As I was reading through Chapter 6 "Words, Words, Words," I couldn't help but get excited about the different methods (Language Play/Language Games, pg. 192) that Christenbury provides to teaching spelling/vocab. and grammar. I hate those vocabulary books. I'll be honest and say that I usually just studied the night before - vocabulary was definitely a short-term thing for me (just get it in so that I can make an 'A' on the assignment). All those words departed my mind the minute we were moving on to the next activity for the class. I like the idea of students keeping spelling logs and vocabulary lists from their reading, life and classwork. I should probably do this myself when reading the things for my different classes. Who doesn't come across words that they don't know how to spell or the meaning of when they read? My grandma still goes to a dictionary when she doesn't know the meaning of a word that she finds in one of her beloved Mary Higgins Clark or Stephen King books. Smart woman (and it shows)! Wouldn't spelling and vocab become so much more meaningful if students were taking the words from their surroundings rather than from some book where they don't see how those words are used in their language?
I also loved the idea of using billboards and other pun/play on words to teach students grammar. Why has teaching vocabulary, spelling and grammar become such a boring and uncreative aspect of teaching?
I also enjoyed Chapter 8, "The Craft of Questioning." I need to learn how to ask questions. I also don't want to be like the statistic Christenbury mentions and ask 3 questions per minute. I wrote next to that statement, "Teacher talk too much."
But one part of this chapter impacted most. I love the story that Christenbury tells about the time she taught a poem and how her students took over the discussion, made a lot of in-depth personal connections, and were challenging and encouraging one another. Wouldn't it be great to have our classroom be an environment where students feel safe (not only physically but in regards to expressing themselves and being as open as they choose) and feel as though they will be respected? Christenbury notes that students in remedial classes are "often asked nothing but factual or recall questions and are never or rarely asked to consider why, how, or what if" (241). I ask myself Why do teachers think that these students don't want to be asked the deeper questions or why do we assume that they can't answer those deeper questions? I don't think we will ever have what I consider "classroom unity" and mutual respect if we don't allow our students to feel like they have a voice.
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I think it's really important for us as teachers to set the tone in the classroom to be one of encouragement and support. Hopefully our example will rub off on the students. My concern, and I spoke with my practicum teacher about this last week, is about what to do with those kids who are funny and likable, but continually cross the line with their comments to other students. My teacher has a student in one of her classes who is hilarious, but his humor is very occassionally at the expense of others. I don't think he means to be malicious, so how do you go about demanding only positive words from students? We will at some point have students who are just waiting for a chance to tear someone apart with their words. Then what? And how do you rebuild the student who has been made fun of/torn apart and get them back to the point where they are comfortable sharing in class discussions?
I think the reason spelling and vocab are boring is because there are so many things to teach, and spelling/vocab is no one's favorite. It's easier to have kids memorize it at home than spend valuable class time on something students and teachers see as a waste.
I havent read the chapters yet because they were homework for this week, but just reading this post gets me interested in the subject. This book just keeps getting better!
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