Amy Pennell's Blog

This has been a very informative class. I have been introduced to blogging (which I found out that I love!). I love being able to read my classmates thoughts and see the projects they have created. Although we have been together for almost two years now, I have still found a lot of insight in reading my classmates’ blogs. Many of the lesson plans I reviewed during the class, including my first Twilight lesson plan posted for this Unit, was found by reading teachers’ personal blogs. The work I’ve done this semester has convinced me that blogging is a great tool for the classroom. It is a very easy way to keep everyone connected.

Dr. Trathen has given us an endless amount of research tools for materials, instructional strategies and lesson plans that will serve us well in our classrooms. Each of the lessons we created in this class can be taken directly from our blog and put into use in the classroom. Not only do we have our own to use but all of those posted by our classmates too. I am very proud of all that we have created in this short semester!

My favorite reading was Pirates in Historical Fiction and Nonfiction: A Twin-Text Unit of Study. It showed first hand how much fun teachers can make the curriculum for their students when they have the proper tools. I also loved www.teachertube.com. I had never used it before this class. I know that I can use it to find lots of resources for my classroom one day

Since this is more of an outline of several integrative lesson plans, there isn’t one particular standard course of study goal that it meets. Also, with the breadth of information in this lesson plan, many different instructional strategies can be implemented for different types of learners. Independent and group reading, group research and interactive instruction can ensure this lesson to be a success!

There is a sub-lesson plan that I think would incorporate very nicely with this lesson. It is found at: http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/workshops/AI/PotteryLessonPlan.htm  This lesson plan integrates art, cultural studies, social studies and mythology.

Vocabulary development is the backbone of any subject. Unfortunately, vocabulary development is not normally thought about outside of Language Arts. This article shows the importance of incorporating grammar into every classroom. If a student doesn’t understand or fully comprehend a word then they can’t move forward no matter whether the subject is language arts, geometry or social studies. The vocabulary workshop sessions presented a lot of useful information to the teachers which they used to create their own activities. It is obvious how much these teachers grew professionally from the workshops and how their students benefited from their efforts in the classroom. My favorite example provided was from Mr. Lucas Pasley. I love how he was committed to showing the entire form of a word to his students, especially the etymology. Learning in this type of environment provides students with knowledge that they carry with them to the next classroom. Knowing the history and roots of words brings “vocabulary” full circle, showing its importance. This article provides us all with information we can take directly to our classrooms.

It is easy to teach a student to read facts and to put them into their own words as a traditional research paper requires. To offer a multi-genre research approach of instruction requires a lot of effort from both the teacher and the student. Many of the approaches offered in the article were new to me and therefore exciting! These teachers are thinking outside of the box by allowing students to research a topic and present it from a unique point of view. This type of learning gets students excited and encourages creativity. By having an open mind in reference to topics, research styles and presentation styles, teachers are showing their students a different way to think. I don’t think there is any doubt that this type of approach to a research paper would provide the curriculum required skills. Of these many different approaches listed in the article, all of them require more of the student that the traditional research paper. Students still learn the basics such as how to research, how to cite sources and how create bibliography pages. The key is to make students want to probe deeper into a topic and find interesting ways to present that topic. Research writing does not have to be separate from creative writing when students are allowed to creatively express themselves. Of all the problems Moulton referred to in the article, she also provided compromises that worked for the teacher as well as the student.

I was completely amazed at the examples of the students’ papers. It is obvious the amount of time and research that went into them. Everyone benefits when teachers utilize the approaches talked outlined by Moulton and apply them to their classroom. I couldn’t help but smile when I read what the student said who wrote on the Beatles: “It never occurred to me that writing could be so much fun!” I agree!

Question #1
Is it more important for students to learn the traditional five paragraph essay or is it more important for them to become familiar with “real life” writing of memos, letters, maps, directions, flyers, etc.?

Question #2
What is the best way to present the idea of multi-genre paper verses the traditional research paper to more conventional teachers when asking them to allow their students to be proactive in their presentation of the research material?

Question #3
How easy or difficult would it be to integrate the multi-genre research paper in classes other than language arts?

A teacher must find ways to be creative in order to encourage students to become more engaged in classroom activities. “I” poems: Invitations for Students to Deepen Literacy Understanding by Linda Kucan shows how teachers can incorporate “I” poems into pre-reading, during reading and post-reading activities. The “I” poem is very adaptable and can be structured in writing activities for students of all ages. By asking a student to write from the first-person point of view, you are asking the student to find the “essence” of the speaker whether it be a person, an inanimate object or a place. This requires the student to get to know their subject. The “I am” format is a great tool to help students ask themselves questions to get to know their subject in an intimate way. A great pre-reading activity to help the students develop a deeper understanding of their subject (the material), as demonstrated in the article, is to have the students perform research particular subjects of the reading material. I loved the idea of having the students do research on particular environments, including in the search animals, plants and weather. Each student’s individual research can then be collectively shared with all the students, increasing each student’s knowledge of the material.

I love how the  article provided practical uses for the “I” poem in the classroom. I will definitely use it in my classroom.

Question #1
How can students benefit from researching the characters, setting, plot, etc. of the reading material to create an “I” poem?

Question #2
What are the benefits to teaching students to look at writing “as a knowledge transforming process, a process in which the writer’s thoughts come into existence through the composing process itself” verses the standard five paragraph essay taught in many classrooms today?

Question #3
If Dewey’s notion (1934) was right, that “learning or understanding depends upon opportunities to engage in reflective self disclosure”, then why is it we still look at standardized testing as the best fit for education since this type of testing promotes memorization and regurgitation of facts?

Name of Strategy:  Guided Reading

Source (Where did this come from?):  Instructional Strategies Online

 Link to the Strategy:

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

Name of Strategy:   Concept Mapping

Source (Where did this come from?):  Instructional Strategies Online http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/index.html

 Link to the Strategy: http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/conceptmap/index.html and http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jmargeru/conceptmap/types.htm (both found from source)

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

A concept map is a special form of a web diagram for exploring knowledge and gathering and sharing information which can be used in various pre-writing exercises. Concept mapping is the strategy employed to develop a concept map. A concept map consists of nodes or cells that contain a concept, item or question and links. 

 The following are examples of different types of concept maps:

Problem-Solution Map

When you plan a prewriting activity in which you want students to write a problem-solution essay, you could define the terms to be used or the structure for the map. In this, students have a problem statement, definition, causes, and effects, leading to a possible solution. Depending on your goals, you’ll provide more or less structure.

Persuasive Argument 

This type is a fairly common type of theme for students, in which they present a persuasive argument. The example shown is highly structured, but your assignment might potentially not be.

 Research Topic

A more research-y take on description asks students to research a topic, adding to the map in who, what, when, where, why, how fashion leading toward the significance of a topic.

Narrative Story Line

A narrative story line might look like this, with a setting, set of characters, problem, set of alternative attempts to solve the problem, and a resolution. The map shown is a traditional setting, cast of characters, problem, attempts at solutions, and finally, resolution.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

Concepts maps can be used to:

• Develop an understanding of a body of knowledge.
• Explore new information and relationships.
• Access prior knowledge.
• Gather new knowledge and information.
• Share knowledge and information generated.
• Design structures or processes such as written documents, constructions, web sites, web search, multimedia presentations.
• Problem-solve options

Name of Strategy: Literature Circles

Source (Where did this come from?): Instructional Strategies Online http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/index.html

Link to the Strategy: http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/literaturecircles/index.html

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:
In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by students’ response to what they have read. Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers. Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response.

Literature circles can be implemented in the classroom by:

1. Selecting members for the Literature Circles (discussion groups).
2. Assigning roles for the members of each circle.
3. Assigning reading to be completed by the circles inside or outside of class.
4. Selecting circle meeting dates.
5. Helping students prepare for their roles in their circle.
6. Acting as a facilitator for the circles.

Some roles may be:

• discussion director – develops questions for the group to discuss
• passage picker or literary luminary – chooses a selection that the group rereads and discusses because it is interesting, informative, the climax, well written….
• vocabulary enricher – chooses words that are difficult or used in an unfamiliar way
• connector – finds a connection between the story and another book, event in their personal life or the outside world
• illustrator – draws a picture related to the reading
• summarizer – prepares a brief summary of the passage read that day
• travel tracer – tracks the movement when the characters move a lot
• investigator – looks up background information related to the book

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

Competency Goal 1 The learner will express reflections and reactions to print and non-print text and personal experiences.
1.02 Respond reflectively (individually and in groups) to a variety of expressive texts (e.g., memoirs, vignettes, narratives, diaries, monologues, personal responses) in a way that offers an audience:
• an understanding of the student’s personal reaction to the text.
• a sense of how the reaction results from a careful consideration of the text.
• an awareness of how personal and cultural influences affect the response.

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

As teachers evaluate a discussion group, they should monitor that students are not only progressing in reading and writing strategies but also in discussion etiquette:

• attending to the topic.
• participating actively in the group.
• asking questions.
• “piggybacking” on others’ comments.
• allowing all members of the group opportunity to participate.
• disagreeing constructively.
• supporting opinions with evidence.

Name of Strategy:   Anticipation Guide

Source (Where did this come from?):  Instructional Strategies Online http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/index.html

 Link to the Strategy: http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/anticiguide/index.htm

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

Anticipation guides, according to Frank Smith (1978) allow the reader to make predictions about text that will be read by eliminating possibilities that are unlikely.

Also called reaction or prediction guides, the anticipation guide is a way to prepare a reader prior to a reading assignment by asking them to react to a series of statements related to the content of the material.

Reasons for using anticipation guides include:

1. relating prior knowledge to new information to enhance comprehension,
2. creating interest which stimulates discussion on the topic, and
3. creating possibilities for integrating reading and writing instruction

Anticipation guides can be implemented by having the students:

• Read the passage or story
  • Read and analyze the text to identify the major concepts (both explicit and implicit).
• Decide on major concepts
  • Decide which concepts are most important. Use these to create student interest and to agitate or stimulate reflection on prior knowledge and beliefs.
• Write statements on major concepts
  • Write short, declarative statements about the major concepts. There can be as few as 3-5 statements or up to about 15. The statements should be thought-provoking and reflect the students’ backgrounds. General statements are better than abstract or overly specific ones. Famous quotations and idioms work well. The statements should be written in a format that will elicit students to predict and anticipate.
• Display the guide
  • To allow students time to react to each statement, display the guide either on the blackboard or on an overhead, or distribute individual worksheets. Give clear directions for what the students are to do with the guide, such as writing an “A” for agreeing or a “D” for disagreeing in the left-hand column for each statement. Make sure to leave space for responses on the sheet. Students can complete the guides individually, in pairs or small groups, or as a whole class.
• Discuss
  • Conduct a class discussion about the concepts before the students read the text. Students are expected to support their answers with more than a “yes” or “no” response. Students are to give examples from past experience and explain the decision-making process by which they arrive at their answers.
• Read
  • Have students read the selected text, evaluating the statements from the anticipation guide in light of the author’s intent and purpose.
• Revisit the guide
  • Revisit the guide after you have read the passage to allow students to compare and contrast their original responses with current ones. The objective is to see what information the reading of the passage has allowed them to assimilate or learn.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

The anticipation guide allows students to anticipate major concepts that will be encountered during their reading of a text. Discussion stimulates review of what students know and believe and allow them to expand these concepts. This type of previewing allows students to take charge of their own learning and to focus their reading. The teacher can use the anticipation guide to preview students’ beliefs and knowledge about a subject.