I thought this chapter on comprehension contained a lot of useful information. The examples they gave which were used in Mrs. Donnelly's classroom were very helpful in showing me many practical ways comprehension strategies can be taught to students. I was left wondering how these examples from her 6th grade classroom could be used in lower level elementary classrooms.
I know that in my field placement (2nd/3rd grade) much of the focus in the language arts instruction seems to be on spelling and vocabulary. I thought it was interesting that on page 224 in the chart, it says that spelling is not an important component of comprehension. This left me wondering why then so much focus is put on spelling in elementary classrooms? Tompkins made it clear through this chapter that the whole point of decoding and learning how to read is to gain meaning from the text. This seems to me then, that more focus should be put on comprehension rather than on spelling. Reading further, the section on fluency explained that in the primary grades "fluency is the focus of instruction because students need to learn to recognize words automatically so that they can focus their attention on comprehending what they are reading". This makes sense as to why vocabulary would be such a big portion of instruction so that more and more words can become site-words. I still however do not understand why there seems to be so much focus on spelling when the end goal of reading is meaning/comprehension.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Weinstein and Mignano - Jenna Fudge
I thought the section on moderating discussions was very important. I thought this section had a lot of good tips and suggestions for teachers. I know when I work with a group of kids I often have a hard time maintaining order. I often end up getting frustrated and the kids talk all over me and each other. Many of the kids who are trying to give their good ideas end up getting frustrated as well because they are not able to speak to the whole group since someone else is always talking. I think the idea of using a prop to signify whose turn it is to speak is a very good idea. This is something that I will try using in my field placement and definitely use in my future classroom.
I also think it is important during discussions for the teacher to ask questions. They gave examples of the types of appropriate questions in this chapter. Some questions are used to ask for more evidence while others are used to gain clarification. Some other examples of appropriate questions for the teacher to ask is linking or extension questions, hypothetical questions, cause-and-effect question, and summary and synthesis questions. I have seen my CT use most of these during literary discussions and they seem to work well. The kids who are usually distracted and not paying attention become engaged and excited about the reading. I plan on using much of what I read in this chapter in my Language Arts whole group lesson.
I also think it is important during discussions for the teacher to ask questions. They gave examples of the types of appropriate questions in this chapter. Some questions are used to ask for more evidence while others are used to gain clarification. Some other examples of appropriate questions for the teacher to ask is linking or extension questions, hypothetical questions, cause-and-effect question, and summary and synthesis questions. I have seen my CT use most of these during literary discussions and they seem to work well. The kids who are usually distracted and not paying attention become engaged and excited about the reading. I plan on using much of what I read in this chapter in my Language Arts whole group lesson.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Managing Recitations and Discussions
This chapter from Weinstein & Mignano was interesting because I had never really thought so in-depth about the differences between recitations and discussions in elementary classrooms. To me, both recitation and discussion style formats can be helpful to students if used in the right way. In a sense I think that discussions are more beneficial to students' learning than recitations because there are less ways that discussions can go wrong and many more ways that recitations can be unsuccessful. I agree that if used in the right way, recitations can help students comprehend the story, review basic facts, and be involved by answering questions that can involve higher-level thinking. However, according to the chapter, many teachers mistakenly think they are involved in true discussions with their students when in fact most of them are engaging in a recitation-style format. Also, recitations are denounced because the teacher dominates the conversation, there is little interaction among students, recall of facts is emphasized, and little higher-level thinking is required. In contrast, discussions allow students to work together to ponder an issue or question; a variety of responses are elicited and students begin to appreciate other people's points of view.
I have had many experiences as a learner with teachers who engage solely in recitation, and then they wonder why their students do not know the information or are uninterested in classroom material. I think it is important as teachers to know the major differences between recitations and discussions in order to help students understand and internalize information. I think the best way to foster our students' understanding is to use a combination of effective recitation and discussion strategies because both are important to facilitate students' learning and comprehension of classroom material.
I have had many experiences as a learner with teachers who engage solely in recitation, and then they wonder why their students do not know the information or are uninterested in classroom material. I think it is important as teachers to know the major differences between recitations and discussions in order to help students understand and internalize information. I think the best way to foster our students' understanding is to use a combination of effective recitation and discussion strategies because both are important to facilitate students' learning and comprehension of classroom material.
Performance Assessment
I like the section on how to create tasks for performance assessments because it reinforces the idea of meaningful homework. The criteria for these are very similar. They both require you to think about what you want to measure, if it is time and cost effective, and if it is clear. I like the idea of staying focused on what it is that you are measuring. This keeps from making the tasks too difficult for the students.
The only part of this website that concerned me is the part where is said the assessment should not just simply ask what the student has just learned. If you do something in class, then the students shouldn't be asked to do the same thing in their homework. What is confusing to me is that if you give students too much new information to cover at home it makes more room for misconceptions. Shouldn't the learning at home just be a continuation of what is covered in class? If the students are working on grammar in class, then to me the homework assigned should deal with grammar. Not just reiterating the same sentences that were covered in class, but in a different context. This is possibly what the author of the website was trying to say but it was not very clear.
The only part of this website that concerned me is the part where is said the assessment should not just simply ask what the student has just learned. If you do something in class, then the students shouldn't be asked to do the same thing in their homework. What is confusing to me is that if you give students too much new information to cover at home it makes more room for misconceptions. Shouldn't the learning at home just be a continuation of what is covered in class? If the students are working on grammar in class, then to me the homework assigned should deal with grammar. Not just reiterating the same sentences that were covered in class, but in a different context. This is possibly what the author of the website was trying to say but it was not very clear.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Langer: Understanding Literature
This article discussed the teaching of literature and making meaning through envisionment-building ("the understanding a reader has about a text--what the reader understands at a particular point in time, the questions she has, as well as her hunches about how the piece will unfold"). I had never heard of the term "envisionment" before reading this article and I think it is a very important concept for the teaching of literature. The article next talked about the four major stances of interpreting a literary text. They are: Being Out and Stepping In, Being In and Moving Through, Being In and Stepping Out, and Stepping Out and Objectifying the Experience. I think that being able to identify these stances would be very helpful to future teachers because they would be able to track their students' progress easier and facilitate class discussions.
I have seen many examples in my field classroom of the stances of interpretation listed above. As I have mentioned before, there are several ELL students in my classroom and a fair ammount of low-level students as well. As discussed in the article, I have noticed that it is easier for these students to get off-task and go on tangents when discussing a literary text than those students who are more proficient in reading. When working with ELL and low-level students, it would be beneficial to have a set of stances to follow or use as a guideline.
I have seen many examples in my field classroom of the stances of interpretation listed above. As I have mentioned before, there are several ELL students in my classroom and a fair ammount of low-level students as well. As discussed in the article, I have noticed that it is easier for these students to get off-task and go on tangents when discussing a literary text than those students who are more proficient in reading. When working with ELL and low-level students, it would be beneficial to have a set of stances to follow or use as a guideline.
McGee Jessica Thelen
I like the ideas McGree presented in this article. I think it is important to have students talk amongst each other with little contribution from the teacher because they can learn so much more from each other. The students will learn social skills and how to use details from the story to support their opinions. If the teacher keeps conversation going, then the students will not learn how to do this on their own. Teachers should want students to know how to discuss books without a teacher or adult facilitating discussion so they will do it outside of class.
I have watched some of these methods in the preschool class I work in. They have a hard time listening to what others are saying and only want to get their opinions out. I think it would be beneficial to the students if we started working with students in small groups. In a whole group, they want to talk about anything and everything about the book. They like to talk. I think once the students are in a small group they will be able to listen more and not feel like they have to compete for a turn to talk. I plan to try this in preschool and see what happens.
I have watched some of these methods in the preschool class I work in. They have a hard time listening to what others are saying and only want to get their opinions out. I think it would be beneficial to the students if we started working with students in small groups. In a whole group, they want to talk about anything and everything about the book. They like to talk. I think once the students are in a small group they will be able to listen more and not feel like they have to compete for a turn to talk. I plan to try this in preschool and see what happens.
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