Graphic Organizers TCH 206

The Following Graphic Organizers are from Freeology.com



* This can be used in the classroom for homework passes, extra credit, hall passes etc.


* This is a Theme worksheet that can be used in any class


* This can be used for analyzing different aspects of characters


* This is used in a simple 3 point essay


* This is a facebook mock profile that can be used to outline any chapter in any subject


* This can be used when doing literature circles or relating ones self with the story


* Author Study worksheet


* Used when comparing and contrasting two seperate ideas


* a KWL helps gage what students know, what they want to know, and what they learned in a lesson; is a good assessment


*Story Plot Graph


* Helps with writing a paragraph


*Pyramid of Ideas


*Sequence Ladder

Teaching Strategies for TCH 206

Grouping Activities: Help students form groups/break the ice

• Famous Pairs: Make cards with famous pairs such as peanut butter and jelly or Oreos and milk, and distribute the cards randomly while students look for their match. (from class)
• Sticker Picker: On a worksheet or piece of paper put matching stickers that correspond with the amount of students you want per group (3 matching stickers = 3 students in that group). Have the students form based on the sticker of randomly given worksheets. (from class)
• Pick-up Sticks: Decide how many groups are needed to perform an activity and then write numbers on Popsicle sticks. The numbers can be adjusted as class sizes increase or decrease. Distribute the sticks; students with the matching numbers form. (from class)
• Long-Lost Friends: For a topic of study, create pairs of cards. One card has a vocabulary word and the matching card has the definition. Mix up the cars and hand them out. Kids find their long-lost friends when vocabulary words and definitions match. (from class)
• Name Game: Write each student's name on an index. Deal the cars into however many groups you want. (from class)
• Play That Funky: Start playing a song. Instruct the students to walk around the room, and when the music stops students form into groups into however many you want. (from class)
• In the Bag: In a bag, put squares of different colors of paper. Kids reach in and grab one. Students holding the same color are in the same group. (from class)

Reviewing Activities: Help students recall important information before assessments

• Baseball Review Game: In any content area, prepare a set of questions that you will ask the students in preparation for a test/quiz. Divide the students up into two groups or teams. When a team is "at bat" one team member at a time will go up to the plate to answer a question. If the child answers the question correctly, he or she can pull a star burst from a concealed jar. Each color of star burst represents a different thing- a single, a double, a triple, a home run, or an out which can be decided by you. Once the student has pulled his or her color, the child will move to the corresponding base, or area in the room that signifies first/second/third/home base, or sit down if it was an out. The game will continue until a specific score is reached or time is up. (exhibition day)
• Four Corners: Ask a question or problem with four parts. Have students select which of the four is their choice and then go to the corner of the classroom where that problem is part displayed. This can be used as both a review strategy or as a grouping strategy. In the use of a review game, have students go to the corner of which answer they think is right. Prepare questions with multiple answers prior to the review game. (from class)

Language Arts Activities: Best used in an English or Reading atmosphere

• Mad Lib Grammar: Purchase/print out any appropriate mad lib that is suitable for the grade level. Ask students to complete it as a group to assess whether they understand the different parts of speech including adjectives, nouns, verbs... etc. by their responses. If the class is struggling with a particular part of speech, this is an easy, fun activity that allows the students to have fun while informally assessing their knowledge about grammar. Once the mad lib is completed by the class, read aloud the class' creation. (exhibition day)
• Noun Quilt: During a grammatical lesson on nouns, have each child draw a noun on a piece of paper. The noun can be proper or regular. Once each child has successfully made their noun square, put each square together in a form of the quilt. This will not only be a fun experience for the children, it will be a small reminder of what a noun is when progressing into other parts of grammar, like a word wall. (exhibition day)
• Velcro Word Wall: This is a wall dedicated to spelling words, vocabulary words, sight words, transitional words, or other themes carried out in the particular content area. On the Velcro wall, place the words in children's reach in case they want to pull the word down for reference of spelling or definition. The connivance of the Velcro allows for easy removal/replacement between different lessons and by the children. The word walls is simply a reference of words a child would find beneficial in the classroom. A few variations are special word wall. (exhibition day)
• Quick Scrabble: This is a unique spelling game that can be used when students are working individually or working in groups. With letter-pieces from a scrabble game, distribute evenly to students/groups of students and allocate a specific amount of time each will have to form as many words as they can in that time (30 seconds, 2 minutes etc ).  In the time slot, have the children find as many words as then can in the group of letters they were given. Have the children write down every word they found. Which ever individual or group has the most words wins. (exhibition day)
• Vocabulary Charades: Once a class has been introduced to a set of vocabulary words, this activity is helpful in reinforcing the definitions while reaching learners with different needs. Form the class into equal groups based on the number of vocabulary words. Once in the groups, have the children come up with an action/charade/symbol to help represent the meaning of the vocabulary word given to them. When everyone has had enough time to come up with an action for their word, the groups will share with the class their action while the others students try to guess which vocabulary word is being represented. For instance, if the word cancel was given a group of students might show an "X" with their arms to show what the word cancel means. This lesson can be used in any subject, however, I assumed it would be most used during an Language Arts/English class. This helps reach body learners. (during observations in Lewistown Intermediate School)
• Twitter Topic Sentence: When introducing the idea of a topic sentence, this is a good lesson that relates Twitter to English class. First, have the students write as much as they want on a particular topic- this can be a paragraph or a few sentences. Once each student has their ideas written down, limit their topic sentence to 140 characters, just like a Twitter update. This will teach students to pull the most important information that relates to everything- the overall idea of a paper. (Outstanding Educators conference last year)
• Here Comes the Judge: This is a spelling competition between two students, with one judge student that goes out into the hallway. To begin, have "the judge" leave the room so that he/she can make an unbiased decision on the spelling and neatness of the word. Next, call on two students to come to the board where they are to write the word told to them in their best hand writing (the handwriting helps decide who wins if there is a tie). Once both children have written the word, all the students say "HERE COMES THE JUDGE!" The child from the hallway emerges into the class and has to decide which word was spelled correctly, and if it's a tie which is written the best.  (Reading in the Elementary School)

Outline Chapters:

•  Post-Its: Since students cannot write in their textbooks, using post-its can be an easy way to write notes on a particular page in a text book or novel. Have students write down important ideas, summarize main points, or add additional information using post-it notes. This is any easy way that allow students to organize and take notes while they're reading for class. Too, the notes can be removed when the textbooks are returned at the end of the year. (Reading in the Elementary School)
• Double Entry: Split a piece of paper hot-dog style. On the left side of the paper write down quotes from the chapter that you didn't know, find interesting, or want to know more about. On the right side of the paper directly across from the quote, have students respond to the quotes. They can write as much or as little as they want, but inform the students that this is a way to help organize and outline the chapter- the more that is written the more that will be remembered. (Reading in the Elementary School)
• KWL (see Graphic Organizers)

Team Building Exercises:

• Human Knot: Everyone stands in a circle and grabs the right hand of a person across from them then grabs the left hand of another person, preferable not one standing directly next to them. Untangle! (STAR Mentoring Program)
• Human Sculpture: Put students in two groups. Each group is given a card with an object on it and has five minutes to play how they can act out that object with their bodies. The groups take turns acting out their objects while the other groups try to guess what the object is. (STAR Mentoring Program)
• Say My Name Game: Everyone stands in a circle. First person says their name and does a "dance/action." Everyone repeats the person's name and "dance." The next person does the same thing, then everyone repeats the first person's name and dance, and the second person's name and dance. This continues until everyones name and dance is put together to make a big group dance. (STAR Mentoring Program)
• Paper Bridge: Split into two groups. Each group stands at an opposite end of the room and is given two large pieces of paper. They are instructed to get every member of their team across the room, but they can only travel while standing on the paper. The first team to get all of its members across the room wins. (STAR Mentoring Program)

Others:

• Learning Style Test: Issue a learning-style test at the beginning of the year to students, so you are better apt to adjust lesson plans around their needs. These can be found for several different grade levels online. (from class)
• Hanging on the Edge: Similar to Hang-man, this is a behavioral strategy. Pick a shape/animal/food for the day and every time students misbehave, draw one more part to the drawing. If the students get the entire picture drawn by the end of the day, they will be punished. An example is drawing a Jack-o-Lantern around Halloween. (Exhibition day)
• Zero Noise: The zero-noise signal is an easy way to quiet the class and focus students' attention on you. Use it whenever you have something the whole class should hear, when students need to bring the volume down, at the start/end of an activity, of when you want to refocus students. To do this, stop talking, raise your hand in the air and remain quiet as you wait for your students to respond. When the students see your hand, they should complete their sentences, then respond by also raising their hand. Keep your hand raised until all the students have their hand raised and are quiet. (from class)
• Think-Pair-Share: This strategy takes the fear out of answering questions in front on an entire class because it allows students to discuss their answers with a neighbor/partner before they are called on to respond. To do this, ask the question, give the students "think time" individually, allow for discussions with neighbors/partners, and finally have the students share in teams or call on a few students to share their answers. (from class)
• Random Reporter: Random reporter is a strategy that introduces the idea that all students should be prepared to answer every question with the support of a team member. To do this, ask a question, have the students think about their answer, have the students discuss their answers with their team, and then call on a team to share their answer with the whole class. (from class)

Technologies/Websites:

• www.prezi.com
• www. gizmos.com
• Smartboards
• Jason's Project

Reflective Blog

Wow. This class brought a whirl wind of emotions for me personally, but it ended up being one of my favorite classes. Coming into a level 400 class as a freshman, the word intimidated doesn't even begin to describe how I originally felt. My father and I, after several emotional phone calls, decided that I should "give it a try and see how it goes." After the first few classes, I began to trust his faith in me. I looked forward going to my Wed. night classes because the time flew, and I felt like the class grew into a comfort zone for discussion.

I feel like this class has helped me significantly as an upcoming English teacher. Not only has it exposed me to lesson plans, PA standards, and different teaching methods, it helped me branch out and have discussions with people going into the same field. I learned that having colleagues is important, especially in education! You're not going to have the best ideas sometimes, and it's very beneficial to bounce ideas off someone who has a common interest in teaching students in a fun and rigourous way. Additionally, I feel ahead of the game. Going into  ENG 424 as a freshman has exposed me to the realistic side of teaching. It's work! I never knew the amount planning, revising, and prep work it took in order to make a lesson run smoothly. It was very eye-opening, but it made me more dedicated to the final presentation to the students... after all my number one goal for being a teacher is to be  encouraging towards my students so they can succeed. If the "right" activies are offered, they can reach an array of students. This leads me to my next point, knowing your students! This class has taught me that as an educator we must take the time to know each and every classes strengths and weaknesses. Graphic novels, drawings, free writes, discussions, and group work are all different activites that reach out to students with different learning styles. I think many aspring teachers assume that they will be teaching high level english classes, including myself. After reading YGBB and other accounts, I now have a different understanding for students at all levels. I do still wonder how an untracked english class would work, and I often think about what activites would pair nicely together for groups of students at different areas of intellegence. I'm not fully there yet as far as meeting the needs for a wide array of students, but I do feel more aware of the possibilites and look forward to being exposed to situations like that in the future. I know I have much, much more to learn but I feel like I progressed a significant amount on my road to becoming an English teacher. Right now I'm at the point in my life where I'm ready to learn more about teaching. I feel like I'm not personally ready to jump into the field, but I'm one step closer! I'm eager to take what I've learned from this class and collaborate it with my future knowledge. I'm on the right path, I've just got a ways to go.

Throughout the course, I learned a lot of good stragies that I plan to incorporate in my classroom. Some of these include:

1. BLOGGING!: I love blogging for this class. I feel that it is an effective way for students to put all of their thoughts together before coming to class, and being able to speak in a conversational style. Addtionally, I think that students will love this idea because it's not simply writing in a journal. With the blogs, all of their peers can read the remarks said, and students are more likely to refine their thoughts before turning an assignment in.
2. Grouping: Grouping doesn't have to include counting off by three's and meeting in an opposite corner of the room. Groups can be picked through shapes, pictures, book groups, and marks in the corner of a worksheet. I liked working in groups, and I think it allows students to discuss their thoughts before presenting it to the class in a whole group discussion. It also allows different groups of people to interact and different opinionated people to correspond to one another. CAUTION: groups can get out of hand, so teachers must be aware of this. Teachers should walk around and engage in the students conversations and keep them on task. One way to do this by giving students a timeline of how long they have to complete the amount of questions/discussion topics. Also, ringing a bell or something of the sort gives students a warning that they must get back on task etc.
3. Literature Circles: This could work great in untracked classrooms. It allows the students to make choices in their learning with books that interest them. I liked the stragedy where one teacher gave students a three-four minute preview of each book before coming up with a choice. This made students look through each book, read the summary, and get a quick idea about each book before choosing. Another thing I liked about this was having students rank three or four books in order of which they would prefer to have first, second, third etc. This allows the teacher to have some wiggle room with groups, and it lets the students still feel like they are picking what they want to do. As for role sheets, I don't really like them. I know they are a good starter or "training wheels" but it doesn't allow much room for open discussion. I like the format of literature circles where they were more like book discussion groups rather than work-sheet form.
4. Socatric Seminar: I liked the idea of having only a small amount of students talking at once while the outside circle listened to their peers. Also, I liked the shape of discussion. Being in a circle allows for an intimate experience with the other classmates and doesn't seem so structured. One thing I think we would have to remind students is that it's not a place for debate; It's merely a place to discuss ideas.
5.Gallary: This is such an awesome idea, and who doesn't love post-it notes! This could be used for so many different activites, but one way I think it could be used is by seeing where the class wants to go next without having it become personal. It could also be used to give critism to different activies/lessons that students may or may not have liked. If the majority of students agree with a particular note that they did not want to incorporate in literature circles, it's time to pick a new idea. Teachers must constantly be moving in the personalities of their classes. Some classes will want to focus more on one thing while others will focus on another. It's our job to meet the needs and interests of our students!
-Others include stations, connecting texts, and incorporating technology in a classroom

As far as lesson plans go, I feel like I'm somewhere in between 1-10. This is the first time I've ever been exposed to lesson plans that go this much in depth. The only other experience I've had with them was for my tutoring in high school. Lesson plans require teachers to meet the standards provided by the state. Sometimes an idea sounds great, but as no connection to the standards or text provided. I've learned that you have think ahead, and ask yourself what you want your students to learn from your lesson. After coming up with a solid list of objectives, then the creativity comes in. I'm not saying every lesson has to have bells and whistles, but no student wants to sit through 180 days of lecture either. We have to engage our students, and that's half the battle with lesson plans. After developing the plan, worksheets and extra resources are probably needed to enhance/extend the ideas so it takes a lot of research and time to come up with a unit worth giving to the students. Also, I learned it's probably a good idea to go through an outline of what you want to cover, and always over plan. Things won't always go the way you want, and teaching is always a learning experience. Keep notes from year to year and always look for improvment. I know for my personal 20 teach, I went through several ideas before discussing them and then actually exposing it to the class. I think that the most influential learning experience came from group-1. The sterotypes, although worked wonderfully, were very distracting. We need to work on classroom management skills, they are just as important to the classroom setting as making rigiorous lesson plans. I've learned to expect the students who give you trouble, and understand them.

Literature is the foundation for teaching other areas of english, not the focus! Novels, articles, and poetry all help students become more aware of the world around them, their writing ablitiles, literary terms, and other criteria the state expects us to teach them. Teaching a novel is more than going over characters, setting, and plot, it's about going into the themes, motifs, character development, language, and use of style. These are the things that open up new doors for students, and if they can relate to a novel we've done our job. If the student is aware of the major themes or character flaws etc. and are able to connect them in the most personal way, we've allowed them to see the beauty of literature through different techniques and literary functions.

Soundtrack of My Life

"Because of You"- Kelly Clarkson

I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I Will not let myself cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way, to never let it get that far 

Because of you
I'll never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust
Not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid 

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake, a smile, a laugh
Every day of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with 

Because of you
I'll never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust
Not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid 

I watched you die
I heard you cry
Every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry
In the middle of the night
For the same damn thing

Because of you
I'll never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I don't get hurt
Because of you
I tried my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid 

Because of you
Because of you

"Good Riddance"- Green Day
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

"I Dare You"-Shinedown
Hello, let me introduce you to
The characters in the show
One says yes, one says no
Decide - which voice in your head you can keep alive

Even in madness, I know you still believe
Paint me your canvas so I become
What you could never be

I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
wear my soul and call me a liar
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to

Hello, are you still chasing
The memories in shadows
Some stay young, some grow old
Come alive, there are thoughts unclear
You can never hide

Even in madness, I know you still believe
Paint me your canvas so I become
What you could never be

I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
wear my soul and call me a liar
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to

Hello
Hello...
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
Brand my soul and call me a liar
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to
Hello...
Hello...
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to

Shakespeare, the bard

This week I chose to read two articles/chapters from the Teaching Shakespeare Today text. I wanted to get two ideas of how different teachers tackle such a difficult text in a classroom. For me, I hated Shakespeare (I know and I'm an English Major... shame on me). I like the ideas of his plays, but hate how outdated they are. I know that most of our movies are based of some sort of Shakespeare play, but I always wished we could learn from them rather than from the original language. That's why I loved reading Manga! I thought it was so refreshing to read Romeo and Juliet in another medium but kept the language that it's known for.

The first chapter I read was called, "Getting to know a play 5 ways." In this chapter Rozett had many awesome ideas on how to bring Shakespeare into a classroom creatively. Three that I especially liked was the props manager, bringing it to Broadway, and hiring actors in the 1600's. In the props manager role, the students had to go through the entire play and make a list of all the props used ON STAGE not off, and write an essay about which were significant part in the play both visually and symbolically. The second idea, hiring, challenged the student to hire as little actors as possible (all men of course and boys) and made them describe how they would play more than one part successfully. Lastly, my favorite idea was bringing a Shakespeare show to Broadway. It allows the student to modernize the play, use recent language, and keep the same elements. For the teacher, these projects allow for different assessments other than a typical essay. These ideas are unconventional and have a little fun factor to them. All of the above make the students read every line closely and understand stage directions.

The second I read was called, "Introducing Shakespeare with First Folio Advertisements." This talked mainly about a starter to teaching Shakespeare. It encouraged educators to use background information to introduce such intimidating topics to students. I think that this is a very good idea because a lot of students ARE INTIMIDATED! It might make them feel better if we ease them into Shakespeare rather than just throwing it at them in the middle of the year for a unit. Another good point Pinti had was using visual aids while introducing Shakespeare, and how his picture is very recognizable. The arts create a positive public image, and using advertisments in this way with Shakespeare's quotes and picture justifiy this.

Kindles, and Blogs, and Phones, OH MY!

I think that moving the classroom to a more media based learning environment is one of the smartest things we, as educators, can do. It is our job to meet the needs of our upcoming students, and being aware of their hobbies, culture, and strengths is important. However, I do not think that this means facebooking our students their homework. It simply means bringing in the technology that our future students have grown up with into their learning, making them more apt to consolidate their skills together. I was impressed that 7th and 8th graders were skilled enough to make a movie trailer, because I do not think that I could do this task without being taught the different programs. Her english class reminds me of two different classes I took in high school. I was in Journalism and we wrote for the school newspaper. In that class we learned about the different types of media, and how they affect our daily lives. Then we designed our own ads that would go in the paper using Adobe indesign and photoshop. It was a really intersting class, but was difficult to add the artistic ability to my writing level. The other class that used different medias was my visual communications class. There we had to pick apart the designs of adds by fonts, colors, pictures, the line of "golden proportion", and how different age groups preferred different outlines for their particular products. I really enjoyed learning about all of the different forms of medias in that class after studying the basic elements of design. From there we did screen printing, lino blocks, and black and white photography. Back on task, I loved the idea of bringing the classroom to the modern era. Paper and pencil doesn't cut it anymore. I mean seriously, I love blogging for this class. It's much better than preparing a summary after every reading and it allows all students to be involved with each others work. I love reading what my peers have to say about the assigned readings, because I feel we all have a different opinion or take on them. Another reason why I am so forward with this idea is because it allows for a student centered classroom. Like literature circles, it allows the student to make choices and have freedom in their own learning. This allows them to feel like they are taking owenership to their education, and allows the teacher to take a stand-back approach to teaching. This allows the teacher to observe and interact personally with students rather than by lecturing. If, however, I was going to teach this class I would need some skills with computer and programming skills. It might be beneficial for colleges to manidate particular classes in technology, so that we are not so far behind when we begin teaching.

As for advertising... I loved how the author described students. Images are everything, even here at Ship. How many students do you see walking the campus wearing a Northface, Sperrys, Uggs, American Eagles Jeans, and a hollister or express tee shirt on. It's hard to find one student who doensn't own at least one of the items above. Have you ever wondered, myself included, why we buy the things that we do? I HAD to have a Nike backpack in middle school, or I refused to wear one at all. What sways our opinions? It's interesting to look at how much logos, name brands, and the ads that sell these items affect our daily lives. I guess I always wanted to "fit in" but be a rebel at the same time. I remember buying Converse sneakers because they were considered "punk" and I was going through a phase where I wanted to piss my parents off. If we bring these ideas into the classroom, I believe that it will make students more aware of the products they buy and how they can brainwash and manipulate us. Advertising is HUGE. The superbowl for example makes millions of dollars on pepsi products and beer for a 30 second commercial. Ads sell lifestyles, not products. If you want to be a "prep" you buy hollister because that is what the cool kids wear. I think that it's important for our students to see this trend and become more aware of it as they buy more items on their own with their own money in the future.       

 

Lastly, I can't believe that the average 14-24 year olds read only about four whole minutes a day. I mean, if that 18-22 year old range is in college (just using the typical college ages not to offend those who aren't in that scheme) they HAVE to read basically to understand the content. I read about two hours a day. TWO HOURS! I'm not part of that steryotype that calls us the "dumbest generation." Thats all I have to say about that. :)


*notice all the pictures I placed are relevant BUT ALL LOGOS! How many can you name??

re: Feed

Wow. If that is what the future holds, I'm glad that the world is "ending" in 2012. In all seriousness, I wasn't exactly thrilled when I began reading the first few pages, because of the language, but after the first 50 pages I was hooked. Feed is a novel that mocks the trends in our society by showing the glories and downfalls of the industry and internet. Wouldn't it be awesome to "mind chat" someone without looking at them or getting our your laptop? On the other hand, getting lesions and having my skin fall off isn't exactly what I call fashion. I loved Feed. It was refreshing to read, and it brought up a lot of interesting points about today's society. When is enough, enough? Is technology a good thing, and do the pros outweigh the cons? Although Feed is fiction, I believe there are a lot of common topics that could be discussed about the modern we live in today.
1. How does industry and advertising affect us as consumers? Hulu and other websites are offering ways to "personalize" your ad experience to better suit you. Is this a scary thought or what!
2. Global warming is a hot topic for politicans, but are the dangers really prevalent? How realistic is it that in Feed the temperature was usually over 100 degrees and that people were able to turn off the sun in their tubes?
3. Endangered species and the environment are often talked about in a biology class, but killing habitats and building factories was a theme throughout Feed. In what ways could this be reversed, and how do we encourage students to be proactive in a world that is constantly relying on fossil fuels to worry about other creatures on Earth?
4. The trends are constantly changing in Feed. Relating this to high schoolers might be interesting to see what they consider what trends that seemed "far out" and study different decades. For example the '60's was known for the hippies, and we could discuss how different movements in government, society, and pop culture influence these trends.
5. Facebook, Myspace, and other social networking sites are beyond popular. In Feed they discuss the access to anything in their own minds- what would be the advantage and disadvantages? Is this a downfall to the newer generation, or does it put them ahead of the game?

Although these are only five questions, I think they would bring up a lot of good debates among students because many of them hit home. Feed is a book that could bring up so many good topics, while also having a love story and teen drama to keep it interesting and fresh. I would suggest this reading to anyone.

do we have to comment this week?

Holocaust and other diasters....

I began this weeks reading with Wink's article about the Holocaust. Previously before reading it, however, I have had an urge to visit Poland to see the harm that such genocide could cause. In tenth grade, my English teacher brought in pictures from her travels to Auschwitz and we had a long lesson on the topic. In that unit, I wrote my research paper which was 4 pages (at the time that was intense!) on the Warsaw ghetto, and the treatment the Jewish people endured. Like the students in Wink's observations, I lacked emotions for such a subject and "sat back" and listened to what needed to be heard. However, I never really put a place to those emotions, and maybe that is why this subject hit me harder as a college student. Wink suggests that educators need to encourage full participation in a classroom, but when teaching such horrific material it's a question worth asking if the students are being apathetic or not. A lack of emotion towards something so important to humanity is dangerous, and we need to teach students to question, be curious, and have emotions responding to the subject matter we teach. I thought it was really interesting that many of Wink's students were unable to relate to such implicit ideas such as freedom of speech because of their personal experiences in a military academy. Throughout much of the article, there is a lot of comparison between connections vs. analyzing and participation vs. witnessing. I believe that connections being made would relate to the idea of reader response where the analysis of a poem/story/idea would be the new critical approach. As talked about previously a good balance, in my opinion, would be best. Additionally, I do believe that a classroom is more successful and worthwhile if students are active participants. Saying that, lectures should not consist of a whole class period. Student involvement is crucial! We have to ask the questions that make them uncomfortable, make them think beyond a few second response. I really liked this idea from Wink's article. It's good advice, and it makes for a more interactive, student based classroom. Even though the students might not be as willing at first to be pushed out of their comfort zones, education is all about pushing your students to the best of his or hers ability. In relation to, I read "Night" for this weeks literature circles. After being inspired by an adult non-fiction recap of the Holocaust, I did some research on the author. Below this blog I have posted an interview with Elie Wiesel on the Oprah show in Auschwitz. It's in several parts, however, I only put up the first ten minutes. It's really interesting, and if you have time check it out. I believe that showing a clip of Wiesel's experiences on the Oprah show before introducing the book would place a picture or visual in the minds of the students before reading such an honest memorial for a lack of a better term. Like Wink suggests, giving the students a place to connect what they are reading upon makes for better connections, rather than just analyzing the words on the page. It also allows for them to build upon this idea, and to make their own opinions. A level of discomfort is needed to be felt before one can understand or correct their personal biases. This is the case in both educators and students. If a teacher is willing to show their vulnerability, like reading a new book in a lit circle or expressing their own journal entries, it shows the students that it's okay to think outside the box and question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slZMOkYJFO0 <------ this is the interview with Oprah and Elie Wiesel

I also added this clip from the "Boy in the Striped Pajamas" to show how cruel and mysterious the holocaust can be from different points of view. For those who have never read the book or saw the movie, it is in the eyes of an 8 year old boy named Bruno whose father is a Nazi leader. He befriends a Jewish boy in a concentration camp. This short clip is also about ten minutes long, and what I would want my students (or you) to get from this is how the Jewish man is treated and how Bruno responds to him. Also take note to the sisters reaction and compare it to Bruno's. His sister is 12, and she has a different opinion than her younger, naive brother. Then I would expect my students to be able to compare Bruno to Elie. How are their experiences different? The same? There is a lot to be taken by visuals along with books- both fictional and non-fictional. I believe that journal entries and prompts would be the best way to approach this at first, and maybe by adding a formal essay comparing the book, "Night" to the movie. I believe that there are a lot of comparsions to be made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tHe3fZFPAA <---------- Boy in Striped Pajamas


I guess you could say... the second time around looking at the holocaust from the literature stand point rather than the typical history class stand point stood out to me. I found myself questioning how this could have happened and how could we as a nation let this happen. BUT! I think it's also important to look at the holocaust from the other point of view, in Hitlers. In the eyes of the German Nazi's he was a terrific leader. In all honesty, he was a great leader with a sick mind. He brainwashed people into this thoughts, had many followers, and was pretty successful in his ideas. Although what he had done was horrific, it's interesting that he possessed such leadership skills. In a recent RA interview we had to pick our staff members we would hire from descriptions given, and at the end found out that our number one employee was Hitler. There was a twist... the people being described were people in history and it just so happens that our first two picks were Hitler and a serial killer... they don't look so bad on paper do they? We felt bad, and honestly laughed at ourselves, but they had qualities that every employer would want to hire. Just a thought.

"Beyond Tolerance" was also inspirational. It home more for me because I lived in the era that the 9/11 attacks occurred. Someday soon, though, our students will only remember such acts through historical texts and stories told by ourselves. It doesn't seem like but it was almost 11 years ago- I was a fourth grader. The main point I learned in this text was that education was the key to understanding and communicating with the world. Cook contrasted a lot with Hade's idea that multi-culturalism was not to build tolerance like Hade suggests but to question and understand. She wanted to spark curiosity rather than acceptance. Saying that, I thought her idea in her World Lit class took more of the tourist route. I thought she had a lot of really good ideas, but I thought that she used it more as a way to visit and return rather than understand completely .What I did like was that she allowed her students to pick anything they wanted to do in that particular culture. This allowed student participation and interest. This then allows for them to begin making connections rather than just analyzing. Once again we see visuals being used. I've come to the conclusion that visuals are a necessity in a classroom and plan to incorporate several aspects of them in my classroom daily or weekly. I've posted two visuals in this blog because I think that they get the point across that the holocaust is trying to teach us from two different perspectives. 

Additionally, I continue because this subject really interested me. I found this website   http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/guideline/  really helpful. They have a list of reasons why we should teach it WITH THE RIGHT INTENTIONS, and what to avoid. It's a good resource and I would suggest it to anyone to use. Somethings I really liked from it are the ten guidelines for teaching the holocaust in a classroom. It also explains whats usually accepted for each age group. For me, being a 4-8 grade lit teacher I paid more attention to those in my age range. Check it out, it's from the Museum in D.C.

HELP!

anyone whose reading Night for this week.... we need to do our role sheets based on groups anyone in Night so we don't have any repeats?

Literature Circles

I really enjoyed reading Daniels book on Literature Circles. I thought that his imput as well as his partners imput were really helpful and honest. To begin, I was in the YA book club in high school. Wet met once a month in what was called our "activity period" where students got to pick a club to be involved in for an hour a month to meet the guidelines for extracuricular acitivies in our district. It was led my by freshmen english teacher and our librarian. Basically a bunch of us would choose to read the same books or books by the same author in that time spand, and in that once a month meeting would come prepared to talk about what we have read, what other books we have read in the month (both for english and on our own), and whether we think we would consider reading more books of this genre. I loved this hour, and not just because we drank coffee and ate donuts, but because it was fun to meet with friends and talk about something that we were all interested in... READING! I know, however, that my students won't all be as enthusiastic as me about reading and I think that literature circles will help bridge that gap.

Things I Liked:
I like how the book covered the different levels of teaching literature circles- from primary to high school levels. Being in the range from 4-8, I felt that I was in between the primary and intermediate literature circles so I took extra notice in these two catorgories. I love the idea of children being able to pick their books on a ballet, rather than spontaniously. This gives the teacher the opportunity to put children together that will work well, but keep the balance between advanced and average students while still giving the students the freedom. After reading about how lit circles cover a wide range of classrooms, I couldn't help but think back to Wed. class about tracking/untracking. During that class, I will admit that I was a little uneasy about teaching a wide array of students in an english/lang. arts classroom, and felt really unsure how to do it. After reading about literature circles, I believe I have a different opinion. It seems to really work, and it gives the students the choice on whether they want to challenge themselves or pick an easy read. Also, of the eleven key ingredients (18) I believe that a lot of them are linked to previous discussions. For instance, we previously discussed whether or not students should be able to pick their own novels in an english class. I now feel even stronger about this argument, because in the long run it turns students towards being educated, scholarly readers who may contintue to do so for the rest of their lives. Another part I liked about it was that the groups were temporary. I think that making the groups temporary allows for social boundaries to be broken and for students of different skill levels to learn to work together efficeintly. Lastly, I loved the connection between graphics and lit circles. After discussing SO MANY TIMES about how graphics are important in a classroom, this enforces it so much more. I agree that not everyone is an artist, but it might be interesting to see how different students picture novels in their heads vs. their other group members. It also allows for the other students in the class to get a visual about the novel their peers had read. I love this idea, and think that it'd be cool to even incorporate graphic novels into lit circles as well. On the other hand, the reader logs offer so much importance to lit circles. I particularly liked how the students could causally write to their teacher about the book either by questioning or commenting on what they read. It allows the students to feel comfortable reading without the pressure of putting together a well polished essay about it. It also allows for reader response! It encourages students to relate, link, make predictions, question, and even comment on the story in a more relaxed setting. As technology is spreading, it might be cool to incorporate social networks or online discussions (with advanced warning so students not as fortunite have time in school or class) in our classrooms. Lastly, I loved the idea of using post-it notes. I get tired of the usual notebooks or compostion books in the classroom setting. They are boring, predictable. Post-it notes come in so many different colors, can be placed anywhere, and are great for book marking an idea. I love post-it's myself and use them frequently.

Things I didn't like:
I don't like the role sheets. I agree that students might need help with starting the discussions, but I think there are ways around it. Work-sheets are work-sheets. I don't think they are very helpful, because if I was a student with a role sheet, I would read only what I had to to get the sheet done. I wouldn't really care whether my answers were right because we weren't turning it in and it wouldn't be worth my time completing it. If I feel this way... I can only imagine how my students are going to feel. I believe that instead of role sheets, we could set-up our questions to guide the students to write in their log about the different roles with the same book to start for everyone. For example: the whole class could read the same novel and then the class could number off and work on a question assigned by the teacher that would relate to the "role" and write it in their log. The log can be informal, and after they are completed different groups can be formed with one from each role to discuss what they wrote. To clairify, if they number off by six... the group will consist of one from group 1, one from group 2 and so on. I think that this may be a more beneficial way to introduce the roles. From there the groups can branch off and join their own lit circles.

Off-Topic Ideas:
In high school, I read the book called, "The Absoluetly True Diary of a Part-Time Indian." Although it discusses topics such as masterbation that couldn't be discussed in a school setting... I think that it would be paired well with American Born Chinese. They are both coming of age novels about those trying to blend into the American Culture. Another book that does this, more indirectly, is Breadgivers. I recently read this in my Culturally Diverse Lit class, and LOVED IT! This idea of multi-culturalism was stuck in my head since last class, and I've been trying to think of the novels I read that would be considered under this genre.

Don't be a tourist...

Well, I'll start with "A Class Divided." I was honestly impressed with the results of the study done in the short film, and couldn't believe that within hours children had learned to discriminate. By telling the students that the color of their eyes made a difference in their intellegence and the way they should be treated in society, they became divided. It was interesting to see that in a short day, the third graders really understood what it meant to be discriminated against. The superior eye color felt better, and began teasing the other children because they were not as fortunite. This was strange to me that this happened in such a short amount of time. In one day a classroom full of friends, turned into enemies and at one point a child even punched another for the segregation between the two groups. One of the children described their experience in the lesson as being a "dog on a leash." If third graders can come to the conclusion that race is not a factor in intellegence and humanity, others can learn as well. Racism needs to be taught in a more concrete way, rather than by simply discussing the outcome. When students are in that situation, they have more empathy for others who have felt the same way. I can't imagine how those children felt, because I was never taught anything like this in my past educational experiences. I came from a prodominately white area, as did the kids in the film, and never really experienced multiculturalism. It amazes me even more that at the reunion the previous third graders still remember what it felt like and are embracing other cultures as adults. I wouldn't consider myself as a racist or someone who discriminates other cultures, but it is important to learn and embrace about other cultures and not just be a "tourist" in someone else's.


In the article by Hade, I learned that one of my favorite childhood movies, The Lion King, could be seen as gender specific and condescending towards females. This upset me, but after reading the two point of views by the author and his daughters, I understood why I didn't want to believe this horrible interpretation. The author was looking at the story from an educational stand point where his daughter was looking at the movie/story as a form of entertainment. Looking into more of Hade's side, I can now see the issues that he brought up. For example, he points out that the female lions are obviously stronger and could have taken the power from Skar, but waited until Simba returned. Simba was given the right to govern or control at birth, and the other characters didn't want to interfere a powerful male. After reading this I thought to myself, hmm I wonder what other children's books and movies have a similar theme. As he explains texts are multi-layered and have "implict as well as explicit meanings." I think that it's interesting that he used such a common story/movie to open his point with because I think it hits home with a lot of people. The Lion King was even the first broadway performance I saw, and since then have fallen in love theatrical productions. The Lion King implies basically that the role of women in society is to wait for a man to save them because they are uncapable themselves. From all this, I learned that the way we look at certain aspects of society such as race, class, and gender effect how we interpret different pieces of literature. So I guess the main question is how do we teach this? We need to appreciate other cultures, embrace them for their differences, and teach students the important aspects of differences so that they can be more understanding and tolerant of others. One way to do this is by relating to the students in the classroom. In my 9th grade class, we read a novel called "Tears of a Tiger." It was a pretty modern book, and it discussed the black culture in an urban area without degrading or appearing too stereotypical to black cultures. I loved this book, and to this day would suggest it to any teacher to use in the classroom setting. It was so beneficial to read it, especially in my town because I came from a white high school, and black culture was something foreign to me. After reading that novel, I had a deeper apprecation towards the African American culture. Additionally, I believe that as teachers we need to teach our students how to read other types of genres. Multiculturism is not any different, and sometimes we may need to be more bold with our lessons so that our students understand why we are studying something that might have spelling or grammatical errors on purpose. Hade suggests that if we teach the students to become tourists in another culture, they aren't really learning anything. Students need to understand the importance, but sometimes this requires a little push towards the right direction. On strategy was by comparing two books with a similar theme and seeing how they related. I really liked this idea, and I think that this could work with a lot other pieces of literature as well.

Pleasantly Surprised!

Before I discuss what was learned by the articles and Wilhelm's chapter on visual learning in a language arts setting, I first want to clarify that I was never much of a comic reader. I found them useless, mindless, and far from engaging. However, after reading American Born Chinese, I found a whole new love for this genre. The book was a quick read, however, there was much more to it than what meets the eye. Beyond the three stories that end up being connected, all three different characters face internal battles with themselves as a minority. As Jin Wang enters a new school he struggled with the stereotypes that come along with a foreign student. With slanted eyes and different hobbies, Jin ddint't fit in with his peers and found himself wishing he was something far from himself. I believe that a lot of people, especially in their late middle school and early high school years, struggle with fitting in and wish they were someone else. Unlike Jin, not everyone has the oppertunity to "magically" change into what he thought was a perfect depiction of popularity and success in a high school setting. He does not believe that who he is personally is good enough for the standards that society puts on him. This was my short love for the genre. I think a lot of students, "popular" or not can relate to this  novel because I believe everyone has a time in their life where they are unsure of themselves and their role.

Besides the novel, I was suprised at how postive the results were in Wilhelm's research of using visuals in the classroom to reinforce reader response actually were. In the cases of his three "test students," Wilhelm was able to gage the the progress from the different activies given in class and the actions of the students following them. In the beginning, all three students struggled to read and lacked the basic skills of concecting a picture to the words on page. As time progressed, some of the students were reading novels and searching for more books in the school library. This to me was amazing. I would not have guessed that using pictures in the classroom in the variety of projects that he used would have been as effective as they were. Relating it to the novel we read for class, I can now see the how pulling from different genres is important and can reach an array of different students. Especially in the lower levels, using pictures worked exceptionally well. One of my favorite techniques discussed in Wilhelm's chapter was the idea of picture mapping. Note taking, even for an advanced student, seems dull. Drawing pictures of the main events in the story, instead of simply writing a bullet point about them, is a lot more affective to the students because it allows them to make the connections to the plot, climax, conflict, and characters in the storyline. If they are pulling from their own imagination, they are more likely to remember the sequence of the story and better relate to it because what they are studying from is their own drawings. One way that I think I would use this technique in my own classroom would be to include it in the classics discussed in the previous class. Sometimes the classics, although demed "classic" for their importance, tend to confuse and turn students away from the meaning behind it. If we ask them to simplify the novels and break them down into their three parts: rising action, climax, and falling action. Once the story is simplified in the eyes of the student, it may be easier for them to understand what is actually happening and the importance of it.

Also, stepping away from Wilhelm's chapter, I found it interesting the role that simple techniques have in comic strips. For example, simply making CAPITAL letters or bolding a word can make a big difference on how the reader is to respond. I guess I always just over looked that these are important aspects to comic strips, and just simply read them for what they were. Especially in comics, it's interesting that even the shape of the word bubble can define what the character is saying, without using different word techniques. I found myself reading comics outloud and comparing the pictures with the tone of how my voice sounded with the words on the screen. I would then change my emphasis to another word and tried to compare how different they sounded, with just that small change. IF you're reading this, don't laugh but try it... you'd be suprised on how much one emphasis can change in the meaning. I think that this skill can also be used in everyday life. The way we confront our students is important, and we have to be aware of our tone when we speak to them. Even if we are having a difficult day as Wilhelm did with this struggling students, we must try to keep our composure and come across as the professional we are trying to be.

Be an educator!

                To begin, I couldn’t help but relate the critical approach to teaching an English or Language Arts class to my past experiences during middle and secondary schooling. I was often too embarrassed to raise my hand in class, because the conclusion I came to after reading an assignment was different from that of the teachers. Being both in the position of a student and an aspiring teacher, I can understand how this feeling was not an uncommon one among other students in English classes. After reading “You Gotta BE the Book,” it became more obvious to me that simply the way reading is taught to young children may turn them away from becoming an avid and understand reader in the future. As young educators, it is our duty to help change this cycle to reach out to students and teach them that reading can be interesting, intense, and a way to attain more information.

                As stated by Wilhelm, students like Marvin are found in every school. Those who are unwilling to read and find it lame, for a lack of a better word, and it’s sad to think that our society is becoming more and more reliant on websites like Sparknotes and Pinkmonkey to offer all the answers rather than reading the assignment ourselves. When students aren’t reading the assignment, they cannot learn to analyze and understand the reading from their own knowledge, and these websites are enabling them from having their own opinions. As stated in the book, the way reading is introduced to young pupils may be an affect to why reading does not appeal to them. The “bottom up” theory of learning to read only offers a mechanical way of looking at words, rather than putting them together and trying to understand their meaning. After having a negative attitude towards reading at such an early age, it’s hard to change the opinions of students as they reach their middle and high school level courses. On page 25, Frank Smith states, “learning to read [as] a matter of application to all manner of exercises and drills which can only distract and perhaps even discourage a child from the business of learning to read.” Smith summarizes that without change, students may be unenthusiastic to read because of the dull exposure they have had to it in the past. I believe that if a new method of teaching students how to read that offers a more related connection between words and their meanings, students may have a more positive attitude towards literacy.

                In addition, literature does not always have a “correct answer.”  A piece of literature can and is interpreted in many ways depending on the reader and his or her past experiences. Because this is true, teachers should be more willing to accept an array of answers as long as they valid to the reading. As stated, a valid reader is one who follows two rules; as long as their opinion of the literature does not contradict other parts of the passage or the opinion isn’t based on a bias it is considered valid. As long as this holds true, educators should be more willing to encourage students to give their point of view. Even those students who would consider themselves a “reader” are not always fully developed in their skills and need to be challenged. This is why educators need to understand and meet the needs of every individual student, and this is constantly changing from year to year. Wilhelm states that getting to know his students makes it easier to assess to their needs as students of language arts.

                Another important aspect that educators need to understand that sometimes students don’t understand the purpose for studying or learning about a particular piece of literature, for example The Scarlet Letter. The author’s daughter was confused about the purpose for this specific novel and it challenges the teacher to make it clear to the students. If the piece of literature is outdated, and a connection can’t be made between the student and the point that is to be assessed by the student after reading, then a “good” teacher should look for alternatives to get this specific point across. Also, opening up students to an array of genres, allows them to better understand and appreciate the different types of literature available. As an educator, we must meet the needs of our students and one way to approach this is by personal research from the students in our own classrooms. As stated in a recent study (1990), teachers spend more time getting their degree rather than being evaluated after being in the classroom.  Also, the United States alone is suffering among the other education facilities worldwide. For example, a study shows that the entire country lacks problem solving skills and literacy skills, and instead is teaching mediocre math and reading skills. This is appalling! The world is competitive and giving students any advantage in the world comes from a solid early education.

                In order to give a solid education, we must find a way to introduce new ways of thinking in our English department.

Literacy Profile

I guess I would consider myself a reader. I love reading books that make you think outside your comfort level. I'm drawn to the experiences that the authors put me through, and I often find myself trying to relate my own life and the events that occured thus far to the character's lives. Also, I like reading literature that covers popular issues of the time. An example of this is 19 Mintues by Jodi Picoult; it discusses the emotions that follow a school shooting. I began reading outside of school assignments in second grade. I read the entire Cam Jansen Mystery series about a girl who had a photographic memory and helped solve mysteries around her local town. As I got older, however, I began to read the Nacy Drew series as a young teen. By the time I reached high school some of my favorite books I read were I am the Messenger, Looking For Alaska, The Luxe Series, The Book Thief, Cat and Mouse, Elsewhere, Perks of being a Wallflower, Love and Other Four Letter Words, Tears of a Tiger, The Glass Castle, and many more. At home I keep a list of the books I've read, so I don't happen to reread books. I liked books about teenagers and their lives. I was more drawn to outcast characters than I was the "typical" characters. In addition to reading on my own time, being in honors English classes in high school made for a heavy reading semester. Most of the literature I was exposed to was old and outdated. It was hard to relate to and often I found the material boring and irrelevant. I liked reading novels, and tried by best to understand. I think the reason I felt the way I did was because I got sick of the same study guides, reading quizes, and then simply writing an essay on a topic relating to the reading. There was no fun in it, no creativity. Some of the books I read during high school were The Scarlet Letter, The Odyssey, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Separate Peace, Of Mice and Men, The Glass Menagerie, All Quiet on the Western Front, Gulliver's Travels, Animal Farm, the First Part Last, Raisin in the Sun and others I cannot remember. Depending on the book I can be both a motivated and a reluctant reader. On my own, I love reading. However, reading the Odyssey was slow and hard to get through. I hope to someday encourage my students to enjoy reading by incorporating different activites that the typical study guides and writing assignments, and by mixing in different eras of books. Learning can be fun and outside the box, and I hope to bring that to the classroom at somepoint.