Citation
Smith, Cheryl Hogue. (2010). "Diving in deeper": bringing basic writers' thinking to the surface. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 8 (53), 668-76.
Summary
The author begins by lamenting that fact that so many professors as the college level claim that there students cannot 'think critically', and yet there is very little definition or form to what it means to 'think critically.' Research has shown that it is not enough to just master rhetorical, logical, and interpretive skills, but rather that the teacher must now develop within the student the motivation and willingness to use these skills. The question Smith addresses within this article asks why high level thinking of basic writers unravels before they even begin the writing process?
Smith explores the reasons students struggle so much with writing and concludes that because so much of writing is based off of what students read, one of the real issues with basic writers is a lack of literacy. Once students have repeated frustrations and failures when it comes to understanding a text, they are more prone to what Vacca and Padak (1990) refer to as a 'learned helplessness,' or the idea that students give up before they even try. Therefore teaching writing is as much about teaching good reading and literacy because no student is able to write better than what they are able to comprehend through reading. Smith proposes that in order to help students through the thinking and learning process is to encourage them to take control of their thinking through instruction about metacognition.
The best way to teach about metacognition is to take writers through a vigorous revision process. This way, students will be forced to see their original line of thinking through the eyes of others, address it critically, ask questions of their thinking, and, finally, make necessary changes. She stresses the importance of the peer revision process so that student may begin thinking about their own work critically. Smith actually has her students turn in drafts with each revision marked and the reasoning behind each change, forcing students to think about their thinking and why it was necessary to make certain changes.
The ultimate goal of this process is to get writers to be critical of their own work in an effort to become better writers. Part of the process involves teacher-initiated peer review sessions, a guided review process, a way for students to evaluate one another's work (in class or electronically), and specific instruction on how students can ask critical questions of their own work. Through this process, Smith hopes that students understand their own value as writers and thinkers. She has already reported results from those students who have taken her class.
Value of Knowledge
Though I have used the peer editing process in class before, I have never been satisfied with the results. Far too often students see the process as an easy day in class and don't really put too much effort into the editing of other students' papers. Plus, there are some students who are not confident in their own writing skills that they think they have nothing valuable to contribute to another's paper. I think I will try applying some of Smith's practical tips for peer editing by being more involved with the process (guided editing, more specific questions) and also demand more from the person who had their paper edited (commenting on why certain changes were made). This is also a process that I can use in my unit planning project, so I will likely put some of these ideas to the test when it comes time to use the peer-editing stage of the essay writing.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Power Point
Click here to view my PowerPoint presentation. Because there is an essay requirement for my unit plan, the PowerPoint presentation centers around some practical tips for writing effective introductions and conclusions. (Please let me know if the hyperlink does not work. Using google docs is still relatively new to me).
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Double-Entry Journal
Citation
Jordan, Augustus E., Peschiera, Fransisco, & Rettinger, David A. (2004). Evaluating the motivation of other students to cheat: a vignette experiment. Research in Higher Education, 45 (8), 873-890.
Double-Entry Journal (I'm sorry, I was unable to figure out how to attach a Word document to the blog. This was formatted correctly when I originally did it in Word)
Idea from Text
1. Cheating has become more and more rampant on university-level campuses and is a major concern. The purpose of the study was to examine the connection between perceived academic ability and likelihood to cheat.
2. Studies have shown that students who learn for the sake of learning are less likely to cheat than those who learn for the sake of the grade or academic standing.
3. The study confirmed findings from other studies that men are more likely to cheat than women.
4. Results confirmed that the intrinsically motivated student was less-likely to cheat in the university setting.
5. The study confirmed that students who have low confidence in their abilities are also more likely to cheat.
Reaction/Connection
1. Cheating is a major concern in the classrooms I teach, and I hope to find out some more about what motivates this dishonesty.
2. I would like to place more emphasis on the intrinsic value of learning next year in an effort to inform students on the true value of an education.
3. I think these findings correlate to cultural standards for manhood and womanhood. Though these definitions are eve-changing, the male breadwinner paradigm is still dominant in our culture. Therefore, the more pragmatic, grade-oriented, extrinsically motivated male emerges.
4+5. The question emerges: what can teachers do to promote intrinsically motivated study? Perhaps de-emphasizing the importance of grades is a start. Also, teachers should be careful to give more attention to those students who are low achieving. A proactive approach on the part of the teacher might decrease the likelihood of that student to cheat.
Use in Class
Seeing as how this method forced me to slow down and consider some of the implications of the article on cheating, I think this would be a great method to use when having students do some critical reading. One of the units I spend some time in at the beginning of the school year concerns worldview. We do lots of reading about formulating a worldview and examine some of the dominant worldviews that exist in America today. Using the double-entry journal would be a great way to not only organize information about worldviews, but it would also allow for critical thinking and evaluation as students react to and connect information from the reading to discussions from class.
Jordan, Augustus E., Peschiera, Fransisco, & Rettinger, David A. (2004). Evaluating the motivation of other students to cheat: a vignette experiment. Research in Higher Education, 45 (8), 873-890.
Double-Entry Journal (I'm sorry, I was unable to figure out how to attach a Word document to the blog. This was formatted correctly when I originally did it in Word)
Idea from Text
1. Cheating has become more and more rampant on university-level campuses and is a major concern. The purpose of the study was to examine the connection between perceived academic ability and likelihood to cheat.
2. Studies have shown that students who learn for the sake of learning are less likely to cheat than those who learn for the sake of the grade or academic standing.
3. The study confirmed findings from other studies that men are more likely to cheat than women.
4. Results confirmed that the intrinsically motivated student was less-likely to cheat in the university setting.
5. The study confirmed that students who have low confidence in their abilities are also more likely to cheat.
Reaction/Connection
1. Cheating is a major concern in the classrooms I teach, and I hope to find out some more about what motivates this dishonesty.
2. I would like to place more emphasis on the intrinsic value of learning next year in an effort to inform students on the true value of an education.
3. I think these findings correlate to cultural standards for manhood and womanhood. Though these definitions are eve-changing, the male breadwinner paradigm is still dominant in our culture. Therefore, the more pragmatic, grade-oriented, extrinsically motivated male emerges.
4+5. The question emerges: what can teachers do to promote intrinsically motivated study? Perhaps de-emphasizing the importance of grades is a start. Also, teachers should be careful to give more attention to those students who are low achieving. A proactive approach on the part of the teacher might decrease the likelihood of that student to cheat.
Use in Class
Seeing as how this method forced me to slow down and consider some of the implications of the article on cheating, I think this would be a great method to use when having students do some critical reading. One of the units I spend some time in at the beginning of the school year concerns worldview. We do lots of reading about formulating a worldview and examine some of the dominant worldviews that exist in America today. Using the double-entry journal would be a great way to not only organize information about worldviews, but it would also allow for critical thinking and evaluation as students react to and connect information from the reading to discussions from class.
YouTube Clip
Value of Using Multimedia
This clip from the movie Troy is one I plan on using during my unit planning project. Not only is this an extremely exciting scene (though not very closely related to the events of the Iliad), it would also lead to great discussion about narrowing the topic for the unit project. As students consider what they would like to write about, numerous questions arise from this scene that are connected to the themes and interesting details of ancient literature: What sorts of weapons did ancient soldiers use for battle? What was the ancient heroic code? Did Troy really exist? Different forms of multimedia (other video clips, podcasts/lectures, and reading excerpts) would be used during the class period to help students generate ideas for their essay.
One of the best ways to draw in and keep student attention is to use forms of media that the students are most familiar with. From a teacher's perspective, we are never in front of class to entertain the students, but when multimedia can lead to meaningful learning, even the most traditional and conservative of all teachers can recognize the value of connecting with students on this level. I have been amazed by the enthusiasm with which students discuss discrepancies between film and literature. Part of the reason I think students are quick to jump into discussion about film and television is because it is a medium with which they are very familiar. Considering that they most likely spend far more time watching t.v. than reading good literature, it should come as no surprise that they are far more willing to pass judgement on something they are comfortable with. I love letting students get into good discussions in class, and if that means using multimedia to do it, then there is tremendous value in its use.
This clip from the movie Troy is one I plan on using during my unit planning project. Not only is this an extremely exciting scene (though not very closely related to the events of the Iliad), it would also lead to great discussion about narrowing the topic for the unit project. As students consider what they would like to write about, numerous questions arise from this scene that are connected to the themes and interesting details of ancient literature: What sorts of weapons did ancient soldiers use for battle? What was the ancient heroic code? Did Troy really exist? Different forms of multimedia (other video clips, podcasts/lectures, and reading excerpts) would be used during the class period to help students generate ideas for their essay.
One of the best ways to draw in and keep student attention is to use forms of media that the students are most familiar with. From a teacher's perspective, we are never in front of class to entertain the students, but when multimedia can lead to meaningful learning, even the most traditional and conservative of all teachers can recognize the value of connecting with students on this level. I have been amazed by the enthusiasm with which students discuss discrepancies between film and literature. Part of the reason I think students are quick to jump into discussion about film and television is because it is a medium with which they are very familiar. Considering that they most likely spend far more time watching t.v. than reading good literature, it should come as no surprise that they are far more willing to pass judgement on something they are comfortable with. I love letting students get into good discussions in class, and if that means using multimedia to do it, then there is tremendous value in its use.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Anticipation Reading Guide
Anticipation Reading Guide: The Research Process
Directions: Next to each statement, indicate whether or not you agree or disagree with the claim. In the space under the statement, briefly defend your position.
_________ 1. The research process generally takes less than one week in time.
_________ 2. Book sources are more valid and reliable than internet resources.
_________ 3. Internet research is more time-consuming than library research.
_________ 4. Internet sources which do not cite an author name are invalid and untrustworthy.
_________ 5. It is considered dishonest to use ideas from others and not cite them within your paper.
_________ 6. It is important to have a topic in mind when starting the research process.
_________ 7. You should have more book sources than internet sources in your research essay.
_________ 8. You should write about and summarize information from each resource studied or read.
_________ 9. Wikipedia is a valid source for internet research.
_________ 10. Lectures, videos, and podcasts are valid sources for information.
What I Learned:
I learned that the anticipation reading guide can be a wonderful way to activate prior knowledge and can even encourage student participation and interest through the fun format, engendering of discussion, and introductory purpose. They present a nice way to transition into new material, and allow for immediate feedback on what students already know about the topic. I anticipate using this strategy within the unit lesson plan.
Directions: Next to each statement, indicate whether or not you agree or disagree with the claim. In the space under the statement, briefly defend your position.
_________ 1. The research process generally takes less than one week in time.
_________ 2. Book sources are more valid and reliable than internet resources.
_________ 3. Internet research is more time-consuming than library research.
_________ 4. Internet sources which do not cite an author name are invalid and untrustworthy.
_________ 5. It is considered dishonest to use ideas from others and not cite them within your paper.
_________ 6. It is important to have a topic in mind when starting the research process.
_________ 7. You should have more book sources than internet sources in your research essay.
_________ 8. You should write about and summarize information from each resource studied or read.
_________ 9. Wikipedia is a valid source for internet research.
_________ 10. Lectures, videos, and podcasts are valid sources for information.
What I Learned:
I learned that the anticipation reading guide can be a wonderful way to activate prior knowledge and can even encourage student participation and interest through the fun format, engendering of discussion, and introductory purpose. They present a nice way to transition into new material, and allow for immediate feedback on what students already know about the topic. I anticipate using this strategy within the unit lesson plan.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Citation
Clark, Kathleen F., Graves, Michael F. (2002). Scaffolding students' comprehension of text. The Reading Teacher, 58 (6), 570-580.
Summary
The article that I read extolled the excellence of using scaffolding as an instructional technique. The article was quick to point to research which supported the effectiveness of scaffolding leading to comprehension, but lamented the fact that research supports findings which state that very few teachers use the scaffolding process. The definition of scaffolding has been molded over the years, but at its core, scaffolding is when teachers assist students in completing tasks that would normally be outside the student's ability and equips students to better be able to complete similar tasks in the future. Scaffolding finds its foundation in Vygotsky's social constructionist view of learning, a theory that states that all childhood development relates to a more experienced person coming alongside and assisting the child to complete the task.
Clark and Graves examine three different types of scaffolding within the article: moment-to-moment verbal scaffolding, providing instructional frameworks that foster content learning, and providing instructional procedures for teaching reading comprehension strategies.
Moment-to-moment verbal scaffolding involves prompting students with probing, thoughtful questions, and guiding student discussion towards the content objective. This is an excellent way to check student understanding and steer students towards filling in the gaps where knowledge may be lacking.
When teachers provide instructional frameworks which foster content learning, they typically design the lesson to promote experiences that students can profit from in terms of learning key objectives. Teachers may prompt students to question the author, relate certain events from the text to their own lives, activate prior knowledge, read passages aloud, write responsively, or act out certain scenes from the texts. There are many different types of instructional framework, each with its own merit considering the text being studied.
Reading comprehension strategies include teachers directly explaining the reading strategy (predicting), modeling prediction strategies for students, collaborative work on predicting as a class, guided practice, and finally independent student use of the prediction strategy. This can be accomplished with any reading comprehension strategy that the teacher wishes to instruct his students on. The progression from teacher involvement to independent work is gradual, but research has proven it to be effective.
Clark and Graves conclude by emphasizing the importance of scaffolding and reiterating that the instructional strategy is adaptable and flexible, but can be extremely effective within any classroom.
Application
The number of instructional strategies explained in this short article was fairly overwhelming. In examining how I teach now, I would say the scaffolding method I use most commonly would be the moment-to-moment type. I love to promote discussion and always try to guide the discussion back to my learning objectives for the day; sometimes this method fails when my students refuse to discuss a topic, while at other times it is very successful. One thing I want to do more of is employ the use of more pre-reading and during reading instructional strategies. I like the KWL model and want to use that when it comes to some of my bigger units of instruction. This would be a great way to know which areas of instruction to focus time, and it would also force students to recall information that they have already learned. All in all, I think employing pre-reading strategies would allow me to most effectively know which supports to give my students in future lessons.
Clark, Kathleen F., Graves, Michael F. (2002). Scaffolding students' comprehension of text. The Reading Teacher, 58 (6), 570-580.
Summary
The article that I read extolled the excellence of using scaffolding as an instructional technique. The article was quick to point to research which supported the effectiveness of scaffolding leading to comprehension, but lamented the fact that research supports findings which state that very few teachers use the scaffolding process. The definition of scaffolding has been molded over the years, but at its core, scaffolding is when teachers assist students in completing tasks that would normally be outside the student's ability and equips students to better be able to complete similar tasks in the future. Scaffolding finds its foundation in Vygotsky's social constructionist view of learning, a theory that states that all childhood development relates to a more experienced person coming alongside and assisting the child to complete the task.
Clark and Graves examine three different types of scaffolding within the article: moment-to-moment verbal scaffolding, providing instructional frameworks that foster content learning, and providing instructional procedures for teaching reading comprehension strategies.
Moment-to-moment verbal scaffolding involves prompting students with probing, thoughtful questions, and guiding student discussion towards the content objective. This is an excellent way to check student understanding and steer students towards filling in the gaps where knowledge may be lacking.
When teachers provide instructional frameworks which foster content learning, they typically design the lesson to promote experiences that students can profit from in terms of learning key objectives. Teachers may prompt students to question the author, relate certain events from the text to their own lives, activate prior knowledge, read passages aloud, write responsively, or act out certain scenes from the texts. There are many different types of instructional framework, each with its own merit considering the text being studied.
Reading comprehension strategies include teachers directly explaining the reading strategy (predicting), modeling prediction strategies for students, collaborative work on predicting as a class, guided practice, and finally independent student use of the prediction strategy. This can be accomplished with any reading comprehension strategy that the teacher wishes to instruct his students on. The progression from teacher involvement to independent work is gradual, but research has proven it to be effective.
Clark and Graves conclude by emphasizing the importance of scaffolding and reiterating that the instructional strategy is adaptable and flexible, but can be extremely effective within any classroom.
Application
The number of instructional strategies explained in this short article was fairly overwhelming. In examining how I teach now, I would say the scaffolding method I use most commonly would be the moment-to-moment type. I love to promote discussion and always try to guide the discussion back to my learning objectives for the day; sometimes this method fails when my students refuse to discuss a topic, while at other times it is very successful. One thing I want to do more of is employ the use of more pre-reading and during reading instructional strategies. I like the KWL model and want to use that when it comes to some of my bigger units of instruction. This would be a great way to know which areas of instruction to focus time, and it would also force students to recall information that they have already learned. All in all, I think employing pre-reading strategies would allow me to most effectively know which supports to give my students in future lessons.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Time to Act
Citation
Carnegie Corporation of New York's Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. (2010). Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Success. New York, New York: Carnegie Corporation
Summary:
I read the Challenges section of the report and learned that trying to improve the stagnant average reading scores of American adolescents is not a lost cause. In fact, those schools which participated in the Reading First program saw improvement in their reading scores, particularly amongst the minority populations. Though, the big question this section seeks to answer is why so many students who show promise in their reading skills in the early grades level off in progress in the middle grades? Some of the reasons for the lack of increase in literacy skills include: texts becoming longer, increasing word complexity, increasing sentence structure complexity, increasing structural complexity, more graphic organizers using dense terminology, complexity in concepts and connection, and increasing variety of types of texts across academic disciplines (Time to Act, 2010, 10-13). Taken as a whole, this is quite a daunting list.
In addition to increasing difficulty in texts, adolescence also face tremendously tumultuous times due to rapid changes in physical maturity, social consciousness, and identity confusion. The modern classroom may have some students who can barely speak English let alone read at their grade level, and it may also contain a handful of students that read well beyond their grade level. The issue and challenge becomes about meeting the learning needs of all students within any given classroom, a challenge that must be addressed immediately if out students are to have any hope for the future.
Practical Value
The list of challenges comes as no surprise to me. Having taught for three years, I see readers who struggle in all of the areas listed above, and oftentimes if a reader struggles in one area, they struggle in multiple. What is most valuable to me in this article is the articulation and recognition of these issues. It is a daunting task to consider the different reading levels of the students in any given classroom, but once I am able to get a feel for the greatest areas of weakness, I am able to best address some of the specific issues that students struggle with. For example, one of the greatest challenges of reading epic poetry is understanding the meaning of sentences that are long and complex. I would argue that epic sentences are amongst the most complex of any form of literature. Knowing that this is one of the challenges facing my students, I can take time to intentionally plan and equip students to understand this complicated form of writing on their own. It is exciting to see students progress in their literacy as the school year advances. Knowing that the problem/challenge exists is a big part of the battle towards addressing how to overcome it.
Carnegie Corporation of New York's Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. (2010). Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Success. New York, New York: Carnegie Corporation
Summary:
I read the Challenges section of the report and learned that trying to improve the stagnant average reading scores of American adolescents is not a lost cause. In fact, those schools which participated in the Reading First program saw improvement in their reading scores, particularly amongst the minority populations. Though, the big question this section seeks to answer is why so many students who show promise in their reading skills in the early grades level off in progress in the middle grades? Some of the reasons for the lack of increase in literacy skills include: texts becoming longer, increasing word complexity, increasing sentence structure complexity, increasing structural complexity, more graphic organizers using dense terminology, complexity in concepts and connection, and increasing variety of types of texts across academic disciplines (Time to Act, 2010, 10-13). Taken as a whole, this is quite a daunting list.
In addition to increasing difficulty in texts, adolescence also face tremendously tumultuous times due to rapid changes in physical maturity, social consciousness, and identity confusion. The modern classroom may have some students who can barely speak English let alone read at their grade level, and it may also contain a handful of students that read well beyond their grade level. The issue and challenge becomes about meeting the learning needs of all students within any given classroom, a challenge that must be addressed immediately if out students are to have any hope for the future.
Practical Value
The list of challenges comes as no surprise to me. Having taught for three years, I see readers who struggle in all of the areas listed above, and oftentimes if a reader struggles in one area, they struggle in multiple. What is most valuable to me in this article is the articulation and recognition of these issues. It is a daunting task to consider the different reading levels of the students in any given classroom, but once I am able to get a feel for the greatest areas of weakness, I am able to best address some of the specific issues that students struggle with. For example, one of the greatest challenges of reading epic poetry is understanding the meaning of sentences that are long and complex. I would argue that epic sentences are amongst the most complex of any form of literature. Knowing that this is one of the challenges facing my students, I can take time to intentionally plan and equip students to understand this complicated form of writing on their own. It is exciting to see students progress in their literacy as the school year advances. Knowing that the problem/challenge exists is a big part of the battle towards addressing how to overcome it.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Assessment Plan
Here are my assessment plans for my unit project:
1. In order to narrow down an essay topic, I will have students work together in groups to come up with ideas for topics to write on. As students discuss and narrow down topic ideas, I will observe student interaction, answer any questions they may have, and provide some potential guiding topic ideas. By the end of the class period, students will turn in a topic proposal for peer and teacher evaluation. Questions to consider for evaluation based on the topic: is it specific enough? Is there enough support through research/material to write a 1000-word essay?Do the primary texts studied throughout the course of the school year support the topic?
2. The research process will be a guided, step-by-step process, and students will turn in notecards which contain bibliographic information along with the content they will use for their essay from each individual source. Students will need to use research from a minimum of two print resources and two valid electronic resources (these resources will require teacher approval). The notecards will be required at different stages of the research as a way for me to check their progress.
3. As part of a formative assessment, students will turn in rough drafts for peer and teacher review. They will receive feedback before they turn in their final copy.
4. The final copy of their essay will have two graded components: First, the final copy will be graded using a rubric which student will have access to from the beginning of the essay writing process. Second, students will compile a small portfolio of all their work during the essay writing process to be handed in along with their final copy. This way, it will be easy to identify the changes made in the essay writing process from beginning to end and to evaluate the student based upon improvement/effort throughout the process.
Integration of Technology:
Students will use technology for multiple stages of this plan:
1. Students can use technology to help them choose a topic for the essay. Students will be given advance notice of the assignment before they are assigned to groups to discuss their ideas. It would be advisable for them to do some preliminary research to ensure that there is information about the topic they are most interested in.
2. Students will use technology to conduct research. This includes using library databases to find print resources along with searching the Internet for online resources and using some journal databases like Ebsco or JSTOR.
3. Students will use word processing programs to type their essays. The essay will be broken into stages, and students will be required to type anything that is turned in for evaluation.
1. In order to narrow down an essay topic, I will have students work together in groups to come up with ideas for topics to write on. As students discuss and narrow down topic ideas, I will observe student interaction, answer any questions they may have, and provide some potential guiding topic ideas. By the end of the class period, students will turn in a topic proposal for peer and teacher evaluation. Questions to consider for evaluation based on the topic: is it specific enough? Is there enough support through research/material to write a 1000-word essay?Do the primary texts studied throughout the course of the school year support the topic?
2. The research process will be a guided, step-by-step process, and students will turn in notecards which contain bibliographic information along with the content they will use for their essay from each individual source. Students will need to use research from a minimum of two print resources and two valid electronic resources (these resources will require teacher approval). The notecards will be required at different stages of the research as a way for me to check their progress.
3. As part of a formative assessment, students will turn in rough drafts for peer and teacher review. They will receive feedback before they turn in their final copy.
4. The final copy of their essay will have two graded components: First, the final copy will be graded using a rubric which student will have access to from the beginning of the essay writing process. Second, students will compile a small portfolio of all their work during the essay writing process to be handed in along with their final copy. This way, it will be easy to identify the changes made in the essay writing process from beginning to end and to evaluate the student based upon improvement/effort throughout the process.
Integration of Technology:
Students will use technology for multiple stages of this plan:
1. Students can use technology to help them choose a topic for the essay. Students will be given advance notice of the assignment before they are assigned to groups to discuss their ideas. It would be advisable for them to do some preliminary research to ensure that there is information about the topic they are most interested in.
2. Students will use technology to conduct research. This includes using library databases to find print resources along with searching the Internet for online resources and using some journal databases like Ebsco or JSTOR.
3. Students will use word processing programs to type their essays. The essay will be broken into stages, and students will be required to type anything that is turned in for evaluation.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Unit Lesson Plan
Title: Ancient Literature Research Paper
Grade Level: 10-12
Subject Area: English/Language Arts
Standards:
National Standards from the National Council of Teachers of English:
NL-ENG.K-12.6 APPLYING KNOWLEDGE
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
NL-ENG.K-12.8 DEVELOPING RESEARCH SKILLS
Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
NL-ENG.K-12.12 APPLYING LANGUAGE SKILLS
Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
TN State Standards for English/Language Arts:
CLE 3001.1.1 Demonstrate control of Standard English through grammar usage and
mechanics (punctuation, capitalization, and spelling).
CLE 3001.3.2 Employ various prewriting strategies.
CLE 3001.3.3 Organize ideas into an essay with a thesis statement in the introduction, wellconstructed paragraphs, a conclusion, and transition sentences that connect paragraphs into a coherent whole.
3001.3.14 Generate notes while collecting information, following a logical note-taking
system.
3001.3.15 Create a detailed outline based on research, note-taking, or other methods of
generating content.
CLE 3001.4.1 Define and narrow a problem or research topic.
CLE 3001.4.2 Gather relevant information from a variety of print and electronic sources, as
well as from direct observation, interviews, and surveys.
CLE 3001.4.3 Make distinctions about the credibility, reliability, consistency, strengths, and
limitations of resources, including information gathered from websites.
CLE 3001.4.4 Write an extended research paper, using primary and secondary sources and
technology and graphics, as appropriate.
CLE 3001.8.4 Analyze works of literature for what is suggested about the historical period in
which they were written.
CLE 3001.8.5 Know and use appropriate literary terms to derive meaning from various
literary genres.
Title: Ancient Literature Research Paper
Grade Level: 10-12
Subject Area: English/Language Arts
Standards:
National Standards from the National Council of Teachers of English:
NL-ENG.K-12.6 APPLYING KNOWLEDGE
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
NL-ENG.K-12.8 DEVELOPING RESEARCH SKILLS
Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
NL-ENG.K-12.12 APPLYING LANGUAGE SKILLS
Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
TN State Standards for English/Language Arts:
CLE 3001.1.1 Demonstrate control of Standard English through grammar usage and
mechanics (punctuation, capitalization, and spelling).
CLE 3001.3.2 Employ various prewriting strategies.
CLE 3001.3.3 Organize ideas into an essay with a thesis statement in the introduction, wellconstructed paragraphs, a conclusion, and transition sentences that connect paragraphs into a coherent whole.
3001.3.14 Generate notes while collecting information, following a logical note-taking
system.
3001.3.15 Create a detailed outline based on research, note-taking, or other methods of
generating content.
CLE 3001.4.1 Define and narrow a problem or research topic.
CLE 3001.4.2 Gather relevant information from a variety of print and electronic sources, as
well as from direct observation, interviews, and surveys.
CLE 3001.4.3 Make distinctions about the credibility, reliability, consistency, strengths, and
limitations of resources, including information gathered from websites.
CLE 3001.4.4 Write an extended research paper, using primary and secondary sources and
technology and graphics, as appropriate.
CLE 3001.8.4 Analyze works of literature for what is suggested about the historical period in
which they were written.
CLE 3001.8.5 Know and use appropriate literary terms to derive meaning from various
literary genres.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Content Area Literacy KWL + Use With Students
Content Area Literacy:
Know:
Content area literacy is all about the competence with reading, writing, gleaning information, and discussing knowledge within a certain academic discipline. As an English teacher, being literate in my content area might mean that a student runs across a vocabulary word he doesn't and has the knowledge and resources at his disposal to look the word up in a dictionary. Or, better yet, has the literacy skills to discern the meaning of the word from contextual clues in the reading.
Want To Know:
Specific strategies to increase literacy in my content area.
Specific ways to evaluate whether or not these strategies are effective.
How knowledge about content area literacy can help me push my students to more abstract levels of thinking.
How to use KWL With Students:
I think KWL would be a great precursor to any new unit of study. I know a few teachers who use pretests extensively in order to know about a student's prior level of knowledge in a subject. This allows the teacher to know how to organize their unit so that they do not cover material the student already knows. The KWL approach would not only give teachers information about prior student knowledge, but it would also let teachers know what students are most interested in learning. Overall, using KWL might be beneficial for both teacher planning and student-driven interest in the subject matter at hand.
Know:
Content area literacy is all about the competence with reading, writing, gleaning information, and discussing knowledge within a certain academic discipline. As an English teacher, being literate in my content area might mean that a student runs across a vocabulary word he doesn't and has the knowledge and resources at his disposal to look the word up in a dictionary. Or, better yet, has the literacy skills to discern the meaning of the word from contextual clues in the reading.
Want To Know:
Specific strategies to increase literacy in my content area.
Specific ways to evaluate whether or not these strategies are effective.
How knowledge about content area literacy can help me push my students to more abstract levels of thinking.
How to use KWL With Students:
I think KWL would be a great precursor to any new unit of study. I know a few teachers who use pretests extensively in order to know about a student's prior level of knowledge in a subject. This allows the teacher to know how to organize their unit so that they do not cover material the student already knows. The KWL approach would not only give teachers information about prior student knowledge, but it would also let teachers know what students are most interested in learning. Overall, using KWL might be beneficial for both teacher planning and student-driven interest in the subject matter at hand.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Goals for Class
My goals for class include:
1. Developing some learning/literacy strategies for making epic poetry more accessible to my 9th grade students. (I teach ancient literature, and the majority of texts we study are written in a style that is very, very difficult to access. The fact that they are extremely long does not help, either, but considering that these works are foundational to future literature and philosophy, they are necessary to tackle).
2. Increasing my understanding of how to properly and effectively motivate student learning. Some specific strategies here would help considering my subject matter is typically one that my students groan about. (Did anyone have a good high school English experience? When I tell people that I teach English I typically get one of two responses: looks of abject horror or contemptible pity)
3. Learning some new ways to challenge student to think critically. I think this goes hand-in-hand with proper student motivation. Oftentimes students do not want to think critically because it is hard.
4. Learning from other teacher experiences on the discussion boards and getting to know some of my classmates.
5. Developing a better understanding of today's' student and some of the issues they face both inside and outside of the classroom.
1. Developing some learning/literacy strategies for making epic poetry more accessible to my 9th grade students. (I teach ancient literature, and the majority of texts we study are written in a style that is very, very difficult to access. The fact that they are extremely long does not help, either, but considering that these works are foundational to future literature and philosophy, they are necessary to tackle).
2. Increasing my understanding of how to properly and effectively motivate student learning. Some specific strategies here would help considering my subject matter is typically one that my students groan about. (Did anyone have a good high school English experience? When I tell people that I teach English I typically get one of two responses: looks of abject horror or contemptible pity)
3. Learning some new ways to challenge student to think critically. I think this goes hand-in-hand with proper student motivation. Oftentimes students do not want to think critically because it is hard.
4. Learning from other teacher experiences on the discussion boards and getting to know some of my classmates.
5. Developing a better understanding of today's' student and some of the issues they face both inside and outside of the classroom.
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