Swashbuckling Adventures on the High Seas and Pirates in Historical Fiction and Nonfiction: A Twin-Text Unit of Study February 9, 2010
I decided to post one response for both of these articles. I felt that they went hand-in-hand and without having both I would not make much sense. I have to start by saying that this pirate unit was not very appealing to me until I read about these articles about these units. These articles describe a very engaging and informative unit that will grab children’s attention and get them involved in their learning. I am excited about this unit now and can’t wait to experience it for myself. The Swashbuckling article is a step-by-step guide introducing the certain processes of the unit; such as, the double-entry diaries, additional resources, and the data retrieval chart. I appreciated being able to have these worksheets. I also liked how the DED was practically 2-column notes but related to journal writing. I feel that this process is very effective for students because it allows them to keep notes and it is organized enough for them to find information later.
The other article demonstrated the lesson and offered great ideas. I really liked the idea of the notebook. I have seen a lot of KWL charts made but never one created in a journal with each letter on a different page. I thought this was very creative. The other part of the notebook was also a great idea. Having the students label each page with a letter of the alphabet so they can write new vocabulary was neat. I thought this would be a great resource. I also liked how the students would talk and create kid friendly definitions and create illustrations. This process of the twin-text benefits children in many ways. I like the fact that it is just not reading different books but giving students a variety of opportunities to gain knowledge. On interesting fact that I learned from this article was, “pairing fiction and nonfiction is an effective method of enhancing students’ reading comprehension, boosting students’ interest and engagement, and expanding their knowledge and imagination.” (p16) I had no idea that pairing these two types of literature together benefitted children in this way. I can now use this information to create other units in my classroom.
Instructional-Level Social Studies Trade Books February 2, 2010
I found this article very interesting and helpful. I knew that a child having to read material that was not on their level was not beneficial but I didn’t know that it caused as many problems as it does. This quote, for me, sums up this entire article; “struggling readers need books they can read—accurately, fluently, and with strong comprehension—in their hands all day long in order to exhibit maximum educational growth.” Using the strategies from this article a student will be given material that relates to the content area, material that is correctly fit for them, and material that benefits them in their reading practice. I was shocked when I read about the example child missing over 1000 words from a session of silent reading. Honestly I would not have thought that the grade-level material would be so difficult that it would cause major problems such as these. If all teachers practiced these techniques our student’s reading problems would not be as severe as they are now. The author stated that many teachers sympathize with low readers and I completely agree with this. Many teachers want to help their low readers and most do not know how and may not have the resources to fully help these students. Another quote that I agreed with from this article was “schools without rich supplies of engaging, accessible, appropriate books are not schools that are likely to teach many children to read at all, much less develop thoughtful literacy in most students.” This caused me to realize that I need to look of a school that has developed reading programs and materials; however, I also feel that even if my school does not put much emphasis on reading instruction I can create this type of environment in my individual classroom. This may mean more work for me but in the end it will benefit my students. The processes that are explained in this article are very helpful to me as a teacher in the making because it gives me directions to create a very beneficial classroom where all my students, no matter their level, will be included and gaining the same information on their own ability level. I feel that after reading this article I will be better prepared to teacher each one of my students on their own level. As the author stated, we have to view our “class” as a group of individual students. I will use this article in my teaching and will definitely keep the book lists for a reference in my future classroom. The author stated that this process takes a lot of extra work for students especially the hunt for appropriate fit books but with the list I feel that I am one step ahead and can manage these processes easily.
Ordinary but Meaningful Pictures January 27, 2010
Below are pictures that are ordinary to many people but are meaningful to me…
My Laptop
Where the work is constructed!
My Class Ring
All the small poems and fourteen more January 27, 2010
My opinion of this book is that it is rather odd. I have never seen a book solely filled with poems that were short and about topics that are this obvious and ordinary. I believe that this book is great for kids. It is very on point and descriptive. After reading these poems and then looking at the objects that Worth is talking about you see everything that she is trying to describe. I liked the idea of having the simple pictures at the bottom and sides of the pages. The pictures are realistic and fit perfectly. I think that this book will help students realize that any words can create a poem as long as they are meaningful to the author. This book would be a great resource for a beginning poetry unit.
Brown Angels January 27, 2010
Brown Angels is a very powerful book. Myers created this book of pictures and verses because of the child that in still in each one of us. As I was reading the verses and looking at the pictures it was like the pictures spoke to you. I had to really read and concentrate on several of these verses to fully understand them. I think that this is a great book to have in your classroom. It offers pride, history, and determination for African Americans. I feel that African American students would enjoy this book because it shows the beauty of their culture. I have never encountered a book such as this where the focus was directly on the topic of African Americans and their beauty. I feel that this book offers inspiration to African Americans and feel that children would get great pride from reading this book and sharing it with their peers and their family. The words are so beautiful and speak to the reader. I became attached to several of the verses in this book including: Blossoms, Love That Boy, They, and Jolly, Jolly. Another interesting thing that I liked was the connection between this book and Love That Dog. I really enjoyed reading this book after Love That Dog and seeing the true poem of Love That Boy.
Love That Poetry: Teaching Poetry Through Love That Dog January 27, 2010
First off I have to say that this article of poetry plans will be a great resource for my classroom. Many of the worries that I have for teaching poetry and getting my students involved is answered in this plan. This article goes along with the rest of the readings that we had this week and many of my posts have concerns about children not understanding how to write poetry. I feel that it is hard for many kids but I have not realized that it does not have to be. The information in the article about starting with free verse poetry makes sense to me. I now see that children will be able to grasp the concept of poetry better this way then automatically asking for a poem wrote in stanzas with every other line rhyming. With this article I feel that I myself can grasp the idea of poetry better and can expand my poetry writing abilities. Another idea that I agreed with was instead of having students start off with rhyming words I should encourage simple repetition. This idea will tie in all of the books that were read this week. After reading this article I comprehend the rest of the readings better because I see that they are free verse and that they are a real type of poetry. I do not have a lot of prior knowledge dealing with poetry but this week I have realized the true beauty and purpose behind it. My experiences with poetry in school were not that productive because I could never create a full rhyming masterpiece. From this article I grew because I am now excited about starting to write poetry all over again. Knowing that it is ok for lines not to rhyme, that I am writing for myself, and writing to express my thoughts eases the fear of not being poetic. I feel that if students were taught these three ideas they would be more open to try and create poems and even share them with their peers. This article prepares me for poetry in my classroom. I feel that it will help me better introduce this topic to my students. It also helps open the door for me to begin exploring the many types of poetry and hopefully becoming a successful writer of poetry.
Notebook Know-How p.15-34 January 27, 2010
This section of the Notebook Know-How offers strategies for beginning the notebook, creating writing fluency, and keeping interest in writing. To begin notebook writing the author suggests using strategies such as history of a name, writing from a list, and questions. “Unlike a prompt, a strategy can be used again and again in different contexts with different results.” This quote shows me that the writer’s notebook really works for kids as long as it is handled in the right way. I am learning from each section of this book how to establish and handle the writer’s notebook efficiently. My favorite strategy to launch the notebook is history of a name. I really enjoyed completing this activity for myself and from the stories in this book all children can write about this topic and it is just as interesting to them. Some people may not know that there is a story behind their name until they begin asking questions about it! Questioning is another strategy that I find useful. As we all know students are full of questions. When you can turn their questions into successful writing you are opening a door to multiple writings. This strategy does not only fit into language arts but also science. I have learned that children are full of wonder and that if we don’t give them opportunities to answer their questions they will stop asking. I do not want to hinder the curiosity of my students so I feel that the questioning strategy is a great idea. The lists are a good strategy but it is not my favorite. When working on creating writing fluency and keeping interest in writing the author suggests several strategies that will help. These strategies include: daily pages, writing off of literature, observations, writing from a word, rereading and highlighting, and lifting a line. The daily pages idea is the great. It offers for students to clear their head and get the trash out before the serious writing begins. This also allows students to understand that mistakes are okay. Writing from a word is another strategy that I thought was neat. This is something everyone can write about and not have many boundaries. I feel that students can create great pieces of work using this strategy because it doesn’t seem that demanding and it lets them have a lot of control over their writing. This is a huge concept that this books covers and I feel that this is the main reason that the writer’s notebook will be successful. Another strategy that I really liked and am eager to use is lifting a line. When students reread their work and find a story that is not finished or a line that jumps out at them they can create a whole new entry. I liked this idea because it shows them that the notebook is useful and full of memories that they can always look back on. The notebook is a resource for continuous writing. I am really glad to have this book as a resource because it will lead me to be a better teacher and a better writer. As I read I learn these new strategies and begin to use them in my own notebook. They make the writing easier and my entries more regular.
LOVE THAT DOG January 26, 2010
LOVE THAT DOG
By: Sharon Creech
