IPoem

I am the gigantic Redwood Tree

I wonder why everything else is so small

I hear the ocean in the distance and the birds that can fly that high

I see the world from sea to sea
I want to be protected
I am the gigantic Redwood Tree

  

I pretend to be in an army of trees

I feel the hugs from people visiting

I touch the clouds and the skies

I worry about the human chopping me down

I cry when my friends disappear

I am the gigantic Redwood Tree

I understand the power of I hold

I say look at my beauty
I dream of the future

I try to bring hope to others

I hope for the future; that years and years from now I am still here

I am the gigantic Redwood Tree

 

I Poetry

I absolutely love the idea of I Poetry. When I first began reading about I Poetry, I really did not have a clear understanding of just what it is. However, after looking at the Power Point, I was amazed at just how much content these students took in by using I Poetry. The assessment results alone are enough to make any teacher want to incorporate this strategy into the classroom. According to the slide show, students learn more when they are able to transform an idea from one form to another. The concept was definitely proved by the results of the end of unit assessments. The students had a clear understanding of the concept and were able to understand the vocabulary used during the unit. I Poetry is a great tool to use in the classroom. It is definitely one tool that I will take with me. I believe that when the students are put in the place of an object, animal, or person they are much more capable of understanding from that perspective. Students have to research their topic so that they can make a true I Poem. This allows the students to take ownership of their poems. Making the students take ownership of their poems allow them to see the importance of poetry and the topic at hand. Publishing the poems are a great way to show students how important their poems are and gives them great satisfaction. This is a great resource to use in the classroom and students will enjoy it so much.

Seals

1.  What family do seals belong to?  (Phocidae family)

2. What do seals eat? Give an example. (invertebrates and other small fish; squid)

3.  How long do seals normally live? (25 years)

4.  Name one animal that hunts seals. (polar bears)

Strategies (Reciprocal Teaching & Discussion Director)

One of the first things that I noticed was the similarities of reciprocal teaching to literature circles. Of course the names of the roles are different, but they pretty much carry out the same idea. With reciprocal teaching the teacher of course models this activity which helps students understand better and each student has a role to play within the group and they also are able to experience each role. However with the discussion director, students are focused on one student asking the questions and building a discussion off of that. I would definitely use the reciprocal teaching in small groups. I feel this is the most comparable to a literature circle and that by taking on these different roles the students learn to pay attention to the many details in a text. With the discussion director I think that I would also use this in small groups or with partners. Perhaps a student that is excelling in reading comprehension could be of assistance to a child that is struggling with the idea. Sometimes children just learn better with other children because they can say things in a way that a teacher cannot. Another good thing to do is let the struggling reader be the discussion director so that as they are reading they are constantly thinking of what they will ask and what the answer will be.

Vocabulary

As I was reading the article about “Breaking Words Down” I began thinking about how I read myself. Sometimes I do look for the root word, but I do not remember learning this strategy in school. All I remember is being told that if I did not know a word to look it up in the dictionary or use context clues. I have to agree with article in that sometimes context clues are “often too limited or misleading to be reliable in effectively supporting students’ learning of new words.” I feel that these words can be confusing to students especially. However the multi-text unit I believe is a great way to introduce students to the way of using context clues appropriately. As modeled in class when we reached a challenging word, the teacher thought out loud to us so we could break down how to use these clues ourselves. It is vital that students understand the words that they are reading because if they do not then how can we ever expect them to have reading comprehension. I remember having teachers say that if you do not know a word just skip over it and maybe the rest of the passage will help you figure out what is going on. I have to say that I am a little troubled at this strategy now. I never really thought about it before, but vocabulary enriches our lives and to tell a student to skip a word is almost saying that it’s not worth it. I have to say also that I do struggle with vocabulary to this day. Like I said before I try to find roots to words but usually just have to look it up. Using the multi-text unit especially shows students that vocabulary is so important just with the different activities involved. That is one thing that I want to make sure that I do as a teacher and stress the vocabulary. I know to do this I will have to model for my students also and perhaps along the way I will learn too to catch up on lost time skipping over words as my teachers recommended.

“Integrating Instructional-Level Social Studies”

As I was reading this article I could not help but think about the 5th grade classroom that I am in this semester as an intern. When I first arrived the students were just finishing up The Sign of the Beaver by elizabeth George Speare. I am not sure how this was handled as far as reading the book as a class, but I do wonder about the modifications made for the lower-level readers in the class. I liked the ideas discussed in the article about incorporating different books into the classroom based on reading level. I feel that this would make reading a whole lot more approachable to students that are struggling readers. The one thing that I must say is that I believe my cooperating teacher is doing a great job at teaching her students how to pick appropriate books for their level. She discusses with them how to know if a book is too hard or to easy and encourages them to switch books if they realize this is true. Daily trips to the library are not uncommon in her room and in fact they are encouraged. She has discussed with me that she believes no child should fail and that if given appropriate materials they will be successful. That is my goal, to make everyone of my students successful. I do agree with the article about how teachers are pushed to teach reading and math now and that they must integrate with other subjects to give students a well rounded education. I definitely believe that the multi-text units are a great way to accomplish this task. In the classroom where I am, they read a variety of books and they are usually integrating another subject into the reading. The students do not feel like they are only being taught one subject over the other and they really do enjoy the variety. That is why I think that multi-text lessons are great. I will definitely be incorporating this into my own classroom if possible. I do feel though that it is important to remember that not every student has to read the same book to complete a multi-text study. The most important thing is that these students are learning what needs to be learned and they are able to read their selected book with fluency and comprehension. I noticed during the reading assessment that was completed how once we went above the grade level that the student was reading on that he began to feel frustration. That is not the goal in teaching to make your students feel that frustration. The goal is to give them the tools and opportunities to become successful.

“Shared Readings: Modeling Comprehension, Vocabulary, Text Structures, and Text Features” article

I could not believe as I was reading this article how it is just like what my cooperating teacher does with her students. I am in a 5th grade classroom so part of their NCSCOS is to focus on reading comprehension. As stated in the article, she completes a shared reading with her students where they all can see the book. They call this time “CAFE.” As she is reading she focuses on one strategy that she wants them to take away from the lesson. Most of the time it is dealing with reading comprehension and she models it all the way through. She then sends them off to practice what they just learned. Another thing I love is she always integrates it with other subjects as well. I have been thinking that I really liked the way that she taught them and when I was reading the article I was so happy that I have actually seen this in practice. I am so thankful that I have been introduced to this idea and I will definitely be using this in my classroom. I can already see the benefits just from my internship classroom and I know that this works! It is such a great tool to be equipped with to take into the classroom.