Class Reflection

I have loved taking this course and it has opened my eyes to so many new resources and techniques that are available to teachers.  I am sure that many of us are very nervous about stepping into the classroom for the first time and coming up with new ideas and methods of teaching that will keep our students interested while enforcing the curriculum assigned.  The visual aids that we have learned about, like the graphic organizers: the Data Retrieval Chart, Double Entry Diary, and the Frayer Model have been very helpful.  The “I” poems create a different perspective for both the teacher and the student.  The multigenre papers are such a useful tool that helps the students reach a greater understanding of the assigned material.  It also teaches creativity and technology while developing imagination.

Some of my favorite websites are Read, Write, Think, ThinkQuest, and The Literacy Web. Those are just a few of the websites that I have discovered from this course that will be so helpful in my career.  I have also enjoyed taking this class with all of you! 

I am extremely grateful to know that so many of you are innovative and eager to become successful teachers.  In today’s world, sometimes you worry what the future will hold, but after taking this class the future seems more promising!

Amy Haugh

Lesson Plan #2

My second lesson plan is a Multigenre Research Project from Gale Schools.  Students research someone who has influenced the development of African American literature and create a multigenre research project.   The teacher instructs students to choose someone they feel has had an influence on the development of African American literature.  This allows the students to choose someone in whom they personally have an interest.  You then have students access the Biography Resource Center: African Americans database and search for their person.  This incorporates technology into the lesson.  Have the students collect research materials on their person.

The following is an outline of the genres for each section of the paper:

• Genre 1- Photograph Poem
• Genre 2-Character Sketch, Personal Narrative, or Newspaper Article
• Genre 3- Diary Entry or Letter
• Genre 4- Cartoon, Advertisement, or Song

Explain to the students that each section must rely on research from credible sources. The students can include these sources in their End Notes.

Content Standard(s):

• Reading for Perspective
• Understanding the Human Experience
• Evaluation Strategies
• Communication Strategies
• Applying Knowledge
• Evaluating Data
• Developing Research Skills
• Multicultural Understanding
• Participating in Society
• Applying Language Skills

Computer Literacy and Usage Standards 9-12:

•The student will demonstrate proficiency in the care and use of computer based technology

•The student will develop skills using a variety of computer resources to increase productivity, support creativity, conduct and evaluate research and improve communications

•The student will use technology resources to improve problem solving and decision-making skills and apply these skills to real world situations

Lesson Plan #1

My first lesson plan comes from Read, Write, Think and is called “Poetry Circles: Generative Writing Loops Help Students Craft Verse.”  I loved this lesson plan!  Many students struggle with appreciating, comprehending, and writing poetry.  Students not only learn to understand and write poetry, but they discover how to use new vocabulary and imagery.  The students interact and play with language while writing poetry using generative writing loops, which are a type of poetry circle.  

This lesson helps the students to:

• Use creativity to bring poetry into action
• Craft poems as a means of scaffolding
• Foster knowledge of poetic conventions and traditional forms
• Access their power as creators and theory makers
• Express themselves creatively and strengthen written expression skills
• Engage as a social learning group with a common goal—learn to negotiate, create, and synthesize information as a group

 Once you have introduced the students to the assignments you assign roles to the members in the group such as:

1. Image Weaver: This person must provide at least two concrete images for the poem.

2. Language Keeper: This person must supply five exotic words for the poem and provide wordplay. The group must then incorporate the Language Keeper’s words into the poem.

3. Metaphor Generator: This person must supply at least two fresh metaphors or similes for the poem. To create a sense of unity in the poem, the Metaphor Generator should look at the Image Weaver’s images before writing the metaphors.

4. Music Maker: This person is responsible for creating a sense of music in the poem, without depending on overly obvious rhyme (e.g., cat, hat, that) This person must take the Language Keeper’s five words and generate five more words that sound musical alongside them (e.g., if the Language Keeper has provided “eclectic”, the Music Maker might choose to provide “electric”). During the sonnet-writing exercise, this person will need to come up with all the major sounds of the poem. Create an A sound, a B sound, a C sound, a D sound, and an E sound.

5. Meter Keepers (sonnets only): All of you are responsible for whittling down your lines into 10-syllables for the final product.

 After you assign the topics of the poems and the features of the type of poem you wish the class to construct , the groups can begin working on the assignment.  After the poems are finished, the groups read their poems aloud to the class.  You then hand out a poem, such as the Italian sonnet “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why (Sonnet XLIII)” by Edna St. Vincent Millay.  You have a few students read this poem and then ask the students if they can recognize the type of poem and why. 

 I believe that you could incorporate the “I” Poem approach to this lesson, as well as morphemic analysis during word play.  Poetry can also be used to play with words and show how forms of words are relative.

This lesson complies with IRA/NCTE standards:

 2 - Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

11 - Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Developing Approaches to Vocabulary Instruction Article

“A Professional Development Initiative for Developing Approaches to Vocabulary Instruction with Secondary Mathematics, Art, Science, and English Teachers” explains how using different approaches to teaching new vocabulary can enhance learning.  By using morphemic analysis and rich representations of word meanings, such as verbal, visual, dramatic, synonyms, antonyms, and analogies students can make connections that impact comprehension

This article opened up my eyes to different methods of teaching vocabulary that will enhance creativity and imagination in students, as well as reinforce the meaning of words.  Student have been asked, so many times, to simply memorize words (the way I learned), only to forget them later on down the road.  With these methods students learn vocabulary that they are comfortable using, in any form, in their daily lives.  These methods will help embed meaning and conceptualization of vocabulary.  It’s nice to see how much these teachers care.

The websites provided help visualize how effective these “I” poems and multigenre papers are in teaching content reading and creativity.  You can see, simply by looking over the papers, the student’s personality and insightfulness in the subject matter presented.

The Multigenre Paper Article

“The multigenre paper: Increasing interest, motivation, and functionality in research” was an interesting article that mentions several different types of research methods, but focuses primarily on multigenre papers.  A multigenre paper is a research paper that allows students to use different genres to present different aspects of research.  The purpose of this new and innovative technique is to allow the students to use their imaginations to create a paper that is more personalized and unique.

Rather than simply writing about where a person is from or when they were born, the students might create a birth certificate, a hospital invoice, or perhaps a letter to or from the new parents.  This method allows for an interpretive view from the student.  The students can also include end notes which explain their genres and sources.  The article also gives examples of some of the students’ papers.  The students felt they had more freedom with this type of research paper than they did with the traditional style paper.  They were more in touch with the subject matter that they were writing about using the multigenre paper.  The article argues that the multigenre technique exposes the student to more critical thinking while utilizing technology and creativity. 

1.  How can you utilize this activity within classroom time restraints?

2.  Obviously this method is a great alternative to the old boring traditional research paper; but would it be too confusing for Elementary students?

3.  How can we persuade all teachers to try new styles, like this one, for research papers?

“I” Poem Article

“‘I’ poems: Invitations for students to deepen literary understanding” was an article about teaching students to use the first-person narrative to deepen their literary experiences of characters, setting, plot, and narrative point of view.  In writing such a poem, students become the narrator, expressing thoughts and feelings from the narrator’s point of view. 

The article also gives an example the students can use for an “I” poem format which is:

I am__________________________________

I wonder _____________________________

I hear ________________________________

I see _________________________________

I want _______________________________

I am _________________________________

I feel __________________________________

I touch _________________________________

I worry ________________________________

I cry ___________________________________

I am ___________________________________

I understand ___________________________

I say ___________________________________

I dream ________________________________

I pretend_____________________________

Their critical thinking skills are activated and they begin to think about how to choose words carefully and why the author chose the words that he used in the story.  One of the most important things about “I” poems is that it helps to understand how a poet thinks.  Poets pay attention. They notice. They take time to look and listen. They sift experience. They turn things over again and again. When they have something to say, they choose their words carefully. They are precise and concise. The article states that students will be able to gain these skills by using the “I” Poem technique.

1. Will the “I” Poem technique be applicable and interesting to all age groups?
2. Does the “I” Poem address everything that is needed for full content knowledge or should other activities coincide with this activity?
3. If other activities are needed, which ones would cover those areas sufficiently?

Reading Strategies

According to the North Carolina English Language Arts Standard Course of Study, the ultimate purpose of the English Language Arts curriculum is to teach students the language abilities they need to communicate effectively as individuals and as contributing members of society.  The sequence of English Language Arts courses is designed to help students develop language skills necessary to function in society as self-directed learners, collaborative workers, and complex thinkers (NCELASCS 10).  The NCELASCS states that you will recognize an excellent English Language Arts classroom when:

Teachers are:

• Balancing direct and indirect instruction, intensive and extensive study, individual, small group and whole group activities.
• Valuing students’ personal language and voice.
• Making connections across instruction, curriculum, and life.
• Integrating test preparation into instruction.
• Using technology to enhance instruction and student learning.
• Encouraging questions, challenges, and comments that cause students to think more deeply.
• Using a variety of assessments that focus on the processes of English Language Arts.
• Conferring with students about their writing as well as about their progress in the course as a whole.
• Approaching grammar and language usage in the context of reading, writing, and speaking, rather than as isolated skills and knowledge.
• Working with other teachers to make connections between disciplines to show how English language arts are part of every other subject.
• Bringing a variety of resources into the classroom from guest speakers to creative use of technology.
• Modeling reading, writing and other literacy processes with and for their students.

Students are:

• Communicating through oral language, written language, other media and technology.
• Making connections from text to self, from text to text, and from text to world.
• Using language in natural and purposeful ways.
• Choosing their own reading texts and writing or speaking topics at least some of the time.
• Learning strategies for accomplishing varied tasks.
• Developing increasing control of how and when to use strategies.
• Generating ideas, questions, and possibilities.
• Exploring print and non-print texts of all genres and from different points of view.
• Sharing responsibility for their own learning.
• Communicating (reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, representing) for different purposes, to different audiences, and in different contexts.
• Reading widely and deeply in all content areas, using a variety of media and texts.
• Exercising increasing control of language, with usage appropriate to purpose, audience and context.
•  Using research skills effectively to locate, gather, evaluate, and organize information for different purposes.
•  Composing original texts through processes including prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing.
• Working and thinking independently as well as together in cognitive collaboration, as well as listening

My first source for a strategy to help students prepare for classroom activities and assignments, as well as interaction with other classroom members during group discussions was found through the Reading Comprehension Strategies website and is called Study Guides and Strategies.  This website was created by Joe Landsberger and it includes a unique set of guides for teaching and learning about strategies studying, preparing to learn, reading skills, taking tests, and much more.  I think this will be very helpful as a guide and tool for honing preparation skills, attention and comprehension abilities, and study habits.  This also has helpful tips  for students regarding group discussion and interaction. This website would be accessed prior to the actual assignments being issued.

After the reading assignment has been issued, the next strategy I would use comes from the Wisconsin Educational Association Council.  There is a great section on Reading with Imagination.  There is a great section on Reading with Imagination.  Step 1 begins with “imagination tune-ups.”  You ask your students to participate in visualization activities which include mental images of objects, mental images of the familiar, and mental images of scenarios.  Step 2 calls for students to experiment with responding to author language to trigger mental images because authors expect readers to exhibit an ability to connect what is stated in a text with their background knowledge.  In Step 3 students become experienced with sharing how they imagine what they are reading as if they were actual eyewitnesses.  They also give their first impressions and then make decisions from the perspective of a movie director.  The advantages are:

• Students who place inordinate attention on “reading the words” are prompted to enliven their reading by unleashing their imaginations.
• Students develop an eye for evocative language, which stimulates the development of increasingly more sophisticated mental images.
• Students read with a deeper engagement with a text, and they personalize their reading through their individual interpretations of how things might appear if they were experienced live.

I think this strategy will work because the students are relating the story to their something in their own lives, which not only increases comprehension but it also a great memory technique.  This strategy is a great tool for building and developing the imagination.

A third and another during-reading strategy that we will use is the Frayer graphic model.  This graphic organizer is accessed through the Just Read Now! website.  The Frayer Model is a graphical organizer used for word analysis and vocabulary building. This four-square model prompts students to think about and describe the meaning of a word or concept by . . .

• Defining the term,
• Describing its essential characteristics,
• Providing examples of the idea, and
• Offering non-examples of the idea.

This strategy stresses understanding words within the larger context of a reading selection by requiring students, first, to analyze the items (definition and characteristics) and, second, to synthesize/apply this information by thinking of examples and non-examples.

 Steps to the Frayer Model:

1. Explain the Frayer model graphical organizer to the class. Use a common word to demonstrate the various components of the form. Model the type and quality of desired answers when giving this example.
2. Select a list of key concepts from a reading selection. Write this list on the chalkboard and review it with the class before students read the selection.
3. Divide the class into student pairs. Assign each pair one of the key concepts and have them read the selection carefully to define this concept. Have these groups complete the four-square organizer for this concept.
4. Ask the student pairs to share their conclusions with the entire class. Use these presentations to review the entire list of key concepts.

I think this is an effective strategy for learning and remembering vocabulary words; because you are not simply studying new words but you are analyzing and visualizing them.  I think it’s very important to teach new vocabulary in a way that students will understand and be able to use words effectively during their lifetime.

Finally, the fourth strategy for reading comprehension comes from Apple Learning Interchange.  The example used here is The Canterbury Tales. After reading the assignment, the class discusses Chaucer’s use of narrative and students then create a fictional pilgrim with a distinct personality. After the teacher approves the character, students write a tale of 250 words or less that is allegorical and reflective of their pilgrim’s personality. Students create a storyboard for their project that includes the images and video clips they want to use in the iMovie project. Students use a digital video camera to film video clips and a digital still camera to take photos that will be included. Students can also use a scanner to capture images from other sources. All images are imported into iPhoto and music files are imported into iTunes. Students create an iMovie project and import and edit video clips, record narration, add audio clips, import images, and add titles, effects, and one consistent transition. Students export the finished movie to QuickTime and burn a CD to share with others. They also turn in a written list of sources that are cited according to MLA style.  For simple digital stories without using a video camera try Adobe Photoshop Elements with Adobe Premier.

Microsoft’s version for digital stories is called Microsoft Photo Story  or you can make an actual movie using Windows Movie Maker.  Microsoft’s PowerPoint has also come a long way with animations and sound, although it doesn’t give you as many options as iMovie, Photo Story, or Movie Maker. 

After completing this project, students will be able to:

•  Compose a narrative with the point of view of their invented pilgrim.
• Show originality in conceptualizing the visual and audio elements of the narrative.
• Have a clear understanding of Chaucer’s use of narrative in The Canterbury Tales.
• Use a digital still camera and a digital video camera.
• Capture images using a scanner.
• Import, organize, and edit images in iPhoto.
• Import video clips, images, and audio and creatively manipulate elements in iMovie.
• Burn a CD of the finished project.

I believe this final strategy will be helpful using technology to enhance instruction and student learning, as suggested by the NCELASCS.

Materials for the Classroom

My objective for this assignment will be teaching Othello (my personal favorite) to my high school students.  Some of my objectives, according to NCSCOS will be:

To bring Shakespeare’s drama into the hearts and minds of today’s teenagers in a relevant way. My objectives are for students to:

• learn the historical background necessary to appreciate the play and its context
• understand the literary work
• recognize the entertainment value of the drama
• cite and evaluate the many themes included that are still applicable today
• analyze the writing through the use of literary devices
• respond to the play in various forms (personally and analytically)

I will begin the lesson my using material from Hugh Peebles, a teacher from Chula Vista Middle School that has great activities and web links to resources on the History of Shakespeare.  His website is called Shakespeare’s World: Then and Now.    This website was accessed through ThinkQuest.  The idea with this first activity is to have the students learn the history of Shakespeare.  They will learn what his life was like as a boy and how he began writing plays.  They will also learn about the Globe Theater and  his target audience.

The second thing I will do is use an exercise from PBS that helps students understand Shakespearean language.  My learning objectives with this first activity will be to have students:

• feel more comfortable with Shakespeare’s language
• have worked with Elizabethan sentence structure
• have worked with Elizabethan verb form
• have worked with Elizabethan 2nd person familiar pronouns
• see the possibilities for verbal expression beyond today’s contemporary slang

In this second activity, I will have handouts of troublesome words and then group up the students, listen to their personal conversations as they form their groups, write some of them down, and then have the students translate into Shakespeare’s language.  For instance, “will you come over?”  to “I prithee come.”  We will discuss singular pronouns, plural pronouns, verb inflections, and sentence structure.

The third step in learning about Shakespeare is to read the play Othello.  Read, Write, Think has great information for helping the students read through Shakespeare’s plays.  The student’s will read through the play and have access to the website No Fear Shakespeare which will help them understand what they are reading.  The objectives in this activity are to:

• Build an understanding of the concept of persona and how character traits are revealed in a drama
• Synthesize information revealed in a character’s speech and action to construct a persona
• Adopt different perspectives to view characters’ motivations in the context of the expectations of Renaissance society
• Make predictions and formulate opinions based on textual evidence
• Apply critical thinking skills to examine the influence of cultural perceptions on character interpretation, mood, and theme

For our fourth activity, I will use a few video clips showing different interpretations of Othello to see which one the students believe most accurately reflects the way they interpreted the play.  Here is an example of some of those clips from www.youtube.com

Finally, our fifth and final exercise will be having the students critically think about the play and its characters.  For instance, having the students answer “What motivates Iago?” or “Do you sympathize with Othello and why?”  A great website for guides to historical criticism was accessed through SAS, called Cummings Study Guide  and it offers information on imagery, irony, character analysis, themes, study questions, and essay topics.

Amy Haugh

Internet Workshop and Blog Publishing Response

The article on “Internet Workshop and Blog Publishing” made some good points on using technology in the classroom to a teaching advantage.  As the article states, technology is extremely useful when useful integration is achieved with the course curriculum and furthers the students’ knowledge.  The article states that in an Internet Workshop the student is encouraged to work independently.  I think this helps encourage creativity and individualism.  It also helps the student foster his imagination.  There is so much information on the web now that many students may not have access to outside of the classroom.

Classroom blogs are an excellent way for students to display their work which, as the article states “develop students’ higher order thinking skills and creativity.”  I believe that it also builds pride and self-esteem.  I’m sure that every student won’t be on the same level, but you really don’t have to put every single classroom activity on the Blog.  The Blog is also a great way for parents to see what’s going on in the classroom.

Amy Haugh

Pirate Article Response

I thought “Pirates in Historical Fiction and Nonfiction: A Twin-Text Unit of Study” was a terrific article describing an instructional plan on pirates.  I really liked the way it suggested piquing student curiosity in the subject.   I believe that if the student is interested in the subject they will be able to learn and retain a lot more information.  The twin texts was a great idea because it put the information on a level they could relate to using Pirate Diary a book about a boy that was around their own age.  The other book, What If You Met a Pirate?, asked questions and provided factual answers.  I thought having material that was interesting and organized provided a wonderful method of learning for the students. 

In the Pullout for the Pirate activities, I thought the charts would work well for the children to help organize and visualize what they had learned about pirates.  The children have a resource page for information gathering and a chart listing new terms/words they will learn.  I thought this Pullout was very helpful and it put everything at their fingertips while also serving as a checklist.

Amy Haugh