Reciprocal Teaching and Vocabulary Instruction
10 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
So first off, I must say that The Capture is such a great book! I have really enjoyed reading it, and I find it hard to put down. I have also really enjoyed learning the different strategies that can be used when students are reading a book as a class. The unit that is designed for The Capture is varied in many ways, and each activity allows students to focus on reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. I think that these activities can be used with any book and at a variety of grade levels. I am looking forward to using all that I have learned this semester in my classroom when I become a teacher.
Vocabulary instruction is an important role in elementary school classrooms, but students need more than just direct instruction to truly expand their vocabularies. Assignments such as word wizard cards and the other vocabulary activities mentioned in the unit, are very helpful to students. I really like the idea of having students keep a word wizard notebook. In each section, students will make entries in their notebooks for the vocabulary words listed, and then provide a child friendly definition as well as pictures and synonyms. This is beneficial to the students because it allows them to have access to these words even after they are finished reading the text. I also like the idea of students making word wizard cards. This is a fun activity that can help students get a visual image of a word.
I think that Reciprocal Teaching is similar to the activities in a literature circle. Students are split into groups and each group member is given a job: summarizer, questioner, clarifier, or predictor. The students then complete their reading and focus on what their jobs consist of . When it is time for a discussion, students are able to use what they focused on during the reading to share with their group, which helps students have more in-depth conversations. Reciprocal Teaching is also beneficial to students because it teaches them to think about their reading process, and to ask questions while they are reading, instead of simply skip over what they do not understand.
Here is a link to my glog:
Vocabulary
02 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
The extent of a person’s vocabulary is connected to the volume of reading that they do, but if a child does not understand how to derive the meaning of words, then their vocabulary and comprehension skills will not improve. The article, Breaking Down Words to Build Meaning: Morphology, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension in the Urban Classroom, was very insightful and knowledgable. The article focused on how vocabulary, morphology, and reading comprehension were all an important part of reading instruction.
In order for students to gain a wide range vocabulary, the authors of the article suggest that students be given instruction that deals with vocabulary, as well as instructions on how to break words down. A teacher must model to students how to use root words, and prefixes/suffixes, as well as context clues, to understand the meaning of a word. Aside from this instruction, students need to be provided with many opportunities to put these skills to work.
I feel like this technique described in the article would also greatly improve the English Language Learner’s vocabulary. There is a large population of students in America that are ELL’s, and I know that their reading comprehension skills may be affected by their lack of vocabulary knowledge. As suggested in the article, many of the English words are similar to other languages, such as Spanish. If students are able to make the connections to the words in their native language, I think that the process of learning new vocabulary would be easier.
I also like the idea about providing charts of prefixes/suffixes, as well as displaying how a word can be changed in spelling and sound. This allows students to have access to these difficult terms. The more exposure students have to these terms, the better their vocabulary will become.
This article also relates to the activities provided for section 1 of The Capture. The vocabulary activities include finding words in the book that are difficult to comprehend, coming up with a definition and synonyms for that word by using context clues and morphology, as well as providing examples of how those words relate to the student. This type of activity connects the students reading with vocabulary instruction, and it gives students an opportunity to put the skills that they learn to work. The other vocabulary activities reinforced the students knowledge and understanding of the words by distinguishing which sentences applied to the specific vocabulary word listed. This provides further practice and context to use the vocabulary words.
Internet Workshops
28 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
The article I read, Internet workshop and blog publishing: Meeting student (and teacher) learning needs to achieve best practice in the century social studies classroom, was very insightful. As a future teacher, I am going to have to incorporate technology into my lessons because this world is becoming more technologically advanced each day. This article clearly articulates how teachers can incorporate technology into multiple subjects, by using internet workshops. I have never been exposed to an internet workshop before, but from what I read in the article I think it is a great tool to use in the classroom. Children would gain a variety of knowledge and skills by completing and internet workshop. One obvious skill would be learning how to appropriately use technology. I think that it is important for teachers to create a list of sites that are appropriate and useful for the students, because otherwise students might not know where to go and what to look for. Even if the teacher gives the students a list of websites, the students will still be learning how to search through information, and decipher what is accurate and what is not. I also think that internet workshops are a great way to incorporate group work and cooperative learning. Students can work in groups to search different topics and then come together to discuss what they found. I like the idea of creating a classroom blog, and allowing students to create posts about what they learned from the internet workshop. Like we have discussed in class, blogs are a great way to incorporate writing into every lesson. When students know that their work will be displayed on a blog, they are likely to put more effort into what they are writing, and as a result, students writing will likely improve over time.
The child friendly websites that I viewed are really interesting, and I am very glad that I have been exposed to them, because I know I will want to use them in my future classroom. I have always found it difficult to locate appropriate websites for children to use, because I have a hard time determining which ones are accurate and reliable. Each of these websites contain a wide range of information, that can be used both by students and teachers. Some of the websites included lesson plans and resources for teachers, and others included websites that have been created by children, as well as games, news, and research information for students to use.
I really like the internet workshop designed for learning about owls. I have always loved owls, and I am so excited to learn all about them. The live webcams were really cool, and I think that children would absolutely love getting to see a live video of an owl and watch what how it acts. I really want to see a video of owlets, but at the time I was looking through the videos, a couple of them were not available online at the time.
Below are the questions and answers for the workshop on barn owls.
1. List the barn owl’s scientific name. Tyto Alba
2. What does a barn owl look like? (color, size, etc.) What kind of sounds does it make? A barn owl has a heart-shaped face, they are white underneath but a brownish color on top. Barn owls do not hoot, but instead they make screeching sounds. Barn owls have large wings, but a smaller body. A female barn owl is generally 34-40 cm in length with a wingspan of 110 cm. Male barn owls are 32-38 cm long, and have a wingspan of 107. Both are similar in size and weight, females average 20 oz. and males average 15.5 oz.
3. Describe the habitat of a barn owl: Where do they live? What kind of shelter do they need? Sometimes barn owls nest in trees, but mostly prefer a wide open country. Barn owls have one nest site, and a few different roosting sites, but they also visit other areas occasionally. Before there were barns for owls to nest in, it is believed that barn owls used hollow parts of trees or rock crevices as their shelter. Many barn owls still nest in hollow trees, as well as building lofts or attics. These owls are widespread, and live all over the world. They are found on every continent except for Antarctica.
4 .How is the barn owl especially equipped to catch its prey? (Describe its camouflage and other adaptations.) Barn owls have very good eyesight, but also have excellent hearing. The ears are located just above the eyes, and one ear is located higher than the other to help increase the hearing. Barn owls are a light brown color, which helps them blend in with their surroundings. Barn owls usually hunt in grassland that is light brown for the majority of the year.
5. What do barn owls eat? Where do they find their food? Barn owls eat small mammals such as mice and moles. The owls fly back and forth over the land until they spot their prey. The barn owls find their food on the ground, but they have sharp talons that are used to grab their prey easily.
6. Describe any “special talents” of the barn owl. Barn owls can capture prey in complete darkness because of their excellent hearing ability. Barn owls also have the ability to fly silently, and if they are wet they are no longer able to fly silently, which is one reason why these owls do not like to get wet.
7. Describe the life cycle of a barn owl. (Including reproduction) Barn owls nest during the spring. Sometimes, mates will breed twice in a year. The male and female choose a nesting spot, although they do not “build a nest”. The male usually hunts often to provide food for the female, up until 2 weeks before the eggs are laid. Barn owls begin warming the eggs as soon as the first egg is laid, and normally the average “clutch” is around 5-6 eggs. Eggs begin hatching after around 31-32 days, hatching in the order in which they were laid. The female continues to lay with the hatchlings for about 3 weeks. By the beginning of summer, most owlets are well-grown, and are playful like little kittens. Most of the owlets fly by the time they are 9-10 weeks old. By autumn the owls are ready to be dispersed on their own. The dispersal period lasts until November and by this time; owls need to have a shelter. During the winter, the barn owls suffer through many hardships, and it is a struggle to stay alive. Food is scarce in the winter, and barn owls need more food for energy than other birds because they are not well insulated.
8. What are some cool “WOW” facts that you learned? I was surprised to learn that mates “rub cheeks” and talk to each other by screeching. I also found it interesting that barn owls have ears that are unevenly placed. I was also surprised to learn that most barn owls have short life expectancies, in the wild these owls are only expected to live 1-2 years.
Double Entry Diaries
26 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
| Passage from the book | What this means to me |
| “Martin raced to catch the bus. He was lucky to find the last empty seat. “Stand up boy,” the driver ordered as a white child rushed on. The joy drained out of Martin’s face.” Page 7 | When I read this passage, I could just see the image in my mind of a young child, such as Martin, being so happy to get a seat on the bus and to have that joy instantly removed because the white child was allowed to sit and Martin had to stand. This is very saddening and I can’t imagine the heartbreak that many of these people felt. The image on this page also helps create a mental picture of what a situation like this would have looked like. |
| “My feet is tired,” she called out after him, “but my soul is rested.” Page 12 | This is one of my favorite phrases from the story. I love how the author incorporated this into the book, it shows that people, such as the lady in the story, had faith and that although it was a struggle, gaining equal rights was worth their motivation and determination. |
| “I hate poverty but I love the poor,” his father said, slipping the coin into his son’s hand. “We can always find someone in greater need than ourselves.” Page 19 | From this passage, I see that Abraham and Martin are similar, and their fathers are also similar. This phrase seems important to me. I think that Abraham is going to end up helping someone later on in the story, and I think that this phrase is foreshadowing what will happen. |
| “How can we love our neighbors,” he asked, “if we abandon them in their time of need?” Abraham’s faith required him to help those in greater need than himself. He knew he must answer Martin’s call.” Page 32 | Here we see how the previous passage gave a clue as to what was going to happen. As Abraham’s father had taught him, he helped Martin who needed it more so than himself. I wonder what this world would be like if everyone was like Abraham and/or Martin? Would there be peace? |
| “The time had come for action. The white man and the black man joined hands. The Jew and the Christian joined hands. Three thousand people stood behind them, cheering.” Page 33 | I love this phrase. It is such a powerful phrase and it really touches my soul. I can just imagine 3,000 determined and faithful people marching together to stand up for what they believe in. It is a very important part of history, and I love that it is depicted here in this book for children. |
Websites for kids that relate to As Good As Anybody.
http://pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights/snapshot.html- This website is really interesting. Students can look at pictures taken back in during the time of the Civil Rights Movement, and they can leave comments as to what they think is happening in each picture. Students also have access to interviews of people who were present during this time, and who played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement.
http://www.neok12.com/Civil-Rights-Movement.htm – I would use this site when teaching a lesson on the civil rights, along with reading the book As Good As Anybody. I would read the book first, to expose students to some of the events that took place during the Civil Rights Movement, and then I would show some of the videos that are located on this webpage. This would allow students to get a better visual as to what happened during this time period.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmheroes1.html- This is a good site to use when studying the Civil Rights Movement, because it lists many influential people that played an important role in the movement, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Thurgood Marshall.
Shared Reading
22 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
I gained a lot of knowledge about shared reading after reading the article ” Shared Readings: Modeling Comprehension, Vocabulary, Text Structures, and Text Features fro Older Readers”. I did not know that shared reading was different from reading aloud. When I was in elementary school, my teachers often read aloud to the class, or students in the class read in a “popcorn style” setting, but I do not remember doing a shared reading. I now see how shared readings are important and how they can help contribute to students fluency in reading.
This article discussed a study done on 25 teachers who consider themselves experts at shared reading. These teachers were observed and interviewed throughout the process. The researchers noted that four main topics covered over the observations were reading comprehension, vocabulary, text features, and text structures.
Reading comprehension is a very important aspect that readers must have. If there is not an understanding of what is being read, then there is no point in reading. The teachers observed in the study modeled reading comprehension by vocalizing what goes through their minds when they read, so the students in the class get an understanding of how they should be comprehending text. Some of the skills used when comprehending are making predictions, summarizing, questioning, clarifying, visualizing, etc. These can be modeled by the teacher when doing a shared reading. For example, in one shared reading, the teacher described her thoughts about the cover of the book, and she made inferences based on what she saw.
Vocabulary is also an important feature of shared readings. In class, we discussed how students vocabulary expands through reading. It is important for students to know how to use context clues, word parts, and resources to define words in a book they are reading. This can also be modeled through shared reading. In the article, teachers talked about their thinking when they came to words they did not understand. If it was applicable, the teacher described how to use context clues to decode the meaning of a word. If there were no context clues, then teachers modeled using resourses, such as other teachers or dictionaries. This is something that I think will help me as a future teacher. I want students to be interested in learning new words, and shared reading is a great way to model learning vocabulary.
Text features and text structures can also be focused on during shared readings. Text features are things such as illustrations, headings, captions, glossaries, etc. I think that it is important to model this to students, because many times students do not understand how to use these features to their advtange, which is to help them with comprehending the story. Text structures are also important for students to learn. For example, one teacher focused on structure by discussing how the character changes in the story.
I think that the two books, As Good As Anybody, and Freedom Summer are both good books to use in a shared reading. The teacher can focus on reading comprehension as well as vocabulary in both books, and I think that As Good As Anybody could also be used to discuss text structure.
Shared Reading Plan
Page 4- Clarifying/ Questioning- This page mentions that the boys help Annie Mae by shelling butter beans and sweeping the front porch. This reminds me of when I helped my mom pick beans and shell them. Do you all help your parents with chores? Turn to a neighbor and discuss what chores you help with.
Page 7-Clarifying the meaning of “spout”- This says that the boys float on their backs and “spout like whales”. I have heard of that word before. The nursery rhyme “Itsy Bitsy Spider” mentions that the spider went up the water spout. In that context, spout sounds like a pipe, so I don’t think that is what it means here. Let’s look at the words surrounding it and the pictures to help us figure out the meaning. The sentence says that they spout like whales, so it must be something that whales do. The picture shows the boys on their backs, and water is streaming out of their mouths. So spout must mean to spew/discharge liquid through a blow hole. In this context, the boys are blowing water out of their mouths.
Page 10-Clarifying/Questioning- It says here that John Henry is not allowed to go through the doors of Mr. Mason’s store. Given what you have heard this far in the story, why do you think he is not allowed to go in the store?
Page 19- Clarifying/Questioning- John Henrys brother is one of the workers filling the pool with tar. It says here that it looks like this job has made him angry. I would be angry too if they filled the pool up where nobody could swim in it. Why do you think he is mad?
Page 21-Clarifying the meaning of “whisper”- This page uses the word breeze in the sentence “It’s so quiet now, we can hear the breeze whisper through the grass”. When I think of breeze I think of wind, so this must be talking about the wind. Whisper means to speak quietly, so I assume that this means that the wind blew and they could hear the breeze quietly rustle through the grass.
Silent Reading
19 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
I found this article to be very insightful. I remember doing silent reading when I was in elementary school, it was called D.E.A.R which stands for Drop Everything And Read. Although I have always been one to enjoy reading, I remember that many of the students in my class did not read during this time; they were what the authors of the article would call “fake readers”. I think that silent reading is an important aspect that children should learn, and I feel that the modifications the authors made to the Sustained Silent Reading block in their classroom were beneficial. In order for students to grow as readers, they need significant practice, which can be gained through silent reading.
The reading assessment that my class must do is designed to determine what a student’s instructional reading level is, and then help them or the teacher choose texts that are appropriate for their level. If a child is choosing books that are below their reading level, they are not being challenged, which means their reading and comprehension skills are not going to improve. On the other hand, if a child is choosing books that are too difficult for them to read, they will struggle with comprehension and decoding, as well as become frustrated with the reading.
The way the SSR block was modified helps ensure that students are reading, and that the teacher is able to keep track of what their students are reading. This program also helps build student’s comprehension skills by having students keep reading logs, where they write down how long they read, how many pages they read, and answer some questions or writing prompts. The students also discuss the books with other classmates.
This article also focused on how it is important for the teacher to model reading, just like they need to model writing in front of the class. A teacher does not necessarily need to sit and read silently with the students, but it is important for the students to see that the teacher reads and talks about books. Like we discussed in class, the students feel more comfortable doing something when they see the teacher also doing it, and seeing the teacher read and discuss books will give students an idea of how to do so, and therefore they will be able to follow the teacher’s example when reading, writing, and discussing literature.
After our class discussion today, I learned that during SSR it actually is important for the teacher to sit down and read while the students read. This helps students see that people read throughout their lives, not just while they are in school. If the teacher is reading and genuinely interested in the book, it makes students become interested also. If students see their teacher reading a book and laughing, they will want to read that book themselves. I also learned that students need to see that a teacher cares about what they are reading. If a teacher sits at their desks while students read silently, then the students are going to get the impression that their teacher has no interest in what they are reading, or in reading overall. If the teacher monitors the class, and talks with each student about the book that they are reading, the students will see that the teacher cares.
I also learned that it is important to have a nice place in the classroom for students to read, such as an area with bean bags or pillows, but managing will be a necessity. Students are likely to fight over who gets to sit in that area each day, so a teacher should create a schedule where each day different students sit at the area, and during a week, each child has gotten the chance to sit there and read.
Response to Read Aloud
17 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
Today I read to the students in my first grade class, and it went surprisingly well! I was slightly nervous before I began reading, because I wanted to read well, and I wanted the students to enjoy the story. I read to the students around 9:00 a.m., the students had just finished taking a spelling test, and my cooperating teacher thought that reading to the students would give them a nice break before they started focusing on math. The book I chose to read (with the help of Dr. Frye) was Princess Hyacinth, the Surprising Tale of a Girl who Floated, written by Florence Parry Heidi and illustrated by Lane Smith. The children seemed to really enjoy the story, and they thought it was hilarious that Princess Hyacinth floated.I was able to get their attention, and get the students interested in the story by being enthused and engaging. Having a good attitude and charisma is essential when reading to children. I prepared for the read aloud by practicing reading out loud to my family and making sure I annunciate my words, because I have a habit of not speaking clearly. I also wrote down questions that I wanted to ask the children, and put them on sticky notes inside the book. I also looked up definitions of words that I was not sure about, and wrote them down incase some of the students asked me the definition. Overall, I think my read aloud went well, but I do feel like there is room for improvement. I would like to prepare more questions and time for discussion the next time I read aloud. Today I did not get to discuss the book with the children because they had other assignments they needed to complete.
