WEEK 8: Effective Writing

Certain compounds of effective writing include proper use of grammar, whether they be exclamantion points, periods, etc. Another way is through expository essays that need a certain style of writing. Teachers need to be flexible so that students have their own writing time to write about their personal experiences. Some ways I can do that is by planning to end my lesson for the day early so that students have time left in their period to do their personal writing. Making connections through different subject areas can include their specific interests such as science if they are into insects or nature. We can do a lesson about culture and they can geographically show and talk about where they're from which incorporates social studies. They can journal on a specific topic in this area too. This works closely with their personal experiences as well. Students works help teachers to know what they are interested in. To work with students and to be open about what we as teachers can learn about them, from them, opens up a different line of communication. Effective writing includes room for students to be creative under proper guidelines. I really liked the aspect of publishing students works because this gives them confidence since their work is placed in such high status. I would love to do something like that to promote them to publish their own books. Since I'm specializing in Secondary English, this requires students to expand and be more descriptive in their writing. If not a book, even a story of their personal life can be included in a book together. There is this move called Freedom Writers where the teacher built relationships with students from a low-class neighborhood. She embedded into them that each one of them had a story to share while they were in highschool. She had them write their own stories and at the end, she published their work. This transformed their lives because they realized they are to be taken seriously and they have a voice to share. To have an impact like that to these students is something we as future educators need to strive for. We need to instill confidence in them so that they can leave with the knowledge that they are valued.

QRI 5

The young girl was in the third grade and you can tell she is pretty smart. The assessment started off with QRI 5 for the 1st grade to establish confidence and moved onto the 2nd grade after. In her first assessment, she skipped over some words but she had the prior knowledge to answer for the narrative. The second one, she was a little discouraged because she didn't know how to pronounce certain words. With some help, she can gain self-confidence and apply herself better.

WEEK 6: COCA

COCA was meant to help with the process of reading comprehension. Reading comprehension is very important in schools these days because the majority of the students are losing interest or need help in this area. There are books such as Salmon and Dragon files that are used for assessment.COCA is a great asset for teachers to work one on one with the students. Using our inidivual knowledge about our students we can use different books to gear their interests. One of the aspects that distincts COCA from other programs is the fact that students are to fill the blanks in the story. This helps it to be open and for the students to use their own understanding of the material to make their conclusion. This also helps for the teacher to know whether or not the student understands the material. This is something I would like to use in the future because it is a creative way to gather students interest and gets the material across.

What are some other ways we can use creativity in reading comprehensions?

WEEK 5: Christopher Myers: A Writer's Story

I really enjoyed this video. I liked the fact that Christopher Myers, a children's author came to speak to the students at P.S 304 because he's someone they look up to. He made it a point to say everyone has a story to tell. He was able to bring them confidence by using his personal experiences from his childhood, such as his neighborhood, individualism, etc. He used aspects such as his big feet, height, hair, being the youngest in class, all to differentiate himself from his classmates and that is something he appreciated as he grew up. It shocked me to see the young boy's response to Christopher Myers' question about Anthony. He said Anthony could fix his problem by having plastic surgery and that was really sad because we can tell how fast these kids are growing up nowadays.

Question: What are some ways that you can encourage students to be proud of who they are?

Question

If the outcome assessment reports that students are not learning, do you think districts really make it a point to change their instruction? If yes, in what ways?

WEEK 4: Podcast & Interview

Assignment # 1

I chose to listen to the "Teaching Vocabulary in Middle and High School" podcast. This is the one that related with my field of study. This is a big issue mainly in English nowadays. The methods of which we grew up with such as writing definitions, full complete sentences using the vocabulary word, word lists, memorizations, quizzes, etc don't seem effective in schools nowadays. The English language is larger than most languages and it is known world-wide, which means no matter where we go, it is applicable. It is a positive thing that the SATs now have a whole different verbal part. The nation is keeping it a point to make sure vcabulary and reading is used in a student's career. Aspects like this encourage students to brush up on their vocabulary because it is a necessary tool in education.

Assignment # 2

I haven't started my field observation work for this class yet but I would assume terms such as screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring, outcome, will all be used to assess the academic and behaviorial needs of students. Teachers will be able to use the RTI model for the desicion making process. The RTI model the intensity if greater needs are to assessed for the student.

The screening assessment help because it is an efficent way to measure the student's overall ability for performance. If the student does not meet the baseline, it can be a starting point for further evaluation. Diagnostic assessment helps to provide information for planning effective instruction. Clear expectations need to be given to plan effective teaching. Progress monitoring assessment are also fast and sweet but they determine whether or not the students are making valid progress. It also works to modify the intervention if needed and to see if any gaps between the benchmark need to be changed. Outcome assessments are used for school, district and state reporting.They are important because teachers and leaders get feedback for their teachings.