B., Dwitz, P.. (2011).  Teaching reading in the 21st century: Motivating all learners.  Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

 

Blog Review

As I searched for different inspirational teachers' blog online I came across one that really stood out.  The blog I decided to do my review on is done by Ms. Cassidy who teaches a 1st grade class in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada.  There are several reasons why Ms. Cassidy’s classroom blog stood out to me…

1.     I think the way she has set up her blog is a great way for parents to see what their children are doing in class (she posts nearly every day!!).  In our reading foundations class we have learned how important family support is on a student’s education.  A classroom blog is a great resource for keeping parents up to date.  If you update the blog frequently parents are able to be well informed on what is going on with their students lives.  I believe this can help build a good teacher, student, and teacher connection which can only improve a child’s education experience.

2.     Another reason her blog stood out to me was because she posts lots of pictures, videos, etc. on the different activities she does in the class.  This is a great resource for me and other teachers to use to incorporate things in our own classes. 

3.     Not only does she make it easy for others to “steal” her activities easily, but she has AWESOME activities to promote students to read!!  

a.       One activity I saw that really stood out was on their 100^th day of school.  Every student was to bring one hundred of something into school.  Then the kids would compare the things they brought in and take pictures of them.  After that the students would count out each thing and write a sentence, or so, about 100 of something.  The students would try to get other classes involved so that they could have 100 different sentences.  Then they put together the “story of 100” and tweeted the different sentences using the hashtag #100storiesof100.  I think this activity is great for so many different reasons.  The first is that it includes multiple different subjects.  In our reading class we have learned how it is important to include reading and writing into every subject.  By doing this activity you are incorporating math, writing, and teaching students how to use technology.  Another reason I liked this activity is because it is applying the lesson to things the students can relate to.  Twitter is becoming a popularly used website by people all over the world.  Using it to teach a lesson is promoting higher interest among the students.

b.      Another activity I thought was interesting was her blog post about the hockey players coming in and reading to her students.  This is a great idea because it displays modeling (from people students idolize).  Also reading aloud to students at a young age is giving them more exposure to reading.

c.       Ms. Cassidy’s class also uses Skype in many different ways.  One way is they have interactions with students from schools in other countries.  The students from both schools will interact with one another, give them a tour of their classroom, etc.  I think this a great opportunity to build on the culture aspect of reading.  If you have a student come in from another country you could potentially use this to interact with students from his or hers home country.  This can allow the student to feel more comfortable in the classroom and teach the other students more about their new student’s culture.  This can also be a great opportunity to incorporate the Rosetta Stone method.  You can create a word wall to help the new student learn the English words and the other students can learn some of the new student’s language.  Ms. Cassidy’s class also uses Skype to read aloud to university students.  This is such a creative way in getting students to read aloud!  Another time she used Skype was by doing a phonics drill.  Her students were reviewing the long vowel word with a silent e at the end.  To practice this the students would make up words that followed the phonic generalization then practice saying the words, using Skype with students in South Carolina.   

4.     She also has each of her students create a blog.  All of the students’ blogs are connected to the main blog.  I think having every student make a blog is a great idea to get the students involved.  She is not only teaching students to utilize the upcoming world of technology, but she is getting them to read and write! One of the keys to succeeding in reading is the practice.  Having the blogs are a great, initiative way for kids to put their reading skills to use.

5.     Another great thing about her blog is she shows pictures of her classroom.  Her classroom is set up as an excellent learning/reading environment.  She has various areas set up throughout the classroom for her students to read, including a couch.  In our reading foundations class we have learned the importance of setting up a proper reading environment for our students.

I could probably give soo many reasons as to why I found her blog very inspirational.  As a future teacher I hope to find many more resources, like this, to help me think of new fun ways to keep students engaged!  Her activities played into our new world of technology, created a social environment for her classroom, and taught students lessons on different subject matters including culture all while teaching kids to read and write (with fun, creative ways).

http://mscassidysclass.edublogs.org/

TED Talk

http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

In the Ted talk, “Bring on the Learning Revolution,” Sir Ken Robinson argues that a reform in education is simply not enough.  He states we do not need a evolution, WE NEED A REVOLUTION. 

He begins to talk about how education has a literarity, that there is one path in education (it starts and ends in the same way for everyone).  People believe if you follow this path of education then you will be set for life.  But almost every TED talker will argue that this is not the case: life is organic.  He says in order to improve education we need to change our direction from industrial to agrilcultural.  What he means by this is that we need to stop trying to use the same strategies, techniques, goals, directions, etc. in our teaching for every student.  Sir Robinson states that one way our country industrializes education is by stressing the importance of college.  Instead of making education industrial, teachers should be like a farmer; a farmer cannot determine the exact outcome of the growth of a plant, but they can create an environment where the seed can flourish.

He then gives us a metaphor on how we have designed our education system to be like a fast food chain.  In a fast food chain everything is standardized.  In contrast there are local restaurants that use the resources in their local area to provide food.  Although the fast food industry gets a lot of business it is “depleting our bodies.”  I believe what he means by this metaphor is that something that is standardized does not always mean it is good.  We are more likely to come across healthy options at a local restaurant (that has local produce and less processed foods) than we are at a fast food restaurant.  This relates to the way we teach our students.  If we continue to teach kids based on a standardized curriculum we are not necessarily using all of our “local resources.”  These resources can vary from the skills and talents the students possess to the job market in your area.  It may be useful to use our students skills and the local job market to teach instructions better fitted for the students’ futures.

He also talks about how education does not fill our spirits.  People typically enjoy doing things they are good at…and are good at doing the things they enjoy.  He argues that students may “opt out of education” because it is not suiting their enjoyment.  I definitely think this relates to what we have discussed in the course.  We often find students that struggle in reading do not enjoy to read.  When students do not enjoy to read, they do less reading, which causes them to struggle even more.  As teachers it is important for us to promote both sides in reading…interest and skills.  If we can build a student’s interest we can increase their skills and vise versa.

The point of all of his examples in his talk are to show us that it is important to personalize education.  Yes, there are important things for every student across the country to learn while in school.  With that said, there are different, creative ways to teach the particular students in each classroom.

I definitely think this talk applies to many things that we have discussed in this class.  We have learned that every student comes in with different cultures, backgrounds, reading experiences, etc.  If a teacher uses the more agricultural approach to their classroom they are able to create an environment where every student has an opportunity.  Because we base our classrooms on such a standardized track we are not allowing students to reach their full potential.  I think Sir Robinson give excellent examples in his talk as to why this approach is not working.  As a future teacher I will take his ideas into consideration.  I plan to build on my students interests and talents.  I also want to be a teacher that supports individuality.   Every student may have a different plan and it is important for me to help them achieve it.  In my classroom I will create an agricultural environment where my students have an opportunity to flourish in their own ways.  I will provide them with the materials they need, and individualize lessons as needed.  I will base lessons on people’s interests so that their enjoyment causes success.

 

There are many different strategies I have learned in this class to incorporate my students.  I would love to use a technique like the Robust Vocabulary so that my students feel involved and are learning words that are important to their daily use.  I also want to encourage free choices in books so that my students can read about their interests and enjoy reading.  I truly believe when a child is making decisions and helping creat their own track they will have a better reading and educational experience.

Reading Autobiography

http://prezi.com/opr56h3usfoh/michelle-autobiography/?kw=view-opr56h3usfoh&rc=ref-38609435

^This is a link to my autopbiography!!

Blog 10

As a child, and embarrassingly still today, I struggled with vocabulary.  I was great at memorizing the definitions for words so I was able to ace the test, however, when it came to applying the word in life or telling someone what it meant after the test was over I was totally incapable.  I really think the strategies used in the Robust Vocabulary article could have been extremely effective for me growing up.  I truly believe if my teachers implemented some of the activities that the teacher in the article did I would have grasped the meaning of more words and would be able to use those words today in my speech, writing, etc.  I am very glad that I read this article because it has given me some great ideas to implement into my classroom.  These strategies, I believe, will be very beneficial for my students, in special education, because they are very engaging. 

The first thing I really like about this vocabulary technique is that it allows students to choose the words.  Allowing students to choose the words are getting them interested in the vocabulary, helps teachers identify the levels their students are at, and helps students understand things that they hear more often.  Also the teacher has digression to which words are being used so there is not a problem with students choosing too easy of words.  Another thing about this that I really like were the daily activities that were done with the vocabulary words.  I liked how they played games with the words, wrote sentences as a class, and did a final understanding at the end of the week.  My favorite activity they did was writing sentence as a class.  I liked that they first individually thought of ideas, then worked with a partner, and then as a class.  This allowed for a good sentence that really captured the meaning of the word.  I remember the times I was supposed to write sentences when I was younger, and although my sentences made sense, it was very hard to be able to pick out the meaning of the word.  I also really like the use of a word wall.  This allows students to see the words that they are learning.  The teacher would also keep previous words up until she thought her students fully grasped the definition of that word.  Using the wall and repetition I believe would really ingrain the meaning of the words which allows for the student to use the word in their speech!

I think my main question after reading this article is...

Are there any other strategies people know of that worked for them going through schools?  What kind of techniques did your teachers use to teach you vocabulary?   

Blog 9

There are 3 main points I really got out of the Purcell-Gates chapter that we were to read this week.

1. It's not necessarily the socioeconomic background someone has that affects their emergent reading.  Just because a person comes from a home with low socioeconomics does not mean that the child is doomed to never being able to read.  The main factor, when studies have been conducted, in a child's emergent literacy is the amount of reading/writing they are exposed to.  I really liked the author's comparison of teaching reading to teaching someone to drive.  If someone is foreign to the concept of a car (came from a setting where there are little to no cars to get around) they are going to have a hard time understanding what to do when you tell them to start the car.  Most people come in with prior knowledge knowing that you put a key in the ignition to start a car, however a person who has never seen a car would struggle with this.  This is exactly like students who have never witnessed reading/writing.  There is simple background knowledge that people assume others have when learning how to do something.  If someone comes in without the knowledge it does not mean that they are incapable of performing the task, they just may need some briefing on common knowledge.

2. Another point I got from this reading was that many teachers are quick to judge, and often bring their judgments into how they treat their students, parents, etc.  This article tells a story about how a teacher instantly thought a mother was ignorant by the way she spoke.  The staff at the school had also ignored any special requests the mother had made, but when the same requests were asked by a professional they completed the requests.  I found this to not only be very disrespectful but also very shocking.  I have always assumed that teachers are very open-minded people and are willing/wanting to help all students.  Even if a teacher believes the parent's request is insane they should still acknowledge it, respect it, and provide options.  After reading this I found myself asking a couple of questions...
Is this happening in all of our schools throughout the country?
How can we expect parental involvement when our teachers are being disrespectful?

3. The last and main point I took away from this reading is that just because someone lacks a background in literacy, it does not mean that the student is helpless.  There are many strategies that teach these children to develop literacy just like any other student would do.  The article gives some really good tips as to how help these students succeed.  First, and foremost, the teacher needs to have confidence that the student is capable of learning the material, regardless of their background.  The second thing a teacher needs to do is accept the students language.  No person talks exactly how they write (using proper grammar, order, etc.).  So there is no need to teach a child to talk properly in order for them to write properly.  Instead it is important to teach the students how to write properly in different forms.