Final Synthesis Blog

Coming into this course I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. By the looks of the book, Subjects Matter, I just thought we were going to talk about how every subject matters and has a purpose. While we did talk about that, more importantly the book discussed how to incorporate reading in every subject and why that matters. One of my favorite things we learned about were all the reading strategies. They are all so different and so intriguing. They are portrayed in such a way that kind of makes students want to participate. For example, frontloading with images can almost be looked at as a game to students. They are trying to guess what these different pictures are and then they try and tie them all together to see what the topic is that is going to be discussed. Sketching my way through the text is one that could easily get our creative students interested and wanting to read so they can sketch something out about the reading. Turn and talk gives students a chance to talk to their neighbor about what they just read. Letting students talk to one another is a good way for them to get some of their energy out. They don’t feel like they have to sit and be quiet the entire time. Tweeting the text allows students to get on Twitter, a popular social media site, and tweet about what they read. Students will enjoy this just because they get to get on social media and tweet. How cool?! There are so many other reading strategies that are just as exciting as the ones listed here.

            In Christopher Emdin’s Ted Talk, “Teach Teachers how to Create Magic”, he discusses that we need to bring the excitement back into the classrooms. We need to do the things that will keep our students engaged the entire time, and I think that some of these reading strategies will help us do that. Not only can they be fun, but they are also teaching our students how to become better readers. At the beginning of the video, he states that there are aspiring teachers listening to their professors go on and on about engagement in the most disengaging way possible. He also states that there are first year teachers who are telling themselves over and over not to smile until November because that is what they were taught in their program. How is that engaging? How can you build relationships with your students if you are waiting to shoot them a smile until November? We have to show emotion for ourselves, for our subject, and for our students. We need to do that to keep them engaged with the learning. One story that our professor told us about his own experience sticks out very clearly to me. To open a new topic in his classroom he had a student pick an argument with him which resulted in the student shoving him (I think I am remembering correctly). The whole argument was staged but the rest of his class had no idea. Can you imagine how engaged that class was watching just what went down? I thought that was spectacular and such a neat idea. An idea that brings “magic” to the classroom. 545 words

Where Do You Stand?

I really enjoyed this strategy lesson. Personally, I always loved a good debate in school. It was a chance for me to take a side and really present to someone how I felt and what I knew about the topic. I think this lesson is good way for students to develop their own opinions, and even stray away from what they believe and try taking a stand on the opposite end. It allows students to get up and move which can keep them more involved in the activity. It also allows them to be sociable. I would definitely use this in my classroom because it allows for the students who tend to keep quiet to have a voice. Everyone has to participate and share their position. What I also like about this lesson, is that it involves other reading strategies as well, such as annotating the text and activating prior knowledge that they’ve already learned on the topic. One thing that was brought up in class today that I really liked was teaching the students beforehand how to debate appropriately or respectfully. I think that is really important so students don’t get out of hand while participating in the lesson.

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Help For Struggling Readers

In one of my classes I am currently taking, we have a lot of different print outs that we have to read. However, these readings are not easy to understand. For that matter, our professor has us mark all over it as we read, make comments, ask questions, underline important details, etc. then, when we come to class, he goes over it with us again so he can answer any questions we have or give us feedback on our thoughts as we read it. He also, if he feels like the reading is way too hard, condenses the readings and shortens it into his own words so we can understand it better. I can express how much this has helped me in that class, and it’s exactly what I thought about while I was reading this chapter. He gives us materials that we can successfully read so we do not feel defeated afterward, or so we don’t feel like we just read that for nothing because we didn’t understand anything. It also helps using reading strategies such as text-marking, and then coming to class and having discussions about the reading. I feel like this chapter is very helpful to us in helping students who struggle with reading.

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Inquiry Units

I really like the idea of incorporating inquiry units in the classroom. I feel like the students would enjoy doing them. In Vanessa’s classroom inquiry unit project, she let her students choose the country they wanted to do research on. Her students thoroughly enjoyed it because they had a say. They were able to choose something they had interest in and they got creative with it. I think it is a good way to incorporate two subjects together in a creative way and it’s useful in all subjects. It also teaches them how to research and use different sources. They can gather information about their project through articles on the internet, newspapers, books, etc. The sources are unlimited.

There are also many different types; Mini-inquiries, curricular inquiries, book club inquiries, and open inquiries. All of these go through the same steps of research; immerse, investigate, coalesce, and go public. During these steps students build background knowledge on the topic, develop research questions and search for information, narrow their topic and dig deeper, and most importantly, they share what they have found and learned to an audience. I especially like this because students get to present all their hard work to the peers around them. I think for this reason that they will want their presentation to be the best.

All in all I would love to do an inquiry unit in my classroom. It gives students a chance to have class discussions, it can boost their confidence when going in front of a classroom to speak, and it gives them a chance to show their creativity.

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Midnight Rising Podcast Discussion

Every Kid Needs a Champion

This TED Talk, in my opinion, directly corresponds to chapter 7 "Building a Community of Learners". Rita Pierson specifically talks about the four bullet points on the first page of this chapter when she states that students need to tell themselves that they deserve this education and they can succeed. This is my all time favorite TED for many reasons. The way she approaches situations with her students is absolutely incredible. The 20 question quiz she gave her class and one of her students missed 18 of those questions. She gave him a +2 and a :) on his paper because she said, "-18 sucks all the life out of you, but a +2 says I ain't all bad." She told this student that once they review and take another one he will do better and he said, "yes ma'am I can do better!" She inspires her students and is a positive influence on them because she realized that not all students receive that support. Mrs. Pierson talks about relationships and how important it is to have significant relationships with our students. Just like in the chapter it says, "Accomplished teachers understand how students develop and learn. They...are aware of the influence of context and culture on behavior." To know these things teachers have to develop relationships with their students, and the approach that Rita Pierson takes is inspiring.

"Teaching and learning should bring joy. How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think and who had a champion. Every child deserves a champion. An adult who will never give up on them and who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possible be. Is this job tough? You betcha. But it is not impossible. We can do this. We're educators. We're born to make a difference." -Rita Pierson

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