Class on March 23rd

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to others lesson ideas, and being able to present my own. The books and materials offered in the library always amaze me. I hope other classes are utilizing these materials so they will continued to be offered. Just like I encourage my comp students to utilize the support of the tutoring center so that service will always be available. With all of the talk of budget cuts, I'm always afraid something important might go. Is it true there is a bowling alley on campus?

I don't enjoy critiquing other teacher because it makes me feel judged when I teach. I was listening to NPR the other day on my way home and they were playing something about ecucation in Minnesota, and one of the comments was about the support and supervision of teachers. One of the speakers was arguing that rather than having a "gottcha" attitude, or an administrator that points out everything teachers are doing wrong; administrators should be creating an environment where teachers feel supported and are helped in growing and developing the skills they need to be successful. The observation reports I got when teaching last year always had two positives and a suggestion for growth. It made things much less intimidating when I knew I wasn't going to be berated for anything.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/03/26/midday2/

5th Observation

What a busy week! Oscar started swimming lessons this week (he's the first kid shown on the news clip http://www.keyc.com/node/19429 ). I carried him into the pool area crying because he didn't want to go in the water without me. And I carried him out of the pool area because he was having so much fun. He got 1:1 instruction with a lovely young lady who built up his confidence quite nicely. Lots of positive reinforcement. It just goes to show, you can catch more flies with honey...



This week I also observed a different kindergarten classroom at a school in North Mankato for one of my other classes. This class was the complete opposite from the one I normally observe. They have the same intro to literacy curriculum, so it was interesting to see how someone else utilized it. The class had 20 students (2 more than the other class). When I walked in the teacher was giving them instructions on what they would be doing while she was working with small groups (which is how she delivered the literacy instruction). They had 3 tasks. First they were to write in their journals about something that happened to them over the weekend; the "Weekend News" is how the headed their paper. Then they had to complete 1/2 of an art project (they could only do 1/2 because they needed to wait for the glue to dry). Then they could choose either a book or a game off the shelf. They also went to a station in the hallway as a group when the teacher was done with them and that rotated as well. The teacher had the class broken up into four groups based on ability and worked with each group for about 15 minutes. So she was occupied for just over an hour with these small groups. In this hour she did not have to address one single behavior issue or remind anybody to stay on task. The kids stayed busy and quiet. I couldn't believe it. This was Tuesday.



On Thursday I went to observe for Methods. Like I said before. The two classes are day and night. The teacher presented the same curriculum, only she did most of it as a whole class. She would stop every so often to play a song and let the kids get their wiggles out. At one point they even took a bathroom break so the kids could get up and move. After whole group instruction, the class put on their coats and went outside for 5 minutes. Then they came back in and broke up into small groups. There were 4 stations with a teacher at each table (even I get my own table to works with each of the groups). Kids were constantly being redirected and encouraged to get back on task. The station I was working at involved showing the kids a picture and they had to write a sentence about what was happening in the picture. The had to sound out the words they wanted to use (it was tough not to just tell them how to spell something).



I usually spend about 1 1/2 hours in this classroom and then I go to the ESL room to work with 3-4 2nd grade boys. This was the week I videotaped my lesson. It was kinda fun (the lesson, not the videotaping). We read tongue twisters together. They hadn't ever heard of a tongue twister before. They did a good job.



Then I spend the last 1/2 hour of my time at the school going back to the kindergarten room with one of the ESL teachers. She gives me some materials and a specific goal and sets me up to work 1:1 with one of the students. This is the best part of my day because all of the kids really want to work with me. They love the attention and the work the teacher assigns in usually pretty relevant and interesting to them (like reading a dinosaur book or a bug book and talking about it). Good times.

Reading for March 23rd

First of all I would like to comment on how lovely the rain looks today. I just hope the power doesn't go out. Oh well.

Rain

I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

Shel Silverstein

P&B Chapter 5
Already, in the introduction to this chapter, two very important aspects of writing has been discussed: having a purpose, and a sense of audience. I've been trying to get this across to my class of college freshman and sophomores all semester. Some of them still don't understand why these two concepts are important to their writing.

On page 177 the author discusses the many way parents can help facilitate their child's understanding of the function of printed materials. It encourages parents to explain the purpose for various materials. One of them it mentioned was street signs. Yesterday I walked with my boys to a park near our home. On the way my 3-yr-old asked how much further it was to the park (it's about a 5 block walk). I told him that when we got to the Yield sign we needed to take a left and then we'd see the park. Later that day, as we were driving to the grocery story, he told my husband to take a left so we could go to the park. I looked up and say a Yield sign up ahead. Apparently I didn't quite explain the function of a Yield sign properly.

One aspect of the book I would like to learn more about is the statement: "English learners should not be involved in phonics instruction that isolates sounds and letters from meaningful use of text" (p. 175). Is it that students need to understand the purpose for learning phonics first; they need to know what a book is for before they learn to read it? The book gives the reason that "there will be differences early on in English learners' ability to perceive and produce English speech sounds" (p. 175), but I guess I need more information on this concept.

An idea that this chapter didn't really touch on that I have read about elsewhere is that if a student's L1 isn't being developed, their L2 will struggle to develop. I hope the next chapter gives more information on these situations and how to assist in L1 development for young learners in an ESL context.

MCM
Many of the ideas in this chapter reflect and support what was said in P&B. The one idea that I would like to highlight is to provide authentic purposes for reading and writing. I wonder if this is a concept I am not doing sufficiently in my comp 101 course. I have tried stressing all of the different way student can use the papers they are writing for my class, but perhaps I need to look at the assignments again.

An Ode to Our Dependence on Technology (4th observation)

After I dropped off my boys this morning, I thought about what I had lined up for today; I was mentally organizing my time. And then it hit me, no matter where I was going to work for the day--the TA office, the library, at home--I was going to be sitting in front of a computer. This is the first time in my life I have been this connected with technology.

When I was working at the child care center, about 50% of my time was spent either on the phone or the computer, usually both at the same time (I managed the billing and board reports as part of my job there). But, 50% of my time was spent talking with the kids, the staff, or the parents. If the computer wasn't working, or someone else needed it, I always had something non-technology related to do.

Even when teaching in the public schools, maybe 15% of my time involved technology. While teaching I'd use a a computer to check my email a couple times a day, take attendance, look up lesson ideas, or enter grades in the gradebook. Edison schools also had a bi-weekly session set up with the school technology guy (actually it was a lady) to do mini-lessons in technology for the teachers. That was nice.

And now, almost all of my work is on the computer. I get away from the computer, usually, during class time (except my online class, obviously, so that'd be about 6 hours a week). Even when I'm teaching (only 3 1/2 hrs a week) I need the computer for just about everything. And my students do too. I am shocked how many of them I see who are physically unable to stop. When I have them turn off their computers there are always a few who then pull out their phones to text. Ugh.

My point is, as I thought about all that I had to get done today, I was trying to think about something I could do that didn't involve technology, and I couldn't. Even doing the reading for class, I need to have blogger open and ready or I forget the parts I had comments about by the time I go to write about it unless I write it immediately.

And then I started contemplating on all of the technology I see happening in the classroom at my observation site. The teacher uses the smartboard on a daily basis to conduct the reading lesson. It really enhances the lesson, and definitely peaks student interest. Last Thursday when I went to observe, the Kindergarten classroom had a substitute teacher. She was lovely, but the schedule was a little off, and the real kicker, she didn't have the code to be able to use the smartboard. This was really bothering the kids. She was doing circle time the same as always, only she was reading from an actual book as opposed to the book being shown on the smartbord using a CD that comes with the curriculum the district uses. The following conversation happened like three times in 5 minutes...

child 1: Teacher, Ms. Davis usually does this on the Smartboard.

child 2: Yeah, but we don't have the code.

child 3: So we can't use the Smartboard.

Teacher: Yes children, today I will be doing things a little different.

Para: And that's okay.

Teacher: I'm still teaching you all of the things Ms. Davis would be teaching you, I just do it differently.

Children nod approvingly.

I am always conflicted between the good technology can do to engage some students who may otherwise be "bored". (The other day my three year old told me our house was boring. Although I don't think he really understands what it means, he used it in an appropriate context. Kinda made me think how well someone could have a conversation in a second language and sound like they knew what they were talking about, but really have no clue. I remember when I was little, maybe eight, and I called my brother a slut because I'd heard it on the bus and I knew it was a mean word, but I didn't know what it meant. My mother pulled me aside and explained. I'm still embarrassed from that conversation.) And getting so addicted to using technology that there are no other options. Sure I could sit down with a notebook and pen to take notes while I read, but that seems like I'd be doing twice the work. I hope all this multitasking is beneficial to the human brain. What was your Tetris score when you were 4?

Class on March 16th

I think it is interesting how the tide has turned in the public schools from math and science focus a few years ago to reading focus today. I'm guessing it is because students tend to have a pretty hard time learning math and science without strong reading skills. I think it is extrememly important to teach students how to read well. For a strong reader it seems like a no-brainer skill. However, for whatever reason, not everybody's brain is wired to read well. And by well I mean quickly and fluently--to read and achieve a set purpose. And some of the skills of good readers are not obvious to everyone. Even something as simple as, "Keep the discusion questions in mind while you read." Some students think that they will just remember everything. And knowing it is okay to reread something, or knowing when a text is above your comprehension level. A friend of mine gave me a book he just finished reading about Abraham Lincoln. I couldn't make it through the first chapter. It was kind of interesting, but I didn't really have the political or historical knowledge necessary to put the information into perspective. It was a good reminder to choose appropriate readings for all of my students.

I think textbook selection is one of the trickiest tasks EVER! I'd hate to have to write one. No one book can cover every skill, and if it did it would be so long and complicated nobody would want to use it. I think suplementing materials is a given for every teacher. Even where I taught last year, the curriculum was scripted so we were not expected to suplement materials, but everyone still did (although it was kind of done behind closed doors).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Reading for 3/16

HDB Ch 20

On page 359 the author discusses schemata in reading. I thought that breaking down that passage about the 15-year-old boy returing from his audition was a wonderful example that really made the idea of background knowledge stick.



MCM pg 196

One of the most helpful parts of the MCM reading was its definition of reading fluency: "Fluency involves rapid and automatic word recognition, the ability to recognize basic grammatical informations, and the rapid combination of word meanings and structural information to create larger meaning units." The kindergarten class I have been observing frequently reviews "sight words" or words the teacher says they should not have to sound out, but know by sight because they see them so much in their daily reading.



MCM pg 197

Another concept discussed is paced reading. I like this idea much better than timed reading, because timed reading makes it seem like a race, and that is not what reading is. Reading should be done with expression, much like regular speech, and when students try for a "good time" they don't always read well--at least from what I've seen.

3rd Observation

So today, and anybody who knows be won't believe it, I arrived at the school 1/2 hr before my scheduled time! And boy am I glad I did. They class--16 kindergarteners, 1 teacher, and 1 para--we doing some Brain Gym yoga. It was awesome. They then moved into a question and answer session where the kids raised there hands and talked about whatever was on their mind. There were some really off the wall comments, like, "Sometimes I just don't want to finish my supper." Followed by, "I ran the fastest today." And, "My baby sister cries so loud. She's naughty."

I learned that the class has 18 students (when nobody is absent) and 6 of them are identified as ELL. The range of abilities is amazing. For part of my time there I manned a station in which children were asked to categorize words ending in -en, -et, -ed. According to the regular classroom teacher, children have a really hard time with the /e/ sound (like in hen or elbow). Only a few of the students were able to sound out words they didn't know (bed, men, jet, ect.). Then a little while later the ESL instructor asked me to listen to one of the ELL students read and quiz him on how well he knows the seasons. He was a wonderful reader; he knew how to read almost every word in the book he was given. And he knew how to sould out the words he didn't know. What I'm saying is, he was one of the best readers in the class (way above some of the native speakers). The only thing he really needed ELL services for was culture and exposure to concepts he may not have been previously exposed to.

I also spent some time reading with a couple of fourth graders in the ESL pull-out room. They taught me how important it is to make the time in that room fun and of obvious value to the students. One of the boys I was reading a very boring story with kept asking why I was making them stop to talk about the story. I explained that I was just checking to make sure they understood what they were reading, and to focus on certain vocabulary. I don't think he liked my explination. I'm guessing he thought that he was missing something in his regular classroom.

Class on 3/2

I appreciate continuously receiving classroom opportunities to have classmates share lesson plan ideas. Although many of them may seem rough--pardon the metaphor--like a mother who forces her child to take piano lessons, we will all be thankful for the experience in the future. I think activities that ask us to come up with impromptu lessons will help strengthen our skills for the night when all plans fail and we need to be creative with the time allotted.



And thank you, Mariya, for presenting. I always enjoy hearing your perspective on the material.

Class on 2/23

I think it is important to note the differences in opinions on how to rate the ESL students in the video presented in class. This was a good reminder as to how critical it is for students to receive multiple methods of assessment when being placed in ESL classes or other services. It also clearly illustrates why I hate giving grades: no matter how straight-forward I try to make my assessments, there is almost always some inherent bias or human error to deal with.

I appreciated the opportunity to peruse through the various teaching/learning materials in the back of the library. I can't say I would have ever gone through there on my own. I held conferences in the basement of the library today near the GLL and several students commented that they didn't even know that area of the library existed. A couple of students were late because they had been looking for me by the Learning Center (even though I explicitely stated in an email I had sent out last week that there was a difference). Anyway, it is always nice to know what is available at a school one teaches at.

So I'm getting an opportunity to present to my classmates in the Emergent Literacy class I'm taking. I am presenting ideas on how they (mostly Early Childhood or Elementary Education undergraduate students) can support student's L1 in their classroom while also developing their L2. Anybody have any suggestions on ideas I should include? I've done some research on why it is important for them to do so, now I just need to support it with how do do so.