Module 4

            Literacy is very important across all content areas because students use literacy skills in every single subject. Whether students realize it or not, they are becoming better readers in social studies, science, math, etc.  Often time’s in my undergraduate degree, we had to combine literature with a social studies unit.

            I am not as experienced in the field of using RTI because I am currently working at a private school. Through working in a public school with the RTI program, I experienced working with students that were on varying tiers. Often time’s the students that enter into my school have been through the process of RTI and have needed additional help in school because I teach at a school with students with learning differences. This relates back to the previous article in that students need to be able to express literacy development in reading in order to succeed in science. The importance of exposing students to a variety of texts was discussed in this article and I feel as though this is one concept that I will definitely gain as a 1^st year teacher.

            I feel as though this article is addressing the students that attend my school. Most of the students at my school have dyslexia and do not read on grade level. It is amazing to see the transformation of each student’s character as he/she builds confidence throughout the school year by taking a slower pace to learn how to read. Many of the students that enter into our classroom have low self-confidence and doubt their ability to be able to read. They enter into the classroom feeling “beaten up” due to not succeeding in a general ed classroom. It is absolutely amazing to see their sense of self-confidence build within just a couple of months of the school year. They are able to adapt better in this type of learning environment because just as the second tier of the RTI program offers extra help, they are provided with a 6:1 teacher ratio. This means that there is smaller group sizes, more one on one teaching with individual students, as well as moving at a more student friendly pace rather than having to strictly follow common core.

            Right away when the video discussing students expressing their thoughts started, I was interested because it was dealing with 1^st grade students. I feel as though getting students involved in the lesson is very important in order for them to be engaged. I feel as though having students come to the front of the room to act out a story is very effective for students in order for them to visualize their writing. Allowing students to talk about their interests really allows them to build on their background knowledge and therefore they are more interested and motivated in participating in the lesson. We are discussing how to write sentences in the classroom and I am going to suggest this activity to my lead teacher. Using the “magic questions” allows students to add more detail to their writing, which is often times difficult for them to add in their sentence writing.

             Throughout our classroom, we are constantly playing different phonemic games in order to help with students reading and writing. I played a rhyming game with the students and they loved it because it was a game. They did not see it as a typical work station because they were not having to use paper and pencil. This was much more effective because they were engaged in the activity. Each week the students have a different sight word that they try and master by the end of the week. They use all sorts of hands on activities in order to become an expert with the particular sight word. One of the things that they enjoy most is building the word out of play-doh.

            I feel as though my 1^st graders are too young to be able to make a webquest on their own, but some of them may be able to navigate through a webquest with much guidance. I completed a webquest in my undergrad and used it with my third grade students and I found it very beneficial. Students now a day are so savy with technology that they are easily able to adapt to new websites. Webquests are very student centered and I have found in the upper grades that they are actually able to build a webquest on their own with some guidance. I found all of the readings in Module 4 to be very beneficial and relatable to my teaching experience thus far. 

Module 3 Summary

               It is amazing that now a day there has been so much technological advancement that students have to learn how to read and write in a print word as well as a social media world. I never thought about how students were much more exposed to narrative texts rather than expository texts. The article stated that students are more successful on standardized tests when they have more exposure to expository texts. I found it interesting that if students do not develop the skill of retelling a story, then they will have a difficult time summarizing the events that occurred in a text. One tip that I am going to use in my classroom from the article is being careful when choosing texts. If students are exposed to too much difficult vocabulary in a text, then they will most likely feel overwhelmed. I found the chart that was found in the article to be very beneficial as well in order to have a reference of books. The different phases that were introduced were a helpful hint in order to prepare a class when introducing an expository text.

                  I found that the action research paper was very beneficial because I am completing my action research on student interests. This is a great reference to have through the entire action research project. Another piece of information that I found to be resourceful was the Five Expository Text Structures chart. This is a great chart to have when discussing different examples of graphic organizers.

Information Literacy Strategies

                  I absolutely love the opening quote in the video "Encouraging Enthusiasm for Reading" that discussed  that children are made “readers on the laps of their parents.” I can relate to this growing up as a child and reading to my parents as well as relatives. I felt as thought this was a very inspirational video. I really enjoyed the Dr. Seuss quotes because we are going to be celebrating his birthday in a few weeks in my classroom by making green eggs and ham. One of the most important things that I took away from this video was allowing children to express their creativity.

                  I had never heard of the smart table before watching this video. This type of table is incredible for children’s learning. This table seems very adaptive for each student’s learning style. It makes me curious how many schools actually have this type of table in their classroom. I cannot believe how technologically advanced this table is and how effective this could be in the classroom. My students would absolutely love this.