SPR 08 EDUC 333 Oral & Written Language

SPR 08 EDUC 333 Oral & Written Language

Upon Reflection...

I have learned several things in this class that I would like to remember. I learned that working in centers and small groups is very effective. As I have done observations and practicum work I have come to realize how helpful it is to have students work in centers to free up time and opportunity for the teacher to work with students.

When there are as many as 24 students in a classroom, there are at least 24 different needs that should be met and the only way I can see to accomplish that is to use centers.

Another valuable lesson that I learned in this class, is the importance of building relationships, and getting to know your students. Classroom management is not a problem if you know your students and how to communicate with them. Motivation is easier when you know your students, they will recognize that you care and will want to perform for you, but also, you will know their interests, needs and problems, which will help you be able to serve them better.

I appreciated learning how to build lesson plans, and units. I liked the organization tips and ideas that were shared.

I'm quite sure that I will often use the things I have learned here in my teaching.

An Example of my work...

3^rd Grade

What happened?

I got there just as they were beginning a math lesson. They were assembled in the hallway where teacher led the students in a discussion comparing inches, feet, yard, and miles. After the discussion teacher marked off an area down the hall that was 10 yards long and each of the children had three chances to match their steps to take 10 steps within the area.

The class then moved into the classroom where teacher did division problems on the board, wherein the students figured how many yards, and feet are in a mile. Two boys wanted to walk around the school grounds and find out how many yards big it is. When they returned they reported that the school is as big as “4 football fields and 87 yards.”

Teacher then introduced the math worksheet that the students would be doing for homework. The class did a few problems together to understand the directions.

The next subject was spelling. Teacher gave a pretest. I really enjoyed her technique, “I say, you say, I say, yo u write.” Teacher said the word, the students repeated the word in unison, Teacher used the word in a sentence, the children wrote the word. As the test progressed the students made connections with the words and many wanted to share the connections. Teacher allowed most of the comments but had to ignore some to complete the test. She was only able to help the students grade a third of the tests before time ran out.

Things I took notice of and liked:

1. Teacher wears a chain around her neck on which she can hang pencils and pens to use as she moves around the room.

2. “Silent Cheering” when the students got a spelling word correct they were allowed to cheer silently, which is waving their arms and hands above their heads as if cheering but they don’t make a sound.

3. Teacher always kept her tone of voice low, even when the students became loud, and she was quick to hand out compliments.

4. As the students lined up and left for lunch she said “your ticket to lunch is your spelling test.”

Things I thought could have been done differently

1. If she had an overhead projector or a computer and projector she may have had an easier time getting the children to follow her and stay on task. She spent a lot of time walking the room re-explaining where they were and what they should be doing.

2. The desk arrangements seemed odd to me, I asked her why she arranged them that way, she replied that the desks were arranged in the shape of a heart for valentine’s day, which she wasn’t real happy with, however, she changes the arrangement every 2 weeks. She and the students take turns deciding on the arrangement.

After the students left for lunch…

1. She shared with me what she does for literature circles. The class is divided into small groups and they read, sometimes their own book, sometimes a class book, and then look for different elements of the story. They record their findings on worksheets. While the students are reading Teachr pulls certain students out for one-on-one contact and work.

2. She also shared a Venn diagram the class constructed comparing and contrasting two books about dolphins, one a fiction story the other nonfiction.

Shantel, and Rebekah

Lesson Plan: Listening: Efferent Listening using questioning methods

Objective: The students will learn that asking questions is an important part of listening effectively. They should ask questions of themselves and of the speaker or presenter. They will be given opportunities to practice listening and asking questions.

Time: 2 hours

Materials: name tags, markers, picture of Rudyard Kipling, poem “I Keep Six Honest Serving Men…”, magazines to cut up, glue, scissors, bookmarks, landscape pictures,

Methodology:

1. Introductions

a. Instruct the students to make name tags that include their name, the name they want to be called, and draw three simple pictures on the tag that tells something about them.

b. Go around the room and have each child introduce themselves by telling their name and explaining the pictures they drew.

2. Opening Hook :

a. Introduce the class to Rudyard Kipling using his picture and his work of “Jungle Book.”

b. Use the poem by Rudyard Kipling, “I Keep Six Honest Serving Men…” to introduce the six questions: Who, what, why, where, when, and how.

c. Explain to the children that we will be practicing listening and questioning skills.

3. Read aloud:

4. Small group activity: Jeopardy game.

a. The teacher will read a statement, the children will listen to the statement and then in their group make up a question that fits the statement. Discuss the questions, do they make sense? Did the students listen carefully to the statement?

5. Centers: Landscape/bookmarks, Collage, Listening to music.

a. Landscape/bookmarks:

i. The students will choose a picture of a landscape to look at and imagine what they may hear if they were there.

ii. The students will then make a bookmark that contains their observations.

b. Collage

i. The students will make a collage that contains, question marks, question words, pictures of ears, anything related to listening and questioning.

c. Listening

i. The students will listen to a piece of music, then when finished record questions that came to their mind while listening.

6. Closing

a. Review what we have done

b. Discuss what the children learned

7. Extra Activities if needed

a. Game in which the second person asks the first person a “who” question, the second person repeats what the first person says to the third person, who asks the second person a “what” question, the third person repeats the answer to the fourth person who then asks a “When” question… repeating until all in the circle have asked and repeated the answer.

b. Telephone game

c. Carry on a conversation with only questions.

8. Assessment

a. Products

i. Bookmarks

ii. Collages

b. Teacher observation during discussions, and games

I want to remember...

Williams, L.M. (2008). Motivation: going beyond testing to a lifetime of reading. Childhood Education 84, 135-142.

Summary:

This article lists eight principles of motivating students to read, and then focuses on three of them. The three that are specifically addressed are Choice and Control, Social Interaction, and Interest. Choice and Control means that children need to know that they have some power in their education. The article suggests that independent reading must take place daily in the classroom. Independent reading allows the child to chose their own book, not one that is chosen for them. Leveling books has its place in the curriculum, but sometimes a child’s interest in the subject may help them to read at a higher level than a teacher would choose for that student. Children love to have choices, it inspires them to participate.

Social interaction means that children are more likely to read when they know they can or will be sharing their reading, either formally or informally. Adults need to look to their own lives and what they do about reading. Quite often they search out others to discuss the book with that is why book clubs are so popular of late.

The third principle, Interest, is another important principle to concider. Studies have found the there is more recall and comprehension of reading material if it is of interest to the students.

Reaction:

I was drawn to this article because of the title, Motivation. As a mother, I have struggled to get my boys to read more on their own. My daughter reads all of the time, she consistently has two or three books going; in addition to the school books she has to read. I feel that the most important statement in the article is that we as teachers should think about our reading habits. What motivates us to read, social connections, need for information, interest in the topic, or whatever it is, and then apply that to motivating our students.

Reflection:

I have made a list of the eight principles of motivation readers and I intend to keep them all in mind as I teach and work to motivate students to be independent readers.

Resource file:

A list of motivation principles and possible applications for each principle

Motivation Readers: principles and applications

1. Choice and Control Children need to know that they have some power over their education. When they are not given any choices, they certainly are not inspired to be proactive about their participation. Children feel empowered if they can make choices.

2. Social Interaction. Putting reading in a social context” reduces the feelings of isolation when children are expected to interact with the text alone”. Children appear to have high motivation to read when they will be sharing some aspect of their reading with others.

Book clubs, discussions, Readers Theater, plays based on reading

3. Novelty. Humans constantly seek new experiences and behaviors in learning situations. “Novelty is an innate attention-getter…our brains today are still programmed to pay attention to the unusual, such as a detour sign when we are driving.”

Comic books, magazines, joke books, pop-ups

4. Feedback/Response. Children need plenty of feedback on how they are doing. “Response is a powerful force; it can be a stimulating motivator”

5. Attainable Success. “Research has repeatedly verified that if children are going to be motivated and engaged in school and learn from their schoolwork, they need to succeed at the vast majority of tasks they undertake: If struggling readers had access to interesting texts that they could successfully read, they would read more.

6. Interest. Introduction to books should capture children’s interest and gently push them toward making reading a lifelong habit. “Like adults who read for pleasure, children should know that personal interest is the most important factor in choosing a book to be read for pleasure-not readability, and certainly not someone else’s view of what is worth reading.

7. Real-world experiences/relevancy. Children who find reading difficult must have relevant texts. Teachers need to have reading material in their rooms that reflects their student’s cultures and experiences.

8. Positive Learning Atmosphere. The classroom climate should be a thoughtful atmosphere in which values and ideas are respected-values and ideas in texts, one’s own values and ideas, and other people’s values and ideas.