Not All Fish are Named Pudge...

...but they might like peanut butter sandwiches just the same.

This week we worked a great deal with reading #7, discussing the ways that classrooms can and should be structured in order to facilitate learning rather than to regurgitate facts. We also began our introduction into the writing portion of the course and began connecting what we know about writing to the article we read for reading 7.

Today in class we had a socratic circle discussion (x2) about what we learned and what we understood. In my discussion group, we talked about how engaging students' creativity and imagination is an important element in the classroom and should be encouraged in not only writing but in other aspects as well (perhaps in video creation, theatrical performances, other forms of visual art, music creation, etc.). Placing creativity back in the classroom serves two functions: 1-it allows students who are disengaged to take ownership of their learning in a way that is traditionally considered more "fun" and 2-it helps keep the classroom structure as a structure that facilitates learning and creation rather than fact regurgitation.

This idea of having a classroom that facilitates learning rather than a classroom that spews facts was of great importance to the members of my circle discussion and a good thing to keep in mind as we enter the teaching world. Students learning from each other makes for a richer classroom environment, increases the likelihood that students are going to be good world citizens capable of understanding others when they meet them, and allow students to solve problems and think critically.

I grew up in a musically inclined household. I've been a singer for more than half my life. Back in elementary school when my dad started teaching my younger brother and me piano, I remember learning that music could make you smarter because the music parts of your brain made connections with the other parts and allowed you to solve problems in different (and sometimes better) ways. I believe this to be true of all art forms. People who are interested in art, drama, dance, music, and creative writing see the world and connect with the world in ways that are completely different from what their peers who do not partake in the arts see and connect with. We should not deny these students the opportunity to express themselves and to solve their problems in a way that allows them to keep their creativity and enrich our classrooms. In school I loved any project that allowed me to engage my creative side. I hope to be the kind of teacher who can engage creative sides from time to time and bring out the best in my students.

Writing instruction, when done correctly, can be an excellent way to keep creativity in the classroom. When done incorrectly, it leads to students who have lost their creativity and the desire to write.

Regardless of which type of writing is taking place in the classroom (informal, formal, or creative), it is important to approach writing instruction with creativity. Even for more formal assignments that use every aspect of the writing process (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing), elements of choice and opportunity for creativity should be incorporated (and to the best of my ability, will be incorporated in my classroom).

I hope to have my students write to reflect in their journals and papers. I want them to be able to write about the things that they care about, the things that truly make them passionate. I have noticed throughout my own education and throughout my presence in several online communities that if students truly care about what they are learning or writing about the critical thinking skills come all on their own. The only real issue is getting them to realize that the analysis they shared with a friend about the last movie they saw is a skill that they can use in the classroom and for books and papers, too.

But most importantly, I believe that we must never fail to look, look again at ourselves and our classrooms. What do we see, how much do we know, and how can we re-imagine our fish to enrich everyone's abilities and understanding.

When I teach, I always try to do something creative, something different. There will be a certain amount of order and predictability to my classes, but I hope that there will also be some creativity. I do not want to be satisfied with assuming I know the fish in front of me. I want to look again.

Warning: Graphic Content

(click the image for access to the graphic content)

All right, now that we've gotten the graphic content (and the recap out of the way), we're going to move straight into the analysis and application portions of the blog post.

Learning about all of the graphic organizers and which ones to use based on what you want students to accomplish/do was incredibly helpful--especially because in the English department we are quite fond of our graphic organizers. Knowing that a T-chart is an ineffective way of dealing with Cause/Effect but an acceptable way of dealing with Compare/Contrast is one example of why this information is helpful. Furthermore, knowing that Venn diagrams have not died out completely (despite being rather ancient) is also beneficial.

Graphic organizers as used for comprehension are essential in the English world and something that will be incorporated into my future lessons without fail. They are great tools to help students understand the structure of a novel, keep the characters straight, and they are even better brainstorming tools for the writing process and for needed essay prompts. My current favorite graphic organizer (besides the Venn Diagram of boys who don't like smart girls and boys you don't want to date) is the Purse/Wallet GO. It's designed to help classify/describe characters by encouraging students to draw what might be in the character's purse/wallet/backpack/pockets. I see myself using that one for books with lots of characters--especially characters set in historical works (like Macbeth).

Bonus fact: the Venn Diagram of "Boys who don't like smart girls" and "boys you don't want to date" is a circle.

Vocabulary and 3 Step Comprehension

In an attempt to make up for the fact that I missed class on Monday and because it happened, I would like to share a little bit about the vocabulary that I taught over Spring Break. Just recently, my family has become engrossed in reading. I have always had a large vocabulary, and so I am often the person consulted when strange words are encountered.

The list of words I taught for this trip are:

Expeditiously (by repeating it at my siblings while trying to get them to move quickly across the airport and anywhere else they were moving slowly)

Persnickety (while describing my dad and his habits when we prepare to leave for a trip)

Loathing (by bursting into the song from Wicked after my baby brother encountered it in his Rick Riordan Book (he had been in NY earlier in the week and had seen Wicked so it applied)and then defining it)

Parabola (when we went to the Arch, describing its shape and telling my baby brother he'd be learning about it in Algebra I next year)

Tourniquet (which my baby brother and I both defined for our other brother because he didn't understand the reference in Evanescence's song--leading to a rousing discussion about poisonous snakes and amputated limbs)

OD (Overdose) (explained to my baby brother who was using it incorrectly while talking about various celebrities and their hamartias)

Needless to say, though the words themselves may not have a common theme, I do think everyone learned something on the trip about vocabulary.

As for class on Wednesday, we briefly reviewed the definition of comprehension and the three levels of comprehension (literal, interpretive, and applied). I think, for students who might need help visualizing the levels of comprehension, a theatre analogy works pretty well in outlining the three concepts. If we think of a text as a play, literal comprehension are the lines. Interpretive comprehension would be the "sub-text" or what the character (author) is thinking as they speak those lines, and application comprehension would be actually getting up and acting out the scenes of the play (costumes optional).

We also discussed 3-level, pattern, concept, and selective reading guides. I spent a great deal of time a little confused here just because I had missed class on Monday and was having trouble processing all of the information and knowing which document I was supposed to be opening at what time, but essentially the reading guides are all ways to deepen the three levels of comprehension. 3 level, and selective RGs focus on all three levels, while pattern and concept can focus on all three or just interpretive and applied.

While I understand the need for reading guides as a way of reinforcing or building comprehension for struggling readers, I cannot help but feel as though they are fairly tedious over all. Perhaps this is because I viewed them as tedious as a student (if easy) or because there is not much that you can do with a reading guide to break it out of that worksheet form. For struggling readers and students looking to improve their test scores, RGs can be a great way to improve comprehension and to key in to the important information within a text, but how do we keep our at-level and advanced readers from boredom?

I do think I will use reading guides in the future--but not the selective reading guide because while modeling was necessary I had difficulty comprehending it and did not like the layout of the RG. I do see myself using concept guides and pattern guides more often with my students, and perhaps even a basic 3 level guide at the start of texts when everyone is still getting familiar with characters and things.

Today's vocabulary word is Hamartia, by the way.

Scandals and Porn (Before Reading Strategies)

This week I had the opportunity to teach a before reading strategy for John Green's Looking for Alaska to two different groups of students. On Monday we worked with Upton Sinclair's The Jungle to apply and practice what we had learned last week about before reading strategies and which ones would best fit which texts.

This lead to a discussion about talking drawings, list-group-label, opinionnaire/questionnaire, book bags, anticipation guides, story impressions, and problem situations. We must engage our students' minds and hearts if we want them to read and if we want them to learn. These strategies are designed to appeal to a number of students' interests--those of art, opinion, and puzzle especially.

Due to the content within Looking for Alaska (which, I should note, has nothing to do with Alaska the State and everything to do with Alaska Young the Person) and how that content can be perceived as controversial, an opinionnaire was the best way to go for my engagement strategy, and it was also the best way to tie in a second resource (a video by the author about the book and its controversy) to really sell this book to my classes. The video in question was shown to me before I began reading Looking for Alaska in my adolescent literature class and since then I have known that if I ever had the chance to teach Looking For Alaska I would want to use that video to introduce it.

So not only was teaching this mini-lesson enjoyable, but it is also a lesson that I have been planning on teaching in the classroom (if I end up teaching English and somehow convince a school board to let me teach Looking for Alaska). It was great to hear from my fellow students as well about their interest and motivation in the book and in the way I introduced it.

I think the most valuable information I got out of this and what I hope to carry over with me into teaching was Chelsea's response to my lesson/Looking for Alaska. She mentioned how much she had hated English in high school and how if she'd had the opportunity to read a book like LfA she would have been far more interested because LfA is about controversies, teenagers, and things that teens can relate to as opposed to the standard canon taught in English classes.

Chelsea's response is spot on. Not all adolescents need to read the classics/canon (which, by the way, is predominately made up of books written for adults). Some adolescents (and I would argue most adolescents) need to read books they can understand and relate to. Books that discuss underage drinking, smoking, breaking rules and the consequences for it and yes, even books that discuss sexuality, sex, and emotional connections (read as: love).

If we want our students to make good choices and be smart about the decisions they make with regards to drugs, drinking, sex, and even rule breaking then we need a place for them to discuss, analyze, and understand the consequences and/or benefits behind making their decisions. What better way to do that than through the guise of analyzing a book?

John Green's video on the matter does a great job of explaining the rationale behind including some of the controversial subject matter in Looking for Alaska and you can find his video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMPtYvZ8tM

Overall, I am looking forward to employing this strategy and the others that my colleagues have used in order to engage my students and hopefully motivate them to read or learn as needed.

Dead Cows, Tasty Burgers

Overall, this week went much better. There was not stress due to lack of time this week which made class infinitely more enjoyable. Furthermore, we got to color and use crayons on Wednesday, which was clearly a highlight of the week. As for actual content this week, we discussed the importance of before reading strategies and engagement strategies. We also learned some vocabulary (muscular endurance, anyone?) and wrote on the board a bit.

Essentially, we talked about how engaging students' schema and their hearts is important to a good (and educational) reading experience. If we want our students to be truly interested in the activities for the day or their reading assignments, we have to play towards what interests them. Evidently, two boxes of 64 count crayons with pencil sharpeners is enough to motivate a room full of college students into discussing meat processing (and after lunch, too!). So, in addition to having fun supplies to work with, one could also use toys, props, visuals, and games to engage their students. Furthermore, to truly motivate a student, playing to their passions, finding the things they care about as related to a text, or incorporating food are viable ways to engage students as well.

As the eldest of three and a person who has worked with youth (babysitting, youth groups, etc.), it has never been a secret to me that the key to working with kids (and anyone, really) is finding ways to make sure both parties get what they want. For example, while babysitting near bedtime, negotiating is key. Inevitably a child wants to stay up and push the boundary. But you have to get them to go to bed. So, strike a deal. Get ready for bed now, and then a bedtime story or final tv program as a reward, and then bed.

I believe motivating students works in much the same way. A student wants to have fun or play with things that maybe they don't usually get to work with. A teacher wants her students to learn. Combine them, and the students get what they want and the teacher gets what she wants and everyone goes home happy.

I've been slowly motivating my brothers, cousins, and younger peers to do what needs to be done like this for years. Undoubtedly handling the desires of ~30 kids and making sure that they still learn what they need to will be a very different challenge, but I hope that my resilience and success on the smaller/individual scale will translate to the classroom.

But I could go without further discussion of how cows are turned into burgers/steaks/food. Just leave the crayons, please.

Dead Horses

At the risk of beating a very, very dead horse, let's talk some more about the IMP. Okay, so maybe we're beating a very, very dead IMP instead. I can see how the project was effective in allowing us to use the tools we had been introduced to for evaluating texts and applying that to a lesson plan sort of setting, but I'm not sure that showed me much about what I hadn't already learned in being introduced to the evaluations in a previous reading assignment. Though, I will recognize that that is probably because I was working with Looking for Alaska which essentially has its supplemental materials all picked out based on several materials that the author has supplied/created in response to his book being taught in schools.

Overall the project was useful, but tedious.

As for Wednesday's class, we essentially reviewed some of the vocabulary teaching techniques that we had taught the week before, recognized that we were having loads of trouble recalling information (because there is so much of it and so little time to process--especially when added to other coursework) in regards to the main points of vocabulary instruction (rich and robust instruction, repetition/multiple exposures, explicit instruction, placing words in context, connotative/denotative meaning instruction, etc.) Then, before our activity could really get under way, class time was up and it was time to go.

Which makes analyzing and connecting things this week exceedingly difficult since I don't think we reached the meat of what we were supposed to do on Wednesday.

In not reaching what we were supposed to do on Wednesday, I can only imagine that this is reflective of what is entirely possible to happen once we are teachers. Perhaps our students will be suffering from a great deal of frustration from their other courses or personal problems or extra-curriculars or perhaps some horrible combination of the three that they won't be productive in our classes or in learning what we have to say to them. So then, the question arises as to how we would deal with that and handle it in our own classrooms. Do we barrel on with the lesson even though our students clearly aren't receptive for whatever reason? Do we review previous material to try and get our students back on track?

Or do we reevaluate or alter our lesson to accommodate our students' needs? Do we sit down and ask them what's going on and try to figure out if there isn't a solution that's mutually beneficial for everyone? Yes, this will take up valuable class time and may place us in an uncomfortable position if we find out that our course is one of the sources of grievance, but perhaps doing so will allow us to better prepare for future lessons--perhaps incorporate more entertaining strategies or methods that introduce a level of fun or de-stressing back into the classroom. Perhaps we need to modify the assignments schedule in order to work with our students to have reasonable time requirements for extra-curriculars, work, and other courses.

Having stalls, rough days, and days where things don't get accomplished is inevitable. But I think what we decide to do with those stalled days is going to determine how effective we are as teachers. For me, I hope I can be the kind of teacher who can meet my students half way on days like Wednesday. I hope I can at least find out why our day or lesson is stalling and work with my students to find some sort of solution. As a student, those are the teachers I often respect most, so it's only fitting I should try to be that teacher.

I hope I didn't beat too many dead horses.

Anaphora, Board Races, and Vocab Strategies

For anyone who is still wondering about what the term anaphora means it is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of clauses. For anyone who wants to know what we did in class on Monday, we played a board race to see how much we remembered from reading assignment 3 and then were all tricked into believing kolpers was a real word. Finally, for anyone wondering what we did on Wednesday in class, we talked about vocab learning strategies--lots and lots of vocab learning strategies.

Anaphora is a particularly useful device when discussing vocabulary because it implements a key component of vocabulary learning. Anaphora uses repetition to make a point or to draw importance to a word or phrase in a sentence (or several sentences). Anaphora can be used as a way to repeat new vocabulary words in order to help the words stick in students' minds.

Beyond repetition, however, there are a few other key notions to allowing students to internalize new words. Students must also be able to make connections with their prior knowledge (schema) and the new word they are learning. This is where categorizing new words and measuring for students' familiarity comes in to play. A bus has four wheels, transports people, is bigger than a car, and is a vehicle. Besides making connections, and repetition, one of the third most important parts to internalizing vocabulary is placing the new words in context for students. Knowing the dictionary definition of Covert (concealed, secret, disguised) does not help a student learn the word outside of its definition, which means that the student cannot generate the word in his/her own words.

However, if we were to say: Allison, a covert officer for the CIA, is on a top secret mission in Prague, our students would have a much better chance at understanding how to use the word "covert" because they have proper context for it (assuming, of course, that the CIA and spies are connected within their schema).

So. How do you manage to take all of this very important vocabulary learning and pack it in to your content area lesson plans? By using vocabulary learning strategies, of course!

My top five picks for vocabulary learning methods are:

1. Freerice.com. This is a "method" that I would use during the downtime of my classroom because it is a covert attempt to teach students vocabulary. Students (and indeed anyone) who play the game believe that they are playing an easy game that simultaneously attempts to conquer world hunger. They see this as fun and charity work that doesn't require them to do anything rather than answer some questions. As a result, they may not know they're learning which makes it a perfect down time activity.

2. Word Journals. I particularly like the word journals for literary terms/devices because once students have completed a significant portion of their word journal (as set aside in class) it can become an English (class) dictionary for them--just in case they forget what anaphora is. Word journals are also a great opening activity for a class period that can be used on a regular basis.

3. Four-Fold Concept Development. I love the idea of taking a unit's vocab list (say for SAT prep, perhaps) and dividing it up among the students. The students believe they're doing 1/20th of the work they might normally have to do and then in the interactive portion of concept development (after the students have made their foldables and are sharing around) they are required to collaborate with and engage their fellow students in order to really learn the words.

4. ABC Book. While ABC books may be kind of corny, this usually allows students to get really creative with their work and allows for further connections to a text. Ideally I'd like to implement this in correspondence with a choice novel or a choice project so as to allow students greater freedom and more chances to connect with the difficult (or perhaps not so difficult) language in their texts.

5. Word Wall. This is another method that is particularly effective for vocabulary instruction/SAT prep in an English classroom. It requires students to collaborate together to create a word wall and perhaps students in the upper level classes could have some sort of incentive for using word wall words during class (contribution to a pizza party or some sort of free homework pass? perhaps bonus points on the next test or assignment?) That would encourage students to use the words on the word wall and would help them learn the words under the guise of earning a reward.

Now then, bonus points if you can find the two examples of Anaphora I placed in this post.