Final Blog Post!

After reading through my group's blog posts throughout the semester, it is clear that we are pretty much all on the same page when it comes to teaching, our hopes for the future and what we would like to incorporate into our classrooms. Although I don’t think we disagreed throughout any of our blog postings, I feel as if we were able to really connect our ideas and build off of one another by agreeing and supporting each other.

One important issue that we all agreed upon was our ability to relate to all of our students and recognizing that not all of them are going to come from stable homes. Alice shared a quote from her CT that said, “…Teachers need to understand the kinds of issues that they students are dealing with at home (violence, alcohol, not enough sleep, adult responsibilities…) while still trying to keep them focused on the classroom lesson at hand.” I think this really touches on the way that all of us seem to feel on understanding where our students are coming from before we can educate them and assess them properly and just help them grow within their literacy learning. Dominic also noted many times how important is it for us to understand the cultural and social aspect of our students and their home lives and background.

Another aspect that we all really seemed to agree upon was not underestimating our students when it comes to reading, writing and discussion time throughout literacy. I mentioned in an early post that we sometimes are afraid to introduce critical literacy into the classroom because we think it will be “over their heads” or they won’t be able to relate or understand the material. However, we all agreed that when presented in the appropriate manner, it is beneficial to the students and the teacher to have discussions on a number of topics and controversial issues/texts – even at a young age! Again, we all agreed that if we were to guide/train our students in a grand conversation, they would be able to master it with time and we, as teachers, would be able to receive some really outstanding feedback from them.

As mentioned before, I believe that the three of us were able to take an idea presented by one person and really build off of that in a positive way. I don’t think that there was any disagreements when it came to our teaching practices because the three of us have worked together a lot in the past, and we all support each others ideas when it comes to our future teaching within the classroom. Overall, I believe that, if anything, we were able to effectively share our ideas with each other and really grow from this noteblog assignment. I think that bouncing off of each other’s ideas in a written form allowed me to develop my thoughts more (as opposed to in an oral conversation where your thoughts are sometimes not as developed). I really appreciated what Dominic and Alice had to say and I was able to take their ideas and beliefs into consideration for my own future teaching. Because of our communication that we developed throughout the semester, the ideas we shared and the growth that we have seen, I would give myself a 10 out of 10 for this portion of the noteblog assignment.

Final Post

There were a few trends that I noticed while re-reading our blog posts. One of them is that we all mentioned the importance of allowing our students to speak in the classroom. There was a lot of emphasis on having the students explain their ideas, connections, reasoning and thinking. I think that this trend connections to other trends that weren’t necessarily spoken, but more so alluded to. These are what Dominic called “the cultural significance that needs to be taking into consideration with not only the literacy in the classroom, but the way in which literacy is addressed according to the individual students,” or the importance of getting to know our students, and also the importance of teaching our students how to think, think actively and think critically. I thought it was interesting that throughout our blogs, none of us ever really discussed specific content. There was a discussion about bringing “controversial issues” into the classroom, but this would be done to push the students’ thinking further and to understand our students better. While the 3 of us don’t always agree, we do seem to have very similar pedagogies, and our ideas complement each other’s very well.

I have learned a lot from my blog group members. While we didn’t disagree, they helped to open my eyes and make me think deeper into my own reflections and beliefs. For example, I really liked the post the Dom wrote about supporting the literacy development of children who live in homeless shelters. Unfortunately, I never even thought about how those children are in need of learning just as students in school are. He really helped me understand the importance of literacy teaching on a broader, more global scale, not just within the school that I will be working. I liked what Kelly said about not just asking the students to identify the beginning, middle and endings of stories. While that is important for students to be able to do, teachers need to widen the spectrum and step outside the text to have the students make the connections and think about different topics and issues.

Overall, I think the Noteblog Assignment was beneficial because it gave us a forum to expand and reflect on our thoughts and ideas as professionals. Together we shared many of our insights and brought up new ideas to consider. Just as I want to push our students’ thinking forward, this assignment helped pushed my thinking forward. For that reason, I believe a 10 out of 10 for a grade on this assignment would be fair for the second half of the semester.

Final Self-Assessment on Noteblog...Thanks Kell's and Allie!!!

In approaching this assessment on my group’s blog, I wanted to retain my personal bias towards what I believed our writing’s to be themed around, and allow the flow of our blogs to really shape this final writing piece. In reading the blogs again, it became evident to me that my perception of the blogs, is in fact a common underlying theme (or trend), that comes to surface in almost all of the writings. This being; the cultural significance that needs to be taking into consideration with not only the literacy in the classroom, but the way in which literacy is addressed according to the individual students.

I wonder at times if my interest in working with children and becoming a teacher stems from my deep appreciation for the cultural and social dynamics of the world we live in. I do not look at children as mere physical objects within in a classroom, but more as diverse creations with individual differences, that are influenced by their social surroundings. This makes the social dynamic not only interesting but difficult to teach. Our first blog posts this semester were focused around teaching in an urban settings, in which the student population is primarily made up of economically and culturally disadvantaged members of society (based upon race, economic status, and native language ESL’s). Kelly ended this particular blog with a wonderful comment in which she stated; “I think that whether our students are ELL”s or come from rough home situations, we need to learn about each individual in our classroom in order to assess them, educated them, and really help them grow”. I find this particular quote from Kelly more interesting than I did at the time she wrote it, because I blogged a week later, on an article titled Response-Centered Talk: Windows on Children’s Thinking. Kelly’s comment at the time, subconsciously struck a nerve (in a good way), because I later blogged how important the response-centered talks were in not only engaging students thinking, but learning more about the students. I think at times (and I can take fault at this) we read to students and have them write, to merely either fill time (or waste time). I’m not sure if Kelly was explicitly implying that these are moments in which we make it meaningful, but the blogs up to that point (and after), have opened up my understanding that these are the times in which we not only assess, but look through this window into the children’s thinking. This is in fact why I cherish the art of literacy so much, because it is intimate, and allows the opportunity to understand your students (on an individual level). This is not to say that after every meaningful reading and writing activity that we will learn more about every student, but creating this type of environment within the classroom will lead to a greater cultural understanding and appreciation of the students in the class.

The last week of February Kelly started our blog by commenting on her article Kindergartners Can Do It, Too!, which highlighted the importance of comprehension strategies for early readers. To draw again on the importance of understanding the cultural significance of each student, Kelly commented how frustrated she was that her teacher (in the first grade class) never takes the time to provide background information on the story, or allow students the opportunity to connect and discuss how the story is relevant to their own lives. Kelly and I both commented on how when reading we apply comprehension strategies such as; guessing what will happen next, connecting situations to our own personal lives, and summarizing things so that we understand better. Alice went on to comment;

“As teachers, we need to be aware of all of these factors and find ways to make sure the different needs and learning styles/profiles of our students are met. When planning a lesson, a teacher needs to make sure to build the students’ background knowledge. This can be done in many different ways, but just diving into the text doesn’t always provide the background that students need in order to gain a deep understanding of the book.”

To relate this all back to the influence of individual culture’s of each student, Alice noted the importance of knowing each student. It is not fair to rightfully assume or as Alice said “dive into the text”, without providing the students with the needed background information in order to successfully navigate the text. The background information, focus on individual vocabulary words, and allowing the students the opportunity to relate the text to themselves is so critical. Not only is it critical in their learning, but having a diverse group of students discuss how it is relevant to them, allows for students to learn from one another (creating a stronger community).

Everything I have noted thus far in this assessment of our blog can be contributed to how I have not only learned from the articles but from my Kelly and Alice as well. Although we did not spend much time disputing or challenging each other’s, we spent a lot of time complementing each other’s thinking, and relating it (and then expanding upon it) to our own experiences. I am privileged in that I have had other classes with both Alice and Kelly. I have a lot of respect as friends, fellow students, and also as professionals. I look to their insights a lot of the time and they further build my understanding in the arena of teaching. This is not to say that we have never come against each other in regards to our opinions, but in this blog we meshed well. Instead of writing individual blogs, our blogs drew upon each other’s insights, and created a web of understanding; which I feel is grounded in the cultural importance of teaching. This cultural importance being that each individual student must be understood, in order to educate them. Although our blogs may have not explicitly used the word culture, whenever we speak of needing to know who the students are, where they come from, their needs, etc., we are demonstrating our sensitivity to the importance of it. This blog experience further expanded upon my appreciation for the cultural differences and influence of students within the classroom, and also how much I have grown in my own understanding, thanks to the insights of my fellow bloggers.

Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Johnson,

I am writing this letter to discuss the literacy needs of Becky. First of all, I would like to say that Becky has a wonderful attitude towards reading and writing. She is very motivated to read and write, which is not a quality that all students have. There are a few things, though, that Becky needs to work on to become a more effective reader. She has problems with decoding unknown words and comprehending the books she is reading. On some ways, these issues are related to each other. Increasing her ability to decode words will increase her reading comprehension. In order to help her become a better reader, I am planning on changing some of the instruction that she receives. To help with her decoding, Becky will be learning 100 of the most frequently used words for first graders. By doing this, she will be able to recognize more of the words in the stories she is reading, so she will not have to spend her time trying to decode them. Becky will also try to increase her letter-sound knowledge. She will be doing some sorting of pictures and objects according to different letter sounds and also play some different phonics games. Ensuring that she knows which letters make which sounds will help her to better decode words. As Becky becomes more familiar with more words and increases her vocabulary, her ability to comprehend the stories she reads should also increase. However, she is also going to be working on her ability to retell a story. By doing this, Becky will have to recall the events and important details of the story. Sometimes, I will read the book aloud to her and other times she will be doing the reading herself. The main goal is to just make sure Becky understands what is happening within the book. By implementing these different instruction techniques and strategies, I believe Becky will become a more effective reader. She has much potential to become a great reader; I just want to make sure we take the right steps to get her up to a first grade reading level. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I am more than happy to discuss Becky’s reading progress with you.

Thank you,

Ms. Wilcox

Letter to Ms. Doe

Dear Ms. Doe,

It has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to work with Kevin over the past few months in the classroom. He is such an intuitive child and his insightful idea’s that he brings into the classroom creates not only an exciting learning experience for the class, but places a smile on the face of the students and myself. I have had the opportunity to work with Kevin a lot on a one on one basis, which has allowed me to recognize a lot of his academic strengths, and also areas that need some improvement. One of these areas that I feel Kevin could benefit from with further assistance is comprehension. I have noticed that while were engaging in discussion as a whole group, and the content (or objective) is explicitly administered to him, he has no difficulty what so ever providing his insight and inferences he has derived from the material. I have noticed that while reading to himself (during silent reading) he often becomes very frustrated and loses focus, and he is unable to retell or answer questions referring to the text just read. I took Kevin aside the other afternoon and had him read to me for 10 minutes. From this, I walked away understanding that he is having difficulty comprehending the text, which stems from his difficulty in decoding words. The more time he spends on difficult words while reading, will be less time spent to think about and relate to the text (which promotes comprehension). I intend on spending more time working with Kevin individually in the classroom, as I know he will overcome this small deficit in a matter of no time. I’m going to provide you with some ideas or methods that you can do with him at home that will require only about 30minutes a night. I’m going to send him home 3-4 books each week, that are at his appropriate reading level. Along with these books I will provide key vocabulary words that Kevin may have difficulty in reading. Start with the vocabulary words and do decoding strategies, such as analyzing the different sounds in the word (phonics). With your assistance, you can even create rhyming words (if appropriate or applicable) for Kevin, and this way the key words will resonate better, as he can associate it with another word that’s close. You can also let him give his definition or understanding to the word, making a web of ideas or other words (synonyms) that have the same meaning of the vocabulary word. If you have internet access at home, there is a plethora of phonics games online, which will also assist him in decoding unfamiliar words. After going over vocabulary words and using different strategies, read the book aloud to Kevin. Let him read along with you, using your finger to trace over each word. Place emphasis on the key vocabulary words. We can transition into him reading texts by himself, by having him read with the purpose of retelling certain key events or ideas in the story.

Kevin’s a very bright young man and I feel that if we use some of the strategies provided above, he will have no difficulty at all comprehending texts better. If you have any questions please let me know.

Mr. Knighten

Parent Letter...

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith,

Although Sally has been showing significant progress throughout the year, she is still struggling in the are of literacy. She needs improvement in her letter-sound knowledge, fluency and comprehension; however, all of these can be developed by differentiating instruction in the classroom and at home. When Sally does her work at the writing center or in her journals, she often gets only a few words down on the page that do not make sense. She has no trouble explaining to me in words what she wants to write about, but when it come down to actually writing the letters, she does not know where to begin. To help her improve upon this, I plan to start using Interactive writing time with Sally and also using Word Charts/Lists with her. The more she is exposed to common 1st grade words, the easier it will be for her to recall the spelling of these words. I will also begin working with her on sounding out the words by doing a clapping activity, which you can also do with her at home. When doing this, I would choose a simple book with words that she might not know. When she comes across a confusing word, we will sound it out while clapping the syllables, too. To improve upon Sally's comprehension, I will most likely be using the strategy of an Interactive read-aloud where I can ask her questions about the text while she reads. Questions can be about general understanding of what the characters are doing, how they are feeling and how the story makes her feel, too. This will allow her to connect with the story at a higher level than she is achieving right now. I hope that you take these types of differentiated literacy instruction into consideration and that we can work together to improve Sally's letter-sound recognition, fluency, comprehension and overall reading and writing. Sally has so much potential, and I think with the right instruction, she will be able to overcome some of these obstacles and start performing at a 1st grade level.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

- Miss. Prior

New Literacies Reflection Noteblog

1) At the beginning of our class, I thought of the well-known definition of literacy as being able to “read and write.” I knew that there was much more to this definition, but I wasn’t really sure what that was until we began this project of exploring new literacies. My group and I chose to research “Social Literacy,” which opened my eyes on how important the communication aspect of literacy truly is. Together, we decided that social literacy was, “Having the competence to interact appropriately in society during face to face communication and also through various technological mediums.” Because our world is indeed changing, we are doing most of our communication through a computer, a phone, or some other type of technology. It is important to understand the rules of interaction and communication on a face-to-face basis as well as through technology. For example: one might need to understand the norms/expectations in a social setting when meeting someone new. You often hug, shake hands, smile, and you might even say something like: Hi, I’m Kelly. It’s nice to meet you. However, it is equally important to be tech savvy when it comes to online communication such as having a “clean” facebook, or how to construct an appropriate email to a professor. Exploring this new literacy has really opened my eyes to what it means to be “literate” within the classroom, and that there is so much more to focus on that just reading and writing. After completing our New Literacies Project and seeing what others have created, I am now open to new ways of teaching literacy. I was so intrigued by the youtube videos, wikis, blogs, facebooks and scrapblogging that I saw in my peers’ projects, and I was getting excited to use these new technological ways of presenting literacy in my future classroom. I realize now that we have a responsibility to teach our students about how to read, write, act in a social setting, view things differently, stay active in the community and environment and stay aware of their feelings and emotions. These are all important! It’s honestly hard to pick out which one might be “better” to teach in a classroom, because I think they are all necessary to educate our students and help mold them into educated, informed and involved citizens of the community.

2) To me, being able to provide effective literacy instruction is not just teaching your students how to read and write – it is so much more than that! Just by being in my 1^st grade placement, it is easy to see that we all learn in different ways. I have some students that love to act things out when they get the chance. I have some students who absolutely need to see the pictures in a story or they won’t pay attention or understand, and I have students that can just sit quietly during instruction and soak up everything with just their ears (which I find amazing). However, learning about these new literacies and technologies has really opened my eyes on how I would use literacy instruction in my classroom in order to reach all of my diverse learners. Although I have been using “Facebook” for about 4-5 years now, I have never really put together an “event” or “group” on the website. Doing this made me realize how we might be able to incorporate students, parents and teachers into a working facebook community and really strengthen our communication skills together. The 1^st grade GLCE’s ask teachers to help their students develop reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning skills, etc. and this can all be done through technology (as well as the traditional form that we are used to). However, our students are indeed in a virtual generation, and we need to educate ourselves on how to HELP them succeed. They are obviously interested in the internet, videos, games, etc. so why not cater to them and develop our lesson plans around those things?

If I were going to develop a lesson around Facebook and Social Literacy, my students would need to know how to work facebook, and they would need to know how to read words and type on the computer. These skills would allow my students to begin a lesson on social literacy/facebook use. However, my students are in 1^st grade, and I do not know how I would be able to use Facebook with them. Right now, my students know how to read simple words, but do not know how to type, so this would be a difficult lesson to teach. Dominic taught us about a program called “WeeWorld” that is similar to facebook, only it is a kid-friendly version, so I would be able to use this with them. Using WeeWorld would allow my students to develop their social literacy by communicating and also learn a new type of technology at the same time.

3) BRIEF LESSON OUTLINE:

Target area/Rationale: By using the photo technology of “Flickr” my students will be able to create a photo slideshow to talk about the importance of planting new trees. By doing this, they will be able to learn about a new form of technology, educate themselves on environmental literacy and also educate others.

Objectives: My students will put together a slide show of pictures by using Flickr about how to plant a new tree and the steps it takes.

Materials:

- book on planting trees

- computers in the classroom

- pictures/clip art of the process

Outline of Key Events:

1) First, we would read a book together on the environment and how important it is to plant trees once we cut them down.

2) We will talk together about steps we might want to show people on what to do once you know a tree has been cut down. (Buy a seed, dig a hole, place seed in the ground, bury seed, water/sunshine)

3) Together, we will take pictures or look for them on the internet and upload them to the “Flickr” account

4) We will put together the slideshow of pictures with a few words underneath each one

5) Once we are done, we will present our slideshow to other classrooms to teach them about environmental literacy and the new technology we are using together!

Summary: Because my students are only in 1^st grade, it would be necessary for us to do this lesson together for the most part. I would hope that my students would develop an understanding about their environment, be able to educate other classrooms, and also learn a new way to use technology.

Ongoing Assessment: Throughout the year, I believe that we could try this “Flickr” program to upload pictures on all kinds of literacy and use it with every subject. We would be able to put together slide shows for science, math, literacy and social studies and continue sharing them with others.