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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Book Pitch

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

283 pages

Lexile: 1080L

This book corresponds to the 5th grade standard SS5H6 which states that the student will explain the reasons for America's involvement in World War II.

In this book you will find the experiences that Anne and her Jewish family faced during the time that the Nazis occupied Holland. They fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. Anne's diary describes the events that took place and the fear that they faced on a daily basis.

If you're interested in the horrors of war and what life was like during this time, this book is the one for you!

Content-Area Book Clubs

I really like the idea of content-area book clubs. This activity not only gives students a chance to read about something they are interested in, but it also gives them responsibility. During these book clubs students are to read a certain number of pages, chapters, etc. and then come to class with notes on the sections they read. These notes could include passages that stood out while they were reading, questions that arose, or just something that the student might think is important. What I really enjoyed reading about in this chapter are the jobs that are assigned to students in their groups. These jobs include; The connector who is to find connections between the material their group is reading and the outside world. The questioner who is to write down a few questions that they had about the selection they chose. The passage master who is to locate key sentences or paragraphs that the group should look back on. The vocabulary enricher who is to be on the lookout for important words. The illustrator who is to draw some kind of picture related to the reading. And the researcher who is to dig up some background information on any topic related to the reading they chose. I liked these jobs because it holds students accountable and they all have to play a part in making things run smoothly in their group. It also ensures that students have to read the selection they chose so they are able to play an ample role in their group. Content-area book clubs give students a chance to engage in a material of his or her choice all the while gaining important thoughts and understanding from the reading.

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Do your part!

Independent Reading Workshop in Content Areas

I can remember very vividly those students who had no patience while waiting for a teacher to help them. They would either be out of their seats, waving their hand in the air, or calling out the teacher’s name over and over again. I really liked how a part of this chapter gave ideas of what students can be doing while waiting on the teacher’s assistance. This keeps them from distracting other students from their work.                                              

Billy Madison was always a distraction in the classroom!

I always hear my mom talk about reading workshop and I’ve gotten to see some of her notes that she has on some of her students. Some of them are not as advanced as others in their reading. In this chapter it talks about how we should conduct a one-on-one conference during reading time. I think this is very important for us, as teachers, and for our students. This way we can see how well they are doing with the workshop and asses their progress and needs. I remember when I was in elementary school and we were reading the teacher would meet with some of the same students multiple times. I always wondered why I never met with my teacher as much as they did, but now I know why. I was more advanced in reading than they were. I also talk with my mom about she helps her students who struggle with reading during this time. It is stressful to her at times because sometimes there is not enough time in the day to help the students how we would like to. However, I like the idea of debriefing at the end of each reading time or giving the mini lesson at the end. This way we can give students a chance to ask questions if they have any and hopefully get them to have a better understanding of what they just did.

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