Chapter 3: Vocabulary

I remember learning vocabulary in school like it was yesterday. We did the same thing every week, it became routine. On Mondays, we would get our list of words for the week and copy them and the definitions into our notebooks. Tuesdays, we would write the word in a sentence. Wednesday, we would take a pretest and if we passed we did not have to take the test on Friday. Thursday we had to make flash cards in class. Friday was always the dreaded test.

Learning the meaning of words became very tiring for me. It was never fun or interesting. As I have been in this program I have been told how not to teach vocabulary, but I have never been told how to. This chapter gave many great tips and strategies for teaching vocabulary. Making personal connections was one I really liked. I know that a student would find it easier to learn word meanings if they find a connection to that word.

Ch. 7: Notetaking vs. Note making

Notetaking refers to the notes a student takes during a class or lecture. Note making is when a student creating notes from printed material, like books. Both of these processes seem very important to me. I have always taken notes in classes, but as I was reading this chapter I realized I have never experience note making. Another thing I find as a weakness to me, is I have never really been taught how to take good, effective notes. I feel like this is essential for students when they depend on them to study and make good grades.

I loved this chapter because of the strategies and different things they talked about that set students up for success. I liked the idea of listening to a read aloud first, and then the second time it is done the students get a chance to take notes. This would have helped me because I always felt like I couldn't listen and take notes at the same time. I also found it hard to keep up with what was being said. Structured notetaking would have also been beneficial to me, especially in math. I had no idea how to take notes in math and my notes were always so scattered that they didn't help when I went to study.

Why do teachers continue to have students rely on notes for tests if they don't teach them how to take effective notes?
 What are some good strategies for students who continue to struggle with notetaking and make low grades on tests because of it?

Chapter Six!

Using graphic organizers has always been something I have very highly favored. As a visual learner, I have come to learn that these types of learning tools have been very beneficial to me as well as other students who share my learning style. These organizers are great ways for students to get information organized and use that organization to make it easier for them to study or write papers. I usually think of using graphic organizers in English, but I can see how they could be useful in every subject especially science. A good teacher knows when a graphic organizer would be helpful in lessons and which organizers to use.

"Graphic organizers are one way for teachers to ensure that students can show their abilities." I chose this quote because I agree with it. Graphic organizers are great assessment tools for teachers. They are a way for a teacher to make sure the students are learning what they need to know. It could also be a pre-lesson tool to find out what the students know about a certain topic.

A question I have is: Are graphic organizers affective for students who are not visual learners, and if not how could you adapt this activity to be useful for all of your students?

Read Alouds and Text Talk

Chapter four was very informative for me. I have always been a fan of reading aloud because I feel it helps a lot with comprehension when the child isn't having to worry about getting the words right. I liked how the authors in the chapter discussed different ways that teachers accommodate different students in their classroom for this task. One thing that I have seen in clinical is the teacher doing round robing reading. I hate this strategy and find it embarrasses more than it helps. If a teacher wants students to practice reading aloud it should be a one on one activity.

It was a pleasure to read the text talk article. Text talk has always been something I have believed in for the sake of comprehension. I feel that it is very important to continuously be asking questions to your listener while you are reading to make sure they understand what you are saying. I also have found it very helpful when you help the student preview the book and ask them to make predictions based on the pictures. It is very rewarding in my experiences to see the students' faces when their prediction comes true. :) 

What would be the most effective read aloud strategy to use in the classroom?

How do you determine which questions are most important while reading a book?

Writing to learn & Chapter 8

I feel the article on writing to learn across the curriculum was very interesting. I have always heard about reading to learn, so writing to learn was a new concept to me. Writing for me was never a good experience. It was usually only done in English class and we were forced to write about a certain topic a certain way. I love writing creatively and always wrote stories as a child. I always felt when I got older that my love for writing diminished because of the lack of creativity was taken away. As a teacher, I feel that you should want your students to love what they are doing and succeed in creating something they are proud of. I have found that students learn more if they are enjoying what they are doing. This article gave many great ideas and strategies of doing this in a classroom and I feel like these are great resources I will one day use in my classroom.

I found it very comical that in ch. 8 it said that many teachers don't include writing in their classroom because they think it should be left to the English teacher. I think this is because most teachers never had a good experience with writing and are probably scared of it. I know that I am very timid to include it in my classroom. I do feel that writing is critical in all subject, even MATH. Including it in different subjects gives the students the opportunity to write about different things and maybe even something they love.

What would be some good ways to get a student who hates writing to become open to it and maybe eventually even like it? How could a math teacher integrate writing into his or her classroom?

Making a case and a place for effective content area literacy instruction in the elementary grades

This was a great article informing me of the need for content area literacy instruction begin in elementary grades instead of waiting until the child has become older and gotten into upper grades. These days elementary classrooms are so focused on "the test" that anything that is not on the test is not taught. This leaves out two important subjects in my opinion. These subjects are history and science and they are supposed to be integrated into math and reading, but are often left out. Introducing literacy instruction into these classrooms provides a great opportunity for teachers to integrate the forgotten subject and make these subjects fun for the students who would otherwise find them boring.

I find this sad to say ,but as I was reading i could not think of a time I have observed a classroom and they have read anything other than AR books or classroom texts. I began to realize how this is for the children that they are being held responsible for literacy instruction later in life, but are not being taught how to do it. I feel like this article has really opened my eyes to what children this age really need to be exposed to to better prepare them for learning when they are older.

Some questions that I have are:
If these types of texts were implemented into our classrooms, would they replace our classroom texts or go along with them?

What would be the best ways to use these types of texts if they were not implemented into our school when we begin teaching?