Conley's Ch. 7 Blog

In the section, "Work with Interesting Content" (page 203), I agree that it is important to observe and watch for opportunities to incorporate interesting content. Students will be willing to participate and get involved when the lesson is related to their real life in some way or form. The book gives an example of a Langauge Arts curriculum standard, which in my opinion, is too complicated and boring for certain grade levels. Students want to learn about things that are interesting and fun, not boring and dull.

In order to gets the students attention it is important to present what is being taught in an interesting and motivating way. This can include the teacher being excited about reading a story related to the lesson or the teacher could have pictures or other artifacts in the classroom related to the lesson to get the students attention and get them motivated to want to learn more about the artifact.

It is also important that the teacher set high expectations. When the students see that their teacher wants them to do their best, then they are willing to go above and beyond to do their best and then some to "make their teacher proud". By doing this the teacher is letting her students know that she does care whether are not they are struggling or they do understand what she expects from them. If the studnets feel that their teacher is not concerned about their learning then they are less likely to participate in class activities or answering questions because they feel like unimportant.

Kathy Rheams Lesson Plan CIR 411

Curriculum Standard:
3. The student will express, communicate, evaluate, or exchange ideas effectively.
c. The student will compose narrative text relating an event with a clear beginning, middle, and end. (DOK 3).

Big Idea: Students will re-tell the story: "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs", including a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Preparation:
1. Introduce the components: beginning, middle, and end; of a story.
2. Ask students why they think a story must contain a beginning, middle, and end.

3. Have students brainstorm stories they have read that contained a clear beginning, middle, and end.

4.Give the students examples of beginning, middle, and end from specific stories like: "Little Red Riding Hood," "The Three Pigs", and "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs".
5. Distinguish between the importance of having beginning, middle, and end. Have students write a definition for beginning, middle, and end.
6. Write a short story using a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Guidance:
1. Students will brainstorm topics for short stories.
2. Students will write a short story including a clear beginning, middle, and end.
3. Teacher will walk around the class and give students feedback on their brainstorming topics as well as their short stories.

Application:

1. Show students a concrete example of a short story which includes a clear beginning, middle, and end.
2. Tests students knowledge by asking them questions from the beginning, middle, and end, of the story. Have them state whether the sentence(s) came from the beginning, middle, or end of the story.

Assessment:

I would orally assess the students by asking them questions using sentences from the beginning, middle, and end of the story. I would have a checklist to make sure that every student is getting the concept.

Conley's Ch. 5 Blog

Beginning on page 128, our book talks about the challenges posed by different kinds of text. For example Informal texts(page 129) are descibed as texts that are used to convey and represent information. There are many ways that informal texts appear in different places other than the classroom like: billboards, lists, graphics and logos on food packages, and even road and traffic signs. Also included in this category is Documents(pg 129) which everyone is pretty familiar with because we create documents on a regular basis as students. Well-designed documents can represent a great deal of information in an efficient format. In any kind of informational text, the amount of information represented can become a liability when too much information is represented in too compact a form. (pg. 129-30). I agree because I as a student have been overwhelmed with some text presented to me in classroom instruction.

On page 135 our text talks about "Assessing Text Complexity". The book states that you have to "beware of claims that certain materials are "right on level" (when they may or may not be) for students. Usually, this means that the publishers have used a readability formula to derive a crude grade level score." This is unfair because if students are not being assessed appropriately then they will fall farther and farther behind, therefore dropping out of school rather than trying to finish two or three grades behind. The book lists several ways of assessing including: (1) readability formulas, (2)readability checklists, and (3)FLIP readability assessment.

I like the chart on page 145 that breaks down ways of "selecting texts" to help teachers answer questions as well as other resources to help them teach "Big Idea Text". The chart breaks down the information into four sections: (Standards, Big Ideas, and Connecting Concepts; Texts That Represent Desired Knowledge and Practices; Knowledge Necessary for Practices and Performances; and Texts That Respond and Demonstrate Desired Practices and Performances). The book states that the right side of the chart lists text resources that could best be used to develop students' knowledge. Another reason for selecting texts consists of practices and performances students need to learn to become experts in a content area. Texts are used in content areas not only to devlop knowledge about Big Ideas, but also to practice various skills in content areas.

Kathy Rheams Chapter 4 Blog

According to our book, "Ongoing Assessments is a term that signals that assessment should be diverse and happening ALL the time." Because of this teachers MUST continually update their knowledge about what students are experiencing in and out of the classroom and what students know and what they can do. It is extremely important for teachers to stay up to date with changes in the school system and in the real world in order for them to be able to assess what students know and what they need to learn. Our book also describes "Classroom Assessments -- which are particularly useful, including day-to-day conversations with students, observations, and reviews of classroom work and classroom test performance." I agree that these assessments are often over looked and therefore students lose out on the learning process because of lack of involvement in class discussions. The more we get our students involved in discussions and hands-on learning the more they will learn and the more they will want to learn.


In the section on "Personal Assessments" I totally agree with the book when it states: "Knowing more about students as individuals will help with teaching and learning in at least three ways: (1) Motivating students by bringing their backgrounds and prior knowledge into classrooms; (2) Helping students to make connections between their lives adn academic texts and concepts; and (3) Guiding students to use their backgrounds and life experiences to critically read and evaluate academic texts and texts from popular culture(mass media, film, music, sports, and the internet)." This is so true when students can relate what they are learning to what they have experienced in life they are more adept to remember the information because they have "experienced" in some form in their life. Experience is the best teacher and when teachers can use life experiences to help students learn it makes a tremendous impact on their learning skills and ability.


"Portfolio Assessment" is a great way to get students involved because it allows them to keep up with all their work, feedback from the teacher and their peers, their own self evaluations, and
notes about their progress from the teacher and themselves as well. This type of assessment allows the students the opportunity to evalute their own work and allows the students to be involved in their own learning process. There are different types of portfolios that can be used like: (1) "Personality Profile Portfolio" this type of portfolio asks students to represent something that they are extremely knowledgable about -- their own personal identity. (2) "Academic Portfolio" which is a collection of students' best work. and finally (3) "Growth Portfolio" which exhibits students' development from an earlier point to a later point. By having students create and keep portfolios of their own work they are more adept to do their best work to keep in their portfolio. I would definitely use portfolios for older students, and they could be used for younger students as well.