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.