I really liked the part of chapter 6 that talked about group work. The descriptions of the types of students that you find working in groups. Gallagher talks about how group projects will sometimes encourage some students to "hitchhike" and not provide any input to group discussion. I encountered this in my practicum lesson that I did on Tuesday. For the most part I think that the students were engaged in the discussion of William Blake that I wanted them to engage in. I saw some students discussing spring break while others were simply sitting on the sidelines. My inexperience led me to wonder about the correction of this behavior but it definitely gave me something to think about.
I was so glad that chapter 6 covered this aspect of teaching because I plan on doing a lot of group work and want to do it affectively. Gallagher provides some great ideas for organizational structure. I think that it is important to give each group member a job to do, especially after I witnessed the reality of student participation first hand. So I guess the question for those who wish to respond is, "how are you going to ensure that your students are contributing group members?".
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Second Draft Reading?
I know that Stan kind of mentioned this in one of his many blogs for the week, but how practical is teaching students to read and then reread and then reread and then reread and maybe read one more time. It's a great idea if students have the rest of their lives to read one book. If and when our students get to college like I have found I am having a really good week when I have done all of the reading one time through for a class. Many times I probably should go back and read again but there is not enough time with all of the other things that teachers expect you to do. So that is my tangent about the reading we had to do.
While there were several good things about the reading one thing that stuck out to me was the thought of having students fill out a clock to help the students pick partners throughout the class. So many times when teachers ask students to select a partner they select the same person. But to have the students schedule different people they are required to meet with a variety of people plus the teacher doesn't have to think about how to break the students up into groups each time.
Why does it matter??
This is the main thing I got out of the reading this week! It just really hit me that if I can find ways to explain to students why the things I am teaching them are important they might actually take it more seriously and perhaps even enjoy it! I think it is so crucial to let students know how the information they are digesting is going to be useful to them, or matters to them in some way. For example, this week I did my teaching in my field experience and Keri came and observed me. I planned a really cool lesson that I thought would be really fun for them introducing African American poetry. They just completed a Civil Rights unit which they seemed to really enjoy so I thought they would have a lot to say about these poems about slavery and segregation. I think I missed one thing though...I didnt ask them why the poems really mattered. I don't think many of them made the connection that many of these poems made a huge impact on the Civil rights movement. I had them read the poems and analyze the meanings, but I didnt really give them any reason to find the poems important to them. Although the lessons that I taught went really well, if I could do it over again I would definitly find a way to answer this question for them...why does it matter? I think they might have been even more engaged in the lesson if I had. To look back at my high school experience, I know that this made a big difference to me when I was learning new information. If my teacher gave me a distinct reason why this info mattered to me I would give much more of my attention. I know that was only a small part of the reading this week, but I really thought about this a lot!
Not just another textbook...
There haven't been a lot of books throughout my college experience that I have kept, but like Katie mentioned in her post, Gallagher's book is packed with amazing strategies. It would be silly of me to sell this book back to the university and lose such an amazing reference.
In Chapter 5, I really liked the idea "literary dominoes" and giving students the resolution and asking them to describe the steps that led to that resolution. It really makes them think about what events triggered each "domino" in order for the story to end up where it did.
The "Reading Symbols" strategy was another that I thought could be very useful. Students are very good at summarizing things that they have read, but that's often all they do. Using the elements that Gallagher outlined encourages students to go beyond summarization.
In Chapter 6, Gallagher talked about Double-Entry Journals (which, by the way, I always enjoyed writing journals in class ;D ) which reminded me of the class blog that my field expeirence teacher has recently set up for her students to use. She used an in-class activity to illustrate what it would be like to use a blog.
She showed a video clip from KY3 about the possibility of a legislation going into affect that would require school uniforms. After the clip, she had the students write their reaction to what they had seen. Then, they wadded up their reactions and tossed them into a basketball hoop that was connected to a crate, which was just a small way to get the students moving around the room. Next, students picked a "wad" from the crate and responded to it. They repeated this process a couple times, and then the students were given their original paper back. They then read the responses from their classmates about their reaction.
Mrs. Wicklund explained to the students that the activity they had just done was like the blog they would soon be using. They would post to the blog about whatever book they happened to be reading at the time, and other students would be given the opporunity to respond to their post. I thought it was a very creative idea, and the kids loved it.
In Chapter 5, I really liked the idea "literary dominoes" and giving students the resolution and asking them to describe the steps that led to that resolution. It really makes them think about what events triggered each "domino" in order for the story to end up where it did.
The "Reading Symbols" strategy was another that I thought could be very useful. Students are very good at summarizing things that they have read, but that's often all they do. Using the elements that Gallagher outlined encourages students to go beyond summarization.
In Chapter 6, Gallagher talked about Double-Entry Journals (which, by the way, I always enjoyed writing journals in class ;D ) which reminded me of the class blog that my field expeirence teacher has recently set up for her students to use. She used an in-class activity to illustrate what it would be like to use a blog.
She showed a video clip from KY3 about the possibility of a legislation going into affect that would require school uniforms. After the clip, she had the students write their reaction to what they had seen. Then, they wadded up their reactions and tossed them into a basketball hoop that was connected to a crate, which was just a small way to get the students moving around the room. Next, students picked a "wad" from the crate and responded to it. They repeated this process a couple times, and then the students were given their original paper back. They then read the responses from their classmates about their reaction.
Mrs. Wicklund explained to the students that the activity they had just done was like the blog they would soon be using. They would post to the blog about whatever book they happened to be reading at the time, and other students would be given the opporunity to respond to their post. I thought it was a very creative idea, and the kids loved it.
Darn. Now I'm out another twenty dollars.
I was expecting to sell this book back in a month. I really was. I was taking notes on all the useful things I found and was already hearing the sweet "ka-ching" of another twenty (oh, wait. University bookstore. Thirteen.) dollars in my checking account. But then Gallagher has to go and impress me and give me too many useful ideas to write down.
I loved the chapter on collaboration and groupwork. I think he has some fantastic ideas about getting students to contribute and really focus on what they're reading. His group roles (well, Harvey Daniel's group roles) also cater to certain interests. I've been in Facilitator/Recorder/Reporter groups before and I always end up as the Facilitator (um, TEACHER!) and I feel like I do all the work. I love that his students are expected to prepare for and contribute to the discussion in a unique way. I also think all of his activities and questions would make great reading journal prompts.
Speaking of which, Stan already commented on reading journals. What do you guys think of using them in a High School classroom? I go back and forth. In some of my classes, I hate(d) my required journal; in others, it's the most useful part of the class (and not just by comparison). For me, I find the difference might lie in how much we're required to write and how often. My favorite journals have been for Dr. Moser, for ENG 351 and 354. She asks for 10 minutes, not a length, so it seems like less pressure to me. And she collects them every class and reads them so it helps her structure her lectures/discussions. I really liked it...well, at least I recognized its importance and liked it the most of any journal I've ever been required to keep. I think I would very rarely give the class a specific prompt, unless it was something I REALLY wanted them to get, to maybe prepare for the final assessment. I might give them a huge list of things to get them thinking, but they could write about any of them, as long as it was a critical response. The best way to get kids writing well is to get them to write in the first place.
I'm still trying to figure it out, but that's what this is about, right? So if you hate journals (as I often do) don't jump down my throat. I hate them too...sometimes.
I loved the chapter on collaboration and groupwork. I think he has some fantastic ideas about getting students to contribute and really focus on what they're reading. His group roles (well, Harvey Daniel's group roles) also cater to certain interests. I've been in Facilitator/Recorder/Reporter groups before and I always end up as the Facilitator (um, TEACHER!) and I feel like I do all the work. I love that his students are expected to prepare for and contribute to the discussion in a unique way. I also think all of his activities and questions would make great reading journal prompts.
Speaking of which, Stan already commented on reading journals. What do you guys think of using them in a High School classroom? I go back and forth. In some of my classes, I hate(d) my required journal; in others, it's the most useful part of the class (and not just by comparison). For me, I find the difference might lie in how much we're required to write and how often. My favorite journals have been for Dr. Moser, for ENG 351 and 354. She asks for 10 minutes, not a length, so it seems like less pressure to me. And she collects them every class and reads them so it helps her structure her lectures/discussions. I really liked it...well, at least I recognized its importance and liked it the most of any journal I've ever been required to keep. I think I would very rarely give the class a specific prompt, unless it was something I REALLY wanted them to get, to maybe prepare for the final assessment. I might give them a huge list of things to get them thinking, but they could write about any of them, as long as it was a critical response. The best way to get kids writing well is to get them to write in the first place.
I'm still trying to figure it out, but that's what this is about, right? So if you hate journals (as I often do) don't jump down my throat. I hate them too...sometimes.
Chapter 6 ... Accountability
I know I some of you felt that "Popcorn Reading" made you feel anxious and on-edge, because you never knew if you were going to read, but I think that Gallagher agrees with the intent, accountability. If you never knew when you would be chosen to read in the story, you paid attention to ensure you knew where we were. Although this might be awkward with a new class, I think the intent and effects of on-task behavior out-weigh the anxiety of a few students.
~Stan
~Stan
What do you think? Read it again?
I was wondering what everyone else thought about re-reading difficult texts. If I have a class read "Romeo and Juliet" straight through, the go back and re-read and point out things that require a deeper reading, would that make it more enjoyable? Like watching "Sixth Sense" a second time? What do you think?
~Stan
~Stan
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