20 Key Words

1. Context
2. Literacy
3. Literature
4. Formulaic Writing
5. Literacy Crisis
6. Functional Literacy
7. Standard
8. Education
9. Learning
10. Method
11. Theoretical Context
12. Classroom Context
13. Writing
14. Reading
15. Evaluating
16. Revising
17. Peers
18. Technology
19. Editing
20. Communication

Book Club Presentations: Day 3

In class on Thursday, October 24^th, I was the student for both presentations.  The first presentation was on the book, “Write Like This”.  I thought they did a pretty good job overall explaining everything.  It felt a little rushed, but I realize they did have a limited amount of time.  I think the best part of this activity was finding the different pictures within the one big picture.  I also liked the activity with the poem, however, we were rushed through it and weren’t given a lot of time to think and collaborate within our groups.  I would use both of these techniques in my classroom to get my students to realize that they need to read things more than once to fully understand it and would continue to practice this technique with their readings. 

The second group that presented had read the book, “Nonfiction Matters”.  They did a great job giving an overview of the book and it really caught my attention.  Their activity was based on the K.W.L chart (what we know, want to know, and what we learned).  This was very similar to some things I came across in the book I read, which was based in an ELL classroom, so it was good to see it in another setting as well.  I had fun with this activity, learning about sharks, and would definitely use this in my future classroom.  Overall the day went well and I learned a lot.

Book Club Presentations: Day 2

Today I was both the student and the teacher. The first group that presented was the Wondrous Words book club and I thought they did a great job.  Their activity was interesting and something I’ve never seen before.  We did what they called “chorus reading”.  We picked a line out of a text that stood out to us and then got into groups to put our phrases together.  Putting the phrases together was very fun and it was interesting to see what everyone came up with.  Their ignite talk went well; the only thing I would have done differently is to not have words on the PowerPoint.  The words they had up there were what they were saying and it distracted me from the speaker more than helping me follow along. 

   My group had the book “Ladybugs, Tornadoes, and Swirling Galaxies”.  I think our presentation went fairly well.  The activity part got kind of hectic, but I hope everyone understood what we were doing and why we were doing it.  We didn’t really stick to our “parts” we talked about, so while some input was good, it got really jumbled and confusing at the same time.  I think it would have been better if we acted out our whole presentation as a group to see how it would go, but it always goes differently with real students.  Overall this was a great learning experience for me.

Book Club Presentations: Day 1

We had our first day of book club presentations and I was the student for both of them.  They were both very different.  The first presentation was “Practical Poetry” and they did a good job giving an overview of the book.  Their presentation wasn’t timed correctly though so I think they got a little off track.  When it came to the activity it was really rushed and we weren’t given a lot of time to think.  Also, it would have helped if they gave us their own example before having us do the activity.  In their overview of the book they talked about how you can connect poetry to other subjects so this would have been helpful for them to show with the activity.  There were only two guys in this group so I think they did a great job with having to do all the work by themselves.  The second presentation was “Don’t Forget to Write” and theirs seemed to go very smoothly.  The ignite talk was timed well and they got all the important information to us.  Their activity was a great thing to be able to participate in.  It was fun and allowed us to use our creativity.   It was also something that I could actually see myself using in my future classroom.  I like how they had each member of their group help the groups with their story outlines so everything was made very clear.  The only thing that could have helped their presentation was to make their demonstration as creative as they wanted us to be.  Both presentation groups did a great job and I’m excited to see what everyone else read about.

"The Popularity of Formulaic Writing" Reading Response

As I was looking over the California Common Core State Standards for writing I noticed that in the younger grades it is very specific as to what they should be able to do and how they should be able to do it.  Also, it seemed like it was more of their opinions.  Since they seem to mainly be writing about their opinion of books they read or narratives I think it would be fairly easy to get them interested.  The students could choose what they read and write narratives that will spark their creativity.  The meaningful experiences students will gain at this age are the very basics of their writing.  They will learn about opening sentences, concluding sentences and adding some opinion or commentary.

Wiley says, “I do not believe formulaic writing is the actual villain…. Rather it is the pedagogical blindness that formulaic writing leads to that disturbs me and that seems to be the real culprit”.  The example he focuses on for “formulaic writing” is the Jane Schaffer approach.  Although this approach will help students get the hang of how to write an essay and what parts need to be in an essay, they need to get rid of the “formula” at some point.  The article talked about this approach depleting the confusion, however, it doesn’t allow students to explore their “ideas, reactions, and interpretations.” He also talked about this “formula” making it easier for the teachers, but not necessarily helping the students.  He stated, “Formulaic writing short-circuits this discover process”.  Students are so focused on the “formula” of the essay that they forget to add creativity and that they don’t have to stick to this specific “formula” for everything; it’s just supposed to help them organize their thoughts and clear up any confusion.

             As I thought back on my education and writing specifically, I remember using similar “formulas” for almost every essay I wrote.  Most of my teachers focused on a certain “formula” when we were writing essays.  The problem I see with this now, looking back on it, is that we were never told that it’s okay to stray from this “formula”.  I remember always having to follow a specific “formula” and getting marked down if I was missing a commentary sentence, for example. The “formula writing” made me not like writing very much because it was very boring. This is exactly what Wiley was talking about shouldn’t happen.  The “formula” should be there if you get stuck or are confused, however, students should know that once they feel comfortable straying away from the “formula” they should do so.  Now that I’m in college professors don’t necessarily give you a “formula” to write with.  At first this was hard for me to get used to, but now I know that if I’m stuck I can use what I have learned in the past, however, I don’t have to.  It is nice not having to go by a “formula” now, but rather just having guidelines and I am able to explore my creativity more.  

Larson/Maier Reading Response

One of the things that really stood out to me in Larson/Maier’s text was the reading/writing groups.  This teacher used these types of groups very often and it is something I have personally experienced.  In almost every classroom I have volunteered in I have seen this strategy in progress.  I also experienced this strategy as a young child.  I think it is a great way to help children learn and they get more time with the teacher in a smaller group.  Also, if the teacher isn’t at their group they probably either help each other (because they talked about having different levels in the groups) or I have seen other adults helping in the classrooms and with these groups. 

I chose this photo to represent the classroom full of books.  I think every classroom should have lots of books and a large variety of books.  We want something to catch the child’s attention so they want to read and enjoy reading.  In the article it said that the teacher made books available to students through many different ways including, author and theme studies, read aloud, and guided readings.  She ran the class at a pace of 120 books per week! That’s a lot of books! I think it is great that she can implement this many books into her students learning.  Many of the classrooms I have been in do maybe one short book a week.  

I chose this picture because I really like how the teacher implemented writing into her classroom.  The children aren’t only reading books but also writing them! They even get to share them at a special ceremony!  I think this is a great way to let children show their creativity while also learning.  Also, they come up with ideas together as a class and put all the pieces together.  In the article it states, “she co-constructed a context in which she and her students were authors together, struggling over questions and problems authors struggle over.”  This quote is perfect in describing how this teacher ran her classroom.  It also lets the children know that if they struggle with something it’s okay and they aren’t alone.

This last picture really describes this teacher’s classroom.  She highly encouraged children’s creativity and made unique ways for children to express themselves.  I really enjoyed this article and reading about different ways this teacher is getting students involved with reading and writing. 

Reading Response to William's Article

I can imagine teachers playing many different roles.  I think one that is popular with older students is the stand up comedian.  Getting students to laugh while teaching them makes the experience more enjoyable and catches the student’s attention.  This could, however, back fire if the students don’t find the teacher funny.  I’m sure we have all had some really good teachers and some really bad teachers.  A teacher we may see as a “bad” teacher could be playing the role of the punisher.  I personally think that playing this role constantly can create a very negative environment for the students.  There are some times that students may need to be “punished” but this shouldn’t be the focus of our classroom.  We should create a positive environment for students to learn and allow them to enjoy learning.  A teacher may also play the role of an actor or actress.  I have seen teachers do this when they are teaching something like a certain history lesson.  Dressing up like the person the children are learning about or acting out something engages students.  It also shows how invested the teacher is in teaching his/her students.  They could also have the students act out a skit and the teacher would act as the director.  Many teachers play the role of a parent or role model.  Students look up to their teachers and trust them.  One teacher that comes to mind when I think about the roles teachers play is my third grade teacher.  She played the role of a musician.  Every morning we would start by singing while she played the guitar.  We sang songs such as the Star Spangled Banner, This Land is my Land, and other songs that went along with our history lessons.  Everybody loved this part of class and it made learning very enjoyable for us.  Whenever she could implement a song to help us learn she would.  There are many things such as this that we can implement in our classrooms everyday.  We may not even think about it as playing a different role, but just thinking of ways that can help enhance our students learning.  I never realized how many different roles teachers play until I read Williams article.  This article really opened my eyes to how many roles we can play as teachers and how it can help our students.  I also noticed that teachers can play both negative and positive roles.  I think it is very important that we keep our classrooms as positive as we possibly can and always try to implement the positive roles.  This is a great way to keep our students engaged and excited about learning.