So,
I've had an entire day to think about my morning issue, and I've come to the following conclusions:
1. I should have remembered that there was a possibility of having a deaf student in my class
2. It wasn't my fault this time, and I can improve
3. Next time I teach in that class, I'll make sure I have her notes filled out so she can just "listen"
4. I need to stop beating on myself, and thinking about this like I have been all day
5. Today threw me a curve ball, and although it sucked, and I was frustrated and embarrassed this morning, I did learn a lot. There are a lot of things I can be learning while I am working in the schools right now - AND THAT IS WHY WE'RE THERE to learn.
That said. Perhaps I'll feel better in the morning. I wish I knew sign language myself. Maybe I'll work on that.
So, we don't have to keep this for class anymore, but I've decided that I'm going to keep up with it. I really have felt like it is helping, and making me think about WHY I am doing things and how they'll help my students. Now that it doesn't apply just to HIST 477/492 I'll be able to share things from my other experiences from my other education classes and my future teaching endeavors.
Boom. I'm enjoying the path and career that I've chosen : )
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Okay.
One of my worst fears realized. Today. Awesome.
I've been working on this lesson for a World Geography class. They're sophomores, which really translates to "freshmen" in my past experiences...since they're 10-12 instead of 9-12. Anyway - I made this notes worksheet for the kids and learned about Tibet, etc. Then today, we had a guest speaker in OUR class, got out a little late, which is not what I wanted for my first HS lesson as being late really sends me off kilter. Then, I get into the classroom, and there is a girl who hasn't been in there ever since I've been in there - and she is deaf. I thought it would be okay, but in some ways I feel like I crashed and burned in so many ways...
I talk fast anyway...not because I'm nervous, but because I just do...so the signer had to slow me down, and eventually, we had to stop and wait for the girl who is deaf to finish writing after watching all the words I was saying. I don't mind waiting, and I understand why it is hard...but I didn't know what to do when we were all waiting. The silence was killing me. I felt so unprepared, even though it wasn't my fault.
I'm still flustered...but I learned a lot today. Like, if I knew she was in there, I would have given the girl who was deaf a worksheet that was filled out so that she could just watch the signer and learn.
okay.
I survived.
: )
One of my worst fears realized. Today. Awesome.
I've been working on this lesson for a World Geography class. They're sophomores, which really translates to "freshmen" in my past experiences...since they're 10-12 instead of 9-12. Anyway - I made this notes worksheet for the kids and learned about Tibet, etc. Then today, we had a guest speaker in OUR class, got out a little late, which is not what I wanted for my first HS lesson as being late really sends me off kilter. Then, I get into the classroom, and there is a girl who hasn't been in there ever since I've been in there - and she is deaf. I thought it would be okay, but in some ways I feel like I crashed and burned in so many ways...
I talk fast anyway...not because I'm nervous, but because I just do...so the signer had to slow me down, and eventually, we had to stop and wait for the girl who is deaf to finish writing after watching all the words I was saying. I don't mind waiting, and I understand why it is hard...but I didn't know what to do when we were all waiting. The silence was killing me. I felt so unprepared, even though it wasn't my fault.
I'm still flustered...but I learned a lot today. Like, if I knew she was in there, I would have given the girl who was deaf a worksheet that was filled out so that she could just watch the signer and learn.
okay.
I survived.
: )
Friday, September 26, 2008
Venn Diagrams and Time-lines
On Wednesday, we covered Venn-Diagrams and Time-lines.
Time-lines are obviously important in a history class, so it is important to me to know how to use them correctly - or most effectively. We read documents in the Revolutionary War packet, and used anther strategy. K and I used Questioning the Author. I did a little better with it on Wednesday, but I still don't like it. Anyway. After everyone was done with their reading, we made a time-line as a class putting the documents in order, as well as writing down details that could be important for the document. It really helped put them in context. I read all the documents, looked at the dates, thought about the dates and the sources, and it still helped me exponentially.
Now, I have images of worksheets dancing in my head, and projects, and class activities. All to do with time-lines. This is something that could be hung up in the classroom when the kids are done, and then they would wander over to it and see what it says and learn even more I think. Besides, I think it is sort of fun. I'm not sure if the kids would see it that way, since I like them anyway, but I think it would be fun for them. At least - as far as school goes : )
We also did Venn Diagrams which I HATED as a kid. I don't hate them so much anymore. We used the same documents to fill out the VD. On one side we did the British, and the other the Patriots. One fun thing we did with that was to put up all the different names of the British and the Patriots...Redcoats vs. Provincials...etc. It was cool to see all the different names up there, and I think that is something that the kids could enjoy too.
We talked about the three way VDs too, and I like those a lot. The one concern I have with all the VD is that I think the circles are hard to write in, and I often draw the middle too small. I'm thinking about trying to create a version of them where the shapes are squares or something so that there is more room for the students to write. I don't ever remember using them in history clsses, just science and occasionally English. I want to try them out with some students and see how well they respond to them in the history classroom. : )
On other notes....
I missed Monday and we went over cornell notes. I'm going to look them up and try them as I know I did them in HS but don't remember the entire process...and today (FRIDAY!!) we're going to the lab to start on our work there and I am stoked. I think it is going to be really fun! This class has so many things that are amazing about it and I feel so fortunate that I kind of found it by accident.
Time-lines are obviously important in a history class, so it is important to me to know how to use them correctly - or most effectively. We read documents in the Revolutionary War packet, and used anther strategy. K and I used Questioning the Author. I did a little better with it on Wednesday, but I still don't like it. Anyway. After everyone was done with their reading, we made a time-line as a class putting the documents in order, as well as writing down details that could be important for the document. It really helped put them in context. I read all the documents, looked at the dates, thought about the dates and the sources, and it still helped me exponentially.
Now, I have images of worksheets dancing in my head, and projects, and class activities. All to do with time-lines. This is something that could be hung up in the classroom when the kids are done, and then they would wander over to it and see what it says and learn even more I think. Besides, I think it is sort of fun. I'm not sure if the kids would see it that way, since I like them anyway, but I think it would be fun for them. At least - as far as school goes : )
We also did Venn Diagrams which I HATED as a kid. I don't hate them so much anymore. We used the same documents to fill out the VD. On one side we did the British, and the other the Patriots. One fun thing we did with that was to put up all the different names of the British and the Patriots...Redcoats vs. Provincials...etc. It was cool to see all the different names up there, and I think that is something that the kids could enjoy too.
We talked about the three way VDs too, and I like those a lot. The one concern I have with all the VD is that I think the circles are hard to write in, and I often draw the middle too small. I'm thinking about trying to create a version of them where the shapes are squares or something so that there is more room for the students to write. I don't ever remember using them in history clsses, just science and occasionally English. I want to try them out with some students and see how well they respond to them in the history classroom. : )
On other notes....
I missed Monday and we went over cornell notes. I'm going to look them up and try them as I know I did them in HS but don't remember the entire process...and today (FRIDAY!!) we're going to the lab to start on our work there and I am stoked. I think it is going to be really fun! This class has so many things that are amazing about it and I feel so fortunate that I kind of found it by accident.
Journals from 9/15 week...now typed : )
9/16
I can't believe how much I liked the write to learn. Since I wasn't feeling well then, I decided to write my thoughts here, even though I'm not near a computer...
I feel like with the write-to-learn, students are really engaged with what they are doing. I think that the connections that they learn how to make are really important and I really enjoy the fact that they can read and understand articles. The more I think about it, the more I want to use these in my classroom. I think they are incredibly valuable for so many reasons and i can't imagine how far kids could go. Especially after a little practice!! : ) I am trying to figure out how to bring this into the classrooms that I am working in for EDUC450. Perhaps I can find a lesson that will work, as I am really anxious to try it.
I didn't like the b-k-w-l as much, I hate k-w-l's. However, I think that the newer version with the background knowledge is good.
9/17
WE DID THE COOLEST THING TODAY!!!
So, an elementary student does this with her classes, and I think it is amazing!! We got a short reading about the Revolutionary war, and then we had to go through and circle the "important" words from the article. After that, we made a list on the right hand side of the paper of all the words we circled (in order). Next, we had to write summaries using those words. I could not believe how amazingly easy it was to write a summary after doing this. I always have to think about summaries, as I want to write tooooooooo much, but this seamed really really really easy! No wonder the elementary kids can do it so well!! I will be using this in my classroom, no question. I think that there are some other things that might work too using a similar premise - perhaps with primary documents.
We also discussed direct vocabulary, which was interesting. I often forget that kids don't know al the words in the English language, and because of that, I often forget to help them. Direct vocabulary is when you show the kids what the words mean right then and there. You don't say "un-happy" means "not happy" but you tell them about what it means, and ask them questions and get involved.
I was talking to an elementary teacher who is the parent of some of my lacrosse kids, and she was telling me about how she uses that in the second grade. They do a form of KWL for all of their units, but since the kids are small, they do what they THINK they know and then, when they're finished with the unit (and actually know things), they move all of they think they knows into "Truth" or "Misconception". She's taught them the meaning of "misconception" using direct vocabulary, and I guess the kids get really excited about it since it is such a big word. Her KWL chart goes on a board, and there are post-its stuck to it. I think that would be a great way to get kids involved in a jr. high classroom. I'm not sure if it would work for the HS kids, but it is a good jumping off point for me : )
I wonder why more teachers don't use the things we've been talking about? Are they just lazy or do they not know about these and/or where to find them? Are they just stuck in their ways? OR do they not think that they work?
I'm guessing probably a pretty big mixture of all of them.
9/19
Today we learned about Questioning the Author-and I think it is useful - but it is the hardest for me in the stratagies that we've done. Basically, the teacher would read the text and make marks where she/he wanted to write a question. They would ask things like:
What does the author mean by saying _____?
I wonder why the author isn't mentioning ________?
I wonder if they'll tell us more about _____?
I think the author just made a contradiction by saying ________ and ________.
This happens while the kids are reading out loud, and I guess I don't really like it. It interrupts the reading, which sort of makes my brain freak out...and I forget what we're doing. I'm not sure if I will use it in my classroom or not ~ but I do want to get better at it so that I can use it. I think that the kids need to know that they are ALLOWED to question someone who is writing something, and that the person writing it isn't god. One really good thing about this is that the kids are participating in actively questioning what is going on. For some kids, this may not come naturally, so it is important for them to learn how to do it in class. Some students may be like me and not do well, but not all students are going to do well at everything all the time.
I can understand how the kids might feel though as we read material that was at our level and not at the level of younger students. It is difficult. I did feel like I learned though, even though I didn't like it much, which speaks a lot for the strategy I think.
-------(later in the day)-------
I was thinking about it more, and I think this activity would be good for students when they're writing too. THey could exchange papers and have other students "Question" their work. I think that often, kids forget that the audience doesn't really know everything that they do. If they had an opportunity to share with their peers, then that is good for them I think - they could get some feedback and improve as writers too.
I can't believe how much I liked the write to learn. Since I wasn't feeling well then, I decided to write my thoughts here, even though I'm not near a computer...
I feel like with the write-to-learn, students are really engaged with what they are doing. I think that the connections that they learn how to make are really important and I really enjoy the fact that they can read and understand articles. The more I think about it, the more I want to use these in my classroom. I think they are incredibly valuable for so many reasons and i can't imagine how far kids could go. Especially after a little practice!! : ) I am trying to figure out how to bring this into the classrooms that I am working in for EDUC450. Perhaps I can find a lesson that will work, as I am really anxious to try it.
I didn't like the b-k-w-l as much, I hate k-w-l's. However, I think that the newer version with the background knowledge is good.
9/17
WE DID THE COOLEST THING TODAY!!!
So, an elementary student does this with her classes, and I think it is amazing!! We got a short reading about the Revolutionary war, and then we had to go through and circle the "important" words from the article. After that, we made a list on the right hand side of the paper of all the words we circled (in order). Next, we had to write summaries using those words. I could not believe how amazingly easy it was to write a summary after doing this. I always have to think about summaries, as I want to write tooooooooo much, but this seamed really really really easy! No wonder the elementary kids can do it so well!! I will be using this in my classroom, no question. I think that there are some other things that might work too using a similar premise - perhaps with primary documents.
We also discussed direct vocabulary, which was interesting. I often forget that kids don't know al the words in the English language, and because of that, I often forget to help them. Direct vocabulary is when you show the kids what the words mean right then and there. You don't say "un-happy" means "not happy" but you tell them about what it means, and ask them questions and get involved.
I was talking to an elementary teacher who is the parent of some of my lacrosse kids, and she was telling me about how she uses that in the second grade. They do a form of KWL for all of their units, but since the kids are small, they do what they THINK they know and then, when they're finished with the unit (and actually know things), they move all of they think they knows into "Truth" or "Misconception". She's taught them the meaning of "misconception" using direct vocabulary, and I guess the kids get really excited about it since it is such a big word. Her KWL chart goes on a board, and there are post-its stuck to it. I think that would be a great way to get kids involved in a jr. high classroom. I'm not sure if it would work for the HS kids, but it is a good jumping off point for me : )
I wonder why more teachers don't use the things we've been talking about? Are they just lazy or do they not know about these and/or where to find them? Are they just stuck in their ways? OR do they not think that they work?
I'm guessing probably a pretty big mixture of all of them.
9/19
Today we learned about Questioning the Author-and I think it is useful - but it is the hardest for me in the stratagies that we've done. Basically, the teacher would read the text and make marks where she/he wanted to write a question. They would ask things like:
What does the author mean by saying _____?
I wonder why the author isn't mentioning ________?
I wonder if they'll tell us more about _____?
I think the author just made a contradiction by saying ________ and ________.
This happens while the kids are reading out loud, and I guess I don't really like it. It interrupts the reading, which sort of makes my brain freak out...and I forget what we're doing. I'm not sure if I will use it in my classroom or not ~ but I do want to get better at it so that I can use it. I think that the kids need to know that they are ALLOWED to question someone who is writing something, and that the person writing it isn't god. One really good thing about this is that the kids are participating in actively questioning what is going on. For some kids, this may not come naturally, so it is important for them to learn how to do it in class. Some students may be like me and not do well, but not all students are going to do well at everything all the time.
I can understand how the kids might feel though as we read material that was at our level and not at the level of younger students. It is difficult. I did feel like I learned though, even though I didn't like it much, which speaks a lot for the strategy I think.
-------(later in the day)-------
I was thinking about it more, and I think this activity would be good for students when they're writing too. THey could exchange papers and have other students "Question" their work. I think that often, kids forget that the audience doesn't really know everything that they do. If they had an opportunity to share with their peers, then that is good for them I think - they could get some feedback and improve as writers too.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Class today and other things I wish to write and think about...
Well. I enjoyed today's class. We talked about Writing History and everyone seemed to like it. We all thought it was useful, and could be used in our classrooms - or to help our students in the future. I'm really glad that I got to read that book before my capstone ~ I think it will help a lot. Having the opportunity to talk about those uses in class with my peers was nice though.
We also did some more reading strategies which I liked. We looked at immigration pictures, listened to a story, and read several articles to be able to to a B-K-W-L-Q and a write to learn activity. Both were successful and useful.
I am sick. So, I am tired and don't remember as much as I want to, but more later hopefully...when I'm up to it.
We also did some more reading strategies which I liked. We looked at immigration pictures, listened to a story, and read several articles to be able to to a B-K-W-L-Q and a write to learn activity. Both were successful and useful.
I am sick. So, I am tired and don't remember as much as I want to, but more later hopefully...when I'm up to it.
TWO articles : Things to think about
So, for today (Monday) we were to read two articles.
1. Am I the Only One Who Can't Make a K-W-L Work? Literacy Paths to Content Knowledge
2. Taming the Text: Engaging and Supporting Students in Social Studies Readings
I absolutely LOVED the K-W-L article, because I've never liked them. I had to use them in 340 with groups of students and I never felt like they were working as we were told they would. There was almost a "magic" about them when we first learned how to use them...but the kids didn't seem to like them much, or respond very well to them. It was nice to know that "real" teachers can't always make them work either. : )
The story she presented about her students and the Civil War was hilarious, but I think it also makes us think. How many times are we teaching lessons that don't make sense to kids b/c they don't have enough background knowledge? In a sense (at least to me) we're failing our students if we give them lessons they can't do b/c they don't have enough pre-existing knowledge. When she wrote about the "Writing to learn" strategy I was blown away!! I want to make worksheets like that ~ however, I was puzzled about why no one ever filled in the "connection" blank... But, what a great way to get students thinking and processing!! Just reading the info in the article, I felt like I learned more than I would have if I just read the poem and I STUDY HISTORY!
I thought the information about the 'readabilty' was also interesting. I didn't really know that the system that decides that is somewhat crazy and not quite accurate. When I was reading about when the kids assigned numbers, I was interested to see what they wrote. However, my favorite thing (of possibly all time) from this article was the Reader's Theater of "The Lonely X" and the "Scientific Method". I really dislike math, and I'm not too big on science, but when I read these, I was somewhat inspired to solve equations or scientific problems - which is really saying something! I immideately brought those ideas into a history classroom, and I can't imagine what great things kids could do with it. WOW. : ) !
Article #2
This article didn't "wow" me as much as the KWL article, but I really liked it because it made me think. Throughout my reading, there was some kind of something running around in my head constantly asking "HOW CAN WE CREATE INTEREST IN THE CLASSROOM?" Although this reading was about reading I really couldn't control myself in thinking about the rest of Social Studies : )
I liked the first chart which was a graphic organizer, but I am horrible at creating them. I'm not so visual in that respect (as a learner) so it would be hard for me to create. However, I am going to have to learn as I think it would be good for my kids in the classroom.
The second figure was of a Herringbone activity that explores who, what, when, where, and why...including a summary. I really liked this - and could see how it could be modified to fit older and younger leaners.
The Retelling Checklist, Word Maps, and Story Pyramid were also all good. They made me think when i was using them, and I think that they could be used rather effectively in a history classroom. My favorite from the set was the word map. I like kids to know words, and I could also change it up to create a "people" map that could be used for historical figures - OR I could create an "event" map that could be used for historical events : )
-In this section of the article, it also mentioned picture books, and I thought that was great. I don't know of a single person who doesn't like a picture book now and then, and it might be just the thing that a HS classroom needs for a change of pace.
The authors also discussed timelines ~ this is something I've always intended on using in the classroom, so not much new information there except instructions on how to do it : )
BIOPOEM!!
Obviously, from the caps and !!!, my favorite one. Here is the template to be followed in poem lines (so...1. = line one, 5. = line five etc.)
1. First Name
2. Four Traits that describe the character
3. Relative (Brother, sister, mother, son etc) of...
4. Lover of....(List 3)
5. Who feels....(List 3)
6. Who needs ...(List 3)
7. Who fears...(List 3)
8. Who gives... (List 3)
9. Who would like to see...(List 3)
10. Resident of...
11. Last name
SO COOL! I'm going to do one later : )
and moving on...
ABC books were the last thing. I did them in MS and HS, and liked them. It was good too, but just not nearly as exciting after I nearly lost control over the bio-poem. I feel like such a nerd right now...haha. But that is okay. It is fun to be this excited over a "strategy" but I can't stop thinking about it!!
I feel as if my toolbox is just shy of exploding. : )
1. Am I the Only One Who Can't Make a K-W-L Work? Literacy Paths to Content Knowledge
2. Taming the Text: Engaging and Supporting Students in Social Studies Readings
I absolutely LOVED the K-W-L article, because I've never liked them. I had to use them in 340 with groups of students and I never felt like they were working as we were told they would. There was almost a "magic" about them when we first learned how to use them...but the kids didn't seem to like them much, or respond very well to them. It was nice to know that "real" teachers can't always make them work either. : )
The story she presented about her students and the Civil War was hilarious, but I think it also makes us think. How many times are we teaching lessons that don't make sense to kids b/c they don't have enough background knowledge? In a sense (at least to me) we're failing our students if we give them lessons they can't do b/c they don't have enough pre-existing knowledge. When she wrote about the "Writing to learn" strategy I was blown away!! I want to make worksheets like that ~ however, I was puzzled about why no one ever filled in the "connection" blank... But, what a great way to get students thinking and processing!! Just reading the info in the article, I felt like I learned more than I would have if I just read the poem and I STUDY HISTORY!
I thought the information about the 'readabilty' was also interesting. I didn't really know that the system that decides that is somewhat crazy and not quite accurate. When I was reading about when the kids assigned numbers, I was interested to see what they wrote. However, my favorite thing (of possibly all time) from this article was the Reader's Theater of "The Lonely X" and the "Scientific Method". I really dislike math, and I'm not too big on science, but when I read these, I was somewhat inspired to solve equations or scientific problems - which is really saying something! I immideately brought those ideas into a history classroom, and I can't imagine what great things kids could do with it. WOW. : ) !
Article #2
This article didn't "wow" me as much as the KWL article, but I really liked it because it made me think. Throughout my reading, there was some kind of something running around in my head constantly asking "HOW CAN WE CREATE INTEREST IN THE CLASSROOM?" Although this reading was about reading I really couldn't control myself in thinking about the rest of Social Studies : )
I liked the first chart which was a graphic organizer, but I am horrible at creating them. I'm not so visual in that respect (as a learner) so it would be hard for me to create. However, I am going to have to learn as I think it would be good for my kids in the classroom.
The second figure was of a Herringbone activity that explores who, what, when, where, and why...including a summary. I really liked this - and could see how it could be modified to fit older and younger leaners.
The Retelling Checklist, Word Maps, and Story Pyramid were also all good. They made me think when i was using them, and I think that they could be used rather effectively in a history classroom. My favorite from the set was the word map. I like kids to know words, and I could also change it up to create a "people" map that could be used for historical figures - OR I could create an "event" map that could be used for historical events : )
-In this section of the article, it also mentioned picture books, and I thought that was great. I don't know of a single person who doesn't like a picture book now and then, and it might be just the thing that a HS classroom needs for a change of pace.
The authors also discussed timelines ~ this is something I've always intended on using in the classroom, so not much new information there except instructions on how to do it : )
BIOPOEM!!
Obviously, from the caps and !!!, my favorite one. Here is the template to be followed in poem lines (so...1. = line one, 5. = line five etc.)
1. First Name
2. Four Traits that describe the character
3. Relative (Brother, sister, mother, son etc) of...
4. Lover of....(List 3)
5. Who feels....(List 3)
6. Who needs ...(List 3)
7. Who fears...(List 3)
8. Who gives... (List 3)
9. Who would like to see...(List 3)
10. Resident of...
11. Last name
SO COOL! I'm going to do one later : )
and moving on...
ABC books were the last thing. I did them in MS and HS, and liked them. It was good too, but just not nearly as exciting after I nearly lost control over the bio-poem. I feel like such a nerd right now...haha. But that is okay. It is fun to be this excited over a "strategy" but I can't stop thinking about it!!
I feel as if my toolbox is just shy of exploding. : )
Friday, September 12, 2008
PRE-READING!
Today we went over and experimented a little with some pre-reading strategies. It was fun. We went through SQ3R and one where you write down all the headings etc. and try to predict what was coming next. I found it to be really useful, although writing the headings felt rather tedious. I am guessing with some thought that I'll be able to use some of those strategies in my classroom.
The one that captured my attention the most was the drawing one - we were asked to draw anything in US history. I drew the declaration of independence and it was really funny, and I enjoyed it. I felt like I learned a lot too - even though it was just a simple thing. I think there are lots of places I could go with that in the classroom ...I just have to think : )
I wish our class period was longer...and we got a cool binder that I am going to go explore now.
The one that captured my attention the most was the drawing one - we were asked to draw anything in US history. I drew the declaration of independence and it was really funny, and I enjoyed it. I felt like I learned a lot too - even though it was just a simple thing. I think there are lots of places I could go with that in the classroom ...I just have to think : )
I wish our class period was longer...and we got a cool binder that I am going to go explore now.
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