prince superbowl XLI 41 halftime (part 3)
Monday, February 05, 2007
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Readers/Writers Project
Yeah, so I'm excited about how these Readers/Writers projects are going to turn out. I said that I would probably do a music video but now that I think about it, I have no idea how I can cleanly synchronize the voiceover and the background music. I may have to switch to a different genre. It's either that or speak over the background music simultaneously but my microphone won't pick up the background noise. If I do pull off a music video to show on Friday afternoon, I will probably be half asleep when I get to class because I most likely will have gone to bed early that morning.
I think this project is an excellent alternative to making yet another boring unit of study. Having options is always nice, and being able to apply practical knowledge in unique ways is another plus!
I think this project is an excellent alternative to making yet another boring unit of study. Having options is always nice, and being able to apply practical knowledge in unique ways is another plus!
When Kids...
I agree with the guys' points on this book. I thought that this book was easy to read and find the information that you need. I especially liked the part about during-reading strategies. As a 1st year teacher, I thought this seemed pretty common sense, but putting it into practice takes work and good ideas. Class discussion (Q and A) can get old, and a variety of interactive ways to "talk" about the text is suggested in this professional book. Very helpful!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
When Kids Can't Read
Ricco hit a great point; he mentioned that it is essential to have his students build reading strategies outside of Language Art class to help prepare them for high school. I believe this book had some good ideas about helping students read that can be implemented in any classroom, first through twelfth grade. With that being said I believe the grade school teachers need to focus more on pushing reading at an earlier age. I just think it will be much easier to build strong reading habits at that age then it would to try to establish them in high school. I think at this age content would be lost working the majority of the time on reading skills. This is why grade school teachers are so important and so under appreciated.
Monday, June 26, 2006
When Kids Can't Read
Maybe this book should have been titled, "When Kids DON'T WANT TO Read." Same difference. Because kids can't read, they don't want to read. The various reading strategies in this book have potential to be very helpful in reinforcing content while building reading skills. I actually used some of these strategies in my literacy class last year: tea party, graphic organizers (venn diagram, frayer model), etc. These strategies not only engage students more than simply reading aloud and discussing text, but it hooks students into the learning. I went from trying to stop students from talking most of the class to guiding their conversations through context of literacy content. I think I'm going to use the above strategies again this year in addition to the anticipation guides. Those seem easy enough to incorporate into my science texts. I really hadn't implemented any reading strategies in science thus far because I did not want to "waste" class time reading when kids could be doing hands-on activities. Now I realize that it's probably essential for me to build reading strategies outside of Language Arts class before my students go to high school.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Classroom Library
I have a collection of science and geography books as well as a collection of about 100 National Geographic magazines on a bookcase in the back of my classroom. I started collecting these books about 5 years ago and have established a sizable collection that I enjoy sharing with my students. I encourage them to check books out to help with other class projects that they may be working on. When a students wants to check out a book they bring it to me and I put their name and the title of the book on an index card in my desk. I have found that most of my students enjoy using geography or science based themes for projects in both their English and theology classes. Ever once in a while students will bring books from home and donate them to th library. Last year one of my students from India brought back some books on the physical geography and culture of India.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Classroom Library
After Rainey came to speak to us yesterday, I began to seriously consider running a classroom library for my team. I spoke to Janet Pearson after class to get some more input about how to run it efficiently. If anyone is interested in starting a classroom library system this year, here are a few tips:
1.) Rather than a sign-out sheet for the books, run an index card system. Place an index card with the title of the book written on it inside the respective books. Also, have an index card holder with each student's name written at the top of the card and organized in ABC order. When students check out a book, they simply extract the card from the book, write their name and date on it, and place it behind their name in the index card holder. When students return books, they remove their card from behind their name in the index card holder and put the card back into the book.
2.) Have students always have an opportunity to browse through your selections: during seatwork, before school, after school, during lunch?
3.) Don't include any selections that you would not be willing to lose. If students lose a book, they cannot check out another book until they reimburse you.
4.) Buy relatively cheap books or collect cheap books elsewhere.
5.) Steve made a good point in including general concept books like "Snakes" to attract interest. I might look around to find some cheap graphic novels and picture books as well.
6.) Although we want to make the books easily accessible to students, you want to make sure that they are clearly visible to you so that you can be aware in case a student checks out a book without your knowledge. I'll probably have each student show me which book they are checking out and then I would watch them put their card into the index card box each time there is a checkout. Sarah Yost also suggested maybe having a class "librarian" to be in charge of checking out. This could be one of your OCD students who are like me and have to have everything in the right order.
1.) Rather than a sign-out sheet for the books, run an index card system. Place an index card with the title of the book written on it inside the respective books. Also, have an index card holder with each student's name written at the top of the card and organized in ABC order. When students check out a book, they simply extract the card from the book, write their name and date on it, and place it behind their name in the index card holder. When students return books, they remove their card from behind their name in the index card holder and put the card back into the book.
2.) Have students always have an opportunity to browse through your selections: during seatwork, before school, after school, during lunch?
3.) Don't include any selections that you would not be willing to lose. If students lose a book, they cannot check out another book until they reimburse you.
4.) Buy relatively cheap books or collect cheap books elsewhere.
5.) Steve made a good point in including general concept books like "Snakes" to attract interest. I might look around to find some cheap graphic novels and picture books as well.
6.) Although we want to make the books easily accessible to students, you want to make sure that they are clearly visible to you so that you can be aware in case a student checks out a book without your knowledge. I'll probably have each student show me which book they are checking out and then I would watch them put their card into the index card box each time there is a checkout. Sarah Yost also suggested maybe having a class "librarian" to be in charge of checking out. This could be one of your OCD students who are like me and have to have everything in the right order.
Maus
I was impressed at Art Spiegelman's choice to write "Maus" as a graphic novel. It was a unique way to depict the story of the Holocaust and an excellent way to hook middle school kids into reading. Pictures are always a great way to teach and reinforce learning.
Although it was a quick read, the comic font slowed me down. Also, the father's heavy accent was very transparent in his lines. Many times I had to go back and read his lines again because he often said his English words in the incorrect grammatical order. Because of the story-telling style of the book, I had to put forth a lot of effort trying to recall the order of events. The interspersed flashbacks in between real time made it a real challenge to remember what was happening when. Because all of the mice looked the same to me, I had a difficult time grasping the character development for each character aside from the father and Anja.
I was shocked at a few of the graphic images included in the book. The graphic public execution of the father's friends at the gallows will usually stay with the reader for a long time. The depictions of Anja's suicide invoked strong emotions from me as well.
Despite the serious content, this novel pokes a little fun at Holocaust era. I enjoyed how all the mice had to do was put on a pig mask in order to hide their cultural identity. This was a great way to demonstrate how ridiculous Hitler's standards for appearance were. Artie's father's cynical relationship with Mala pretty much depicts many marriages in today's society. More than 2/3 of all marriages in the United States end (e.g., divorce, separation). As an audience member for this book, I often wondered why Artie's father didn't just divorce Mala and find someone else.
I love the anticlimactic ending. Many don't prefer stories to end this way, but it always leaves room for a sequel. It also caused me to reflect on the story and ask myself a lot of questions. How long will it take before Artie does go back to visit his father? Will Artie ever forgive his father for burning the notebooks? Will Artie's father eventually divorce Mala? I will probably eventually look into Maus II because the anticlimactic ending was so disturbing. :)
Although it was a quick read, the comic font slowed me down. Also, the father's heavy accent was very transparent in his lines. Many times I had to go back and read his lines again because he often said his English words in the incorrect grammatical order. Because of the story-telling style of the book, I had to put forth a lot of effort trying to recall the order of events. The interspersed flashbacks in between real time made it a real challenge to remember what was happening when. Because all of the mice looked the same to me, I had a difficult time grasping the character development for each character aside from the father and Anja.
I was shocked at a few of the graphic images included in the book. The graphic public execution of the father's friends at the gallows will usually stay with the reader for a long time. The depictions of Anja's suicide invoked strong emotions from me as well.
Despite the serious content, this novel pokes a little fun at Holocaust era. I enjoyed how all the mice had to do was put on a pig mask in order to hide their cultural identity. This was a great way to demonstrate how ridiculous Hitler's standards for appearance were. Artie's father's cynical relationship with Mala pretty much depicts many marriages in today's society. More than 2/3 of all marriages in the United States end (e.g., divorce, separation). As an audience member for this book, I often wondered why Artie's father didn't just divorce Mala and find someone else.
I love the anticlimactic ending. Many don't prefer stories to end this way, but it always leaves room for a sequel. It also caused me to reflect on the story and ask myself a lot of questions. How long will it take before Artie does go back to visit his father? Will Artie ever forgive his father for burning the notebooks? Will Artie's father eventually divorce Mala? I will probably eventually look into Maus II because the anticlimactic ending was so disturbing. :)
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Maus
I started and finished Maus yesterday... a quick read. After I read the last page, I looked up surprised, and found my husband. "Do all comic books end this abruptly?" I didn't like being left hanging, but so I went to the library's website to request Maus II. I definitely enjoyed the read, and especially liked the way the author was so transparent about the process of extracting the story from this father. The information about their interactions was a valuable layer to the story. If used in the classroom, it could be the part that high schoolers could relate to... frustrations, misunderstandings about parents and their past. Although few experiences are as traumatic as the Holocaust, I think it helps to know where people are coming from (their past) to have positive relationships in the present. The actual history in sequential order would be great for a history class. I don't see a connection for Science, but reading this book gave me a better understanding of the comic books I see some of my students reading. :)
