Final Reflection

It's hard to think that this is the last blog for this class! It's seems last week was the beginning of class. I can definitely say I have become so much more appreciative for language arts in elementary school. In the beginning of the semester, I had no clue how language arts is incorporated into every single subject. I would have never thought that writing in your science journal was a form of literacy. There are so many ways in which you can teach language arts it's amazing. I am going to try my hardest to use the writing process when writing papers in the future. I also learned a lot from the midterm. I can use other forms of assessments in my classroom. Sometimes it is fun to change up the typical way of doing things.
I am so glad I got to spend a semester observing such a great teacher. It has given me a chance to become familiar with ideas I may want to use in my classroom. I do know that I will certainly use the beanie baby approach in my class. I know I will really emphasize on using the writing process in my classroom. I found it important for me to use it when writing my story. If I'm using it, then my students should use it. I want to have a print rich environment. I want my students to be able to look up at the wall and be able to read what it means to be a good reader. I'm still debating on using the silent board writing approach!

Field Experience Reflecting

I could not have asked for a better placement this semester. The teacher and 2nd grade class that I observed was amazing. I knew from day one that this was going to be such a fun class to observe. Ms. Redman is amazing with her students. I have never seen a teacher be so engaged with her students. I could tell that her students were excited to learn. They were always looking forward to what was coming next. I want to hopefully have the enthusiasm and spunk that Ms. Redman has with her students.
I have learned so much about language arts through these past weeks of observations. The one thing I love is that she incorporates it into every single subject. It has made me want to keep learning. I would compare the things that she does to the things I would read in the book. I have certainly had a positive experience with the class and observations. Ms. Redman is a teacher that I plan on staying in touch. I can't wait to go back and observe other things!

Revisions & Edits!

I have experienced and participated in peer editing since middle school. I must say it's a process that I feel bittersweet about. I enjoy writing a lot (that's the sweet part). It's a way for me to express how I feel, but after the writing part comes the editing and revising (that's the bitter part). I guess editing and revising is an area in which I don't feel 100% confident doing. I always think I am going to miss errors or fix things that I thought were errors but were not.
The one thing I really enjoy about peer editing is I feel like they are very honest with me. If they don't like a certain sentence, they will tell me. I think constructive criticism is important. It's one of the ways I learn the best. It teaches me what I need to do better and I am thankful I have peers that will be forward with me. A lot of the times I think it depends on who is reading your paper too. I think that if you have a close friend, they may "sugar coat" a little more than a complete stranger.

I think peer editing is important for k-6 grades. I think with the younger grades you start off with a simple peer editing process. As in you would mainly be looking for punctuation and spelling errors. The older you get the more important I think it becomes. The one thing I wish I would have done more of in elementary school are these peer editing sessions. I am not strong in grammar and I think that if I had started at a younger grade, it may have helped me out a little more. I definitely think I will use peer editing in my classroom. It's a chance to allow students to talk to each other and not just listening to lecture all class. In the current classroom I am in now they peer edit a lot and the students really enjoy it.

You write in almost every subject, so you can incorporate peer editing in many subjects. Although you may not think it, if a student was writing a science report, you could pair two students up together and have them look at each others. This is a process that I think needs to be used starting at a young age. You can only become better at revising and editing when you practice a lot!

My Language Arts Instruction!

To be completely honest, I can only remember one strategy that my language arts teacher used when I was in elementary school, and that was: Thematic Units. We probably spent three to four weeks on one certain unit, got tested on it, and then moved on. I remember within these units were a lot of chapters and material we covered. For example the unit would be parts of a novel. One week we would cover characters and the next week we would cover plot and so on. We would probably read two to three books within a unit (depending on length) and then discuss. There were many pros and cons to this type of method. The thing I enjoyed about it was that it covered a lot of relevant stuff. For example characters, setting, plot; they all associate with each other. The other thing I enjoyed about this was the books we read. The one that sticks out to this day and is one of my favorites is The Outsiders. The cons to this method was when it came to testing. There was always a big unit test at the end and that was one thing I COULD NOT STAND. I just remember trying to study for these tests and having to memorize so much information. Sometimes, if out teacher was nice she would do an alternate form of testing for some of the books, so there was less material on the test. The alternate form of testing was usually a book report. One I specifically remember doing The Rats of Nimph. We had to get a cinder block and make the home of the rats. It was by far one of my favorite reports!

As far as literature circles, readers workshops and so forth, I do not remember using those types of strategies in elementary school. That does not make me think they aren't worth using though. From taking previous classes at Meredith, I have been able to experience literature circles and I enjoy them. I think literature circles are a great way to learn about different parts of a novel. When the students come together as a group and share what their part, it allows the other students to learn something they may have missed. I certainly think I will use literature circles in my classroom.
The one thing I remember doing that may have been similar to these approaches was Book It. We would have to read a certain number of pages and if we reached the goal we would receive a free Pizza Hut personal pan pizza (I wish they did this in college!)

Assessment

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of assessment is testing. I automatically think of a multiple choice or true/false test in which a teacher can assess what I know. I believe there is a good way to asses and a not so good way to asses. Although in some cases multiple choice tests is the easiest of best way to asses a child, I tend to disagree. To this day, I still can not stand multiple choice test. All I do is memorize what I need too, answer questions on the test and then simply forget it the day after. It just has no meaning to me. I feel like it is absolutely pointless because a day later I have no idea what I just had a test on. As a college student, I guess I never really understood that when I was younger I didn't realize I was just memorizing. I actually thought I was learning something, but turned out I kind of wasn't. I think the best way to assess a college student is through essays. My favorite tests were when I was in EDU234. We had the test questions prior to learning everything in class. When I would go to write the test, I could actually write what I learned. I applied what I learned in class to case studies within the class. I really enjoyed this, because I can honestly say because of those tests, I consider that class one of the more informative classes I have ever taken.
As for becoming a future teacher, I am sure I will give my fair share of multiple choice/true false tests, simply because second graders can't write full out essays. I think I would be able to asses children based on short essays the best. They are writing what they have learned and this would allow me to see if they are learning or if they need some extra learning. I think another great assessment for the primary grades are checklists. This has recently become one of my favorite ways to asses. I think that is because I have what I need to look for in front of me. If a child can do it, all you simply have to do is write yes or no and then any other additional comments.
It's hard to think about what kinds of assessment I want to do in the classroom, but I'm sure I will be doing a little bit of everything!

The Rainbow Fish

One of my favorite books since I was a young child is The Rainbow Fish. I am such a big fan of this book because of the type of lesson it teachers young children. The main theme of this book is to let children know that everyone is different and unique. I think this would be a great book to read to students in the beginning of the school year. Since students are new and may not know each other I would want to do sort of an ice breaker activity. I would want each student to write something they feel is special about them. Whether it be I am tall or I love reading, the students would realize that each one of them is different in their own unique way. I think a fun idea would to give each student a pretend fish scale and have them write what they think is unique about them on a scale and then have them put their scale on a large fish. The other main theme of this book is sharing. It's important that students understand the importance of sharing. This would be a fun activity that allows the students to get to know each other!

What Makes Writing Worth Reading?

This is a tricky question! I think that writing is one of the most popular forms of expressing oneself. I know that when I write, I am usually writing to an audience. If it's a research paper, I'm writing for a professor, if it's s journal, I'm writing that for myself, or sometimes for others to read. I tend to express how I feel through writing. Sometimes it will be a letter or sometimes it will be a card.

The one example that comes to mind is when I receive a letter in the mail from a childhood friend. I read the card and read what they write. After I have done that, I will write back in return. I feel like in a lot of cases, you must read before you can write.

In a classroom setting, a lot of times children will journal daily. I think what they write is worth reading, because I think children really express how they feel through writing. Reading what someone writes allows you to connect to the individual in different ways.
I really enjoy reading what others have to write. I think that for a teacher, it is a fun thing they get to do.
If a child is writing about something they have just read (a book), what they write will help allow the teacher to judge if he/she understands what the student just read about.