Chapter 11 Reading & Chapter 2-4 Writing

Chapter 11 – Learning with Trade Books

What sorts of books are trade books and how should they be integrated in the classroom?

            Students spend hours engaging in literacy, such as when they read fantasy novels like Harry Potter and Twilight series. Students also enjoy other literary activities such as blogging, texting, and note writing. Therefore, we know students do not dislike literacy, but there is something that needs to be altered with the literacy that is set forth at school, or the stigma around it. As educators, we must align the text we use in the classroom, to the interests that students have outside of class. As the textbook explained this, I was physically nodding in agreement. I am a fantasy fanatic! I love all the popular fantasy book series, but unless assigned text is over a topic you’re really interested in (ie education!), assigned texts can often be daunting and difficult to get through. Integrating a variety of trade books could cause students to become more interested, and understand material more thoroughly. 

           

            The example of the trade novel, Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, is about a man who had an iron rod blasted through his head and survived. Simply hearing one sentence of what this book was about had me hooked. The novel describes how this injury caused him to undergo a drastic personality change, and relating to what neurologists have learned about the brain. I think using this novel is just the coolest way to get students intrigued on how the human brain works and how this happened to Phineas Gage. Using an extremely shocking, real life example is an awesome way to get kids excited to understand, and absorb information that they won’t simply memorize and forget.

           

            It is exciting reading about all the benefits that can arise from integrating trade books into ones’ curriculum. I find it especially beneficial that it can be a perfect opportunity to differentiate instruction. I love to read and learn about tangible examples of how differentiation can be practiced in the classroom because I find this so important, but a definite challenge. If I have a large class size, especially in my first years of teaching, it will be such a challenge to try to tailor the lesson to each particular students needs. It is hard to know what degree of differentiation is feasible, and hopefully it will become more apparent and natural to do with experience.

            I also found it particularly interesting how many positives can come from using picture books. As they are often misconceived as children’s books, but I do believe that using a picture book would intrigue many middle and high school students. I’m sure numerous students dislike their textbooks because of the length, and that would cause a short picture book to be attractive. As well as the level of reading associated with a picture book, which would allow for much more comprehension, including the assistance to understanding with the pictures as well. ELL students and struggling readers would find the pictures particularly helpful in their comprehension. Lastly, I think it is wonderful to use picture books as an opportunity to celebrate diversity, as there are such a vast variety of picture books from all over covering such a wide range of topics. I would love to use picture books as an anticipatory set to a lesson to get the students interested. It could be a fun way to introduce a math lesson if I read it aloud to the class. The text also describes how read-aloud experiences can stimulate classroom discussions. Having a more free verse classroom discussion in mathematics I think could be a really cool introduction to a topic and to get students thinking about a mathematical topic brought up in a picture book. After reading the text about this, I went straight onto the Internet and found numerous math picture books that I would love to page through! I am writing a 10 day Unit Plan for my curriculum and instruction class, and now I am excited to incorporate a children’s book into it.

            The text made mention of using the Jigsaw Method with trade books. This would be an excellent opportunity to differentiate reading levels, as well as have students work in small groups and practice presenting and teaching material to each other. There are several picture books from a series of “Sir Cumference”, and it would be a fun activity for small groups to each have one and talk about how their book applies the use of geometry, and then present to the class. This way, students are developing reader response strategies and working on developing important critical thinking skills. Also an important classroom management point is brought up in the text regarding these sorts of activities, or in “idea circles”. It will definitely pay off to set goals and clear expectations of what should occur during these activities. The students can take ownership and compile these as a class.

Chapter 2: Writing to Learn

When would it be most ideal for “writing to learn” to occur in a mathematics classroom?

            As I was reading the text, I was constantly looking for how I could use these “writing to learn” methods in my own classroom. Having to put mathematical thoughts into words is a challenge, and would be effective to work on critical thinking in an informal manner. I would love to have my students’ journal on a daily basis and be able to read how they are all thinking through the material and how they feel about it, however, that isn’t possible. However, once or twice a week would be doable. Possibly Friday Journal days and they reflect on the week, as well as doing a problem-solving problem where they explain their thinking.

            An advantage to having to explain a mathematics problem is putting it ones’ own words and then writing it on paper. People generally remember 70 percent of what they say and write, and then 90 percent of what they say and do. Thus, explaining ones’ reasoning is crucial to retention. It also doesn’t have to be a long writing activity either. Students could simply take a couple minutes to write down what they have learned thus far in the lesson, or pick out what they’ve found important, challenging, or anything to reflect on their thinking and what has occurred. Taking a moment to gather ones’ thoughts and reflect is a wonderful idea. This is also a time to assess how students are retaining the material and decide if there is something that should be explained further.

            This type of activity can also be done at the end of class as an exit slip. I had my students do this last summer at my teaching internship. I believe that exit slips also provide a nice closure on the class, which I find important. It can also be a nice springboard into a lesson the next day, by providing some review and going over what was challenging. I liked how the text said to read off parts directly from the exit slips. This keeps students engaged and participating when they hear their card. I believe that some credit should be given for these also, or students may not believe they are important, and not take the time to write thorough exit slips. The text also discusses “admit slips”. I’m not sure I like the admit slip as much as exit slips. I like the idea of students possibly reflecting on what is hard after they have done their homework, and then explain why that is hard on the slip and then make mention at the beginning of class the next day. However, I feel that many students may forget to do the slip if I am not consistently doing an admit slip every night, then they could become more of a problem than anything.

           

            There are numerous WTL examples throughout chapter three and four. Beyond journaling and exit slips, brainstorming is another that stuck out to me. Simply writing down as much as they know about the subject prior to learning would be a beneficial resource for me. This is a nice way to get students thinking about the topic. Drawing an illustration can be an effective way for students to grasp the material in a different manner, which can be effective to have a diagram or picture to represent a problem. There are numerous writing activities available in the text to integrate into ones’ classroom. As a mathematics teacher, I need to not lose sight of the importance of writing, and how much it can enhance the understanding for my students. 

Chapter 4 Reading

Purpose: How do we assess our students, and how should we?

Assessment is absolutely essential to make sense of what is being taught and learned. There are two types of assessment; formal high stakes standardized tests, and informal authentic approach. Many teachers have used multiple types of informal or alternative assessment in order to evaluate the learning and progress of their students. Today, there is much discussion over the results of students from formal, high stakes assessment, and points for and against these assessments are recognized throughout this chapter. Lastly, the organizing principle of chapter four is that instructional assessment in a process of gathering and using multiple sources of relevant information about students for instructional purposes. This type of assessment demonstrates the importance of the direct correlation between instruction and evaluation in order to nurture an ideal learning environment in the classroom.

First of all, I did not entirely understand the amount of assessment that should occur in the classroom prior to much of my recent field experiences and courses. There must be constant checking for understanding. Lessons are not presentations, and students are not simply sponges. There should be frequent interactions, and constant cycles of instruction and assessment in order to facilitate active listening and assure that students are remaining attentive and comprehending the lesson. Then as a teacher, I can decide to change the pace of the lesson, elaborate further on a topic, or possibly review a certain concept. In my teaching internship last summer at Breakthrough Saint Paul, I panicked the first few times when I would assess that I needed to elaborate further on a concept that I had not initially planned. I am a relatively organized person, and I felt flustered straying from the carefully set out lesson plan. However, that is exactly what needs to be done! I’ve learned that teachers must be trained to be flexible and quick on our feet. We must do our best to anticipate the many loops and turns that a lesson could take. And in order to know when these changes are absolutely necessary to assure the best learning experience possible for the students, is through constant variations of assessment.

Last summer, I tried out several different ways to assess my students. Almost everyday I made an effort to integrate mini whiteboards throughout the presentation of new material. I would make guided notes that were sometimes traditional, but were also a guide to discovering the material. Then I would switch from presenting material, or prompting discovery, and then assess their understanding and progress by having them write something on the whiteboard, and also by spot-checking. Sometimes I would assess during guided practice on big whiteboards they would work at around the room, classroom discussion, exit slips, and many other ways. I found that assessment is absolutely on the forefront of learning, and not simply a test to assess what the students absorbed, by any means! A huge advantage to constant assessment became evident with my ELL students. They were extremely hard workers and successful in mathematics. However, with the various types of assessment, I would catch myself if I had spoken to quickly, or not said the instruction in a few different ways. Word problems were also obstacles, and I would then make an effort to assure the vocabulary was understood.

As I have learned much about informal assessment, I have also discussed the issue of standardized testing in every single education course I have taken. It has also been discussed in other education experiences I have had, including field experiences, and an internship I had at Breakthrough Saint Paul. The validity of standardized tests is extremely controversial. Many teachers are outraged by the weight put on such tests, and I am included. These tests can put teachers in extremely conflicting positions. It may be something as extreme as, a teacher may need her students to score at a certain level in order to keep his or her job, as it is now something that some principles use to assess how their teachers are doing as well. Therefore, knowing it may not be the ideal way to teach the material, a conflicted teacher may then chose to give students formulas to succeed, without having the proper time, or appropriate timing in the curriculum to fully give understanding to the formula. Then students are memorizing formulas that they are simply going to forget. Mark Twain stated, “Education is what is left over when you forget all the facts that your teachers made you memorize when you were at school”. I am passionate about the value of developing problem solving skills through mathematics that are extremely valuable in all types of professions.  

The text also goes into detail of more reasons for inaccuracy of the exams. Students are becoming focused on the end result, and losing sight of the process of problem solving, which is so valuable. Students can become extremely discouraged by these scores that can be debated as not true indicators of a child’s potential. If the student does not understand the topic of the prompt because of their background and failure of exposure to something, they may not be able to answer the questions correctly, when they are actually quite literate.  I was able to catch this with my Hmong English Language Learners last summer, however, these tests cannot assess that a student does not know a vocabulary word that is crucial to understanding the passage they’re reading and being assessed on. There is also further inaccuracy as, the more the students are taking these tests, the more familiar they are with them, and may be reason for increased test scores. However, promoters say that it helps a school address the concerns of the particular school.

In the text, it also discusses the unfortunate consequences of accountability associated with the tests. Schools that do not meet the standards will face serious consequences such as losing federal funding, replacing teachers, or even being closed. I had discussed the pressure of meeting AYP before, however, there was one fact that was particular discouraging that I had never heard before. The text states that states are even lowering their state standards and adjusting their proficiency requirements in order to preserve federal funding and give the illusion of progress when test scores are increased. The use of these formal assessments needs to be evaluated if this is what our country has to succumb to. I’m not sure they’re exactly serving the purpose they supposedly were supposed to serve. Lastly, I actually received an email regarding this pressing issue just the other day. Maybe change is on its way.

http://educationvotes.nea.org/2013/02/01/educators-parents-bring-new-urgency-to-fight-against-high-stakes-testing/?utm_source=nea_today_express&utm_medium=email&utm_content=testing&utm_campaign=130213neatodayexpress

Chapter 1 Reading & Writing

Chapter One of Content-Area Writing

First of all, Chapter One addresses the issue on whether or not there exists a writing crisis. Interviewed officials reflected on how hard it is to hire employees with proficient writing skills these days. American students are unable to effectively and appropriately communicate in the workforce. The report reflects on how this may be a direct result of the decline in writing achievement scores. However, in many previous courses we have analyzed in ineffectiveness of standardized tests as depictions of the intelligence of our students. If a student does not understand the one given prompt for the writing portion, they may do extremely poorly and that does not reflect on their actual writing abilities. I believe that these tests have many imperfections and can often be prejudice. Finding one optimal test to accurately assess everyone is not very feasible.

I found it interesting when the author discussed all the writing that students do today, and they may not even realize it. Students text, email, blog, create their MySpace page, write journals or diaries, pass notes, or even construct music on Garage Band, which are all creative ways of expressing themselves through writing. Therefore, when students say that they “hate writing”, I believe that there are many counterexamples to such a claim. I felt excited while reading this portion of the text because it is uplifting to discover all the ways that students are using their writing skills in an intriguing way to them. Thus, it is our responsibility to find a way to connect with kids and make writing interesting for them in a school setting. We need to channel all their potential, so we can use all that we have to offer them, so they have the best results possible.  The text discusses that the bottom line is that there is a mismatch between school writing and real world writing, and this gap must be pushed closer.

Writing is absolutely essential for learning in all subject areas. This text reinforced my belief of this statement. As an aspiring math teacher, last semester I took a mathematics course, which we heavily discussed the importance of proof, and exploratory learning for all grades. It is a wonderful exercise for students to write down their problem solving and thinking process as they explore how to tackle a math problem. Memorizing an algorithm that will successfully spit out a correct answer is not how students learn how to problem solve. Students should explore how to solve a problem, and possibly learn several ways to come to a correct answer. If students write down their thinking process, it is clear to the instructor of where the student needs help, and there will also be a much high probability that the student will remember what they have learned. I cannot say enough how wonderful writing is in mathematics, and for students to explain why.  I am passionate about the idea that students should be able to demonstrate their reasoning through many forms in order to truly understand the material.

This leads into the idea of “a mile wide an inch deep”. As much as teachers may desire to take the time for students to explore the material, and work to achieve that deep understanding – teachers often find themselves crunched for time. There is an abundance of content that must be covered each year, and therefore, topics may not be learned as thoroughly as one may have hoped for. That is when teachers find themselves feeding the students formulas, and steering away from students taking the time to write out their thinking process. However, in the final portion of the reading, I was amused to see that this text will describe how writing activities can actually save time in the classroom, while deepening understanding. This idea puzzled me, as well as the idea that note taking in not a good learning tool. Then another idea that makes sense to me, but I’ve never thought about, is that writing can be a wonderful tool for differentiation in a diverse classroom. Differentiating instruction, content, and assessment to be most ideal for students is a constant challenge and I’m intrigued to read about how writing can be useful. Lastly, the text states that writing can be fun, and this is absolutely essential for teachers to reinforce through creating assignments that catch the interest of the students in order to have them perform their best and enjoy doing so.

Chapter One of Content – Area Reading

            I was intrigued by the statement in the text that said how students often stop reading the assigned readings because the teachers will simply go over the content in class. I experienced this exact situation in my last philosophy course I took. Many of the students in my class did not do the readings because my professor went over the content rather thoroughly in class, where I could see how you could slide by without doing the readings. However, as this text states, it is difficult to engage actively in the learning. By reading the text prior to class, I felt I could reinforce ideas, and apply anecdotes from the text to theories. Without doing the reading prior, there is a reliance on being spoon fed the material to short term memorization, without truly owning the knowledge.

            I have never thought about the possibility that reading texts in a digital environment may have non-linearity, unlike reading a book from left to right, front to back. Students will click on hyperlinks in various orders and absorb the information in different manners. While searching for content information through digital texts, there are five functions that students may use to be successful. These are identifying important questions, navigate complex networks to identify essential information, critically evaluate information, synthesize information in order to evaluate questions, and communicate answers. This type of problem solving and thinking process sounds extremely beneficial for all content areas. However, the Internet can be an overwhelming tool for students. If there is not adequate preparation and direction to do such evaluation, students may become off task quickly. This was a huge issue when I was in high school. I also had teachers that simply had us read articles from the computer, and then it was quite similar to reading a textbook, except it was from a computer screen. However, students were still more interested because it was simply from a computer screen.

            The text goes on to explain how reading is prevalent, important, and different for all content areas. Students that may read historical texts well may not be as proficient in reading mathematical texts. However, in my experience as a math major, I have often heard the statement that “I’m not a good reader, I’m a math person”. In my opinion, this is not a valid statement. Reading skills, as well as writing skills, are important in all areas of study. In mathematics there are word problems, as well as text filled with content that is important to be read thoroughly and effectively. Therefore, as a math teacher, I want to assure that I provide students with instruction and practice of how to approach word problems, and how to successfully read through the sections in order to get the best experience possible in the class.