An exciting shipment in the English office!!

Blogging About Blogging

Using blogs in any classroom is something that needs to be planned out carefully. Students must have clear expectations for both content and quality. It's not enough to simply tell them to respond to something or to reflect on a topic. Lisa Zawilinski describes something she calls "HOT blogging." What she means is that blogs promote higher order thinking.

Blogs play an important role in the definition of today's new literacies. Students are reading online -- a lot! Text they read on a blog can include lots and lots of different materials -- images, outside sources, videos, etc. -- which means they are developing new reading strategies. (Which, in turn, means teachers really need to be adapting to these new strategies and methods.) In her article "HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking" from The Reading Teacher, Zawilinksi writes, "these essential new literacies of online reading comprehension emphasize higher order thinking skills like analysis, synthesis and evaluation ... and can be practiced through blogging." Students are compiling so much information from one place, they don't even realize how much their higher order thinking skills are enhancing.

One of the most redeeming qualities of students using blogs that I can see, is their increased awareness of audience and self-image. They are no longer writing in a journal that only the teacher will read. They are contributing to something greater and opening the door for others to respond to their thoughts. Even if a student's blog is only open for the class to read, they are no longer confined to the 45 minute time frame for class discussion. Zawilinski also takes note of this when she writes that blogs are, "broadening the audience for student writing and thinking, providing a space for collaborating outside of the typical classroom discussion..." Students must think about what they write and how they are presenting themselves -- they are adding their own voice to the greater text of the Internet.

During Reading Strategies

This week I've been working on a lesson plan focusing on one during reading strategy associated with a young adult novel. I chose The Book Thief to work with and the strategy of using post-its and logographic cues. Since my assignment was not only to teach a reading strategy, but to also focus on the text as a multicultural title, I have found it to be very challenging -- especially keeping it all within a single lesson.

As I read through Kylene Beers' chapter on during reading strategies, I immediately felt a connection with both the post-it strategy and the logographic cues. I feel that they are very compatible, so I decided to mesh them together into one strategy. This seemed especially logical since The Book Thief is rather a long text. Students will have a number of themes or topics to look for as they read and will use the post-its to take note of what they find. As I started to take notes on this strategy, I remembered that I am supposed to be thinking of the book in terms of multiculturalism. This revealed a challenge.

I found myself wondering how to tie these two ideas together -- especially in one, single lesson. As this strategy is used throughout the book and gets discussed over a number of classes, the multicultural aspects of the novel will organically reveal themselves. However, in teaching my students how to use this strategy as they read, I need to be sure that they are looking for the right things. Therefore, the logical tie-in would be to create a list of themes that they should be creating post-its for.

Since the novel is set in Nazi Germany I decided that two of my themes for students to look for would be "World War II" and "A Different Life:" students will be looking for details about the war (which, in the novel is generally presented from the Jewish point-of-view) and examples of how the lives of the characters differ from themselves. This should get them thinking of the novel as an example of how different life can be -- in a different country and at a different time.

Not only is meshing a during reading strategy with multicultural themes challenging, but being sure I do so all within one lesson. The time constraint of presenting all the right information seems unrealistic. I feel that were I to teach this lesson to a real class I would spend one, full class period focusing on the ins and outs of the strategy itself and another day on discussing the various themes they will be focusing on. However, for this particular assignment I will have to do both in one lesson. It can be done, but it is not the way that I would do it with a real class.

I feel that choosing a novel that depicts a different culture or lifestyle set in present time, rather than historical fiction, would have been easier for this assignment -- more obviously an example of multiculturalism. However, I love history and am particularly interested in World War II. I feel that The Book Thief is a fantastic way to show students what young people went through during the war in Germany -- it feels alive. I would love an opportunity to use this novel in my own classroom some day.

When Worlds Collide

This week has proved to be one of convergence; there have been collisions of interests all over. My life isn't as hodgepodge as it once seemed. And it's only Tuesday!

First, last night in class I was able to present with Abby (a friend/colleague/classmate) on the importance of nutrition education in public schools. Our 30 minute presentation turned into an hour long class discussion -- and I thought that was awesome. Even if our extra half hour is detrimental to our grade, it was worth it. It was a valuable conversation to have. My blog, How Not to Measure, will show you that I love food and cooking -- and to combine that not only in class, but in terms of education, made me feel... knowledgeable! And the presentation was fun! (Check out a quick post about the collision of cooking & education.)

Not only did my love for cooking and teaching combine forces, but today I was made an adviser to Platt High School's yearbook. My love for photography has now combined forces with my internship: I have been taking some candids around school, will be taking photos at the Platt Penguin Plunge this Saturday, and helping out with the class notable photos (you know, "class clown" and "most addicted to Twitter" -- that's a new one). I even got permission to create page layouts and was asked to be in the club photo for the yearbook.

As a teacher, if I can find a way to continuously include my passions and interests outside the classroom I will be incredibly happy. I feel it will make me a better teacher and allow me to create better relationships with my students. When everything intertwines it makes me feel more comfortable in my own skin, and that definitely comes across when I'm standing in front of a classroom.

Teaching Inference

After reading some of Kylene Beers' suggestions on how to get students to make inferences while reading I realized that I had never really thought of the concept before! It's something that I, and so many other independent readers, do without even thinking about it. For students who are still dependent readers and need to be taught specific reading skills, inference is very challenging. Like comprehension, inference is something that needs to be taught explicitly. Before having students make independent inferences while reading a text, there are a few different activities that can be done in the classroom to teach inference:

• It's not only important for students to make their own personal and creative inferences, but also accurate inferences that the author intended all readers to make. In chapter 5, Beers made the point that there is generally a certain knowledge base that readers need in order draw the same inferences -- cultural and historical knowledge of the text is crucial. In my future classroom, I plan on always spending at least one class period discussing the history of the text before we begin it. This can include the time period it is set in, when it was written, the setting, the background of the author, or the culture. The proper historical knowledge base will ensure that students will infer what was intended.
• Inference requires a certain amount of critical thinking on the reader's part. Employing a Socratic Method style of discussion would really help to get students to explain their own inferences. By questioning, and often opposing, their theories and conclusions, the teacher (and other students) can draw out more explanations and reasoning of their inferences. Continuous "why" questions will help students expand their thinking.
• I also really like the idea of giving students a creative outlet in which to portray their inferences. An assignment that has them creating a new book cover for the text they have read could really help them to visualize what they have read. They should create their cover with someone who has never read the text in mind -- the student will focus on what other people can infer from their cover. 
• Since I have a background in film, I always try to create an opportunity to include it in the English classroom. A great way to teach inference is by showing students a clip from the middle of a movie they have never seen. They will have to determine the relationships of the characters, what they are doing, why they are where they are, what they are talking about, etc. Using a film is a great introduction of inference skills before the text is presented. This clip from The Philadelphia Story will not only force the students to infer, but it also shows a young girl making inferences based on what she saw outside her window. 
• Showing the trailer to a movie can also get students using their inference skills. They will have to deduce what kind of people the characters are, what they will be dealing with, what the title of the film means, and at the most basic level -- the genre of the movie. This trailer for Bringing Up Baby will provide a wide variety of inferences since the plot of the film is already so zany.
• And finally, I got the idea of showing a funny example of poor inferences from a colleague, Anna (who has some other great ideas to promote inference). She used the classic "Who's on First?" skit with Abbott & Costello. I thought that this Marx Brothers clip, from a similar vein, would also be a fun example for students: Where's the Flash?

Teaching Strategies for Comprehension

Chapter four of Kylene Beers’ book, When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do, discusses the emphasis of teaching reading strategies over straight comprehension – and WHY it’s important. As a teacher-in-training, tips and guidance like Beers gives is as good as gold.

I have always been aware that as English teachers, we must teach and not just tell. Beers makes the distinction between instruction vs. instructions. There is a massive chasm between giving students instructions, which are only directions as to what to do, and providing them with instruction – teaching them how to do something. This differentiation will help me to really think about everything I am saying to my students. Reading the transcripts from the student teacher as well as the follow-up conversations really exemplified the difference between helping students with comprehension of a single text and helping students learn strategies that will help them understand texts they’ll read in the future.

In this chapter, Beers emphasized the importance of both modeling and discussion in the classroom. It is clear that for students to learn and be able to use new reading strategies, they must be clearly explained and modeled, then practiced. For me, this means that my classroom will be a combination of the guided practice method of instruction and student-centered. I will explain what strategy students are to focus on and HOW IT WILL HELP THEM WITH COMPREHENSION before I model it for them while reading aloud. I plan on using small group discussions and literature circles in my classroom so students will have the opportunity to model for one another, discuss their strategies and share unique perspectives on what they read. Beers makes it clear that students must be guided through the process of learning how to use comprehension strategies – sometimes more overtly than teachers may realize.

What Beers’ chapter helped me understand the most is the importance and power of reflection as a teacher. Through the inclusion of the transcripts with Kate, the student teacher, she modeled for me how much reflecting on lessons and instructional methods can help to improve teaching. Sometimes, because the program at UNH is so intensive and immersive, I feel as though I am expected to come out knowing exactly what to do for every class. Reading stories about teachers doing things poorly in their first few years of teaching is encouraging to me. It’s reassuring to know that nobody is perfect and mistakes will be made. The most important part of being a beginning teacher and making mistakes in the classroom is that I reflect! Mistakes can be a good thing, as long as they are used to improve lessons and methods for the future. I also believe in (nearly) full disclosure with my students. If I realize I have done something wrong or wish I taught something another way, I plan on sharing that realization with them – especially if I feel that they can immediately benefit. (Also, as a learning teacher, I like to listen to advice from students. Sometimes what they say is bogus, but it can often be intuitive.) For example, the first “discussion” that Kate had with her class about Eleven was more explanation on her part than students learning any strategies. Should I find myself in that position and had the benefit of debriefing with a mentor teacher, I would revisit the story with the same class. Discussing it again, with a different or more directed focus, would benefit both myself and the students.

Chapter 4 helped me to be more comfortable in my own "beginning teacher skin" – now I know it really is okay to make plenty of mistakes, because teaching is continuously learning -- right alongside the students.