Oh the Places I Will Go...

I never could have imagined the wealth of knowledge that I have received during this course. I have changed from a college student that hasn't ever really been all that fond of Language Arts to a teacher that absolutely loves Language Arts and is well equipped to pass the love on to my students. I have learned the methodology of teaching so many different aspects of Language Arts. I did not have a clue on where to begin to teach a child how to read or write compared to how I feel now. I enjoyed the different teaching strategies that Dr. Duncan used and plan on using alot of the same ones as I begin to teach. One of my favorite exercises was "Chalk Talk." I can't wait to try this with Kindergartners and see all that they can create. I am honestly sad to see this class end. It has been the bright part of my long Wednesdays. I wish all classes prepared me for teaching as much as this course and allowed me to explore and fully engage in the content. I can only imagine where all of the knowledge I have acquired this semester will take me. Oh the places I may go!!!

Who would have thought that my kindergarteners could teach me something?

I have a close relationship with the teacher and students I worked with for my field experiences. I had the pleasure of working with them all of the fall semester and continuing on this semester. My lense changed when I got assigned field experiences for this class. In the past, I go into the classroom and help where ever is needed and the times I go each week varied slightly so that I could see lots of different aspects of the student's day. Field experiences for this course required me to observe during literacy block, which I have seen a lot of times in this classroom, but I never took a step back to examine what the real goals and objectives were. The requirements of my observations helped me to be more critical of and take another look at the methods of teaching literacy in this classroom. I don't think I would have gotten nearly as much out of the course material without having experienced what I experienced in the field. It seemed like everything I observed had tons of connections to a reading, discussion, or lecture that we have had. I can't imagine this class without a field component. How can I teach someone to read and write as a first year teacher if I haven't seen how its done first hand. Not only did Mrs. M teach me alot about literacy and how to teach language arts, but her precious students as well helped to show me the dos and don'ts of a newby teacher. I have them to thank for this awesome experience!

Peer Conferencing

I really enjoyed getting to peer conference with our books. It brought back memories of doing this from upper elementary on. I really like that it puts a new set of eyes onto reading and evaluating the paper and in a lot of cases by doing it with peers might be about a subject that the reader could relate to the author. The only dislikes and causes for concerns I could see would be if the narrative is about something that is every emotional for the author or with children any type of subject that might single them out among their peers. Other than that, I can see this method being used at just about any age level just with modifications and extensions as skill levels vary.

The Millions of Ways We Teach Reading and Writing

I feel like throughout my education I have used methods including: Writers Workshop, Readers Workshop, Literature Focus Units, Thematic Units or Literature Circles as a means for learning to read, write. I like that all these methods are structured routine-like ways of teaching and require students to think critically and have a nice progression of tasks. For example, Writers Workshops allow constant exposure to writing and the writing process on a daily basis and is an organized effective way of reaching these goals. My positive feelings about all these methods definitely out weigh the negatives, but if I had to pick a negative it would definitely be that the methods are harder to adapt the younger the child. For instance, kindergarteners may not be at the developmental level to handle something like a literature circle and it would take great modification to the point of easily moving away from the goals of the literature circles.

A Teacher's Worst Nightmare: Assessment

I think the simple ten letter word assessment is the single cause of panic when heard in a crowd of teachers. I personally feel that assessment is a double sided aspect of the education system with both positives and negatives. I feel that assessment provides data that can be examined and clearly "assessed;" basically, it allows teachers to easily be able to gauge student's learning. The negatives are the pressure it places on both students and teachers and the instructional time it wastes. I don't ever remember having too much anxiety about testing, but I do know lots of people that have and continue to have difficulites with assessment. I think that as a teacher it is important to think outside the box when it comes to assessment and "test" our students in ways that are quick easy and off the beaten path. If only assessment could turn into daydreams rather than nightmares.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

My all time favorite children's book is Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs. I loved how the main events of the story took place as a bedtime story. I also loved how the illustrations were so detailed and matched the story exactly. I recently taught a lesson to Kindergarteners through my preschool curriculum class and it brought the book back to life for me. It was so amazing to see my students listen to the book being read and take the book and create what ever they wished would fall from the sky if it decided to rain a special rain.

Is writing worth reading?

I believe there are lots of things that make writing worth reading. Writing is a way for people to express all the different aspects of their persona. Communication is also a key concept of writing that I feel makes it worth reading. Writing as well as reading go hand in hand with our very existence. It is hard for me to even imagine a world without reading or writing.

Sticks and Stones....

I definitely remember the saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" from my childhood. I think that to children this statement might help them to begin to conceptualize that there are various opinions to all types of situations. As an adult, I do not agree with this statement however. I think that words have immeasurable value and power. Words are strong and seem to be one of the main things that people always remember. Words put meaning to everything, and the statement that "words will never hurt me" is completely invalid in my opinion. When someone hears negative words spoken towards them or about them I think it sticks with them and has just as much power as physical abuse. I think that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can sometimes hurt me."

Hooked on Phonics Worked for Me!

I learned to read using both phonics and by memorization of sight words. In my experience, I used phonics when my parents worked with me outside of school on my reading. My parents used phonics because that was how they were taught to read as well as my brother that is six years older than me. I found this approach helped to to learn to read at a faster pace and higher level than my peers. At school; however, I was taught using sight words and required to memorize words not paying much attention to letter sounds and blends.When I am in schools now I see that the trend has changed since I was a student. I see students sounding out words and "teaching themselves" a variety of words. For example, in my Teaching Fellow internship placement I work with kindergarteners that are able to sound out words and are encouraged to use inventive spelling. It has been my experience that children may be more successful with this strategy rather than memorization, but that is just my opinion. I feel that as an aspiring kindergarten teacher, I have been given the precious gift of teaching children to read, and that by far is one of my favorite areas that I will teach students.

The Six Language Arts: Rather Surprising

I found the fact that there are six language arts rather surprising after spending 13 years in the public school system and being a Junior in college. I am amazed by the way that the six language arts can be used in education and how they can be mixed and mingled together. Learning about the six language arts will definitely help aid me in being a more effective teacher down the road. I think that both viewing and visually representing should be included in the list of language arts.I think that as educators we need to expose our students to as many opportunities as possible which can and should include viewing and visually representing while at the same time giving students experiences with technology. I feel that at some point in my education I have had experience with all of the six language arts in someway; however, some were definitely more emphasized. For example, my experiences with reading and writing drastically outweigh my experiences that allowed me to visually represent my knowledge. I think that reading and writing are essential to language arts, but a lot of the experiences that stand out to me as a student involved the other areas like talking and listening. I think that my personal preferences for learning language arts are ever changing. I am a person that likes change and is eager to try new things. I seem to at times really enjoy reading, but at others I really wish I could act out a play to represent my knowledge on a subject. All in all, I have learned a lot about the six language arts and plan on experimenting and implementing them into my classroom.

The Wonderful World of Blogging. (What I think about blogging.)

For EDU 300 (an Introduction to Language Arts Course) I will be posting a weekly blog. I think that blogs are an inventive and new movement in technology. In several classes blogs have been discussed and presented as a new useful means of communication in the academic world. I think that blogs are a creative way that students could get engaged and enjoy a variety of subjects. I look forward to organizing, maintaining, and exploring the many uses and features of blogging. Who knows it could even become something I use outside of my coursework!