Vocabulary

Vocabulary was fun for me during elementary school, but middle and high school it became boring. We only looked up definitions, memorized them, and “A”ced the test on Friday. It was simple and easy, but I did not understand the meaning of the word. The book informs me that there are ways to express vocabulary and we do it everyday. The authors explained general vocabulary consists of primarily words we use everyday, usually with widely upon meaning. Specialized vocabulary is flexible and transportable across curricular disciplines words with more than one meaning and then there is technical vocabulary which is vocabulary words that are used for a certain subject. This broke vocabulary down into broad categories for me and I better understand it. The books also state that all unfamiliar words should not become vocabulary words. Some teachers expect students to be a genius and learn every vocabulary word for one chapter instead of the important and factual words that will actually be used. The chapter also discusses vocabulary instruction and how important it is to follow the four steps: being actively involved in vocabulary, make personal connections, be immersed in vocabulary, and consolidating meaning through multiple information sources. Most teachers skip all of these students and students only do what I did in school which is memorized site words from the definition I looked up and pass the test of Friday not even thinking about the words on Monday. Vocabulary should be made fun, interesting, and challenging to students in order for them to be engaged and actively learn. Memorization and looking up definitions is boring to students. During my tutoring session, m y student has the most trouble with comprehension, but as soon as I relate the vocabulary words to Disney characters something that she is familiar with and is apart of her life, I see an immediate interest and understanding of the term we are studying. Children will love to learn new words if they are given the opportunity to express themselves and not continue the boring routines that already take place in schools.

Why Ask: Questioning in the classroom

I tried a Prezi again. I kind of like it now.
http://prezi.com/mfu2g91mbee4/why-ask-questioning-in-the-classroom/

Getting it Down: Note taking

Getting it down: Note Taking
Note taking is not my favorite thing to do, so I am always looking for new and better ways to do so. In this chapter and begins by stating was instructors or teachers can help students take better notes by setting students up for notes by being well organized and present the information in a orderly fashion.
I also read some of the fascinating Note taking procedures that I never really thought about such as:
• date and label
• organization
• skipping lines
• leave space
• elaboration
• paraphrase
• circle
• underline
• Cover notes and study.
Note taking in English:
• Students can learn how to listen carefully and write skillfully.
• The note taking process dictoglos is a good practice. The students are aloud to listen carefully twice, collaborate with one another than, reenact what they heard.
Note taking in Math:
• Outline framework
• Give the students the vocabulary words necessary for the lesson
• Define the prefixes and suffixes
• Define the word itself
• Construct a problem
• Work out the problem
Note taking in Science and S.S. :
• Split –page method
• Self-questioning
• Using notes within class, after class, and before class.
• Research grid

Ch, 6 Picture This: Graphic Organizers

http://prezi.com/ynr73k3zd5et/picture-this/

Read Aloud and Shared Readings

The article and the book were very intriguing. I did not think about read aloud being that important to reading comprehension. However the article states that, “it enhances young children language and comprehension abilities.” Read aloud was always fun time for me. I never thought about it being a time for learning even though, I was actually learning. The most fascinating thing of a book when a child is younger is the pictures. Therefore, their comprehension skills are seldom based on the printed text of the book. As a child gets to become a teenager their comprehension levels rise or fail. A great example will be my sister; she read picture books only during her elementary years. The words of the book threw off her imagination as she would say; now all she reads is chapter books and romance novels in high school. The other key issue was using the materials, ideas, and items we have for the better of the child and not to hinder the child. Background knowledge is beneficial for a students learning, but should not be the most influential factor of their learning. The greatest part of the book and the article is just to challenge our students to be the best that they can be. We should challenge the way they read and think about their reading each day. I think that goals should be given on a daily basis to each student.
Question:
1. Where are some effective read aloud strategies books?
2. How do I find effective shared reading material?

Writing to learn or learning to write

The article and the book made it very clear that writing to learn and learning to write is a very different topic. The techniques that we use to write essays such as prewriting, writing a draft, peer review, revising, editing, final draft, and publishing, are all apart of learning to write. It is the standard process we are taught at a very young age in order to complete an essay paper, short answer paper, or a simple two page paper. As a young student, I hated to write because of this simple step. I never wanted to complete and outline, or prewritten. I did not like sharing my unfinished work with anyone especially my peers. As I got to become an older writer, I began to write for a better meaning or understanding of things. Research is a valid point that was said in both the article and the textbook. When a child is curious about a certain idea or process, they began to explore and dig for answers, which interns requires a thought process and ways teachers can prompt a student by questioning. Throughout the book and the article the researchers offer several reasons why it is important to distinguish writing to learn and learning to write. I especially liked the expression, “writing to learn is meant to be a catalyst for further learning and meaning making.” It was said in both the article and the book. I truly believe that we learn more after we have seen it, written it, and researched it. After we have seen it in print three times it is prone to stay ingrained in our brain. The strategies that were given were awesome, such as the quick write, learning logs, and structured note-taking. As teachers we are always on the look out for what works with our students and what does not work. After reading the textbook, I took interest in the three kinds of knowledge. This was the very first time I have ever heard of these. Declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge helped me to understand how to categorize children knowledge. I believe I will research these topics more myself. I enjoyed reading the different ways to incorporate writing into the different subject areas; math, science, and social studies. Most teachers that teach those subjects feel they do not have to incorporate writing because it is not apart of their curriculum.
How could we as teachers make writing to learn an interest in student’s lives not just in the classroom?
How could we incorporate free writing also into the classroom rather than structured writing all the time?

Bio Poem of George Gershvin

George
Handsome, talented, friendly, and adventurous,
Son of Rose and Morris Gershvin,
Lover of opera, family, and dreams,
Who feels successful, encouraged, and kind,
Who fears failure, instability, and bad music,
Who gives ideas, joy, and laughter,
Who would like to see more instruments, orchestras, and bands,
Resident of New York
Gershivin

Making a case and a place for effective content area literacy instruction in the elementary grades by: Barbara Moss

As I read the article by Dr. Moss, I quickly realized how our young children are cheated out of success of reading. Children learn how to read my example, listening, and teaching from home and from the classroom teacher at school. As a child I remember getting exposed to informational books around the third and fourth grade as the article stated and even then the teacher read the majority to us. We really did not have to think on our own or comprehend the text for ourselves.
The paragraph in the article that stood out the most to me was when Dr. Moss discussed the limited amount of informational text that are in basal readers, which 85% of students are required to read in early elementary grades. I do not understand why children have to read something that is not going to help them succeed throughout middle school, high school, or even college. I enjoyed the fact that she did have a study in the article stating how early exposure to informational text can help a child go further with not only school, but life. We read everyday and learn everyday, so if a child enters adulthood clueless about how to read for information, he/she is already at the end of the employment list.
In order for children to succeed in life and in this world we have to prepare them early. What that being said, I especially love the paragraph about changing terms of content area reading into content area literacy which includes reading, writing, using the internet, and comprehending what they are reading. Children will love to read if they had a freedom of choice. Most students like a challenge and will acquire an informational text, such as a magazine, journal, web quest, or internet site. When I was in elementary, I did have a choice of what and how I wanted to read during our free time and the experience helped me gain more knowledge of reading and I still enjoy reading today, just not all the time like we have to for senior block.
Dr. Moss a very important point in her article by stating that technology is vital to student’s everyday life, even young elementary children. Children are learning to use computers, cell phones, iPods, and so much more before the age of ten. As a classroom teacher, we have to be aware of what interest them in order to keep their attention and keep them motivated to learn. I would like to know how to better integrate technology into teaching reading? I also would like to know how to distinguish between teaching students how to read and read to learn?
Teaching students how to read informational text is occurring more in the classrooms as I saw as I entered the classes last semester. One of my teachers if had her first grade class keep daily journals for each subject. She taught students a few comprehension skills while I was there, but I did not get to observe them. In the near future, all students will be learning how to read informational text as they read to learn in early elementary classes due to the common core standards which is changing the curriculum and pushing the objectives up a grade level or two.