Final thoughts on the class

Which sites were most useful?

Throughout the duration of this class, I believe I was able to research a variety of materials that I will use in my classroom in the future.  I learned how to research different methods for instruction and even how to find lesson plans online.  I have even used some of the methods that I have found online in my 8th grade classroom that I am interning with this semester.  Overall I believe I now have a lot of sites that I can refer to in order to help me prepare my lessons.

Will you continue finding resources?

Of course I will.  Teaching is hard stuff when you have to come up with all this on your own.  I am so thankful we live in a society where we have such a great bank of information that allows us to make our job somewhat easier.  By having resources at the click of a mouse, we are able to communicate the content as clearly as possible to our students.

Will you continue with your blog?

I actually really enjoy my blog.  I will probably have limited time to update it as often as I should within these final stages of my college experience but I definitely see me using it within the schools.  Blogs just seem like a really cool way to tie in 21st century learning goals and I will definitely keep them within the syllabus of my class.

In conclusion, I have enjoyed doing my work for this class.  I think it was very relaxed and I think the resources I found are very useful.  I think it would be more beneficial earlier within our teacher preparation.  It is kind of difficult to work on these assignments while in the field and if we had this content earlier it would have helped us a lot more.

Samuel N Byrd

Lesson 2- Oral History

http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=299

This is a lesson plan about oral history.  Many cultures maintain their traditions by passing down stories orally.  Family stories help teach us who we are on a more personal level by allowing us to connect to heritage that is directly handed down from privious generations.  In this lesson, students will learn that oral history is important.  If they listen closely, family stories can be a vital resource for historical research.  Students will get to look at important events from the perspective of a loved one who lived through it.  This lesson plan is designed to help students tap into this resource by teaching about both oral histroy and how to use interview as a research method.  Students will learn how a lot of historians actually learn about material, record it, and then share it with the public

I would probably use this particular lesson plan with a group of 8th graders.  We did a living-links paper in our social studies methods course that was similar to this.  I think it is a great way for middle school students to learn about research methods and about oral tradition.  It would take some time for students to complete this task but I think they will be truly engaged in the content because it is a lot more personal.

Lesson 1- Mummified Chickens

Source:

http://www.theteacherscorner.net/lesson-plans/socialstudies/chicken.htm

This is a lesson plan about investigating the rituals behind mummification. This lesson plan features an actual continual hands on activity that allows students to get involved with the whole process behind mummification. Students will not only learn about the process and the beliefs behind it, but also about many of the funeral rituals that were present in Ancient Egypt.

I would probably use this particular lesson plan during a unit on Ancient Egypt.  It will take a lot of time to complete this project but I believe that it will truly engage students.  I like the fact that when students complete this project they will have a hands on experience in how mummification works and why it was so important to the Egpytian people. I also like how this lesson plan can carry over from year to year.  Students can dig up last years mummy learn about it the way real archeologist study real life mummies, and then they can create their own.  This goes well with 7th grade social studies which focuses on African and Asian history.

Article 3- Summary and Response.

Vocabulary is one of the most important parts of reading comprehension.  It is even set forth in No Child Left Behind legislation. The comprehension of reading depends upon the meaning readers give to the words. The more vocabulary words students know, the better the easier it is for the students to understand what they are reading. A vaste vocabulary opens students up to a wider range of not only reading material, but in communicating in general.  I think that this article has a lot of practical information on how to teach content vocabulary into the classroom.  I feel that vocabulary is essential to understanding content, regardless of subject area.  I feel as if this article has reinforced information that I have already known but nevertheless it is still important.  I see how much vocabulary plays in content that I am teaching now and know that it will be similar regardless if I stay within this content or move to another area.

1) How vital do you believe vocabulary instruction is to the classroom?
2) Did these strategies change the way you felt about vocabulary instruction?
3) Do you think it is important for students to be able to literally break words apart to find their meaning?


Article 2- Summary and Response

The multigenre research paper can be a viable alternative to the traditional research papers that are usually taught.  They offer students an new and creative way to research materials by increasing the students interest, motivation, and even their functionality in research.  Multigenre writing projects allow students to respond to contemporary conceptions of genre, audience, voice, and arrangement and style by allowing students to use their own knowledge about media literacy and multiple perspectives in their writing.  With this project being so open, students become highly engaged while still learning about the value of research, documentation, and using computer skills.  They tend to be much more fun, creative, and more meaningful that their traditional counterparts.  Students who do this type of research paper tend to become far more engaged in their learning and develop a sense of ownership over the material they research.

I have actually done a multigenre paper and I felt that afterwards I really knew the material and I truly enjoyed the entire learning process.  My multigenre artifact is still one of the most important of all the artifacts that I have collected since being in college.  It is a must-have assignment in my classroom.

1) I am definitely a lover of the multigenre project.  However, shouldn’t we teach traditional research processes as well because students need to be prepared for college?

2) How can we distinguish between what is true research in a multigenre paper and what is just fluff?

3) Because art is so diverse and more open to interpreation than traditional writing, how can a teacher grade student artwork accurately?

Article 1- Summary and Response

Teachers who use literary models such as the “I” poems can invite and support students in composing first person poety about specific people, places, and perspectives. “I” poems allow students a way to think critically before they read, as they read, or when they are finished reading. These poems create an opportunity for students to think deeper about themes, characters, or general ideas. By providing models and examples to students, teachers help students in the creative process. By creating these artifacts, students will dive into the content further and it allows them to deepen ther understanding of the characters they are reading about, the setting, plot conflicts , and the narrative points of view. I have actually seen these particular types of poems in the content and methods classes within the program. I think they are a great way to demonstrate your understanding of the text or a particular subject. I have thought of using these in my internship and will most likely use them during student traching.

1) How can I get students excited about doing this activity, especially when poetry seems to scare a lot of students?

2)  I can see how this can be effective in a English classroom. Would it be as effective in a different setting, such as a math or science classroom?

3) Why is creative response activities so much more effective and developmentally responsive that traditional approaches?

Reading Strategy #4- Think, Pair, Share

 
Samuel N Byrd
 
Name of Strategy:
Think, Pair, Share
 
Source:
ReadingQuest.org

 Link to the Strategy:

http://www.readingquest.org/strat/tps.html

Description of the strategy and how it will be implemented:

Think-Pair-Share is another cooperative discussion strategy. It was developed by Frank Lyman and his colleagues in Maryland. It gets its name from the three stages of student action. At each stage, the word represents what the students will be doing. Here are the steps to implement this in the classroom:

1) Think. The teacher provokes students’ thinking with a question or prompt or observation. The students should take a few moments just to THINK about the question.

2) Pair. Using designated partners, nearby neighbors, or a desk mate, students PAIR up to talk about the answer each came up with. They compare their mental or written notes and identify the answers they think are best, most convincing, or most unique.

3) Share. After students talk in pairs for a few moments, you can call for pairs to SHARE their thinking with the rest of the class. You can do this by going around in round-robin fashion, calling on each pair; or you can take answers as they are called out. Sometimes it will be important to record these responses on the board or on the overhead.

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1.02: Explore expressive materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by: monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard, and/or viewed; analyzing the characteristics of expressive works; determining the effect of literary devices and/or strategies on the reader/viewer/listener; making connections between works, self, and related topics; drawing inferences and or conclusions; determining the main idea and/or significance of events; and discussing print and non-print expressive works formally.

1.03: Interact appropriately in group settings by: listening attentively; showing empathy and respecting the opinions of others; contributing relevant comments connecting personal experiences to content without dominating; giving appropriate reasons/citations that support opinions; monitoring own understanding of the discussion and seeking clarification as needed; and clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response when asked to do so, and asks classmates for similar expansion.

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

I believe this strategy will work well in a class room setting because we all know that students learn by being able to talk about the content they are learning. But especially in middle grades that can be hard because students will want to go off topic. This strategy allows for discussion that is structured. The students follow a prescribed process that promotes on-task thinking and discourages off-task behavior, and accountability is built in because each must report to a partner, and then partners must report to the class.

THINK provides wait time for the students to actually think about their answers independently. PAIR is great because students can elaborate on their answers with another partner. Share allows the individuals to share their answers with the entire class. This is great because it engages all students instead of those who just blurt out the answer. It will be a great reflective tool used with reading.

Reading Strategy #3- Literature Circles

 
Samuel N Byrd
 
Name of Strategy:
Literature Circles
 
Source:
Instructional Strategies online,

 Link to the Strategy:

http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/literaturecircles/index.html

Description of the strategy and how it will be implemented:

Literature circles are small groups of student who gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by the students’ response to what they have read. Students may discuss events and characters in the text, the author’s craft, or even personal experience related to the story. Its purpose is to provide a way for the students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is a vital part of this experience because students reshape and add onto their understanding by working and discussing with other readers. It also allows for students to develop a deeper understanding of what they have read through structured discussion and written and artistic response.

To impliment this, follow the following instructions:

Select members for the Literature Circles (discussion groups).
Assign roles for the members of each circle.
Assign reading to be completed by the circles inside or outside of class.
Select circle meeting dates.
Help students prepare for their roles in their circle.
Act as a facilitator for the circles.

Some roles may be:
discussion director – develops questions for the group to discuss
passage picker or literary luminary – chooses a selection that the group rereads and discusses because it is interesting, informative, the climax, well written….
vocabulary enricher – chooses words that are difficult or used in an unfamiliar way
connector – finds a connection between the story and another book, event in their personal llife or the outside world
illustrator – draws a picture related to the reading
summarizer – prepares a brief summary of the passage read that day
travel tracer – tracks the movement when the characters move a lot
investigator – looks up background information related to the book

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1.02: Explore expressive materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by: monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard, and/or viewed; analyzing the characteristics of expressive works; determining the effect of literary devices and/or strategies on the reader/viewer/listener; making connections between works, self, and related topics; drawing inferences and or conclusions; determining the main idea and/or significance of events; and discussing print and non-print expressive works formally.

1.03: Interact appropriately in group settings by: listening attentively; showing empathy and respecting the opinions of others; contributing relevant comments connecting personal experiences to content without dominating; giving appropriate reasons/citations that support opinions; monitoring own understanding of the discussion and seeking clarification as needed; and clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response when asked to do so, and asks classmates for similar expansion.

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

I think that students will enjoy working in collaborative groups to analyze and discuss their reading. I found it beneficial to me as a student, and would want to impliment this into my classroom. Literature circles offer an engaging setting that allow students ot use critical thinking skills. I also like the fact that Literature circles provide a way to view a book from different perspectives. In doing this students are given several different roles, and it will be easy to see who contributes to the group because each member is responsible for his or her work. I think this would be good for a variety of texts and I believe students will truly be able to understand the material that they are reading.

Reading Strategy #2- KWL Charts

Samuel N Byrd

Name of Strategy:
KWL Charts

Source:
Strategies for Reading Comprehension- KWL Charts by Donna Ogle

Link to the Strategy:

http://www.readingquest.org/strat/kwl.html

Description of the strategy and how it will be implemented:

K-W-L is a strategy created by Donna Ogle in 1986 and is a 3-column chart that helps capture the Before, During, and After components of reading a text selection.

In this chart:

K stands for Know
This is the prior knowledge activation question.

W stands for Will or Want
What do I think I will learn about this topic?
OR
What do I want to know about this topic?

L stands for Learned
What have I learned about this topic?

1. Label Column 1 K, Column 2 W, Column 3 L.
2. Before reading (or viewing or listening), students fill in the Know column with words, terms, or phrases from their background or prior knowledge. If you are having them draw on a topic previously learned, then the K column may be topic-related. But if the topic is something brand-new, and they don’t know anything (or much) about it, you should use the K column to have them bringing to mind a similar, analogous, or broader idea.
3. Then have students predict what they might learn about the topic, which might follow a quick glance at the topic headings, pictures, and charts that are found in the reading. This helps set their purpose for reading and focuses their attention on key ideas.
4. Alternatively, you might have students put in the middle column what they want to learn about the topic.
5. After reading, students should fill in their new knowledge gained from reading the content. They can also clear up misperceptions about the topic which might have shown up in the Know column before they actually read anything. This is the stage of metacognition: did they get it or not?

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5.01: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes. The learner will increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by: using effective reading strategies to match type of text; reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher; interpreting text by explaining elements such as plot, theme, point of view, characterization, mood, and style; exploring relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts, and/or experiences.

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

I believe that KWL charts would work well in my classroom because it is a common tool that stays with them through all the componets of reading a text selection.  The K and W aspects of this chart allows students to think prior and during their reading about the topic and introduce to them to the text.  When the students put what they want to know, they can compare that with what they actually learn.  IF a student did not learn what they wanted to, they can further pursue that topic by looking through alternative sources.  I believe the KWL charts visual serve the students by having the entire reading process laid out for them.  KWL charts are also used to for students and teachers to monitor and assess their comprehension.  I believe that KWL charts allow students to read and retain information better, become actively engaged in the text, and easily manage harder texts.  I will use this strategy in my classroom in many ways, because I can see how effective its use could be.

Reading Strategy #1- Book Talk

Samuel N Byrd

Name of Strategy:
Book Talks

Source:
Strategies for Reading Success: Rah-rah Reading! Article by Ellen Thompson

Link to the Strategy:

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3363

Description of the strategy and how it will be implemented:

For this strategy, I will be using the concept of a book talk.  A book talk is an energetic discussion about a book or books, done with a whole class, small groups, or an individual child. According to the author, this activity is strategically designed to yield big results. First, it allows students to get enthused about reading. The author says that a “good book talk practically makes books fly off the shelf and into the hands of students who might not have chosen them otherwise.”  Second, a book talk allows students to understand the range of books available for them. Lastly, it makes “the initial connection between the student’s prior knowledge and the book’s content.” Reading comprehension is enhanced greatly by a student being able to connect the material he or she is reading to his or her life.

There is no standard set of rules for a book talk but here are some options when conducting one.

• Share a single book or a range of books by one author or within a genre.
• Share details about the life of the author and/or illustrator.
• Talk about the setting and characters in the book.
• Read the first three pages of the book—enough to get students curious.
• Read a paragraph or two and discuss my predictions about the book.
• Read the book flap or the back cover and discuss my initial feelings about the information I find there.
• Connect the book to events in my life, hoping students will make connections to their lives as well.
• Compare the book to other books I have read or we have read as a class.
• Compare the book to other titles by the same author.
• Share how the book made me feel.
• Make eye contact with the audience.
• Leave my audience hungry to get its hands on the book.

The main goal is to get students excited about reading.  When a student is excited about the material they are about to read, they are more likely to enjoy the material and become engaged.

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4.01 Determine the purpose of the author or creator by:
identifying and exploring the underlying assumptions of the author/creator.
analyzing the effects of author’s craft on the reader/viewer/listener.

4.02 Analyze the communication and develop (with teacher assistance) and apply appropriate criteria to evaluate the quality of the communication by:
drawing conclusions based on evidence, reasons, or relevant information.
considering the implications, consequences, or impact of those conclusions.

4.03 Recognize and develop a stance of a critic by:
constructing a critical response/review of a work/topic.
tells a story or establishes the significance of an event or events.
uses remembered feelings and specific details.
uses a range of appropriate strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense, movement, gestures, expressions).

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

I think  this is a really good strategy.  I used to watch the show Reading Rainbow and this was a strategy that was used in every episode and personally got me excited about reading.  I believe that this would be very beneficial in my middle school classroom because this is a time when students are discovering who they are and the things they like. Book talks are important for them to help them to find new books to aid them in this discovery.  My students will be excited about reading so this is an excellent pre-reading activity, where everyone benefits, even me.