October 29, 2009

The first unit I really liked was We're All in It Together. I enjoyed this social studies unit because it not only brought the students' community into their lives, but helped aid a community in the classroom. The unit included lots of of methods for differentiation. Tiering, levels and groups of readiness, RAFT, Think-Pair-Share, and learning contracts were all incorporated throughout the lesson. I felt that students would be able to come to understand that even though everyone does differnt things in a community, they all have a purpose and are needed.
The knows, understands, and dos of this unit are applicable to any sense of a community. Students will know places and roles within a community. They will also know specific community vocabulary words. The students will understand that people have needs and wants that are met by the different roles within a communith. They will also understandt that different roles provide for a community in different ways, that each role is important, and without certain roles a community may suffer. Students will aldo know that all people in a community are part of a system in which a change in one part can impact other parts and that all people have a responsibility to cooperate in order for a community to run effectively. From this unit, the student will be able to explain different components of a community; compare, contrast, and evaluate roles; draw conclusions; work cooperatively and independently; write a letter and a set of directions; use a telephone book; analyze a problem; identify and describe one's own role in a community; write and/or speak persuasively and role play.

The second unit I liked was We Each Have a Role to Play. I enjoyed this unit because students are able to learn real life skills along with literacy and language arts tools. Students can learn that we all make choices all the time that can have positive and negative consequences. The differentiated activities used in this lesson include group work, tiered assignements, and tiered assessments.
The knows understands, and dos again are appliciable to more than just literacy circles. Through the completion of this unit, students will know elements of characterization, including description, emotion, tone of voice, and actions. They will also know the tasks of specific literature circle rols, and criteria for asking good questions. The students will understand that people share responsibility for success when they work togher, that passages from texts can reveal a character's personality, accepting responsibility shows maturity, making thoughtful choices is part of responsible behavior, and choices can have both good and negative consequences. Finally, the students will be able to plan and carry out personal responsibilities for group discussions, ask thought-provoking questions, listen actively, draw conclusions, make predictions based on textual clues, analyze character actions and statements, respond to literature through writing, participate in student-led discussions, and relate literature to personal and community events.
I feel that we can make many lessons as differentiated as these two that I have chosen. We don't always need to include a portion of community incorporation as these two lessons did, just like the other units demonstrate. However, these lessons are great because they include ideas that create a differentiated class and help students become a part of the classroom community.

October 22, 2009

The activities in the back of the text book were great! I think so many of them would be great resources in creatin a differentiated classroom. I decided to write about a couple of them that I would like to try out in my classroom.
The first tool I want to try out with my students is the evaluation checklist. It seemed to me to be a subtle reminder to our students to be effeceive interacters with their peers. This checklist allows the students to make sure they are working with others well and bringing out the best in themselves and others. I think this would actually be a good resource for teachers to use as well, not only our students.
The second tool I liked was developing clarity about learning goals. Students of all abilities and cultures can know they share the same learning goals as the rest of the students in their class. A written reminder of what is expected of students can be a great tool to keep students (and teachers!) on task.
I also liked the learning contracts in the book. Along with having the learning goals listed, personal contracts provide a great resource for keeping students on task. However, this idea gives a bit more incentive for the students. When they complete a task correctly, they can have their ticket or contract stamped or something to that effect. This will allow students to be able to be motivated without addicting extrinsic motivators (candy).
Finally, I enjoyed the multiple-entry journals. I like all types of journal writing so much, I just need to do it myself to get some of the benefits. The double entry journal benefits students so much by helping reading through guiding focus, concentration, and thoughts. Comprehension is also addressed. Each student can write in a journal to guide their thoughts, we don't always necessarily need to be able to read them (languages, pictures) as long as they are being written and used by the students.

October 8, 2009

As I have posted before, I have recently began to have a real sense of overwhelmingness about the career I have chosen. There is so much that I am responsible for and so much that I need to do. Despite my feeling, I know also that this is what I need to do as a career. I can and want to respect and listen to my students and show them I care by creating meaningful relationships. I can create an environment in which all students feel encouraged and supported by caring about my students' lives and culturesoutside the calssroom. I feel that although we really are never in charge of our classrooms, we can be in charge of and control what we provide for our students. By staying true to the hallmarks, we can provide great oppportunities for learning and be able to do what we really need to do: reach our students.

October 1, 2009

Teachers have a very heavy load of responsibility. As I was reading, I became overwhelmed by what I have decided and known I have to do. I am going to help children learn how to be fulfilled and productive members of society by providing, equipping, and guiding. I know that I can do this!
Chapter 5 outlined some great ways to be the teacher that teaches the students how to become. By using a focused curriculum as a guide to determine what is important, we help our students master and retain specific knowledge that is needed to progess not only in academics, but in all other aspects of adult life. Providing instruction that is engaging, demanding, and carefully scaffolded will help our students know that no matter who they are, they have a teacher that wants them to succeed and grow.
The strategies in chapter 6 helped my overwhelming feeling of responsibility ease a bit. I just wish I had a photographic memory so that I could remember them all right on the spot in a classroom. I love the idea of helping students understand why what we are learning is important in the real world. I always wondered that about math. I never minded math, but it sure wasn't my favorite subjet. I think knowing real-life applications would have aided my desire to come to like math. I also like the idea of looking for fresh ways to present and explore. I, have been in school for more years than I would like to count, grow tired of the same old lecture and homework styles of teaching. I understand what it is like to be a student and enjoy a change! Finally, I agree that sharing my experiences and using affective activities (we are learning about these in ESL) will help me grow closer to my students. When I can become s teacher that truly cares for the success of my students, the sense of overload will decrease. I will be able to do what I need to do naturally.

September 24, 2009

"Live what you believe-see the possibilities more clearly than impossibilities." I'm not sure if that is the exact quote from the text, but that is exactly what I remember. All in all, this what I took from these chapters. Focus on the good in people and their pitential, not our downfalls.
I had several teachers that focused more on the impossibilites of their students than what could be achieved. I remember when I was in the 2nd grade. I wasn't the best reader in the class, but I wasn't the worst. I remember my teacher telling me and my mom during student teacher conferences that I needed to work on my reading, that I wasn't a very good reader. That was all I remember. I don't recall her telling my mom anything that I could do well. To this day, I still have a hard time feeling like I grew much in that class because my teacher didn't focus on my possibilities.
Another idea I liked from the text is, "I respect who you are as well as who you can become." I don't remember any of my teachers, namely my second grade teacher asking about what I wanted to be when I grew up. Although that is a very basic question, and doesn't necessarily need to be asked to respect what our children can become, I wanted her to know! My teacher did want me to become a better reader, but the way she did it was not one that I appreciated.
Chapter 4 went along closely with chapter 3 and gave me some great ideas. I feel that in order for me to not become my second grade teacher, I need to get to know my students' culture by asking what they want to be when they grow up, by holding goal setting conferences, and by assuring that all students have what they need to succeed.
In short, I grew in my second grade class, but not to my full potential. I grew not because my teacher encouraged my growth, but because I wanted to so that she wouldn't tell my mom I wasn't good enough. I don't ever want to do that to my future students.

September 17, 2009

I would use the surveys from Fulfilling the Promise to get to know my students, both personally and academically. I believe it is important for us to know who are students are outside of the classroom if we hope to achieve anything within the classroom. The use of these inventories will allow me to do just that.

I liked that the first survey asked the students to describe themselves using the words that sounded like them or didn't. However, the one thing I would change on this particular survey would be to represent the questions as something other than opposites. For example, I would find the inbetweens when asking "Need quiet when I work" and "Need noise when I work." Instead of asking one or the other, I would ask one and then "Need a little noise when I work sometimes" or something to that effect.

Furthermore, I thought the Student Interest survey was great. It may be hard for students to answer some of the questions, but just as you did at the beginning of the semester, I would ask them to answer all of those that they would like to. I especially liked the question "What else should I know about you as a person and a student that could help me teach you better?".

I will definitely be using some of the inventories from BlackBoard in my classroom during Student Teaching. I feel that although we do have the 3 week field experience, it will be difficult to be thrown into a classroom during the middle of the school year and have to take over the class for several weeks.
I would be interested in using the Attitudes and Interests Survey and some of the others during my teaching experience. We actually had to complete one similar to this in Literacy last semester that had Garfield portraying the different emotions as to how they feel concerning reading. I enjoyed the open-ended questions in a different part of the survey and feel the benefits would be great.
Obtaining a writing sample shows so much more than writing skills. The students are able to open up through writing the tell what they are really thinking about. "What is the prettiest thing you have ever seen?" expressed without limitations on how to format the sample would give some of the greatest information a student would never tell you. During my Student Teaching, I could use this for a math lesson even. The possibilities are endless!
As I stated above, these inventories will allow me to get to know the students I will be working with. I can be prepared to teach the specific levels I need to and will be able to go in with confidence that I know a little about who I am working with. I will not only be able to assess my students' knowledge and readiness levels, but I will also be able to get to know them a little more. The Student Inventory, along with the Readiness Survey, and Desire Forms provide countless numbers of useful information I will need to sucessfully reach each student.

September 9, 2009

The hallmarks I have chosen that are important to me are a strong link between assessment and instruction, individual growth is emphasized as central to classroom success, and qualitative rather than quantitative tasks. I decided to go more into these hallmarks because I feel that they are key to having a sucessful, differentiated classrooms.
When I think of assessment, I first think of tests. However, assessment can be done in so many more ways than testing. Games, movement activities, and presentations are all forms of demonstration of knowledge. Pre-assessment and informal assessment are so important to me. We will be able to know exactly where our students lie and what needs to be reinforced. When we know where all students lie, we will be able to give instruction to all the various levels of our students.
Individual growth is determined by assessment and is definitely key to classroom success. Each student should learn a year's worth of knowledge regardless of what level he or she is on. I remember class competitions that made me so nervous. I was so young, but can vividly remember hating competing with my friends. I don't want to put my students through what I went through. Competition does not need to be reinforced to encourage the best of individuals.
Along with assessment, qualitative tasks provide an authentic way to show our students' improvement. There is a time and place for drills, but are not to be used on a daily basis. Again, reinforcing my thoughts on creating a differentiated classroom, qualitative tasks will tend to the needs of each student and his or her learning level and ability.

Although differentiation can be made complex, the implementation of it in our classrooms can only help ourselves and our students. "The goal of a differentiated classroom is to plan actively and consistently to help each learner move as far and as fast on the learning continuum." The components of differentiation are readniness, interest, learning profile, and affect. These components will help me in the following ways:

• I will be able to determine the levels of readiness in my students and therefore, vary the levels of instruction I give. I had already planned to do this, but actually writing it down gives me the sense that it is a goal rather than something I just say.
• By attending to my students interests, I will be able to capture their love of learning. Supporting different styles of learning will also help me by being able to reach out to my students' personal lives. By doing this, my classroom will be able to learn in the best possible ways for everyone.
• Finally, encouraging students to be their very best selves will open countless learning possibilities.