Double Entry Journal #14

Chapter 7: Shape-Shifting Portfolio People * Chapter 8 A final Word the content fetish

1. What was the most interesting idea you encountered as you read the chapter?

I enjoyed reading the section titled "Millennials." Gee says " There is a generation of children today whohave lived their entire lives in the new capitalism. He says that television shows are helping the Millennials to socialize. I also enjoyed reading what he had to say about Sesame Street, Barney and Friends, & Blue's Clues.


2. What connections can you make between Gee's critique and Sir Ken Robinsons' critique of traditional schooling?

They both believe that schools are teaching for today and not for tomorrow. For example, students are not being taught for changes that will occur in the world. They also believe that we need to teach school in a way that has meaning to the students.




3. How did this book change or support your understanding of good teaching?

I have always believed that you need to teach with meaning and with real-life situations in mind. This book really confirmed that I was right. Students need to connect their leaning to something that is meaningful.

Double Entry Journal #13

Chapter 6: Affinity Spaces


1. Give an example of a "community of practice" in which you are currently participating in.

• Learning to plan a wedding
• Learning how to be a teacher

2.Why is the term "community" better defined in relation to spaces rather than groups of people?

• Becaue the community is a place where people with common practices gather together. The place or surroundings usually define the community and twhat the people in that "community" practice.

3. What is a "generator"? What is it's counterpart in school?

• A generator is whatever gives a certain place some content.
• It's counterpart in school is video games.

4. What is a "content organizer"? What is it's counterpart in school?

• A content organizer is how a spaces content is designed or organized.
• It's counterpart in school is great design of space.

5. What is a "portal"? What is it's counterpart in school?

• A portal is anything that gives acess to the content and to ways of interacting with that content.
• It's counterpart to school is Internet games that allows kids to play against one another.

6. What do people have an "affinity" for in an "affinity space"? How does this inform your understanding of good teaching?

• People have an affinity for the endeavor or around which the space is organized.
• We need to keep an anfinit space in mind when teaching. Your students need to be in a space that enhances learning.

7. How do "affinity spaces" support inclusive classrooms? Choose two characteristics below to make connections between "affinity spaces" and inclusive classrooms.

• Affinity spaces support inclusive classrooms because all of the students ( disabled and non-disabled) in the same room. This creates a positive classroom enviornment.
• Using a Common Language - A sense of community is created by establishing a common language without the use of intellectual and confusing terms, so that all participants can equally understand. This allows the classroom to feel more safe for all the student in the classroom.
• Problem Solving Teams - Teams comprised of significant participants in every child’s program are formed to make decisions concerning how a student’s individual needs may be met. Problem-solving teams determine the type and extent of special education adaptations and services needed for each child and develop the implementation plan for inclusive policies for each child. In this way, each child benefits from the expertise of many members of the school community, each of whom provides a specific perspective on the individual needs of that child. Typically, teams consist of principal, special education teacher, regular education teacher, counselor, parent, paraprofessional and specific resource people. This allows a safe classroom enviornment and also caters to each individual students needs.

8. How are traditional classroom different from Affinity Spaces?

• In traditional classrooms students are usually segregated by ability and academic levels. They are also not allowed to use as much technology as they should. In an affinity space this is all the opposite.

Double Entry Journal #12

Chapter 5: Learning and Gaming


1. What is the main argument the author is making in Chapter 5.

• That there is a connect between video games and learning and how playing them can increase student learning.

2. What constitutes a theory of learning?

• Patterns and Priciples are what constitute a theory of learning.

3. Why did the author struggle to learn to play Warcraft III? What needs to proceed before good learning principles?

• He struggled in playing the game because he didn't engage in it in a way with it's learning priciples. He needs to be more motivated to proceed.

4. How would have the authors struggle with learning to play Warcraft III been interpreted in school?

• As failure becasue he recieved a low or failing grade.

5. What kind of learning experience might be better suited for at risk students?

• Gee says that "at-risk" learners need a dumbed-down curriculum ment to catch them up on basic skills.

6. Why does the school-based interpretation of "at risk" lead to bad learning?

• Because they are not challenging the students. They are just teaching them the basic skills that the student needs to know.

7. What do schools need to do to function more like a good game?

• Students should be challenged more and encouraged to take on the identities of what they are working on.

8. What is different about how good games and school assess learners?

• Schools assess learners by having them take tests. If a student fails a test the teacher then decides what is best for that student. Good games allow the students to choose what setting they like best and how they learn best.

9. What are the attributes of a fish-tank tutorial that make it an effective learning tool? How is it different than school-based learning?

• All learners are different so the designers don't know what the players desired learning style will be. Also the learners don't know what learning stule will work best in each situation. This is different because in school- based learning they asses the learner and then decide how they will deal with the student.

10. What is a sand-box tutorial? Why is effective? How is it different that school-based learning?

• The sand-box tutorial is where the student is free to explore and take risks. It is effective because it allows the students to descover the best ways they learn. This is different than school based learning because in school-based learning you don't get to explore. The students just are to do things the way the teachers say to do it.

11. What is a genre? Why is it important for good learning?

• A genre is a category or a type of thing that something is. In able to learn the student needs to know what type of things we are asking them to learn in order to be successful.

12. According to the author, what to learning and play having in common?

• You always are learning something when you are having fun so they are connect in that way.

13. How are the skills test in good games different from skills tests in school?

• Skills test in good games are something that students can actually learn from and school testing is constantly the same.

14. How does RoN support collaborative learning?

• They have blogs and websites were people can share or gain knowledge. This knowledge comes from many different people from many different places so this allows a wide range of knowledge.

15. Match at least one learning principle of good games (on page 74) with each the following learning theorists you have studied in 3352:
Dewey : #22

Vygotsky: #12

Piaget: #5
Gardner: #14

Bandura: #1

Skinner: #8

Fostering High Quality Formative Assessment: A Policy Brief by The National Council of Teachers for English

What is formative assessment?

• This is a way to see if the students are retaining the knowledge throughout the learning process and if there needs to be any modifications to the teaching or activities. It can be forml or informal

What is the CENTRAL purpose of formative assessment?

• Improving student achievement

Connect a best practice in formative assessment to one research-based strategy.

• provides feedback that engenders motivation and leads to improvement (Providing Feedback)

Give an example of how a specific assessment can be used formatively and summatively.

• You can give the same test as a pre and a post test. In the begining as a formative assessment you can see what your students know and what you need to teach. Then at the end it can be a summative assessment to see that they have learned.

Give an example from your field placement related to formative assessment and timing.

• I have K and we use games to test how well the students are at rhyming. The teacher keeps testing them formitavely before she wants to give them a summative test on it.

What are some strategies to help formative assessment be more effective when providing students with feedback?

• Be specific on what they need to work on
• Using a rubric or a check list

Name two advantages to high quality formative assessment.

• Using high-quality will allow students to be more successful in other classes
• It provides enough details for the student so they know why, what, and how they are to proceed as they continue to work on the content.

What are some challenges to implementing high quality formative assessment?

• Takes more time to do

Double Entry Journal #11

Chapter 4:Simulations and Bodies 1. What does the author mean when he says, "Learning doesn't work well when learners are forced to check their bodies at the school room door like guns in the old West."  Students learn better when they have a purpose to learn or are intereseted in what they are learning. The book says that when they learning something as a cultural process their bodies are involved because it usually involves a specific experience. The students are made to just set at their desk and memorize words or read from a textbook and not allowed to get up and move to learn. 2. According to the author, what is the best way to acquire a large vocabulary?  Through conversation and experience with other around them. Many words are used in different contexts depending on the situation. Larger vocabulary will be obtained through interacting with others in many different situations.

3. What gives a word a specific meaning?
The specific words aroung the word gives that word a certain meaning. A person uses context clues to figure the words meaning. 

4. What does the term "off the hook" mean in each of these sentences?

a. My sister broke up with her fiance, so I'm off the hook for buying her a wedding present. They don't have to buy her a gift.

b. Them shoes are off the hook dog. The shoes are awesome.

c. Man that cat was fighting 6 people and he beat them all. Yo, it was "off the hook", you should have seen it!! It was amazing and unbelievable.

4. According to the author what is the"work" of childhood? Do you agree?
I agree that the work of a child is play. When children are playing together the are interacting and leaning how to communicate with one another and how to work out different situations.

5.Why is NOT reading the instruction for how to play a game before playing a game a wise decision?
Instructions are usually very hard to understand if you have never played the game. Kids need to experience the game to learn the way and it works.

6. Does knowing the general or literal meaning of a word lead to strong reading skills?
Yes because that means that the person has had some experience with the word. If the word is used in a different context the reader will use context clues to figure out what the word means so this will also lead to strong reading skills.

7. What does the author mean by the terms "identity" and "game". Give an example of 3 "identities" or "games" you play?
"Game": playing something in a fun way to learn
"Identity":act out to be recognized.
1) As a daughter, I am expected to respect my parents.
2) As a future teacher, I am expected to learn as many contents as possible and act in a respectable manner.
3) As a future bride, I am expected to plan a wedding and find the perfect wedding dress.

8. According to the author what is good learning?
When a student can identify with learing. For example, do the students know how this connects to the real world?

9. How does understanding that being able to build a mental model and simulations of a real-word experience is closely tied  to comprehending written and oral language support of change the way you think children should learn in school?
When we teach children we need to relate the learning to a real-world situation because they will see meaning in the learning. They also need to use hands-on activities and get the students up out of their seats. If they are up experiencing something they will most likely remember that content.

10. Why is peer to peer interaction so important for the language development of young children? How does knowing this support or change the way you think children should learn in school?
Children who interact with one another are experiencing language situations that well help them develope their language skills. This means that students need to interact with each other throughout the day while working on school work.

Double Entry Journal #10

Chapter 3: Language and Identity At Home 1. What are the features of the forms of language that are spoken in a home environment that align with academic varieties of language? Talking to a child and asking them questions as they are watching tv. Allowing children to pretend to read a book. Having children write freely when they ask to. Allowing children to play with video games that will increase the reading skills. "Social practices" within the home in general. Connect thinking to forms of language. Talking with your children in the car or around the dinner table. 2. What are the features of Leona's specialized form of language? Story telling Vernacular language She uses stanzas to break up her lines Free verse The story was structured and had a certain pattern Use of punctuation Close echo with many words 3. Why is Leona's specialized form of language not accepted in school? This may not be accepted in school because it would be considered meaning less even though it means something to her and her culture. Also they may say that she uses inproper english when she writes.  4. Explain the contradiction between the research conducted by Snow et al. (1998) and the recommendations made by Snow et al. (1998). First Snow et al. says that poor readers are concentrated " in a certain ethnic groups and in poor, urban neighborhoods and rural towns."  Then he syas that black students inproved in reading although the white-black gap remained the same. 5. What other factors besides early skills training will make or break good readers? Belonging to a certain social class How much exposure they have had to a variety of academic languages 6. Why do some children fail to identify with, or find alienating, the "ways with words" taught in school? Because their home language is unused, ignored, or denigrated in schools.

DoubleEntry Journal #9

Chapter 1: A strange fact about not learning to read.


1. What is the strange fact about not learning to read?

That we are in a "reading crisis" and  a lot of children are not learning to read well enough. Traditionalists say its because thes students do not get enough phonics instruction. Also poor and minority groups are the main studentsthat struggle with reading

2. Why is this fact so strange?

The people from poor and minoruty groups believe that they hve to be unaffiliated with the school for many reasons.


3. What is it about school that manages to transform children who at good at learning things like Pokeman into children who are not good a learning?

Students learn Pokeman easily because it is something that they are interested in and they do it outside of the school setting.

4. What is the differences between a traditionalists approach to learning to read and more progressive educators?

A traditionalist approach to teaching deals with the overt instruction from the teacher. The students will listen to the teacher and that is how they will learn. The progressive educators believe we should let students experiement and let them learn on their own through exploration.

5. Is learning to read a natural process like learning to speak a language?

The book says no but I believe that if a child is exsposed to reading at an early age at home then reading can be a natural process for some students.

6. What is the differences between natural, instructed and cultural processes and which process should reading be classified under?

A natural process is when a child is exposed to the right sort of imput and enviornment. For example when a child learns to walk or talk. Instructed process is when something is taught to a child by overt instruction. For example mathematics and physics. Cultural process is something a child learns that is important to their culture. For example in some cultures women are made to learn how to cook. Like I said before if a student is exposed to a reading enviornment at a young age then it could be a natural process but if a child is not exposed to a reading enviornment then the process for learning to read would be instructed for that child.

7. How do humans learn best? Through instructional processes or through cultural processes? How is reading taught in school?

Humans learn best through the cultural process because instruction is a less efficent process.Reading is taught by the instructional process in school so that may be why we are in a "reading crisis".

8. According to the author, what is the reason for the "fourth grad slump."

The fourth grade is when you have to start reading on standardized test and since students struggle with reading they do bad on this portion of the test.

9. What is a better predictor of reading success than phonemic awareness?

If students know the meaning and structure to language. If they know these things then they will also aquire good phonemic awareness skills.

10. What is the difference between "vernacular" and "specialist" varieties of language? Give an example of two sentences, one written in the vernacular and one written in a "a specialized variety", about a topic in your content area.

Vernacular varieties of language are in the native dialect of a specific population or group of people. Specialized varieties of language is language connected to learning or a specific content area.

• Vernacular Sentence: The farmer used a tedder to rake their hay.
• Specialized Sentence: The word ray in mathematics is different from the word ray that comes from the sun.

11. What is "early language ability" and how is it developed?

Early language ability is the ability to read and have phonimic awarness at a very early age. These in vocabulary, the ability to recall and comprehend sentences and stories, and the ability to engage in connected verbal interactions on a single topic. and  It is develeoped through family, school, and community language enviornments where children interact a lot with adults and very advanced peers where they are ingaged in challenging talk and texts in many genres of oral and written language.

12. According to the author why and how does the traditionalist approach to teaching children to read fail?

Most student start learning academic language and home but if a child has never been exposed to academic language it is not started for them at school. They just teach students to read through phonics and mostl through vernacular words.

13. Are parents of poor children to blame for their children's inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school?

Yes and no. If the parents are poor they don't have a lot of resources to help their children before they enter school. Although they should talk to their students about specialized varieties of language so that they will be exposed to it before they enter school.

14. Did you struggle with reading this text? Why? Are you a poor reader or are you unfamiliar with this variety of specialized language?

No I read this chapter just fine. I thought it was a lot easier to read than the introduction.

Student Interviews

I have a Kindergarten classroom so the students I interviewed didn't have much to say.

Struggling student = (SS)      High Performing Student = (HPS)

•Do you enjoy school?
(SS): Yes
(HPS): Yes


•What kind of student are you?
(SS): Good
(HPS): I am a good student.

•What do for fun outside of school?
(SS): Go to the slide and play with friends
(HPS): I pass football with my dad.

•How would your classmates describe you?
(SS): Good friend
(HPS): Fun

•Who are you friends with? What do you and your friends do together?
(SS): Morgan and Haley, Play on the playground.
(HPS): Nicholas, Sam, and Matthew, We play tag, play with cars, and chase kids.

•Tell me a good memory you have about school?
(SS): Playing
(HPS): Coloring

•Tell me a bad memory you have about school?
(SS): None
(HPS): I don't have one.

•Describe a "good" teacher or tell me about a favorite teacher you had in the past.
(SS): Someone who is fun
(HPS): Letting us play outside

•What is one thing you wish your teacher knew about you?
(SS): My name
(HPS):Where I live

Conclusion
It was really hard to get any answers out of the struggling student. I had to ask each question more than once before she would answer because of her attention problem. The high performing student acted very nervous and said he wanted to answer everything right even when I told him that there was no right or wrong answers.

Double Entry Journal #8

1. What is the main challenges being addressed in the book?

• The new ways with words
• The academic laguage or "jargon"
• Connecting school language and home language

2. What does the author mean by the phrase "ways with words"?

• He is trying to say the way in which you use your words is important. The way you talk or write has an affect on your aduiance and what kind of audiance you will attract.

3. What is the core argument being made by the author of this book?

• That we need to coneect our ways with words to the modern word that our students are living in.

4. Give an example of a specialized variety of a language or "way with words" you have learned outside of school?

• I learned the farming ways with words. For example most people would not know that a goose neck is what we called a trailer.

5. According to the author, how do people learn a specialized variety of a language or "way with words" best?

• They learn it best by actually beinging involved is something that has a specific way with words. For example, belonging to a certain discourse community.

6. If people are to be successful in the 21st century, what must they become?

• Specially designed spaces (physical and virtual) constructed to resource people tied together (Gee, 2004)

7. The author states that learning academic language is NOT sufficient for success in modern society? Do you agree? Why or Why not?

• Yes I do agree because academic language is becoming a thing of the past. More people are starting to use their own language they are learning from this discourse communities and they use those words to communicat now.

8. What do you think about this author's "way with words"?

• To be honest I think that the introduction was kind of hard to follow. I had a hard time comprehending what she was trying to say. Her "way with words" was very different than I am use to.

Observing a struggling student

I am in a Kindergarten classroom and I have one little girl in my class that is really stuggling. She struggles with writing . She can't understant that you have to push down hard with the pencil so that her writing will show up. She also has a hard time making her letters so she has really bad hand writing. So with both of these issues combined you can't really read her writing. She also has a hard time following directions. This is mostly because she is not listening to the teacher and is staring into space so she is lost and doesn't know what to do. She also has a hard time trying to read simple sight words so she can hardley read at all. She also seems that her head is always in the clouds. She is always talking to the other students and more worried about whats going on around that classroom than doing her own work.

Double Entry Journal #7

What are some challenges to inquiry approaches to learning?

• Teachers need to develop a new classroom management techniques.
• Teachers must be able to create inquiry-based lesson to meet a variety of criteria.
• It is hard to teach if a student lacks prior experience in the approach.
• Some may think the the approach is "unstructured".
• Teachers miss oppurtunities to advance the learning because they can't hear all of th esmall group discussions.
• High-income students don't benifit as much as lower-income students in small groups.
• If a teacher doesn't have help or support if will be hard to use in the classroom.
• The approach may fail to provide proper scaffolding.
• Students have a hard time generating meaningful questions.
• Students may lack background knowledge needed to make sense of the inquiry.
• Students may find it hard to work together.
• Students might have a hard time managing time.
• Students may find the work very complex.
• The teacher may find it hard to motivate the students.

Resource:
Barron, B., & Darling-Hammond, L. (1991). Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

Double Entry Journal #6

In the introduction of this article itsays the the "dominant paradigm" is showing signs of wear. When they say "dominant paradigm" they are referring to all the students learning comes from either the teacher or a textbook. The students will obtain the information by reading, listening to lectures, and discussions. The article says they we are stuck in a way of teaching that was created a century ago. They are saying we need to move from this kind of learning to project-based learning.

Project-based learning is when students complete a complex task and usually result in a real product event or presentation. Learning this way allows students to actually think more and have a product at the end where the traditional approach is just students listening or reading."Generally, research on project-based learning (PBL) has found that students who engage in this approach benefit from gains in factual learning that are equivalent or superior to those of students who engage in traditional forms of instruction (Thomas, 2000)." By students actually doing hands-on activities they will retain knowledge more than just listen to someone lecture the whole time. The article also says that"the students engaged in project-based learning demonstrated a significant increase in scores on a critical-thinking test, as well as increased confidence in their learning (Shepard, 1998). This shows that students are learning more and that the critical-thinking skills are improving as well. "Other short-term, comparative studies of traditional vs. project-based approaches have demonstrated several benefits from projects, such as an increase in the ability to define problems (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992), growth in their ability to support their reasoning with clear arguments (Stepien, Gallagher, & Workman, 1993), and enhanced ability to plan a project after working on an analogous problem-based challenge (Moore, Sherwood, Bateman, Bransford, & Goldman, 1996)." As you can see project based learning is a better choice than traditional learning. The students gain more knowledge, they are more involved in their learning, there is a purpose for their learning, and they are gaining more knowledge about real world situations and tasks.

Problem-based learning is kind of like project-based learning. In problem-based learning the lessons usually have an activity that focuses on using reasoning and resources to solve a problem. "In problem-based learning, students work in small groups to investigate meaningful problems, identify what they need to learn in order to solve a problem, and generate strategies for solution (Barrows, 1996; Hmelo-Silver, 2004)." Students are learning how to solve problems by working with others as a team. "Similar problem- or case-based approaches have been used in business, law, and teacher education to help students learn to analyze complex, multifaceted situations and to develop knowledge to guide decisionmaking (see, e.g. Lundeberg, Levin, & Harrington, 1999; Savery & Duffy, 1996; Williams, 1992)." The students are learning to use problem solving to analyze situations that they will use later on in life.It also says that "They also experience larger gains in conceptual understanding in science (Williams, Hemstreet, Liu, & Smith, 1998)." Students will improve in science because problem solving is the basis of science.

Learning by design are lessons that have several features to make them ideal for the subject matter. In a sixth-grade classroom using learning by design they say that "the design project led to better learning outcomes than the traditional approach to instruction (Hmelo, Holton, and Kolodner, 2000)" This shows that tradition learning needs to be used less and use the new resources that we have avalaible to us today. "Researchers also observed that design activities are particularly good for helping students develop understanding of complex systems, noting that the systems can be presented as a united whole whose structure is adapted to specific purposes (Perkins, 1986)." When students have a larger understanding of the subject they will learn about the subject in more of a complex way. Through learning by design studnets build websites and the article says "to date, more than 30,000 students have created more than 550 Web sites through this competition (www.thinkquest.org/library/)."

So to review project-based learning teaches students to explore real world problems and challenges. Problem-based learning is to teach students problem solving skills as well has help to acquire knowledge and skills. Learning by design is a project-based inquiry that deals with reasoning.

In my opinion, the most important learning aspect that is common among the three types of learning is that students are learning knowledge and skills to use in the real world. Students need to learn these life skills that they will use in their everyday lives.

Resource:

Barron, B., & Darling-Hammond, L. (1991). Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

Double Entry Journal #5

Reverent listening is when you respectfully listen to what a person has to say. Reverent listening should be used by every teacher who wants to use culturally responsive teaching in their classroom. If teachers respectfully listen to what their students have to say they will learn about the cultures and the backgrounds of their students. This will allow the teacher to learn more about their students and help mold instruction around the cultures and the backgrounds of the students in their class.

"Reverent listening is not to be confused with humiliation and domination by others who force us to listen, and even less so, with the kind of incompetence that wants to be told what to do." This quote applies to a lot of teahers today. They force students to listen of forcefully tell their students what to do. This attitude by the teacher forces students to not listen and makes them tune the teacher out. For example, in 4th grade I had a teacher that made us listen to her all day long and we never really got to talk in class. I never wanted to go to school because our classroom enviornment wasn't welcoming and I felt like I had no say. I never want to make my students feel that way that I felt in my 4th grade classroom. I want my students feel like I listen to them and care about what they have to say.

This artical uses the phrase a "laundry list of value ethics". To me this phrase means that someone has a long list of values ordered in degree of importance. Teachers more than likely will teach their values and culture to the class and not touch on the values or cultures of the other students. This is an exapmle of a teacher being non-culturally responsive because they don't teacher others values and cultures, just their own.

I had an amazing 2nd grade teacher. She was a reverent teacher and really cared for her students. She always gave the students a voice in the classroom and was always there to listen to her students. She always made you feel important and very special. I felt very comfortable in her classroom and it was one of my favorite years all throughout school.

Today there are many schools that have a "toxic" school enviornment. If teachers don't listen to to thier students or give them a voice in the classroom it creates a bad school enviornment. Teachers need to listen to what their students have to say and allow them to talk during instruction so they feel a sense of belonging to the class. Also teachers need to represent a sense of respect in the classroom between teachers and students as well as the teacher respecting the studnets.

"Reverent listening in teaching involves respect." I really liked this quote from the article. In order to reall listen to your students and care about what they have to say they need to respect their students as human beings. In my philosophy of education I never mentioned listening to my students so this quote will change my philosophy because I know see how important it is to listen to your students and give them a voice in the classroom.
I found a video on establishing classroom routines on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_jNR-aGj1w It is very important to have routines within your classroom especially when you have a younger classroom.

Resource:
HepburnsHelfulHints. (Performer) (2012). Establishing classroom routines [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_jNR-aGj1w

Double Entry Journal #4

1.Teachers need to know how to teach their students and help them develop their literacy stills. I learned some helpful hints while reading this article. Most students that grew up in the region of Appalachia are at a disadvantage when taking standardized test becaue their literacy knowledge is different than the literacy that is on the test. So as a teacher you need to practice standardized testing with your students so that they will be familiar with the literacy on those tests. Also as a teacher you need to teach your students that their language is fine to use but they need to know how to distinguish between when to use their regular language and standard english. Also you need to let the students freely write in what ever way that makes them feel comfortable. Many students are afraid to write they way they want because they don't want to be judged by the teacher.

2. Great teachers will use culturally responsive teaching stratigies. This article presented a few stratigies to use for instruction. Teachers need to teach their students to know and praise their own cultures along with others cultures as well. If students get to know one anothers backgrounds and cultures it will build a sense of community in the classroom. By building a sense of community the classroom will have a more relaxed learning enviornment. Also teachers need to use different stratigies that are connected to different learning styles. All of your students are going to learn in different ways so you need to make sure you hit different learning styles so that not every lesson is taught to the same learning style.

3. In elementary school we had to do research on our family for a family tree. This was a good lesson for a cultural responsive teaching stratigy because we learned about each other and were we came from.

Resource:

Epstein, P. (2011, September 15). honoring dialect and increasing student performance in standard english. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655

4.

I really liked this image because it's a reminder that we are all different and no one is alike. We also need to respect each other and understand everyone has different cultures that they come from.

Where I'm From Video

I tried to make it shorter but couldn't find away around it!!!

Where I am From Poem

I am from an old country road where I feel safe, from nights sitting on the front porch listening to the crickets and looking up at the stars.

I am from a home that was built by my father’s own hands.

I am from the hayfields, shale banks, and flowing fields of grain that I use to escape to.

I am from Jennifer and Billy Morgan who taught me values and how to really love. I am from the Shafer’s and the Morgan’s.

I am from a place where the bond between brother and I will never be broken.

I am from a place where Sundays are set aside for church and family dinners around a long, crowded table.

From a place where farming is not just a hobby, it’s a way of life and a way to survive.

I am from a loving Christian home where church was never missed and we gathered around the piano to sing hymns.

I am from a small community where most of my family resides, where I can smell my Mimi Joan’s bread pudding and taste my Mimi Bonnie’s sweet tea.

From the Cherokee tribe that I get my features from.

I am from a place where I learned hard work and respect will get you far in life.

I am from a place where love found me.

I am from a place where God, family, and friends are all that matter.

I am from the beautiful hills of West Virginia.

Double Entry Journal #3

Educational Learning Theories:

Reference:

Bolima, D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding: Educational learning theories. Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu/saki/strategies/101/new_page_5.htm

 Adolescent Literacy by National Council of Teacher for English

Reading instruction in the elementary school is very vital. If students are taught good reading skills and habbits it will carry on with them throughout their entire life. If students enjoy reading and can read well they will be good students in high school.

Reading test scores are good to see how well students are at reading and if they are progressing. Many test scores are used to see if a student is ready to move on to the next level or if they still need to remain where they are.

The reality to the myth of if a student struggles with one literacy they will have dificult with all literacies got me to thinking. I hope to remember this statement becasue every student has things they like and are good at. If you are working on reading and I student can't read out of the textbook then give them another potion that might be easier or interests them more.

Every content area teacher is responsible for teaching reading comprehension. Most teachers think that that is only the reading teachers job but that is not true. For example in science the teacher needs to teach the students how to decode what they are reading so they will understand what they are actually reading. Also in science things can mean different things as well other than what the child originally thought it ment.

In school we only read out of a textbook. We never used computers, magazines, or newspapers to help with our literacy. In everyday life we don't come in contact with textbooks that oftem but we do come in contact with technology, magazines, and newspapers on an almost daily basis.

One good example of literacy practice is selecting the right text for your students. Make sure it's not to hard where they will get frustrated and not try. Also don't make it so easy that they don't benifit from the reading at all.

A discourse community is is a form of communication that means everyone has something in common in the communication community. For example if you are a part of a certain persons fan club that is considered a discourse community.

If a students valuable multiple literices are not found valuable in school this may make the student not try or give up. We need to encourage not discourage our students.

To build on a students extracurricular literacy practices tell the students they can go home and write about anything they want to. They need to to it in a space that is quiet and that they can freely express themselves in their writing.

In 5th grade my teacher used the student choice motivation strategy. We good to choose a lot of what we wanted to read when we had to read individually and it really motivated me and I actually wanted to read.

I mostly saw my teachers in high school engage in multicultural literacy development. We learned about many culturtes during this time period.

Teachers that are good at teaching literacy gain recognition from their peers. A good literacy teacher uses critical thinking skills, adress diverse needs of their students, develop solid knowledge of literacy instruction, and other outstanding qualitys.

Double Entry Journal #2 (Tall Tales of Appalachia)

Quote:
"If a television network proposed a ''real life'' show treating poor African-Americans, Latinos, American Indians, Asians or Jews as curiosities, they, and all Americans of good will, would be justifiably outraged."

I agree with this quote that I pulled out of the passage. Any american should be outraged at any tv show that shows any short of prejudice toward any group of people. They think that we are uneducated and will not realize that they are making fun of us. To me that is being prejudice toward people that are from Appalachia. I am glad that the last paragraph talkes about the Appalachia people are becoming outraged and starting to stick up for themselves.

Reference:
O'Brien, J. (2003, May 10). Tall tales of appalachia. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/10/opinion/tall-tales-of-appalachia.html

Other Source:

I really enjoyed listening to this video because I could really identify with it. I have been asked where I was from because of the way I talk and then I know they judge me when I tell them I am from WV. I really liked how he got insight from two different resources, one that was from WV and one from someone outside of WV as well.

Resource:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIJq-T1FbQo&noredirect=1. (Producer) (2009). Sterotypes of appalachia [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIJq-T1FbQo&noredirect=1

 

Double Entry Journal #2 ( As soon as she opened her mouth)

Quote:

" This sterotype prevented school personnel from interpreting her complaintsand concerns from a middle-class mother"

This quote from the passage shocked me and infuriated me to say the least. I can't believe that a person would be dismissed just because someone had a sterotype on someone. A childs education and wellbeing was at stake here. As a soon to be teacher I hope that I will give every student and parent a voice and a chance. Also as a West Virginian I know what it's like to be a part of a sterotype. I have been judged on my education only because I am from West Virginia. It is one of the most frustrarting things to be judged because of where you are from or who you talk.

Questions:

Literacy knowledge is something children already bring to school with them. Literacy knowledge is the concepts that children during their preschool years, the years after the begining of formal literaacy instruction, in kindergaten, and first grade in reading, writing, and printed laguage.An example of print literay knowledge is when a child scribbles on a piece of paper and askes an adult what they have written. When a child moves an adults mouth to pretend like they are reading or saying something when they are not really talking is an example of non print literacy knowledge.

Sadley, sterotypes are apart of outr society today. Even teachers have sterotypes against their own students and parents. If teachers didn't know the literacy background of their students and just taught them all the same it may be better. Although students may learn differently, they can all learn one way or the other. Teachers need to stop sterotyping their students and try to teach the students literacy the best way possible for that studnet no matter what that students background in litercy is.

A few schools and teachers don't do anything about poor literacy instruction in their schools as in Donny's case in the reading. If they think I child has little literact knowledge they may just write them off and say that they will never catch up with the other children in the class. Although most of the time they are pretty good about getting a student with less literacy knowledge any help they can provide them with. They devise a plan for that student and provide specialists if necessary.

There is a relationship between language, social class, and the denial of educational opportunity. A student that comes from a low social class has had less educational and language experience. So they will have less literacy knowledge and literacy experience than other students. If a student comes from a middle or high social class they are more likely to have more literacy knowlede and experience. So they will be more advanced than the students that came from a low social class.

There are many misconception in the schools between language and literacy. Many people have different laguages and many poeople talk differently than one another. Just because one students talks differntly or has a different language then the other doesn't mean they are illiterat or cant learn. The student just needs to learn to read and write in their own langauge.

There are ways that schools and teachers can improve literacy instruction. For one thing teachers need to accept that just because children are born in poverty they can still learn and are willing to learn. Secondly, teachers need to accept each and every students language they have learned and that has helped them begin their education. Also they need to realize that a student will orally speak in the language they have know their whole lives.

During my schooling I have heard the term use "proper english" probably more than any phrase. I don't agree with this phrase because like I stated before may students grew up around different languages and talk differently than others. As long as the child is getting the correct point acroos I believe that is all that matters. Not how they are talking.

Reference:
Purcell Gates, V. (2002). As soon as she opened her mouth. In L. Delpit & J.K Dowdy (Eds.), In The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language culture and power.

Double Entry Journal #1

Quote From Passage:
~Build for your team a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another and of strength to be derived by unity.~

- Vince Lombardi

Reaction:
Inclusive Education is when students are placed in a least restricted enviornment that is compatable with their needs. Just because a student is different or needs help learning doesn't mean they they need to be taken out of a regular classroom for the majority of their schooling. Interacting with their peers may actually help them learn.

Inclusive Education is ment to serve many types of students. One type of student is the student with a physical disability of some sort. By separating the child from their peers may make them feel worse about themselves and make them feel uncomfotable. By being with their peers in a regular classroom they may feel like they belong and they can learn just like the rest of the students in the class. Inclusive Education is also to serve children that have learning disabilities. A child with a learning disability may feel embarrassed to have to leave the classroom because they can't learn as well as the other kids in the class. By leaving thesse students in the regular classroom they may be more motivated to learn and the other students in the class can help this student if they need help as well. ELL students are also served under the Inclusive Education. ELL learners wouild benifit more by being in a regular classroom because they will interact all day with students speacking English.

Inclusive Schools have many characteristics. One of these characteristics is a common vision. By the school having a common vision it allows a sense of community and allows for everyone to connect in a positive way. Another characteristic is building a problem solving team. By having people work together as a team it allows them to make decisions that meets each students needs individually.

One strategy that will help students become more responsible and effective in the inclusive process is making students problem solvers. I was a peer mediator in elementarty school and it helped me with my problem solving skills and have stuck with me through my whole life. Also have peer mediators avaliable in your classroom builds a sense of community in your classroom.

Reference:
Inos, R. H., & Quigley, M. A. (n.d.). Research review for inclusive practices. Retrieved from http://www.prel.org/products/Products/Inclusive-practices.htm

Relatable Resource:


I chose a YouTube video to go along with Inclusive Education in the classroom. The video is titled "Inclusion is Belonging". I really like this little short clip because it shows students with disabilitys and without disabilities becoming a community. It shows that they don't see differences in one another as well.

Resource:
LastTorrieatKIT (Designer) (2009). Inclusion is belonging [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9-XX9227ek