Reciprocal Teaching
10 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
The most important part of reciprocal teaching is that students must have a good model to follow. The strategies must be well explained, so that the students can take on the role of the teacher and effectively teach and lead a discussion using the strategies taught by the teacher. I like how the website explains how this could be used in the classroom and has the children split up into groups of four. The tasks were distributed throughout the group and each student had one responsibility for one strategy while reading the text. I like this because it could become confusing to students, if they had more than one strategy to attend to while reading. In the video, on the reciprocal reading page, the teacher showed effective modeling of each strategy. She named the strategy and then explained and modeled each strategy. For example when she asked a main idea question and she used what, which is one of the 5 W’s. In the video there were 4 students in the small group and allowed each student to answer at least one question. This type of instruction is best done in small groups so each student is actively engages in their learning and with new texts that students can switch and try out different strategies.
In the vocabulary in section 3 I particularly liked the activity, forms of a word. I liked this activity because with one vocabulary word I could teach 3 or more other parts of speech. This is a great vocabulary expansion activity that helps students to learn the noun, verb, adjective, and adverb forms of one word. This is helpful because when students approach this word, in any form, in another text they recognize the word and know the meaning. The second activity that stuck out to me was Interview a character. In this activity one student embodies a character from the book while the other is the interviewer. They have to work together to create questions to ask the character. This activity builds students’ ability cooperate and communicate effectively, while incorporating vocabulary from the word wizard. I love this activity because it combines many skills that are necessary for students to possess. It models and teaches students how to construct and ask questions that provide answers that have depth and meaning, instead of asking yes and no questions. This can be hard for students, because they do not to interview people everyday and do not know what types of questions they should ask. In section 4 I really enjoyed doing the missing poster. I wrote it from the view of other owls at the academy that have not been moon blinked and notice that Soren is missing. I think this is a great way for students to look back through the book or other activities for help. I think that the students could also try to use words from the word wizard on their wanted or missing posters. Another activity that I like from section 4 was Applause, Applause. This reassures the teacher that the student knows the vocabulary words, because if they applaud to a word with a negative meaning, you can ask why they like that word to see if they know they meaning of the word. Also I noticed that on the word wizards for section 3 and 4 that I actually chose most of the same words as you did.
The PowerPoint on vocabulary shows the importance of teaching vocabulary along with text. There are many activities that can be completed with the word wizard, but these word need to be words that can replace tier 1 words. The word happy can be replaced with overjoyed, bliss, or content. The more the student works with words and becomes familiar with them, the more likely they will commit that word to memory. Also if the student presents a word in front of the class and has to draw a picture that is meaningful to them, they will more than likely being to use the word, because it has meaning to them.
Here is the link to my Glog!
http://hannahnvannoy.edu.glogster.com/wanted/
Multitext Study Vocabulary
03 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
The article discussed that to derive the meaning of different words they can be broken down into suffiexs, prefixes, and root words. Most of the vocabulary words from section one of Gardians of Ga”Hoole: The Capture can be broken down into these categories to help find their meanings. The word that was easiest to come up with a meaning for was the word humility. The root word is humble and the suffiex -ity means the state of, so from the root word and suffiex we can assume that the word humility means that stated of being humble. Students need to be taught the relationship between the root word if there is a change in spelling, but this can be difficult if the students does not know the meaning of the root word, they should be taught the meaning of the root word first. The article mentions how ELL students vocabulary needs can be met with the use of cognates. The word humility in Spanish is humilidad, and if the student knows what humilidad means then the teacher could explain cognates to the student. Some words in Spanish and English are spelled and sounds similar, and these words often have the same or similar meanings. This article also discussed repeating vocabulary words and having follow up activities. It is pointless to have students fill out vocabulary sheets or memorize words, but rather they should be held accountable for these words. The teacher should have follow up activities or make the students use the words in the journals to make sure they understand the meaning of the words and can use it in their normal vocabulary. The article also covered how it is important for the teacher to teach vocabulary, which is exactly the goal of the word wizard. You went through the chapters and selected words that the students may not be familiar with and created activities to complete with each word. This gives the words meaning to the students and allows them to connect with the words in the text. I also noticed that some of the words that you chose were used multiple times in the text. This is important for reading comprehension, because the student should recognize the word and be able to comprehend the text. This article also mentioned the relationship between reading comprehension and vocabulary. Students who have better textual comprehension often learn more vocabulary words, and students who know more vocabulary words have better reading comprehension. So it is important for students to be able to break down words so they can better understand the text. It still amazes me that students can learn up to 2,000- 3,000 new words per year, and the more students read and are able to comprehend the text the more vocabulary words they will learn.
Internet Workshops
29 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
I found it interesting when the article said many of the students
could not read the textbook that was designed for their grade level. I
know that students will be on different reading levels, but I feel
that the majority of the student should be able to easily read the
text. I like how this was combated with the Internet workshop. This
allowed the Social Studies content to be presented in an exciting and
entertaining way to the students. This is helpful because the students
are engaged in their learning process and are more likely to remember
what they learned during an Internet workshop, rather than what they
read or tried to read in a book. I learned that when planning an
Internet workshop it could take a while to find website that are child
friendly, so I should give myself ample amount of time to find sites
that are child friendly and easy to navigate. I know that in class
you had talked about using the bookmarking site delicious, but I
didn’t look into it until I read this article and I am so amazed that
you can look at websites that other people have posted and add them to
your site. I also like how the article listed so many websites that
are child friendly. One important aspect of the Internet workshop is
that it does not only specifically deal with content, but also the
website layout. One question on their workshop asked them the
differences that they saw between the information on the websites.
This article recommends that if I am planning on having my student
complete an Internet workshop on content material that I should do a
practice workshop to assure that the students know how to browse the
web and locate important information on websites. This is a critical
to enhance student learning of the specific content material Internet
workshop. The article addresses using a blog to publish their finding
and we have covered all of this information in class. I feel that
connect the student and to help them learn more they should have to
respond or comment on their classmates blogs. Going along with what we
have been discussing in class, blogging helps to give meaning to their
assignments and allows them to publish their work for other people to
see. I like how the students wrote poems and then recorded themselves
reading their poem aloud. This helps to get a sense of feeling about
the poem. I love how Social Studies, Reading/Writing, and technology
are integrated in these assignments. Now our world is full of
technological advances and our students should be familiar with how to
use them effectively. They can be intertwined and effective in
enhancing student learning. The child friendly websites were easy to navigate and had just enough information, so that the students were not overwhelmed with the amount of text. I also feel they were organized in a way that would be easy for students to able to explore and learn about pirates. Most of the websites you could click on a tab to navigate off of the home page somewhere on the new page you could click and it will bring you back to the home page. This makes it easy so students so not have to keep pressing the back button to return to the home page. I enjoyed doing the Internet workshop on owls because while there was reading to do there were also videos to watch. Also I had to search for the information and I had to know how to navigate the different sites to find the information. This would be a great way to i9ntroduce an owl unit into the classroom, because they have learned a little about owls and the workshop may lead them to ask questions to learn more about owls.
Barn Owl Internet Workshop
1. List the barn owl’s scientific name. Tyto alba alba.
2. What does a barn owl look like? What kind of sounds does it make?
They are white with brown specks on the front and their back feather
are tan with brown specks. They do not hoot like other owls, but the
screech. When they are surprised in their nest they make a hissing
sounds and when one of the adults is returning to the nest they make a
croaking sound.
3. Describe the habitat of a barn owl: Where do they live? What kind
of shelter do they need?
They have one nest site, typical 3 roost sites. 5 sites they visit occasionally. They also like to live near open fields so they can find their prey and they need shelter from the rain.
4. How is the barn owl especially equipped to catch its prey?
They have extra long legs, toes, and talons, which help them catch their prey that is hiding in tall grass. Their flight is quiet so the prey does not hear them coming.
5. What do barn owls eat? Where do they find their food?
Their typical diet consists of small ground animals, such as rats, mice,
6. Describe any “special talents” of the barn owl.
Their sense of hearing is unbelievable. They use their hearing to help find their prey. One ear concentrates on the sounds above while the other is attentive to sounds below. Their face helps to gather sound too.
7. Describe the life cycle of a barn owl.
They begin breeding in late winter the male does most of the hunting and they female stays in the nest. They lay their eggs in the spring . An average of 5.6 eggs are laid at a time and the stay in the egg for 30-32 days. They feed their young and when they have learned to pounce and have captured their first prey at 11 weeks. One they are able to take care of themselves they move on and find another place to live.
8. What are some cool “WOW” facts that you learned?
The life expectancy is 1-2 years!
The Wind has to be just right or they can’t fly, because they weight very little.
Young Barn Owls can swallow a mouse whole!
Freedom Summer
28 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
Shared Reading for Freedom Summer
Page 1 Illustration
Page 2
John Henry Waddell is my best friend.
His mama works for my mama.
Her name is Annie Mae.
Every morning at 8 o’clock Annie Mae
Steps off the county bus and walks up the long hill to my house.
If it’s summer, John Henry is step-step-stepping-it right beside her.
A Bus? It would be an inconvenience to have to ride the bus
everywhere. I wonder why Annie Mae and John Henry had to ride the bus
for her to get to work. Maybe it’s because it is too far to walk from
their house and they do not have a car to drive.
Page 3 Illustration
Page 4
We like to help Annie Mae.
We shell butter beans. We sweep the front porch.
We let the cats in, then chase the cats out of the house
Until Annie Mae says, “shoo! Enough of you two! Go play!”
We shoot marbles in the dirt until we’re too hot to be alive.
Then we yell, “Last one in is a rotten egg!”
And run straight to Fiddler’s Creek.
Last one in is a rotten egg…eww I don’t think he really means that
they will be a rotten egg. I think they just want to rush to get to the creek so they have more time to play.
Page 5
John Henry swims better than anyone I know.
He crawls like a catfish, blows bubble like a swamp monster,
But he doesn’t swim in the town pool with me.
He’s not allowed.
So we dam the creek with rocks and sticks
To make a swimming spot,
Then holler and jump in, wearing only our skin.
I don’t understand why John Henry is not allowed to go swim in the
town pool?Maybe if I look at the pictures I can figure it out. Oh now I
see private room members only. I guess John Henry is not a member of
the town pool.
page 6 Illustration
Page 7
John Henry’s skin is the color of browned butter.
He smells like pine needles after a good rain.
My skin is the color of pale moths that dance around the porch light at night.
John Henry says I smell like a just-washed sock.
“This means war!” I shout.
We churn that water into a white hurricane and laugh until our sides hurt.
Then we float on our backs and spout like whales.
“I’m gonna be a fireman when I grow up,” I say.
“Me too,” says John Henry.
Have you ever heard the word churn before? I have my grandmother told
me that she would churn butter when she was a little girl. That is
when they add milk and other ingredients into a wooden bowl and mix
them all together. I think that the word church means to mix or stir.
page 8 Illustration
page 9 Illustration
Page 10
I have two nickels for ices pops,
So we put on our clothes and walk to town.
John Henry doesn’t come with me through the front door or Mr. Mason’s
general store.
He’s not allowed.
“How ya doin’, Young Joe?” asks Mr. Mason. He winks and says,
“You gonna eat these all by yourself?”
My heart does a quick-beat.
“I got one for a friend.” I say and scoot out the door.
“Yessir, it’s mighty hot out there!” Mr. Mason calls after me.
“I love ice pops,” says John Henry
“Me too,” I say.
I wonder if John Henry is not allowed to go into the store for the
same reason that he is not allowed to swim in the pool? I do not think
that it is fair that John Henry is not allowed to swim in the pool or
go into Mr. Mason’s store.
Page 11
Annie Mae makes dinner for my family very night.
She creams the corn and rolls the biscuits.
Daddy stirs his iced tea and says “The town pool opens tomorrow to
everyone under the sun, no matter what color.”
“That’s the new law,” Mama tells me.
She helps my plate with peas and says, “It’s the way it’s going to be now-
Everybody together lunch counters, rest rooms, drinking fountains, too.”
I wriggle in my chair like a doodlebug.
“I got to be excused!” I shout, and run into the kitchen to tell John Henry.
Page 12 Illustration
Page 13
“I’m gonna swim in the town pool!” he hollers. “It is deep?”
“REAL deep,” I tell him. “and the water’s so clear,
You can jump to the bottom and open your eyes and still see.”
“Let’s be the first ones there,” says John Henry.
“I’ll bring my good-luck nickel, and we can dive for it.”
Page 14 Illustration
Page 15 Illustration
Page 16
Next morning, as soon as the sun peeks into the sky,
Here comes my best friend, John Henry Waddell,
Run-run-running to meet me.
“Let’s go!” he yells, “I got my nickel”
And I run right with him,
All the way to the town swimming pool.
We race over the last hill and…we stop
I wonder why they stopped. They were so excited about John Henry
being able to swim in the pool. Maybe they saw something they weren’t
expecting to see. Maybe it was a dog that scared them.
Page 17
County dump trucks are here.
They grind and back up into the empty pool.
Workers rake steaming asphalt into the hole where sparkling clean
water used to be.
One of them is John Henry’s big brother, Will Rogers.
We start to call to him “What happened?”
But he sees us first and points back on down the road-
It means- “Git on Home!”
I wonder why they would fill the pool now that everyone can swim? I
think they filled the pool because they did not want John Henry to
swim in the pool. I think that they only wanted the whites and nobody
else to swim in the pool.
Page 18 Illustration
Page 19
But our feet are stuck, we can’t budge.
So we hunker in the tall weeds and watch all morning
Until the pool is filled with hot, spongy tar.
Ssssss! Smoky steam rises in the air.
Workers tie planks to their shoes and stomp on the blacktop to make it smooth.
Will Rogers heaves his shovel into the back of an empty track
And climbs up with other workers.
His face is like a storm cloud,
I’m a not sure what that expression means. He face is like a storm
cloud? Does that mean that his face is dark and about to rain? Maybe
if we keep reading we can use the text to figure out the meaning.
and I know this job has made him angry.
“Let’s go!” a boss man shouts, and the trucks rumble-slam down the road.
Oh I understand now his face is not dark or about the rain. It means
that he was angry because of his job. His face is like a storm cloud
is just an expression I could use to express that I am angry or upset.
Page 20 Illustration
Page 21
It’s so quiet now, we can hear the breeze whisper though the grass.
We sit on the diving board and stare at the tops of silver ladders
Sticking up from the tar.
My Heart beats hard in my chest.
John Henry’s voice shakes “White folks don’t want colored folks in their pool.”
“You’re wrong John Henry,” I say, but I know he’s right.
“Let’s go back to Fiddler’s Creek,” I say.
“I didn’t want to swim in this pool anyway.”
I think that Joe wants to swim in the pool with John Henry, but he
doesn’t want to make him upset or angry, so he says that he does not
want to swim.
Page 21 Illustration
Page 22
John Henry’s eyes fill up with angry tears.
“I did,” he says. “I wanted to swim in this pool. I want to do
everything you can do.”
I don’t know what to say, but as we walk back to town,
My head starts to pop with new ideas.
I want to go to the Dairy Dip with John Henry,
Sit down and share a root beer floats.
I want us to go to the picture show, but popcorn, and watch movies together.
I want to see this town with John Henry’s eyes.
I’m not sure if John Henry will be able to do all of those things
with Joe. Since they closed the pool they might close the rest of the
town, so that blacks can’t do the same things as the white people.
Page 23 Illustration
Page 24 Illustration
Page 25
We stop in front of Mr. Mason’s store.
I jam my hands into my pockets while my mind searches for the words to
put with my new ideas.
My fingers close around two nickels.
“Want to get and ice pop?”
John Henry wipes his eyes and takes a breath.
“I want to pick it out myself.”
I swallow hard and my heart says yes.
“Let’s so that,” I say.
I give John Henry one of my nickels.
He shakes his head, “I got my own.”
We look at each other.
Page 26
Then we walk through the front door together.
As I was reading article I feel like the only way to get better at
shared reading is by practicing. This means two things, the first is
that I must fully read the text a couple of times before trying to do
a shared reading, so I know when to stop and ask questions or for
clarification. The second is my first shared reading may not go as
planned, but the more I do there better I will get. During the study
with the 25 teachers one thing that stuck out to me was that the
teachers were not necessarily asking students to answers questions, but
they were modeling what they were thinking to bet the student to form
their own ideas. In the text talks that I did last year in block 1, we
would pick out vocabulary words and then if they couldn’t come up with
the word we would give them to definition. I think that it is more
meaningful to students and they are more likely to remember words if
teachers first model what they are thinking about the word and they
have the students investigate the word. This can be done by having
the students use context clues to find the meaning, talk with peers
about the meaning, or look up the word. I also like how they model how
to use context clues to their students and model how to use other
words and meaning to remember words. I also like hoe they addressed
“skip it.” It is not helpful for students to skip words because that
word may be crucial to understanding the text. In the article it also
talks about text structure and tuning the students into how the text
is set up. So if they author is writing about a sequential process it
may be helpful if the students record the process. This article along
with the Pirate diary shared reading were great models to help me
create my shared reading for Freedom Summer. I wish that the article
had shown more examples of models to help shape students’
comprehension. Towards the end of the article I found it almost
effortless to model vocabulary words, but it was a struggle for me to
model my comprehension of the text without bombarding the students
with questions.
As Good as Anybody
27 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
Child-Friendly websites
- http://pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights//
- http://fp.seattleschools.org/fpclass/web33/index.htm
- http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/
- http://www.angelfire.com/ok/ush2civilrights/webopen.html
Reading Assessment Project
20 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
For the Reading Assessment project I will assess a fourth grader who is below grade level and then select a text that is appropriate for this student. During the assessment process I will have the students read passages that are each 100 words. As they are reading the text selections I will be marking any mistakes they make while reading. If the student makes more than 10 mistakes they will not be able to proceed to the next reading passage.
With the use of lexiles I will be able to determine the students’ lexile and be able to select books that are developmentally appropriate for this student. Lexiles determine the text level by using a readability formula and a students’ lexile score can be found with their EOG scores. Once the lexile score is found it can be matched to lexile levels that are given to texts. There are stipulations for how far above and below the student can move within their lexile level. The student can go 50L above and 100L below, and this is to ensure the reader does not reach their reading frustration level. So if the student that I assess has a lexile score of 600L, they could read books that are leveled from 500L- 650L. For the reading assessment project the goal is to not only match the students’ lexile score to books that have coordinating lexile levels, but also to find books that meet the interests of the student. This can be hard if I am assessing a fourth grader who has the same lexile score as a first grader. The interests of a fourth grade boy can differ greatly from those of a first grader.
After I have selected a text that I feel is appropriate and interesting, I will read the text to myself and select a 100 word passage that I would like the student to read. Then with the student and I will begin to read the selected text and stop at the passage that I would like the student to read. While the student is reading the selection I will conduct the same assessment that I did before. This assessment is to make sure the book that I chose is on the appropriate level for the student.
Extending Acrostic Poetry Into Content Learning: A Scaffolding Framework
13 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
I agree with the article when it talks about children making up poems that rhyme, but make no sense. I remember writing poems that rhymed, but did not follow a coherent thought process. I think that the teacher walking through the acrostic poem steps by step is important in teaching children how to write any type of poem. It allows the students to see the teacher’s thought process as they are writing the poem. A teacher can read and show students examples of an acrostic poem, but they will never learn how to write one correctly until they are shown. I also like how the teacher asks many questions about what the students have noticed about the poems. This helps to get the students involve in their learning process and gain more knowledge about acrostic poems.
I really like how Mrs. Shell integrated Science and Language Arts to help teach how to write an informational acrostic poem. She asked her students what they would like to know about Ladybugs. I feel that is the key to engaging and enhancing student learning is by asking questions and finding out what your students want to learn about academic subject matter. As they are reading about Ladybugs, the teacher highlights descriptive words, phrases that appeal to the senses, answers to their questions, and the life cycle and habitat of Ladybugs. This will be useful information to draw from when the class beings to write their poem about Ladybugs. After they wrote the first draft the students decide that it should be revised and they should add more descriptive language and alliteration. This is where the students spelling dictionary and character traits list would be useful. The students could look through and choose words that would fit in the class poem. They revised the poem as a class and now the students have a model to refer back to when writing their own informational acrostic poem.
