In chapter 8 of Content-Area Reading, the topic that is presented is the development of vocabulary and concepts. "Teaching words well means giving students multiple opportunities to develop word meanings and learn how words are conceptually related to one another in the texts they are studying." I am a big advocate of teaching vocabulary, but there is a right way and a wrong way. The first thing that comes to mind when most people think of vocabulary instruction is the typical strategy. First, you get a list of random words and definitions. Then, you get a week to 'study' (memorize) them, and finally you are tested on them. This is NOT the type of vocabulary instruction I advocate! My English teacher during my junior year in high school taught vocabulary this way, and it was not productive or helpful at all! Nobody would actually study them, we would all try to memorize them the morning of the quiz, and once the quiz was over we forgot them. There are much better ways to implement meaningful vocabulary into the lesson plan.
First of all, as the chapter suggests, it is important that the vocabulary words being taught are words that are relevant to the lesson and what is being learned. The 'random words theory,' as I like to call it, does not help students learn content. Rather than strictly presenting vocabulary words, one way to teach your content is through concepts. "Concepts create mental images, which may present anything that can be grouped together by common features or similar criteria: objects, symbols, ideas, processes, or events." Through things such as concept maps, new vocabulary and key concepts can be learned simultaneously. Also through other graphic organizers, students and teachers can group together words that fall into the same category, making it easier to remember. When students can relate the vocabulary to the concept, both will be more easy to learn.
Another thing that a teacher can do when testing his or her students is get rid of the multiple choice vocabulary section. Sure, some students likely spend time to learn all of the vocabulary, but there are some who simply rely on there being a common sense answer to every question. This turns it into the 'multiple guess' section. Instead, have the students write a short essay incorporating the vocabulary they learned in class. This not only will help students remember the words, it will make the students more responsible for learning their vocabulary.
Vocabulary is so important to all content-areas, and it is important that teachers are aware of how they are instructing key words and concepts in their classroom.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Public Writing - Chapter 5
I chose to write about the topic of "Public Writing" from our Content-Area Writing textbook because this is the kind of writing I dislike the most. Public writing can be described as "intentional, highly-polished pieces that can go out into the world, connect with real readers, get some work done, and stand up to scrutiny." In other words, this differs from the "Writing to Learn" techniques discusses in previous posts. This is writings such as term papers, formal lab reports, or critical analyses. I know what you're thinking right now, "You mean you're going to be a teacher and you don't like writing term papers!?" Yes, that is correct. I do not like writing term papers, but it isn't so much the actual research and writing of the paper I dislike, it's the time-table that usually comes along with it. If I were only taking one class and I had to write a term paper, I would be more than thrilled, and it would likely be better than anything I have written. That being said, if I am taking four classes, I likely would not put in the time I feel is necessary to complete a great piece of public writing.
So how do I get my students interested and excited to write a term paper for my future classes, seeing as they will be taking so many other classes? Do I assign public writing at all? Yes, I will definitely assign public writing. Why? Because of how necessary it is to be successful in today's society. Just about any field you go into, you are expected to be be able to write formally and publicly. I also hope that my students will learn from their writing and the writing of their fellow students. Also, one of the things it talks about in the chapter is giving the students choice when it comes to their writing topics. As a teacher, "we are the ones who have to read them, after all, and then we are bored after the first three papers" if we assign the same topic to each student. The purpose of public writing is to get your audience interested in your topic, and get them to learn something new, or change their opinion about something they already knew. Teachers become a terrible audience for their students if they can't even be informed by their writing topic.
By using the steps given in the chapter in order to make public writing in classrooms possible, I can hope that my students will create excellent pieces of public writing. First, I need to give my students some level of choice in the selection of writing topics. Secondly, I need to give time to write in class. As the authors state, "We cannot leave them alone to write any more than we'd leave them along to dissect a fetal pig or cook up some chemical reactions." Lastly, I need to give them helpful and timely response. I can't wait until the students turn their work in to give feedback. I hope that I am able to implement these strategies for my students so that both myself and my students can grow and learn in the public writing process.
So how do I get my students interested and excited to write a term paper for my future classes, seeing as they will be taking so many other classes? Do I assign public writing at all? Yes, I will definitely assign public writing. Why? Because of how necessary it is to be successful in today's society. Just about any field you go into, you are expected to be be able to write formally and publicly. I also hope that my students will learn from their writing and the writing of their fellow students. Also, one of the things it talks about in the chapter is giving the students choice when it comes to their writing topics. As a teacher, "we are the ones who have to read them, after all, and then we are bored after the first three papers" if we assign the same topic to each student. The purpose of public writing is to get your audience interested in your topic, and get them to learn something new, or change their opinion about something they already knew. Teachers become a terrible audience for their students if they can't even be informed by their writing topic.
By using the steps given in the chapter in order to make public writing in classrooms possible, I can hope that my students will create excellent pieces of public writing. First, I need to give my students some level of choice in the selection of writing topics. Secondly, I need to give time to write in class. As the authors state, "We cannot leave them alone to write any more than we'd leave them along to dissect a fetal pig or cook up some chemical reactions." Lastly, I need to give them helpful and timely response. I can't wait until the students turn their work in to give feedback. I hope that I am able to implement these strategies for my students so that both myself and my students can grow and learn in the public writing process.
Chapter 3 - Culturally Responsive Teaching in a Diverse Classroom
In a society that is as diverse as it has ever been, the need to be a culturally responsive teacher has never been greater. Teachers today are seeing more and more diversity reflected from all walks of life. Whether it is racial, socioeconomical, or religious diversity, the need to be aware and responsive is high. Personally, I have never had much experience in a culturally diverse classroom. I come from a smaller town in northeastern Wisconsin and I have gone to a Catholic school my entire life. Those two ingredients usually do not to equal much diversity. Since I became a secondary education major, I have experienced much more diversity, and instruction on how to differentiate for that diversity. This not only includes my multicultural education class, but also the class I am currently in.
We just finished reading a chapter in our Content-Area Reading textbook about culturally responsive teaching in a diverse classroom. The main idea of the chapter regarding how to teach literacy in these classrooms is, "teachers respond to linguistic and cultural differences by scaffolding instruction in culturally responsive classrooms. One of the things I enjoyed reading about was dealing with linguistic differences in today's schools. Again, not having much experience with this I was interested to read about how to go about making sure any language barriers are taken down. Often because of linguistic barriers, diverse students end up on a track of repeated struggle or even failure. As the chapter points out, "language differences should not be mistaken for language deficits among culturally diverse students. The key is to be accepting of diverse dialect in the classroom, and allow for certain assignments and discussions to take place in the vernacular of these students. There is a time and a place for the use of standard American English, but "when and under what circumstances become critical instructional issues."
I think, that it is most important to communicate with diverse students when these circumstances are needed. For example, if they are completing a formal report for class, the standard American English may be needed. An informal essay on something written in class most, most likely would not require it. In my opinion, in the case that standard American English is needed (and is not the native language of students) the teacher should assist the student in helping him or her write. For example, have the student write a draft to the best of their ability and then have a paper conference with them to discuss and correct any error. This should then be offered to all students, whether they are culturally diverse or not. Eventually, move from a conference with the teacher to a conference with another student. Then, as the school year progresses, perhaps the students will be able to complete this on their own.
I hope, in the case that I end up teaching in a classroom that is diverse, that I will be able to use what I have learned to assist diverse students and help to scaffold the curriculum to the point where they will become independent in their reading and writing.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Studying Text and Reading Instruction: Chapter 10 and a Supplemental Article
I know that many students have difficulty reading content-area texts. Often times the texts that are assigned for students to read contain difficult vocabulary, "boring" content, and possibly difficult vocabulary. Depending on the student, he or she may find different subjects easier or harder than others. I personally had a very difficult time reading history texts in high school. The amount of information that was needed to be taken in in one simple chapter was simply overwhelming to me. On the other hand, let me read a chapter in my English text and I could do it easily and know exactly what I read. What I realize now, (after reading chapter 10 of Content-Area Reading, and an article called, "Focus on the Essentials of Reading Instruction") is that it was often the case that my teachers were not teaching me how to read the text properly. If I were to grade a few of my high school teachers based on the rubric in the supplemental article, several of them would be barely passing or failing.
According to Alan Frager and Elizabeth Frey, the authors of the "Reading Instruction" article, teachers who deserve the grade of an 'F' use poor methods of instruction and provide little support for their readers. For example, round-robin reading (RRR) is one practice that "very few reading educators advocate... though it is a widely used practice" (p. 57). This was a technique that was enjoyed by several of my teachers. The problem with this strategy is that there is only one actively engaged reader, and 25 other passive readers. Also, this type of forward/one-speed reading is contradictory to developing good reading strategies. When someone reads critically, he or she will reread parts of the text, change speeds, and occasionally stop to look back or ahead. Luckily for me, I have learned many other strategies to read class texts that are more effective, and therefore my students won't have to survive the infamous round-robin reading strategy.
One strategy that I really enjoyed reading about was the GRASP strategy suggested in chapter 10 of our Content-Area Reading text. GRASP stands for Guided Reading and Summarizing Procedure, and it's a way of showing students how to summarize information from a text passage. "After students have read a text passage, they turn the books face down and try to remember everything that was important in the passage. What they recall is recorded by the teacher on the whiteboard" (p. 335). The teacher then helps to add or correct recollections from the text to create a graphic outline. Then, together the students and the teacher create a final summary sentence or two. In my opinion, this is a great way to make sure all of my students are being active readers. It also creates the communication needed between the teacher and the students in order to scaffold for future reading assignments. Hopefully after several times doing this activity, students will be able to do this on their own when reading for class.
According to Alan Frager and Elizabeth Frey, the authors of the "Reading Instruction" article, teachers who deserve the grade of an 'F' use poor methods of instruction and provide little support for their readers. For example, round-robin reading (RRR) is one practice that "very few reading educators advocate... though it is a widely used practice" (p. 57). This was a technique that was enjoyed by several of my teachers. The problem with this strategy is that there is only one actively engaged reader, and 25 other passive readers. Also, this type of forward/one-speed reading is contradictory to developing good reading strategies. When someone reads critically, he or she will reread parts of the text, change speeds, and occasionally stop to look back or ahead. Luckily for me, I have learned many other strategies to read class texts that are more effective, and therefore my students won't have to survive the infamous round-robin reading strategy.
One strategy that I really enjoyed reading about was the GRASP strategy suggested in chapter 10 of our Content-Area Reading text. GRASP stands for Guided Reading and Summarizing Procedure, and it's a way of showing students how to summarize information from a text passage. "After students have read a text passage, they turn the books face down and try to remember everything that was important in the passage. What they recall is recorded by the teacher on the whiteboard" (p. 335). The teacher then helps to add or correct recollections from the text to create a graphic outline. Then, together the students and the teacher create a final summary sentence or two. In my opinion, this is a great way to make sure all of my students are being active readers. It also creates the communication needed between the teacher and the students in order to scaffold for future reading assignments. Hopefully after several times doing this activity, students will be able to do this on their own when reading for class.
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