Today in class we had 3 strategy presentations and they happened to be the 3 ELA people we had in our class. Going into a presentation is always nerve racking to me because I do not like speaking in front of people (yes I know I am a teacher). It became even more stressful when a classmate comes in and informs me she is presenting on the same strategy. This ended up being a good thing and my classmate and I were able to have a good discussion about it.
We both presented a strategy on using character quotes to cover character traits, create connections and brainstorm background knowledge on a story. I geared mine for 8th grade ELA while she made hers relevant for 2nd grade Reading. I loved seeing the similarities and differences between the two. I presented my strategy in a way where I pretended to have already covered what character traits were so all I needed to do was refresh their memory. I then gave them the task and they figured out the connections within their group. The other presenter of this strategy presented as if we had touched on character traits but needed more practice. She modeled and walked us through the entire activity. I think she did a very good job applying the strategy to a second grade classroom. She scaffold our learning by providing us information about character traits and actions that we may not have known before and applied the strategy to a book that we had already read and discussed. We both thought our presentations were successful but fit the audience in which we intended to reach. I will be showing her PowerPoint to my 2nd grade teachers so they can see a new and interesting way to teach character traits.
The third presentation of the day used Nearpod and it has got my wheels turning. I loved this interactive lesson which allowed us to break down each stanza of a poem. We were able to find the vocabulary that was unfamiliar, highlight important words, and write the stanzas in our own words. I cannot wait to take this back to my school this year where our students struggle with comprehending texts. If we can have our students break down different genres of text like we did today (on Nearpod or on paper) our students will have a much better chance of understanding what they are reading. I think this is a clear and concise way for the teachers to understand and in turn teach it to their own students.
I had a very hard time understanding the poem presented today and if it wasn't for someone in my group who had a better grasp on it, I would have been lost. Breaking it down like she showed us was inspiring. I went from confused about what I was reading to making connections and inferences once I applied the strategies she taught us. I am excited to see if this will work for our students like it has worked for me.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Classroom Libraries
When I first started teaching I did not have any books for a classroom library but I was lucky enough to have a mentor who let me borrow a few crates of her books to start off. At that point I was on a mission to start building a library. My mom and I hit up garage sales, thrift stores, and scholastic.com to buy anything and everything we could. I was definitely looking for quantity over quality and I achieved that goal.
It was important for me to have a variety of texts for my students to look at. I have learned since that time that having too many books slightly overwhelmed my students but they loved to explore and look at all of the different types of books, pictures, and contents available to them.
I have since moved out of the classroom and have given away most of my "filler" books to new teachers but I have kept all of the books my students always loved the most including the ones we have created together.
Classroom libraries are very important. Students need resources available at their fingertips. Having a library in your classroom provides this opportunity while giving you control over the content and levels of the books. With this control, you can provide texts that are reliable, high quality and appropriate for the students in your classroom. There are also students who will never step foot in the school or community library but might be tempted to grab one off the shelf if its right there for them. Students can also use the classroom library to deepen their understanding of a topic they are studying or research new topics.
As a literacy interventionist I try to keep my bookshelves filled with books from all content areas. I use these for modeling, and training purposes but I also allow the students I pull for interventions to explore. As I am pushing into more classrooms and more content areas I definitely want to expand my library to more grade levels and continue with all content areas so I can provide my teachers with these resources whenever they might need it. My role is considered the reading expert on campus so it is my job to show all teachers (no matter the content) the importance, feasibility, and benefit of a library in the classroom.
It was important for me to have a variety of texts for my students to look at. I have learned since that time that having too many books slightly overwhelmed my students but they loved to explore and look at all of the different types of books, pictures, and contents available to them.
I have since moved out of the classroom and have given away most of my "filler" books to new teachers but I have kept all of the books my students always loved the most including the ones we have created together.
Classroom libraries are very important. Students need resources available at their fingertips. Having a library in your classroom provides this opportunity while giving you control over the content and levels of the books. With this control, you can provide texts that are reliable, high quality and appropriate for the students in your classroom. There are also students who will never step foot in the school or community library but might be tempted to grab one off the shelf if its right there for them. Students can also use the classroom library to deepen their understanding of a topic they are studying or research new topics.
As a literacy interventionist I try to keep my bookshelves filled with books from all content areas. I use these for modeling, and training purposes but I also allow the students I pull for interventions to explore. As I am pushing into more classrooms and more content areas I definitely want to expand my library to more grade levels and continue with all content areas so I can provide my teachers with these resources whenever they might need it. My role is considered the reading expert on campus so it is my job to show all teachers (no matter the content) the importance, feasibility, and benefit of a library in the classroom.
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Reading for Pleasure
As a literacy interventionist I know the importance of getting our students to enjoy reading and to read on their own time but I personally have a hard time with this. Growing up I had a hard time getting into books but once I did I loved everything I read. My main problem was knowing what to read. I didn't have a teacher to suggest to me different authors or genres so I only read what was assigned.
I still have the same problem today, I have to be in the right "mood" in order to read. If not I am easily distracted and lose interest. If I can get in the right mindset I can sit and read the entire day. I will stay up late, postpone dinner, and read in the car just to finish the next chapter but this only seems to happen every few months.
A few years ago, when I first started dating my fiance I read a lot. This was because he constantly played video games so my choice was to read or to watch him play. I enjoyed it, I would read and then we would discuss what I read. He would ask questions and be generally interested. I don't read as much anymore because while he plays video games I can now go into the other room and watch my own television show.
This reflection has made me realize how much I actually miss reading for pleasure. I enjoyed the books, and I enjoyed the discussion with my fiance. The time we spent talking brought us closer together and made us talk about topics we otherwise wouldn't have.
Since I have started working on my masters I am constantly reading my text books but I am going to set out time each weekend to read a book of my choosing. I have a box of books waiting to be read and a book out next to the couch calling my name.
I still have the same problem today, I have to be in the right "mood" in order to read. If not I am easily distracted and lose interest. If I can get in the right mindset I can sit and read the entire day. I will stay up late, postpone dinner, and read in the car just to finish the next chapter but this only seems to happen every few months.
A few years ago, when I first started dating my fiance I read a lot. This was because he constantly played video games so my choice was to read or to watch him play. I enjoyed it, I would read and then we would discuss what I read. He would ask questions and be generally interested. I don't read as much anymore because while he plays video games I can now go into the other room and watch my own television show.
This reflection has made me realize how much I actually miss reading for pleasure. I enjoyed the books, and I enjoyed the discussion with my fiance. The time we spent talking brought us closer together and made us talk about topics we otherwise wouldn't have.
Since I have started working on my masters I am constantly reading my text books but I am going to set out time each weekend to read a book of my choosing. I have a box of books waiting to be read and a book out next to the couch calling my name.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Content Area Reading
On the road to my masters degree I enrolled in a course called Content Area Reading. Using my schema and prior knowledge I figured that this course would be about teaching reading. I was looking forward to this class. Even though I am in a specialist position, I have my alternative certification and never formally took any courses on teaching reading. Everything I have learned I have picked up in the field or during professional development.
It was quite a surprise when I began reading the assigned text book and attended class the first day. It never occurred to me that this course was about bringing reading into other content areas. Honestly, my first reaction was that I was enrolled in the wrong class. I'm becoming a reading specialist why do I need to learn about other content areas?
Today is only day 3 and my attitude has already changed. This class has already made me reflect on my past, think about what I am doing currently and excite me about what is to come in the future. I have come to realize that this class is going to strengthen me as a specialist even more.
Everyone at the campus I work at knows of me and I know the names of everyone on campus. Through reflection I realize that the only teachers that I truly know are all ELA teachers. I have often times made the comment " I don't really deal with so in so much because they teach math". What kind of "community" is that? In simple terms, it's not. They all know I am willing to help out if they need me to but I didn't go out of my way to offer support.
This class has now given me a new mission. My mission is to get to know all of the teachers at my campus. I can still use reading to do this. I have had my "aha" moment. CONTENT AREA READING!! I can't believe I hadn't thought of this before. THIS is the missing puzzle piece our school needed. Not only will it cause all of our teachers to work together building and strengthening relationships, it will also strengthen each of our content areas and ultimately increase our scores.
When I return to school in August I am going to start offering ideas, strategies and support to all of our teachers for bringing reading into their content. Modeling strategies such as close reading, think-alouds, GTA, and QARs we can get our students to start asking and answering deeper level thinking questions. I am now able to show these teachers and give them examples of how to adapt these things to fit their class makeup and content.
Content Area Reading- turns out I'm as excited now as when I first enrolled!
Monday, June 11, 2018
High School Reflection
Thinking back to high school there were a few classes that stuck out to me. I can't remember the actual course name but I can remember the subjects. 1. Math 2. Social Studies 3. Reading
Why did these specific classes stick out to me?
1. Math- I love math! I enjoyed it so much I would have the homework completed before leaving the classroom. Other students flocked to my table for support. Math always made sense to me. There was always a right and wrong answer. Even though the teacher's were "nice" the teachers weren't the reason these classes stuck out to me. I would have been fine in these courses even if they were an independent study.
2. Social Studies- Easy A. That's all I can really say, the coach's were funny and football games were on Fridays so that's all I really remember. Everything was reading the chapter and answering the questions in the back of the book. As a student I loved it because I easily got done in 5-10 minutes and had the rest of the class to do whatever I wanted. I can't even say as an adult that I wished I paid attention more in these classes because there was nothing to pay attention to.
2. Reading- reading, yeah reading. Not my favorite subject in middle school or high school by far (even though I have learned to love it). A bad experience with a teacher in middle school turned me off of reading. I wasn't allowed to have my own voice or opinions in essays or assignments and would often time have a grade lowered if my point of view did not align with the teachers. On top of this there isn't an exact answer in reading. Besides with that one teacher, as long as you can prove your point it could possibly be right. It wasn't until my senior year in high school that I started to appreciate reading a little more.
I always loved the books we were assigned (once I actually got through them), but my teacher during my senior year did a little more. It wasn't all of the time, 3/4 of the year was done quickly and she mainly used the "assign and tell strategy which more often than not, squelches active involvement " (Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz, 2017, P. 10). The whole year led up to this moment, the moment when we began Dante's Inferno. This is where she shined. Pearson and Hoffman's (2011) principles of practice definitely came into play here. From day one of these lessons you can tell that she came in with a plan, ready to be flexible if a student didn't understand and ready to reach us students in any way that she could. We had hands on projects, presentations, and student led discussions. Everything we did seemed to be student led. If something didn't quite click she reflected over it and presented it to us in a new way the next day. You could tell this was what she looked forward too, this was her reward for the year.
As a student, I was just ready to get out of school. I did the work to get the A in Social Studies and the beginning of the year in Reading. But at the end of the year in Reading, time went by quickly, I was engaged, I still remember the pride I took in doing my project (so much that I even restarted the entire thing because it didn't live up to my expectations of what I thought it should be). As a teacher, I look back and think of all the other content I missed with these teachers. If this reading teacher would have prepared and brought those same principles and strategies in at the beginning of the year how much more I would have learned, what more my eyes would have been opened up to and how much "better" of a student I would have been. If the coach's would have spent a little more time planning for their lessons instead of thinking about Friday's game the background knowledge I would have right now.
More often than not we don't take the time to reflect on our lives. I loved this post for today because it reminds me of what I need to do and be for my students. Am I passionate about that one part of the year and just buying time the rest of it or am I taking the time to prepare, be knowledgeable, flexible and strategic in what I do? For the good of my students I hope it's the latter, as I sit down to plan this year I will make this a priority.
Why did these specific classes stick out to me?
1. Math- I love math! I enjoyed it so much I would have the homework completed before leaving the classroom. Other students flocked to my table for support. Math always made sense to me. There was always a right and wrong answer. Even though the teacher's were "nice" the teachers weren't the reason these classes stuck out to me. I would have been fine in these courses even if they were an independent study.
2. Social Studies- Easy A. That's all I can really say, the coach's were funny and football games were on Fridays so that's all I really remember. Everything was reading the chapter and answering the questions in the back of the book. As a student I loved it because I easily got done in 5-10 minutes and had the rest of the class to do whatever I wanted. I can't even say as an adult that I wished I paid attention more in these classes because there was nothing to pay attention to.
2. Reading- reading, yeah reading. Not my favorite subject in middle school or high school by far (even though I have learned to love it). A bad experience with a teacher in middle school turned me off of reading. I wasn't allowed to have my own voice or opinions in essays or assignments and would often time have a grade lowered if my point of view did not align with the teachers. On top of this there isn't an exact answer in reading. Besides with that one teacher, as long as you can prove your point it could possibly be right. It wasn't until my senior year in high school that I started to appreciate reading a little more.
I always loved the books we were assigned (once I actually got through them), but my teacher during my senior year did a little more. It wasn't all of the time, 3/4 of the year was done quickly and she mainly used the "assign and tell strategy which more often than not, squelches active involvement " (Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz, 2017, P. 10). The whole year led up to this moment, the moment when we began Dante's Inferno. This is where she shined. Pearson and Hoffman's (2011) principles of practice definitely came into play here. From day one of these lessons you can tell that she came in with a plan, ready to be flexible if a student didn't understand and ready to reach us students in any way that she could. We had hands on projects, presentations, and student led discussions. Everything we did seemed to be student led. If something didn't quite click she reflected over it and presented it to us in a new way the next day. You could tell this was what she looked forward too, this was her reward for the year.
As a student, I was just ready to get out of school. I did the work to get the A in Social Studies and the beginning of the year in Reading. But at the end of the year in Reading, time went by quickly, I was engaged, I still remember the pride I took in doing my project (so much that I even restarted the entire thing because it didn't live up to my expectations of what I thought it should be). As a teacher, I look back and think of all the other content I missed with these teachers. If this reading teacher would have prepared and brought those same principles and strategies in at the beginning of the year how much more I would have learned, what more my eyes would have been opened up to and how much "better" of a student I would have been. If the coach's would have spent a little more time planning for their lessons instead of thinking about Friday's game the background knowledge I would have right now.
More often than not we don't take the time to reflect on our lives. I loved this post for today because it reminds me of what I need to do and be for my students. Am I passionate about that one part of the year and just buying time the rest of it or am I taking the time to prepare, be knowledgeable, flexible and strategic in what I do? For the good of my students I hope it's the latter, as I sit down to plan this year I will make this a priority.
Friday, June 8, 2018
Just getting started...
Honestly, I have started a blog before. I typed and erased and retyped and erased and ultimately deleted the whole thing. Why? Because who would want to read the thoughts and ideas of a 2nd year teacher? Why was I important enough to post something for others to see.
It's only been 4 years since then but I have taken in so much. One of the most important things I have learned in education is to listen to the ideas and suggestions of everyone. Sometimes the best ideas come from the new teacher and not the teacher who has been there for 20+ years. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing better than an experienced teacher but our kids are constantly changing and our ideas need to be changing too.
As I have grown in my profession I have come to realize that I do have something to bring to the table. Even if it is just sharing something I learned/ "stolen" from someone else along the way. With this blog, I hope to publish ideas and strategies that are best practices for students but accessible for teachers to actually use. We all have heard what is best, but how do I apply that to my classroom?
Honestly, I have started a blog before. I typed and erased and retyped and erased and ultimately deleted the whole thing. Why? Because who would want to read the thoughts and ideas of a 2nd year teacher? Why was I important enough to post something for others to see.
It's only been 4 years since then but I have taken in so much. One of the most important things I have learned in education is to listen to the ideas and suggestions of everyone. Sometimes the best ideas come from the new teacher and not the teacher who has been there for 20+ years. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing better than an experienced teacher but our kids are constantly changing and our ideas need to be changing too.
As I have grown in my profession I have come to realize that I do have something to bring to the table. Even if it is just sharing something I learned/ "stolen" from someone else along the way. With this blog, I hope to publish ideas and strategies that are best practices for students but accessible for teachers to actually use. We all have heard what is best, but how do I apply that to my classroom?
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A Few Ideas
Hi Readers! We are all in uncharted territories so I wanted to give y'all some resources and ideas I have seen in the last couple of w...
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When I first started teaching I did not have any books for a classroom library but I was lucky enough to have a mentor who let me borrow a f...
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Today in class we had 3 strategy presentations and they happened to be the 3 ELA people we had in our class. Going into a presentation is al...
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Title: Poem Runs (Baseball Poems and Paintings) Author: Douglas Florian Awards: N/A Published: 2012 ...