Reflection 12

Goodbye Monday class!! I cannot believe this semester has went by so fast. In this past Monday's class, we did one of our instructional strategies demonstration. I found this to be interesting because we got to learn so much from seeing videos of echo reading and readers theater to doing activities such as the opinion and proof of opinion. I really like when we do demonstrations like these because I learn so much more that way than if I am just handed a paper on it. By doing it this way, we get to see the strategies in action and I think that I will remember it more this way.

After lunch, we started working on the analysis papers for our Informal Reading Inventory that we administered. I found this to be extremely time consuming and difficult. It was hard for me to get the hang of pointing out every error and recording it. I am really happy that we were able to work on the analysis papers in class together because I felt so lost. The Informal Reading Inventory is a really useful tool for teachers and I think once I practice doing it some more then I would definitely incorporate it into my future classroom.

We also had the chance to work on our PBL some more. I honestly do not like doing this PBL because I feel like no one is really interested in it and my group is not accomplishing anything.

Overall, I am happy that I have accomplished so much during this semester. I feel so much more prepared and I have learned about so much already.

Reflection 11

This past Monday's class was very entertaining. We learned what graphic novels are. Each group did a little research about their specific graphic novel. We then presented our findings to the class. I think every group said that a con was it was mostly targeted to boys; however, we did not fully understand at first that this was not a type of novel for the whole class to read. After we found out that we should have approached the assignment differently, I can see the benefits of having this type of novel in the classroom. Some graphic novels would draw the interest of boys because they are set up to look like comic books.

We also discussed some things in our writer's workshop. A thought that came to mind with this discussion is when I was in seventh grade, our teacher had the class keep a journal throughout the year. We would come in to his class of a morning and get out our journals which was a composition notebook. The topic of the day was always posted on the board. On Friday's we were able to write about whatever we want. I think that I liked the idea of keeping a journal when I was in seventh grade, but now that I look back on it, on Friday's I only wrote about my friends and things that just happened. It wasn't really anything productive.

My favorite part of class yesterday was when we did a poetry jam. I had never participated in anything like this before, and I think it is something that kids would really get into and enjoy. I really like how everything was connected and I did not think that anything could relate to Tresa's booger poem. This is definitely something I would like to incorporate in my own classroom.

Reflection 10

In class today, we started off with read-alouds. I particularly liked the Llama Llama book that Amanda read to the class. I really liked how she said she could use the book to show her class how rhyming words can be used in stories. I also liked Amber's book and Tresa's book. Both of their books were by the same author and were the same type of books, just using different animals. I liked how they said they would tell their classes to pay attention to how the author builds on what has happened. Doing read-alouds in this class is very helpful because we get to see all the different activities we can do using stories.

We also went over running records again to make sure we all understood how to do them. We got with a partner and practiced making the miscue marks. I found this exercise to be very helpful in practicing the marks. I think this is going to be one of the hardest parts of the Informal Reading Inventory. I am definitely going to use a tape recorder when doing the running record. I think this is the only way I will be able to make sure all my miscue marks are correct.

Another activity we did in class today was during our writing workshop time. We talked about using multi-cultural books in our classrooms. We got with a partner and picked a book. We read the book and discussed how it is about a culture and how we can use it in our classrooms. The book that Kayla and I picked was kind of sad until the ending. It seemed to be a trend that most of the books our class read had a sad part in it. I think it was just a coincidence, but it was interesting. We then got in our groups to work on our PBL. Overall, I think the best part of the day was practicing the running record. I know that doing this and getting introduced to making the marks myself is going to help me greatly.

Reflection 9

In class this past Monday, we started our first round of read-alouds focused on writing. The people that went were Keith, Kayla and me. I really liked Kayla's stories from the What do you see? books. I too can remember, like most people said they could, hearing the books when I was younger. I thought it was interesting to hear the diffrerent activities you can do with those books. The book I did my read-aloud from was Jan Brett's The 3 Little Dassies. I chose to do this story because I thought the way the author grabs the reader's attention in the first sentence is a great way to show students an attention getter. My post-reading activity for students in my class would be to write their own attention getters and use an attention getter in a story they write.

After the read-alouds, we discussed running records and what they are and how they are used. I had heard of the term before, but I never really knew what it was. We talked about ways that teachers can do a running record such as on paper or over the text. I think I will take Rachel's suggestion about using a tape recorder for the Informal Reading Inventory because I don't think I'll be able to take make those miscue marks as fast as the reader can read. After much discussion about the Informal Reading Inventory and running records, we moved on to another topic.

The Problem Based Learning activity we are particpating in is very interesting. It sounds overwhelming that we have to come up with a homework policy, but I think when our group starts on it will be easier than what we think. The topic of homework has always been controversial. I can remember my own parents complaining that my sister and I were bringing home too much homework for our grade levels. I think the results of this PBL will be interesting because we all share some of the same feelings about homework, yet we all have some different views as well.

Reflection 8

In class today, we talked about a variety of topics. One thing that stood out to me is reading recovery. I have heard of it before, but I was never really sure what it was. Having an example shown to the class was very helpful so we could actually see how it works and what a reading recovery book looks like. I think the reading recovery program is great; however, I do see why some school systems do not have this program. It can be an extra expense that some schools just cannot afford to fund.

Another thing we discussed today is the stages of spelling development. I thought this was very interesting since I had never seen the stages before. I like how each stage is broken down and gives a typical age of children in those stages. In Stage 2, abbreviated spellings are typical of 5-7  year olds. I have seen kids write this way and I never realized that they are in this spelling development stage. The abbreviated spelling kind of reminds me of texting lingo. I think it is funny that we find ways to shorten words when we are texting, but I bet we actually used to use abbreviated spelling when we were in this stage of spelling development. It is just different way to look at it.

Our class also participated in a problem-based learning activity. We looked at an article on homework and shared our thoughts and feelings within our group to the rest of the class. It was also an attention-grabber to hear the thoughts of others on this now controversial topic.

I also think that learning about the cloze procedure is interesting. It seem like it would be very effective. I did the fill in the blanks example in the book and found that I got every word correct except two words. I thought that was kind of neat, and I am looking forward to assessing a child using this procedure.

Reflection 7

In class this past Monday, we went over a variety of things. A few things caught my interest such as sight words, descriptive words, and function words. I learned that the during the first couple weeks of school in a kindergarten classroom, the teacher usually only has the students name on the word wall. Their names are their first sight words. I think this is a good idea so not only can the students see all their classmates names, but they can go back later and connect other words to those names. For example, if a students name on the word wall is John, then kids can look at that name and say, "Oh yeah, job starts with a /j/ and /o/ like John does". I really liked talking about descriptive words, because adding descriptive words to a story can make a simple story into a great story. Descriptive words really grab the readers' attention and get them seeing the story in their heads.

We also talked about story starters. The article we read has some great tips for teaching about story starters. I also like when we got with a partner and made a vocabulary idea book. I think having the class put all our ideas into one book that we can all have a copy of is such a great idea. The book will be very useful for us when we become teachers. I really liked doing the Writer's Workshop first thing in the morning. I feel that when we do it at the end of the day, my mind is just focused on going home and not writing, so having writing time in the morning is better for me.

Reflection 6

In class yesterday, we finished up our interactive read-alouds. It was great to hear all the different stories everyone picked throughout this activity. I got to see a variety of post-reading activities that I could use for my classroom.
This past week, we read and learned about vocabulary. I really loved the book, Miss Allienous, that Rachel read to us to get us started on the topic of vocabulary. It was really good and I am going to look for it for my classroom. One thing I find very interesting in the vocabulary PowerPoint is where it says to not talk down to a child. That is something that I have heard people do, even when the child is in kindergarten or first grade and old enough to comprehend what you are saying. I learned that it is better to use "appropriate terminology and explain the meaning to the child". This will build the child's vocabulary because when they hear you say the word, then they are more likely to say it in conversation themselves. Another thing that I think is a great idea is to use vocabulary throughout all subjects. If students are surrounded by vocabulary then it will be easier for them to acquire.