Excitement In My Classroom

This Literacy focused class has been extremely beneficial for me as an intern next year and a future teacher. I have truly valued everything we have discussed not only from class readings and scholarly articles but especially from discussions with my classmates. I feel that their experiences which are none like mine all bring something new to the table. Each one has their own individual and unique way of teaching and having their own viewpoint on literacy and education. I value their diversity and feel we are all going to bring something different to our classrooms but have gained the central knowledge as a foundation to build on so much more we will learn. This is very important as future teachers to take what we have learned and build on that in our classroom. This also hits on the idea of excitement in my classroom. I know my objective of a teacher is to teach, but how can I do it in a way that is exciting and meaningful to the students. I want my students to be engaged in what they are doing and excited. I do not want them to be bored or to have an attitude of this is pointless, stupid, not fun, ect. I know I have had many teachers who have made my learning very fun and exciting. I think it is important that we look back on what they might have done to engage us as learners. I know one big issue in the classroom is worksheets. Every student seems to hate worksheets and feels they are busy work and a waste of time. I do agree to some extent but feel that at some point they may be necessary and we as teachers need to use that as an exciting and engaging tool for our students. We cannot let one piece of paper hinder our student's ability to learn and be excited to learn. I also feel that classroom management and the classroom environment is a start of how to get your students excited about learning in the classroom. Also, I strongly feel that technology is not an important part of the classroom for students excitement but crucial. As noted in various blogs, classroom discussion, and presentations we are in a world of emerging technology. Everything is technological and as a student immersed and having the privillege of being involved with technology I feel I need to use this blessing to teach my students and use it in the classroom. We have learned so many skills and ways to use literacy and technology. I know I will take these skills learned and definitely use them.
I will take all of these skills learned and use them!

Book Clubs

For a final project/presentation our TE 402 class is participating in Book Clubs. We will explore a book as a teacher planning for a literature unit. Each book club group has received information and sources of various instructional models for literature exploration.
When given book club group time, my group members Erika and Sarah decided to use a well known children's literature book by Roald Dahl called, Matilda. As a group we all enjoyed reading it when we were younger and especially loved the movie that was based on Roald Dahl's book. We all agreed that the book was entertaining, happy, sad, and other various emotions that students in grades 4/5 would enjoy and be able to relate too. Also the book holds many themes from personal struggle, educational value one holds, parental power, teacher power, ect.
We thought doing the instructional model of reading workshops would be best for our book. Here is also what are main ideas for doing our phase 2: Thinking Like a Teacher may look like:

Book: Matilda Roald Dahl
Grade Level: 4th Grade
Instructional Model: Reading and Writing Workshops
(2 week unit)
p.414 Tompkins

Possible activities:
1. Start off as a classroom read to get students started in the book
2. Read two chapters a night for homework.
3. Set time during the day
4. Reading Logs for homework everyday
5. Time to discuss in class
6. (Books on tape/books on CD for differentiation of all learners)
7. Movie at end of unit
8. Mini lessons within unit
9. Opposites Project (Expansion project) various interpretations of opposites. Easy for kids who do not speak English, not all literary.


Mini Lessons: (Ideas..)
1. Predict and Confirm
2. Identify with characters
3. Connect to ones’ own life and world
4. Identify unfamiliar words
5. Notice opposites (Quote: “I’m smart you’re dumb, I’m big you’re small, ect…”)

Various Expansion Project: Options (can make a newsletters, poster, write a letter to administrator (activist approach), write a song, make a play, poem, ect…

We obviously are putting it together still but I am exited and eager to address various ideas for students using this book and our instructional model. I do believe our classmates will be engaged and will take a way knowledgeable information they they may use in their future classroom.

Cambourne Article

I really liked the Cambourne article, "Toward an educationally relevant theory of literacy learning: Twenty years of inquiry". I thought it was very informational and really enjoyed our class discussion on the articles. When breaking into small groups our group chatted a lot about the concept of literacy and praise, literacy immersion, and the idea of engagement of literacy in the classroom. We felt like the article covered extremely well all of these things and gave a lot of applicable stories. My main point was the idea of literacy immersion. I think that literacy needs to be all around the classroom and students need to be experienced to literacy. This is is important because it is not one particular subject but a lifestyle of language and learning that each child needs to be immersed in.

New Literacies Exploration Reflection

In doing my New Literacies Exploration project I chose to research social literacy. For my new technology I chose to do blogs. I chose social literacy because it is something I am very passionate about. I am a very social person and any means of communication and expressing and sharing of ideas I am for. I felt that because I had only a handful of experiences on blogging (which come from blogging in this class) had lead me to make my own blog and display its importance of social literacy.
In my blog I created a visual display of the importance of social literacy and provided various examples of various technologies you can add to your blog. I can honestly say I enjoyed doing this project.
Even in the beginning of the year when making our Literacy Concept Maps, I had no idea about the numerous types of literacies that there are. I was so focused that literacy only consisted of reading and writing that I was enthralled after reading the article, "Literacy for the 21st Century Language Learner". I learned so much from that article and my knowledge grew even more after looking at my classmates' exploration projects. (Which were all so informational and well thought out!)
But, in doing this project it made me realize the importance of social literacy. That we all have ideas and feelings and for one to express them why not use technology. This class is a great example of incorporating blogs and social literacy. As students and future teachers we are able to post our knowledge, thoughts, feelings, ideas, ect on a page that not only our classmates can view but people around the globe. We are learning and creating valuable knowledge from other's blog posts. Plus, you are not only limited to reading such a blog post but you have the opportunity to add comments. I think this is a great way to start conversation with one another and extends the social literacy aspect again.
Thinking ahead as a future I know I will want to incorporate blogs in my classroom. Although younger elementary studens may not grasp the concept of blogging and of course the idea of typing comes first I could always have a blog as an informational Classroom Page. It could be News from Miss.Brewer's Class or something like that. Just adding information about what is going on and letting not only the students have access to read and maybe add something but being able to keep the social part/communication alive between the teacher and parents.
Also, if I am wanting to do high school special education I could definitely use this as another classroom news page or have the students work with blogging and sharing their own ideas and feelings. Options are not limited with blogging and voicing one's ideas.

Overall, I think this has been a great exploration. I have learned a lot from classmate's ideas and their projects. I am very happy with the new knowledge I now have and will definitely incorporate these new literacies in my classroom. Also, it is important not to lose focus on the various technologies that we have explored. Doing this project has shown how crucial it is to incorporate technology into everyday learning. With technology and literacy emerging it is our job as future teachers to stay on the rise and use what we know and learn to teach our students.

Vocabulary In My Classroom

How Vocabulary is Taught and Used in Third Grade

How do you utilize Vocab
• Notebook with adult writings
• Word Wall
• Individual word list
• Before spelling tests does vocabulary activities (similarities between words)
• During spelling tests teacher will say a word and one student will come up with a sentence using that word (ownership)
• Tests (Matching, word banks, ect)
• Vocabulary words with object in the classroom
• Ring with vocabulary and picture for ELL students
• Mini lessons
• Work sheets
• When reading a novel and when they come across a word they don’t understand they will write it in a reading log or writing journal and have time to look up the vocabulary word

I really enjoyed the classroom discussion on vocabulary. How I feel it is so important to teach and display vocabulary. Especially at my school with a majority of the students being ESL and ELLs.
I also enjoyed the grade group discussions beacuse I was able to see various ways different grade levels encounter vocabulary.

Finally Taught Lesson!

On March 12 I was able to teach my literature based discussion lesson. I used a book called Thunder Cake which was suggested to read and use by my CT. But, after reading through it and thinking about my lesson and a literature discussion I thought this book would be perfect for my class. (A majority of my students have come from a different country and are now living in Michigan because of their family's jobs, school, ect. Thunder Cake is about a grandmother who came from Russia but is now living in Michigan where her granddaughter is visiting and fears thunder storms. Like all kids and most all humans have fears. I thought this was another connection to my students that they could relate to the characters in the book.)
Overall, I thought my lesson went great. I believe the students held a great literature based discussion. They are always so eager to answer questions and participate in class discussions. They enjoyed sharing their fears not only with a small group but in a whole group discussion.
At the end of the lesson I brought cookies for the students. It was a way of saying thank you for sharing your fears and having the courage to share them with me, too. They really liked the cookies and I was really encouraged with again their eagerness to learn.
My students are amazing and I am so happy they were such a great set of students participating and sharing.

Lesson Plans

I just wanted to let you all know that I have not strayed away from my Literature Discussion Based Lesson Plans but I will not be teaching it till after Spring Break. I am very anxious to teach them though because I think the students will enjoy what I have planned. I am excited to hear what they will have to say in response to my questions and also their thoughts on the book. I feel like the book relates to many of the students in my class in the way they are not from the United States and living in Michigan for various reasons. It also has the theme of "fear" which is a popular theme for students young and old. I can't wait to tell you more after I do indeed teach the lesson.
I will definitely keep you posted!!