Chpt 10

In Weinstein and Mignano, chapter 10, I focused on the idea of recitation versus group discussion. I found this topic to be interesting because it is something that I do not see that often in my class. The only time I really feel that I witness group discussion is during reading groups, when my CT is asking them questions about what they have just read, but that often seems to be more recitation style as it is talked about in the group. We as teachers need to be careful on how much emphasis we are putting on recitation talk versus group discussion. I Feel that some teachers may try or would like to do more group discussion, but because of the stress in the amount of material and lack of time, teachers end up falling back into recitation style rather then discussion/teaching. As mentioned in the book, we as teachers need to watch out for continuous recitation teacher, but also need to know how to conduct a whole group discussion so that is it results in successful learning for the students.
I also wanted to just briefly comment on the rubric website. I found this website to be very resourceful. It has so much to offer for a wide range of grades and subject areas. It is something that I will definitely use in my future teaching career.

Recitation vs. Discussion

The Weinstein and Mignano article in Chapter 10 concerning managing recitations and discussions really got me thinking about how these apply to the kindergarten classroom for my field placement. Weinstein and Mignano break down the hazards of recitation exercises from the teacher, as they often overpower the students but do a good job of maintaining attention levels and checking for understanding. Discussions, they add, are able to achieve a slower pace and a more equal-role between student and teacher. However, discussions can sometimes exclude certain students whom choose not to participate as actively as others. Teachers often will back out of discussions so that the students can take the lead. This lack of leadership from the teacher can sometimes cause quieter students to sort of "check out" of the conversation.
In my field placement. I often see the teacher often lead recitation exercises during the lessons. Because of the students young ages, they often appear incapable of participating in a fluent discussion. The CT also feels that recitation can serve as a form of assessment. I feel this is best for Kindergartners and I am failing to figure out how to incorporate higher-level thinking skills into a discussion-based activity. I feel recitation at such a young age can lead to the greatest productivity and achievement levels for the students and perhaps discussion-based lessons should be slowly Incorporated more in the coming years.

Instructional Intranet- Chicago Public Schools

The Chicago Public Schools website on Instructional Intranet tells its readers about the various types of rubrics and how to use them properly. One point I really like is that they include not only Science, Social Studies, Math and Language Arts in their fundamental learni9ng areas, but also fine arts and gym. Some teachers pull their students out of gym or art for various reasons of punishment, however with this website they view these two subjects as truly important for the students academic success.
The Math Rubric used in California is very interesting in that it allows the teachers to acknowledge that the students started the problem correctly and got up to a certain point doing the work right, however they missed something and incorrectly finished the problem. I think this is very important for students to see to feel as thought they do understand some of it or it was just a silly error and that they did receive some points. Often times the teacher just puts an 'X' over it and leaves it at that. This response leaves the student wondering where they went wrong, that could be the most important information for the students--what step they forgot or messed up--so they can go back and review the section they did not get correct. Maybe that will help them with other problems they did not do correctly.
I also like how they say rubrics "give you a means to clarify your vision of excellence and convey it to your students" because that is what us (as students) are always wondering for our first big projects... what does my professor/instructor expect/want out of us?! If you give your students a rubric, they will always know exactly what is expected and are not able to give you excuses as to why something is graded as it is.

Langer -- Understanding Literature

I took some valuable information from this article concerning the ways in which literature is disscussed and understood in classrooms, as well as it's importance in regards to critical thinking skills.
Relating to my kindergarten classroom, I see literacy being applied to many aspects of the daily cirriculum. Every day the students spend time reading books on their own and every day the teacher spends time reading from a chapter book to the students. During this teacher-lead read of the chapter book, the students are asked questions before, during, and after the text to check for understanding. In relation to Langer's "Possibilities for Instruction" (815), the students are asked to develop interpretations as well as reflect on personal experiences while applying the reading that they just heard.
I like the methods that my CT has used for her students when checking for literacy understanding. Even though much of it is both prediction and reflection based, I find it to be limiting about how you can go about dissecting the reading with kindergarten aged students. The students do not understand a lot of the meaning of the text without applying it to either something else they know or through the expression of their own personal ideas. The CT allows all students who raise a hand to express their opinion of the text and I feel it allows other students to get more ideas about the meaning of the literature.

Response-Centered Talk, McGee

This article focuses on the importance of response centered talks, what we as interns usually see as small reading groups in the classroom. It has been noted that there are two different types of discussion or talk that goes on between the teacher and the students, recitation and response-centered talks. As described on page 69 of the McGee article, recitation is "when teachers expect children to demonstrate their mastery of material or procedures by reciting facts and information they they have been taught". For example, how to locate a city on a map or asking for a definition. This is basically regurgitating information they are expected to know. However, the article is not implying that recitation is bad, it can be used well for geography facts, and so forth; but the use of recitation talk for literature is not recommended. As described in the article, (page 69, McGee) the purpose of response-centered talk "is the discovery or construction of new understandings about literature. Overall this article explains that through this type of talk students students can develop problem solving, reasoning, and interpreting skills.
I really liked this article because I strongly agree with what it is saying. Students would be restricted in learning one type of skill, reading a story and summarizing it to a teacher if all teachers did was recitation talk. My CT does an excellent job with response-centered talks in her reading groups each day. Before a new story is introduced, she takes a "picture walk" and has the students predict what will happen. She asks many questions throughout the story to get the kids thinking about different ways the story could unfold in the end. This way the students are doing more then just listening to the story, and summarizing. Definitely a type of teaching that I will strongly enforce in my future teachings. Like the articles explains, it is a could way for students to learn and explore a variety of skills.

Student Roles in classroom discussion

In Almasi's article, A New View of Discussion, she talks of the different roles students can play when having a class discussion and which would be more student orientated rather than teacher led. As we all know, whenever students can take control of a conversation with the class and have the teacher present, yet not disrupt they usually do. However, in my observations with my placement now and in the past I have not seen this happen to frequently. The teacher faciltates most of the discussions and the students listen and raise their hand when a question is asked. I would not know whether the students are understanding what I was saying/teaching or whether they were just staring off into space. When getting them involved in the discussion, whether it be as the inquisitor, respondent, facilitator or evaluator you will get more of them to participate because they usually do like to give their opinions and that is what most of these roles will have the students do.
This 'meaning construction process' (Almasi, p.53) also allows the teacher to assess what exactly the students are getting out of the activities/readings. It also allows them to see each of the students' strengths and weaknesses in order to put them into groups if you want to have small discussions or which students you want to prompt more often to get them more comfortable with speaking out in class.
Overall, I feel as though each class should have at least a few days a week be like this so you can get the students more involved. The more they talk and regurgitate what you are saying, the easier it is for them to remember it and recall it for future uses.

Chapter 5

The reading for this week really brought to light the importance of reading literacy and the complexity of effort it takes from student and teacher to create a good reader. As I learned, reading is not just accomplished from looking and reciting the text, but it is comprehended through pre-questions and follow-up questions. Questions can also be asked during the reading as well. These questions can check for understanding and also engage the reader into the type of thoughts that they will come across when reading the text. Another point about reading, is the role of reading literacy with ESL students. These students have a more difficult time when it comes to reading as they are at a disadvantage from other students of their age.
The reading was easy for me to relate to (as I'm sure it is for others as well). In my classroom, I am constantly engaging with the students in various reading activities. I work with a couple of ESL students as well as some kindergarteners who barely know half of their letters. The comprehension questions don't necessarily apply as much when the kids are reading books to me that have no storyline, however they do listen to a chapter book that the teacher reads and are asked comprehension questions in regards to that. Asking students questions about letter sounds has helped me work with students and their reading literacy.

Stephanie Buday, Ch. 5

I would first like to comment on "Theories of Literacy Pedagogy" from chapter 5 of Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning . From my understanding, this is referring to the "correct" strategy or method that is to be taught by teachers in order for successful literacy performance by students. I found this to be interesting because there are many different methods to be used when teaching a student how to read, and who is to say one works better then the other? I feel that there are so many different methods due to such a diverse group of learners teachers encounter in the classroom. One student may learn better through phonics, while another may learn better through a whole-word approach. It stated that not one specific method is known as working better or worse, but that the different approaches just focus on different literacies. As long as a child can take on the four related roles that were mention in chapter 5 with the chosen method of learning, I do not feel that there is necessarily a right or wrong way.
I also wanted to briefly comment on the before, during, and after reading activities. I cannot stress enough the importance of these activities during a reading lesson. I feel that it engages the student, and keeps them interesting with what they are reading. In the classroom that I am in currently, I noticed the main problem during reading groups is that the students are bored. They do not have any interest in what they are reading. I feel that if the CT incorporated fun activities that are mentioned in our book, the students may be more engaged in what they are reading, and would get more out of the lesson.