Reflection 3: OBSERVE

One thing that I observed as I helped out and watched was how our presence affected the teachers (Ms. Nancy and Leslie). The benefit for the teacher was obvious. Ms. Nancy and Leslie were no longer torn in 20 separate ways. I heard Ms. Nancy declare numerous times how nice it was for her to just sit and observe rather than constantly giving her attention to all of the kids. I cannot imagine how much different the classroom would look when we were not around to play and help them during their free time. When there were less kids and a lot of us came that day, I felt like we kind of got in the way but otherwise, we were extremely beneficial to the two teachers in the Pre-KK classroom.

I learned a lot from observing the school-aged classroom. I watched a couple of the kids play the computer and they were surprisingly computer-literate. They knew how to maneuver all of the different games and seemed somewhat familiar with the keyboard. This surprised me because I was under the impression that these kids are of a low-socioeconomic status where they would not have easy access to computers. The YWCA and the school systems must be doing a good job of including technology in kids' learning. Also, as I talked with a couple of the girls there, I listened to how dysfunctional their families were. The girls would be frightened whenever their mom and sister would fight and they talked about how loud their house is. It was a good reminder of the differing family backgrounds that the kids in my classroom will have.

Reflection 2: INTERACT

I loved all of the children, but I spent the most time with a little girl named Trinity.

First of all, the students just loved having somebody younger and different to play with. Ms. Nancy and the other helper could only do so much. We could actually get down to their level and play with them. At one point, Trinity wanted me to get down on the ground and hop like a frog so I did. The other leaders there do not have as much energy as we do. Also, since there are only 2 teachers and about 20 kids normally, there is not enough leaders to go around to entertain all of the kids. Since we were there, we were able to fill that gap between leaders and students. Also, many of these kids just need somebody to love and care for them. I made sure to know all of the kids names by the time I went for the second time so I could really personalize my visits with them and make sure that the kids know that they're very special. Their teachers may tell them "good job" for writing their name out or matching colors with objects, but I am sure it also makes the kids feel good hearing encouragement from other sources. When I helped Trinity match her colors, I made sure to give them tons of praise and I could just see her face light up when she knew she was doing a good job. She would always come up to me throughout the day, "Lizzie, This is orange, this is orange!" One of my favorite things about Trinity is that she would always have a story to tell. I found that it was important for me to give her my undivided attention otherwise should would get this little sad face. Maybe Trinity does not have many people at home who give her attention and that is why she had so much to tell me whenever I would see her.

Disclaimer: To be honest, I did not spend the 4-6 hours with Trinity only just because there were so many other kids that needed attention throughout the day. I tried my hardest, however, to spend the most time with her so I could develop a more personal relationship with her.

Reflection 1: LEAD

For the lead portion of this project, I chose to give a brief lesson on instruments by reading a children's book, "My Family Plays Music," and by playing a song for the students on my guitar. I began by reading, "My Family Plays Music," which was a perfect book that I found in the library. It dealt with a little girl of an African American family and her story about all of the different instruments that her family can play. By reading this book, I was able to define what an instrument is and show the students a variety of different instruments that they can play. The students were engaged and listened very well because I told them I would show them my guitar if they listened-- it motivated them more than I expected it to! When I brought out my guitar, I told them you need to press down on the strings on the neck and strum on the strings at the bigger part of the guitar, and then I played If You're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands. Then, I had them form a line so they could each get a turn to play (strum) the same song-- they LOVED this! I sang and pressed down on the chords while they strummed the guitar and it seemed like they were actually playing the instrument. Lacey then suggested that they get their own instruments out that the preschool has available so we could all play together-- this was also a great success. Ms. Nancy even had the students keep the beat of the song and they actually sounded pretty good!

I learned a few things by teaching this lesson to the kids. First, I talked about instruments in the beginning of the lesson and Ms. Nancy had to interlude by asking, "What are instruments?" I was reminded that preschool kids have a much lower level of knowledge than I am used to and it helped me to better categorize where preschoolers are at in their learning. I also saw firsthand that positive reinforcement in order to motivate the students works wonders! I did not have one bit of trouble after I asked them to be quiet because I said I would let them play my guitar if they listened well. I am not sure how well that will translate for older kids, but it definitely worked for preschoolers! One last thing I learned is to be prepared for having extra time. The kids loved it so much that Ms. Nancy wanted me to play more songs but I had not had any more prepared that were not Christian songs (which are not allowed in that YWCA). If I would have been more prepared with other songs, I could have included more variety in the lesson than I already had.

Altogether, the lesson went better than I could have hoped. I had so much fun, that it almost made me want to teach preschool instead of high school-- almost.

SL Project Response

I am really excited to begin the project. I have a passion for working with students from low income schools and families and it would seem that the YWCA would be good experience for working with these students in the future. Another reason I am excited for it is so I have an opportunity to teach a lesson before I start any of my teaching practicums next semester.

I was brainstorming lesson ideas and I think, if it is okay with the leaders of the YWCA, that I would bring in my guitar and maybe center my lesson around music. I would maybe read the kids a story about music if I could find one and then bring out my guitar and show them the very basics of how I play the guitar. I would then allow each student a turn to strum on the guitar in the lesson, and then we could try singing a couple of simple kids songs together with hand motions so they could interact. I would love to do some Christian kids songs if that would be okay with the YWCA leaders-- I'm not sure what they allow or do not allow there. I know they are a "Christian" organization, but they might have rules about music or something that I do not know about.

The one concern I do have is that I do not have a car. I know we have been talking about getting rides together but I just do not have much contact with the students outside of class. It might be beneficial if the people who are willing to drive sign up for certain times that they can go to the YWCA and then the people who do not have transportation could sign up next to the times that work for them that have drivers lined up. That is just an idea, I am sure it will work out no matter what happens though.

Blog # 10

This topic means a lot to me because I have always had problems talking in a classroom setting; well, for as long as I have been in college since I was home schooled previous to that. It is not that I am too shy or scared to add to discussion in class, it is just that it is hard for me to think of something that is worth saying. I felt like most of the ideas suggested in this chapter to get students to engage in intelligent discussions are all things that would make me shut down in a classroom setting. When I am in a small group discussion setting, it is hard for me to focus on the questions at hand. Usually, there is a short amount of time in group discussions so I tend to give up before I even try to engage in discussion. This is obviously a fault of my own, but I do feel like small group discussions is not the surefire answer like the chapter seems to imply. However, I think that the discussion book idea would be more beneficial to my learning style. Whenever I am asked to create something from my own ideas, I am more apt to want to share and talk about it. I think many students with my learning style would benefit from the discussion book while many other students would benefit from the other options presented in the chapter. That being said, I think it would be wise for me to try all of the things for each of my classes in the future to see what works best for different groups of students.

Blog # 9

I felt like the story that most of the first chapter of the reading was based on was due more to Shannon's socioeconomic status rather than her ethnicity. The chapter made many points, all of which were helpful and applicable, to becoming a more culturally-aware and careful teacher. In my opinion, all of the points suggested could be applied to any child who is slow learning or doesn't have the resources to learn as well as other students. Shannon happened to be African American, but the second chapter talked about a while child who was doomed to fail by his teacher as well. Was the story about Shannon being allowed to not work hard a race issue or was it an issue that can apply to any student that is behind academically despite their race? I just felt like both chapters could have done a better job of getting examples that applied to actual race rather than their economic status, living location, or dialect.

As for the points being made-- that no students should be expected to fail and that all students should be challenged-- I agree wholeheartedly. I intend to give special attention to any of my students that need it. If my student group as a whole does not understand something or does not like to write, like the example in the second chapter, I will try my best to think of creative ideas to get all of my students involved.

Blog # 8

This chapter has been the most beneficial and eye opening to me out of all the other chapters we have read so far.

I tend to have a sort of phobia of technology. The thing is that I am truly not a big fan of change, and technology does and will cause change in my life. I had a cell phone that I payed for by the minute up until a few months ago, I refused to get a Facebook until everyone else insisted I should get one, I still have never owned an Ipod (not even a shuffle), and I am currently adamantly opposed to Kindles in fear that they will completely replace hard copies of books someday. This fear and avoidance of technology, I am coming to realize, is a severe weakness for becoming a teacher in the near future.

I never realized how exciting technology could be in a classroom; moreover, how it allows for me to use my creativity in developing plans to involve my students in the material I will be teaching. The Book Trailer idea is brilliant! As a creative person myself, if I had had this sort of project in high school I would have been so excited to share my trailer after it was finished and would surely never forget the book that I had read for it. I say why not take this idea one step further and create a project where students can group together and create 15-20 minute long movies based on a book. They could either take the more important parts of the story and film those scenes or they could create an entirely new story that could be tied back to the original book. Using technology in this way is now just another reason why I am so excited to begin teaching students in the future.

Blog # 7

ELL seems to be one of the harder issues to handle in the educational field. How do teachers who typically speak English as their first and sometimes only language teach students who don't even know English yet? This chapter is especially effective because it covers all aspects of ELL students; they address language proficiency, specific differences between the linguistics of languages, and even differing cultural aspects of diverse students.

The best ideas that were presented in the chapter which I plan on using in my classroom someday are the "ways that cultivate cultural harmony." Each suggestion not only helped the ELL students and helped them feel more belonging, but they also benefit those who are not ELL students by informing them on how differing cultures work. These activities help all of the students to get to know each other better, learn more about cultures, and help to add variety to the classroom content.

Blog # 6

The topic of vocabulary is undoubtedly one of the most important subjects that students can learn and that teachers should focus on teaching. Vocabulary is used in every day life. The more words one knows, the most intelligent they come off as. As teachers, we want to make sure that students feel confident in their vocabulary so they are not the only one in a group of people who do not know the meaning of a word used in an every day conversation.

The techniques that they describe seem to be useful and I will probably implement some of them-- especially the use of concept circles. Concept circles is a brilliant idea! The way that I remember things is best is if I can group whatever I am trying to remember with other things. For example, if I want to remember a characteristic of a poet it is helpful for me to know the characteristics of the time period as well. So if a teacher can construct concept circles that make sense than they can be very effective for learners like myself.

It is of my opinion, however, that the best way to expand one's vocabulary is to read and read a lot. This is why the topic of vocabulary can be a hard one to tackle because it is so hard to regulate how much a student reads. Even if one assigns a substantial amount of readings, there is still no guarantee that the student will be reading all that is assigned. And if a student does all of the readings, a teacher can still not be sure if the student is looking up the meaning of new words that they come across. In an ideal world, all students would be reading their readings and reading for enjoyment on a daily basis but this will just never be the case. This chapter would have been even more impacting on me if there was a section on techniques for motivating students to read outside of school as well as motivating them to do their reading assignments.

Blog # 5

I think the topic of this chapter is the most important topic regarding teaching material to students-- how do we help them understand? 

As a former high school students and a current college student, I can completely relate with not being able to understand readings. I love reading, I love English, and I love learning; but it is extremely hard for me to comprehend what I am reading and learning about. I was home schooled and I pretty much had to just read the textbook and answer the questions that came after the reading and that is how I "learned." Do I remember most of what I read about? Probably not. It wasn't until I took a writing class at a local home school group where I actually can remember the subjects that I studied. I will never forget the poor morals of Lady Macbeth and the near insanity of Macbeth himself. I will always remember the topics of greed, money, and Jewish stereotypes that we discussed in The Merchant of Venice. I think a huge part of the success of that teacher was that she put many of the dimensions of understanding to use: dwelling, exploring, discussing, creating, and feeling whatever the reading brought about. 

The most helpful dimension of understanding for me would be to explore-- this is such a powerful tool. It helps me to remember the reading or story if I am able to relate it to many other things. Another reason the explore dimension is so important is because it makes whatever the subject being studied become real. If one can relate the story to real things in the world, one can learn much more than just the story of a book. 

I cannot wait to use some of the techniques suggested in this book. The Dimension of Understanding is a great way to lay out all of the different ways of connecting with students of different learning styles. 

Blog #4

The first strategy listed in Reading Reminders makes a lot of sense to me but there can be potential problems to it. I saw SSR at work in the classroom that I observed for my field experience last semester. Every single day they had a program that they implemented where each student would read a book for 15 minutes. Most of the students seem to have a good attitude about this except for one or two that had a big problem with sitting still. This is where this program can be a problem. What about the kids with special needs who can't stand silence for more than a minute? How does one regulate their behavior during this time? The teacher that I was observing sure didn't seem to know how to deal with it. Another problem I saw with the way that the teacher ran this reading program, is that she didn't follow through with the kids after they were done reading. What if some of the kids were just sitting there daydreaming? Many of those kids were... Then it'll just be a wasted 15 minutes. If one is going to do SSR they have to make sure to create time to actually talk about what all of the students were reading otherwise the program is virtually worthless. The book suggested that there be a discussion afterwards but that might be easier said than done. Overall, I think it is a really good idea as long as it is done correctly.

Blog #3

Anyone can write about the problems with reading and writing illiteracy that many students have today in the school system. Anyone can write about problems with anything but with no solution their argument is pointless and useless. In chapter 1 of Adolescent Literacy we read all about the nuisance that standardized testing and the NCLB act have on low-scoring schools but it did not offer any other option for assessing and improving these same schools. The thing that I liked most about this chapter is that it gave real possible solutions and applications on how to deal with underachieving adolescent students.

Throughout the entire chapter the writer is giving suggestion such as L: (U + M)(C1 + C2) and many other clever ideas. My personal favorite was the idea of using thinking maps. I had never heard of anything like this before, and the best thing about it is how simple it is to use. It allows the students to organize their thoughts which builds their analytical skills. I am excited to use these maps with my future students and maybe I will use them next time I get stumped when analyzing literature.

Blog # 2

While I agree that students need to master most of the eight skills discussed in this chapter, I am not entirely convinced that it is the responsibility of an English teacher to ensure that students come out of one's classroom with these "necessary" skills. Change is good, but when taken too far it can become more focused on changing everything rather than considering if change is even needed in the first place. The main responsibility of an English teacher should be to present topics in literature and writing which does not have to be as boring as it sounds. How is an English teacher supposed to incorporate eight entirely new topics for learning while still teaching and inspiring students through literature? The author of this particular chapter suggests that teachers should teach students the skill of adapting by inviting special speakers to inform the students on how to function in work world; this is obviously a beneficial skill to learn but it seems to me that this matter  would be better taught through special school events or something of that nature. English teachers can fit all of this in when they can, but they should not be made to feel guilty if they are not somehow intertwining earth awareness in their subject material. Maybe environment awareness can be better presented in a biology class like one of the sections mentioned.

I'm not saying that English teachers should not attempt to include the eight skills suggested in this chapter; it is of my opinion that some of those skills can be better taught by administration or in other classes. If an English teacher focuses on these eight skills they may find themselves losing focus on what their main priority should be-- teaching students the importance of reading and writing about literature.

Blog #1

It would seem that genuinely caring about the well-being of a student and how much they actually learn in your classroom is the best remedy for problems with illiteracy in schools. The scenario in the beginning of the chapter deals with “illiterate” students, according to the standardized testing system, and the school’s way of fixing the problem. The teacher in this scenario makes one of the biggest mistakes she can make which is being oblivious as to where your student is coming from. I do not expect to help my future students grow if I first do not understand where they are academically and socially when I first begin to teach. Another mistake the teacher is the story made is her assumptions that these students had the amount of resources needed to grow academically. I have to realize as a teacher, that not all students have computers at home, breakfast in the morning, or available parents to help the students with their homework. I intend to spend special time and give my undivided attention to going above and beyond merely giving lectures in a classroom to perhaps, highly low socioeconomic students. The last mistake I observed with the teacher in the story is that she was more concerned with the high pressure from the school for acceptable TAKS scores rather than with each student’s personal progress. The only student mentioned by name, Derek, had received 160 points more on his previous tests than he ever had before and he was quite proud of this. The teacher should have commended Derek for his achievement instead focusing on all that is still left to accomplish. Part of this problem is the fault of the school principle who was only concerned with raising test scores; but as teachers, no matter what the circumstance, we always need to put the student and their development above anything else.