Listening

Listening is a very important language arts skill. As future teachers, we must model active listening to our students. As stated in our textbook, Language Arts: Patterns of Practice, Gail Tompkins (2009) provides strategies for teachers to help all students benefit from listening. One idea that I really liked was reading aloud and then pausing to “ask students to identify the idea[s] being presented” (Tompkins, 2009, 225). While students are responding, “teachers list […] responses on the chalkboard,” which helps visual learners too (Tompkins, 2009, 225). I believe so much can be conveyed or understood through listening. For instance, listening to Dr. Duncan read Sahara Special in class is so much fun to me. I love to hear the inflection in her voice as she reads the different characters. When a student reads the same book to herself, who is to say that the same context will be conveyed?

Propaganda is a huge topic. I love those days when my kids decide to turn the television off and listen to the silence. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, I am amazed at how much fun we all have. Turning off the TV and the radio means there are no commercials or advertisements being thrown at my family. I understand that these ads help pay for the music we hear or the shows we watch, but I feel it is crazy by how these ads can influence most people. For instance, my nine-year-old son, Kieran, can watch something on TV and he would call me to come see a specific commercial. He would say “Hey mommy. We need to get that OxyClean or the Wonder Putty!” The amount of commercials Kieran saw seemed to increase over time, and I figured that I needed to break the news to him: we cannot always believe what we see on TV. Kieran even had to purchase the infamous Floam and the Blendi-Pens, with his own birthday money, only to later find out this stuff was useless.

Free Post on School Visits

My field experiences have been great! Because I have been observing/participating in my cooperating teacher’s room, I have been able to establish a better relationship for when I take over her class in the fall for student teaching. (FYI-I am in a 6^th grade Language Arts classroom.)

I do not have one favorite visit. I LOVE all of my visits. I LOVE going into the school environment. I LOVE walking into the Sixth Grade Building and seeing all the students. I am sure my overwhelming excitement shows through to the students.

I am learning new ways to deal with middle school students on a daily basis. Although I do not agree with all of the teaching techniques my teacher uses, I am gaining a different perspective as to why she does certain things. This learning experience is very necessary on the road to helping me become a great teacher in the future.

Please Help Me!

I am trying to make my picture appear when I follow other blogs from class. I posted an image on my blog, but this same image does NOT appear when follow. I have tried every little setting thing on this dang blog with no luck!

Reflection 03/29/09

I wonder if what I want would be a mixture between Literature Focus and Thematic Unit? I want to have an overall theme, but I also want to read books that the whole class can discuss. How about I choose several different novels that fall under a broad topic so students can choose between the options I give them? This allows for student choice in reading groups, yet all of the books are focusing on a specific theme or author.

For example, I could choose Christopher Paul Curtis as the author. I could also choose several books connected to an overall theme such as historical fiction around a specific time period, maybe even what they may be studying in Social Studies.

Sharon Draper books, maybe? The book Holes, and others from the same author? There are so many possibilities on this topic. I really don’t know which to choose from. Because I have only started reading YA novels, (since EDU-255), I do not have a lot of knowledge of which books are appropriate to teach or if these book have been very successful in the classroom before. I know that even though I would love to do Literature Focus, I don’t believe that this option allows the students much room to decide what the class reads.

As for activities, I guess I need to decide on a topic/book first. Since I have been observing in my cooperating teacher’s class, I have been taking notes on the different novels the students read. I hope that through this class, among my other classes, I will become more schooled in the novels middle school students would benefit from reading in my own classroom.

Reflection 03/15/09

Yay for Free Blog!!!! Just kidding. I actually like having guiding questions. I always have trouble just free writing. Okay, so . . . hmmmm. I did enjoy spring break. Even though the snow kept all three kids home on Monday, I enjoyed my break. Don't get me wrong; I absolutely love my kids. I was really looking forward to some quiet time. Anyway. I did observe at West Millbrook Middle several days. I loved being in the school environment. I cannot wait to be teaching in my own classroom! I hope everyone has a great week. I will see you ladies on Monday!