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.