20 Key Words

Generation

Response

Reflection

Application

Literacy

Education

Reading

Writing

Literature

Class Activity

Analysis 

Roles

Identity

Teachers

Image

Standards

Expectations

Highlights

Anecdote

Dynamics

Presentations Day 3

Today two more groups did presentations on the books they read. The first group read the book, "Write Like This," by Kelly Gallagher. At first it was hard for me to understand the ignite talk and how it related to the book but then as it went on I figured it out more. I really enjoyed the beginning part of their activity when they showed us a picture with a lot to look at for only 10 seconds. They told us to write down unusual things we saw in the picture. They did this a few times and it became funnier and funnier what people said they saw. I also liked how the poem they gave us was kind of a trick. We read it first and it seemed very depressing and hopeless but then they revealed that if we read it backwards it is different. I thought that was really cool and I would love to use that in my classroom in the future.

The second group read the book, “Nonfiction Matters,” by Stephanie Harvey. The book targets third-eighth grade. I thought this groups ignite talk was great! They were on time with their slides and had great eye contact with the class. The presenters were calm and seemed to know and enjoy what they were talking about. I also liked how they used the author’s interests as points in their presentation. They really incorporated the book into their presentation, which was great!   

Presentation Day #2

The presentations on day 2 (October 17th) were on the books, "Wondrous Words" and "Ladybugs, Tornadoes and Swirling Galaxies. The first group, "Wondrous Words" incorporated poetry into their activity and I really enjoyed it! At first they had each of us pick a line from the Rodriguez article that we read at the beginning of the semester. Once we had our line we had to read it over and over in our head to figure out how we would be saying it out loud. Then the group presenting split the class into groups and we put all of our lines together in a poem of our own. I liked how they emphasized that poetry can really be anything, it doesn’t have to rhyme and we had a lot of fun with it.

The second group was the Ladybug group. I really liked their ignite talk and thought they really enjoyed the book they read. I also thought they enjoyed telling us about it. For the activity we used sticky notes to give feedback on what we thought the books in front of the class would be about. I have done something like the sticky notes before in a science class I am currently in, but this gave it a new twist. I enjoyed the presentations and I could see myself doing both of these activities in my future classroom. 

"Don't Forget To Write" Ignite talk and Activity Reflection

After reading Don't Forget To Write I was excited to share what we learned from it with the rest of the class. At first we, as a group, weren’t sure what we wanted to do for our activity. We knew that we wanted to share a lesson straight from the book we read and we decided we wanted it to be something the rest of the class would enjoy like we did. We chose the lesson titled “Best Imaginary Vacation Ever.” It was perfect because it would get the class to think and also have fun with it creatively. When each of us in the group read through the lesson plan we realized we don’t think as creatively as we did back when we were young children. This happens naturally but we wanted to emphasize this to the class when we did the activity so they could really think outside the box and be as creative as possible. Yesterday we did our Ignite Talk and our activity and I feel that it went really well. Being the teachers in front of the class was really cool. I have done presentations in front of classes before but actually doing an activity directed by us with the class was new and exciting. We split the class into four groups for the activity with one of us at each group. Since we had given the class examples of our lesson they seemed to ease into it and have fun with it. Since they were really creative with their “Best Imaginary Vacation Ever” and were laughing and having fun, our group was really happy in the end. The Ignite talk and activity went smoothly and the class responded well to it. I can’t wait to incorporate this activity into my classroom when I am a teacher. Also I am excited to see everyone else’s Ignite talks and activities in our class. 

Formulaic Writing

              A teacher could approach reading and writing in many different ways to create meaningful experiences for their students in order to meet the Common Core Standards. One way to create these experiences would be to construct lessons or activities that are really hands on for the students. I think when students are really interacting with each other is when they learn reading and writing in an easy, fun way. I remember in elementary school we used to read in partners and we would set up two chairs, with the corners touching and facing each other, while we read. This has always stuck with me because it was a way for us to interact with each other while we read to one another. This made writing a fun activity for us. After students read something and they have to write about it, teachers tend to make the writing assignment very typical or boring. Teachers could open up the students’ minds about what they just read and really get them to divulge into the story. They could do something to get them to visualize what they just read and this would help them understand it a little bit more. For me at least, when I was in elementary school through today, I respond well to seeing visual representations of what I am reading or just learning in general. It helps me understand what I am trying to learn much easier.

            Wiley is warning us that “formulaic writing” could prevent students from becoming really creative with their writing and further their writing abilities. He states that this type of writing, “sends the wrong message to students and uninformed teachers about what writing really is (Wiley, 5).” He goes on to say, “To develop as writers, students must develop a repertoire of strategies for dealing effectively with various writing tasks presented to them in different situations (Wiley, 5).” I couldn’t agree more with that statement. When I was a freshman in high school my English teacher taught us that building our own “strategies” would help us with future writing assignments in high school. I still think about some of the things he told us that year. I think writing should be an expression of one’s creativity. This style of writing will prevent students from advancing as writers and showing their creative side through words.

            In the past I have experienced this type of writing task. During my time in high school I had some great English teachers, like I explained above with my freshman English teacher, but I also had teachers that in the end didn’t help me advance as a writer. During my senior year I took a British Literature English class that was offered at my high school. I could tell my teacher was passionate about teaching us the material, however he didn’t really give us writing topics that got me thinking beyond what the prompt was. Wiley says, “Consider that in Schaffer’s approach the goal of writing is to produce an essay of requisite length that contains the correct ratio of detail to commentary (Wiley, 5).” I remember turning in papers that had just this; enough information for me to get my point out, but it wasn’t getting me to think beyond the assignment. I felt that this teacher I had senior year just gave us writing assignments because he had to. That year I really didn’t know who I was as a writer, so this type of writing had a bad effect on me. Since then in college I have had some great English classes that have really opened my mind and I feel that I sort of understand who I am as a writer now. 

Larson/ Maier Response

This image above of multiple children’s books correlates with the image of the classroom full of books. I think it’s a great idea that Maier would send children home with a set of books each night. I can relate to this because at my elementary school when I was attending it they had something called “Book In A Bag.” Once or twice a month we would all meet in the multi-purpose room and each grade had a different color bag filled with books that we would take home and read. Maier does this but takes it a little further by putting a comment form that the parents have to write and sign on. This is a great concept because it has the children reading at least one book each day. They can read it with their parents, siblings, etc. Like at my elementary school she would make sure that the children were reading at their appropriate reading level. 

I thought this picture above was a relevant point to talk about because Maier’s classroom is a place she wants her students to feel comfortable and a safe place to be. Maier wanted to get to know her students while they also get to know her. In addition to this she wanted her students to be comfortable with each other. When I was in a classroom in elementary school where I felt comfortable I was able to ask questions in front of all the other students because I felt that no one would judge me. Many of my teachers did make the classroom a comfortable environment, like Maier has, and I plan on doing that when I have a classroom of my own.

The idea of this next image, which shows the classroom full of books, really caught my eye while I was reading. In her classroom, Maier has a lot of different options for her students. I really like this because it promotes students to read what they want to read and not have it seem so forced. “Students read alone, they read to one another, and they read to any person, adult, or child who spent time in their classroom.” Maier shows the importance of having literature in a classroom for the students. Additionally she allowed students to take books home by checking them out from the classroom. This got students to read what they want to read outside of the classroom as well. I think the way she promotes literacy gets the kids wanting to read, not just reading because their teacher says they have to. 

Williams Article Response

        When I read Williams' article, "Another opening, another show," I was really interested in his "70 different identities" that a teacher holds. He states, “We face problems as teachers when we try to either (a) perform an identity that is incomprehensible or inconsistent for our students or (b) inhabit an identity that we know our students believe a teacher should have but that doesn’t work for us.”I instantly started thinking of teachers I have had in the past that have demonstrated these qualities. When I think of identities teachers possess I think of when they try to be the students’ friend. When I was in high school I saw this come up a lot. There were many times when teachers, especially young ones, would really try and be a “cool” person the students could look up to. In a way I think this could be harmless but sometimes teachers just looked sort of tongue-tied trying to think of something funny to say. I think Williams puts it best, “I believe in being friendly to students, but I’m not convinced I can be their friend. Trying to perform that role does not make issues of power in student-teacher relationships disappear. A friend is not usually a person who has the power to grade, control behavior, and bring down institutional sanctions the way a teacher does.”This is also where a stand up comedian comes into play that Williams talks about.

         I have also had teachers that play more of a motivator role. I had a math teacher when I was in 8^th grade named Mr. Ballok. I can honestly say he is one of, if not the, best teacher I have had before I came to college. Mr. Ballok was very focused and strived for his students to do well. I remember getting B’s on his tests and him telling me to come into his classroom at lunch to work on math problems because he knew I could get those up to A’s. He encouraged all of his students in such a positive way that it really made us students want to do better. Having a teacher like Mr. Ballok was a huge benefit to me at that age. That one math class really changed the way I looked at learning, studying, and working hard. He opened our eyes to our full potential and I could never thank him enough for that. Unfortunately he passed away a few years ago when I was in high school. I attended his funeral service with one of my good friends and who would have thought, but the whole town showed up. Many times when I am struggling on something in school, whether it be math or not, I think of him and how he would still be encouraging me and mentoring me if I needed him help. Just as he would be to any student that wanted some extra help.