Reneekrasinski1's Blog

Final Project ST

reneekrasinski1 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:21:17 +0000

Critique 694.20 ST

reneekrasinski1 — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:30:42 +0000

The first video I watched was “Essential Science for Teachers: Physical Science” (K-4). While watching this video, I noticed some different transitions and strategies used by the teacher. The educator often used very small groups or allowed the students to work independently. During whole group discussions, the teacher asked questioned as her pre-assessment and then went over the directions smoothly. While the groups worked, the teacher visited to ask questions about what they were discussing. The teacher supplied the students with investigations that required creativity and a higher level of thinking. The transitions of the video flowed together smoothly. The video showed a few teachers in their classroom teaching a lesson, and then the video either went to a detailed description of the lesson, the teacher gave insight into the lesson or to the science studio where students shared their ideas about different topics of matter. I would have liked to view more of the classroom setting and teaching strategies. I did not view a lot of social interaction among the students. I did, however, noticed that the students did display very good social skills, which are “socially acceptable learned behaviors, such as sharing, helping, initiating conversations, and giving compliments.” (page 357, Zembar & Blume, 2009) They seemed to communicate and work well with each other. While viewing the classroom as a whole, I noticed that the genders of the students were evenly grouped in their seats.

The second video I viewed was a language arts video, “Inside Writing Communities” (3-5). I chose to view a language arts video because that is one of the content areas I teach and I feel that I can always learn more about new ways to help students express their thoughts. The video focused on many teaching strategies that encouraged students to communicate and move. Teachers used whole group instruction but also encouraged group work and discussions. One strategy that I really enjoyed and will try it in my classroom is a morning meeting. The strategy was done with fifth grade students by allowing the students to talk about new things in their life, and then shared them with the whole group. They also all shook hands with each other and said good morning. I feel that approach would encourage social and emotional skills by allowing students to interact with each other and become more comfortable with each other. That would also allow the different genders to become more knowledgeable with one another. In both videos that I watched, the transitions were very similar. They both showed transitions from whole group to group work. The transitions seemed very smooth and easy to do. The students seemed to understand what their transition would be because the teacher gave very precise directions and information.

I enjoyed watching both of these videos because it allowed me into many diverse classrooms. I was able to focus on different strategies that fourth and fifth grade students respond well to in the classroom. I will try to view other videos in order to broaden my teaching skills and strategies, and ultimately become a better educator.

Final_Project_ST

Teaching Strategies

reneekrasinski1 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:07:07 +0000

I think that teachers should use strategies that are beneficial and easy for the students to follow and use. I think that getting students moving and out of the book every so often can help the students become eager to learn. I also think that students working in groups and sharing ideas can be a good strategy to use.

Teacher strategies that are appropriate for fourth and fifth grade children:

Visual aids- Students learn many different ways. Providing visual aids that students can look at and examine will help with understanding.
Use manipulatives- Give students the actual thing you are teaching about or other manipulatives to help with subjects like math.
Modeling- Show the students exactly how to write a narrative, solve a problem, etc.
Interactive notes- Because students at this age are not completely familiar and comfortable with note taking, have students write notes, or draw to help explain.
Dramatize a story- Have students act out a scene or story from a book. Often helps with history.
KWL Chart- Can be used to assess the students prior knowledge.
Read aloud- The teacher reads a story to the class, asking comprehension questions throughout.
Think-Pair-Share- Students first think independently about a question, then pair up with a partner to discuss it, then share it with the class.
Brainstorming Web- Students branch off of one main topic. Usually used before writing a story or paper.
Venn Diagram- a chart that is used to compare two things. Can be used for characters in a story among other things.
Reader’s Theater- Students read and act out a play. Promotes fluency and word recognition.
Think aloud- The teacher reads aloud to the students, during difficult areas, the teacher pauses and tries to get through those parts by thinking aloud while the students listen. The students can try think alouds with a partner after it has been modeled a few times.
Literature circle- A group of 4-5 students read a passage or story and then discuss it with each other. Students can take notes if necessary.
Gallery Walk- Students in a group discuss a topic and write their ideas on a large board post-it. Then, each group takes turns going to each groups post-it and makes comments or suggestions.
Five-Pointed Star- A graphic organizer that is used while reading a story. Organizes the setting, characters, problem, solution and moral or outcome
Agree/Disagree Matrix- Students brainstorm a topic by writing what they agree and disagree. Can be used for persuasive papers.
ABC Brainstorm- Can be used with any topic. Students try to think of words A through Z that relate to the topic.
Collage- Students gather pictures or words that relate to a topic. Helps with visual learners.
Free Write- Students are given a length of time to write freely about a topic. This is to help the flow of words and ideas.
Box and Bullet- Used in questions that have more than two parts. Students box the “bossy words” and draw a line from that word to a bullet to answer that part of the question.

SS/ELA Module 5

reneekrasinski1 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:26:37 +0000

Because of the time of the year, I chose the historical book The Pilgrim’s First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern for my fourth grade class. I knew all of the children were familiar with the concept of pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, however not many of them read this specific book. So, I did a read-aloud with the class and was sure to show the pictures. Then, I broke the class into three groups of six and explained their task. I tried to make the groups have an even number of boys and girls, as well as those that I thought would be creative and work well together. I gave the groups about twenty minutes to prepare and offered paper, crayons and anything else in the room to be used as a prop. I told the groups they had to pick a narrator and then decide what character everyone else was. After a few minutes of disagreements over the characters, the groups seemed to work together to plan out their play. They drew and colored pictures of food, a ship, animals, etc. After about twenty minutes I asked the first group to get ready while the other two groups sat. Each group had a narrator that read as the rest of the group dramatized the story. The students in all groups seemed nervous and hesitant at first. The students did different things like, sitting in chairs in a row and making wave noises to show the pilgrims on a boat, the Pilgrims bringing over the pictures that they drew and colored that represented food to the Indians, and shaking hands with each other that symbolized peace. The groups did not have dialogue because of the narrator; they simply made gestures and actions and showed their props to go along with the story. I feel that they did a very good job considering they only had twenty minutes to prepare and had never done anything like that before. It seemed as though they all enjoyed it and would like to try it again.

SS/ELA Module 4b

reneekrasinski1 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:53:31 +0000

“In Response to Executive Order 9066″
by Dwight Okita

KWL CHART

What appeals to you about this strategy?

I like that I can do informal assessments with the KWL Chart. It also gets the students thinking about their previous knowledge about the subject. The chart is an easy tool that allows students to organize their thoughts and information.

- How might you adapt this strategy for this poem?

The KWL chart can also be used when talking about war, conflict, or discrimination.

- What resources (fiction, nonfiction, media, historical documents, experts, community members) could you use to provide context for the poem?

I would probably provide nonfiction, historical documents or community members who have experienced racism or discrimination.

SS/ELA Module 4a

reneekrasinski1 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:53:32 +0000

While reading letter 2 I noticed many things the student did well. For example, Josue used very good punctuation, capitalization and grammar. At the beginning of the paper he clearly stated exactly why he was writing the letter and why it is a problem. Josue gave many reasons of why people should be allowed to speak their native language in schools. He also provided the recipient with different examples and helped him understand how it would feel in their shoes. Josue seemed to organize his paper correctly and used many connecting words.

After reading the letter, I might ask this student a few questions about what was written. I would like to ask the student what specifically does he want to happen in the schools? Does he want teachers for each grade and language, tutors, or an ESL program? Also, does he want only certain languages covered in the schools or every language that students speak? I would also like to ask him if he knew of a plan that schools can follow in order to make this happen?

Designing Instruction

reneekrasinski1 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:47:53 +0000

After watching the video “Building Community,” I saw many different techniques and strategies that can be used in classrooms that include children in the later elementary/ early middle school stage. I noticed many strategies that seemed to involve all the students in the 4^th and 5^th grade classroom. I thought it was beneficial to the students that the teacher walked around from group to group asking higher level of thinking questions. That encourages the students to think more abstractly and allows the teacher the opportunity to do some informal assessments. I liked that the teacher allowed the students to have a choice in the literature they read. That is something that I never thought of doing. All too often students are asked to read books that they have little or no interest in reading. I also thought it was a great idea for the teacher to model what a good group discussion is, rather than just assuming the students know. By doing that, the students understand more of what to do once they get into their smaller groups. As a classroom teacher, that is one thing that I try to do. I try not to assume that the students automatically know or understand what is expected of them. In that classroom, the teacher allowed the groups to work at their own pace. That is something that I need to do more of because I often forget that some students learn at a slower or faster pace than others. I will try to implement that strategy in my classroom by grouping students together with those who are on a similar level. In order to do that, I will need to do some mini-assessments of my students to find out exactly what reading level they are on. I could give pre-tests, timed reading assessments or make observations of their abilities. By implementing some of these strategies, students should become more comfortable and enjoy reading. It also promotes community in the classroom and encourages opinions from everyone involved.

Friendship

reneekrasinski1 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:12:20 +0000

On Tuesday, October 27^th, I conducted a 10-15 minute interview with a kindergarten and a fourth grade student on the topic of friendships. The interview was conducted in an urban school district of roughly 1,300 students. For the past two years, the elementary school where the interview was conducted has been rated excellent according the Ohio Department of Education. The community the school is located in is economically disadvantaged and has over 70% of students who require free breakfast and lunch.

I interviewed a kindergarten student named Alexa around 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Our interview was conducted in the hallway using a table and chairs that are usually utilized for tutoring. At first, Alexa was very shy. I felt that reaction was normal because she had never met me before. After telling her a little about myself and talking about her teacher and some of the games she has in her class, she began to warm up and respond to me. I began to ask Alexa questions about things other then her friends in order to build a rapport and allow her to become relaxed. I wanted her to answer my questions using as many words as she could. I felt the only way she would was if she felt comfortable around me. After Alexa gave me more involved answers, I began with the real questions. I asked Alexa who her friends were and was a little surprised when she only responded with Ava, her little sister. I then asked her more specifically who her friends were in her class; she responded with Kiley, Emily and Nick. She did not answer that question as quick as I thought she would have; it seemed as though she really had to think hard about it. I asked her what she enjoyed doing with her friends and she responded with “play.” Again, I had to restate the question to get a more specific and detailed response. Alexa told me that she liked to sit by them in her classroom. She also said that she liked to color, read books, play in the kitchen center and play outside with her friends. I tried to explore her response a little more in which I discovered that she usually only colors and very rarely gets to paint, likes to read books on the “ABC carpet” and enjoys going down the slide and swinging on the swing set with Kiley, Emily and Nick. Alexa seemed the most confused when I asked her what she liked about her friends. I do not think that she quite knew how to answer that question. I did not want to provide her with possible answers but it was not until I gave her a few examples of why I liked my friends that she seemed to understand. However, she only responded with “they’re nice.” Again, I had to try to get her to open up and give me more reasons. I had to ask her what she liked specifically for each friend. She said that Nick is funny and sits next to her in their group. Kiley goes over her house sometimes to play and she brought in a doll with different clothes for show and tell. And, Emily was in her preschool and is in her group when they get to do centers. After meeting Alexa, it helped me to realize just how shy some students can be. It also helped me to understand the importance of incorporating social activities that encourage students to become more comfortable communicating with both their peers and adults. I realize Alexa might have just been timid with me because she had never formally met me before; however, if she were bashful and quiet with most adults then I would try to encourage her to be involved in activities when volunteers or other adults come into the classroom. That might allow her to become more at ease and relaxed when in social situations. I also believe that if Alexa were to see her classmates interacting with adults, she might become more relieved herself. By just asking Alexa a few questions, I discovered that she was not socially comfortable around me. I believe that nervousness may have contributed to her short answers or the times when she seemed very confused by my questions.

Later during the same day I interviewed a fourth grade student, Caylee. The meeting took place about 12:30 in the afternoon in my classroom. I currently have Caylee in my fourth grade class for science, language arts, spelling and writing. She is always very sweet, polite, well mannered and always gets along with her classmates. She does well academically and has been known to help others with their homework or papers. I asked Caylee to stay back from her specials in order to conduct the interview; she seemed very willing. Caylee explained to me that she has three best friends, Jessica, Kaitlynn and Maria. All of her best friends are located in her same class. So, I asked if she was good friends with anyone outside of her class, she replied no, those are the only girls that she likes enough to be best friends with this year. Caylee said that she and her friends like to sit together during lunch and talk. She also said that sometimes they go over to her house to watch movies like Hannah Montana, listen to music or play in her basement with her toys. When they watch television, they watch the Disney channel, Nickelodeon or Full House. I asked Caylee what specifically they played with and she said they like to play dress up with all her mom’s old clothes that they have in a box. Sometimes they pretend to be famous or dress up and pretend to be different people, like doctors, teachers, or musicians. They really like to play school together. Caylee and her friends like to play on the computer, play board games like Clue and Scene it, ride bikes, jump on the trampoline and play hide and seek. She also stated that they “hang out” together, cheer and are always together after the games they cheer at for football. Caylee also said that sometimes she play at her friends houses when her mom lets her. When asked why she likes her friends, she said they are all nice, helpful, and they want to play with her when they come over and not her older sister. She also said that her friends are not loud, and they are very quiet like her. Caylee was very specific and eager to explain to me what she liked about her three best friends. First, she told me all about Jessica. She said that Jessica is very happy and is always nice to her. They have been friends since they were in the second grade together. Her and Jessica both like to watch Nickelodeon and ride bikes. Caylee then explained the good things she saw in Kaitlynn. She said that Kaitlynn is very helpful and they like to do homework together. Her and Kaitlynn have been cheering together for a long time and their moms take turns taking them to practices and games. The last friend Caylee discussed is Maria. She described Maria as nice, smart and funny. Maria lives a few houses away and likes to come over when the weather is nice. They like to play on the trampoline, ride bikes or play hide and go seek with other kids in their neighborhood.

One of the many responsibilities a teacher has is to gain a good rapport of the students. The teacher must learn the educational, physical, emotional and social habits of each student. Our book states that “in middle childhood, when gender segregation peaks, boys and girls were likely to also self segregate into same age than into mixed age groups.” (pg 385 Zembar and Blume, 2009) I find this statement to be accurate because the kindergarten student stated that one of her best friends was a person of the opposite gender. Whereas, Caylee, my fourth grade student, was only best friends with people of her own gender. Students that are closer to the middle school age seem to become interested in those who have the same interests and abilities. Caylee liked to play dress up and watch television shows that are geared more towards females. Alexa, on the other hand, just liked to play with her friends and did not really care too much about what it was that they played with. Because of that, we as educators must try in every way to encourage genders to become more socially accepting of each other. Teachers can do this by seating students of different genders next to each other or by putting an even number of boys and girls in groups when doing a project. Gender isolation often occurs both in and out of the classroom such as, on the playground, lunchroom, or on the school bus. If educators do their part by demonstrating and encouraging genders to become more socially accepting of each other, I believe that students will then begin to demonstrate the same behavior.

Zembar, M. & Blume, L. (2009). Middle Childhood Development: A Contextual Approach. Upper Saddle, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

SS/ELA Module 3

reneekrasinski1 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:30:36 +0000

What did you learn from assessing the letters?

I learned that even though both students were in the fifth grade, their persuasive letters were very different. For example, letter one had a lot of spelling mistakes and run-on sentences. Letter two was better written and it seems as though the letter was proof read for errors. I also learned about the different criteria such as tone and form, among the others that I am already familiar with.

What advice would you give each student for next steps?

I would offer each child very different advice. I would explain to the child who wrote the first letter to offer more then one example in order to try to persuade the author better. I would also show the child how to proof read a paper and how to use dictionaries to check spelling. That should help with his/her spelling issues and proof reading ability that is lacking.
To the child who wrote the second letter, I would teach the child about run-on sentences and sentence fragments. Being that this child only gave two reasons, I would also explain to the child that the more examples he/she were to give, the greater the chance to persuade the author.

TV Representations

reneekrasinski1 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:21:02 +0000

I watched the episode of iCarly titled iScream On Halloween. I never watched iCarly or most of the other shows listed as options. I must say that I think it is very different from what I remember watching when I was younger. The basis for the show seems more grown up and encourages the children playing the character to act more mature. I do not believe much demonstrated reality for fourth or fifth graders. The plot and interactions among each other were not something that I believe a young child might say or do. For example, one scene showed an enormous pumpkin going up on an elevator. Later in the show, the pumpkin was made into a jack-o-lantern by using a chainsaw. The only realistic scenes I saw in the show were some of the scenes during Halloween. The kids dressed up like normal Halloween characters and went trick-or-treating. From my experience, fourth and fifth graders still dress up and get excited to go trick-or-treating.