Chapter 6 in BCP was very interesting in term of the material and what I see within my own classroom. A variety of different assessments were demonstrated like a basic rubric, self evaluation, a "do" list, etc. All of these assessments were interesting in their own way but what really surprised my was what goes on in my classroom. My mentor has yet to set an assessment for any sort of literacy. I have asked her if I should start reading logs (because I am doing the Making Meaning program and that is apart of it) but she has told me not yet. With the chaos that school brings, I have yet to ask her why not. However, after reading about these assessments, I can see why my teacher has decided to forgo them at the moment. As I read the book and assessments were described more throughly, it made me understand that my teacher wants to simply focus on creating a classroom community. During our literacy, (especially during reading-to-self) students know what the expectations are but second graders are still learning about how to be students. It is important to teach kids how to act in school before they can learn about more specific goals.
This brought me to the next chapter about classroom management. There are so many different aspects to literacy, especially in elementary school, that it is very difficult to meet every students' needs as well as create a well-rounded classroom environment. Talking is one aspect that cannot go wrong in my opinion. It is so important to teach students how to properly communicate with one another while respecting each other's ideas. Book clubs provide student with the necessary opportunity that they need to become better readers and student members. One suggestion that was made that I found very interesting was to show a video or listen to an audio of a book club discussion. Book clubs are not yet created in my classroom so this piece of advice really stood out. Second graders are easily influenced and learn by example. Seeing how a book club should work first hand in my opinion, would be very beneficial. My teacher has done a great job modeling different strategies that we have been using in our class like read-to-self. The students not only created their own rules as a class but they were able to see how they should look while performing read-to-self. I think that too often we forget how important demonstrations are.
I would love to incorporate the Fishbowl Model. I have heard of using this technique but I have never actually seen it used. I think that it would be very interesting to see how the students do while under the close supervision of their peers. I love the idea of having students monitor one another but I do feel that a strong set of rules must be in place for both those within the fishbowl and outside of it. Students must understand what is proper criticism and what is just mean. I do worry that my ELL may suffer with this sort of dynamic. I believe that my mentor teacher, a strong community, and a great set of rules would be my main support if I do chose to incorporate this model into my classroom.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Blog Post 4-BCP Comparison
Within my classroom there are many different strategies to classroom talk and managing the classroom and literacy. Each day it varies on how the students respond to the types of management that are put into place based off the attitude of the students. SImilar with BCP one of the assessments that is talked about is one that my students do as well with a slight variation. Currently my teacher and I are working on getting students into their guided reading groups, it is taking longer than expected because of the amount of students and the range of their scores from the previous year that were (sin some cases) falsely recorded. Students are getting into groups and discussing different books that they may be reading at D.E.A.R together. They are allowed to read together and talk if they are quiet. Students do a lot of writing that follows certain books that the students have read or different genre that the students will listen to as the teacher reads it and then write a prompt about it. For example the teacher read a book to the students on Rosa Parks and the students then wrote a biography piece on her, connecting the two.
When it comes to classroom talk in my classroom many of the ideas that are in BCP are very similar if not exactly what is done in my classroom. Getting the students to relate to the stories, asking what they know, what they want to know and what they want to learn. Getting the students to see the three “texts” that help them connect and comprehend with the story. Students are also asked many questions before (sometimes during) and after reading to make sure that students have connected to the text and are getting meaning out of the story and its context. As in BCP talking about selecting a theme that is important for students to connect to and develop and sense of rhythm around a certain topic. As with the same example that is listed above reading each day about different important people that have made a difference in the world and then having the students do certain literacy assignments on non-fiction biographies are a great way for students to see a theme throughout literacy. My teacher explained to me why she selects certain books for a theme because she wants connections to be made between the text and the writing. Many of the books that my teacher picks depends on her feelings on how long the students can sit through the story-depending on its length and if it is to difficult for students to comprehend. Within the book there is talk of the fishbowl style of literacy instruction, I have not yet seen this in my classroom but I heard that is can be a very effective style of literacy instruction.
My teacher has many of her books leveled and placed into categories to help her decide what books are appropriate for each of the guided reading groups and to help students decipher which books they want to chose to read for themselves when preparing for literacy groups.
If I were going to try out some aspects of a book club the support I would need would be first and foremost the students reading levels so I assign the appropriate book for each group. I would need my students to be prepared to understand what a book club entails and how it is going to enhance their reading. I would need support in my questions and comprehending techniques with my students to make sure that all students are reading and comprehending at the level they are supposed to.
When it comes to classroom talk in my classroom many of the ideas that are in BCP are very similar if not exactly what is done in my classroom. Getting the students to relate to the stories, asking what they know, what they want to know and what they want to learn. Getting the students to see the three “texts” that help them connect and comprehend with the story. Students are also asked many questions before (sometimes during) and after reading to make sure that students have connected to the text and are getting meaning out of the story and its context. As in BCP talking about selecting a theme that is important for students to connect to and develop and sense of rhythm around a certain topic. As with the same example that is listed above reading each day about different important people that have made a difference in the world and then having the students do certain literacy assignments on non-fiction biographies are a great way for students to see a theme throughout literacy. My teacher explained to me why she selects certain books for a theme because she wants connections to be made between the text and the writing. Many of the books that my teacher picks depends on her feelings on how long the students can sit through the story-depending on its length and if it is to difficult for students to comprehend. Within the book there is talk of the fishbowl style of literacy instruction, I have not yet seen this in my classroom but I heard that is can be a very effective style of literacy instruction.
My teacher has many of her books leveled and placed into categories to help her decide what books are appropriate for each of the guided reading groups and to help students decipher which books they want to chose to read for themselves when preparing for literacy groups.
If I were going to try out some aspects of a book club the support I would need would be first and foremost the students reading levels so I assign the appropriate book for each group. I would need my students to be prepared to understand what a book club entails and how it is going to enhance their reading. I would need support in my questions and comprehending techniques with my students to make sure that all students are reading and comprehending at the level they are supposed to.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Literacy in the Classroom
So far literacy instruction has been somewhat sporadic in the classroom but I do see some elements of the book club model. Because we have not assessed all of our students with their DRAs yet, we have not started guided reading but we have been incorporating mostly the read aloud models so far. We are trying to engage students and start to get them thinking about concepts such as characters, setting, conflict, solution, author’s intent, and self to text connections within the book. After each read aloud in the afternoon, we go over elements of a story and often pause during reading to reflect and model good reading strategies. We stop and ask questions, make predictions and ask why. The goal is to get students thinking about these questions on their own, which will take a great deal of modeling to reinforce.
Until guided reading and book groups begin in the classroom, reading is seen throughout the student’s day in smaller doses. When students finish any task at their desk they have it checked by a teacher and then must get a book out of the classroom library to read. After lunch students are also expected to silent read for 15-20 minutes. And lastly the teacher will do a read aloud everyday in the afternoon. Book Club Plus really reinforced this concept of reading to students each day and it is especially important in our classroom because half of the class is ESL learners. Even if students do not fully understand the words they are being exposed to reading, intonation, illustrations and the language. Writing occurs each and every day both in their journals and we also just began going over the stages of writing so students have been writing about what is important to them.
We have not, however, written much about the books we read due to the fact that reading groups have not started at this point in the year. Speaking happens often when students are able to work with one another and share ideas. Students also have one day a week where they can share during our classroom meeting. Listening is beginning to become a problem in our classroom and we have to reinforce that it is polite to look at and listen to the person who is speaking. We are working on mechanics of a conversation and how students need to listen to each other when they share. All of these are building blocks to their book clubs and guided reading groups. Students need to begin thinking like good readers, listen to each other’s ideas and share ideas with their classmates.
As for writing into, through and out of a unit or text my students are practicing these skills verbally with guidance from the teacher for now. As a class before any reading we access prior knowledge and ask questions we may have just by looking at the cover of the book. While reading we identify important information, details and vocabulary and after reading students are able to make connections. Once we begin reading groups this will be student driven as opposed to teacher directed.
I am excited to see how book clubs and reading groups progress throughout the school year!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Literacy
In my classroom, my teacher has done a great job teaching me how this week's readings view literacy instruction. At my school, we use a couple of different literacy programs including the Daily Five and also Making Meaning. My teacher has already incorporated both into our classroom curriculum and has shown me some of the little tricks. For example, Making Meaning is entirely a reading comprehension program. It involves grade level stories and includes group read-alouds, individual reading, whole group and partner discussion, and also a few writing activities. However, we also have the Daily Five program in my classroom which involves five key jobs including Read-to-Self, Work on Writing, Read-to-Someone, Word Works, and Listening-to-Reading. My mentor will gradually teach the class these jobs until they fully understand what is expected of them until Literacy Block can occur.
Literacy Block features guided reading, which allows teachers to work with students using texts appropriate to their reading level. Students not working with the teacher use their time for small group and independent practice including journaling, computer activities, spelling, process writing, etc. Literacy Block is the context in which teachers can explicitly teach, coach, and scaffold students' use of concepts, strategies, and skills tailored to their instructional level-including word-level work, vocabulary students and sight word practice (Raphael, pg. 4).
My teacher has shown me the different ways the programs overlap and has saved me some time and energy so I do not repeat certain lessons when teaching both programs. It also allows for the students to get literacy instruction that transfers over many areas.
Out of the two programs, Daily Five incorporates a majority of the literacies. The students learn the basic skills they need to read by themselves early on. The group practices building their reading stamina, while gathering the necessary tools they need to become successful readers. My mentor will incorporate writing into this procedure by providing students with a brief mini lesson. Last week, the students were taught all about visualization and were able to apply the lesson to their own reading. They were asked to expand on their ideas through own writing and drawing. Once the students were complete with their work, a group discussion/sharing time was offered. This simple exercise hit on all of the main literacies; reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing. My mentor is constantly interconnecting Reader’s and Writer’s workshops so that her instruction creates a bridge for the students and their learning.
Everyday, the students are able to write about what they or reading or a piece of literature that we read together. It is important that students get to create their own ideas from literature because it helps them evolve as readers and writers. I loved some of the lessons that my CT did while teaching visualization. For example, we read the book Pigsty a couple of times throughout the week allowing the students ample opportunities to apply there newfound knowledge. At the end of one lesson, all of the students were asked to draw a picture from any scene in the book that they visualized and then write a couple of sentences to go along with it. Some students drew rooms that were disasters, while others drew clean rooms. It was great to see how easy it is to connect different literacies. It just requires some thought and work!
Blog post for week 9/28- Book Club Plus relation to classroom
Starting right from the beginning of the book there were many things that I noticed are similar within Book Club Plus and the literacy work that we do in my classroom. The five different components of the literacy system that is described within the book is what we use in my classroom. Writer’s Workshop is done every day in my classroom. Students are given a prompt and then are to write for the entire time that we allot for them. Students use scrap pieces of paper to write down words that they do not know how to spell. Most of the writing prompts that we ask the students to write about are based off of books that we have read in class. For example, we read a book called The Selfish Giant. The base of the story is about friends and making friendships. The students then wrote about a friend that they have or a friend that has helped them in some way, based off of the story. We had them make a connection between reading and writing. Teacher read aloud is done twice in my classroom daily and students are asked questions and can make comments at the end of each reading. Independent reading occurs daily as well where the school day is blocked off for about 35 minutes where students will sit independently at their desks and read. They are allowed to get up and get different books and can read aloud if it helps them read better but we try to get students to not read aloud so it does not cause a distraction for other students. Shared reading is done during our guided reading groups where students sit in groups of about five or six working with a teacher on reading and comprehension strategies.
The curricular target areas are similar in which our students are working towards each day when they are writing, comprehending, having conversations and learning about different aspects of literacy. Within writing which has been my class biggest focus for the past few weeks of school. “Writing as a tool for thinking” is a great way to incorporate metacognition into writing as the students make reading logs and think sheets when they have ideas that are not fully developed and need some work. Making meaning in text is very important for students to understand and work within reading and writing as one. I have seen the three principles of comprehension instruction within my classroom. My teacher and I do a great job of explaining the comprehension instruction and making sure that students understand what they are reading and the meaning of understanding a text. The modeling of comprehension for students and what is expected of them. Lastly scaffolding what students need to know and helping them make a connection is a key aspect in making sure that students are comprehending what they are reading. My teacher asks lots of questions and makes lots of text to self and text to world explanations and meanings with my students. Making predications is a great way to get the students involved in thinking about the text and what they feel is ‘coming up’ or will give them their own meaning of the text verses what they are told.
Something that is in the Book Club Plus book that I have not seen happen in my classroom is speedwriting. We do have students write for the entire time that we give them but they can stop and they have to write about a focused idea. With speed writing students do opposite of what they normally would do for a piece of writing. I would like to see this worked out in my classroom. Just last week my students and I worked on a KWL for our meal worm project that we are going to be doing this upcoming week and had students tell us what they know, what they want to know and what they will learn. Many students had ideas about what they wanted during the meal worm project and gave us great insight into what they already know and what we need to incorporate into the lesson.
Writing happens everyday within my classroom right after a story is read to the students. This gets the students making a connection with reading and writing. Reading happens when students are read to and when they read independently. Students are also reading throughout the day when they are reading directions and other subjects that happen during the school day they are reading all the time. Students are speaking when they are having conversations with each other or with the teacher or working together. Even times at lunch and recess are vital to students performances in literacy because it puts them in situations where they have to respond and think of things to say a great practice for student comprehension. Students are listening throughout the entire day when they are listening to directions and listening to each other. Students are viewing words, and reading and writing all day. My classroom has a world wall where there are many different words and names for students to look at. Mostly sight words for students to get familiar with them and know them right from the bat. Other literacies that occur within my classroom during the school week are working with letters and words on the computer and having a spanish instructor come into the classroom three times a week. Students are learning many different spanish words, such as numbers, body parts, desks, chairs, books, labels, etc. It is a great way for students to learn literacy in a different language and have fun doing so.
Students have opportunities to write into a unit/text when we do class work all together about a certain topic we will be writing. When a new topic of unit or text is introduced for students to write about, it is discussed on the easel with the entire class. The entire class brainstorms ideas and ways to start writing about this certain text. The teacher asks the students questions to get them starting to think and focus on certain words that they should be using, as well as giving them real world examples so they can connect to the text they will be writing about as well. Sometimes students are asked to share what their thoughts are or their examples so other students can think about the same things in their own way. Students have opportunities to write through a unit/text when we put everything down on the easel where they see the writing and information happening that they are to be writing about. It is identified what is expected of them, what supporting thoughts or ideas are needed (explaining why “so and so” is their best friend or why they like something, etc.) Students have the opportunities to write out unit/text when they are doing the actual writing and brainstorming of their own ideas. They are relating what they are writing to the text that is the example and being based off of. Students are constantly making text to self, text to text and text to world ideas because they are thinking about their lives, thinking about the book and its comprehension as well as thinking about instances and examples they can bring to their writing.
There is a lot of literacy that occurs within my classroom. Many parents have told me that they have requested my mentor teacher as the teacher for their students because of her focus on literacy. It is great to be part of a classroom with such a great focus on literacy.
The curricular target areas are similar in which our students are working towards each day when they are writing, comprehending, having conversations and learning about different aspects of literacy. Within writing which has been my class biggest focus for the past few weeks of school. “Writing as a tool for thinking” is a great way to incorporate metacognition into writing as the students make reading logs and think sheets when they have ideas that are not fully developed and need some work. Making meaning in text is very important for students to understand and work within reading and writing as one. I have seen the three principles of comprehension instruction within my classroom. My teacher and I do a great job of explaining the comprehension instruction and making sure that students understand what they are reading and the meaning of understanding a text. The modeling of comprehension for students and what is expected of them. Lastly scaffolding what students need to know and helping them make a connection is a key aspect in making sure that students are comprehending what they are reading. My teacher asks lots of questions and makes lots of text to self and text to world explanations and meanings with my students. Making predications is a great way to get the students involved in thinking about the text and what they feel is ‘coming up’ or will give them their own meaning of the text verses what they are told.
Something that is in the Book Club Plus book that I have not seen happen in my classroom is speedwriting. We do have students write for the entire time that we give them but they can stop and they have to write about a focused idea. With speed writing students do opposite of what they normally would do for a piece of writing. I would like to see this worked out in my classroom. Just last week my students and I worked on a KWL for our meal worm project that we are going to be doing this upcoming week and had students tell us what they know, what they want to know and what they will learn. Many students had ideas about what they wanted during the meal worm project and gave us great insight into what they already know and what we need to incorporate into the lesson.
Writing happens everyday within my classroom right after a story is read to the students. This gets the students making a connection with reading and writing. Reading happens when students are read to and when they read independently. Students are also reading throughout the day when they are reading directions and other subjects that happen during the school day they are reading all the time. Students are speaking when they are having conversations with each other or with the teacher or working together. Even times at lunch and recess are vital to students performances in literacy because it puts them in situations where they have to respond and think of things to say a great practice for student comprehension. Students are listening throughout the entire day when they are listening to directions and listening to each other. Students are viewing words, and reading and writing all day. My classroom has a world wall where there are many different words and names for students to look at. Mostly sight words for students to get familiar with them and know them right from the bat. Other literacies that occur within my classroom during the school week are working with letters and words on the computer and having a spanish instructor come into the classroom three times a week. Students are learning many different spanish words, such as numbers, body parts, desks, chairs, books, labels, etc. It is a great way for students to learn literacy in a different language and have fun doing so.
Students have opportunities to write into a unit/text when we do class work all together about a certain topic we will be writing. When a new topic of unit or text is introduced for students to write about, it is discussed on the easel with the entire class. The entire class brainstorms ideas and ways to start writing about this certain text. The teacher asks the students questions to get them starting to think and focus on certain words that they should be using, as well as giving them real world examples so they can connect to the text they will be writing about as well. Sometimes students are asked to share what their thoughts are or their examples so other students can think about the same things in their own way. Students have opportunities to write through a unit/text when we put everything down on the easel where they see the writing and information happening that they are to be writing about. It is identified what is expected of them, what supporting thoughts or ideas are needed (explaining why “so and so” is their best friend or why they like something, etc.) Students have the opportunities to write out unit/text when they are doing the actual writing and brainstorming of their own ideas. They are relating what they are writing to the text that is the example and being based off of. Students are constantly making text to self, text to text and text to world ideas because they are thinking about their lives, thinking about the book and its comprehension as well as thinking about instances and examples they can bring to their writing.
There is a lot of literacy that occurs within my classroom. Many parents have told me that they have requested my mentor teacher as the teacher for their students because of her focus on literacy. It is great to be part of a classroom with such a great focus on literacy.
Post Community Visit
After driving around the city of Southfield our group learned a great deal more about the community on many different levels. Before searching the city we noticed the diversity within the school itself so we were wondering if this diversity was apparent throughout the community. We were also wondering if languages would be represented in the city of Southfield just as languages are represented in the small community of our school. So, this is what we found…
We noticed that people were partaking in activities that made sense to that particular place. For example people were using technology at the library and checking out books. Children were in the children’s section of the library reading with caretakers. It was great to see parents reading with their children. At our school many of the teachers are concerned that our students don’t have books at home and always try to work with parents and use the library as a resource. This is just one example of how our school is bridging the gap between home and school and trying to understand parents just as the Learning Alongside Families Powerpoint displayed. The library was a great resource and we learned so much just from flyers available to the public. There were technology classes that members of the community could take, upcoming cultural events taking place at the library were advertised and there was even a brochure for specific grade level activities.
After visiting these two places we were surprised at how little the actual languages that people in the community speak were under represented. Although some languages were represented on cultural or religious buildings, there were no translations in the library or the grocery store to help families who speak a language other than English. At our school, signs are translated in three languages, the languages that are prevalent the most: Arabic, French, and Spanish. Students are able to feel safe in the school because the signs are there to guide them. We did not see languages represented the same way in the community and that was somewhat a surprise.
This experience taught us a great deal about the community, our students and families. We now know what resources are available to students and we can make real life connections within the classroom. After talking to teachers and educators within the building we realized how many resources we have within the school itself. When putting these two concepts together we are taking the resources we have within the school and pulling in outside information from the community creating the ideal learning experience for our students.
As literacy learners, we know that our students struggle more because many are ESL students. After going out into the community and realizing that out students languages are not represented we can try and do this within the classroom. We can teach them life skills for example the language to check out a book or to buy groceries and simulate this within the classroom. Going out into the community helped us understand only some of the experiences our students have on a day-to-day basis and now we can bring these into classroom discussions and help our students make connections and become thinkers. Overall this was an engaging project that was incredibly helpful. We will continue to learn more about our students and where they come from as the year progresses.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
After Community Visit- Update of first blog post
After Community:
Going into the community was a great way to learn more about my students, their background and where they come from. There were so many different places to go and explore that it was a bit overwhelming but it was also fun. My group and I decided to drive around, take pictures, have a discussion and explore the community all together. We went into the experiences with no expectations because we wanted to have an open mind about the entire thing and not feel like we were going to miss out on something if we didn’t get to it.
One of the first things that we noticed about the community was the busyness of the streets and shops. We noticed many people out and about walking on the sidewalks or into stores. We also noticed how many students walk to school with their family members. Something about the community that stands out is the difference in people and their cultures. Also the difference in the ‘atmosphere’ from the business district to the housing district. There is a huge difference in appearance of the two different districts. What stood out to me most about the community from eye sight glance was the people moving about, it was nice to see because I live in an area where there are few people walking and biking and more driving.
Some things that surprised me about the city of Southfield in certain areas was the lack of different language signs for how many people who attend my school that do not speak english. I thought that in neighborhoods and areas that there is a high volume of non-english speaking people there would be some type of different language signs. The only place that those were spotted were at religious centers. Something that also surprised me was the neighborhoods and how similar many of the houses were- also how close they were together. Possibly because of the prices or the amount of houses that the builder wanted to have on one spot of land. Some things that did not surprise me were the busyness of the city because it was just about at rush hour time. The amount of shops and stores that were open and selling items because in many cities business is always booming when it comes to food and gas stations.
This community experience has helped me in so many ways learn about my school, my students and their families. It has taught me that it is always helpful to explore the community in which you are working (no matter what job) because it gives you a better sense of the type of people that you will be working with, the places that they may visit after or before school and the areas in which they are learning and playing. This experience has helped me learn about my students in many ways. I was able to look at and explore places that they travel to after school and hang out. We went into music stores, shops, restaurants, etc. I was able to explore the type on interactions they were to encounter and think about the things that they may need to learn in school in order to facilitate those encounters correctly. I learned that there are many places for students to go with their families and enjoy family time and spending time talking about what they did at school, what their goals and dreams are and just being a ‘kid.’ I learned that my school is in an area that is very diverse and therefore gives all students a chance at learning about different cultures and ideas that they may never have gotten to learn about had they not attended or are currently attending the school. I learned that the different languages that are taught are from all over the world and that those students who come into the school not speaking a bit of english in the beginning of the year come out at the end of the year doing very well and speaking plenty of english. It is the school and the community that has helped them reach this point because they have had experience in talking and communicating different thoughts and ideas. I also learned many things about the families. This is a great thing because learning about the student and their families gives the teacher a great sense of who they are as a person and where they come from because each family is different and does things differently which effects how the students learn and behave in school. To quote Compton-Lily in her article on Listening to Families over Time: Seven Lessons Learned about Literacy in Families, “While it was often assumed that parents did not realize how school personnel viewed them, this was not true. Parents did talk with their children and were aware of what happened in school. What we say and do in school matters, and we must remember that quick judgments can be detrimental to the collaborative relationships we strive to build with families.” (Page 455.) This statement could not be more true. It clearly states that students share with their families what happens at school and there can be no assumptions made about the families because each family is different and each student is different, which is what makes the classroom so wonderful- a ‘mixed salad’ idea of students, their ideas and their learning techniques.
This experience has helped my teaching through learning more about my students and where they come from. It has allowed me to realize that I can be judgmental sometimes and as a teacher that is the last thing that I need to be doing because everyone is different and everyone deserves and equal chance at learning and being who they want to be based off of where they come from. This experience has helped me think about who my students are as people. Which is a great way to look at the students no matter what age they are. Each student has something different about themselves that makes them stand out in the crowd and add color to the classroom. Knowing what students are going to be doing after school and the places they may be going while being familiar with that can also bring great lesson plan ideas to the classroom because you can incorporate places and fun things that they may enjoy doing into the school curriculum.
This experience will help me learn about my students as literacy users and thinkers in many different ways. It has helped me see the different types of languages and signs that they see on a daily basis and must know how to read and comprehend and how this would be a great way to get students into learning more about their city while learning in school. It has helped me think of new ideas and ways for students to use their brain to think about many different ideas that will be thrown at them in the classroom. Overall, I think that this experience has helped me see my students as more than thinkers but as learners and learn about how they will interpret literacy in their daily lives.
Going into the community was a great way to learn more about my students, their background and where they come from. There were so many different places to go and explore that it was a bit overwhelming but it was also fun. My group and I decided to drive around, take pictures, have a discussion and explore the community all together. We went into the experiences with no expectations because we wanted to have an open mind about the entire thing and not feel like we were going to miss out on something if we didn’t get to it.
One of the first things that we noticed about the community was the busyness of the streets and shops. We noticed many people out and about walking on the sidewalks or into stores. We also noticed how many students walk to school with their family members. Something about the community that stands out is the difference in people and their cultures. Also the difference in the ‘atmosphere’ from the business district to the housing district. There is a huge difference in appearance of the two different districts. What stood out to me most about the community from eye sight glance was the people moving about, it was nice to see because I live in an area where there are few people walking and biking and more driving.
Some things that surprised me about the city of Southfield in certain areas was the lack of different language signs for how many people who attend my school that do not speak english. I thought that in neighborhoods and areas that there is a high volume of non-english speaking people there would be some type of different language signs. The only place that those were spotted were at religious centers. Something that also surprised me was the neighborhoods and how similar many of the houses were- also how close they were together. Possibly because of the prices or the amount of houses that the builder wanted to have on one spot of land. Some things that did not surprise me were the busyness of the city because it was just about at rush hour time. The amount of shops and stores that were open and selling items because in many cities business is always booming when it comes to food and gas stations.
This community experience has helped me in so many ways learn about my school, my students and their families. It has taught me that it is always helpful to explore the community in which you are working (no matter what job) because it gives you a better sense of the type of people that you will be working with, the places that they may visit after or before school and the areas in which they are learning and playing. This experience has helped me learn about my students in many ways. I was able to look at and explore places that they travel to after school and hang out. We went into music stores, shops, restaurants, etc. I was able to explore the type on interactions they were to encounter and think about the things that they may need to learn in school in order to facilitate those encounters correctly. I learned that there are many places for students to go with their families and enjoy family time and spending time talking about what they did at school, what their goals and dreams are and just being a ‘kid.’ I learned that my school is in an area that is very diverse and therefore gives all students a chance at learning about different cultures and ideas that they may never have gotten to learn about had they not attended or are currently attending the school. I learned that the different languages that are taught are from all over the world and that those students who come into the school not speaking a bit of english in the beginning of the year come out at the end of the year doing very well and speaking plenty of english. It is the school and the community that has helped them reach this point because they have had experience in talking and communicating different thoughts and ideas. I also learned many things about the families. This is a great thing because learning about the student and their families gives the teacher a great sense of who they are as a person and where they come from because each family is different and does things differently which effects how the students learn and behave in school. To quote Compton-Lily in her article on Listening to Families over Time: Seven Lessons Learned about Literacy in Families, “While it was often assumed that parents did not realize how school personnel viewed them, this was not true. Parents did talk with their children and were aware of what happened in school. What we say and do in school matters, and we must remember that quick judgments can be detrimental to the collaborative relationships we strive to build with families.” (Page 455.) This statement could not be more true. It clearly states that students share with their families what happens at school and there can be no assumptions made about the families because each family is different and each student is different, which is what makes the classroom so wonderful- a ‘mixed salad’ idea of students, their ideas and their learning techniques.
This experience has helped my teaching through learning more about my students and where they come from. It has allowed me to realize that I can be judgmental sometimes and as a teacher that is the last thing that I need to be doing because everyone is different and everyone deserves and equal chance at learning and being who they want to be based off of where they come from. This experience has helped me think about who my students are as people. Which is a great way to look at the students no matter what age they are. Each student has something different about themselves that makes them stand out in the crowd and add color to the classroom. Knowing what students are going to be doing after school and the places they may be going while being familiar with that can also bring great lesson plan ideas to the classroom because you can incorporate places and fun things that they may enjoy doing into the school curriculum.
This experience will help me learn about my students as literacy users and thinkers in many different ways. It has helped me see the different types of languages and signs that they see on a daily basis and must know how to read and comprehend and how this would be a great way to get students into learning more about their city while learning in school. It has helped me think of new ideas and ways for students to use their brain to think about many different ideas that will be thrown at them in the classroom. Overall, I think that this experience has helped me see my students as more than thinkers but as learners and learn about how they will interpret literacy in their daily lives.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Post Farmer's Market Visit
The Farmer's Market was somewhat what I expected. There were not very many people there, despite the wonderful weather. I believe that this was due to my timing which occurred right around dinner time. Although the actual size of the Farmer's Market was quite large, there were only about 20 people there. Everyone appeared to be of Caucasian decent but I did notice a couple that looked Chaldean and some that also appeared to be Indian. Although there were not very many people, I would still consider the market make-up to be diverse.
Thinking about Farmer's Markets, I would not suspect to find so many items such as a kid's activity table, jewelry, and even musical performer. It was very refreshing to see that there were so many different individuals from the community bringing their talents to one central location. I was also quite surprised to see that there were not very many people. It was so beautiful today that I thought the market would be overflowing with individuals. However, it was extremely slow and many of the booths did not have a single individual at them.
I feel as though the Farmer's Market reaffirmed that English is the primary language of Maple Elementary's community despite the vast amount of diversity in the school. This reminds me as an educator, that I need to open up teaching examples to spread across different ethnicities and I also need to find ways to connect to my students on more personal levels. I do not want my classroom to seem like the community these children are living in; focused on the white, Christian society. Regardless of where I end up teaching, I want diversity to be in my classroom more than just by the skin color that walks through the door. As the "Learning to Change" video discusses, our society is changing. It would be extremely beneficial to my students as well as an easy resource for myself to incorporate technology into my classroom. With technology becoming such a large part of our culture, it feels as though it is an easy connection for all different types of children from different socio-economic classes and different ethnicities.
In literacy, I see how different text and the outside community surrounding Maple Elementary focus on the Caucasian, Christian class. This can be extremely difficult for students to create personal connections to literacy. I believe that is important to bring in new literacies into the classroom that may offer easier connections for students. I want to see stories with diverse characters and hear those with different oral languages. With the advances in the internet, it is extremely easy to find items that have both diverse characters and different oral language that what our society is suffocated in.
Thinking about Farmer's Markets, I would not suspect to find so many items such as a kid's activity table, jewelry, and even musical performer. It was very refreshing to see that there were so many different individuals from the community bringing their talents to one central location. I was also quite surprised to see that there were not very many people. It was so beautiful today that I thought the market would be overflowing with individuals. However, it was extremely slow and many of the booths did not have a single individual at them.
I feel as though the Farmer's Market reaffirmed that English is the primary language of Maple Elementary's community despite the vast amount of diversity in the school. This reminds me as an educator, that I need to open up teaching examples to spread across different ethnicities and I also need to find ways to connect to my students on more personal levels. I do not want my classroom to seem like the community these children are living in; focused on the white, Christian society. Regardless of where I end up teaching, I want diversity to be in my classroom more than just by the skin color that walks through the door. As the "Learning to Change" video discusses, our society is changing. It would be extremely beneficial to my students as well as an easy resource for myself to incorporate technology into my classroom. With technology becoming such a large part of our culture, it feels as though it is an easy connection for all different types of children from different socio-economic classes and different ethnicities.
In literacy, I see how different text and the outside community surrounding Maple Elementary focus on the Caucasian, Christian class. This can be extremely difficult for students to create personal connections to literacy. I believe that is important to bring in new literacies into the classroom that may offer easier connections for students. I want to see stories with diverse characters and hear those with different oral languages. With the advances in the internet, it is extremely easy to find items that have both diverse characters and different oral language that what our society is suffocated in.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Southfied Literacy Tour: Expectations
1.) We chose to visit a library, music store, grocery stores, neighborhoods, apartment complexes and restaurants within the city of Southfield. We thought that because our school is so diverse we needed to drive around and target many places in order to fully understand the city and our students. The library is obviously a good resource for literacy learning, grocery stores are where students go with their care takers, music stores give us an idea of the music our students are listening to and restaurants show us where families go out to dinner. Lastly, we thought that driving around neighborhoods and apartment complexes was important because students spend most of their time in their own homes, so we needed to gain perspective on where our students live.
2.) We expect to see the diversity found in our school also reflected in the city. By targeting all of these places we expect to see people taking part in the activities that fit these places. For example checking out a library book at the library, purchasing groceries at the grocery store and hopefully families outside of their homes and children in the area. We are hoping to hear some of the languages represented in our students within the school outside of the school as well. Lastly, we expect to learn a great deal about the community, not just in a literacy perspective, but also learn more about the families and places where our students come from.
3.) The visits confirmed my expectations. In all of these places we could expect people to be doing what they normally do depending on the location. We found culture within the community, but not as many people were out because it was after school when people were still at work. Because the city has such a large population we still saw people interacting with their community, regardless.
4.) After discussion we expected to see many new litericies specifically related to the culture of the city and the diversity in language. We think that there will be buildings related to religious practice and honoring languages and culture. Also, we chose to visit the library where traditional litericies are found in books but there was also technology or new forms of literacy. We also found examples of litericies, such as signes and labels of the area, which would be usual for any city. Oral language is found throughout Southfield in the vast amount of languages spoken. Writing will be found throughout the community as well. In our school, signs are written in three languages: Arabic, French, and Spanish, the three dominant languages represented within the school. My question is then, will these languages be honored on signs within the community because there is a prevalent population within the community, or will everything be written in English, making it incredibly difficult for families to communicateand function within the city? I am interested to see how language is treated within the community itself.
Community Exploration
I have no idea why all of my post are #1 but here we go...
- I chose to go to the Wixom Farmer’s Market. This is only a few miles from Maple Elementary and because Walled Lake Consolidated School District is so large, I am assuming that many of our students travel to this market because it is so large.
- Going to the Farmer’s Market I believe I will see a diverse group of individuals. Going off of the ethnicity make-up of Maple Elementary, there are individuals with Chaldean, Japanese, German, Lithuanian, Chinese, and Korean. With such a diverse population, I am assuming that the Farmer’s Market population will be diverse as well. With a diverse group, I am sure that I will hear many individuals referring to items in a different language or they might possible call an item by a different term. There is no definite or correct term for an item and therefore, I believe I will learn how other cultures refer to different things. I also believe I will learn more about the community around my elementary school and I will get to experience what my students may experience on a daily basis.
- The market, I believe will not be as diverse as I expect. I believe that this will mainly be because of the time that I will travel there which will be right around dinner time. Everyone that I encountered during my math exploration spoke English and referred to the different items using the terms I am used to. I am somewhat disappointed by this encounter because I was hoping the community outside of my school would be as diverse as my school community. I do believe that the market will focus on the English language with their signs and will maybe not be inviting to those of another culture or those that speak another language. However, I will be extremely cognisant of what my English Language Learners may feel like when traveling to the Farmer’s Market. It will be somewhat disheartening if the English language is so abundant because I know how rich my little elementary school is in different languages. It will be wonderful to see more diversity or at least more acceptance of those with different backgrounds.
- In order for students to make self-to-text connections, they must draw from their different experiences and personal life. Traveling out into the community, it is apparent that the English language is the primary focus knowing that Maple Elementary is made up of so many diverse individuals. I believe it is important as an educator to become familiar with the world outside of school that our students are apart of in order to make better and more meaningful connections to the literacy promoted within the classroom. In regards to the Farmer’s Market, students will be mainly be sharing in oral text. Learning how others refer to a tomato or cabbage is extremely educational. Also, discussing the different ways the items at the Farmer’s Market are used can provide students with more background knowledge about different the different characters in narratives. I expect that oral language will be the main literacy element seen at the Farmer’s Market. Small signs and different billboards will probably be present but I do believe that these will focus on the English language. A question I may pose depending on the market would be, where do those of a complete different language shop or how do they interact in a predominately English community? I know that many parents at Maple do not speak any English, so I am wondering how a literacy connection is created in regards to signs, language, etc.
- I know that this is not really apart of the post but as I was thinking more about literacy and the ways I could incorporate the Farmer’s Market into the actual classroom. For examples students could participate in sharing in their backgrounds of different language will allow for sharing and learning to take place. A story encouraging the use of a variety of languages could be used as traditional literacy upon returning from the Farmer’s Market. This could be similar to Esperanza Rising in which Spanish is sprinkled in throughout the book and a glossary of Spanish terms is given in the back.
Book Club Post 1- Online Module Activities
Task 1-No posting on Blog
Task Two:
1. We are going to be going around the city of Southfield. We plan on visiting the Library, Civic Center, Music Store, Restaurants, Grocery Stores and homes/apartments. We chose these places because they are all big parts of a city and are places that our students and their families frequent often.
2. We expect to see many different diverse people, families and people working and shopping in these areas. We expect to see students and people using the library and civic center as well. We expect to hear conversation and learning taking place. We expect to learn everything that we can about the school, the students and their families and the community.
3. Our visits confirm our expectations through learning about new places and ideas and seeing our students and their families in their “natural community” doing what they normally do, being people. Our visits, in my opinion do not disconfirm my expectations. I feel that there were not any expectations that I placed on this inquiry because I wanted to go into it with an opened mind. So for this question I say N/A.
4. Each of the three questions above relate to literacy in many ways. In all locations that we are going to view and have viewed there is literacy everywhere. On signs, people talking, asking questions if you are not sure about something. Reading menus or books in the library. Listening to music and comprehending what you are hearing. Seeing, hearing and learning about all the different aspects of our community involve literacy in every way possible. Like stated earlier in order to understand what you are seeing, hearing and learning you need to be literate and able to comprehend the world that is going on around you. Students develop this as they grow but in order to develop this, they need to learn how to read, write and speak.
-The types of interactions that we are likely to see while we are investigating are people communicating and having conversations, people writing down information for example if a waitress is writing down an order in a restaurant, people talking and giving directions orally, different types of languages being spoken as the city is very diverse, etc.
Sample Questions:
1. We expect to see lots of new literacies within the community including- churches, shops and restaurants owned by those of a different culture than American.
2. We expect to see traditional literacies in neighborhood communities and within churches. Possible a Jewish Church or an Arabic Church with different language written.
3. Oral texts that are shared in the community include all signs on the streets and within stores and shops and restaurants, churches, civic centers, the library and schools.
4. There will be writing all over the community and we are expected to see many different writing of different languages (in some areas of high volume of a certain culture.)
5. Expectations, surprises and questions are all different from each person within the group and we each took something different away from the activity. There are many things in the community that allowed us to look at our students in a deeper light and learn about their culture and community from which they come.
6. A question that we have is this, there are so many stores, shops, restaurants, etc. for people to work at and live but our school has the highest poverty rate in all of Southfield, how do these things correlate?
Task Three:
Questions from task two above:
1. We noticed many things from the ‘investigation’ and found out lots of new information. We didn’t want to put expectations on ourselves because if we wanted to have no bias or opinions at all, just facts. We were surprised by the sense of community shared by many. By the beautiful library and civic center to keep students and families busy during summer and even the school weeks to help keep students out of trouble. We were surprised by all the different homes and how they looked so similar. We were surprised by in certain areas the lack of different languages written on common signs for such a high volume of diversity.
2. Again, we did not want to have expectations because we wanted to have a free and clear mind on our assignment and not pressure ourselves if we did not find what we wanted to. We felt that this experience was helpful in us learning about our students and their cultures and their homes- in sense we saw them as more than students but as people and part of a community.
Task Four- Blog for 9/28
Task Two:
1. We are going to be going around the city of Southfield. We plan on visiting the Library, Civic Center, Music Store, Restaurants, Grocery Stores and homes/apartments. We chose these places because they are all big parts of a city and are places that our students and their families frequent often.
2. We expect to see many different diverse people, families and people working and shopping in these areas. We expect to see students and people using the library and civic center as well. We expect to hear conversation and learning taking place. We expect to learn everything that we can about the school, the students and their families and the community.
3. Our visits confirm our expectations through learning about new places and ideas and seeing our students and their families in their “natural community” doing what they normally do, being people. Our visits, in my opinion do not disconfirm my expectations. I feel that there were not any expectations that I placed on this inquiry because I wanted to go into it with an opened mind. So for this question I say N/A.
4. Each of the three questions above relate to literacy in many ways. In all locations that we are going to view and have viewed there is literacy everywhere. On signs, people talking, asking questions if you are not sure about something. Reading menus or books in the library. Listening to music and comprehending what you are hearing. Seeing, hearing and learning about all the different aspects of our community involve literacy in every way possible. Like stated earlier in order to understand what you are seeing, hearing and learning you need to be literate and able to comprehend the world that is going on around you. Students develop this as they grow but in order to develop this, they need to learn how to read, write and speak.
-The types of interactions that we are likely to see while we are investigating are people communicating and having conversations, people writing down information for example if a waitress is writing down an order in a restaurant, people talking and giving directions orally, different types of languages being spoken as the city is very diverse, etc.
Sample Questions:
1. We expect to see lots of new literacies within the community including- churches, shops and restaurants owned by those of a different culture than American.
2. We expect to see traditional literacies in neighborhood communities and within churches. Possible a Jewish Church or an Arabic Church with different language written.
3. Oral texts that are shared in the community include all signs on the streets and within stores and shops and restaurants, churches, civic centers, the library and schools.
4. There will be writing all over the community and we are expected to see many different writing of different languages (in some areas of high volume of a certain culture.)
5. Expectations, surprises and questions are all different from each person within the group and we each took something different away from the activity. There are many things in the community that allowed us to look at our students in a deeper light and learn about their culture and community from which they come.
6. A question that we have is this, there are so many stores, shops, restaurants, etc. for people to work at and live but our school has the highest poverty rate in all of Southfield, how do these things correlate?
Task Three:
Questions from task two above:
1. We noticed many things from the ‘investigation’ and found out lots of new information. We didn’t want to put expectations on ourselves because if we wanted to have no bias or opinions at all, just facts. We were surprised by the sense of community shared by many. By the beautiful library and civic center to keep students and families busy during summer and even the school weeks to help keep students out of trouble. We were surprised by all the different homes and how they looked so similar. We were surprised by in certain areas the lack of different languages written on common signs for such a high volume of diversity.
2. Again, we did not want to have expectations because we wanted to have a free and clear mind on our assignment and not pressure ourselves if we did not find what we wanted to. We felt that this experience was helpful in us learning about our students and their cultures and their homes- in sense we saw them as more than students but as people and part of a community.
Task Four- Blog for 9/28
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