LLED 400 Reading Response 5

In the article Bringing Children and Literature Together in the Elementary Classroom, Smith discusses the areas of her classroom.  Students can split into different areas doing different activities and feel confident and serious when doing their independent work.  She first helps the children learn these methods and techniques to be able to be independent in the beginning of the year.  One part that I like is that when she is guiding them into her reading areas they come back together and discuss any problems they had and want to fix.  It is good to fix all problems in the beginning of the year so no student suffers later on.  Since her strategy is very independent some children who do not like reading will find this difficult.  Smith states, "children who have a hard time keeping their mind on what they read often benefit from sketching interesting or important ideas as they read." (p.3).  This is a great idea to give the child a break so they do not have to read constantly but are responding to the reading.  As students grow throughout the year Smith added more complex books to get more complex responses and to have the students thinking more.  She also will add in literature discussion groups which allows her to see how well students are doing.  After reading this article I really enjoyed the way she worked the kids into reading. I like how she thought about those that would have difficulty and already had a strategy to help them.  Her progression of activities and reading styles makes a lot of sense and seems to be the best way to help guide children into independent reading and thinking.  I also liked the creative names she used for certain reading times.  This is an article I will refer back to when I am creating my own classroom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd5xLpGRvVo This is a song I found on YouTube that is a transitional activity to bring the students to the carpet. I really liked the idea of "Rug Reading" in this article, so I think this song could apply to bringing the students over and to prepare them for that activity.

LLED 401 Feb 27 Reading Response Extra Credit

Release the Dragon: the role of popular culture in children’s stories by Urbach and Eckhoff discusses how pop culture can be used in the classroom as a tool.  Imagination that comes with those that connect to popular culture can show their cognitive ability when it comes to literacy.  If a teacher uses popular culture as a tool it can unlock a child's thinking and have them connect on a deeper level.  Most teachers use pop culture as a motivator rather than a way to enhance the classroom.  "Rather than banning the use of popular culture, perhaps the class could discuss the elements of popular culture that enhance their stories and the elements that make oral stories more confusing."(p.33) Using pop culture in a classroom can interest all children and can have everyone relate to that one story.  If a child is having trouble learning using something they understand will help.  Pop culture is a way to connect to many different children of many different backgrounds by not using it in the classroom the teacher is possibly stopping a child from learning.  I agree that pop culture should be used in the classroom.  With how much technology is used by children it is only best to use what interest them to further their education.

The Plan: Building on Children's Interests by Seitz explains how building on a child's interest makes for the best curriculum.  "In emergent, or negotiated, curriculum, the child's interest becomes the key focus and the various motivations for learning." (p. 36) By listening to what a child is interest are a teacher can use that to their advantage.  Fist a teacher must find that spark in a child once they have found a possible lead of what a child likes they then have to have conversation and come up witha  writing plan.  Once this is done the teacher has to make many possibilities and opportunities available.  An interest can be very broad and by allowing the curriculum go many different ways a teacher can zero in on exactly what about that topic interest them.  When the curriculum and topic is found the teacher can guide the student through the process by asking more questions and helping the student when need be.  By allowing the student to take charge and do something that they like the curriculum will feel more meaningful to them.

A students drawings and interest can lead to literacy learning.  Although a child is not writing they are telling a story through their drawings.  In Rankers, "There's Fire Magic, Electric Magic, Ice Magic" we are able to learn about what drawings and interest can uncover.  Ranker had to become open minded to his students form of text although there was no writing Ranker was able to see that there was literacy involved.  "Learning new genres and narrative form is an ongoing part of learning about the world of narrative and need to not be thought of as a new phenomenon." (p. 32)  Although a narrative might seem like an old literacy element it is constantly changing as is media genre will continue to change.  A teacher must continue to grow and learn from the changes and adapt.  The tough part for a teacher is finding how to evaluate these different genres as once and how do you put a value on them when they are different.  Although I feel this will be hard I agree that children should not be trapped to one type of literacy and by letting them express themselves the teacher will get the best results.

This video shows how an example of an emergent curriculum that builds on children's interest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNFYFSa0720

LLED 401 Jan 16 Reading Response Extra Credit

The article Being in the World explains that children's learning experiences are facilitated if we recognize the way in which knowledge can be constituted and promoted.  Most teachers treat this as a external sign and Gestalt of learning proposes a new way.  Gestalt of learning feels that this should be made available to children as a tool that can help them when need be.  This will help with participation in practice and help them reach a purposeful goal.  This learning style also wants to emphasize the background of the child.  The way the child acts are key to the performance they give.  "The learners intentional structure direct his/her participation, interest, volitions, targets and predisposition's towards any learning experience" (285).   This learning style needs to act around the child and not force them to be something they are not.  The teacher needs to enhance the child as a way of learning.

Building a Literacy Community by Britsch and Meier discusses the role of literacy and social practice in a classroom.  Recently literacy as creeped its way into pre-k classrooms.  Because of this Britsch and Meier have done a study of an urban and rural classroom.  After their research they found three key items.  They found the importance of literacy ownership from both the children and the teacher, the notion of literacy as an inclusive process, and the role of thinking processes in the children's evolving literacy involvement.  These three aspects are key to a successful classroom.  From these findings come implications in the classroom.  One recommendation they had was to make for writing and drawing materials and to have them accessible at all times.  When it comes to reading a child might respond by drawing or writing rather than speaking.  "Is readiness based on a numeral score or is it viewed as a social meaning?" (p. 214) This is something else that all of us teachers must consider.  When looking at development of young children they will not all be at the same score but rather we need to look at how are they socially prepared.  If the child has the right social skills but maybe is not the strongest reader they will eventually get there because a social environment will help them.

Vivian Gussin Paley wrote an article called HER Classics: On Listening to What Children Say.  This article discusses her experience in the classroom when leading discussion with children.  When having a guest teacher in her classroom she realized that her way of talking with children needed to change.  When talking with children about a topic it is important to link them together to form one long chain.  By holding on to one child's thought until another child speaks allows for this chain reaction to occur.  To have a chain occur the teacher needs to ask an open ended question that will allow all children to have no right or wrong answer.  The hardest part of this idea is to let go of what you think is the right answer and to encourage children to participate.  The author found herself having to record her discussion to find out what was interesting to kids and what they reacted moer to because at times they would have great discussion while others they would not.  She found in her recordings that the students on their own were making natural connections in their own play.  "We are, all of us, actors trying to find the meaning of the scenes in which we find ourselves." (p.162) By acting together and by allowing each other to bounce ideas off each other allows them to connect more.  Paley discovered this through her trial and error and ups and downs.  She may have struggled but over time she found a way to have a valuable and beneficial discussion and learning experience with children.

This link shows children acting out different poems and readings.  This allows children to reflect on what they are learning but also allows children to be who they are and feel comfortable in the classroom.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3b7-A-E_p8

400 Reading Response 4

The reading "Miscue Analysis for Classroom Teachers: Some History and Some Procedures" by Yetta M. Goodman was about studying miscues made by readers of all ages and by bilingual and ESL readers. Miscue means unexpected responses and is usually caused by what the reader knows about language and the world. Research of this study shows that all readers make miscues and there is a single underlying reading process. Miscue analysis requires that the written material must have a beginning, middle, and end. It should be new material, but language and content should be familiar. Miscue analysis shows how readers monitor the semantic cue system, or meaning. The reading "Taking Another Look at (Listen to) Shari" by Alan D. Flurkey is about a student who was in the Learning Disabilities resource "pull-out" program. Using miscue analysis enabled the researcher to see that Shari wasn't doing anything wrong, but using her own language to do what made the most sense to her. This should allow us to change our perspective and realize that "severe" readers aren't actually severely disabled and they are just uncertain about reading, goals, and what teachers find acceptable in their reading performance. The reading "I Do Teach and The Kids Do Learn!" by Wendy J. Hood was about reading with young children from kindergarten to third grade. They are able to correctly handle a book by holding it the right side, and starting from the first page. Older readers were observed using miscue analysis which shows how students emphasize different strategies to varying degrees. Reading strategy groups can also be developed through grouping by similar strengths. The groups have different focuses, such as meaning making.

LLED 401 Reading Response 4

In chpater 1 and 2 of Fletcher and Portalupi we learned the importance and the thought that goes into writing workshops.  A workshop should be a time where children can be creative.  The reason children love cooking or wood shop is because it is a workshop that they are able to create on their own and do the activity more than just talk about it. "Writing workshop is a generative time of day, with kids actively involved in creating their own texts.  This is important.  Most kids experience schools as a seriers of tasks, dittos, assignments, test-things that are administered to them.  Writing workshop turns the tables and puts the kids in charge." (pg. 2). This quote explains the whole idea behind the authors beliefs.  I agree with this statement.  Most teachers and students get stuck in the motions of assign work, grade work, give homework, and then test.  By adding in a writing workshop or any kind of workshop it allows a time to be creative where the unknown could occur.   A writing workshop has a lot of elements that need to be considered when deciding the lesson.  One aspect is time.  The teacher needs to consider how much time children are being allowed to work alone and creatively rather than just on a teacher assigned assignment.  When thinking about writing the teacher needs to think about the space as well.  They need to figure out the desk arrangement that allow children to be creative along with having supplies for children to easily acce


In chapter 1 and 2 of Routman's Writing Essentials it states that teachers focus on everything that goes into writing instead of just letting the students write and have fun with their writing. When it comes to standards and testing, we as teachers can't solely focus on that. We need to focus more on the different elements that go into writing. In the reading, there are some good points that Routman emphasis on. For example, she talks about how the teachers can do different things to help their students become better writers. The main point that stood out in chapter 2 was all about stories. Dealing with stories helps students with both listening and writing. Stories teach a lot more than what we would think they would. Something else that was mentioned that I would have never thought about was modeling writing in front of the class, because it allows the students to observe someone else writing. A key point that stood out was that children who write at home tend to write better, because they are writing in their spare time and it is for their own enjoyment. When given a writing assignment that students can relate to and that is personal to them, it is easier for them because it is not necessarily a job, it is a fun assignment. Writing can be fun, if presented the right way.

I feel as though this video does a good job at describing what a day is like in their writing workshop and it gives good insight on what they do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPRM2ZXyrS0
I also feel like this quote from a seventh grader says a lot about them. "I didn't mean to write four and a half pages, but I couldn't stop..." I think that says a lot about the teacher and the student. The teacher has done their job in wanting their students to go above and beyond and the student shows that they wanted to go above and beyond and exceed their teachers expectations.  

Brittany Gladish Updated Class Expectations

I would like to be able to know how to be able to plan an entire year worth of lesson plans.  Doing two weeks was not overwhelming but I am nervous for what will occur when I have do an entire year.  Another thing that I would like to learn more about is how to work with a struggling kid.  I want to know the tips to help them read better and what I can do as a teacher to bring them up to the same level as the rest of the class.  What are some ways also that we get every child interested during group reading.  I really enjoy hearing the stories of experiences that others have been through as teachers to get an idea of what I would do in that situation.

Course Expectations

Being halfway through the semester, I feel as though we have covered a lot (more than I expected to). I really liked how we are getting the opportunity to go into a classroom and apply the things we have learned. Everything is all coming together now.

Some things I hope to touch base on before the semester ends are running records, testing, English Language Learners, and the different types of reading programs available. I know some details about those particular things, but I would like to go more in depth to feel more prepared.

Course Expectations - Part 2

I really like how this course has progressed over the semester so far and I have been learning a lot and really understanding what we've been doing. Some things I would like to review more would be the best ways to motivate individual children who refuse to read, because one of the readings this week talked about passionless text. Also, I think that assessment and how we should group children (reading level or random) that would work best in the classroom.