Blog # 4

 I want to be the kind of teacher who holds the bar high, raises expectations, and keeps the momentum going- all while meeting the standards.  I go back and forth with the notion that I can handle this task.  From what I am reading and learning about in my classes at UWB, I can and will be able to make it happen.  I just need to keep my eye on the goal.  As long as I put my students first, highlighting their needs and meeting them where they are “at,” meeting the standards should come naturally.  As Nicola Findley said, “Rather than impose our ready-made curricular connections, we need to uncover and encourage students' connections within and across the curriculum and with their own lives and interests.” 

Routman talks about keeping it relevant; making sure the students feel the tasks we ask them to complete are significant.  I call that “keeping it real.”  Keeping it real, while scaffolding each learner’s needs will bolster their confidence as learners, readers, writers, and mathematicians.  I like Routman’s advice about paying more attention to the amount of support a student needs, rather than to the teaching content.  I think that if a student is properly supported, and scaffolded teaching is a priority, the content (proper grammar, etc.) will follow. 

I have been able to observe my master teacher provide many shared experiences for her students.  So far I have seen them share in reading, writing, and math experiences, as well as scaffolded conversations.  I feel fortunate to be able to witness, first-hand, experiences that we are reading about in Writing Essentials.  Being able to think about what I would say to “my” students (while listening to my master teacher respond to her students) is invaluable.  I know it sounds silly, but it’s like getting to practice thinking without being on the spot.

Routman says that, “without the learner’s trust, it’s impossible to teach.”  My own children have told me about instances they have had with their teachers where my children did not feel like could share their thinking.  My children did not feel as though their teacher valued their thoughts or feelings.  I understood why my girls did not want to share a piece of themselves with the teacher if she was not going value what they said, or how they felt.  I think it is unfortunate that instances like this occur.  Teachable moments were lost.  I will be thinking about my girls’ experiences as I talk to my students in the future.  I definitely want them to feel valued, and I definitely want them to trust me.

I have noticed many times with my own children, and my preschool students, that a lot of learning occurs during social interactions and collaborative work.  Many natural teachable moments unfold during everyday conversations.  Doing things together is a great way for students to learn, but also for parents and teachers.  We can learn a lot about our students by what they say during a casual conversation.  It only stands to reason that students will learn just as much about themselves, about learning, and about the learning process during shared reading, writing, and math times.  I am really looking forward to supporting my students in as many ways as possible.  I am hoping to make students aware of their thinking, be independent problem solvers, and be able to articulate their thoughts and strategies.  

Literacy Blog # 3

     We have so much to learn, and so little time!  I feel like one my biggest struggles may be pacing myself, and pacing my teaching.  When I was doing a read aloud with a kindergarten class a few days ago I found myself wanting to make sure the students knew all of the things we check for on the Emergent Literacy Profile.  This was not the objective of my lesson, so I had to force myself to refrain from teaching it.  One step at a time, right?  And as Routman teaches, whole-to-part-to-whole is the best way to go....

     I was pleasantly surprised with the content in Routman's Writing Essentials.  I do not think of myself as a great writer.  I am happy to hear that so many others in my position have been able work through this dilemma and were able to inspire their students to be confident writers.  My master teacher let me have a copy of the questions she asks her students during their writer's workshop conferences.  I will be using those questions, and the concepts I have been reading about in Writing Essentials to guide my own writing.
  
      I love the idea of celebrating student's writing as a major teaching goal.  I feel that celebrating student's work bolsters their self confidence and spurs them on to do more, learn more, create more.  I also love the idea of celebrating small pieces of the process, not just the finished work.  Celebrating a piece, such as risk taking, shows students that we value the work they are doing, the fact they are pushing themselves to try new things, and teaches them that they are growing throughout the process. I believe this is how we help children to gain the confidence that allows them to push for more.

     I firmly believe what Routman says about teaching skills in isolation - it "does not make students writers" (pg. 21).  I know that I learn much more when I can connect what I am learning to something I already know, and better yet, to something I care about.  Making writing meaningful is where it's at!

     Working with kids over the years I have learned how much they enjoy stories.  Even simple silly stories. like the time when the power went out at the grocery store when only half my groceries had been checked out.  Hearing your stories allows students to feel connected to you in a personal way.  I know from my own experience, as a young student and as an adult, that when I feel connected to a teacher I am much more apt to do my best work for that teacher, and to push myself too.  Community building has so many benefits!

     I am pleased to know that I will not be expected to be a prolific writer the day my teaching career begins.  However, I am looking forward to practicing and gaining confidence in my writing now, and as I work with my students in the future.  I plan on practicing what I teach.

  


  
  
 

What, How, When, and Why...

Word Identification, Phonemic Awareness, and Early Word Identification -



So much of what I just read in Fox's book, Word Identification Strategies, was new to me. Even though I had volunteered in a kindergarten class for several years, taught preschool for 2 years, and taught my own kids how to read I never really (formally) learned how children become aware of the sounds of language, thought about word shape, or the stages of word learning. Some of what I did with emergent readers just came naturally to me, some things were taught to me, and some things I am sure I fell short on. I can't wait to learn more! I found the first three chapters very interesting. I loved the samples of the children's work, the explanations regarding what the children were doing and thinking during the process, and I really liked the explanations given for the stages each child was "at." Everything I am reading in Fox's book will help me as I am learning how to help emergent readers progress through the many stages of learning how to read, comprehend what they are reading, and progress to the next stage.



Last week I had my first visit with an adorable little kindergarten student named Grace* at a local elementary school. My cohort member and I briefly got to see Grace's classroom. The three of us were able to spend about 30 minutes getting to know each other. Most of the time we were together was spent filling out a "getting to know each other" form. We were instructed to let the child lead the time we spent together, and to make sure the child felt comfortable and self confident during and after our visit. We were instructed not to push the children into doing anything they were not comfortable with (i.e. spelling words rather than drawing pictures, etc.). The sheet we filled out consisted of a list of personal favorites things (foods, activities, etc.). Grace wanted to write down all of our favorite things and wanted to be the only one to write on the list. Grace asked for help spelling the words correctly. Even though she was getting tired of writing after the first few lines she denied offers to have us write for her. About half way through the sheet she decided to begin drawing pictures instead of writing the words. She was determined to fill the entire sheet out on her own, and she accomplished that task.



Grace was outgoing and seemed very confident. She drew a picture for us of her jumping rope next to her house (which she colored yellow, but is really blue). She is a very good artist and was proud of her drawing. The one thing I thought was very interesting about Grace is that she appeared to be uncomfortable listening to a read aloud. Her body language changed, she did not want to look at the book, and she grabbed my pencil and kept taking the eraser off over and over during the story. I could tell she was listening though, because she answered a question I asked her about the story. I decided to start paraphrasing the story because Grace seemed uncomfortable. I am interested to see how she reacts to the read alouds during our future visits. I am looking forward to administering the emergent literacy profile to Grace. It will be fun to see what she has to teach us!


* Named changed to protect privacy

Literacy Blog # 1 (10.10.10)

After finishing this week's assigned readings I searched some You Tube videos and came across this one. I think this video introduces some great ideas for us to build upon. I think the ideas implemented in this classroom can be altered for upper grades as well.
 My first "real" experience helping a child learn to read was with my first born baby. I had heard that it is important to read to children from the day they are born. So, like many parents who want do right by their children- I read, and read, and read to my baby as she grew - and to her little sister too. I got to see first hand how my two children learned to become readers. It was fascinating to me how both of my girls would want to have us read the same book over, and over, and over to them. They did not lose interest in hearing the story- in fact they seemed to eat it up with a fresh appetite, as if it was their first time hearing the story. As babies they would find something new in the pictures during each time we read the books. As toddlers they would correct us if we misspoke a word or left something out.

 My youngest daughter wanted to purchase a Calvin and Hobbs comic book when she was in second grade. I did not think this was a "real" book and did not want to buy it for her. But, she was so excited by it that I decide to get it for her. Each time she chose to read it I felt myself cringe. It wasn't long before she had to ask me what certain words or phases meant. At first I thought the comic book was over her head and I thought she shouldn't be reading it. However, it wasn't long before I realized how great it was to discuss the words and phrases with her. I realized that she was comprehending way more than I gave her credit for. I realized then that reading is reading- I needed to make sure she had material that interested her - even if it didn't interest me.

 It was about this time that she also became interested in art. The more she read, the more she wanted to draw. She started to make up stories and make thought bubbles for her characters. There was a lot going on in her young mind. I have a new appreciation for the importance of getting kids hooked on literacy by meeting them where they are at - letting their interests guide the curriculum (scope and depth).

 I hope to be able to use my personal experiences to enhance my teaching. I do not want to look at any child and compare them to my own children, but I do want to remember how much patience I had to have with my children, and think about how every child is coming from a unique past; I need to meet them where they are and scaffold their learning with the child as my guide.

 I am in no way an expert, I am very excited to continue learning all I can about scaffolding emergent readers. William Teale and Elizabeth Sulzby bring to our attention that literacy learning is a complex sociopsycholinguistic activity that is to be investigated within the home, community settings, and of course, our schools (Emergent Literacy: New Perspectives). Teachers have an amazing opportunity to provide their students with materials and planning lessons and activities that will foster their development (whether it is through in depth lesson plans, picture books, newspapers, job charts, or even something as simple as making a grocery list with their students!). Choosing proper lessons and materials should not be taken lightly.

 One thing we have to watch out for when planning our lessons is hidden racism and sexism in books and other reading materials. I have been reminded from reading Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice, that we also have to make sure that we are not blind to our invisible knapsack and all that comes with it. The article goes on to share with us,how imperative it is that teachers check materials for stereotyping and hidden forms of bias, etc. We also need to be sure to choose materials that show people of color as strong leaders and that they are depicted appropriately. We need to watch for loaded words, that may have insulting overtones or sexist language. We need to analyze all of our materials and look at them from our students point of view, with their self image in mind. The words and images we offer our students should scaffold their self-esteem as well as their learning.

Why do I want to TEACH?

To show kids how much fun learning can be. 

To ignite a passion for discovery in the heart of every child.  

To show my students that they have power over their futures. 

To see faces light up and hearts swell with pride when students realize that they can do it (whatever it may be!).  

To watch kids use their "tools" to master mental hurdles they thought they'd never conquer. 

To watch kids teach others what they have learned.

...and the list goes on.