The Book Thief

Book trailers are very similar to movie trailers, except they advertise the book instead of the movie. I think they are a great idea. Students can produce them and watch them in order to pick their next book. I had a hand in making the below book trailer about The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I really enjoyed the project. It really forces you to pick out the most important aspects of the novel in order to share with others. If you really liked the book, you really want your book trailer to be good so that others will want to read the book as well. This is a great project to do with students at the conclusion of a book!

Inquiry Based Learning

Inquiry based learning is a wonderful way for students to learn by doing, rather than to be either told what is correct or by performing worksheets. In the Signs of Spring video, the students were given the opportunity to choose what aspect they wanted to study. This puts the student in control of their own inquiry and will allow the student to be more engaged in the topic that they are researching; they will take more ownership if they are interested in the subject.
I also like the fact that these inquiry based lessons are very cross-curricular. Meaning that they are integrated across math, science, language arts, ect. I think it is so important to integrate lessons throughout all aspects of the curriculum as opposed to singling it out in one lesson. When you have a subject, such as spring time, use it across all divisions of the curriculum; run with it. Inquiry based lessons allow teachers to do this!

Multi-Genre Pieces on Standardized Testing and Literacy Learning

The following pieces are multi-genre pieces that are creations from a multi-genre research project on the topic of standardized testing and literacy instruction in the classroom.

1. Comic Strip - http://www.pixton.com/comic/c2r4uefm

I chose this genre because I wanted to try something that I had never tried before. I had always wanted to try and be witty, and I thought that a comic was a really good way to do that. This comic strip is trying to portray that eventually, students are going to realize that teachers are training them to learn to take tests like we teach animals to sit, stay and go to the bathroom outside. It is unfair to children to deprive them of a nurturing educational experience simply because we want them to succeed on a test. 

2. Podcast

I chose this genre because I think that podcasts are a thing of the future in education. I feel like everyday I can go online and watch someone give a webinar or listen to a podcast. I wanted to do something that let me express my opinions on the issue of standardized testing and talk through the voice of a teacher. I thought a podcast was a good and up-to-date way of doing this. I am trying to show the listener that teachers really do care about their students. I wanted to show a perspective of someone who was for the teachers who may not be totally in favor of the standardized tests. The IREAD-3 does have really high stakes for all third graders in the state of Indiana, and it is a hot topic of discussion right now among many educational circles. 

3. Diary Entries

I chose this genre because I really wanted to do at least one of my pieces from the perspective of a child. I think it is not often enough that we ask the opinions of students on these matters because we think that they do not have anything constructive to say; however, we will realize that kids will say intelligent things much more often than we may think. This piece was meant to show the transition of a child's perspective on the ISTEP test from thinking it was not a big deal to being very afraid of it in a matter of days. This change was clearly affected by an adult in her educational experience, and I think this can prove to be very true with most students. It is up to the teachers and administrators to frame standardized tests in such a way that will not stress children out. 

4. Newspaper Article

I chose this genre because when I was doing research on the topic of IREAD-3, there were a lot of newspaper articles about schools just like Fairview. Since the IREAD-3 really is a new test for the state of Indiana, there were, and still are, a lot of newspaper articles about the subject. I wanted to do something that went along with what is actually going on in the world. I am trying to show the reader that the students who are taking the tests do have a support system, and that there is a lot of publicity that surrounds these tests, that people truly care about the wellbeing of these students. I also wanted the reader to get an idea of something that teachers could do for their students following the completion of a standardized test as a celebration. 

5. Retention Letter to Parent 

I chose this genre because I know that retention letters are going to be something that schools are going to have to deal with in the near future, and I wonder what they are going to look like. Since the retention is partially based on a law, the letter will look different than a normal retention letter. It will be interesting to see how schools handle the situations as they arise. I wanted to convey to readers that it is inevitable that retention is going to happen with the new IREAD-3 test, and by showing readers a sample of a retention letter, I believe it makes it more real. Each student who is up for grade retention gets put up for a conference and is discussed by a panel of their teachers in order to decide what the best solution is based on their scores on the IREAD-3 test. 

Dear Reader,

            During this process I learned that being a teacher, sometimes comes with difficulties.  A big issue that I discussed and researched during this process was about standardized testing and what that means to a teacher.  In most schools, there are standards and rules that the teachers have to follow in order to ensure that their students get the scores the schools expect on their standardized tests.  Although the teachers goal is to have their students succeed and do well on these tests, what is more important than the grades, is making sure the students understand and enjoy what they are learning.  When it comes to that, sometimes teachers have to make a hard decision whether to do as they are instructed by their schools, or stand their own ground and do what is best for their students.

            The information I have gained from doing this project has helped me to think about how I will instruct my students in the future for standardized tests. As a future literacy teacher, I know that it will be important to me to make sure I stick to the curriculum my school provides me, but I will also strive to ensure that my students are learning the material, and not just regurgitating it for a standardized test.  There are different approaches for the material to be taught to students in ways that would interest them and hopefully help them to remember the material they learn and understand it.  As a writer I learned that when writing papers, it takes more than one review to make revisions and you have to sit and look at the material more than once.  As a researcher I learned that not all the material that is on the web at our fingertips is information that is helpful to us, and some of it may do more harm than good.  Some of this information, though, that I researched has provided me with insight and background knowledge that I can later apply as a literacy teacher.

            This project helped me to learn different ways in which I can teach material to my students in the upper intermediate classroom one day.  I know that I have to make sure that all the important material is covered in class, but more importantly, again, is that the students really understand and can apply what they learn in new situations.  Although it may be difficult for me to teach differently than what my curriculum requires of me, I know that I will have to do what is best for my students and their learning styles.

            I think that if I had the opportunity to change something about this project I would have tried to talk with literacy professionals in actual schools.  I feel like getting the experience to have talked with them and see how they feel about standardized testing and share my views with them could have benefited my project. That would have benefited me a lot because I would get someone’s first hand experience from the classroom.  This project benefited me because it helped me to learn about the important issues regarding standardized testing and that is something I will have to deal with in my future.  It gave me different ideas, and ways that I can help my students to not only ensure that they do well on these tests, but also make sure they know what they are learning.  The challenging parts of this project were putting my actual research into a paper.

            Overall, I am uncertain of how my future as a teacher will look when it comes to standardized tests. As of right now, I do not think they are the best thing for students, and after doing this project, I certainly do not support grade retention. I guess that is just another road block that I will have to deal with when I come to it in my future classroom. 

Interactive Read-Aloud and Shared Reading

Toe-to-toe, knee-to-knee, eye-to-eye. Who would have thought that three small phrases such as these ones could signal something so powerful among our students? When students are given the opportunity to share their opinions with a partner through this pair and share activity, their feelings and thoughts are not only validated, but their mind wheels are churning and we've got them thinking.
I really like this activity. I had never seen it executed until my first field experience at Stalker Elementary in Bedford, IN last semester. The kids seems to really enjoy this time, and I think it is really worthwhile. It definitely is time efficient as well.
One of the other shared reading activities that struck me was the "Dan the Flying Man" big book activity that Ms. Vale's class was creating from the video. I think creating any sort of product like a big book that the students can take ownership of and have a large hand in the creating of will really help make the activity that much more meaningful and engaging. From start to finish Ms. Vale had a plan and each step of the way she appeared to be gradually releasing more responsibility onto the students as she believed they were ready to handle it. I thought it was a great idea for her to start by reading the story and then go into a mini lesson which turned into a shared event by having the students pinch the word "and" on a page. Slowly but surely, they were making class lists and then, in pairs students were responsible for the creation of a page of the story. This is a great activity to do with students, and I really liked the gradual release of responsibility as well!

Poetry Workshop and Literacy Choices

I really enjoyed both of the class videos that we watched for this week's blog posting. When we got to view the classroom's Literacy Choices time, it reminded me of my 1st grade classroom at Fairview's Daily 5. It seemed like these students had a wider range of choices, which may be good for some students, who may tire of just the 5 activities to choose from. I have noticed that my classroom teacher switched the class's Daily 5 activities after a certain number of weeks, so I assume that they alternate on a quarter system. The Literacy Choices really allowed the students to do anything that they wanted as long as it related to literacy. It forced the students to be doing something, but students could be as engaged or as disengaged as they chose; however, they would still be getting something out of the activity. For example, I think the students writing comic books would probably get more out of this time than the boy who was copying a girl's name on the chalkboard; however, this boy was still writing and using visual cues to make meaning, so he was still taking advantage of his time.
I also liked the idea of a poetry workshop. When I was in third grade, my class had a poetry unit, but we only wrote our own poems and then created our own poetry book as an end result. I love the idea of performing the Choral pieces because it not only introduces students to a fun genre of poetry, but it can also help students with fluency, as they practice the piece multiple times until it sounds perfect.

Assessments and Sharing Information With Parents

I thought this chapter was very informative when it comes to different ways to "assess" students without giving formal assessments. Technically, when we observe our students in the classroom on a daily basis, we, as teachers, are able to see their progress and their weak points without a formal assessment, and we are therefore able to provide the assistance needed to help them grow and turn their weaknesses into strengths. In my opinion, I think one of the most beneficial informal assessments is an individual conference. In this setting, the teacher is not distracted by other students, and can completely direct her focus on the needs of the student. Then, the teacher can decide exactly what goals the student needs to set and exactly what they need to work on.
I also enjoyed the chapter with the information sharing scenarios. It was kind of a like a "Dear Abby" editorial in the newspaper. I felt like we were getting real advice from the source. I particularly liked the question about what to do, at home, when a child gets stuck on a word instead of simply saying, "sound it out". I think this can be the downfall of reading at home, and it is so important for parents to have a back up plan for what to say. Even as a preservice teacher, it is difficult for me to avoid "sound it out", and I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like for a parent who grew up thinking that this was the only way to learn to read. The advice offered here is invaluable, and I think sharing this kind of information with parents is really important. It might even be a good idea to include FAQs in a weekly blog that parents can read or the classroom online newsletter.

Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster

This upper elementary picture book, written and illustrated, by Debra Frasier is sure to be a crowd pleaser for all. This is a story about a 5th grade girl who misspells one of her vocabulary words, only to be ridiculed by her entire class; however, she turns this mishap into gold in the school's vocabulary parade.

I think this book is exceptional to use with upper elementary students. There are multiple elements to the story that make this not just your ordinary picture book. Throughout the story there are many vocabulary words that are homophones. This could be a good lesson for students. In addition, it could be a lesson about turning something negative into something positive. This story could also lead a class into having their own spelling bee or vocabulary parade. Both of these things are great things to do with classes that can really improve literacy and be fun for the students.

Overall, Miss Alaineus A Vocabulary Disaster, is a wonderful book, and I would recommend that every teacher use it in their classroom!

Strategies: Who needs them and can we really teach them?

Marie Clay's warning about not overdosing on "requiring children to tell us how they went about self-correcting and error or how they solved a particular problem" (Johnson, Kier 135) really got me thinking. She goes on to say that "asking the child to talk about he is thinking or acting slows up the in-the-head solving. it interferes with the fast responding that is essential for fluent reading. (Johnson, Kier 135). This made me wonder. If proficient readers do not need us to help them use metacognition to understand their comprehensive thinking, then who does? After reading farther in the chapter it became clear that it is those readers who do not think at all when they read. It is the readers who are simply saying words on a page that really need these strategies. It is the readers who are not engaged with the text. The readers who cannot put themselves in the characters shoes. Whose emotions are not evoked by what they are reading. As teachers, it is our job to tackle these students, one at a time, in order to help them become the strategic readers that we all strive for them to be.
I was also very intrigued by the section that asked the question: Can we really teach strategies? I believe the answer is yes. I agree with the book that teachers need to focus on two things in order for the strategy to be effective: 1) Teachers need to keep focus on the meaning of the text, not on students performing a particular strategy and 2) The strategy needs to be proven useful and effective for students so that they can see it is working. This is the difference between spotlighting a strategy, which is good and heavy-handing a strategy, which can be very ineffective.
It really is all about how the teacher goes about teaching the strategy, and it is so important for the teacher to know her students. We must direct different questions at different students based on their varying needs, and we must focus our conferences on the specific needs of each student in order to maximize their literacy time in the classroom.

Miscues and Reading Levels

Both of these topics have a lot of debate that surrounds them. I am going to focus on a few of the issues that I have internally when I think about these areas of literacy.
The main issue that I have surrounding miscues is the fact that it seems very hard to learn how to conduct the formal, and even informal, miscue assessments. It seems like it would take years of practice, and it could be detrimental to a student's progression in literacy if you "mess up" in your first years of miscue practice. I understand that this is what this cluster and field experience is for, but still, it's only a semester's worth of practice.
The bigger issue that I have surrounds the reading levels. While I do believe, to some extent, that they can be helpful when guiding students toward picking a "just right" book for them, I also think that reading levels can be very limiting. The story at the beginning of the article about the teacher not allowing her student to read a book at the "D" level because he was at the "C" level really frustrated me. Why would you, as a teacher, want to hold back your student if they were trying to move forward? I also think that with the help of guided reading or partner reading, it could be very beneficial for a student to read one level about their current level. With the help of others, I believe these books would be right in a student's ZPD and could actually help them progress to a higher reading level. I also agree with the article that it is quite hard to measure someone's reading ability level based on only a few characteristics that are able to be assessed. By labeling a student at a certain reading level, you may be hindering their chances to do great things with literacy. While every teacher should strive to help each student do what works best for them in order to succeed, I do not think that it necessarily needs to be done by labeling a child or books at certain reading levels.

Beyond "Sounding It Out"

I just finished reading Chapter 4 of Catching Readers, "Beyond Sounding It Out". It was truly one of the most informational and practical chapters I have read in my educational career up to this point. Especially in my field experience, I often struggle with the issue of what to do when the student is stuck on a word. As is common for many people, I often find myself saying, "Okay, let's sound it out." After reading this chapter I have realized that "sounding it out" is not the most beneficial way of making our students become life-long readers. Although the visual aspect (phonics) of making sure that the word we are saying looks like the word on the page is an important part of reading, there are other aspects that we need to help our students consider when reading.
Many times I have run into the situation where my student will look at the first few letters of the word, neglect the rest of the word, and make something up. I really liked the chapter's idea to respond to the student with a prompt such as, "Try that again and keep the story in your head as you do." (Catching Readers 59) It is so important for students to not only consider the visual aspect of the word, but also the meaning of what they are reading within the text.
Of course there are times when I have also run into a situation where my student does not pay careful enough attention to her use of letter/sound correspondence when reading. Other than just asking her to sound out the word again, you can ask the student if they are making up the word or actually looking at the page. Or, check that word again and see if it looks right to you. This is a great way to switch the responsibility of monitoring from the teacher to the student, which is the ultimate goal we are trying to reach when teaching our students to be good readers.
There were many other things that I got from this chapter that would take too much space to go into here, but if you haven't gotten a chance to read the chapter yet, I highly suggest it. It is so practical, and I really hope to use some of these suggestions in both my field experience and in my future classroom.

Parent Realizations and Phonemic Awareness

I really enjoyed the article about educating family and community members about elementary children's writing. It brought up a lot of points that I have unknowingly experienced in the past. It also made me realize that I may have been guilty of being frustrated with children because of small errors that the article discussed.
One point that really caught my attention was the fact that "learning can progress rapidly if the child discovers and tests out the rules themselves instead of having them imposed without." (Cusumano 10) This made me realize that it is important to let children make mistakes, and, at times, not correct them. At this early stage in children's education, it is so important to fuel the love for literacy that they so badly need to succeed. By encouraging their ideas instead of pointing out their grammatical or spelling errors, they will see that we, as teachers and parents, have an appreciation for literacy and that we recognize their hard work. In this kind of nurturing setting, students are much more likely to enjoy writing and keep writing. The errors can be worked on later, and in many cases, will work themselves out simply with practice.
As an elementary teacher we are much more knowledgable about the stages that must be taken, by students, in order for them to get to a higher level of writing. We must inform parents who may not be aware in order to receive their support with our methods at home. It is just as, if not more, important for parents to support the idea of "writing is about making meaning" rather than correcting mistakes. I think a newsletter, or in these days of technology, a blog, could be really effective in giving pointers to parents and calming their fears about having dyslexic or struggling children. I think a bi-weekly or monthly blog with the suggestions discussed in the article would be a good amount, not overly invasive, and would really help parents to better understand the learning processes of their children.
This week's articles have really opened some doors for me. I will never again jump to correcting mistakes. Instead, I will make sure to look for the positive points and try to make meaning of students' writing first. I will foster the creativity of children and help them to learn while loving literacy at the same time.

Literacy Dig

Modeling our project after the project example in "The Donut House" article, our group thought it would be really engaging for students to go to Build-a-Bear and learn the ins and outs of the process of bear-making. This week we took our first step, and went on a trip to the store. Although there were no children in the store on my visit, I was still able to come away with some good research for the project. After creating a map of the store, it was clear to me that there are identifiable stations in which children can learn a new concept at each. In addition to the concepts, these stations are all clearly labeled, which helps with literacy. We also saw many other opportunities for children to brush up on their reading and writing skills. One of the coolest parts is a computer station in which children have to create a birth certificate for their bear. This whole station involves reading, spelling, and typing. It's a great learning experience as well as fun.
I think the rest of this project is going to be great. If I were a student in a classroom where we had our very own Build-a-Bear workshop, I would think it was pretty awesome!

What is Literacy?

Literacy is a key part of our survival in the every day world. But how do we define literacy? Is it being able to read words on a page, pass a test, or do you need to be able to communicate with others and understand what you are reading and doing. I would argue the last point. I think it is almost impossible to survive in a community where you cannot understand and interact with those around you.
This then raises another important question: What makes you smart? Does not being able to communicate make you stupid? It is important to consider, especially when dealing with ESL, students that just because they may be unable to communicate in English, this does not mean they cannot excel in other areas. As a teacher it is extremely important to consider the different needs of every child in your classroom. If a child is an ESL student, you may need to communicate with them in a way that is literate for them. For example, the Youtube video "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan, is a wordless video that clearly tells a story using the pictures. One is able to follow the story line of the man who leaves his family in a foreign country to deal with the hardships of finding a job and surviving in the United States. Someone does not have to be able to read at all to be able to follow this storyline. It can be spoken about and described in any language. The use of pictures might be a good example for a teacher with ESL students.
In conclusion, it seems that literacy can be defined in many different forms, and as a teacher, it is your job to decide what methods and definitions work best for the students in your classroom.