Final Thoughts on Class

Which sites were most useful?

            Throughout this class I was able to research many different resources that I plan to use in the future in my classroom.  The one resource that I use the most is Read, Write, Think, and I have even used it in the lessons that I am currently teaching in the 8^th grade classroom that I’m interring in.  I feel like there are a lot of other resources that would be very helpful to me, and I am happy that I have been introduced to all of the different ones.  The lesson plans on this deal with all sorts of lessons that are multimodal, and I have found myself wanting to let students be creative in my classroom. Overall there are many sites that I plan to keep on my favorites list and use as a guide when I start in my own classroom and during student teaching.

 

 Will you continue finding resources?

I do plan to continue finding resources that I can use while teaching. I have found the internet to be very helpful when it comes to generating ideas to use in the classroom.  There are so many resources that are there to help me and use as a guide when it comes to creating a lesson plan, and I will continue researching and finding different things in my classroom.

 

Will you continue with your blog?

            I would like to keep my blog, I will just have to make sure that I have time to actually update it and use it effectively.  I really like looking at other people’s ideas and the lessons that they have chosen because I realize that we all think differently and I like to look at other ways/lessons to use in my classroom.  The only thing that I worry about is finding time to do this once I start teaching since there will be so many other things that I have to do.

 

Overall, I have enjoyed this class and found it very helpful when it comes to finding resources; I just think that it should be given in block I or before then because there are so many other assignments that are required during Block II.

 

Bailey

 

Lesson # 2 – Verbs and Verb Tenses

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAVerbsAndVerbTenses79.htm

 

Outcome: When they finish this lesson, students will be able to identify a verb in a sentence. They will also understand past, present and future tenses of verbs, particularly the verbs to be and to have. Hopefully the students will be doing the same sort of verb conjugation simultaneously in their French classes, so that the two courses will complement one another.

 

Throughout this lesson students will be completing lessons using different verbs and looking at verb tenses.  This grammar lesson would include many different ways to explain verbs and their meaning and I could see myself using this in a 7^th grade classroom.  In 7^th grade there is a huge focus on grammar, and this would be a lesson that should keep students engaged.  Throughout the lesson students would before having class discussions, looking up meaning, filling out charts, and then implement ting the information that they have learned into a final activity.  This is a hard concept for many people to grasp and I think that this would be an easy way for middle school students to better understand the actual meaning of verbs and how to use them correctly.

Lesson plan #1 Summary

Cooking Up Descriptive Language: Designing Restaurant Menus

Author

Traci Gardner Blacksburg, Virginia

Grade Band

6-8

Estimated Lesson Time

Four 50-minute sessions

Overview

Students explore the genre of menus by analyzing existing menus from local restaurants, including a review of adjectives and descriptive writing based on the language included in the menu examples. After establishing the characteristics of the genre, students work in groups to choose a restaurant and then create their own custom menus. The final menus can be customized to fit the needs of your class. In advanced classes or situations where you can allow extra time for writing and publishing the menus, have students create fully detailed menus that include foods for all meals as well as details about the restaurant itself, such history of the restaurant or background on the foods. If time is limited, arrange students in groups and have each group design one page of the menu (e.g., one group does breakfasts, another does lunches).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view_printer_friendly.asp?id=842

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could see myself using this lesson in my classroom to help my students with using descriptive words to describe information.  This would be considered a multimodal lesson, because students would be creating menus that they would then share with the class.  As a follow up activity to this lesson I would ask students to create one of the meals on their list and then have a day in which all of the students could eat their own meal, or sample others.  This lesson connects to a lot of the different strands that are presented in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for English in the Middle Grades classrooms.

            I personally have a hard time when it comes to describing something, so I think that this lesson would be very beneficial to students.  The English class that I am currently in really struggles with describing the information that they are thinking in the essays on their test, and I could see this being very helpful to them.  Plus the activity is something that they do not usually do, and this would help them with their writing skills before they go to the high school next year.

 

A Professional Development Initiative for Developing Approaches to Vocabulary Instruction With Secondary Mathematics, Art, Science, and English Teachers

Key Concepts	A. My thoughts before reading the article	B. My thoughts after or while reading the article—what I would change or add to my thinking
1. How can vocabulary instruction be useful in content areas other than English?	Vocabulary is important in all content areas because it improves student literacy.  Teacher can use vocabulary in other content areas to help with comprehension of the content that they are teaching and make sure that students are getting the essential information that they need, or that they will be tested on.	Vocabulary is important because it allows all types of learners to be able to have a better understanding/comprehension of the words that are being taught.
2. What is meant by “rich representation of words”?	A rich representation of words are the words that will best help students remember the information that the teacher is teaching them.  These key words should be taught to students throughout their lessons and they should be the words that the students will be able to explain and remember after they are taught the content that they will need.	This means allowing and teaching a student to associate a word with more than one meaning. It means more than associating a word with a definition.
3. What is meant by “word features or how words work”?	Word features are the images that students are able to associate with the different words that they will be reading throughout the content.  The ways that words work are the features that are associated with these words and the ways that you can explain these words.  All of this depends on the ways that the students will be able to remember these words.	This is when a student learns how a word works or the history of a word.
4. Instruction: Definitions of words	Students should be taught clear Should make sure that the definitions are clear and simple so that students will be able to remember them.	This is when students learn different meaning and roots of a word.  They go beyond the simple definition that is given in a dictionary.
5. Instruction: Synonyms and antonyms	Synonyms and antonyms are words that are similar and opposites.  Students should be given different names/key words that can be used to remember these types of words.  Students should know what these words mean and how to make inferences between words.	Students learn more about the word, and then apply them to activities in the classroom so that they will have a better understanding.
6. Instruction: Visual representations & categories / associations	Pictures are very helpful and students should be given visuals as much as possible when it comes to making connections and teaching the content. Students will be able to remember more of the content if that can group it with a picture that they are shown.	Visual representations allow students to be able to organize the information that they learn into several different categories that will help them with the actual meaning of a word.
7. Instruction: Situation/usage & context	Situations are great examples that can be used for students to be able to remember the content.  This information will be very helpful for students and serve as a method for them to be able to remember content information.	Students can look for context clues and highlight the information that they find important in order to better understand a word.
8. Instruction: Written and oral discourse	It is important for students to work on their writing skills and be able to write down information that they are working on in their lessons.  This content will be very valuable and serve as a resource for them to look at and remember the content.	Students should write down their research but actual projects and presentations should be multimodal, and students should be able to be creative in their presentations.
9. Instruction: Etymology & roots, prefix, suffix	This type of information is also important because it can be linked in all types of content areas such as science, math, and English.  Students should have a clear understand of all of this information prior to learning the content.	Learning the history of words in multiple forms.  Students should be able to look at the features of a word. Students should be able to demonstrate their learning through different types of performance and assessments.
10. Instruction: Part of speech & form of words	Effectively knowing how to incorporate and use words and speech will be very important when students are learning content area information for other core curriculum besides English.	If students study the roots of words then they should be able to have a better concept of the word and its meanings.  If they know the meaning they should be able to effectively use it in a sentence.
11. Instruction: Related words	If students know related words then they will be able to make connections while they are learning the content that is being presented.	Related words will only be effective if students know the actual meaning of a word.  Then they will be able to categorize this word and use it in their work.  This will also help them to make sure that they are using the right word in their work.
12. Literature Circles	These can be helpful in other areas if students are discussing content.  Students should be placed in groups that will work effectively and all students will be able to work on and learn the content that is being taught.	Students read different texts that relate to a central theme.  Students have roles in which they share the information that they have read.  After they share in their groups they present the information to the rest of the class.
13. Instruction: Multigenre reading & writings	This type of instruction allows students to share their creativity, and also produce work in many different ways.  This is a great type of instruction that all types of learners will enjoy.	Students use a variety of information from different resources to present information in a form that is intriguing to them.  Teachers should give their students examples of different artifacts before asking them to present.
14. Instruction: Poems in content areas	Poems should be tools that students can use to relate the content information to their own personal lives.  This can be helpful if students do not clearly understand the information that is being taught.	Students should be able to incorporate all of their information by using technology.  Technology is emerging and students want to use it for presentations in their classrooms.  Poems are good if the students are using effective materials that they have learned or studied.
15. Final Thoughts: I felt like I knew a lot of the information that was presented in this article because most of my college professors implement all of this in the lessons that they teach us for our classes.  Overall, I found the article helpful and plan to use these strategies in my classroom one day.  I think that I was thinking of a different approach when I answered this questions and I was focusing on how I would use this information in cross curricula courses.

The Mulitgenre Paper: Increasing Interest, Motivation, and Functionality in research

Teachers have decided to change their ideas in creating research based papers, and they are going to let their students have other ways to complete these projects.  Some teachers are still assigning research papers, but they are letting students choose the topics in which they want to research and write about.  Some teachers let teams/groups of students work together to complete a research paper of personal interest.  Teacher used many other techniques and found that students tended to be a lot more engaged while creating these papers. 

Teachers have also given students options as to different types of work that they can create and ways to present the information.  Students have had to think deeper about the information that they are presenting and make sure that it connects to the information that is asked of by the teacher.  Teachers need to create examples of these multimodal projects before requiring their students to complete them.  There are also many different forms of these projects that can be created, and teachers should have a list of the different type of work that they want students to present.

 Teachers should also have a list of guidelines or a rubric created before they ask their students to present information, so that the students will know exactly what the teachers are looking for.  Teachers had problems with this because they did not feel like their students were completing the right amount of research that they should have for the project.  One thing that teachers have found is that students really enjoy completing these types of papers/projects because it allows them to be creative and express their own personal ideas.  Teachers also found that some students have ended up getting more from these projects than they originally thought possible because students were researching other topics related to theirs, such as the Emily Dickenson project that one student completed.  Students should also be asked to reflect on what they were able to get from completing these types of projects.  This will let teachers know what they should change for the next multimodal project that they will ask students to complete.  As future teachers we should always give out student’s options and let them create work that is truly engaging for them. 

 

1.  Since student is given so many options, what is the best way to grade students and the types of work that they produce?
2. How many different types of multimodal projects should teacher complete in order to have an adequate amount of examples for students to view?
3. Should you check on students throughout their research process in order to make sure that they are completing an adequate amount of research?

“I” poems: Invitations for students to deepen literary understanding

Students are used to writing in first person narratives, and really like to talk about themselves through their narratives.  Writing can help students with their comprehension of the reading that they have completed.  Writing just lets students talk about all of their thoughts that they have had while reading.  Teachers should complete the “I” poems in order to have a better understanding of the assignment that their students are completing.  While reading novels students can also create poetry that will help them with their reading comprehension.  Giving students choices of different topics that they can write about will help make their poetry decisions easier when creating the poem.  Throughout all of the poems students should try to share their own personal experiences and details, and then connect them to their writing.  These “I” poems should be completed before their readings.  Then students should write “I” poems after they have read and connect the content to themselves.  In some of these poems students are given examples or starts to their lines, and then asked to complete each line.  This will show their comprehension after reading the novel or story.          

            “I” poems can also be effectively used after reading aloud to students in the classroom.  Ask students to think as if they were the character that you just read about, and then let them fill in the blanks for the poem.  This is one way that you can check your student’s comprehension of the story that you have read to them.  While creating these poems students have to think deeper and really imagine what it is that they are going to say.  Students want to make personal connections, and they want to be noticed; they can effectively do this by creating “I” poems.

 

1.  Is this really appropriate for students and does it connects to the standards that teachers have to meet?
2. How should we grade this type of work when a lot of personal information is included?
3. Do you think that students are truly engaged while completing this activity?

Reading Strategy #4

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Title your post: Reading Strategy #4

 

Your Name:  Bailey Marrs

 

Name of Strategy: KWL Chart

 

Source (Where did this come from?):  Study Guides and Strategies

 

Link to the Strategy: http://www.studygs.net/texred3.htm

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

What we Know what we Want to know and what we Learned

Students will be going through information that they are about to read, and this is a pre reading strategy that would be implemented in the classroom.  First students would have a chart in which they would write things that they already know about the material that they are reading.  Then they would write things that they want to know about the reading, or that they would like further detail on.  After reading the material they would be able to share exactly what they have learned from the reading.  This makes the students think at higher levels and keeps them engaged.  This type of strategy could also lead to students being able to further their reading skill in the future by furthering their research on a topic.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

Competency Goal 5- The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.

5.01 Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:

• using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
• reading self-selected literature and other materials of interest to the individual.
• reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
• assuming a leadership role in student-teacher reading conferences.
• leading small group discussions.
• taking an active role in whole class seminars.
• analyzing the effects of elements such as plot, theme, characterization, style, mood, and tone.
• discussing the effects of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, flashback, allusion, irony, and symbolism.
• analyzing and evaluating themes and central ideas in literature and other texts in relation to personal and societal issues.
• extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences, and within various contexts.
• analyzing and evaluating the relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts, and/or experiences.

 

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

This strategy could be useful in a classroom to really help get students engaged and get them thinking about the reading.  Students would be able to expand on their knowledge by looking at the what we want to know section of the chart.  I would have a type of reading that they students are already familiar with, and then let them use this chart to see what else they want to know.  After completing the reading we would go back (as a group) and discuss the information that we were able to learn from this.  Overall students would be constantly thinking and this could better their reading skills.

Reading Strategy # 3

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Your Name: Bailey Marrs

 

Name of Strategy: Survey! Question! Read! Recite! Review!

 

Source (Where did this come from?):  Study Guides and Strategies

 

Link to the Strategy: http://www.studygs.net/texred2.htm

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

Survey! Question! Read! Recite! Review!

Before you read, Survey the chapter:	the title, headings, and subheadings captions under pictures, charts, graphs or maps review questions or teacher-made study guides introductory and concluding paragraphs summary
Question while you are surveying:	Turn the title, headings, and/or subheadings into questions; Read questions at the end of the chapters or after each subheading; Ask yourself, “What did my instructor say about this chapter or subject when it was assigned?” Ask yourself, “What do I already know about this subject?” Note: If it is helpful to you, write out these questions for consideration.  This variation is called SQW3R
When you begin to Read:	Look for answers to the questions you first raised; Answer questions at the beginning or end of chapters or study guides Reread captions under pictures, graphs, etc. Note all the underlined, italicized, bold printed words or phrases Study graphic aids Reduce your speed for difficult passages Stop and reread parts which are not clear Read only a section at a time and recite after each section
Recite after you’ve read a section:	Orally ask yourself questions about what you have just read or summarize, in your own words, what you read Take notes from the text but write the information in your own words Underline or highlight important points you’ve just read Use the method of recitation which best suits your particular learning style but remember, the more senses you use the more likely you are to remember what you read – i.e., TRIPLE STRENGTH LEARNING: Seeing, saying, hearing- QUADRUPLE STRENGTH LEARNING: Seeing , saying , hearing, writing!!!
Review: an ongoing process.	Day One After you have read and recited the entire chapter, write questions in the margins for those points you have highlighted or underlined. If you took notes while reciting, write questions for the notes you have taken in the left hand margins of your notebook. Day Two Page through the text and/or your notebook to re-acquaint yourself with the important points. Cover the right hand column of your text/note-book and orally ask yourself the questions in the left hand margins. Orally recite or write the answers from memory. Make “flash cards” for those questions which give you difficulty. Develop mnemonic devices for material which need to be memorized. Days Three, Four and Five Alternate between your flash cards and notes and test yourself (orally or in writing) on the questions you formulated. Make additional flash cards if necessary. Weekend Using the text and notebook, make a Table of Contents – list all the topics and sub-topics you need to know from the chapter. From the Table of Contents, make a Study Sheet/ Spatial Map. Recite the information orally and in your own words as you put the Study Sheet/Map together. Now that you have consolidated all the information you need for that chapter, periodically review the Sheet/Map so that at test time you will not have to cram.

First students will complete a survey on the information that they are reading.  This will help to get students involved and engaged in the material that they will be reading. After that they will be questioning every little possible thing throughout the book that they can, in order to have a better understanding of all of the information they are going to be learning about.  After that students will actually be reading the material that has been assigned to them and documenting this reading through a number of different strategies.  Then students will recite the information by asking themselves questions about all of the different things that have been read.  Students will then recite the information by quizzing and testing themselves and making sure that they have retained the important information that they needed to.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

Competency Goal 5- The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.

5.01 Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:

• using effective reading strategies to match type of text.
• reading self-selected literature and other materials of interest to the individual.
• reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.
• assuming a leadership role in student-teacher reading conferences.
• leading small group discussions.
• taking an active role in whole class seminars.
• analyzing the effects of elements such as plot, theme, characterization, style, mood, and tone.
• discussing the effects of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, flashback, allusion, irony, and symbolism.
• analyzing and evaluating themes and central ideas in literature and other texts in relation to personal and societal issues.
• extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences, and within various contexts.
• analyzing and evaluating the relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts, and/or experiences.

5.02 Study the characteristics of literary genres (fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry) through:

• reading a variety of literature and other text (e.g., young adult novels, short stories, biographies, plays, free verse, narrative poems).
• evaluating what impact genre-specific characteristics have on the meaning of the text.
• evaluating how the author’s choice and use of a genre shapes the meaning of the literary work.
• evaluating what impact literary elements have on the meaning of the text.

 

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

I think that this strategy would be effective in a classroom. I would assign my students some type of reading that might be above their level. Then have them go through and follow all of the steps that are listed in this strategy.  After doing that it would help the student with their overall reading skills, and it would also prove that they know and have retained all of the information that was presented and that they had to read.

Reading Strategy #2

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Title your post: Reading Strategy # 2

 

Your Name: Bailey Marrs

 

Name of Strategy: Brainstorming

 

Source (Where did this come from?):  Study Guides and Strategies

 

Link to the Strategy: http://www.studygs.net/preread.htm

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

This is a prereadinf strategy that will be very beneficial for students to complete in order to have a better understanding when they are reading a book.  If they share what they think they know and then compare it to the actual story then they will have a better understanding of overthing that is going on throughout the activity/reading.

Brainstorming:
Examine the title of the selection you are about to read
List all the information that comes to mind about this title
Use these pieces of information to recall and understand the material
Use this knowledge to reframe or reorder what you know, or to note what you disagree with, for further research

Explain what part of the standard:

Competency Goal 4 – The learner will continue to refine critical thinking skills and create criteria to evaluate print and non-print materials.

4.01 Analyze the purpose of the author or creator and the impact of that purpose by:

• monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard, and/or viewed.
• evaluating any bias, apparent or hidden messages, emotional factors, and/or propaganda techniques.
• evaluating the underlying assumptions of the author/creator.
• evaluating the effects of author’s craft on the reader/viewer/listener.

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

This strategy will work in a classroom in a pre reading scenario.  Students will be able to make inferences and guess about the information that they think they will be reading.  This will help the students overall comprehension of the book that they are going to be reading, and will help to further their knowledge before they even start reading the book.  It also allows students to think deeper about the information that they are reading and how question their thoughts and ideas.

 

Reading Strategy #1

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Title your post:  Reading Strategy #1

 

Your Name: Bailey Marrs

 

Name of Strategy: 5 W’s Chart

 

Source (Where did this come from?):  This Source came from the Education Place with its list of Graphic Organizers.

 

Link to the Strategy: http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/5Ws.pdf

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

Students will use this strategy for reading comprehension, and finding the main W’s in a story/Chapter.  In my class I would have students read a chapter of a book and then answer the questions:

What happened?

Who was there?

Why did it happen?

When did it happen?

Where did it happen?

This helps the student to find the main parts of a chapter and have reasoning for everything that they just read.  It also works on their comprehension skills because students will have to remember main facts from what they have just read.

 

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

Competency Goal 5 – The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.

5.01 Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive literacy program by:

Using effective reading strategies to match type of text.

Reading self-selected literature and other materials of interest to the individual.

Reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.

Assuming a leadership role in student-teacher reading conferences.

leading small group discussions.

taking an active role in whole class seminars.

analyzing the effects of elements such as plot, theme, characterization, style, mood, and tone.

discussing the effects of such literary devices as figurative language, dialogue, flashback, allusion, irony, and symbolism.

analyzing and evaluating themes and central ideas in literature and other texts in relation to personal and societal issues.

extending understanding by creating products for different purposes, different audiences, and within various contexts.

analyzing and evaluating the relationships between and among characters, ideas, concepts, and/or experiences.

 

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

This strategy will work because students will have to go back and look at the important information throughout the chapter.  The what, who, why, when, and how are the main parts of a book/chapter, and students should be able to answer these key points.  This really furthers a students reading comprehension skill.  If they can point out these main points it also shows that the students has actually read and understood the information that they were reading.  This would be a post reading activity because students would have to recall information that they had previously read.