Erica's Reflection

I chose to explore social literacy through podcasting technology.    Social literacy is actually a very broad terms that generally refers to the literacy skills that a person needs in different social contexts.  Due to social literacy referring to so much, I decided to approach one aspect of it-literacy skills needed for written communication through technology (such as contributing to a wiki page or using an instant messenger.  Traditionally, writing skills referred to a person actually writing with a pen and paper.  Now, this terms refers to so much more because of the large use of computers.  

I used a podcast as my technological means for sharing my newly gained knowledge of social literacy.  A podcast is where someone records a conversation, posts it to the internet, and then allows people to access the .wav or .mp3 file so that they can listen to the conversation.  

Before I began doing research for this project, I had an idea of social literacy was based upon just knowing what the word "social" and "literacy" meant.  However, the details and if I was completely right was where I was still unsure.  After researching the topic, I learned a great deal about social literacy and that it includes more than I had thought.  I know realize that it has to do with peoples'  body language, spoken word, written (pen and paper, internet, etc.) and reading ability in different social contexts.  I was very surprised to learn that this term referred to so much! 

Also, before  I began researching information about podcasts, I already had experience in listening to them.   However, the reason why I chose to use podcast was because I had absolutely no idea of how to even make one.  Actually, making the podcast took up more time than actually the researching of social literacy.  I had a very difficult time finding a website that would allow me to post my podcast without paying money.   In the end, because I had such a challenging time, I now feel more confident and experienced with podcasts and how to get them posted so that people can access them.

I created a lesson plan for Kindergarten students.  I believe that creating a podcast is something that they could do as in providing the spoken part.  The students have the ability to write down or draw pictures of what they know or have learned about.  If not, the teacher could even prompt the student with questions and he/she could respond verbally directly to the audio recording for the podcast.  As long as the students are able to talk about any topic I believe that they could create an actual podcast.  However, when it comes time to actually put the podcast on the internet, I believe that they would not have the skills to do so and would need assistance from the teacher.  It has many steps including registering, uploading files, etc.   After this project, I now see more than ever, the importance of including technology into literacy.  Technology and literacy go hand-in-hand in so many ways in terms of why we use it (to communicate for example), how it can be used (sharing written or spoken information on the internet) and why (in order to communicate).  By incorporating technology into literacy as soon as possible, I think that students will learn to feel more comfortable with technology thus allowing them to have access to many more resources to further their own knowledge and understanding.  

Emotinal Literacy through Virtual Environments

For my new literacies project I chose to also do emotional literacy but I chose to explain it through virtual environments. To start emotional literacy has many key components including (from the definition I found) the understanding of our own emotions, empathy towards others and feeling remorseful for our mistakes towards others. These three things I have realized through the completing of this project that these three things are completely difficult for young students to understand. While I did not focus this, reading Jessica's new literacy project helped me to realize that.
While I have been on numerous virtual worlds such as Sims, Zwinky and some online video games I never thought about the components of emotional literacy while I was on these sites. Usually in online video games I get competitive and I am not normally as forceful with my competitiveness when I am next to an actually person not talking to them half way across the world. It was not until Jessica asked me how i was going to explain emotional literacy through virtual environments that I realized I had never thought about that before. I also thought that literacy was reading. While looking through Tompkins I realized that there is a lot more to literacy than just reading. Once I realized this the thought of explaining emotional literacy through virtual environments started becoming clear because I could focus on the emotions that people were portraying while they were talking. This project is what helped me realize that there are many different types of literacies and that they are in the natural and virtual worlds all around us.
While the site (Zwinky.com) i chose to use is not suitable for younger students or any students there are other sites that are available, which are safer. The reason I used Zwinky is because it is really easy to see the emotional literacy through the way people talk to one another. On educational sites it may not be as blatant. Using virtual environments in classrooms i think is a great idea. Students today are a lot more technologically advanced then we are because they grew up in a world were technology is all around them. This also caters to many different learning styles because it is hands on, you have to click where you want to walk and type what you want to saw, it is visual because you have to view the pictures of the places you want to visit and read the sentences that other people are writing. While all students may not like the reading aspect they can be allowed to play games if they read and write conversations. Even younger students, with an appropriate website can get the emotional literacy value out of virtual environments because they can learn many different ways and be rewarded by playing games or exploring on their own.
I would try to incorporate this in a classroom by setting up a private online world where only our class or school could get access to it and there could be games and educational conversations going on. In my opinion all students no matter the age can get literacy knowledge from virtual worlds.
That is what the new literacies project helped me to realize.

For my new literacy project I focused on Emotional Literacy. Emotional Literacy deals with emotions, and feelings. It is about understanding not only your own, but others emotions. To be Emotionally Literate means you can recognize your own emotions, and know how to deal with them, and you can read others emotions, and respond to them appropriately. To me this sort of seemed like something I do naturally, and before studying this I never knew there was such thing as Emotional Literacy. After researching this topic, I learned that it is actually quite complex. I learned that being emotionally literate isn't something that comes naturally. Young children especially, really struggle with being emotionally literate. It begins by teaching students how to identify their own emotions, and what your do when you are feeling a certain way, after they have learned this they begin to learn how to identify others emotions. This encourages students to be empathetic.
Learning this changed my view of literacy because I had always thought of literacy more as teaching students to read, and to comprehend. I never considered the other challenges and lessons you may run into. As a teacher of language arts you need to go beyond helping the students to understand what the words say, but also help the analyze the story, and the feelings within the story. Learning about emotional literacy also changed my view because it made me realize how much literacy can help you in other aspects of your life. As students read about characters emotions, and discuss them they begin to learn how to handle their own and others emotions. Studies have been done where it has been proven that students who are emotionally literate are less likely to engage in self destructive or harmful behavior. This made me realize how important the development of this type of literacy is.
For my technology I used a website. I was really glad I chose to use this technology because I had never made a website before, and honestly I never realized how easy it was to do. Making this website made me realize how much is available to us as students, and as teachers. Making this website was something fun and different from just typing a paper. I think as a teacher it is important to remember this when coming up with a activities for your students to do. I would definitely use this in my classroom, I think students could really benefit from learning how to make a website, and from making something a little different that challenges them to do more than just write a paper. This also relates to creating a diverse learning community. Not all students learn the same way. So switching it up, or even giving the students the option to make a website, may help suuport diverse learners
Doing this project made me research a topic I may have never learned about, and also opened my eyes to so many more possibilities. I had never heard of new literacy before this class, and I had no idea there were so many different types of literacy out there. I think by doing this project I will be a better language arts teacher because I understand the many layers of literacy,

New Literacy Project

For my New Literacy Project I chose to teach about environmental literacy through the use of a digital story. As I began this project I was overwhelmed and did not know where to start. By the end, however, I felt confident in my presentation.
As I began the process of learning about digital storytelling I became nervous. I reviewed many different digital stories to get an idea as to what a digital story is. After viewing many different stories I started researching different programs that allows one to create their own digital story. The program that I first attempted to use was Bubbleply. I failed miserably in trying to learn how to use this program. Next I learned about Windows Photo Story. I was easily able to understand this program and decided to use it in creating my presentation. As I learned about different digital storytelling programs I also researched the topic of environmental literacy. I found two organizations that provided great information on their websites, The Environmental Literacy Council (http://www.enviroliteracy.org/) and The Campaign for Environmental Literacy (http://www.fundee.org/facts/envlit/). The Environmental Literacy Council provided the viewer with information regarding the different types of environmental literacy. The Campaign for Environmental Literacy gave the reader a great definition and a ladder of steps to take in order to obtain environmental literacy. Overall, as I worked on this project my understanding of literacy and technology changed. I began with a view that linked literacy to the ability to be able to read and technology to the ability to be able to use Microsoft Word. Today, I see literacy as a broad category of understanding. Literacy incorporates how people work with other people of their society, people of a foreign land, and the environment. I realize, at the same time, that there are other forms of literacy that I have yet to be introduced to. By far the biggest change I have seen in myself is that I am more opened minded to what literacy can be. Technology is no longer turning on and off a computer, technology is using a computer or device in a way to display knowledge. Technology is websites, digital storytelling, blogs, wikis, and many more things I have yet to learn.
In the classroom I would definitely use digital storytelling to teach. With the first grade classroom I am currently placed in I would use a digital story I made to teach the class. However, I would not expect them to teach others through the use of digital storytelling. I do feel that older students, third grade and up, could replace the classic research paper with a digital story. Overall, using Windows Photo Story is much more interesting than typing a paper. It also forces the student to think outside of the box in terms of creativity. With diverse learners, a digital story would give them a way to show what they have learned without having them talk in front a large crowd, minimizing the number of mistakes.

Mini-Lesson

Topic: Introducing Vocabulary Words in Song of the Trees
Grade: 4th Grade
Time: 30 minutes

Introduction of the Topic
In order to understand text that is being read, it is important that students understand the words in the text. One way of addressing key words that are found in the book being read is through the use of a word wall. Words that are personally confusing or that are essential and appear frequently should appear on the word wall so that students are able to reference them when need be.

Share Examples
I will have created the word wall on a wall that all students will be able to see. I will model by adding the first word, “lumbermen.” Together, the class will sound out the word as I write it in the “L” box. We will then discuss why I chose this word (as in how to we find words that are on the wall) what the word means by me asking the students, “What do you know about lumbermen?” If students have limited prior knowledge on this word I will scaffold the students and ask them, “What is the main job of a lumberman?” Together we will discuss the word and how the word will always be on the wall for students to reference when writing or when discussing the story.

Provide Information/Guided Practice
I will break the students into small groups. Each group will be responsible for looking up words that are essential or confusing that they believe should be added to the wall. The group will have to discuss why they chose to the word, what the word means, and where they found it in the story. I will talk around to each group and continue to help students find words that are important. We will regroup as a class and then the students will go up to the wall, group by group, and add the word to the wall. The group will have to share (with the class) why they chose to the word, what the word means, and where they found it in the story.

Assess Learning
The next day I will ask students to write about the reading from the day before. In the writing, I will ask the students to incorporate at least three words from the word wall. I will then read the responses and see if students were able to use the wall as a reference and if they understood the words that they incorporated into their writing.

Maniac Magee Minilesson

Topic: Understanding Vocabulary

Grade: 3rd Grade

Time: 30 minutes

1. Introduce the Topic:

Explain to the students that in order to understand what we are reading we have to have an understanding of the words. Sometimes the unknown words can be huge clues to what is happening in the text.

2. Share Examples:

Give the students an example from the first two sections of the book. Some examples are:

● Pg. 25, pandemonium. “Pandemonium on the sidelines. It was raining red and green hats.” Tell the students that: “From the text ‘it was raining red and green hats’ I think that the word has something to do with excitement because when I graduated we threw our hats in the air. Also, in movies sometimes kids through their hats in the air after they win a baseball game. “

● Pg. 55, juked. “They found he could do more with a football than catch it. He could run like a squirrel. He juked and jived and spun and danced and darted, and he left them squeezing handfuls of air.” Tell the students that: “When I watch football players score a touchdown, I see them dance. Because of this, I think that the word juked has to do with the dance players do after a touchdown. Also, I know that juke, as in jukebox, has to do with music. Many people dance with listening to music.”

3. Provide Information:

Next, explain to the students we do not always have the proper old knowledge to know what a word means. However, someone else may. Explain to the students that it may be more helpful to ask someone else for help while reading than it is to look in a dictionary.

4. Guide Practice:

Write the following words on the board (do not include the stuff that is in parenthesis):

● Solitary (p. 121)

● Satchel (p. 121)

● Succession (p.125)

● Rasped (p.126)

● Bellowing (p.128)

● Lambasting (p.129)

● Mongrel (p.131)

● Relieved (p.131)

● Carrion (p. 132)

● Flinches (p. 134)

Tell the students to write down the words and then what page numbers they find the words on as I read allowed. After chapters 33 through 35 have been read, conduct a think-write-pair-share, with all pairings sharine, using the vocabulary words as the focus of conversation. If the whole class develops misconceptions about the words, correct them at the end.

5. Assess Learning:

Use the students “writing” step to see where the students stand at understanding the text on their own. Then use the share portion to see what improvements have been made thanks to the pairing activity.

Todays Readings

With the chapters in Tompkins and the Applegate article there are many things that i learned about my own reading comprehension. In my group, we were Chapter 2 of Tompkins, i started to think about the strategies that i had when i was learning to read. 

I learned to read through hooked on phonics because my mother was afraid that if she taught me to read i would pick up her accent. I remember that i was really excited to always study with my hooked on phonics. I was also trying to remember how i learned to take notes because of something that had happened in my classroom. When i walked into my classroom the other day my teacher asked me how i remember what my teachers say during class. I told the class that i take notes while listening to my 3 hour lectures. And then without any instruction my teacher told them that they were going to write down notes to a move on penguins. She told them to write down keywords and sentences that they heard about penguins. The students were confused but some of my first graders had enough comprehension to at least write down one fact. But i was confused because when this was happening i was thinking about my own learning of note taking and how that was a major beginning to my reading comprehension, but i do not remember learning HOW to take notes. This is something that my group and i talked about towards the end. The strategies that we were given to help our reading comprehension we what we were talking about. 

Tomkins Ch.7 and Quinn & Applegate

After reading the readings for this week, I feel like I have a much better understanding of how people comprehend what they read. Although I found few connections between Tompkins’ chapter seven and Quinn and Applegate’s Profiles in Comprehension, I was able to easily connect them to myself as a reader.

As a reader, I tend to remember and comprehend what I read by making text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections. Tompkins elaborated on these connections demonstrating how they benefit readers. Tompkins allowed me to see why people made these connections and how they benefit people as readers. For instance, text-to-text connections allow students to learn to compare the different styles one author may have. At the same time, the reader can also make a connection between different authors as they read. For me, these connections allow me to better understand what I am reading. The connections allow me to link new knowledge with old knowledge.

Quinn and Applegate’s article opened my eye to how people respond to post reading questions. What surprised me most with this article is how there are so many different types of ways that a reader can respond to a question. After reading this article, I feel that I best relate to the Dodgers. All my life I have tried to be the one that is not called on. Looking back on this I realize how little this helped me.

Although, both of these articles were very beneficial, I still have many unanswered questions. My biggest unanswered question comes from the Quinn and Applegate’s article. How do you find ways to help all eight different types of comprehension students? Is it even possible to help all, and at what grade level should this issue be addressed?

Class Readings

The class readings did a few things for me. The first thing was they made me think about how I comprehend what I am reading without even thinking about it. Comprehension, and prediction, and reading has become such a second nature to me, that I forget that it is something you develop and learn how to do. The other thing reading this chapter, reminded me of was the strategies that my CT uses to help students develop some of these skills that Tompkins talked about. One of the things he talked about for comprehension was predicting what is going to happen in the story, and my CT does that a lot when they are about to begin reading a book. She has the students look at the cover, and read the title, and then go back to their desks and write four sentences about what they think the book is going to be about. This is something that I do without even thinking about it, when I pick up a book. But Tompkins reminded me that this isn't something I always did, you learn to predict. Tompkins also reminded me how vital prediction can be for comprehending a text.
The other thing that Tompkins touched on in this chapter, was the importance of making connections. This was one of the things that stuck out to me, because my teacher spends a lot of time making connections with the students. She most commonly encourages them to make text-to-self connections. She does this by asking them to think of a something that has happened to them that is similar to something that has happened to the character in the story. She also makes text-to-text connections by reading books of a similar theme, and having the students discuss how the books relate. I don't think I make a lot of conscious connections while I read. I have been doing it more since we started talking about it/ reading about it. I think making connections is one of the most important things you can do to improve comprehension.

My Reading Comprehension Process

The readings for class did help me understand my own reading comprehension process-especially Chapter 7 from Tompkins.  First of all, after reading about the 8 comprehension strategies, I realized that I no long "predict" like I used to.  In elementary school, I can always remember how we would predict almost of all our literature (either individually or as a class).  Now, I really don't spend much time looking at the cover, reading the title, and then brainstorming multiple ideas of what the story could be about.  Instead I may just think of the first thing that pops into my mind when I see the title and cover, but immediately move on and begin reading the book.  

Also, I read about how my background knowledge is a typical factor for my reading comprehension.  Again, in school I can remember having our prior knowledge "activated" before reading a book, such as with the use of K-W-L's.  I am currently taking another Spanish literature class and for the first time, am actually understanding the literature.  After reading about activating prior knowledge, I now think I am doing so well in this class because the professor dedicates at least 15 minutes (sometimes up to 30 minutes) activating it.  Through discussions about what we know about the author, about the time period and the genre, I am able to better understand what we are reading because I am making connections.

Hi, group. Just a reminder that you each need to respond to EVERY post by the other group members.
Thanks,
Kate

Digital Native Quiz

     When I took the quiz, I missed the questions about modding and smart mobs.  Both of these terms I have never heard before until I took this quiz.  On the other hand, I knew the terms:

blog, wiki, instant messaging and massive multiplayer online games.  I am especially familiar with instant messaging and wikis since I use both multiple times daily.  Since I did miss 2 terms, I am not considered a Digital Native, however I do not feel like I have grown up with limited access to technology and new media.  

     Emergent does apply to my current level of digital literacy.  As I child, I was exposed to technology constantly.  With so many experiences as a child, I now feel confident with technology (for the most part) and feel as though I have the skills necessary to problem solve if needed.  

     Tompkins talks about emergent literacy as being a long process.  Throughout the process, the more positive experiences that a child has with literacy, the better off that child will be in terms of skills, confidence and enjoyment of literacy.  I see this being the same with emergent digital literacy.  The more positive experiences that a child has with digital literacy, the better off that child will be in terms of skills, confidence and enjoyment of digital literacy.

Digital Native Quiz

I thought that this quiz was going to be completely different, when it was referred to as a "Cosmo Quiz" i thought that it was going to be a multiple choice quiz and at the end it told you. I also did not do as well as I thought that I was going to because I could only define maybe three or four words. I did not like the way that the quiz was set up because the definitions were in our heads and we could have said "yes I know that" but not actually know the complete or the real answer until they told you. To me it was weird. Also it was weird that i did not do so well because i thought that i was well versed in the digital world.

Digital Natives Quiz

I was really surprised while taking this quiz. I actually expected myself to be much more of a digital native than I was. I was able to define maybe three of the words, but the rest I couldn't even begin to tell you what they were. I knew the words like Instant Message and Blog, because those are things that became popular while I was in highschool, so they are somewhat something of my era. I have heard of the word Wiki before, but was unfamiliar with the actual definition of it. I wouldn't consider myself a digital immigrant, because I don't struggle to use new technology. I understand the basic concepts of most technology, and am pretty computer literate. The age that we live in, and have lived in for a while now is one based on technology.

Digital Native Quiz

I am more of a digital native, however I am not even close to knowing everything. Before taking this quiz, I expected myself to be a digital immigrant knowing very few technology definitions and to have actually used even fewer. Surprisingly, I actually did better than I thought I would. I new what a blog, wiki, instant messaging, and massive multiplayer online games were. More importantly I not only new what they were but I have also used all of these technologies in the past. However, I did not know what modding and smart mobs were. After reading their definitions, I still do not really understand these two ideas.

Raised in a highly digital society, I am far from a digital immigrant. However, basing how technological fluent I am on this particular quiz, I would also not consider myself an emergent digital learner. Emergent learners are new to technology and are beyond the stages of turning on and off a computer. Still, I am still not to the stage where I can create a computer program or beat the newest XBox 360 game. Because I have a small grasp on technology, I am more of a beginner learner.

While comparing emergent digital literacy to emergent literacy for children from Tompkins text, I found many similarities. Emergent literacy and emergent digital literacy are the first stage of learning. In this stage one knows only the basics. As they progress they begin to acquire more knowledge they begin to progress and move closer to the next stage of learning. Tompkins places literacy emergent learners as the ones that can hold a book the proper way and turn the pages right to left. Digital emergent learners can use the basics of digital technologies but are not ready to explore on their own.

Choral Reading!

Before this class i had never experienced Choral reading and if i had then i did not know the proper name for it. I think that choral reading is a good thing. Last Wednesday we were rushing, especially towards the end but i think that what we learned was important and i would like to know more about this type of reading.

One thing that we did that i thought was important was that each group got to figure out the proper way their group wanted to read their book. For older grades i think splitting students into groups and having them present their ideas is a good thing. It allows them to think of the different mechanics that go into choral reading and choose which ones would best suit their book. For the younger grades i think that it is good because the students can get the ideas of magnitude, rhythm, tone, pitch and the basic mechanics of choral reading. This will help them in future classes where choral reading assignments, like the ones we did in class, are implemented into the classrooms. 

I wish that we had had more time in class to go over everything. Because we were rushing i feel as if i am still kind of lost on the subject of how exactly we implement choral reading into the classroom. Are we suppose to teach them pitch, rhythm, magnitude before we try reading a book out loud or are we just suppose to try it and see what happens.

Choral Reading

I really enjoyed trying choral reading in our class on Wednesday.  Even though it has been discussed in one of my CEP classes before, I do not think that I have ever actually tried it.  I liked being able to actually plan how we were going to do it (i.e. how it would be read, what would be read and by who) and then actually implementing it.  It was interesting to see all of the different ways that choral reading could be done with different books.

The handout that we were given in class (that we used as a guideline when discussion how our group would implement the choral reading for our book) was very useful and contained information that I was unaware of.  From the last time that I learned about choral reading, the book only discussed choral readings in small groups.  The students would simply pair up with another student and keep reading their section of the book.  Instead, this handout talked about the different ways in which the students and text can be organized and still be using choral reading.  Before this class, I was unaware of there being multiple ways in which choral reading can be done.

After trying this activity and enjoying it so much, I would like to see if I could try choral reading in my kindergarten field placement.  I think that this is something that the students would like to do because it would be something new and different.  The only type of choral reading that I see in the classroom right now is when the students are reading a book that has a repeating chorus.  The teacher simply reads the text that variates and then the students read the chorus line that repeats, in unison.  I think that the students would enjoy trying something other than this with different books that they do not usually read together.

Choral Reading Response

Choral reading is actually something I have never learned much about. I knew what it meant, but I hadn't learned how to implement it or what the benefits of it were. I know we were really pressed for time on wednesday, but I would be interested in learning a little more about it. Are there are times it may be more beneficial to use choral reading, and are there are times it may not be as appropriate? I would also like to know what the benefits of using this style of reading may be, and if it is a method that may be difficult for students who are slow readers, or students who have trouble sounding out words. Is there an age range that this works better for?
Some of the the thoughts I had from what we learned were that choral reading is a way to teach kids about the rhythm, pitch, and other components of reading, Some students may not be familiar with when to raise their voice, or how to read in a steady rhythm, Choral reading would help these students learn these techniques through modeling, and encouraging them to speak similarly to the rest of the class. I also think choral reading would be beneficial for students with attention difficulties because they may be more intrigued by the reading if it does in a more interesting way, or if they are watching for the part where they speak versus the teacher speaking.
I enjoyed doing this activity because it allowed me to see what it was like to actually read in the choral reading style. As I said earlier, I knew what choral reading was for the most part, but I don't think you can really understand it until you have experienced it. After doing this activity, it made me think about the fact that not only have I never read chorally in the past 20 years of my education, but I have never observed choral reading in my placement. I hope that this is something I could maybe introduce to my classroom.

Choral Reading

In previous teacher education classes at MSU I have learned the basics of choral reading. In these classes I learned that it is beneficial and helpful for emergent and beginner readers. However, I have never witnessed or partaken in choral reading. I have also never learned how and why to implement it. After Wednesdays class I was quite pleased on how much I had learned. I finally feel as if I truly understand why and how to use choral reading.

During class on Wednesday I was able to actually learn about choral reading instead of just being told it is a great practice to incorporate into the classroom. I like how choral reading not only familiarizes students with words but it also looks at tempo, rhythm, juncture, and pitch. I began to see choral reading as a great tool to help children be able to think about what is written and how to read. Take pitch for instance. The idea of pitch, as I understand it, is the change of tone in your voice as you read. A very common example of this is reading a question, where a question mark lets you know to raise your voice. Students who know how to use pitch as a result of choral reading can begin to read aloud to their peers letting their peers know simple things such as when a question is being asked. In a sense I see choral reading as a first step in scaffolding the reading process.

Response-Centered

In the 1st grade classroom that i am in i have noticed many things about their reading. I was recently asked by my CT to take a group of students to a corner and listen to them read. I was to count how many words each student got wrong and then help them sound out the word correctly. There were many things while i was sitting with this group that made me think about their literacy teaching. I noticed both good and bad things.

I noticed that many of the students that i was in the group with had memorized part of or all of the words in the book. This is not difficult seeing the way they were reading. We went through the book once and each child took a turn reading a page. This showed me that the there is a possibility that the students may not have read all the book before. 

One thing that i did notice that was good was that i got a chance to go through the book and ask the students to find specific words and then "frame" them for me with their hands.

Beyond doing that i have not noticed many response centered talks related to literacy. Although students are given a chance to do response centered writing. My CT asks the students to write about a small moment that happened to them over the weekend and/or the previous night. This gives the chance for the students to write whatever they want while still saying in a set parameter of beginning, middle and end but letting them write what they want. 

Other then that i am going to start looking for more response-centered conversations in my first grade classroom.

Discussions in the First Grade

I am currently placed in a first grade classroom. In this classroom, the majority of the morning is devoted to literature. At first I was skeptical of so much time being focused on literature while math, science, and social studies, in my opinion, suffered as a result. However, I have been very wrong about the other subjects suffering. Math is the primary focus during calendar time and their technology class that meets twice a week. The subject of science has very little time in the scheduling block but all benchmarks are met by the end of the year by each student. Finally, as in science, all of the state benchmarks are met in social studies throughout the year. Knowing this, I have felt very comfortable about the amount of time devoted to literacy. However, these readings assigned this week have caused me to question the literacy education these first graders are receiving.

Today, I no longer concerned about the fact that some much time is spent on literacy, but instead on how literacy is taught. The majority of literacy is in the recitation form. Students answer simple questions about a story. The teachers do not encourage students to discuss what questions and thoughts they have about the pieces of literature they read. This recitation form of literature discussion disappoints me simply because the students are not being given the maximum amount opportunity to succeed when it comes to literature education.

In order for my CT and her student teacher to begin the scaffolding process of response-centered talk to take place I feel that they need to sit back and let the students guide the conversation. Currently the “discussions” consist of the teachers asking the students key questions (“What happened at the beginning?” “What happened in the middle?” and “What happened at the end?”). In addition to these key questions, most of the time the teachers correct the students’ responses to better fit what the teachers are looking for. To change this would be very difficult but possible.

Overall, the majority of the students in the classroom I am placed in could participate in discussions or response-centered talk. Not only would these students be able to participate but they would also succeed as a result. There is only one girl that is an exception. I could see this not benefiting her at all for the time being. This girl has made drastic improvements since the start of the year in all subjects. However, there are many times still today that she struggles to catch on.

From what I have observed in my classroom my teacher uses both "Dicussion" and "Recitation". Sometimes the students seem to be freely sharing ideas about a bog they have read, and other times the teacher is prompting the students with questions or things to think about. Often time to get discussion going the teacher asks the students if the book they had just read reminds them of anything that has happened in their lives. This gets the students to relate the book to themselves, and share their thoughts and ideas about the book. I see my students doing more of the recitation when they read a book that has to do with abother subject, like a history or science book. When they are reading one of these types of books the teacher is looking for more specific answers and facts.
I think that for response centered talk to take place there is some scaffolding that needs to take place. Some students will need more scaffolding then others. Some students will be open to share anything they can think of where other students may not be able to think of something to talk right away. For these students you can scaffold by prompting them with a topic, or sharing an idea or thought of your own that may spark something in their mind.

Classroom Talks

In my kindergarten classroom, I am seeing recitations (versus discussions) occurring on a daily basis.  The teacher poses almost all of the questions, the students are expected to answer the questions and then the teacher evaluates the responses.  On the fourth page of the Almasi article, the conversation that the classroom in focus had is very similar to what is said during a typical classroom talk about a book at my field placement.

For response-centered talk to take place successfully, there is scaffolding that the teacher must do with the students.   If needed, a teacher must help students become involved in the conversation.  A teacher can also scaffold by interrupting a talk with an interpretive question to keep them on track.  

In my field placement, there are many students who would need scaffolding in order to learn how to carry on an effective discussion.  Many of the students express ideas with the class and they are not clear either due to a language barrier or disjointed ideas.  When this does happen, it would be appropriate for the teacher to step-in and restate what the student is trying to say.  Also, it would be important to scaffold by prompting students with interpretive questions and also by prompting students to respond either with their opinions, ideas or questions.  Scaffolding would be an important component here in my classroom because the students have never experienced anything like response-centered talk before in the room.

Goals for the semester

1. Gain a better understanding of ways to integrate literacy into my classroom

2. Learn the importance of teaching literacy, and how to teach my students the importance of literacy

3. Become more confident in teaching in general, and in teaching literacy

4. Get experience

I'm looking forward to learning more about teaching literacy. I have never been very confident in my literacy skills, so I have been nervous about teaching it. I hope this class will give me ideas and strategies to improve my teaching. I am also looking forward to getting expereince in placement teaching and working with students on literacy. 

My Goals for the semester

I hope to accomplish many things throughout this semester.

1. I hope that I will be able to distinguish between good and poor pieces of literate and hopefully only bring into my classroom the good pieces of literature. 

2. Be able to find other sources to help me while I am having troubles.

and

3. learning about how to incorporate literacy not only by itself but in other subjects as well.

Goals for Learning in the Course:

While completing this course I have several goals I would like to meet. Many of my goals relate to the fear I have of teaching literacy. I feel that these fears will prevent me from being the best literacy teacher I can possibly be. By learning to over come these fears in this course, I feel that my ability to teach literacy will improve.

My first goal in this class will be to become more knowledgeable on the subject matter of literacy. I hope to become more familiar with the terms of literacy so that I can more easily teach my students about them.

My second goal is to become more knowledgeable of literary sources that I can reference when I am stumped. With this, I would also like to learn of groups or councils for literacy teachers to join so that I can continuously learn out in the field as a certified teacher.

My final goal for this course is to become a better teacher. This simply means I would like to learn how to relax when I teach. Thus far in the field, I feel like I am not doing a satisfactory job of helping the students in my CT’s classroom.

By meeting these goals in this course, I feel that I will become more knowledgeable of literacy and a better teacher.

My Goals

1.  I will feel confident when incorporating English language arts into other subjects.  

2.  I will know how or where to find appropriate resources for English language arts.

3.  I will know know how to use technology (successfully) as a part of teaching English language arts.

Huh?

Lets see if it is working?

Hey guys

Hey,

I just wanted to see if it worked!