Blog # 3

What does it mean to repond to a text?
The reading response theory was formed by Louise Roseblatt's transactional theory of reading. She suggests that readers can approach reading with two different motivations, efferent and aesthetic. In other words we read for information or for pleasure. As teachers we should build our instructions with creativity to encourage critical thinking and motivate our students to read. This doesn't just mean using worksheets or standard question and answer formats. There are many ways to scaffold instruction.

First, we must take into consideration what information (knowledge) the reader has. For example, if a student has never seen snow and we are discussing snow, how can we help them make the connection? Books, WEBS, journals, and art can be used to help students make a connection to the text. I love the idea of allowing students to use art to make connections; it's a universal form of expression. Having the students be creative and expressive will help to enrich their connection to the book or information they have read.

My favorite book and why:
The book I enjoyed the most was the one about the teacher, I believe the title was Arizona. This book was a touching story of a very dedicated teacher who always dreamed of going to far away places, however because of her dedication to her students she never actually visited these places herself, BUT...because of that same dedication she introduced and encouraged her many students to visit far away places. I wish she had eventually had the opportunity to do both.

My least favorite and why?
The book that caused my eye brows to wrinkle slightly was The Amazing Bone! A talking bone??? A bone! Why a bone!? Maybe if I had been a cannible or lived in a cave I could have related to this book better. I found myself waiting for the purpose of the author's choice of the BONE! Hmmmm....

Blog #2

Unfortunately I missed class on Thursday and feel as though I missed out on a lesson that would have been of great use for not only our memoir project, but also for helping students generate ideas for a writing lesson. Thankfully, Kayleen filled me in on the activities the class did to generate ideas for their memoirs.
I tried the activity where you listed a few adjectives that described yourself and then wrote a sentence using the word and then doing the same with the next sentence but this time relating it to the first sentence. I believe this technique is great way to help keep the ideas flowing. It has helped give me some direction on my song.

The second activity is one that I have used before in a class. Giving your students a direct topic, such as The Grossest Ice Cream I Ever Ate, helps give the students a direction. Young writers will benefit from this idea. They will not have to spend so much time figuring out what to write about or where to begin. I decided to write about the best school I had ever attended. I attended 11 different schools and beleive this played an important role in who I am today, so it was a good start!

Change!

Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavement?

Blog # 1.....Reflections

This was most definitely a week of quick learning! Beginning with reviewing the six languages arts and learning how I can incorporate them into my teaching. I learned that two of the languages are oral, two are written and two are visual (listening, talking, reading, writing, viewing and visually representing). Knowing in order to be an effective teacher, which I intend to be, I must intergrate and use ALL SIX DAILY has caused a sudden urgency to stay focused. I re-read the three chapters and tried to remember lessons I taught as a substitute teacher. Did those lessons utilize all 6 languages? Listening seems easy enough...students will listen to stories aesthetically (for enjoyment) or efferently (for information). they will listen to the given strategies and I will monitor for comprehension. Okay now talking...again the student will talk for both enjoyment and information reasons. They will read their oral reports and have book discussions. This can also be done through Reader's Threater. Reading...this is a strategic process and the goal is comprehension! There are 5 didferent types of reading: independent, shared, guided, buddy, and read alouds. Writing is also a stategic process. I like the idea of using a book journal daily along with a book discussion. Through a book journal the students can practice their informal writing in different forms, such as poetry or reports. Viewing....is an important part of literacy. Students have to use comprehension skills for viewing. We could take a virtual reality fieldtrip having to do with a certain book topic, watch a film version of the book we are reading. Visually Representing....the student give meaning to the book oor story they have finished. They create a some sort of visual text. Students can act out the book, make a book retelling the sory, diaroma, make a chart or even create a power point presentation.
There are many different strategies to help intregrate these six language arts, such as brainstorming, summariazing, organizing, inferencing, connecting, monitoring, questioning, proofreading segmenting and active background knowlege.

I think I can do this ;)

Woo Hoo! 1st blog!

Woo Hoo! This is my first blog and if I could do this so can you!

See you in class!