Final project
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Reading and Writing

Reading and writing are extremely related. I believe that reading helps with spelling. When children constantly read new books, they are being exposed to different words or familiar words. This exposure to new or familiar words will help with writing because they will know how to spell. The Grave text states that “even though reading and writing are very similar they have always been taught in different classes (Graves, 2010, p.374)”. The text also describes how combining the two would make a lot more sense. I think that it would be a great idea to combine reading and writing classes. When I was in elementary school, my reading and writing classes were combined and it was easy to see how the two connected. I found it very interesting that the text stated that having students read quality work is a great model for writing because I sometimes tried to imitate the writing styles of my favorite authors. The text also described different processes as to which teachers should approach teaching writing. In the Graves text, it was stated that the “systematic functional linguistic approach is a really good way to approach teaching writing. “This approach provides a keen focus on text characteristics, which all good readers and writers need to understand (Graves, 2010, p.376)”.  In the text, both formal and informal writing are discussed. I know that as a child I mostly enjoyed informal writing. Brainstorming, note taking and quick writes were also discussed as a way teachers can teach and improve writing skills for children. The Graves text states that writing needs to matter. I never liked when teachers gave me prompts to write about because I did not really care about the question they were asking. On page 374 it "states that students should write for important purposes , what students write should be valued by themselves ( Graves, 2010, p.374)" I completely agree with this statement. Many times when teachers have in class writing prompts, I notice the look of boredom and disappointment on the faces of students because they do not want to write about the topic they were given. he physical environment that students write in is also discussed in the Grave's text. The text states that students need time to write. I remember in AP English my class had time writings every Friday.  This made me feel so pressured and often did poorly on them. The text states " The physical environment of a productive reading-writing classroom will reflect the attitude of the students ( Graves,2010, p.375)"  

Public Library Observation

 

A couple weeks ago I went to my local public library to observe story time with parents and children. The title of the story time was "Mommy and me". The seats were very bright and colorful and the event took place in the children's reading section of the library.  Though the title of story time was called mommy and me, I saw children with their grandmothers, Grandfathers and fathers. A large group of children came to the story time and seemed to be enjoying reading with their relatives.  The space that was available for the event was very large and open.  About twenty children showed up for story time with their parents. The Librarian did an excellent job in engaging the children in the reading. The cognitive view of reading stresses that “reading is a process in which the reader actively searches for meaning in what she reads. The reader makes connections with ideas in the book to prior knowledge (Graves, 2010, p.2). “At the beginning of story time, the Librarian read to the children and parents. After this, children and parents were allowed to grab their own books and read together. I think that the Liberian was fostering the cognitive –constructivist view of reading because the children were now in charge of what they were going to read. Meaning that they might pick a book that they can better relate to than the book the Librarian chose.  In class we talk about how important it is for children to see themselves in literature and I believe by letting the children pick their own books the librarian somehow gave them control of the session. We also talked about in class how to make our class rooms reading friendly. The Librarian had posters of different books hanging around and stickers on books that said “read me”. Chapter two of the graves text stated how modeling can be very effective during literacy education. One of the activities that the Librarian had the children do is a partner reading with their parents. Before the children started doing so, the Librarian modeled how it was supposed to go. Graves’s text chapter two states after explanation, modeling is the next step in the gradual release of responsibility (Graves, 2010, p.34)” Chapter three of the Graves text is mostly about Motivation and engagement. The Librarian definitely incorporated this into her session.  After the reading session children were able to take a gift bag home. Parents were also motivated to read with their children because they got half of the fines on their library cards removed. Chapter three also stresses that students need to have a choice about what they read (Graves, 2010, p.56)”. When children are reading books that they personally picked, they will be more motivated to read the book. In chapter six of the Graves text, it states that “teachers need to make many important decisions about the text that students read. One size not fit all (Graves, 2010, p.130)”. I can honestly say that I saw a variety of books in this story time. When it was time for the children to pick their own books to do partner reading with their parents, I saw children books written in Spanish, about different countries and history.

 

            I think that the Librarian used many different techniques to get the children and parents into the reading. I really like the fact that this story time involved parents because this is very important for emergent readers. Parent involvement is very important in reading. I think that the librarian successfully engaged everyone in the readings. The only thing that I think that she should change is the titled of the story time. The titled of story time was “mommy and me”, targeting only mothers. Many children who came with their fathers asked if it was okay to stay for story time. The Librarian’s story time could have had more people attend if the title were different. The Librarian should have done a better job staying on schedule with her event. When parents and children showed up to read, she was not there. The beginning of story time was a little difficult because she had a hard time getting the children quiet on task.  

Literacy Autobiography

       Reading has always been a challenge for me. I strongly believe that it is because English is not my first language. My country's official language is French and learning English was really hard to do.  In elementary, I did not look forward to reading time. As all of the children grabbed their favorite books, I hid in the back hoping my teacher would not see me. I was not read to by my parents when I was younger. I spent two years in ESL and every morning my teacher read children books to my class. The book that is most memorable to me is Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel. I did not have many books at my house when I was younger. I frequently went to my local library to pick out books. I did this only because my parents forced me to do so. I would take five books out each Sunday, but I would not read any of them. I remember in middle school my teacher had the class read The Face on the Milk Carton. I absolutely loved that book; I have ever since been hooked on mystery books.

        Reading out loud was the worst possible thing for me ever. I avoided reading out loud in most of my classes by saying I had a sore throat.  As I got older I started to read more and when I read, I kept a dictionary with me. I looked up words that I did not know and wrote them down in my reading journal. I began understanding the stories better and the meaning behind the words. Still now I avoid reading out loud in class. I panic if a professor asks me to read something out loud thinking that I might just forget my English. The first week of class my professor asked me to read some words on a strip of paper and I decline the task.  I did not like reading as a child, so I therefore do not really have a passion for reading now.  I only read books when I am required to. I do not read for fun because it brings back horrible memories of me being teased for my French accent. My accent is all gone now, but for some reason reading is still a challenge.  As a child I had to read many books on my own, especially in elementary. My teachers would hand out a list of books that all students must have read by the end of the year. I dreaded this because I only understood half of the story of each of those books.

   My least favorite book was “The Cat in the Hat”.  I did not understand why a cat would be in a hat and I knew that eggs were not green. Not speaking any English really made me not like several books only because I could not understand them. When I was in high school I also did not like the book titled 1984, by George Orwell. When I entered middle school, I became very interested in the Harry Potter series. I read every book and watched the movie to make sure that I understood what was going on. When I saw that this helped, I started reading books that had movies made for them. I also started taking audio books so that I would hear how words are supposed to sound.  I started to enjoy reading books that were either about fantasy or mystery. My reading habits as a child really affects me now because I still do not like reading. If I do read a book it is usually for class.

   In the very rare occasion that I am reading for fun, I would most likely read fantasy books (like twilight) or mystery books. I enjoyed being read to every day at the beginning of class. I have taken many literacy classes and they have all stressed the importance of reading. Today I mostly read to improve my vocabulary.

      My personal goal is to read as much books as I can this semester. My professional goal is that I learn how to encourage students like me to read when I become a teacher. My favorite author is Stephenie Meyer. Many friends of mine do not like Twilight, but I really like it. Her imagination is so beautiful. I also like Stephen King and James Patterson. As of right now, I do see myself as a reader. For the first time since I have been in college, I have been actually reading all of my reading assignments and not just glancing at them. I also feel that I have to set a good example for the children around me. How will I be able to motivate student about reading if I never read.

 

Reading instructions for English Language Learners

      I really enjoyed reading this chapter in the Graves text because I could personally relate to it. Learning to read English as a second language in the United States is a task that can be very difficult. On page 410, the Graves text identifies some challenges that come with learning to read in a second language. On page 410 it is stated that “researchers indicate that it takes English language learners five years to reach the total oral skill level of their English speaking peers”( Graves 410). The graves text states that students are coming to school with some prior knowledge of language. The only difference for English language learners is that the language that they were being exposed to ore learning when they were younger was not target language. It is not the language that they are going to be taught in, in the United States. The text describes some challenges that are faced by teachers in teaching English as a second language. One of the things mentioned in the Graves text that can help teachers help ELL students is recognize and build on strength. It states that “a teacher should start with what the student can do best and then work towards more difficult task” (Graves 418). Using familiar metaphors and experiences and creating a sense of family and caring are two other ways mention by the Graves text that could help English as second language learners

            On page 421 the 20 percent rule is discussed. It is basically stating that though languages are very different, overlap between languages can be as much as 20 percent. Two different languages can have common words or sounds, this could be used to help English as a second language learners. Time is something that is also stressed in this chapter. It takes time to learn any language. It is stated on page 422 that “children who English is not their first language will not be as automatic as other students in completing an English-speaking task” (Graves 422). This chapter basically acknowledges that teaching and both learning English as a second language can be difficult. At the same time there are strategies both for students and teachers to help with the learning process.  

The Freedom Writers ted talk

"I want to write his story so others will know his death was not in vain." Chapter 6 page 150.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDq9o9j3-CU

      Erin Gruwell enters Woodrow Wilson High School as a first year English teacher. She comes from a middle class family with privilege and the idea that education is important and necessary for living. In this ted talk, she focuses on one of the students in her class room. She starts out by saying the difficulties that she had with this student. This students name was Maria. By the age of five Maria watched her cousin get shot and killed. She watched her father get arrested and go in and out of jail. Maria had no respect for Gruwell, she felt like she could not relate to her teacher. Gruwell did not know about Maria’s life until she proposed the idea of writing in a journal. The journal served as a bridge for Maria and her teacher because it allowed her to learn about Maria’s life. Soon Gruwell started to understand why Maria behaved the way she did. I chose this text because through writing, Maria was able to tell her story. There were a total of one hundred and fifty students like Maria. Gruwell decided to introduce the diary of Ann Frank to her students. Maria really enjoyed this book because she felt that she could relate to Ann. The Graves text stresses how important it is that students see themselves in literature. Maria starts to get hope; she starts to see that she does matter after all. I really like this ted talk and one of the main reasons that I chose this is because it shows how writing and reading can change the attitude and the life of a student.

         I also chose this ted talk because of all of the challenges and difficulties Gruwell describes that Maria faced. It is easy for teachers to blame their students for not wanting to learn or completing homework. It is easy to look at a parent and say that they are unfit, but as future educators well all need to be like Gruwell and look a little deeper. How can a student come to school ready to learn when he/she is worried about what they are going to eat or that they might get shot walking down the street because of the color of their skin. I liked this ted talk because it shows how outside factors effect education happening in the classroom. The second week of this course we all discussed motivation. Having students read about characters they share or have similarities with can be a sort of motivation. We recently read chopsticks and a key lesson that we all picked up was that “everything is not always what it seems”. This applies for teachers and students in the class room. If a student is not paying attention or has been missing class, this does not necessarily mean that he or she is not interested in the topic being taught in class. We as future educators need to look deeper and go with the notion that everything is not what it seems.

It really upsets me to hear that a teacher laughed at her because of her accent. In class I learned how powerful teachers can be. The same way teachers can have positive effects on their students and motivate them to do positive things, is the same way they can discourage them if the wrong words are said by the teacher. I chose this ted talk because it shows how when entering a class room, teachers will have a variety of students from different backgrounds. Though the teacher was from a different background she was still able to help her students to connect to real people who were like them. The ted talk shows how powerful writing is. After reading the Diary of Ann Frank, Maria gets upset because Ann does not make it. This upset her because it crushed her hopes of making it to a better life. Another student from her class stated that Ann did make it, she wrote it down. People got to read her story; she got to live even after death. This ted talk shows how building a connection and knowing who your students are can help teachers choose books or create assignments that students could relate to.  If students can relate to the work in class they will then be motivated to learn!

Chopsticks

 Hello:)







    

 

        Chopsticks really blew my mind. From the beginning of the text, I understood that Glory was a piano prodigy raised by her single father. It was clear to me that her mother passed away and that she was clearly unhappy. Things started to get blurry when a flash back of what led to her disappearance was shown through the pictures in the book. The thing that bothers me the most is not knowing what really happened or what was real. The whole time I was looking and analyzing the book, I thought that Frank was real. After discussing it with my group members we were all disappointed that we did not know what really happened. The author leaves the reader to decide what is real and what is not real. This was the first time I have ever read a book like this so I did not know what to think. This book would be great for middle and high school students. This text forces people to pay close attention to detail within pictures. The book can also help with the development of imagination. With words it is sometimes easy to find the right answer, but with pictures everyone can have their own interpretation.  Reading this text allowed me to call upon my prior knowledge to understand and make inferences of the text. I suddenly felt like a child who was learning how to read for the first time. This book would be great to read in a class room and to do activities with because it would allow students to be creative and to create their own ending for the story. I think that like me, my classmates struggled with the idea of not having a right answer. I think that it is because we are adult readers ad we are so used to having a right and wrong answer to everything.