Readings for Week 12

This week's readings were all about writing. The Peanut Butter Book covered many things that I found to be new and useful information. First of all, I appreciated how the book explained the concept of process writing. It seems that process writing has not always been the way in which teachers taught writing. According to the H.D.B. book, teachers put an emphasis on the final product rather than the writing process.

Process writing presented an activity that I think can be used with all grades and ages. The "I remember" activity seems like a great writing activity and it activates background knowledge, to boot!

There were so many activity ideas that the Peanut Butter Book presented, especially under the beginner writing section that I want to keep this book for future reference. I like the idea of creating stories with pictures or using wordless books. I have a funny anecdote about my first encounter with wordless books. Last week at my teacher observation I was looking through my teacher's books and I came across a book titled, "Anno's Journey". That book was filled with beautiful pictures and I must say that I took longer "reading" that book than many of the other books on the shelf. I was completely engrossed and enthralled with what the main character must be doing. Finally, I concluded that he was travelling through time and I came up with an idea for a lesson that students could write their own stories based on the pictures.

I did have one question about concept books that were presented on page 228. The book stated that a teacher could have concept books for the students to look at and use as a basis for constructing their own. The book said that concepts such as big and little could be presented to help enrich the writing and vocabulary of the students. I learned in the past that presenting vocabulary opposites in English was a pedagogical faux pas.

I love the idea of any of the 3 types of journal ideas that were presented and I remember as a 1st and 2ND grader enjoying the writings I created in my journal.

To be honest, before I read these readings for the week I was somewhat leery of teaching writing because it is something I do not enjoy. After gaining all the new information I gleaned from the textbooks I realize teaching reading can be not only student centered but fun!

"You smell like a princess" Last Teacher Observation

I received one of the best compliments from one of the students yesterday, "You smell like a princess" I am not quite sure what that means but I am going to take it as a compliment!

Yesterday was my last official day with the teaching observation, although, I got invited back for my good-bye party with all the students.

The day was a crazy day with all the kids excited and full of energy. Some of them found it very hard to concentrate but when they did they really worked hard. I think it helps that Mrs. Becker put up a chart to map their positive progress and if they all do well they get a party.

It was more of the same as far as what we did for the day. We read books and wrote spelling word sentences. I really enjoy working with the students on the other subject areas because I learn something too! I have been really working hard at becoming more "teacherly" and I think I have been doing really well at it. I have been pretty good at keeping the students on task. I think that is the part that I do not like about it. It seems I almost feel like I am nagging the students when I tell them a few times in a row to do their work. I guess that is part of the experience and it seems like that is a small price to pay when working with such wonderful students.

Teacher Observation #8

I think that I have gone past my 20 hours but I just can't walk away from those kids! I am sad to say that this week is my last, however; my teacher is hosting a good-bye party for me. I have actually started calling Mrs. Becker "Mama Pam". She is so motherly and I can tell that she teaches with her heart.

Today I experienced my very first teachable moment!!!!!! It was like a gigantic light bulb went on above my head and some where Esther came into my head and said, "This is an example of a teachable moment". One of the students was reading a picture book about chickens. He came to almost the end of the book and said, "Uh, Oh, this book is missing the last page" Well, guess what his next task was?! Yep, write the ending of the story! I thought that was great because Mrs. Becker and I thought the same thing. In essence it forced the student to review his reading and recreate the ending of the book.

I then read to the kindergartners a story about the beach and then we all worked on a workbook together. I really tried to analyze what some of my faults were in my lesson that I videotaped and I tried to act more like a teacher and less like their fellow student. I think I did really well, well, hopefully I did. I apparently do wonderful farm animal sounds which is a huge plus for a future teacher.

Class time Reflection

Last night's class was interesting. We began with a discussion about if we thought there was a difference in the literacy development between boys and girls. I personally think that gender has nothing to do with the development of reading and writing skills.

We then watched 2 videos of literacy instruction and discussed what principals were used and which ones were missing. It seems like the instruction on developing students' literacy is never ending. That idea is both daunting and exciting and I think literacy is the foundation of an E.S.L. education.

Then came my favorite part of class which was getting into groups and finding materials and books that can be used to activate students' interests and help them practice good reading skills.

Can I just say that I loved many of the ideas that were presented in the Peanut Butter Book. This may seem "dorky" but I almost don't want to sell that book back at the end of the semester because I feel like it could help with my future teacher development.

Literacy with emphasis on Emergent Literacy

The peanut butter book sure packed in the information this week! I loved reading about the ideas presented in the book about how to surround children in a literature rich classroom and environment.

I always like to hear of ways in which I can develop as a teacher (which in turn helps my future students develop) and the book presented a table in which we can use someday to assess the progress of our students' literacy skills. Figure 5.6 on page 169 provided a sort of guide for assessing the literacy skills which began with "scribble writing" and progressed to "self generated sentences". I found it strange that "copied words" was higher up on the continuum because when I was in first grade my teacher told me I was plagiarizing!

I love the idea of having children surrounded in such a fun and text rich environment, such as a post office and bank. I think children are naturally curious about written language and it is up to the teacher to use that curiosity to spark that intrinsic motivation. The idea of combining learning into play is genius! Also, giving students a purpose for what they are reading or writing is a great way to keep that motivation high.

The book also explained the differences between oral and written speech and the ways in which children learn both. It seems both can be acquired to a degree but reading and writing take formal instruction.

Class Reflection for Week 10

Last night's class was very, very interesting and informative and I found myself writing quite a bit of notes on things that I thought I needed to remember as a teacher.
The most important piece of information that I took away from class is, Give the students a purpose for what they are reading! I think many times students are told to read silently and most times there is no purpose behind this instruction. I think people by nature want to work towards goals and rewards and this fact can be used by teachers to activate his/her students' intrinsic motivation.

Adib and Lillian presented about the readings and I was really glad they presented and reviewed the reading because there was so much information in the 3 assigned books of reading. They both did a very nice job which leads me to believe they will be wonderful teachers! I found myself acting as a sponge to soak up, not only what the presenters were saying but also what my fellow classmates were saying.

We had a lengthy discussion about reading aloud and its disadvantages and advantages. I couldn't help but think of the students that I observe and how much reading aloud they do. I personally sit there and help them sound out words, but are they really "reading" or are they "speaking" the words out loud. I think it is a mixture of both now that I think about it and I think there could be a way to change that. One idea I had was read a page of the story and ask the student to guess what he/she thinks will happen. Also, to re-read portions of the story could be a good reading strategy to teach the students. As I sit there with the students while they are reading, I am going to make more of a conscious effort to engage their background knowledge and attempt to get some sort of hypothesis from the student to make reading have more of a purpose.

We analyzed text books and I was so glad we did that! I did not realize that a text book could be lacking so much as far as activating motivation and the use of reading strategies. I will no longer take a textbook for what it is and as a teacher I hope to investigate my future textbooks with a critical eye. I think that goes along with teacher development that we read about in H.D.B. a few weeks ago. It seems some teachers can simply teach what they are suppose to and other teachers (the better ones) can take an active role to ensure they are teaching material that is appropriate for their classroom. That is one of the advantages teachers have because it seems the profession encourages growth and questioning.

We then analyzed a video in which a teacher was leading a post-reading activity of "Esperanza Rising". I know it is easy to sit in a nice comfortable classroom and pick apart what she did wrong. I think the teacher had the right idea but it was not well prepared or executed. It seems that some people thought the book of Esperanza Rising would not be appropriate but I think it was a wise choice. It just seems the motivation was not present in students. The teacher could pick a book from each culture represented in the classroom and therefore activate motivation. Another idea is the students could pick from a list of books and read them. They could then be put into groups to discuss the books.

Overall, I was very excited to learn more about teaching reading because it seems the skill of reading is a good foundation to grasping a second language.

Teacher Observation #7 (Teaching my lesson)

So as I am sure I have explained before, the classroom that I have been observing is somewhat of a study hall where the ESL students come into the classroom and receive help with their homework. Most of the difficult areas for these students is language related. This classroom presented somewhat of a problem as these students do not receive formal teaching in the classroom and the arrival of students is sporadic.

I decided I would "teach" my lesson on Friday which is also known as "game day". Mrs. Becker wanted me to come up with something that would get the students reading more. I thought of a dinosaur game that is quite similar to the game of Life. Each student picked a dinosaur for their game piece. They then had to read about their dinosaur on a card that was provided and prepared for their reading levels. I made sure to include interesting and fun facts about the dinosaurs. Once each student had a chance to read about their given dinosaur, they each got a chance to roll the dice and move their dinosaur on the game board. When they stopped on a square they had to choose a card and read the instructions about what to do next. For example, "You got stuck in quicksand! Pick a friend dinosaur to pull you out of the quicksand. Move 1 space backward. Your friend can move 1 space forward." The students really liked the game and thought it was fun.

I am nervous to do my analysis of the videotape from this lesson because I know there are a lot of things that I could have done to change the outcome of the lesson, but I suppose that is the point of the videotape, isn't it?

Week 10 Readings-"I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"

This weeks readings focused on teaching reading and the different techniques that teachers can use when instructing in an E.L.L. setting.

H.D.B. talked a lot about teaching reading strategies such as skimming, scanning and reviewing. He also listed the many different genres and how teachers can use those different structures to make students aware of the text and discourse structure. There was a sequence given for reading that I had never heard of before called the SQ3R and it involves the different steps students should take when reading a text. H.D.B. also explained that teachers should not simply give their students a text to silently read but to explain why the students are reading the text, what strategies should be used when reading and finally using comprehension activities after the text is read.

The peanut butter book broke down the different reading strategies even more to top-down and bottom-up processing. It was concluded in the book that a mixture of both is best for students. It was also stated that readers take one of two stances on reading: efferent and aesthetic. An example of efferent is when graduate students read text books they are expecting to take away a certain amount of information. Aesthetic reading is different in the fact that reading is done for the experience and not for the specific purpose of gaining information (although that can happen on accident in aesthetic reading). I like the example the book gave of the boy listening to the story of Alice and Wonderland and when the rabbits says, "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!" he tells his dad that rabbits cannot talk. In this instance the boy missed the aesthetic purpose of the text by taking a efferent stance.

I gained a lot of information about reading and I think of the idea of teaching reading a lot differently. For one, reading is not simply about saying the words out loud but it is about the structure of the text and the background knowledge that students bring to the text. Also, the idea of cohesive ties can be very difficult to teach but with exposure to the words and their contexts students can learn about their importance in texts.

Teacher Observation #6

My teacher observation began with my teacher requesting that I translate a letter that she had written in English to the parents of the E.L.L. students. I was a little rusty with my Spanish skills and that made me nervous but in the end it all turned out fine and I am so thankful that I have some language background in Spanish!

I then read a book with one of the students. I was happy that he was actually reading and not so distracted as he had been in the previous class time.

After that I gave a few spelling tests to the students and helped them study the sound 'ch' as in church.

I realized something today with the help of the teacher. Many of the students, although they come from a Spanish speaking background, are not bi-lingual. They cannot write or read in Spanish and many of them know select words in Spanish. I think that means that their first language is English but are still E.L.L. students. I know they have had a lot of exposure to Spanish but I think many of their parents are going through the same transition from Spanish to English or they sometimes use both. My teacher said many of the parents use a combination of Spanish and English. These facts can present some new difficulties but I have faith in all of them because they are so smart and bright!

Teacher Observation #5

This teacher observation was a little more of the same. I started helping one student with the ever present spelling words. I think there can be other activities to learn spelling words besides writing sentences. Maybe the student could look for pictures that exemplify the meaning and then write a story about them integrating all of the words into the story. The students could then compile a book of short stories to share with their parents. (Who also need improvement on their English skills) That is just one idea that I thought of. I can see how the redundancy of the spelling words can affect the students.

I then read a story with another student about soccer. He was not in the mood for reading and it was evident he wanted me to read the entire story FOR him. I remained persistent and we finished the story but my was it like pulling teeth!

I think there is a major component missing in the classroom and I think that is a reward system. In fact, on one occasion one of the students asked for a reward system like he had in another classroom.

If anyone reads my blogs and if anyone has any ideas about how to teach a lesson where all the kids are constantly leaving and arriving, let me know. They range from 1st to 5th grade and are at all different reading levels which is what the teacher that I am observing wants me to concentrate on.

Class Reflection of 3/2/09

Class on Monday began with Mariya giving her presentation about speaking skills. She led a discussion about accuracy, fluency, suprasegmentals and segmentals. It was nice to talk about the above aspects of speaking and to hear what everyone else thought of them.
We then got into groups and were given a context in which we were teachers and had to figure out how to integrate speaking into the lesson. Everyone in my group had marvelous ideas and so did the rest of the class. Mariya did a nice job presenting the material and I could tell she is extremely comfortable in front of a class.

We then went to the G.L.L. and looked up materials that could be used for teaching speaking. We then had to use one of those materials to teach a lesson. I think Rachel and I got Charlie's idea of a recipe and I absolutely LOVED that idea. Rachel and I thought of an Iron Chef lesson which sounds fun to me. We then started to peer review what each of us had found to represent the different standards of teaching.

I ended my night looking through the stacks of books to begin my Unit Plan that is due next class period.

Teaching Speaking

I am a little slow with my blog with respect to the readings but I did want to get my ideas out there about the readings for this week.

I quite enjoyed the H.D.B. chapter on speaking. The chapter started with research in the field of speaking, however, it did not seem any of the studies were conclusive. Next, the types of spoken language were reviewed, such as interpersonal and transactional. H.D.B. also offered some possible reasons why speaking could present a problem for E.L.L.s. Several of the points brought up were presented by Kizuna and Charlie last week, such as stress intonation and rhythm.
Finally, the implications for teaching were provided. One implication that was offered stated that teachers need to give opportunities for the students to initiate oral communication. What I am wondering is where does the teacher draw the line? I am constantly keeping the students that I observe and when you get them talking about dinosaurs or soccer, look out! I think to a point it is important for the teacher to let that natural communication flow, but on the other hand the teacher needs to make sure the students stay on task.

H.D.B. also talked about some of the factors that could limit a students pronunciation. He also noted that fluency and accuracy were to be taught. I liked the metaphor that was used in relation to these topics. He stated that spoken language can be viewed as learning to play tennis. Fluency gets the student onto the tennis court with a ball and racket, but accuracy is like the logistics of the game such as the scoring, etc...
I liked that analogy not only because I like tennis but because it makes a lot of sense. Students need both accuracy and fluency to be successful in their L2.

Reflection of Teacher Observation #4

Today was a good day with the students. I started the day helping students with their spelling words. One of the students if infamous for trying to take short cuts in writing his spelling sentences. For the word bake he wanted to write, "I bake". I worked with him and finally got him to write, "I baked a chocolate cake".

One of the students asked me if there were one letter words in English. I thought that was a VERY interesting question because one of the chapters that I just read for Linguistics covered that same topic! I asked the student what he thought and he said that he thinks that "I' and 'a' are words and I told him he was right. That was so smart of him!

I do not know if I have mentioned this in previous entries but one of the students has ADHD. I find him to be one of the most rewarding students to work with. He is so smart and kind and he really appreciates having one-on-one time with his teachers.

I find it difficult at times to keep the students on task but I think I have made a lot of progress in that area within the last week. It is refreshing because all of the students love to be in Mrs. Becker's room and this is going to sound cheesy but I can tell there is a lot of love in the room both from the teacher and the students.

Oh! I got to translate something for my teacher! I was so happy to do it because it gave me a chance to use some of my Spanish skills. She wanted me to translate a document that goes home to the parents of E.L.L. students about mandatory testing. She said she always wanted to know what it said. : )