When the video about Peter began, I was pretty upset about the way he was treated by his classmates. What really struck me was that his classmates attempted to physically restrain him; and that this occurred before they had any kind of conversation about Peter, and help from their teacher or other guidelines set up. I found it harmful and scary to those students, as well as to Peter, that they were allowed to physically hold him back at this point in their relationship. Later in the year, though, I was not only comfortable with, but completely impressed by, the way the students in the class responded to and helped Peter. By them helping Peter, it seemed to me that everyone benefitted. Peter was aided in his social growth. His classmates grew in their acceptance and understanding of students with special needs, and, I can only imagine, in their maturity level. And Peter’s teacher got some of the stress and worry lifted off her, all the while nurturing her classroom as a community.
I think that, overall, the students, the teacher, and Peter had a positive experience. In this situation, they learned more than facts, figures and information to be tested on. This is a great example of students being taught life skills in a classroom; becoming well-rounded individuals as opposed to individuals who can pass standardized tests.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Criss Cross, John Lennon, and the life of a teenage girl
I must admit that I didn’t expect to have some huge revelation during the Teacher as Reader exercise/assignment. From reading my Literacy Autobiography, you may already know that I am an avid reader in my personal time. I will read children’s books, Young Fiction novels, magazines (Highlights to Cosmopolitan, I've read them all) and anything that is within an arm’s reach when I get bored. Reading Criss Cross was interesting though. I really like what I interpreted the meaning to be. Last post, I said that I kept anticipating what the “thing” was that would happen to Debbie. I got to the last chapter of the book and was frustrated. “Why,” I thought to myself “would the author wait until the last chapter to have something special happen? There isn’t going to be any time to expand or elaborate on how Debbie’s life changes.” Then, it hit me. Debbie is a teenage girl. Having lived the life of a teenage girl, I made the connection for myself. As Debbie sits and waits for something to happen, just as I, the reader, was waiting, special things are happening all around. I know that many people, myself included, seem to be waiting for their lives to begin. Waiting to be thin enough, smart enough, funny enough or sweet enough for something BIG to happen to them and jumpstart their lives. Just like Debbie.
“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” – John Lennon.
Your life has already begun Debbie Pelbry. Go live it.
Your life has already begun Debbie Pelbry. Go live it.
Reading Reflection - Oral Language
Reading Chapter 2 helped me to articulate and understand a concept I think that I’ve always just assumed as “so.” And that is that different people speak in different ways. Not only does this mean speaking differently by region, but speaking differently within regions, and even the differences between Standard English and other, sometimes considered “atypical” vocabularies. I know that I, personally, switch between Standard English and other ways of speaking depending on the demographics of who I am surrounded by, the situation I am in, if I am speaking to a person of authority, and many other factors.
I was appalled by the fact that bilingual education has been completely eliminated from some school systems. As a native English speaker, I was, and still am, fascinated by the Spanish language. I love trying to comprehend Spanish that I read and hear, no matter how long it has been since my last Spanish class (which is far too long). I think that Spanish in the classroom can benefit children of all nationalities and languages. I believe that it helps to foster learning and knowledge of different types of people and cultures. Additionally, I find it to help ELLs feel comfortable and, fairly obviously, learn more efficiently.
I was appalled by the fact that bilingual education has been completely eliminated from some school systems. As a native English speaker, I was, and still am, fascinated by the Spanish language. I love trying to comprehend Spanish that I read and hear, no matter how long it has been since my last Spanish class (which is far too long). I think that Spanish in the classroom can benefit children of all nationalities and languages. I believe that it helps to foster learning and knowledge of different types of people and cultures. Additionally, I find it to help ELLs feel comfortable and, fairly obviously, learn more efficiently.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Teacher as Reader - Criss Cross
I have read the first half of Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins and so far, I am really enjoying it. I have come to notice that this isn’t a storyline that is incredibly easy to follow. This, I believe, is the actual premise of the book. The “tagline” if you will is “She wished something would happen” and that is how the story begins – with Debbie wishing for something to happen to her ---soon. This made me, as the reader, put my own kind of spin on everything that I read. With each event, each new character, each minute detail, I find myself asking the big question “IS THIS IT? Is this the ‘something’ that Debbie asked for?” Not only does this questioning help me to really pay attention to the story’s events, but it keeps the novel suspenseful and engaging.
I think the main thing reading the first half of Criss Cross has taught me is to really pay attention to the text that I am reading, and this would be a great thing to pass on to students and other readers. Many times, when reading, I know that I become confused and just don’t understand what is happening. Then I realize that I missed a sentence, or filled a word in a sentence that wasn’t actually there, or just plain read it wrong. When reading comprehension begins to break down is when a reader has to carefully go back and step-by-step figure out where they went wrong. We all do it, and, thankfully, it is so easy to rectify.
I think the main thing reading the first half of Criss Cross has taught me is to really pay attention to the text that I am reading, and this would be a great thing to pass on to students and other readers. Many times, when reading, I know that I become confused and just don’t understand what is happening. Then I realize that I missed a sentence, or filled a word in a sentence that wasn’t actually there, or just plain read it wrong. When reading comprehension begins to break down is when a reader has to carefully go back and step-by-step figure out where they went wrong. We all do it, and, thankfully, it is so easy to rectify.
I hate to burst your bubble, but......
A Reflection on "The Bubble Debacle"
Performing the “bubble experiment” at Haw River Elementary was an interesting experience. There were many factors that seemed to work against us, and few occurrences that seemed to help our instruction. The factors that I believe inhibited our instruction were the time frame, our interactions with the students, and the activity in and of itself. The only thing that seemed to actually work in our favor was the willingness and excitement of our students.
We had just under an hour to execute the bubble activity – in this time frame, we had to set up the experiment, cover all parts, create charts, allow our students to have some free thought and trial and error time, and clean up. All in all, the time frame just wasn’t sufficient. Another detriment to providing adequate instruction was our interaction with our group of students. As other members of my group noticed, I find equating an intangible concept to concrete examples the best way to make connections in a lesson. However, I honestly have no clue as to whether or not this strategy was beneficial to our students. The time I had spent with them so far during the day was not ample or conducive to my ascertaining their learning styles and preferences. Finally, the thread that weaves this whole thing together – the utter absurdity of doing this experiment with 2nd graders. The point of this experiment was to demonstrate the surface tension of water and how it decreases when different substances are added to the water. The goal of this experiment was not to TALK about or LECTURE about this change in surface tension. However, given the fact that over half of a group of 37 almost college graduates could not demonstrate this (i.e. the paper clip doesn’t float) this was a concept that had to be verbally explained to 7 year olds. To be honest, I don’t think they got it. To be really honest, I don’t think they cared.
However, the one positive thing about this experiment were our students themselves. The 4 students Michelle, Samantha & I were privileged enough to work with were excited, engaged, and at least willing to pretend that they understood surface tension. They participated with us, behaved as they were asked to, and showed interest in what we were saying to them. This is more than I can say for many students that I have met, observed, or worked with, and I must say it was a refreshing experience.
As for the question “What would you do differently?” I have only one answer. I wouldn’t do anything differently with this bubble experiment, because I wouldn’t do it again. I would find or create a different activity to demonstrate surface tension. Not only do I think that it would be beneficial to students actually demonstrate this concept, but I think that something like showing a Water Strider walking on water would be really cool.
Performing the “bubble experiment” at Haw River Elementary was an interesting experience. There were many factors that seemed to work against us, and few occurrences that seemed to help our instruction. The factors that I believe inhibited our instruction were the time frame, our interactions with the students, and the activity in and of itself. The only thing that seemed to actually work in our favor was the willingness and excitement of our students.
We had just under an hour to execute the bubble activity – in this time frame, we had to set up the experiment, cover all parts, create charts, allow our students to have some free thought and trial and error time, and clean up. All in all, the time frame just wasn’t sufficient. Another detriment to providing adequate instruction was our interaction with our group of students. As other members of my group noticed, I find equating an intangible concept to concrete examples the best way to make connections in a lesson. However, I honestly have no clue as to whether or not this strategy was beneficial to our students. The time I had spent with them so far during the day was not ample or conducive to my ascertaining their learning styles and preferences. Finally, the thread that weaves this whole thing together – the utter absurdity of doing this experiment with 2nd graders. The point of this experiment was to demonstrate the surface tension of water and how it decreases when different substances are added to the water. The goal of this experiment was not to TALK about or LECTURE about this change in surface tension. However, given the fact that over half of a group of 37 almost college graduates could not demonstrate this (i.e. the paper clip doesn’t float) this was a concept that had to be verbally explained to 7 year olds. To be honest, I don’t think they got it. To be really honest, I don’t think they cared.
However, the one positive thing about this experiment were our students themselves. The 4 students Michelle, Samantha & I were privileged enough to work with were excited, engaged, and at least willing to pretend that they understood surface tension. They participated with us, behaved as they were asked to, and showed interest in what we were saying to them. This is more than I can say for many students that I have met, observed, or worked with, and I must say it was a refreshing experience.
As for the question “What would you do differently?” I have only one answer. I wouldn’t do anything differently with this bubble experiment, because I wouldn’t do it again. I would find or create a different activity to demonstrate surface tension. Not only do I think that it would be beneficial to students actually demonstrate this concept, but I think that something like showing a Water Strider walking on water would be really cool.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Classroom Experiences - Literacy
The past few weeks in my elementary school, I have seen different aspects of literacy lessons. The first is of phonics, and the second is of writing. The phonics program my teacher is implementing in her classroom is called the “Phonics Dance.” It is a series of chants/songs and movements to help students in correlating a letter sound with a letter’s name and what the letter looks like. So far, I have only seen the students as they engaged in the alphabet. Starting next week though, they move on to a section called “Hunks & Chunks” where they learn sounds like sh-, ch-, th-, etc. and I am very excited to see what this looks and sounds like.
The writing lessons that I have seen have focused more on handwriting and how to correctly make letters than on an actual writer’s workshop. My cooperating teacher always works on their handwriting pre-writer’s workshop and she says it seems to really help them once they begin. They aren’t questioning how to make a letter, the difference between capitals and lower-case, etc. The handwriting program she uses is called “Handwriting Without Tears” and I really like it. The students have their own workbooks that correlate to her overheads, and the letters are put into categories based on where they start on the page and the shape they make. It is really interesting, and it is a program I would definitely recommend using.
The writing lessons that I have seen have focused more on handwriting and how to correctly make letters than on an actual writer’s workshop. My cooperating teacher always works on their handwriting pre-writer’s workshop and she says it seems to really help them once they begin. They aren’t questioning how to make a letter, the difference between capitals and lower-case, etc. The handwriting program she uses is called “Handwriting Without Tears” and I really like it. The students have their own workbooks that correlate to her overheads, and the letters are put into categories based on where they start on the page and the shape they make. It is really interesting, and it is a program I would definitely recommend using.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Literacy Reflection 1
This reading was interesting, and I found it very helpful to learn about the different models and ideologies that can be utilized in teaching literacy. I never really thought about the different ways to teach reading and literacy, I seemed to just assume that I would teach it in the same way that I was taught, using the same general tools and practices. Then I began to write my Literacy Autobiography, and I realized that I don’t remember how I was taught to read. How was I ever going to be successful at teaching something that I didn’t even remember learning???
It was great to read about the Inquiry Model, the one to which I felt the most drawn. If students can be drawn to any subject, they can then be motivated. It’s simple. If a student cares about something and feels connected to it, then their effort can and most likely will be put into it. This model seems not only to help engage students, but also to help facilitate deeper, more meaningful connections to literacy than simply passing a standardized test. In this educational era, that seems to be what we are always striving for – to help our students see past two days of testing and allow them to experience the actual joy of learning.
It was great to read about the Inquiry Model, the one to which I felt the most drawn. If students can be drawn to any subject, they can then be motivated. It’s simple. If a student cares about something and feels connected to it, then their effort can and most likely will be put into it. This model seems not only to help engage students, but also to help facilitate deeper, more meaningful connections to literacy than simply passing a standardized test. In this educational era, that seems to be what we are always striving for – to help our students see past two days of testing and allow them to experience the actual joy of learning.
Literacy Autobiography
Joy. Rapture. Bliss. READING!!!
“Ann Marie Lentz was a miracle worker.” These words came from my mother when I explained this assignment to her. I can barely remember my own name some days, so I asked her to explain on this comment. She explained to me that I could not read when I began Mrs. Lentz’s first grade class. In fact, I flat out told her I hated reading and would never read. During my first grade year, I skipped all typical literary steps. I did not read sentences and then graduate to short books, etc. I went from not being able to read to reading chapter books. My mom shook her head and finished her explanation with “that woman fed you chapter books for an entire year; and you devoured them.” 15 years later, I am still devouring them.
One of my roommates refuses to watch Jeopardy! with me. Let me assure you, this has nothing to do with my skill of answering the questions, but simply with my speed. I am able to read the question before Alex Trebek finishes reading it, and have shouted an (usually incorrect) answer out before she has heard the question. This type of “speed reading” has been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember. Probably around the third grade, I remember joining “The Babysitter’s Club” club. Every month, I would get mailed two brand new Babysitter’s Club books, just like thousands of other 8 year old girls throughout the country. I have a distinct memory of opening my package every month, sitting down, and reading both books, most likely without moving or taking any breaks.
This pattern of zoning out and devoting my self from the beginning of the book until the end has not changed. I spent two days last semester reading, in succession, all 4 books in the Twilight series. If I am reading a book and I am interested in it, it becomes a literal obsession. Its all I want to talk about, its all I want to do – it’s a little bit weird actually.
I don’t have any recollection of my actual process of learning to read. I have a vague memory of watching phonics videos about Mrs. U and Mr. R, but other than that, I draw a blank. I know that I have had a love of reading since I actually learned to read. I know that reading has been my strongest subject since the first grade. I wish I knew what exactly fostered my love of reading and books, it would be helpful in motivating my students in the future, but I truly do not know. I just love books.
“Ann Marie Lentz was a miracle worker.” These words came from my mother when I explained this assignment to her. I can barely remember my own name some days, so I asked her to explain on this comment. She explained to me that I could not read when I began Mrs. Lentz’s first grade class. In fact, I flat out told her I hated reading and would never read. During my first grade year, I skipped all typical literary steps. I did not read sentences and then graduate to short books, etc. I went from not being able to read to reading chapter books. My mom shook her head and finished her explanation with “that woman fed you chapter books for an entire year; and you devoured them.” 15 years later, I am still devouring them.
One of my roommates refuses to watch Jeopardy! with me. Let me assure you, this has nothing to do with my skill of answering the questions, but simply with my speed. I am able to read the question before Alex Trebek finishes reading it, and have shouted an (usually incorrect) answer out before she has heard the question. This type of “speed reading” has been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember. Probably around the third grade, I remember joining “The Babysitter’s Club” club. Every month, I would get mailed two brand new Babysitter’s Club books, just like thousands of other 8 year old girls throughout the country. I have a distinct memory of opening my package every month, sitting down, and reading both books, most likely without moving or taking any breaks.
This pattern of zoning out and devoting my self from the beginning of the book until the end has not changed. I spent two days last semester reading, in succession, all 4 books in the Twilight series. If I am reading a book and I am interested in it, it becomes a literal obsession. Its all I want to talk about, its all I want to do – it’s a little bit weird actually.
I don’t have any recollection of my actual process of learning to read. I have a vague memory of watching phonics videos about Mrs. U and Mr. R, but other than that, I draw a blank. I know that I have had a love of reading since I actually learned to read. I know that reading has been my strongest subject since the first grade. I wish I knew what exactly fostered my love of reading and books, it would be helpful in motivating my students in the future, but I truly do not know. I just love books.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Reading Reflection - due 9.11.09
I find the four strands of science very interesting, and fairly encompassing of everything that should be covered in a science classroom and the methods of teaching science overall. I find the prospect of actually teaching to and incorporating all of these strands incredibly daunting though. Just the incredible amount of content and strategies that should be covered, coupled with my own disinterest in science, makes it seem like an impossible task.
This article has lead to me to seriously ask myself – “How much do I actually have to KNOW in order to teach my students?” To an extent, I find the answer obvious. To follow Strand 2 – Generating Scientific Evidence – it is obvious that I would need the skills of the Scientific Method. I would need to know their order, and how my students should follow them in an effort to correctly generate and gather scientific data. I must admit though, that I am not sure how much farther than that my actual current knowledge needs to go. Is it acceptable to learn WITH my students? I don’t mean to sound crass or lazy with this, but I wonder if the previous knowledge that I have is enough, or if I need to supplement my knowledge of science now, as is obviously happening in this methods course. I just wonder, given that I was not really taught science as a child using the four strands, how successful I will be in imparting them on my future students.
As for the Trouble With Textbooks article, the portion that resonated most with me is under the heading “Just the Facts.” The overwhelming amount of factual information and the seemingly unending process of memorizing these facts are like a recurring nightmare for me. I honestly can’t remember a teacher making the real connections, or aiding us as students in learning a process and an explanation. As long as a student could spit out the words they wanted to hear, they seemed to think we understood. From my perspective now, I understand how little I actually learned, and how much that is affecting me at this point in my educational career. I find it empowering and exciting to read this portion of the article and gain some of the skills and information I may need to help my own students make these connections.
This article has lead to me to seriously ask myself – “How much do I actually have to KNOW in order to teach my students?” To an extent, I find the answer obvious. To follow Strand 2 – Generating Scientific Evidence – it is obvious that I would need the skills of the Scientific Method. I would need to know their order, and how my students should follow them in an effort to correctly generate and gather scientific data. I must admit though, that I am not sure how much farther than that my actual current knowledge needs to go. Is it acceptable to learn WITH my students? I don’t mean to sound crass or lazy with this, but I wonder if the previous knowledge that I have is enough, or if I need to supplement my knowledge of science now, as is obviously happening in this methods course. I just wonder, given that I was not really taught science as a child using the four strands, how successful I will be in imparting them on my future students.
As for the Trouble With Textbooks article, the portion that resonated most with me is under the heading “Just the Facts.” The overwhelming amount of factual information and the seemingly unending process of memorizing these facts are like a recurring nightmare for me. I honestly can’t remember a teacher making the real connections, or aiding us as students in learning a process and an explanation. As long as a student could spit out the words they wanted to hear, they seemed to think we understood. From my perspective now, I understand how little I actually learned, and how much that is affecting me at this point in my educational career. I find it empowering and exciting to read this portion of the article and gain some of the skills and information I may need to help my own students make these connections.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Science Autobiography
Joy. Rapture. Bliss. Science?
I have the briefest of memories of standing in my kitchen, most likely around age 7. My older brother, who was 11 or 12 at the time, was teaching me how to write in invisible ink. Basically, you dipped a paintbrush into some mixture (all I remember is it containing lemon juice) and writing on black construction paper. Then we would put it in the oven until the words or pictures appeared on the paper. I have no clue what prompted us to do this experiment, or, truly, why my sensible mother would ever have left us alone while using the oven at an age when we couldn’t even ride to school without getting into a fight. The glaring memory I have of this is it being the last time that I truly enjoyed a science lesson.
In school, I have always gravitated towards the subjects of literature and social studies. Science and math were and are the bane of my existence. I like to be able to think critically about a problem and come up with several different solutions. As a general statement, in science and math, there are different ways to arrive at the same solution, but very rarely are there different solutions. My personal theory is that the way that my brain is wired and my love of reading and books has never really facilitated in me a great love of science.
I remember taking AP Chemistry, the last science class that I have taken to date, as a Junior in High School. My teacher opened our class with the following sentences “Just so you know, I’m applying for my National Boards this year, so this class isn’t my first priority. Keep that in consideration when you’re putting effort into your homework or studying. Thanks.” As a future teacher, I am appalled by these statements, and her attitude toward us that year. As a student who didn’t particularly like science, I was thrilled.
Some things that I find interesting about the subject of science are different facts about chemical reactions, and how different combinations can lead to such different reactions and a different process of events. I also find pretty much any experiment involving a Bunsen burner interesting. Though I must admit that it is stereotypical to associate Bunsen burners and chemical experiments with science, they are the two things that I find most interesting. Plus, anything that can be suspended over an open flame and studied is just too cool.
I think that my lack of interest in the subject of science has to do with the way in which it was presented to me in my early education. Science always seemed to be such a task. It was never an enjoyable or exciting experiment. It was something my teachers had to fit in and usually made a huge fuss over. Something along the lines of reading, which we got to do every day and seemed so uncomplicated, was much more appealing to me.
I have the briefest of memories of standing in my kitchen, most likely around age 7. My older brother, who was 11 or 12 at the time, was teaching me how to write in invisible ink. Basically, you dipped a paintbrush into some mixture (all I remember is it containing lemon juice) and writing on black construction paper. Then we would put it in the oven until the words or pictures appeared on the paper. I have no clue what prompted us to do this experiment, or, truly, why my sensible mother would ever have left us alone while using the oven at an age when we couldn’t even ride to school without getting into a fight. The glaring memory I have of this is it being the last time that I truly enjoyed a science lesson.
In school, I have always gravitated towards the subjects of literature and social studies. Science and math were and are the bane of my existence. I like to be able to think critically about a problem and come up with several different solutions. As a general statement, in science and math, there are different ways to arrive at the same solution, but very rarely are there different solutions. My personal theory is that the way that my brain is wired and my love of reading and books has never really facilitated in me a great love of science.
I remember taking AP Chemistry, the last science class that I have taken to date, as a Junior in High School. My teacher opened our class with the following sentences “Just so you know, I’m applying for my National Boards this year, so this class isn’t my first priority. Keep that in consideration when you’re putting effort into your homework or studying. Thanks.” As a future teacher, I am appalled by these statements, and her attitude toward us that year. As a student who didn’t particularly like science, I was thrilled.
Some things that I find interesting about the subject of science are different facts about chemical reactions, and how different combinations can lead to such different reactions and a different process of events. I also find pretty much any experiment involving a Bunsen burner interesting. Though I must admit that it is stereotypical to associate Bunsen burners and chemical experiments with science, they are the two things that I find most interesting. Plus, anything that can be suspended over an open flame and studied is just too cool.
I think that my lack of interest in the subject of science has to do with the way in which it was presented to me in my early education. Science always seemed to be such a task. It was never an enjoyable or exciting experiment. It was something my teachers had to fit in and usually made a huge fuss over. Something along the lines of reading, which we got to do every day and seemed so uncomplicated, was much more appealing to me.
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