I had to take linguistics two times when I was an undergrad (the first time I withdrew because I was failing so badly...the second time I barely passed), so the beginning of chapter six was sort of an awful reminder of how much I suck at linguistics. I thought chapter six was okay, but it didn't start getting really good for me until the section on language play/language games (pg 192). I think playing around with language like Christenbury describes in this section can make language really fun for students who aren't usually that interested in it. I also think the more fun students have with language the more they'll remember the mechanics and the different parts of it.
One of my favorite parts of chapter 8 was the section entitled "Beyond Hierarchies: Questions You Don't Want to Ask." I liked this so much because I think it's vital for us to ask our students questions that require higher level thinking, but are also comprehendable for them. I hate all of the types of questions that Christenbury said to stay away from (yes/no, vague, fill in the blank, double, loaded), so it was nice to have my hatred for these questions validated by someone way smarter than me. I think it's important for us to require higher level thinking from the questions we ask our students.
Also, just thought I'd let everyone know that I got offered a job last week teaching 7th grade Comm Arts at Webb City Junior High School!!
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2 comments:
Congratulations on your job offer! It's nice to see someone get an opportunity before they even finish their degree! Good luck.
I agree with you about word play, games, and the ability of students to apply the language.
A also liked the Q&A part of the chapter. I just kept thinking back to the Seinfeld skit.
~Stan
Congrats on the job offer! Is this your last semester or are you a fellow post-bac?
I agree with you about the higher order thinking questions and how important those are. Yes/no questions and some of the other ones she mentioned are not challenging. Students can just spout off an answer without giving it any thought (or have a 50/50 chance at getting it right) and walk away learning nothing. I love to ask questions that make people think. But I'm wondering if teachers are nervous about asking those kinds of questions...what if students don't answer and there's an awkward pause?
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