Module 3: Phonics Evidence and Strategies

I found this power point to be very useful when discussing what high quality instruction is based on according to research. I was placed in a 1^st grade class during my junior year of undergrad where the teacher assigned the students worksheet after worksheet and she wondered why her students were not as successful as the other classes. It is so important for students to be engaged in the learning through hands on activities. I have found that the school that I am currently working at is constantly using a manipulative and hands on activities in order for students to become interested in the learning. If we gave students worksheets everyday, they would lose interest and lack the motivation to complete assignments. I found the students at the school I completed observations in during junior year to lack the desire to come to school each and everyday. The students at my current school discuss with one another how much they love this school and coming everyday. I have never seen such a positive attitudes from the majority of students because of the engaging and interest based lessons.

I currently work at a school for students with dyslexia and they are constantly experiencing letter reversals. Each week we practice two letters and after that week, the students are required to fix the letter if they complete a letter reversal. We begin the exercise by “sky writing” the letter in the air, speaking in a funny voice all together how the letter is formed, tracing over the already written letter on their own chalkboard with a wet sponge and going over it with a paper towel, and finally writing it on their own on the chalkboard. When students are learning their sight words for the week, we create “word tents.” Each letter of the word is written on a note card and it is folded into a tent.  When working in small groups, the students take turns sounding out their particular word. They love being able to do this because it is visual as well as hands on. This power point is very beneficial as well as reading what others in the class have written about how phonics is used in their class. I loved being able to read the power point and identify how phonics is used in my classroom.

Module 3: Overview of Assessment

I have found that throughout my teaching, assessing students daily on what they know is crucial in order to create your lessons on the needs of the students. Providing students with a ticket out the door on the concept that they were just taught would provide you with a quick idea of which students may need additional help in the particular subject. Assessments can be completed throughout the day by simply walking around the room and taking notes on the students work. When you have an idea of which students have mastered a particular concept, you can partner them with a student that may need extra help. If you are not assessing students on what is being taught, then you will not know whether you should move on to the next material or review the material because half of the class did not understand it the first time. The power point stated the importance of knowing where students stand in order to report back to their parents. By administering formative assessments such as tickets out the door, raise of hands, observations, etc. the teacher can provide parents with feedback. This will help the teacher create effective teaching strategies in order for students to succeed on the summative assessment at the end of the unit.

I completely agree with the power point that high-stakes tests should not be used when considering what the curriculum should consist of. When students are placed under pressure, they often times do not perform as well as they should. Often time’s they are intimidated by a formal test and their nerves distract them from focusing on the material. 

Module 3: Video Analysis

I found the first video to be very helpful because I am currently teaching in a 1^st grade classroom. A lot of my students are struggling readers and I am always looking for new ideas in order to improve their reading skills. The students are introduced a new letter each week and they practice echoing words that contain these letters just as the students did in the video. When students have trouble sounding out a word, they are asked to “tap out the word.” This allows the student to individually sound out each letter in order to read the word. The “tap it out” method is the same idea as the block strategy used in the second video. I really like the idea of using blocks in order for students to point to the different sounds that the letters make. I feel as though this would be a very beneficial strategy for when students begin learning words with digraphs. My students have not learned this concept and have trouble when trying to sound out words when they are writing in their journals. The only problem that seemed to confuse the student in the video was that she was sounding out the words and using the manipulative from right to left. We read from the left side to the right side and so this is how the activity with the manipulative would have been completed if I were to administer this activity. Overall I feel as though this is very effective and beneficial for students.

When I am tutoring Daniel in the mornings and he comes across a word that he does not know, I remind him to use the “tap it out” strategy. I feel as though it would be very helpful for Daniel if I were to gather a manipulative for him to use. This also might be another strategy to use with my students when we are working on reading their story for the week. My students are very hands on learners and I think that this might be a helpful tool that they could even use at home. 

Module 2: Power Point

Emergent Literacy

In the beginning of this power point, I really liked the idea of having students reflect back to previous years of literacy. I feel as though this could be an assignment completed during the first week of school in order to gather your student’s opinions on literacy. Throughout my undergrad at Georgia College, we completed a theorist project. Reading about the different theorists reminded of important theories that are applied in the classroom. It is important to remember Piaget’s theory discussing how children’s view on reading/writing differs from that of adults when teaching literacy in the classroom. I really agree with Vygotsky’s theory that learning takes place in a social context. Often time’s students can learn just as much from collaborating with their peers than listening to the teacher. It is amazing to observe students while they are working in groups and listen to the different conversations that are taking place.

After completing a QRI with one of my first grade students, I have discovered that he is in-between the emergent and alphabetic (early reading) stage. We just started our third week of school and I am still learning the different levels that my students are on. He could not gain meaning from the text and was only able to answer certain questions when I directed him. He also had a lot of trouble reading a majority of the words in the story without my help. I found that he was demonstrating characteristics from two stages, which was discussed in the power point.

Assessment of Reading and Writing Process

After reading through this power point, I have determined the importance of observing student’s conversations between one another. This can be used as a tool to measure their vocabulary. Throughout the different readings thus far, I have found that when have I have a classroom of my own, I will keep a portfolio on each student. This will be a way for students, parents, and teachers to visually see the progress that the student has made throughout the school year. During my undergrad, one of my professors stated the importance of providing students a rubric before they begin their writing piece. This will allow the students to know the teacher’s expectations. I have seen teachers allow their students to get involved in the construction of the rubric and I found this to be very effective. This allows students to point out what is important or necessary in a writing piece. Verbally going over the rubric and the class expectations reinforces how the writing should be completed.

As a first year teacher, this reading was very helpful in how to set up an appropriate portfolio.  Allowing the students to set personal goals in their portfolios provides them with a sense of ownership of their work. If they set the goals, then most likely they will strive to achieve those goals. 

Emergent Writing in the Primary Grades Article

            I found this article to be helpful in that it discussed how students may in fact have characteristics within two different stages of the, “same piece of writing.” It also stated the importance of recording student’s work from the very first day of school in order to see the progress the student made by the end of the year. On the very first day of my first grade class, we completed a time capsule. This time capsule consisted of a writing piece and a drawing to go along with it. We asked the students what they had written and recorded it below in order to refer back to it in case the students were to forget. We also measured each student with a string in order to see how much the student has grown throughout the school year. I found this to be a great idea in that the teachers, students, and parents can visually see the progress that the student has made.

Throughout the classroom that I am working in, there are many posters of words as well as the student work hanging on the walls. This allows students to visually refer to the posters as well as feel a sense of confidence that their work is hanging in the classroom. While observing my student’s writing thus far, most have not applied spacing, punctuation, and capitalization. The article discussed that once the students begin to develop this, it is often times follow by a concern of spelling a word correctly. I found it also to be interesting that the article compared a student’s work in Spanish to that of English. It was amazing to see the difference as well as the Spanish influence her writing had when completing an assignment in English. 

Opitz 5 & 6

Throughout the reading of chapters 5 & 6 in the Opitz textbook, I took note of how important it is to keep a journal on children of different things that you observe throughout the day. I find this to be very important in that you can go back at the end of the day and reflect on each child. This journal can also be kept to write down conversations between students as well as interests of the students. Preparing lessons around the interests of the students as well as addressing specific struggles within the classroom is key for effective teaching. Being a first year teacher, this course has really allowed me to take notes of what to do with students academically the first couple of weeks of school. Asking students questions about their perspective on reading is crucial in order to get them excited about reading and increase their confidence level if they are insecure with reading. Creating questions to ask students about their reading habits as well as book interests allows the teacher to make connections with students when different books and writing assignments are being introduced.

One of my favorite components that I took away from the reading was the importance of “record keeping.” When I have a classroom of my own, I will be sure to create a portfolio of students writing samples that I chose as well as allowing my students to pick out their best work. This allows students to take ownership of their learning and strive to work harder. Not only are portfolios beneficial for the student as well as the teacher, they can be used in conferences as well as sending them to the students teacher the following year. This will help point out students’ strengths and weaknesses in order to plan effective lessons accordingly.

Being a new teacher, I am still learning all of the standardized tests that are administered throughout schools. The 3^rd grade class where I completed my student teaching during my senior year took the CRCT. A week before the CRCT, my host teacher as well as myself stressed the importance of the students getting plenty of sleep and eating a healthy breakfast. We told them to remain calm during the test and to do their best. I really enjoyed reading about the criterion-referenced test. I had never heard of this test and I found that it would be very beneficial in order to discover each student’s specific strengths and needs. I am still learning about the different forms of assessments and this course is already doing a great job of informing me of important tests. 

Video Analysis

In the beginning of the video, I really liked how she was able to ask the student a few questions about her view on reading. This allows you to get a better idea of whether or not the student enjoys reading. Also, I found it important to gather information on which type of stories the student is interested in. This provides the teacher with a better idea of which stories the student would like to read in order to incorporate them into different lessons.  I have given a student a QRI during my student teaching and I found that when you are able to explain to students that this will not negatively effect their grade and that they should not be nervous, then they are much more relaxed and as a result, more successful.

When I complete the QRI, I will make sure to make the student feel very comfortable and remind the student that it is ok if he/she does not know a word. This test should not be administered to stress out a student, but rather to gather a better idea of a students’ reading level in order to become a more effective teacher.