D&Z Ch. 11

            I think we have all heard the old adage, “do as I say, not as I do.”   Here’s the problem with that: life doesn’t work that way, and neither does teaching.  Typically speaking, this phrase is used as a cop-out for authority figures who want to enforce the rules for others, but have the opportunity to break the rules for themselves.  This sort of elitist attitude does not normally compute with young people, or older people, if I am being totally honest.  In a perfect world, the phrase would be, “do as I say, and I’ll show you how by doing it myself.”  In chapter 11 of Subject Matters, Daniels and Zemelman discuss this concept as it pertains to teaching students how to interact with text.  Here is the point behind their discussion: instead of telling students what to do and expecting them to do it, show them how to do it.  The most effective teachers are those who allow students to borrow their expertise in order to become masters themselves.

 

            Reading comprehension is not an instinctual action; the brain does not see a configuration of letters and automatically understand the words and how they connect to each other.  Just like reading itself, comprehension must be taught.  D&Z suggest that “teachers use ‘think-alouds’ to demonstrate meaningful thinking, giving instruction rather than just instructions.”  This means that teachers should be doing what they ask their students to do, instead of just telling them what to do.  When I think about modeling in this case, baseball comes to mind.  I could have a group of people sitting in a classroom listening to me explain how to catch a grounder.  If I do not show them how it is done, however, they will never truly understand how the process works.  It is the same with teaching students how to be effective readers.  They may have a general understand of what is being asked of them in theory, but without modeling, the chances of them being able to convert theory to practice is slim.  As educators, it is our job to show them how to bridge the gap.

 

D&Z Chs. 9-10

           Chapter 9 in Subject Matters deals with book clubs and how to implement them in the classroom.  I just want to say that book clubs can be an excellent learning tool.  The whole idea of letting students work together in collaborative groups while reading a book to escape typical “school time” is awesome.  If it is done correctly, book clubs offer students the opportunity to experience books outside of common reading lists, build vocabulary, practice respectful interaction with peers, and become elf-regulated learners.  There is one, large set-back, though.  Some teachers may wonder how they can get students to participate in the activity.  Never fear: D&Z were kind enough to offer some suggestions to this problem.

 

 

            Student participation is fundamental in utilizing book clubs.  In fact, I have been involved with a couple—some were successful and enriching for me as a student, and some were absolutely not.  The common denominator for those groups which were successful for me was student-decided norms.  In those classes, my teachers let individual groups decide what the rules would be.  The ineffective book clubs did not involve students’ input on the norms for the group.  I think letting students decide how their clubs will work offers another layer of motivation to complete the work and participate in discussions.  Furthermore, students will hold each other accountable to get the work done. 

            Another thing to consider is group size.  D&Z suggest that the target group size is four members.  Two or three members do not offer enough diverse input, and smaller groups are too vulnerable to absences.  Groups of six or more allow some students are able to hide and rely upon other members to do the work.  Four people, however, will be able to share equal responsibility.  This target number will also offer a good range of input from a diverse group. 

 

            (The video below offers a visual over-view of many of the concepts discussed in the text.)

D&Z Chs. 6-7

         After reading Chapters 6 and 7 in Subjects Matter, I considered the idea of classroom community.  How can teachers foster empathetic relationships between students?  How can people see others as worthy, even though they may look or act differently than what we are used to?  Honestly, this is a terrifying thought for me.  I realize that I am going to be in charge of so many students, and before I can effectively teach them, they need to feel safe.  I will be responsible for creating a safe and nurturing environment which caters to each of my students.  What a daunting thought.  Really, when you think about it, each and every one of us needs to be conscious about overcoming our prejudices—and these do not always have to do with race or sexual orientation. 

            Fear of the unknown is an ugly beast.  Until we get to know someone, they are simply a number lumped in with a group of people outside the norm for us.  How can we, as human beings and teachers of future generations, create and foster an environment of compassion and empathy?  How can we help students understand that no matter how different their peers are that they are still human?  I know I am asking a lot of questions, but they are not rhetorical.  I do not have solid answers for these questions.  I find myself scared of things I do not understand all the time, so how can I help my students look beyond their worldview to really see another person if I am scared to do the same?

            Over the years, I have gotten advice from my Aunt who has been a teacher for almost 20 years.  She has always told me that, in order to get past fear and prejudice, we need to see others as people who are worthy of love and respect on a fundamental level—just because they are people.  Her strategy for doing this involves asking her students to work with people they do not know in class.  She says that once you see a person instead of a member of a different group, empathy develops.  So far, she has had a fairly high success rate.  No one should ever be made to feel like they do not belong.  As teachers, our job is to make sure that they are able to participate and learn, no matter what.

Strong Ch. 6

            After reading chapter 6 by Strong, I realized that this type of writing assignment has been the most successful for me as a student and as a teacher.  I remember teachers giving me writing assignments that follow this “CRAFT” (or even “RAFT”) format and they were the ones loved to write.  They allow students to play and be creative.  Furthermore, they allow students to put a piece of themselves into their writing by owning it and taking control.  What is better than letting students own their writing so they enjoy it?  Nothing!

            A couple semesters ago, I was asked to create a writing assignment based upon the graphic novel “The Arrival” by Shaun Tan. 

First of all, I highly recommend this book to all of you.  The art is incredible and the blending of the different story lines is outstanding.  (I am not exactly an emotional reader, but one of the stories made me tear up.)  Without words, the author is able to pull his readers into his story and make them understand what it means to be an immigrant in a foreign country.  Anyway, I created this writing assignment and decided to test it out.  I lent the book to three middle school students who I tutor.  After they finished the story, I asked them to create short pieces of writing based on my assignment.  The results were great.  None of the kids were very enthusiastic about writing, but my assignment made them want to do more.  I was so excited!  I realized that, with a little extra effort, I could help students love to write.  For anyone who is interested, here is a shortened version of the assignment:

           

Consider the written language in The Arrival (see photo). Interpret images from the book and become one of the characters.  You may compose letters, form journal entries, or record a video diary describing how this unknown language has challenged you in this new world.  These letters may either be addressed to another character from the book or your own family members/ friends.

 

Requirements:

You must have 3 entries of at least 100 words each.  Be as creative as possible in order to develop characterization and tell the story of your imaginary persona.  After planning and writing original drafts, you will work in pairs for team revisions.  Once the entries are completed, you will be asked to choose one and share it with the class.  *If you choose to create a video diary, be sure to include 3 scripts of at least 100 words each (one script per video entry).

D&Z Chs. 3-4

            Chapters 3 and 4 from Daniels and Zemelman highlight quite a few ideas which I have embraced as a student and future teacher.  In a nutshell, they give reasons why teachers should use reading selections outside of the prescribed textbooks of their content area to foster enriching interaction with the content as well as helping students to become lifelong learners.  I am a strong supporter of this idea.  I have taken part in classes which relied solely upon textbooks to teach content.  I have also been fortunate to have experienced classes which used textbooks as nothing more than reference materials and allowed most of the learning material to come from outside sources.  There is so much left out of text books.  We lug around these thousand-or-so page books that say so much and almost nothing at the same time.  I think that splitting away from this idea of learning everything entirely from textbooks would benefit every individual greatly.

            I took World History my junior year of high school.  My teacher gave us an assignment which required that we read one source outside of our textbook and write a report or critical paper on it.  I chose to read Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.  (I highly recommend this, by the way, if you are at all interested in WWII, post-modern literature, or simply want a great read.)  After reading this book, I noticed that the reasoning behind war troubled and intrigued me.  Ever since that assignment, I have put in many hours of additional reading in order to answer some of the pressing questions I have about war.  Why do we have them? What greater purpose do they serve? Is there ever really a "good guy" and a "bad guy,” or are there always extenuating circumstances?  This anecdote just serves to prove that lifelong learning and a search for answers can come from sources outside of textbooks.  Perhaps if we took the chance in our own classrooms, we would be able to replicate this experience.

 

Understanding by Design

            The reading about Understanding by Design was incredibly informative and helpful.  I think the idea of shaping learning by starting from the end is revolutionary.  The system requires teachers to be organized and know where they want their students to go and have developed a way to get there.  By doing this, teachers have the opportunity to listen for teachable moments and work them into the overall goal.  The author states that this method is also called planned coaching.  It is a system which allows teachers to follow their objectives and use their teaching tools (textbooks and projects) and methods to achieve these objectives.  Circular priorities (a fundamental concept of this framework) allow teachers and students to interact with the material in a meaningful way which goes far beyond meeting state-mandated objectives for learning.  It allows students to achieve enduring understanding instead of memorizing facts for assessment purposes.

            I had a teacher for literary criticism who worked his class in this way.  Instead of beginning by having us read about New Critical theory, he had us watch some video clips which helped the class understand where he planned for us to end up when the semester was finished.  He used the first two class meetings to get us acquainted with the much more complicated ideas behind post-modernism and worked his way backward.  Now, I know that UbD does not require teachers to start a unit from the end and work their way to the beginning of a chronological progression.  It is a planning framework which requires teachers to know where they will end up so students can grasp and try to answer the essential questions presented to them.  This teacher’s method of instruction simply reminded me of UbD.  He knew where he wanted us to end up and slowly introduced the material to us so we would not be caught off-guard by the involved material.

 

D&Z Chs. 1&2

            As I was reading the chapters in Daniels and Zemelman’s book (which, go figure, I enjoyed it), one particular excerpt stood out to me.  “Yes, there are a lot of obstacles to young people falling in love with math, science, history, language, and the arts.  But that doesn’t mean that our idealism is sentimental and misplaced, or that we should give up the dream that binds us to this profession” (p. 10). I have, on various occasions, been accused of being a sentimental dreamer.  Generally speaking, this type of comment does not negatively affect me—I don’t stop hoping.  There have been instances, though, which make me question myself and my dreams of becoming a teacher. 

            A woman who used to be very close to my family once asked me what I wanted to do with my life.  I replied with, “I want to teach English.”  This response caused her to wrinkle her nose and give me one of those knowing glances—the one that says, “Oh, bless your poor, little heart.”  This woman was one of the last people on earth I ever expected this reaction from because she was, in fact, an English teacher.  I was hoping to hear that I had my work cut out for me but the rewards far out-weighed the struggles (or something along those lines).  Instead, she suggested that I would have better luck working my way through the managerial track at a fast-food restaurant.  Her words caused me to question myself, and I had to readjust my worldview.  That being said, do I believe that my teaching career will change the lives of every student I encounter?  I can only hope.  Will movies be made about my life and the impact I have on my students?  Doubtful; I am a dreamer, not a lunatic.  I suppose the reason I appreciated the authors’ words so much is because they grant me permission to be a bit of a dreamer—I think we all need that in our lives. 

            Now that I am finished with my “sentimental” diatribe, I will briefly discuss the text.  I enjoyed the reading, and the writing style was smooth and simple to understand.  The introduction to the content discussed the things teachers need to do and understand when it comes to helping students learn how to read.  The second chapter dealt with the many strategies employed by good readers.  My favorite segment from chapter 2 discussed how reading is an active, constructive process of comprehending information.  The reader either clicks through a passage, or clunks through.  Our job, as future educators, is to help our students advance from clunking to clicking by teaching them the tools and strategies of good readers.