Picture Book Lesson plan

Standards to be addressed:
       ELAALRL1:  The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction,imagery, point of view,figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas)  in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e, poetry, prose,and drama), and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.
      ELAALRL3:  The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as works from other time periods.
     ELAALRL5:  The student understands and aquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing.

Pre-taught Vocabulary words:
     origin
      myth
      natural phenomenon
      oral tradition
Story used:  "The Legend of the Bluebonnet: An Old Tale of Texas"

Procedures: 

1. Students have been taught common characteristics of Native American origin myths.
2. Students have already read 2-3 other examples of myths.
3. Students have  participated in a lesson in which 2 slightly different versions of the same myth were compared and contrasted.  The purpose was to illustrate that details may change in a story when it is passed down by word-of-mouth but the meaning remains the same.
4. Teacher reads aloud "The Legend of the Bluebonnet: An Old Tale of Texas"
5. Students are asked to identify elements common to all of the myths read.
6. Students are asked which natural phenomenon is being explained.

Extension Activity:
     Students are instructed to write their own origin myth.  The myth must contain a Great Spirit, reference one of the 4 elements, use animals as main characters, and explain how aomething in nature came to exist.

Helpful Websites

Here are a few websites that I  found to be helpful:

http://www.readwritethink.org/   This one is my favorite!  It is filled with lesson plans for all grade levels and topics.  There are also a large number of interactive activities for students-- they walk students step-by-step through a variety of writing activities.  I use it often for printable resources.

http://www.edsitement.neh.gov/   Another resource-filled site. From my experiences it doesn't have quite as many choices as readwritethink, but it usually has helpful ideas to draw from.

http://www.sqooltools.com/   This site is actually more of a search engine.  It will provide links based on the topic that you search. 

http://www.webenglishteacher.com/  This is a site that I use frequently when I am looking for ideas or printables.  It contains lessons posted by other teachers and I love to see what is already out there before I reinvent the wheel and develop a new rubric or graphic organizer.

http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/  An awesome website that provides resources for parents, teachers, and students.  Easy to navigate and provides tons of valuable links.

Picture Book Power: Connecting Children's Literature and Mathematics

My first and standard response when I hear the word "math" is to say, "I don't do numbers."  I try to make this statement the truth as often as posssible.  I have always been horrible at math, or everything after fractions anyway.  So, I avoid it.  Thank Goodness my bank has a website so that  I can verify my bank balance is somewhere around the amount that I estimate it to be. 
So, typical of me, when I saw the title of this article contained that dreaded word, I instantly drew an X through it and vowed not to read it.  Well, as fate would have it, I did read the article.  I didn't find a lot of pertinent information in the article itself.  The subjects were too young and the math too basic.  But I did start to think about the fact that secondary students' reading ability clearly affects all of their academic areas.  I knew this already, of course, but I have always considered it a flaw of math teachers who feel that they shouldn't have to deal with any instruction related to reading.  I never considered that I am doing the same thing when I blithely say, "I am not a math girl."  Please don't take this to mean that I am going to suddenly going to try and improve my lacking math skills.  Math terrifies me and it is truly a struggle for my brain to process any sort of equation.  But  I am, at least, realizing that math teachers may feel the same way when they are told that "reading is everyone's job."  We all have our flaws.

The Cultural Divide of Discourse:Understanding How English-Language-Learners' Primary Discourse Influences Aquisition of Literacy

Wow! It is predicted that in the next 20 years over half of the students in America will be "members of language, ethnic, and socioeconomic minority groups"  ( George, Raphael, and Florio-Ruane 2003).  I am not sure why that figure shocks me-- I have certainly witnessed our ELL population grow in the last decade.  As a general rule, there are very few ELL students that are also served as ESE (Special education) students at our school.  I generally teach the ELL students in the Inclusion setting.  Not surprisingly, about 1/3 of the Ninth Grade Literature repeater class that I co-taught last year was ELL students.  Of course these students have a difficult time with our literature classes!  They are given only selections written in English and must write essays in English.  I have always thought this to be unfair-- it seems that we are only assessing their English skills, not their grasp of literary concepts. 
This article gave specific ways to improve on this situation.  First of all, I have never considered how I need to be aware of the ways that my white, middle, class Discourse might intimidate certain students.  I love the idea of allowing ELL students to be the experts regarding their culture (Discourse) for their classmates and the teacher.  It seems that if the classroom were more of a give and take regarding different cultures, and we truly created a classroom "quilt" of culture, that all students learning would be enriched.
I also found it interesting that the "straightforward" questions may be the most difficult for ELL students.  I had no idea that many cultures value using metaphor and hypothesis to make a point.  It seems that this is a skill that should be shared with all students, as it is the higher level thinking for which we are striving.

Revisiting Read-Aloud: Instructional Strategies That Encourage Students Engagement With Texts

In this article, Morrison and Wlodarczyk discussed that read-alouds worked to improve comprehension in first graders.  Modeling reading skills helped these youngsters make connections to the text, and become more invested in reading.  Hearing stories read aloud builds vocabulary, promotes engagement , and allows the teacher to use "think-alouds" to model comprehension strategies.

As I began reading this article, I was afraid that I would find no relevance in it to apply to teaching high school students.  However, the more I read the more I realized that my students are not all that different from their younger counterparts.  I read aloud ALOT in my pull-out literature classes.  If I didn't my students would not read the selections that they must in class.  They simply won't.  It's a lot like Barb and the basketball analogy.  The reading passages are often out of their skill range and they find them frustrating and boring.  So, they stomp their proverbial feet and either pretend to read or just flat-out refuse.  Generally, if I read aloud-- at least part of the assignment, that will spur them to read parts of it themselves.   I have actually heard teachers-- literature teachers-- say that they refuse to read aloud to a high school student.  Then, they wonder why their failure rate is so high.  Really?!  Even "good" readers will only actively read what they are interested and invested in reading. 

Miller (2002) provided concrete examples of ways to model text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to world connections while reading aloud to students.  This can be done before, during , and after reading the selection. I found several of these suggestions to be something I will be more conscious of doing as I read through an assignment with my students.  My goal is always to help them gain reading skills even as I am teaching them literary standards.

Motivation

The word motivation is really the one-word reason that I am now working on my reading certification.  I teach Special Education English Lit. classes at Cass High School.  I have grown increasingly frustrated with not being able to help my students ENOUGH.  I can teach them the literary concepts.  I can help them write better essays.  I can build strong, supportive relationships with them and give them a safe haven to spend an hour each day.  What I have not been able to do is teach them to become better readers.  By the time they enter the 9th grade, if their reading skills are weak, most of them have given up.  The most difficult part of my job is trying to convince them that improving their reading skills is worthwhile.  They don't see any enjoyment in reading, it is just a waste of time in their opinion. Most of the time, their parents don't think it's all that important either.  It is sad to me that they are missing out on something that is a vital part of life.  To be honest, it is also scary.  Teachers are increasingly held accountable for their students test scores.  If my students shut down on a test and "Christmas tree" the answers, or if they simply lack the reading skills to comprehend the passages, that reflects on me.  It doesn't matter that I am supposed to be an English teacher or that I have followed all the Special Education rules to a tee--the test scores make it look like I have failed them, and I feel like I have failed them.  My sincere hope is that I can build my arsenal of teaching tools with this endorsement.  I want to help my students become better readers and become more confident learners.

A learning experience

As I said in my last post, I am feeling optimistic and excited about earning my reading certification.  I have learned so much this week!  I have learned words like schema, which means integrating new information into things we already knew and experienced.  I now know that a morpheme is the smallest meaning bearing part(s) of a word. Changing morphemes can change a word into a completely different word.  A phoneme is the smallest unit(s) of sound within a word.  A rime is the first vowel and everything that follows it in a word.  And a rime should not be confused with a rhyme which is the repeating of the ending sound pattern in a group of words.  I know now that the very first milestone is learning to read is becoming phonemically aware.  That is gaining the knowledge that words are made up of sounds, that sentences are made up of words and being able to segment words into sounds.  I had a lightbulb moment this week when I finally understood the purpose of a word wall!  We have been told for the last couple of years that we must have a word wall, and I am a rule-follower so I have complied.  Learning the new concept of placing no more than 5 words per week on a Word Station and, after they have been taught,THEN adding them to an on-going Word Wall makes so much sense!! No more blindly following directions!  Now I know how to make my word station and wall a useful tool in my classroom.

A week of firsts

Wow! I am blogging.  This is a new experience for me, so bear with me please.  In fact, this has been a week of new experiences for me.  Monday was the first day I have been a student and not the teacher since I finished my master's degree in 2003.  I have, of course, attended workshops and trainings, but this is a completely different feeling. I usually leave those trainings thinking, "Well that was a day of my life I will never get back."  This week, though, I have left class feeling optimistic that these classes and certification experience will help both me and my students. 

Testing

Testing, testing 1  2  3