February 20th, 2012
Choice reading
My choice reading for this week are lyrics. The lyrics were to a song called “They Weren’t There.” It is sung by Missy Higgins. The way I interpret the song is that it is about a relationship. She was so caught up in everything and it didn’t turn out the way she had wanted it to. At first everything was great and then I am assuming things fell apart. She seems like she is singing to the people who were looking in on the relationship. They almost have an attitude of “I told you so” and she is singing to them you weren’t there. Don’t judge me because you don’t know how it felt, it wasn’t you. I chose this reading because my friend and I are learning the guitar so I would like to sing along with it, and hopefully do a performance, if I am brave enough! The strategies I used while reading would be, re-reading. I have to read the text over and over again so that I can memorize it.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Class Notes
Class notes
(Double entry Journal)
Addictive (like drugs)
Makes users think they are stars “They value acting, not actualizing”
Disagree with anti social, more overly social because the users tend to over share, but I do think the socialization may be more shallow.
January 23rd, 2012
Reading
Comprehension (Understanding)
Transformation (shift in thinking)
Meaning maker (semantic competence)
Text user (pragmatic competence)
Text critic (critical competence)
How can meaningful connections deepen understanding of the “text”?
Reasons why we read:
To learn
Entertainment
Communication
Enhance your life
Enlighten
For information
For research
For curiosity
To study
To memorize
To drive
To get to where you are going
Time management
To operate something
Understanding
To get to know someone
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Choice reading response: A Stone is Nobody's
February 14th, 2012
Choice Reading- A Stone is Nobody’s
The reading that I chose to read was a poem called, A Stone is Nobody’s. I chose this is one of my favorite poems I haven’t read it in a while, so I decided to re-read it today. The poem is about a man who has a stone that he keeps as a prisoner. His mother tries to explains to him that he cannot hold this stone captive and that it is he who is truly the prisoner. After I read this poem for the first time I was so captured. I wanted to go back and try to almost decode the poem. I just loved it! I then read it to everyone I knew and asked what they thought about it. I don’t know, but this poem is just so intriguing to me and I love to read over every so often. That is why I chose to use it as my choice reading. I also just love poetry. By reading it to others we can discus what we perceive the stone to be. This poem has so much symbolism which is why I love it so much because I re-read it many times, getting more out of it and making more connections each time.
Citiation
Edson, Russell. A Stone is Nobody’s.
A Stone is Nobody’s
By: Russell Edson
A man ambushed a stone. Caught it. Made it a prisoner.
Put it in a dark room and stood guard over it for the
rest of his life.
His mother asked why.
He said, because it's held captive, because it is
captured.
Look, the stone is asleep, she said, it does not know
whether it's in a garden or not. Eternity and the stone
are mother and daughter; it is you who are getting old.
The stone is only sleeping.
But I caught it, mother, it is mine by conquest, he said.
A stone is nobody's, not even its own. It is you who are
conquered; you are minding the prisoner, which is yourself,
because you are afraid to go out, she said.
Yes yes, I am afraid, because you have never loved me,
he said.
Which is true, because you have always been to me as
the stone is to you, she said.
Choice Reading- A Stone is Nobody’s
The reading that I chose to read was a poem called, A Stone is Nobody’s. I chose this is one of my favorite poems I haven’t read it in a while, so I decided to re-read it today. The poem is about a man who has a stone that he keeps as a prisoner. His mother tries to explains to him that he cannot hold this stone captive and that it is he who is truly the prisoner. After I read this poem for the first time I was so captured. I wanted to go back and try to almost decode the poem. I just loved it! I then read it to everyone I knew and asked what they thought about it. I don’t know, but this poem is just so intriguing to me and I love to read over every so often. That is why I chose to use it as my choice reading. I also just love poetry. By reading it to others we can discus what we perceive the stone to be. This poem has so much symbolism which is why I love it so much because I re-read it many times, getting more out of it and making more connections each time.
Citiation
Edson, Russell. A Stone is Nobody’s.
A Stone is Nobody’s
By: Russell Edson
A man ambushed a stone. Caught it. Made it a prisoner.
Put it in a dark room and stood guard over it for the
rest of his life.
His mother asked why.
He said, because it's held captive, because it is
captured.
Look, the stone is asleep, she said, it does not know
whether it's in a garden or not. Eternity and the stone
are mother and daughter; it is you who are getting old.
The stone is only sleeping.
But I caught it, mother, it is mine by conquest, he said.
A stone is nobody's, not even its own. It is you who are
conquered; you are minding the prisoner, which is yourself,
because you are afraid to go out, she said.
Yes yes, I am afraid, because you have never loved me,
he said.
Which is true, because you have always been to me as
the stone is to you, she said.
Readicide: Chapter 4
February 14th, 2012
Gallagher- Finding the “Sweet Spot” of Instruction
This chapter is aimed towards finding the sweet spot of instruction. The chapter focused on being an effective teacher. It discussed how students need help to navigate the text. Our goal as educators is to help students find the “sweet spot”. The sweet spot is where students read text and it clicks and it opens a door to reading at a whole new level. It focuses on how it is not about liking or disliking a certain text it is about taking something valuable from the reading. I thought a great strategy that she used was asking the final question first. This gave students something to look for as they read so they could understand the bigger concept of the book. That is definitely a strategy I would want to use in my classroom because it gives the students direction. I do best in classes where the teacher is very clear on what to look for. If I am given information and no direction it is very overwhelming for me. Which is why I think this is such a great strategy because while reading the students can be looking out for main concepts and making connections. I think that framing is plays a huge, huge role in helping student connect to what they are reading. Reading challenging text is like being given a word search without the word bank, you just don’t know what you are looking for so it is pointless. Framing is the word bank.
The reading strategies I used while reading this text would be taking notes and making connections.
Citation
Gallagher, K. (2009). Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. Stenhouse Publishers
Gallagher- Finding the “Sweet Spot” of Instruction
This chapter is aimed towards finding the sweet spot of instruction. The chapter focused on being an effective teacher. It discussed how students need help to navigate the text. Our goal as educators is to help students find the “sweet spot”. The sweet spot is where students read text and it clicks and it opens a door to reading at a whole new level. It focuses on how it is not about liking or disliking a certain text it is about taking something valuable from the reading. I thought a great strategy that she used was asking the final question first. This gave students something to look for as they read so they could understand the bigger concept of the book. That is definitely a strategy I would want to use in my classroom because it gives the students direction. I do best in classes where the teacher is very clear on what to look for. If I am given information and no direction it is very overwhelming for me. Which is why I think this is such a great strategy because while reading the students can be looking out for main concepts and making connections. I think that framing is plays a huge, huge role in helping student connect to what they are reading. Reading challenging text is like being given a word search without the word bank, you just don’t know what you are looking for so it is pointless. Framing is the word bank.
The reading strategies I used while reading this text would be taking notes and making connections.
Citation
Gallagher, K. (2009). Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. Stenhouse Publishers
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Math Articles
February 9th, 2012
Article: National Math Assessment Scores Creep Up But Stagnate in Reading
Article: For Math, Click Calculate
The article, National Math Assessment Scores Creep Up But Stagnate in Reading, discusses how math score are seeing an increase as times goes by. However, reading scores are not seeing as much of an increase. The goal is to maintain and keep math scores increase, but also put focus on increasing reading scores as well. I think that this a good goal that has been set. It is very good that students math scores are gradually increasing, but it is also important that we do not put reading scores on the back burner. Perhaps schools can implement a new program reading program that ties in math and reading so that students will be able to increase both score and understanding. The second article, For Math, Click Calculate discussed the use of calculators in the classroom. It talked about whether or not calculators should be removed from classrooms. I think calculators are a very useful and important tool in math classrooms. Math can be very intimidating to some students, being able to use a calculator can keep them open to learning. The teacher can certainly limit the use of calculators. However, once the skills are taught what is the harm in letting students use the tool. The question I have is how would students do complex math problems without the use of calculators?
The reading strategies I used while reading these two articles would be, connecting. If I were in a class and calculators were not allowed I would certainly feel overwhelmed. Secondly, I asked questions.
Citations
Koebler, Jason. (2011). National Math Assessment Scores Creep Up But Stagnate in Reading. Retrieved from https://angel.evangel.edu/Angel/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&W CU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=0EA81CE6789F4DC7A750C6374995A837
Phillips, Anna. (2012). For Math, Click Calculate. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/education/edlife/for-math-click- calculate.html
Article: National Math Assessment Scores Creep Up But Stagnate in Reading
Article: For Math, Click Calculate
The article, National Math Assessment Scores Creep Up But Stagnate in Reading, discusses how math score are seeing an increase as times goes by. However, reading scores are not seeing as much of an increase. The goal is to maintain and keep math scores increase, but also put focus on increasing reading scores as well. I think that this a good goal that has been set. It is very good that students math scores are gradually increasing, but it is also important that we do not put reading scores on the back burner. Perhaps schools can implement a new program reading program that ties in math and reading so that students will be able to increase both score and understanding. The second article, For Math, Click Calculate discussed the use of calculators in the classroom. It talked about whether or not calculators should be removed from classrooms. I think calculators are a very useful and important tool in math classrooms. Math can be very intimidating to some students, being able to use a calculator can keep them open to learning. The teacher can certainly limit the use of calculators. However, once the skills are taught what is the harm in letting students use the tool. The question I have is how would students do complex math problems without the use of calculators?
The reading strategies I used while reading these two articles would be, connecting. If I were in a class and calculators were not allowed I would certainly feel overwhelmed. Secondly, I asked questions.
Citations
Koebler, Jason. (2011). National Math Assessment Scores Creep Up But Stagnate in Reading. Retrieved from https://angel.evangel.edu/Angel/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&W CU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=0EA81CE6789F4DC7A750C6374995A837
Phillips, Anna. (2012). For Math, Click Calculate. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/education/edlife/for-math-click- calculate.html
Readicide: Chapter 1
February 9th, 2012
Readicide: Chapter 1
This chapter was an introduction to the book Readicide. It started off by talking about what readicide is. It discussed how standardized testing makes students lose their desire to be independent readers and they do not want to read at all. The material that teachers are offering does not encourage an interest in reading. It does not make the students want to dig deeper into a subject or topic. The chapter said that teachers who do not give stimulating “chip away at a students motivation.” Schools focus too much on tests. They tests for facts and not understandings. This does not encourage deep thinking. I agree with this chapter. It is so important to help students make deep connections when it comes to reading. If we don’t encourage students to do this, reading is just pointless. A student can get so much out of reading. It can be very inspirational and help students to make connections to bigger things in life. They will be able to apply knowledge to their everyday lives. However, if teachers focus on testing and reciting facts, students lose out on so much. As a student, I have classes in which the professors make you read something but don’t know encourage you to connect it to anything. It makes reading seem like a pointless endeavor. When this happens reading becomes a punishment instead of a supplement to helping a student acquire a deeper understanding. When I become an educator, I do not want to make reading an assignment. I want to make it something that the students can really get into. Reading can actually be very fun, if you make it fun. In high school I had teachers who made reading very fun by having us do activities and going out of their way to do more with a book than simply read it.
A reading strategy I used while reading this chapter would be making a connection to my own personal experience.
Citation
Gallagher, K. (2009). Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. Stenhouse Publishers
Readicide: Chapter 1
This chapter was an introduction to the book Readicide. It started off by talking about what readicide is. It discussed how standardized testing makes students lose their desire to be independent readers and they do not want to read at all. The material that teachers are offering does not encourage an interest in reading. It does not make the students want to dig deeper into a subject or topic. The chapter said that teachers who do not give stimulating “chip away at a students motivation.” Schools focus too much on tests. They tests for facts and not understandings. This does not encourage deep thinking. I agree with this chapter. It is so important to help students make deep connections when it comes to reading. If we don’t encourage students to do this, reading is just pointless. A student can get so much out of reading. It can be very inspirational and help students to make connections to bigger things in life. They will be able to apply knowledge to their everyday lives. However, if teachers focus on testing and reciting facts, students lose out on so much. As a student, I have classes in which the professors make you read something but don’t know encourage you to connect it to anything. It makes reading seem like a pointless endeavor. When this happens reading becomes a punishment instead of a supplement to helping a student acquire a deeper understanding. When I become an educator, I do not want to make reading an assignment. I want to make it something that the students can really get into. Reading can actually be very fun, if you make it fun. In high school I had teachers who made reading very fun by having us do activities and going out of their way to do more with a book than simply read it.
A reading strategy I used while reading this chapter would be making a connection to my own personal experience.
Citation
Gallagher, K. (2009). Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. Stenhouse Publishers
Monday, February 6, 2012
Choice reading response 1
February 6th, 2012
Choice reading
The reading that I chose to do was out of my devotional book. The title of the devotional was “Your Day is Coming”. The verse read, “ Hold onto what you have, so that no one will take your crown” Revelation 3:11. This devotional talked about how sometimes we may feel as if you are always coming in last place. But, we are reminded to believe in God’s promise “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” (1 Peter 5:4) This reminds us the God sees all and he sees your heart even when you feel like you have gone unnoticed. I chose this reading because it reminds me daily of how good God is and helps me to grow in Him each and everyday. It uplifts my spirit. I bring this book to dinner when I eat with my friends and I read them the daily devotional. There is always a short question to reflect on at the end so we read this and then we all discuss what we got out what was just read. This reading method is very important because it helps us all to share our ideas and we are able to get a deeper understanding and new outlook on what was just read by listening to how it impacted each person individually.
Choice reading
The reading that I chose to do was out of my devotional book. The title of the devotional was “Your Day is Coming”. The verse read, “ Hold onto what you have, so that no one will take your crown” Revelation 3:11. This devotional talked about how sometimes we may feel as if you are always coming in last place. But, we are reminded to believe in God’s promise “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” (1 Peter 5:4) This reminds us the God sees all and he sees your heart even when you feel like you have gone unnoticed. I chose this reading because it reminds me daily of how good God is and helps me to grow in Him each and everyday. It uplifts my spirit. I bring this book to dinner when I eat with my friends and I read them the daily devotional. There is always a short question to reflect on at the end so we read this and then we all discuss what we got out what was just read. This reading method is very important because it helps us all to share our ideas and we are able to get a deeper understanding and new outlook on what was just read by listening to how it impacted each person individually.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Making Homework Central to Learning
February 3rd, 2012
Article: Making Homework Central to Learning
Here are some of the comments I made in response to what I was reading.
- What prompted them to do this?
- *feedback
-I think homework should be graded
-Interesting
-11th grade math class
-Problem: students may work hard and not do well
-Use of other assignments can help fill the grading void (in class assignments)
-How to apply this to art
-Homework is apart of learning new material
-Perhaps that is unfair?
-Still marked for correctness
-Still need to realize importance
-Agree
-Relate this to my content area- non traditional homework focused --- still check to see if they are understanding concepts through small assignments
-Helps students to see the importance of homework and education without being forced to do it.
Citations
Vatterott, Cathy. (2011). Making Homework Central to Learning. Retrieved from https://studentmail.evangel.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=884734240c8a4937a5bfa4efce 67ae9a&URL=http%3a%2f%2fehsassessment.pbworks.com%2fw%2ffile%2ffetc h%2f47875373%2fMaking%2520Homework%2520Central%2520to%2520Learn ing%2520-%2520Vatterott.pdf
Article: Making Homework Central to Learning
Here are some of the comments I made in response to what I was reading.
- What prompted them to do this?
- *feedback
-I think homework should be graded
-Interesting
-11th grade math class
-Problem: students may work hard and not do well
-Use of other assignments can help fill the grading void (in class assignments)
-How to apply this to art
-Homework is apart of learning new material
-Perhaps that is unfair?
-Still marked for correctness
-Still need to realize importance
-Agree
-Relate this to my content area- non traditional homework focused --- still check to see if they are understanding concepts through small assignments
-Helps students to see the importance of homework and education without being forced to do it.
Citations
Vatterott, Cathy. (2011). Making Homework Central to Learning. Retrieved from https://studentmail.evangel.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=884734240c8a4937a5bfa4efce 67ae9a&URL=http%3a%2f%2fehsassessment.pbworks.com%2fw%2ffile%2ffetc h%2f47875373%2fMaking%2520Homework%2520Central%2520to%2520Learn ing%2520-%2520Vatterott.pdf
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Tovani- Chapter 6
February 2nd, 2012
Tovani- Chapter 6
Chapter six started off talking about sharing your thoughts when reading. The teacher showed the students a picture which prompted them to “read” the picture and put their thoughts out there. The kids used reading strategies like asking questions when the saw the picture. She used this to help ease them into discussion and thoughts while reading text. She stresses the importance of thinking while reading. It is important to get a response from the students. The author talks about marking the text. She encourages the students to underline and make brief notes about things that they are reading. She warned about struggling readers and the front they put on to mask their difficulties. In cases like this it is important to hold the readers thinking. This is where tools come into play. The use of highlighters and stick it notes can help with encouraging thinking. But, they must be used in moderation because otherwise it becomes too much. Doing whole group discussion is a very beneficial tool as well because students can feed off of each other opinions and ideas, which can be a motivation for some students. The use of comprehension constructors is also very important because it helps students name their thinking and make it visible. They can also be used in other classes as well.
This chapter had a lot of good tips to use in and out of the classroom. It gave me a lot of knowledge about how to keep kids engaged and thinking while they are reading. I like the idea of group discussion, because when everyone is sharing their idea about what they read it really helps to motivate kids to think about the reading in ways that they hadn’t. I also like the idea of using stick it notes and highlighters. However, I agree that if they are not used correctly you really get nothing out of using them. This is why it is important to help kids to narrow down their thoughts and keep it all organized
The strategies I used while reading this text: highlighting main ideas, made a connection, took notes.
Citations
Tovani, C. (2004). Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?: Content Comprehension, grades 6-12. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Tovani- Chapter 6
Chapter six started off talking about sharing your thoughts when reading. The teacher showed the students a picture which prompted them to “read” the picture and put their thoughts out there. The kids used reading strategies like asking questions when the saw the picture. She used this to help ease them into discussion and thoughts while reading text. She stresses the importance of thinking while reading. It is important to get a response from the students. The author talks about marking the text. She encourages the students to underline and make brief notes about things that they are reading. She warned about struggling readers and the front they put on to mask their difficulties. In cases like this it is important to hold the readers thinking. This is where tools come into play. The use of highlighters and stick it notes can help with encouraging thinking. But, they must be used in moderation because otherwise it becomes too much. Doing whole group discussion is a very beneficial tool as well because students can feed off of each other opinions and ideas, which can be a motivation for some students. The use of comprehension constructors is also very important because it helps students name their thinking and make it visible. They can also be used in other classes as well.
This chapter had a lot of good tips to use in and out of the classroom. It gave me a lot of knowledge about how to keep kids engaged and thinking while they are reading. I like the idea of group discussion, because when everyone is sharing their idea about what they read it really helps to motivate kids to think about the reading in ways that they hadn’t. I also like the idea of using stick it notes and highlighters. However, I agree that if they are not used correctly you really get nothing out of using them. This is why it is important to help kids to narrow down their thoughts and keep it all organized
The strategies I used while reading this text: highlighting main ideas, made a connection, took notes.
Citations
Tovani, C. (2004). Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?: Content Comprehension, grades 6-12. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
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