I finally got onto www. funbrain.com.! The school wouldn't let me on this site. I had to go to my home computer to make this work. It was worth the wait! My Kindergarten class would like this site. It has flash arcades, math, reading, playground games, (I went to the Kindergarten section and played a game of catching fish), web books, comics, and movies.
In the Reading section I clicked on Tess's Tree for younger students. It had games, arts & crafts, movie reviews, learning activities, free software and printable worksheets.
There was a funblog for students to participate in raising funds for pennies for police dogs.
The teachers section lists gradebook, standards, curriculum, homework, quizlab, and teacher vision.
I would use this site for my Kindergartners to use as a fun Friday activity. I would need to get to the computer lab early to get all 17 computers where they needed to be in Tess's Tree.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Make up report for missing class on 2/28/08
I watched the video of class on 2/28/08. You presented a study of Anette LaRue entitled "Home Advantages." It studied families in a working class school versus middle class and upper class schools. Qualitative differences were discussed.
There was a sense of separation between home and school. Parents felt a lack of confidence, lack of information, and a lack of initiative (special requests). An uncritical/critical category showed that parents were not critical of the academics of school but were very critical of lunchroom procedures.
The differences between the families were competence, confidence, income/material resources, demands at work, and networks (the amounts of information about the system). The class then discussed the implications of these findings. Some teachers wanted parents to receive more information about student progress. A secondary teacher wanted high school students to accept more responsibility for their grades and work.
Urban versus rural issues were mentioned. There may be less social connections in urban areas. Are these problems or realities? I think these are realities. I always contact my parents after testing and let them know what they need to work on with their children. I use letters and phone calls to keep the home and school connection strong.
Chapter 4 in the Leu book was reviewed. The discussion on the chapter was prefaced by three questions. What were the key ideas? What are the websites you visited and what impressed you about those websites? What activities would you like to try? Leonard stated that emails and chat rooms have no place in school. A second grade teacher explained a webquest that she designed for her students about penguins.
Ed Fry's material on "Increasing Fluency With High Frequency Word Phrases," was presented. It included comprehension and vocabulary activities and lessons for grades 1-6. I like Dr. Fry's word lists. This is a site I will definitely check out.
The International Children's Digital Library website was shown on the screen. I would like to peruse this site.
The Xu book was discussed. The teacher in the chapter discussed the step by step process of designing popular culture text units using the standards and cross-curricular integration. There were many connections being made by students in this chapter.
The teacher had to do research on her students' interests and then learn about rap music. This gained the respect and trust of students. The checklists were helpful resources.
Chapter 5 of the Leu book examined English and the Language Arts curriculum. Copyrighting issues, technology vs. interpersonal skills, and comparison/contrast issues were mentioned. Wikki, and my spaces sites were reviewed. The teach.web site for creating classroom home pages was perused. I used this site for my classroom webpage for project 2. I decided it was more fun than a blog page for my parents. We will see how many parents actually visit my web address!
There was a sense of separation between home and school. Parents felt a lack of confidence, lack of information, and a lack of initiative (special requests). An uncritical/critical category showed that parents were not critical of the academics of school but were very critical of lunchroom procedures.
The differences between the families were competence, confidence, income/material resources, demands at work, and networks (the amounts of information about the system). The class then discussed the implications of these findings. Some teachers wanted parents to receive more information about student progress. A secondary teacher wanted high school students to accept more responsibility for their grades and work.
Urban versus rural issues were mentioned. There may be less social connections in urban areas. Are these problems or realities? I think these are realities. I always contact my parents after testing and let them know what they need to work on with their children. I use letters and phone calls to keep the home and school connection strong.
Chapter 4 in the Leu book was reviewed. The discussion on the chapter was prefaced by three questions. What were the key ideas? What are the websites you visited and what impressed you about those websites? What activities would you like to try? Leonard stated that emails and chat rooms have no place in school. A second grade teacher explained a webquest that she designed for her students about penguins.
Ed Fry's material on "Increasing Fluency With High Frequency Word Phrases," was presented. It included comprehension and vocabulary activities and lessons for grades 1-6. I like Dr. Fry's word lists. This is a site I will definitely check out.
The International Children's Digital Library website was shown on the screen. I would like to peruse this site.
The Xu book was discussed. The teacher in the chapter discussed the step by step process of designing popular culture text units using the standards and cross-curricular integration. There were many connections being made by students in this chapter.
The teacher had to do research on her students' interests and then learn about rap music. This gained the respect and trust of students. The checklists were helpful resources.
Chapter 5 of the Leu book examined English and the Language Arts curriculum. Copyrighting issues, technology vs. interpersonal skills, and comparison/contrast issues were mentioned. Wikki, and my spaces sites were reviewed. The teach.web site for creating classroom home pages was perused. I used this site for my classroom webpage for project 2. I decided it was more fun than a blog page for my parents. We will see how many parents actually visit my web address!
Project 1
My first project consisted of evaluating a website every week and responding to another person's blog site.
Project 2
My Project 2 was creating my own classroom webpage. My web address is http://TeacherWeb.com/WY/OregonTrailSchool/Mrs. Bowen/
Monday, April 21, 2008
Reading Response 4/21
Leu 11
This chapter focused on the ways teachers can incorporate equitable use of the Internet by all students, especially those students with special needs. Developing a schedule for Internet use, and monitoring students on the computers, are ways teachers can ensure equitable Internet use for their classes. Boys tend to monopolize the computers more than girls in my classroom so I have to monitor my three learning center computers carefully.
My students do love to help other students and show me what they are learning on the Internet at starfall.com. They are always asking me if we are going to the computer lab.
I haven't tried using partners in the computer lab, but it is something I am willing to experiment with.
I liked the resources that were listed in promoting equitable use of the Internet.
The Internet can give special needs students an opportunity to shine before others in the class as long as the teacher has spent enough time training them on the skill they need to teach their classmates. Directories for student inclusion, and additional resources for visually impaired and hearing impaired students were mentioned.
My mother has lost most of her hearing and the doctors do not know why this has occurred. So the issue of cochlear implants is something I want to investigate further.
The last part of the chapter talked about directories for students and teachers who are experiencing issues in the classroom such as autism, ADD, learning disabillities, and challenging behaviors.
Internet Workshops, Internet Inquiries, Internet Projects, and Webquests for special needs students were discussed with websites given to address each area.
I don't have any special needs students in my class this year, but these resources will be helpful this summer as I team teach our upper elementary students that are in our special education classes.
Cummins
This article is about an oral history project that James constructed for his seventh grade students. The students had to pursue individual investigations around two questions. The two questions were "What kind of history can we find in our families?' and "Where do we come from?" Reports were written on their findings.
European students were able to find out more information than non-European students. I suppose this is because Europe keeps better records on their citizens.
Students learned that information on the Internet is not complete or always reliable.
The family tree model did not work for all students who were not in traditional families. There were empty boxes. James showed his students how to use Appleworks draw program to draw a family tree that fit their family dynamics. This is a fantastic idea to show students how they can customize the Internet to fit their projects.
During the family interviews the students designed questions, took notes, organized information, and tape recorded the interviews. Taping an interview helps you to remember details later on. These are good strategies to teach students.
Students were able to interview other relatives around the globe. They came to class with more questions and information.
Each student shared their stories in different ways. James used a video recorder to film each student giving their oral history presentation. An imovie was made from this recording. Parents came to the classroom's open house and were thrilled with the imovie they saw. This project, imovie, and open house was a very effective way to connect the classroom to the home.
After the project James noticed his students' study skills improved. Their critical thinking and analysis were more sophisticated. Probing questions were posed and discussed in depth. Students made text to self, text to text, and text to world connections. This was a well designed project that addressed a multitude of standards.
Cummins Part Two
The Almond Avenue staff and the Fairmont staff developed a biographical joint writing activity project for their 1-3 grade students to complete together. Students worked in pairs to interview each other and then write their classmates' biography. The students' biographies were published and included in the library.
Students at each school were paired up with the opposing school and then did their interviews via email. These biographies were used to introduce their classmates to their distant partner.
The students then proceeded to sort their library's biographies by using a data collection form that had columns for gender, ethnicity,and profession. Students counted and sorted the school's biographies in the library. Fairness issues were approached by listing how many books were about each culture. The results showed that most biographies were about men, caucasians, and dead people.
Students then went to the main city library and found that their findings were the same. 70% of the biographies were about dead white men.
Letters were written to the main library to request more biographies on women and other people of color.
This was a very meaningful unit on utilizing the content areas with literacy. The time and detail work was massive for these students and teachers. It is nice to see a social issue that concerns the school addressed with a plan of action to remediate the social injustices of the gender and ethnicity issues.
This chapter focused on the ways teachers can incorporate equitable use of the Internet by all students, especially those students with special needs. Developing a schedule for Internet use, and monitoring students on the computers, are ways teachers can ensure equitable Internet use for their classes. Boys tend to monopolize the computers more than girls in my classroom so I have to monitor my three learning center computers carefully.
My students do love to help other students and show me what they are learning on the Internet at starfall.com. They are always asking me if we are going to the computer lab.
I haven't tried using partners in the computer lab, but it is something I am willing to experiment with.
I liked the resources that were listed in promoting equitable use of the Internet.
The Internet can give special needs students an opportunity to shine before others in the class as long as the teacher has spent enough time training them on the skill they need to teach their classmates. Directories for student inclusion, and additional resources for visually impaired and hearing impaired students were mentioned.
My mother has lost most of her hearing and the doctors do not know why this has occurred. So the issue of cochlear implants is something I want to investigate further.
The last part of the chapter talked about directories for students and teachers who are experiencing issues in the classroom such as autism, ADD, learning disabillities, and challenging behaviors.
Internet Workshops, Internet Inquiries, Internet Projects, and Webquests for special needs students were discussed with websites given to address each area.
I don't have any special needs students in my class this year, but these resources will be helpful this summer as I team teach our upper elementary students that are in our special education classes.
Cummins
This article is about an oral history project that James constructed for his seventh grade students. The students had to pursue individual investigations around two questions. The two questions were "What kind of history can we find in our families?' and "Where do we come from?" Reports were written on their findings.
European students were able to find out more information than non-European students. I suppose this is because Europe keeps better records on their citizens.
Students learned that information on the Internet is not complete or always reliable.
The family tree model did not work for all students who were not in traditional families. There were empty boxes. James showed his students how to use Appleworks draw program to draw a family tree that fit their family dynamics. This is a fantastic idea to show students how they can customize the Internet to fit their projects.
During the family interviews the students designed questions, took notes, organized information, and tape recorded the interviews. Taping an interview helps you to remember details later on. These are good strategies to teach students.
Students were able to interview other relatives around the globe. They came to class with more questions and information.
Each student shared their stories in different ways. James used a video recorder to film each student giving their oral history presentation. An imovie was made from this recording. Parents came to the classroom's open house and were thrilled with the imovie they saw. This project, imovie, and open house was a very effective way to connect the classroom to the home.
After the project James noticed his students' study skills improved. Their critical thinking and analysis were more sophisticated. Probing questions were posed and discussed in depth. Students made text to self, text to text, and text to world connections. This was a well designed project that addressed a multitude of standards.
Cummins Part Two
The Almond Avenue staff and the Fairmont staff developed a biographical joint writing activity project for their 1-3 grade students to complete together. Students worked in pairs to interview each other and then write their classmates' biography. The students' biographies were published and included in the library.
Students at each school were paired up with the opposing school and then did their interviews via email. These biographies were used to introduce their classmates to their distant partner.
The students then proceeded to sort their library's biographies by using a data collection form that had columns for gender, ethnicity,and profession. Students counted and sorted the school's biographies in the library. Fairness issues were approached by listing how many books were about each culture. The results showed that most biographies were about men, caucasians, and dead people.
Students then went to the main city library and found that their findings were the same. 70% of the biographies were about dead white men.
Letters were written to the main library to request more biographies on women and other people of color.
This was a very meaningful unit on utilizing the content areas with literacy. The time and detail work was massive for these students and teachers. It is nice to see a social issue that concerns the school addressed with a plan of action to remediate the social injustices of the gender and ethnicity issues.
Website Review 4/21
I was referred to www.readersa-z.com by another teacher in our class. The sections are home, all books, guided reading, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, poetry, alphabet, assessment, and more resources. This website has thousands of downloadable readers that are leveled and organized by skill. There are leveled readers, benchmark books, running records, lessons, worksheets, a phonics program, phonemic awareness materials, poetry books, comic books, alphabet materials, high frequency word books, vocabulary books, vocabulary activities, fluency readings, scripts for readers theater, and reading assessments.
These materials are appropriate for grades K-6, ESL/ELL, special education and remedial reading programs. The downloadable books are based on the standards and are outcome oriented.
I downloaded four sample books and I plan on joining this website. If my principal will not pay for it I will join personally. My classroom is short on books to send home so this is an invaluable resource for me. I will use it often. My school district uses the Rigby leveling system but I can look at the letters and books to figure out which ones are appropriate for each of my three reading groups.
If you teach elementary school I would highly recommend this website!
These materials are appropriate for grades K-6, ESL/ELL, special education and remedial reading programs. The downloadable books are based on the standards and are outcome oriented.
I downloaded four sample books and I plan on joining this website. If my principal will not pay for it I will join personally. My classroom is short on books to send home so this is an invaluable resource for me. I will use it often. My school district uses the Rigby leveling system but I can look at the letters and books to figure out which ones are appropriate for each of my three reading groups.
If you teach elementary school I would highly recommend this website!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Reading Response 4/14
Manyak Article
This article supports the Auerbach piece about providing text that taps into diverse learners' cultural heritage and funds of knowledge. The storybook reading study with a Spanish speaking family shows that when a book related to the Puentes' funds of knowledge, interpretive behavior resulted, which linked background knowledge and text to life experiences. Higher level thinking and more complex comprehension occurred.
Texts that explained valued customs from the Mother's childhood background elicited more original book interactions with her children. She transmitted cultural values, life to text, and text to life connections with her storybook reading to her daughter and sons.
On the other side of the spectrum, when books did not address the family's funds of knowledge or cultural heritage, the learning was adult directed and fact based with the learning being directed towards lower level literal comprehension of the text.
I think providing story books that tap into the sociocultural realities of diverse language learners would be helpful in providing more meaningful literacy engagement and comprehension. However, Patrick did say that he did not complete the research due to going back to teach full time. This supports my previous point on the Auerbach article that states who has the time to research the funds of knowledge of diverse language learners while teaching school full time?
Leu 10
The Internet provides different websites and directories for teachers and students to increase multicultural understanding. Using these resources can promote an appreciation of student diversity and create a classroom community in the process. Online communications with other cultures can create understanding and respect for others that are different from ourselves. It may cause us to re-evaluate stereotypes we have acquired.
There are directories for increasing multicultural understanding for students and teachers in this chapter.
Finding a classroom to correspond with that speaks the same language as ESL students can empower them and give these students a valued role in the classroom.
Radio stations from another country can be tapped into by using a Stations guide location at RealAudio. Pairing an ESL student with an English speaking student during these sorts of projects can encourage linguistic capabilities. I think this would be fun and meaningful for older students.
Sites for supporting ESL students were listed.
Internet Workshop ideas for supporting multicultural understanding were given. I would like to check out the Chinese calendar for my Kindergartners. We study the English calendar and this would be a good compare and contrast activity.
Ideas for social action were explored. I think it is important to move from understanding to action to accomplish community service. This gives the children a sense of self esteem and accomplishment. It shows them they can make a positive difference in the lives of other people.
Internet Inquiry and Internet Project ideas were discussed for promoting multicultural understanding as well.
I would like to go on the Cultural Quest World Tour site to visit various countries and expose my students to games, museums, and recipes from other cultures.
This article supports the Auerbach piece about providing text that taps into diverse learners' cultural heritage and funds of knowledge. The storybook reading study with a Spanish speaking family shows that when a book related to the Puentes' funds of knowledge, interpretive behavior resulted, which linked background knowledge and text to life experiences. Higher level thinking and more complex comprehension occurred.
Texts that explained valued customs from the Mother's childhood background elicited more original book interactions with her children. She transmitted cultural values, life to text, and text to life connections with her storybook reading to her daughter and sons.
On the other side of the spectrum, when books did not address the family's funds of knowledge or cultural heritage, the learning was adult directed and fact based with the learning being directed towards lower level literal comprehension of the text.
I think providing story books that tap into the sociocultural realities of diverse language learners would be helpful in providing more meaningful literacy engagement and comprehension. However, Patrick did say that he did not complete the research due to going back to teach full time. This supports my previous point on the Auerbach article that states who has the time to research the funds of knowledge of diverse language learners while teaching school full time?
Leu 10
The Internet provides different websites and directories for teachers and students to increase multicultural understanding. Using these resources can promote an appreciation of student diversity and create a classroom community in the process. Online communications with other cultures can create understanding and respect for others that are different from ourselves. It may cause us to re-evaluate stereotypes we have acquired.
There are directories for increasing multicultural understanding for students and teachers in this chapter.
Finding a classroom to correspond with that speaks the same language as ESL students can empower them and give these students a valued role in the classroom.
Radio stations from another country can be tapped into by using a Stations guide location at RealAudio. Pairing an ESL student with an English speaking student during these sorts of projects can encourage linguistic capabilities. I think this would be fun and meaningful for older students.
Sites for supporting ESL students were listed.
Internet Workshop ideas for supporting multicultural understanding were given. I would like to check out the Chinese calendar for my Kindergartners. We study the English calendar and this would be a good compare and contrast activity.
Ideas for social action were explored. I think it is important to move from understanding to action to accomplish community service. This gives the children a sense of self esteem and accomplishment. It shows them they can make a positive difference in the lives of other people.
Internet Inquiry and Internet Project ideas were discussed for promoting multicultural understanding as well.
I would like to go on the Cultural Quest World Tour site to visit various countries and expose my students to games, museums, and recipes from other cultures.
Website Review 4/14
I was steered to www.readwritethink.org by our class discussion at the first of the semester. This site has links to lesson plans, standards, web resources, student materials, calendar, new lessons, new student materials, literacy engagements, about us, contact us, search, legal notices, FAQs, technical support,the International Reading Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English.
This website had many great resources for teachers. Under the New Student Materials link students can create their own crossword puzzles.
I clicked on the first lesson plan about vocabulary words for the moon. It directed me to another NASA website with great pictures of the moon for my earth, moon, and sun science unit that is coming up. I printed off copies of books on the solar system, stars, NASA robots (my boys will love this!), and the earth.
I also printed off a lesson plan called "My Teacher's Secret Life," that I can use as an introductory activity to get to know my Kindergartners at the first of the year. Everyone takes home a book and draws pictures or pastes pictures in the book to show everyone what they do when they aren't in school. It will be a fun and purposeful activity for them this fall!
This website had many great resources for teachers. Under the New Student Materials link students can create their own crossword puzzles.
I clicked on the first lesson plan about vocabulary words for the moon. It directed me to another NASA website with great pictures of the moon for my earth, moon, and sun science unit that is coming up. I printed off copies of books on the solar system, stars, NASA robots (my boys will love this!), and the earth.
I also printed off a lesson plan called "My Teacher's Secret Life," that I can use as an introductory activity to get to know my Kindergartners at the first of the year. Everyone takes home a book and draws pictures or pastes pictures in the book to show everyone what they do when they aren't in school. It will be a fun and purposeful activity for them this fall!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Reading Response 4/7
Leu 9
Wow! This chapter had so many good ideas for incorporating the new literacies for the primary grades on the Internet. I plan on using the story book read alouds. The children can write a sentence on the story and draw a picture afterwards.
My boys would like the scanning electron microscope website where they look at objects underneath a microscope and have to draw a picture of the item and identify it.
It would be nice to have fast computers with a color printer in my classroom but we aren't a Title 1 school and the funds are not there. However, I did get the maintenance crew and the technology person in our school district to put in an Internet connection on my wall so my three learning center computers have Internet now. Our school doesn't have educational software in the computer lab so I can compensate by using these great Internet sites in my classroom and in the computer lab.
I have never bookmarked a link before, but this book gives great instructions on how to do this. I'm going to go outside of my comfort zone and try creating bookmarks on my learning center computers and in the computer lab.
The animal scavenger hunt would be fun to try to help the students learn navigational skills on the computer. It was set up for Kindergartners to write down words that are on the screen.
Literacy, math, science, and social studies activities were abundant and too numerous to go into. This chapter was worth the price of the textbook. It is an important resource for teaching technology to my students.
I liked Jack Fontanella's website for his Kindergarten class. I may rethink my classroom blogsite and see if my technology person can help me set up a website for my Kindergarten class. The privacy suggestions about permission slips and posting only first names on the website to protect the safety of the children were especially helpful for me.
Auerbach Article
This research says that we shouldn't be so concerned with how to incorporate school practices in the homes of ESL or minority students. Instead, we need to address significant literacy in the home by including community culture and social problems into school literacy activities to make them meaningful for parents and students alike. The curriculum needs to be collaborative with parents and students. There shouldn't be a set curriculum.
The definition of family literacy should be broadened to include direct parent child interactions around literacy tasks, reading and listening to children, talking about and helping with homework, parents improving in reading and writing, using literacy to address family problems, parents addressing child rearing concerns through classes, supporting the home language/culture, and being involved with the school system.
Reading and writing can be used in a variety of ways with bilingual parents. Teachers need to investigate home language use, explore family literacy practices, explore cultural issues, validate culture text, explore parenting issues, address community issues, school advocacy, and learn about cultural political issues.
This article was an eye opener. Most educators believe in the assumption of parents incorporating school practices in the home to provide more practice for students to ensure academic success. This collaborative approach is probably more meaningful and relevant for bilingual learners but who has the time to conduct all this personal research?
The next point is that education is a top down enterprise. Each school and school district do have set curriculum programs and standards that are required.
This was an interesting perspective, but I do not find it to be very practical.
Wow! This chapter had so many good ideas for incorporating the new literacies for the primary grades on the Internet. I plan on using the story book read alouds. The children can write a sentence on the story and draw a picture afterwards.
My boys would like the scanning electron microscope website where they look at objects underneath a microscope and have to draw a picture of the item and identify it.
It would be nice to have fast computers with a color printer in my classroom but we aren't a Title 1 school and the funds are not there. However, I did get the maintenance crew and the technology person in our school district to put in an Internet connection on my wall so my three learning center computers have Internet now. Our school doesn't have educational software in the computer lab so I can compensate by using these great Internet sites in my classroom and in the computer lab.
I have never bookmarked a link before, but this book gives great instructions on how to do this. I'm going to go outside of my comfort zone and try creating bookmarks on my learning center computers and in the computer lab.
The animal scavenger hunt would be fun to try to help the students learn navigational skills on the computer. It was set up for Kindergartners to write down words that are on the screen.
Literacy, math, science, and social studies activities were abundant and too numerous to go into. This chapter was worth the price of the textbook. It is an important resource for teaching technology to my students.
I liked Jack Fontanella's website for his Kindergarten class. I may rethink my classroom blogsite and see if my technology person can help me set up a website for my Kindergarten class. The privacy suggestions about permission slips and posting only first names on the website to protect the safety of the children were especially helpful for me.
Auerbach Article
This research says that we shouldn't be so concerned with how to incorporate school practices in the homes of ESL or minority students. Instead, we need to address significant literacy in the home by including community culture and social problems into school literacy activities to make them meaningful for parents and students alike. The curriculum needs to be collaborative with parents and students. There shouldn't be a set curriculum.
The definition of family literacy should be broadened to include direct parent child interactions around literacy tasks, reading and listening to children, talking about and helping with homework, parents improving in reading and writing, using literacy to address family problems, parents addressing child rearing concerns through classes, supporting the home language/culture, and being involved with the school system.
Reading and writing can be used in a variety of ways with bilingual parents. Teachers need to investigate home language use, explore family literacy practices, explore cultural issues, validate culture text, explore parenting issues, address community issues, school advocacy, and learn about cultural political issues.
This article was an eye opener. Most educators believe in the assumption of parents incorporating school practices in the home to provide more practice for students to ensure academic success. This collaborative approach is probably more meaningful and relevant for bilingual learners but who has the time to conduct all this personal research?
The next point is that education is a top down enterprise. Each school and school district do have set curriculum programs and standards that are required.
This was an interesting perspective, but I do not find it to be very practical.
Website Review 4/7
I chose the website for the 100th day of school because that is a big day in Kindergarten. The website address is www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/100th/. This website was listed in chapter 8 in the Leu book.
The website home page has a classroom activities link that listed many creative ideas for celebrating the 100th day of school. I received some good ideas to use next year in my Kindergarten classroom.
The next link is entitled visit author and illustrator. It is the 100th day of school website for more 100 days of school ideas.
Search the web comes after this link. You use the Yahooligan search engine to find more 100th day Internet sites.
Visit these websites is a link that connects you to a list of Internet sites to use with the 100th day celebration.
About the author concludes the homepage website links. You use the Yahooligan's search engine to find your own 100th day Internet websites. Joan Holub, who is the author of Scholastic's book 100th Day of School, has a website for teachers to email her with additional ideas for the 100th day of school. If you celebrate 100 days of school this is an excellent resource for new activities that are meaningful!
The website home page has a classroom activities link that listed many creative ideas for celebrating the 100th day of school. I received some good ideas to use next year in my Kindergarten classroom.
The next link is entitled visit author and illustrator. It is the 100th day of school website for more 100 days of school ideas.
Search the web comes after this link. You use the Yahooligan search engine to find more 100th day Internet sites.
Visit these websites is a link that connects you to a list of Internet sites to use with the 100th day celebration.
About the author concludes the homepage website links. You use the Yahooligan's search engine to find your own 100th day Internet websites. Joan Holub, who is the author of Scholastic's book 100th Day of School, has a website for teachers to email her with additional ideas for the 100th day of school. If you celebrate 100 days of school this is an excellent resource for new activities that are meaningful!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Reading Response 3/31
Leu 8
Students need to be able to use the Internet for methematics. Math instructional goals are to teach students to problem solve, create knowledge, and to communicate their findings to others. There are many math sites that can help students develop their mathematical thinking using the Internet. Mathematical data is rampant on these sites to enrich student learning.
Directories for mathematical education were cited. I liked this section and its' listings of practical math websites for teachers. I will start with the Eisenhower website as the book recommended.
Internet Workshop can be used at these math sites. Some teachers develop assignments students have to solve using websites, and some print out math problems each week and give them to their students. Ideas to start Internet Workshop with math units were given. These sites looked too difficult to use with my Kindegartners.
Internet Inquiry and Internet Project are great venues to use for cross-curricular integration. Internet Inquiry promotes mathematical thinking and collaboration with other students. Communication about different approaches to proofs would prove to be a very effective use of the Internet for Math. Several examples for Internet Projects were cited.
Websites for Internet Inquiry projects were listed. Again, these were too difficult to use with my younger students.
Math Webquests are not found as readily as other subject areas on the Internet. However, a few Webquest resources were given to help teachers of older students that were interested in Webquests.
Additional Internet math resources were listed at the end of the chapter. I liked the 100th day of school celebration because we celebrate the 100th day of school in my classroom with special activities. I am going to check out additional resources for other math ideas also.
Students need to be able to use the Internet for methematics. Math instructional goals are to teach students to problem solve, create knowledge, and to communicate their findings to others. There are many math sites that can help students develop their mathematical thinking using the Internet. Mathematical data is rampant on these sites to enrich student learning.
Directories for mathematical education were cited. I liked this section and its' listings of practical math websites for teachers. I will start with the Eisenhower website as the book recommended.
Internet Workshop can be used at these math sites. Some teachers develop assignments students have to solve using websites, and some print out math problems each week and give them to their students. Ideas to start Internet Workshop with math units were given. These sites looked too difficult to use with my Kindegartners.
Internet Inquiry and Internet Project are great venues to use for cross-curricular integration. Internet Inquiry promotes mathematical thinking and collaboration with other students. Communication about different approaches to proofs would prove to be a very effective use of the Internet for Math. Several examples for Internet Projects were cited.
Websites for Internet Inquiry projects were listed. Again, these were too difficult to use with my younger students.
Math Webquests are not found as readily as other subject areas on the Internet. However, a few Webquest resources were given to help teachers of older students that were interested in Webquests.
Additional Internet math resources were listed at the end of the chapter. I liked the 100th day of school celebration because we celebrate the 100th day of school in my classroom with special activities. I am going to check out additional resources for other math ideas also.
Website Review 3/31
The website I reviewed was www.barebooks.com. I had a teacher recommend the site for writing materials. Treetop Publishing owns this site. They sell barebooks that children can write and draw on with erasable crayons, colored pencils, and markers. Some of their books have 28 blank pages for wtiting.
Their are different barebooks for sale. Big barebooks have more pages for writing. Landscape barebooks are rectangle shaped with blank pages. Chunky barebooks have thick white cardboard pages for drawing and writing for younger children. Spiral bound barebooks are lined for older students' writing. Journals have lines on half of every other page. Bare comic books are in blank comic book form which would be great for integrating popular culture text.
The site sells book covers, book jackets, line guides, bookmarks with lines, book plates, gameboards, gift packs, erasable crayons, blank calendars, award certificates, puzzles, stickers, and a writer's directory.
The bookmarks can be used for writing down unknown words, page numbers of interesting passages, and character notes.
Writer's Directory is an easel book with 18 charts to remind students of the elements of writing. It is all there from spelling to word choice.
Their is a section on discontinuted items being sold at a discount as well.
At the top of the page it lists housekeeping items such as about us, catalog, ordering, shipping, project ideas, FAQs, discounts, and contact us.
I would recommend this site for purchasing writing materials.
Their are different barebooks for sale. Big barebooks have more pages for writing. Landscape barebooks are rectangle shaped with blank pages. Chunky barebooks have thick white cardboard pages for drawing and writing for younger children. Spiral bound barebooks are lined for older students' writing. Journals have lines on half of every other page. Bare comic books are in blank comic book form which would be great for integrating popular culture text.
The site sells book covers, book jackets, line guides, bookmarks with lines, book plates, gameboards, gift packs, erasable crayons, blank calendars, award certificates, puzzles, stickers, and a writer's directory.
The bookmarks can be used for writing down unknown words, page numbers of interesting passages, and character notes.
Writer's Directory is an easel book with 18 charts to remind students of the elements of writing. It is all there from spelling to word choice.
Their is a section on discontinuted items being sold at a discount as well.
At the top of the page it lists housekeeping items such as about us, catalog, ordering, shipping, project ideas, FAQs, discounts, and contact us.
I would recommend this site for purchasing writing materials.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Reading Response 3/24
Leu 12
This chapter encourages us to develop a classroom homepage on the Internet. A classroom homepage organizes resources for units of study. Each of the instructional models can be used such as Internet Workshop, Internet Project, Internet Inquiry, and WebQuest. Organizing links can be effective and safe for children to use.
Homepages can be used to share student work with others. Teachers may work collaboratively by viewing each other's homepage.
Communication between school and families can improve using the classroom webpage. Email messages can be sent and received by parents and teachers to foster better relationships. This enhances your image as a teaching professional.
Examples of classroom homepages were explained. Preschools and Kindergartens are more photograph and information driven for parents. There are links for articles on parenting for parents to peruse.
The elemantary grades have more links on their homepages.
Weblogs can replace some classroom webpages. This is what I will be doing for my second project. I am creating a blog instead of a classroom homepage. My needs are informational for parents in Kindergarten. Weblogs keep everyone apprised of the happenings in the classroom.
Middle and high school homepages focus on content knowledge, notes, assignments, and grades.
Directions explaining how to create your own classroom page were explored using HTML language. Commercial sites for making a classroom homepage were listed. Tutorials for going through the steps to create homepages on the Internet were given.
Elements of a homepage are emails, student work, due dates for assignments, organizing links, and student newspapers. I liked the idea of having a place for student work, photographs, and a newspaper highlighting student achievement.
The homepage incorporates all the new literacies we are studying and encourages teachers to develop classroom homepages using additional resources.
This chapter was interesting, but I will not be doing a classroom homepage as I stated before. It was very enlightening though, and I will use it as a resource.
Xu 7
Xu talks about the steps needed to integrate popular culture texts. Teachers need to research school and school district policies and gain support from school administrators before they use resources that are outside of the school box. Writing a rationale for popular culture text could include the headings of guidelines, explanation, nand the example of the popular culture text.
Sharing your positive results with parents, colleagues, and administrators is important. Time issues were discussed.
I think I will use popular culture texts in my ABC project with my Kindergartners this Spring. They can use Sponge Bob, Spiderman, or Star Wars to make an ABC projcet with.
This chapter encourages us to develop a classroom homepage on the Internet. A classroom homepage organizes resources for units of study. Each of the instructional models can be used such as Internet Workshop, Internet Project, Internet Inquiry, and WebQuest. Organizing links can be effective and safe for children to use.
Homepages can be used to share student work with others. Teachers may work collaboratively by viewing each other's homepage.
Communication between school and families can improve using the classroom webpage. Email messages can be sent and received by parents and teachers to foster better relationships. This enhances your image as a teaching professional.
Examples of classroom homepages were explained. Preschools and Kindergartens are more photograph and information driven for parents. There are links for articles on parenting for parents to peruse.
The elemantary grades have more links on their homepages.
Weblogs can replace some classroom webpages. This is what I will be doing for my second project. I am creating a blog instead of a classroom homepage. My needs are informational for parents in Kindergarten. Weblogs keep everyone apprised of the happenings in the classroom.
Middle and high school homepages focus on content knowledge, notes, assignments, and grades.
Directions explaining how to create your own classroom page were explored using HTML language. Commercial sites for making a classroom homepage were listed. Tutorials for going through the steps to create homepages on the Internet were given.
Elements of a homepage are emails, student work, due dates for assignments, organizing links, and student newspapers. I liked the idea of having a place for student work, photographs, and a newspaper highlighting student achievement.
The homepage incorporates all the new literacies we are studying and encourages teachers to develop classroom homepages using additional resources.
This chapter was interesting, but I will not be doing a classroom homepage as I stated before. It was very enlightening though, and I will use it as a resource.
Xu 7
Xu talks about the steps needed to integrate popular culture texts. Teachers need to research school and school district policies and gain support from school administrators before they use resources that are outside of the school box. Writing a rationale for popular culture text could include the headings of guidelines, explanation, nand the example of the popular culture text.
Sharing your positive results with parents, colleagues, and administrators is important. Time issues were discussed.
I think I will use popular culture texts in my ABC project with my Kindergartners this Spring. They can use Sponge Bob, Spiderman, or Star Wars to make an ABC projcet with.
Website Review 3/24
My website review was www.writingfix.com. I got this website from Patrick Manyak's EDCI 5760 class. I chose this website to give me some ideas for writing with my Kindergartners. It is an excellent writing resource for all grade levels.
The first section is entitled writing prompts. It has daily writing prompts, writing prompts for kids, right brain writing prompts, and left brain writing prompts. I really liked this section because it had writing for emergent writers and different brain writing prompts.
The second section has writing lessons. There are picture book lessons, chapter book lessons, literature inspired lessons, poetry lessons, and i-pod and lyric inspired lessons. Popular culture texts could be merged into these types of lessons.
The 6 trait lessons arena explains an overview of the 6 traits and detailed lessons for idea development, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and Nevada's writing exam. These lessons have good ideas for teaching all of the six traits. The Nevada writing exam could be used as a resource for preparing for the PAWS exam in Wyoming.
Writing processes is addressed next. It shows prewriting, drafting, response, revision, editing, publishing, and evaluation. This is for upper elementary or secondary students.
Writing across the curriculum has a history fix, science fix, number fix, comparison and contrast, exit tickets, note taking, and RAFT writing assignments. This can be applied to every content area.
Reading in the content areas has constructed response, vocabulary activities, engagement strategies, summarizing, text patterns, and collaborative reading. This was my favorite link. I received many ideas on how to teach these skills to students. I will be teaching some of these skills to our summer school students in the resource center this summer.
Classroom tools are explored with daily writing prompts, a writer's notebook, creative journaling, writer's workshop, revision post its, family writing projects, mini-lesson of the month, art and writing, author studies, off-site links for teachers and word games for writers. This section was full of writing ideas. I would recommend it to every teacher!
The first section is entitled writing prompts. It has daily writing prompts, writing prompts for kids, right brain writing prompts, and left brain writing prompts. I really liked this section because it had writing for emergent writers and different brain writing prompts.
The second section has writing lessons. There are picture book lessons, chapter book lessons, literature inspired lessons, poetry lessons, and i-pod and lyric inspired lessons. Popular culture texts could be merged into these types of lessons.
The 6 trait lessons arena explains an overview of the 6 traits and detailed lessons for idea development, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and Nevada's writing exam. These lessons have good ideas for teaching all of the six traits. The Nevada writing exam could be used as a resource for preparing for the PAWS exam in Wyoming.
Writing processes is addressed next. It shows prewriting, drafting, response, revision, editing, publishing, and evaluation. This is for upper elementary or secondary students.
Writing across the curriculum has a history fix, science fix, number fix, comparison and contrast, exit tickets, note taking, and RAFT writing assignments. This can be applied to every content area.
Reading in the content areas has constructed response, vocabulary activities, engagement strategies, summarizing, text patterns, and collaborative reading. This was my favorite link. I received many ideas on how to teach these skills to students. I will be teaching some of these skills to our summer school students in the resource center this summer.
Classroom tools are explored with daily writing prompts, a writer's notebook, creative journaling, writer's workshop, revision post its, family writing projects, mini-lesson of the month, art and writing, author studies, off-site links for teachers and word games for writers. This section was full of writing ideas. I would recommend it to every teacher!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Reading Response 3/10
Leu 7
This chapter encourages us to use the Internet to teach scientific thinking through reading, writing, observation, collaboration, evaluation, and critical analysis. Science should have hands on experiences as well as mental experiences.
Giving students one small part of a more complex task shows them how to function in the workplace through a distributed learning process. Internet workshops facilitate this function.
The Internet has many valuable resources for the science curriculum. Excellent science resource directories were listed for teachers to access when planning their science lessons.
When using Internet workshop for science study locate a site on the Internet that has the appropriate content for your topic, and develop activities that can be completed on the website. Students may end the unit of study by sharing their knowledge and experiences with others during Internet workshop.
Internet project lets students teach each other important ideas, curricular integration, math concepts, and scientific thinking. Internet project websites were cited.
Internet inquiry is where students question, search, evaluate, compose and share. It provides independent research, opportunities to converse with real scientists, and the development of scientific thinking.
Webquest sites were explored.
The two main goals in science are scientific knowledge, and the development of scientific thinking. Internet resources listed at the end of this chapter help teachers accomplish these goals.
I liked the interactive websites for primary grade children listed in this chapter. I did pick up a couple of new resources to use with my students when we go to the computer lab. However, most of this chapter was too complex for my kids to use.
Xu 6
In Xu, chapter 6, the author wants teachers to find out what interests their students in popular culture texts, and then plan literacy units around those interests so students feel that the topic of study has meaning for them. Since all students won't find every topic relevant, teachers should plan for a commonality among different interests.
One way to share popular culture texts with my Kindergartners would be through show and tell time. Students could bring in trading cards, T shirts, video games, comic books, or movies that show their interests. This is an informal way to assess their popular culture text interests. Students can express why they like their particular genre. Possible connections to curriculum standards were listed.
The author encourages us to use multiple media formats like drawing and writing to convey student ideas. When students create comic strips or trading cards they incorporate both drawing and writing. Summarization skills are enhanced because there is not much room for lengthy discourse.
Students can study popular culture text more in depth by looking at the social and historical background of texts.
Different genres of text should be made available instead of just one genre.
A text set can be related to a popular culture text interest.
Critical literacy practices include problematizing a text, researching language, and exploring minority culture constructions of language and literacy. Critical media literacy frameworks were used to explore popular culture texts.
Exploring the reality and the fantasy of subjects is a way to foster critical thinking in school.
Our Kindergarten has a fairy tale ball in the spring. I can use the websites for different Cinderella fairy tales from around the world and compare and contrast the differences to enhance critical thinking with my class.
We have show and tell time everyday in my schedule so I can change the open forum to a popular culture text forum for one week and see how it goes!
My students would love to write their own comic strips and trading cards! This would be an ideal writing and drawing activity for them because we are in the emerging writing stage.
This chapter encourages us to use the Internet to teach scientific thinking through reading, writing, observation, collaboration, evaluation, and critical analysis. Science should have hands on experiences as well as mental experiences.
Giving students one small part of a more complex task shows them how to function in the workplace through a distributed learning process. Internet workshops facilitate this function.
The Internet has many valuable resources for the science curriculum. Excellent science resource directories were listed for teachers to access when planning their science lessons.
When using Internet workshop for science study locate a site on the Internet that has the appropriate content for your topic, and develop activities that can be completed on the website. Students may end the unit of study by sharing their knowledge and experiences with others during Internet workshop.
Internet project lets students teach each other important ideas, curricular integration, math concepts, and scientific thinking. Internet project websites were cited.
Internet inquiry is where students question, search, evaluate, compose and share. It provides independent research, opportunities to converse with real scientists, and the development of scientific thinking.
Webquest sites were explored.
The two main goals in science are scientific knowledge, and the development of scientific thinking. Internet resources listed at the end of this chapter help teachers accomplish these goals.
I liked the interactive websites for primary grade children listed in this chapter. I did pick up a couple of new resources to use with my students when we go to the computer lab. However, most of this chapter was too complex for my kids to use.
Xu 6
In Xu, chapter 6, the author wants teachers to find out what interests their students in popular culture texts, and then plan literacy units around those interests so students feel that the topic of study has meaning for them. Since all students won't find every topic relevant, teachers should plan for a commonality among different interests.
One way to share popular culture texts with my Kindergartners would be through show and tell time. Students could bring in trading cards, T shirts, video games, comic books, or movies that show their interests. This is an informal way to assess their popular culture text interests. Students can express why they like their particular genre. Possible connections to curriculum standards were listed.
The author encourages us to use multiple media formats like drawing and writing to convey student ideas. When students create comic strips or trading cards they incorporate both drawing and writing. Summarization skills are enhanced because there is not much room for lengthy discourse.
Students can study popular culture text more in depth by looking at the social and historical background of texts.
Different genres of text should be made available instead of just one genre.
A text set can be related to a popular culture text interest.
Critical literacy practices include problematizing a text, researching language, and exploring minority culture constructions of language and literacy. Critical media literacy frameworks were used to explore popular culture texts.
Exploring the reality and the fantasy of subjects is a way to foster critical thinking in school.
Our Kindergarten has a fairy tale ball in the spring. I can use the websites for different Cinderella fairy tales from around the world and compare and contrast the differences to enhance critical thinking with my class.
We have show and tell time everyday in my schedule so I can change the open forum to a popular culture text forum for one week and see how it goes!
My students would love to write their own comic strips and trading cards! This would be an ideal writing and drawing activity for them because we are in the emerging writing stage.
Website Review 3/10
I chose the website http://my hero.com/home.asp because my students have a popular culture text interest in spiderman. The whole theme of good vsrsus evil is explored in many different media forms with the super hero spiderman. I found this website in the Leu book.
The easiest way to navigate this website is to go to the site map. This lists all the different topics of the website. There is a directory of heroes, search option, short film festival of heroes, my hero in spanish, about my hero (learn about the hero project), participate (learn how to take part in the project), guestbook (you tell about a hero you know), create (you create a hero webpage), gallery (photos of heroes), news wire (heroes in the news), forum (you can discuss heroes with others), library (recommended archives of books on heroes), and a teachers' room where you receive an overview, lesson plans, the create program, a calendar for heroes, resources, and a forum for discussion.
I really liked the website on heroes. It is a theme I can explore with my Kindergarten students. I would like to have each student write a paragraph with their parents' help on a hero they know and publish it on this website.
The easiest way to navigate this website is to go to the site map. This lists all the different topics of the website. There is a directory of heroes, search option, short film festival of heroes, my hero in spanish, about my hero (learn about the hero project), participate (learn how to take part in the project), guestbook (you tell about a hero you know), create (you create a hero webpage), gallery (photos of heroes), news wire (heroes in the news), forum (you can discuss heroes with others), library (recommended archives of books on heroes), and a teachers' room where you receive an overview, lesson plans, the create program, a calendar for heroes, resources, and a forum for discussion.
I really liked the website on heroes. It is a theme I can explore with my Kindergarten students. I would like to have each student write a paragraph with their parents' help on a hero they know and publish it on this website.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Reading Response 3/3
Leu 6
The advantages of using the Internet for Social Studies are many. By looking at primary source documents critical analysis is fostered. Students can experience different cultures by communicating with them via the Internet. There is more information for social studies education than any other subject area.
Two different kinds of directories for social studies are social studies resources, and directories for social studies teachers. Different directories were listed for each type of social studies resource.
The authors encouraged teachers to use Internet Workshop first because it is the simplest activity to begin with. You choose a site that is related to the standards and develop an activity that uses information on the site, and each student explains what they have learned to the workshop.
Internet Project websites that other teachers have created were listed and websites where teachers can place their own Internet Projects were cited.
Internet Inquiry has students develop a research question, search and evaluate information, compose, and share their answer.
Student-to-student activities have students choose a website that is related to their topic and they develop a learning activity for others using that website. Examples of these activities were given.
Favorite webquests were explored in one section of the chapter.
Directions on making individual student folders, favorite folders, and individual bookmarks were explained.
Copyright laws and citation rules on other websites were reviewed.
The new literacies in Social Studies requires students to evaluate and analyze information critically. Five questions were listed as a guideline to teach students how to evaluate information on the Internet.
Additional sources on the Internet for Social Studies were addressed at the end of the chapter.
I love these chapters because they give step by step directions on Internet procedures no matter how simple the functions might be. I learned how to make student folders and use favorite folders to store information in.
I plan on checking out the copyright and citation websites listed on page 241.
In the additional resources section I highlighted six websites I would like to visit for myself or my Kindergarten class. Ben's guide, contacting the congress, cybrary of the holocaust, first gov for kids, my hero, and the white house for kids.
The hardest thing about looking up things on the Internet is the time it takes to find appropriate materials for what we are doing in the classroom. These directories and websites have taken the guess work out of the navigation process.
This chapter was a little complex for my younger students, but I did get some computer function knowledge and received great website resources.
Xu 5
To learn about experiences with varied text teaachers need to document the ways they use them and have their students document their experiences with the same varied text as well.
Teachers and students can list different popular texts they are familiar with and discuss the literacy skills they need to be able to be more successful with each particular text.
In another activity teachers look at unfamiliar popular culture texts that students use and the teacher and student share their point of view with each other. Teachers learn more about the motivation that each student has to engage in popular culture texts.
The differences between televisual and film text were mentioned. A TV show may not have a full story in one episode. Film shows a whole story. TV shows don't have the technology movie theaters do. Viewers can manipulate sound and screen functions on a TV. Viewers can't do any of these things in a movie theater. TV viewers can discuss what is going on where film patrons are required to be quiet during the film.
TV shows can enhance abstract learning.
A DVD can have information that may cause people to explore that movie further
Other genres explored were hypermedia text, musical text, comic book text, trading card text, game text, zine and e-zine text.
I thought it was interesting to know that games are not a waste of time since it takes skill to control and determine the feedback the game player gets based on his/her performance.
The "probe, hypothesize, reprobe, and rethink cycle" (page 112) during game playing is similar to the metacognitive process used for literacy learning. This was a novel idea for me. I didn't realize all those processes were going on during a video game!
The Zine and E-Zine text was very informative. I didn't know what these texts were until I read this chapter. I definitely had quite a few aha! moments while I was reading this chapter.
The advantages of using the Internet for Social Studies are many. By looking at primary source documents critical analysis is fostered. Students can experience different cultures by communicating with them via the Internet. There is more information for social studies education than any other subject area.
Two different kinds of directories for social studies are social studies resources, and directories for social studies teachers. Different directories were listed for each type of social studies resource.
The authors encouraged teachers to use Internet Workshop first because it is the simplest activity to begin with. You choose a site that is related to the standards and develop an activity that uses information on the site, and each student explains what they have learned to the workshop.
Internet Project websites that other teachers have created were listed and websites where teachers can place their own Internet Projects were cited.
Internet Inquiry has students develop a research question, search and evaluate information, compose, and share their answer.
Student-to-student activities have students choose a website that is related to their topic and they develop a learning activity for others using that website. Examples of these activities were given.
Favorite webquests were explored in one section of the chapter.
Directions on making individual student folders, favorite folders, and individual bookmarks were explained.
Copyright laws and citation rules on other websites were reviewed.
The new literacies in Social Studies requires students to evaluate and analyze information critically. Five questions were listed as a guideline to teach students how to evaluate information on the Internet.
Additional sources on the Internet for Social Studies were addressed at the end of the chapter.
I love these chapters because they give step by step directions on Internet procedures no matter how simple the functions might be. I learned how to make student folders and use favorite folders to store information in.
I plan on checking out the copyright and citation websites listed on page 241.
In the additional resources section I highlighted six websites I would like to visit for myself or my Kindergarten class. Ben's guide, contacting the congress, cybrary of the holocaust, first gov for kids, my hero, and the white house for kids.
The hardest thing about looking up things on the Internet is the time it takes to find appropriate materials for what we are doing in the classroom. These directories and websites have taken the guess work out of the navigation process.
This chapter was a little complex for my younger students, but I did get some computer function knowledge and received great website resources.
Xu 5
To learn about experiences with varied text teaachers need to document the ways they use them and have their students document their experiences with the same varied text as well.
Teachers and students can list different popular texts they are familiar with and discuss the literacy skills they need to be able to be more successful with each particular text.
In another activity teachers look at unfamiliar popular culture texts that students use and the teacher and student share their point of view with each other. Teachers learn more about the motivation that each student has to engage in popular culture texts.
The differences between televisual and film text were mentioned. A TV show may not have a full story in one episode. Film shows a whole story. TV shows don't have the technology movie theaters do. Viewers can manipulate sound and screen functions on a TV. Viewers can't do any of these things in a movie theater. TV viewers can discuss what is going on where film patrons are required to be quiet during the film.
TV shows can enhance abstract learning.
A DVD can have information that may cause people to explore that movie further
Other genres explored were hypermedia text, musical text, comic book text, trading card text, game text, zine and e-zine text.
I thought it was interesting to know that games are not a waste of time since it takes skill to control and determine the feedback the game player gets based on his/her performance.
The "probe, hypothesize, reprobe, and rethink cycle" (page 112) during game playing is similar to the metacognitive process used for literacy learning. This was a novel idea for me. I didn't realize all those processes were going on during a video game!
The Zine and E-Zine text was very informative. I didn't know what these texts were until I read this chapter. I definitely had quite a few aha! moments while I was reading this chapter.
Website Review 3/3
I chose the website http://booksontapeforkids.org/ listed in chapter 6 in the Leu book because I was intrigued by children recording their reading of books and donating their work to hospitals.
The children of this project select books and practice reading them. Then they record their reading onto a cassette tape. The tapes, art work, books, photographs, and letters from the readers are mailed to libraries, schools, and hospitals.
This website has links for emailing, visit our school, books on tape, books donated and special events, photo gallery (this shows pictures of the students creating the tapes), HMS library project (a 3 part series showing how the books were created on tape, the stories they wrote and illustrated based on the books that they read, and writing lessons created for students and teachers to use), supporters, and student projects (books on tape for kids, books on tape website, and reading for the needy website) power point presentations 1 & 2, and 3 brochures.
This website received the Miss Rumphius Award as an excellent Internet site for literacy learning.
I don't think I would use the website per se, but I think the idea for the project is one I would like to use for my Kindergartners. Children would be more apt to read more carefully and more often if they knew their work would be recorded on tape for others to listen to.
The children of this project select books and practice reading them. Then they record their reading onto a cassette tape. The tapes, art work, books, photographs, and letters from the readers are mailed to libraries, schools, and hospitals.
This website has links for emailing, visit our school, books on tape, books donated and special events, photo gallery (this shows pictures of the students creating the tapes), HMS library project (a 3 part series showing how the books were created on tape, the stories they wrote and illustrated based on the books that they read, and writing lessons created for students and teachers to use), supporters, and student projects (books on tape for kids, books on tape website, and reading for the needy website) power point presentations 1 & 2, and 3 brochures.
This website received the Miss Rumphius Award as an excellent Internet site for literacy learning.
I don't think I would use the website per se, but I think the idea for the project is one I would like to use for my Kindergartners. Children would be more apt to read more carefully and more often if they knew their work would be recorded on tape for others to listen to.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Reading Response 2/25
Leu 5
Tricia Abernathy 's classroom scenario shows us how we can learn from others about Internet usage. New curriculum resources are being developed by students and teachers and are being posted on classroom webpages.
Internet Project provides possibilities for cross-curricular integration and cultural understanding.
The Internet connects listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Central Directories for literature and authors were cited, as well as directories containing full texts and poems for perusal.
Central directories for student writer support and student publishing were listed. Student work can be published on a class weblog or homepage. There are other locations on the Internet that will publish student work also.
Grammar websites that explain and engage students in interactive grammar lessons were explored in this chapter.
Using Internet workshop for enriching literacy by linking fiction and non-fiction, by studying fairy tales from around the world, by studying indigenous peoples' literature, and by focusing on a certain author's work were mentioned.
Internet Project helps teachers organize learning around Internet projects with other world wide classrooms. Examples of Internet project language arts websites were listed.
Webquests that concentrate on language arts were explained.
Websites that integrated Internet inquiry and Internet workshop in the Language Arts and Literature were listed.
Instruction in the effective use of the Internet such as citing electronic sources is vital to avoid plagiarism. Complying with copyright laws is an important issue as well.
Websites are posted which address how to cite resources and gain permission to show work on the Internet.
This chapter gave me some good websites and project ideas to use with my Kindergarten students. We do ABC books in the spring so I can take my Kindergartners to the computer lab and look through websites to choose a theme for their ABC book. Once a theme is chosen each child can organize and print their ABC book from the Internet.
My Kindergarten children have a fairy tale unit in the Spring where we expose the children to various fairy tales. At the end of our unit, we have a fairy tale ball with fairy tale dust, dancing, and food.
There were several website references in this chapter for fairy tales from around the world, and fairy tales for younger children. I could add these resources to enrich my fairy tale unit.
I liked the website where stories are read to younger children.
I am trying to get my three older computers hooked up to the Internet so I can use these websites on a daily basis instead of twice a week in our overscheduled computer lab at school.
Xu 4
This chapter explains how Lark integrated students' interest in rap music and the book "Holes" to meet literacy standards for 6th to 8th graders. In order to do this task Lark conductedf research on adolescent popular culture shows and cartoons.
Lark had his/her students play a truth shuffle game to uncover their popular culture text interests. Rap music was the top interest for the majority of his/her students.
Each student chose a favorite rap artist and identified a theme from one of their songs by using a 4 box journal. Profane words were replaced by symbols.
Students then wrote their theme on butcher paper. Most of the themes were about bullies, oppression or getting justice.
Lark then linked rap music to other text genres that had pertinent information regarding the rap business or oppression.
The class shared their concept of bullies and investigated how characters in books handle bullies and get justice. Students chose to produce a text related to the book "Holes" as a whole or about the main character Stanley. They made a bubble map of possible bullies and wrote questions for a short story and discussed them in small groups. Next they made a flow chart that depicted events in the story "Holes" to show the various story lines.
The culminating project involved comparing the book "Holes" to the movie "Holes," completing a major themes worksheet, finding interesting words from the book, writing a rap about the charaacter Stanley, and completing an artistic collage.
Lark says that because the students were interested in the subject matter they produced a vast quantity of quality work while addressing the state standards at the same time.
I think that the teacher did a great job of finding out the interests of his/her students. The research and planning that went into this rap unit was impressive.
The lessons from this chapter include the importance of planning curriculum around student interests, doing your research, and linking different social literacy genres while complying with state literacy standards. This formula is a win win situation for teachers and students.
I have taught middle school students and they are a hard sell sometimes. This teacher used student interest to sell his/her curriculum with great success. This is an important lesson for all of us as educators.
Tricia Abernathy 's classroom scenario shows us how we can learn from others about Internet usage. New curriculum resources are being developed by students and teachers and are being posted on classroom webpages.
Internet Project provides possibilities for cross-curricular integration and cultural understanding.
The Internet connects listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Central Directories for literature and authors were cited, as well as directories containing full texts and poems for perusal.
Central directories for student writer support and student publishing were listed. Student work can be published on a class weblog or homepage. There are other locations on the Internet that will publish student work also.
Grammar websites that explain and engage students in interactive grammar lessons were explored in this chapter.
Using Internet workshop for enriching literacy by linking fiction and non-fiction, by studying fairy tales from around the world, by studying indigenous peoples' literature, and by focusing on a certain author's work were mentioned.
Internet Project helps teachers organize learning around Internet projects with other world wide classrooms. Examples of Internet project language arts websites were listed.
Webquests that concentrate on language arts were explained.
Websites that integrated Internet inquiry and Internet workshop in the Language Arts and Literature were listed.
Instruction in the effective use of the Internet such as citing electronic sources is vital to avoid plagiarism. Complying with copyright laws is an important issue as well.
Websites are posted which address how to cite resources and gain permission to show work on the Internet.
This chapter gave me some good websites and project ideas to use with my Kindergarten students. We do ABC books in the spring so I can take my Kindergartners to the computer lab and look through websites to choose a theme for their ABC book. Once a theme is chosen each child can organize and print their ABC book from the Internet.
My Kindergarten children have a fairy tale unit in the Spring where we expose the children to various fairy tales. At the end of our unit, we have a fairy tale ball with fairy tale dust, dancing, and food.
There were several website references in this chapter for fairy tales from around the world, and fairy tales for younger children. I could add these resources to enrich my fairy tale unit.
I liked the website where stories are read to younger children.
I am trying to get my three older computers hooked up to the Internet so I can use these websites on a daily basis instead of twice a week in our overscheduled computer lab at school.
Xu 4
This chapter explains how Lark integrated students' interest in rap music and the book "Holes" to meet literacy standards for 6th to 8th graders. In order to do this task Lark conductedf research on adolescent popular culture shows and cartoons.
Lark had his/her students play a truth shuffle game to uncover their popular culture text interests. Rap music was the top interest for the majority of his/her students.
Each student chose a favorite rap artist and identified a theme from one of their songs by using a 4 box journal. Profane words were replaced by symbols.
Students then wrote their theme on butcher paper. Most of the themes were about bullies, oppression or getting justice.
Lark then linked rap music to other text genres that had pertinent information regarding the rap business or oppression.
The class shared their concept of bullies and investigated how characters in books handle bullies and get justice. Students chose to produce a text related to the book "Holes" as a whole or about the main character Stanley. They made a bubble map of possible bullies and wrote questions for a short story and discussed them in small groups. Next they made a flow chart that depicted events in the story "Holes" to show the various story lines.
The culminating project involved comparing the book "Holes" to the movie "Holes," completing a major themes worksheet, finding interesting words from the book, writing a rap about the charaacter Stanley, and completing an artistic collage.
Lark says that because the students were interested in the subject matter they produced a vast quantity of quality work while addressing the state standards at the same time.
I think that the teacher did a great job of finding out the interests of his/her students. The research and planning that went into this rap unit was impressive.
The lessons from this chapter include the importance of planning curriculum around student interests, doing your research, and linking different social literacy genres while complying with state literacy standards. This formula is a win win situation for teachers and students.
I have taught middle school students and they are a hard sell sometimes. This teacher used student interest to sell his/her curriculum with great success. This is an important lesson for all of us as educators.
Website Review 2/25
I chose the bensguide.gpo.gov/website as my review. I was interested in this website because it has information I can have my Kindergartners access to make their originalf themed ABC books this spring. It listed separate sections for K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grades. It had other links for parents and teachers, about the Ben site map, Help, Use Ben's guide as a learning tool, U.S. government publications for sale, curriculum links, U.S. Government Web Sites for kids, and U.S. Government Information in Libraries. When I clicked on the ABC section it wasn't a good link for my younger students so I clicked on the Yellowstone animal alphabet link that took me to the National Park website. It has pictures of the various animals that are listed in alphabetic order with a description of each and a sound option. There is a print and coloring book that goes with it as well. I would use this link with my Kindergartners as part of my science curriculum.
When I went under the bensguide.gpo.gov/ it had a K-2 section I accessed. Under this section it listed our nation, your neighborhood, Ben's ABC's, symbols for U.S. Govt, games & activities, and U.S. Govt websites for kids. The neighborhood section, games and activities, and U.S. Govt websites for kids are all website resources I can use with my Kindergarten class.
When I went under the bensguide.gpo.gov/ it had a K-2 section I accessed. Under this section it listed our nation, your neighborhood, Ben's ABC's, symbols for U.S. Govt, games & activities, and U.S. Govt websites for kids. The neighborhood section, games and activities, and U.S. Govt websites for kids are all website resources I can use with my Kindergarten class.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Reading Response 2/18
Leu 4
This chapter explains the various ways people can communicate with each other via the Internet. The first form of communication that is explained is email. The section on the email was very basic. It talked about your email address, email software programs, identifying yourself, setting preferences, reading, receiving, and replying to messages, original messages with your reply, forwarding mail, composing and sending new messages, printing, attaching files, working with folders, deleting messages, and so on. The authors feel that email is the most effective way to get ideas for websites, resources and activities through other teachers.
Suggestions for email use are to remember your purpose, write concisely, write explicitly, be careful when you are using humor, proofread your messages before you send them, and pay attention to netiquette.
Emailing keypals was discussed as a positive collaborative venture.
The second form of communication was subscribing to a mailing list. When you become a subscriber you are able to discuss a topic of common interest with other subscribers. The rest of this section explained how to subscribe to a mailing list, the welcome message, unsubscribing, posting a message, and mailing list netiquette.
Privacy issues were mentioned with a warning to consider email as an open postcard instead of a sealed letter.
Newsgroups are the third communication category. Newsgroups are available to anyone whose server receives and stores them. They are like bulletin boards where people can post and read material over an extended period of time. More people belong to newsgroups than mailing lists. The rest of this section explains how to read newsgroups, subscribe, post messages, and respond with the proper netiquette.
Weblogs are the last category of communication addressed in this chapter. Weblogs can be described as online journals on any topic with no links to actual news. They are popular because they are inexpensive, free and very user friendly.
Real time communication venues such as radio broadcasts, reading and writing through chat rooms or instant messaging, and audio and video conferencing were mentioned as other communication options on the Internet.
The email section was something I already knew how to use so there was no interest for me there. However, the other three sections had information I had never seen before, so I gained some new information on how to access information on the Internet through mailing lists, newsgroups, and weblogs. I do like the website references and the easy to follow instructions on how to do different functions on the Internet. This book is an invaluable resource for me to use when I am trying out these new literacies on my computer.
Xu 3
I think this chapter was exciting for a variety of reasons. This fourth grade teacher was able to tap into her students' comic book interest and meet the state standards at the same time.
The teacher did a good job of planning the unit. Prior background knowledge was activated with the help of the KWL chart. Questions were sorted by categories. Students interviewed the comic animator artist to get facts for their writing. The animator demonstrated how to draw a comic strip for the students. Guided writing and research followd the demonstration.
Students self selected the business they wanted to start and they wrote an expository piece using the comic strip format as a graphic organizer. At the end of the unit each child wrote a reflections piece on what they had learned. Students finished the project by giving other people tours of their class book and website. They shared their learning with others.
I liked the teacher's final comment at the end of the chapter where she (Rachael) says that she doesn't know if she will do the same unit next year because the next class may have a different popular culture text interest than this year's class. I don't see much of this personal interest factor when teachers design their lessons. It is more work to teach this way, but it is also more meaningful and interesting for kids. Those students will never forget that unit and the things they learned because it was so fun and interesting for them. Vignettes like this inspire teachers to try different things and think outside the box. I'm going to survey my Kindergartners to find out what popular culture text they are interested in and then design a literacy unit on it!
This chapter explains the various ways people can communicate with each other via the Internet. The first form of communication that is explained is email. The section on the email was very basic. It talked about your email address, email software programs, identifying yourself, setting preferences, reading, receiving, and replying to messages, original messages with your reply, forwarding mail, composing and sending new messages, printing, attaching files, working with folders, deleting messages, and so on. The authors feel that email is the most effective way to get ideas for websites, resources and activities through other teachers.
Suggestions for email use are to remember your purpose, write concisely, write explicitly, be careful when you are using humor, proofread your messages before you send them, and pay attention to netiquette.
Emailing keypals was discussed as a positive collaborative venture.
The second form of communication was subscribing to a mailing list. When you become a subscriber you are able to discuss a topic of common interest with other subscribers. The rest of this section explained how to subscribe to a mailing list, the welcome message, unsubscribing, posting a message, and mailing list netiquette.
Privacy issues were mentioned with a warning to consider email as an open postcard instead of a sealed letter.
Newsgroups are the third communication category. Newsgroups are available to anyone whose server receives and stores them. They are like bulletin boards where people can post and read material over an extended period of time. More people belong to newsgroups than mailing lists. The rest of this section explains how to read newsgroups, subscribe, post messages, and respond with the proper netiquette.
Weblogs are the last category of communication addressed in this chapter. Weblogs can be described as online journals on any topic with no links to actual news. They are popular because they are inexpensive, free and very user friendly.
Real time communication venues such as radio broadcasts, reading and writing through chat rooms or instant messaging, and audio and video conferencing were mentioned as other communication options on the Internet.
The email section was something I already knew how to use so there was no interest for me there. However, the other three sections had information I had never seen before, so I gained some new information on how to access information on the Internet through mailing lists, newsgroups, and weblogs. I do like the website references and the easy to follow instructions on how to do different functions on the Internet. This book is an invaluable resource for me to use when I am trying out these new literacies on my computer.
Xu 3
I think this chapter was exciting for a variety of reasons. This fourth grade teacher was able to tap into her students' comic book interest and meet the state standards at the same time.
The teacher did a good job of planning the unit. Prior background knowledge was activated with the help of the KWL chart. Questions were sorted by categories. Students interviewed the comic animator artist to get facts for their writing. The animator demonstrated how to draw a comic strip for the students. Guided writing and research followd the demonstration.
Students self selected the business they wanted to start and they wrote an expository piece using the comic strip format as a graphic organizer. At the end of the unit each child wrote a reflections piece on what they had learned. Students finished the project by giving other people tours of their class book and website. They shared their learning with others.
I liked the teacher's final comment at the end of the chapter where she (Rachael) says that she doesn't know if she will do the same unit next year because the next class may have a different popular culture text interest than this year's class. I don't see much of this personal interest factor when teachers design their lessons. It is more work to teach this way, but it is also more meaningful and interesting for kids. Those students will never forget that unit and the things they learned because it was so fun and interesting for them. Vignettes like this inspire teachers to try different things and think outside the box. I'm going to survey my Kindergartners to find out what popular culture text they are interested in and then design a literacy unit on it!
Website Review 2/18
The website I reviewed was edhelper.com. This website was recommended to me by our special education teacher who subscribes to this site.
This site is designed to help educators plan instructional units from elementary school to high school. There are reading comprehension activities, read and color books, literature units, and writing activities.
There is a special section dedicated to PreK-3 for Kindergarten, phonics and themes.
Under Language there are language arts, spelling, vocabulary and word list ideas.
Special Education needs are addressed under the Special Education section.
Foreign Languages such as Spanish, French, German, and Italian are addressed with curriculum ideas for all.
There are also other topics for educators to use in their lesson planning like, math, middle school math, algebra, critical thinking, Social Studies, Science, test preparation, art, music, making puzzles, monthly themes, and daily skill reviews.
I joined the website as a member! Check it out!
This site is designed to help educators plan instructional units from elementary school to high school. There are reading comprehension activities, read and color books, literature units, and writing activities.
There is a special section dedicated to PreK-3 for Kindergarten, phonics and themes.
Under Language there are language arts, spelling, vocabulary and word list ideas.
Special Education needs are addressed under the Special Education section.
Foreign Languages such as Spanish, French, German, and Italian are addressed with curriculum ideas for all.
There are also other topics for educators to use in their lesson planning like, math, middle school math, algebra, critical thinking, Social Studies, Science, test preparation, art, music, making puzzles, monthly themes, and daily skill reviews.
I joined the website as a member! Check it out!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Website Review 2/11
The website I reviewed this week was in chapter 3 of the Leu book. The URL address is http://www.bbc.co.uk/dinosaurs. I chose this site because my Kindergartners are fascinated by dinosaurs. They play with them and bring them to sharing time on a repeat basis.
This website has information on the age of the dinosaurs, getting to know your ancestors, current and classic documentaries, games, quizzes, amazing creatures from the past, and links to the latest finds and theories. There are radio programs on mammoths, dinosaurs, evolution and other science topics. The link to a 3D dinosaur landscape is available. You can see the creatures that ruled the earth before the dinosaurs and download desktop wallpapers. I am going to put my Kindergartners on this site next week for a science activity.
This website has information on the age of the dinosaurs, getting to know your ancestors, current and classic documentaries, games, quizzes, amazing creatures from the past, and links to the latest finds and theories. There are radio programs on mammoths, dinosaurs, evolution and other science topics. The link to a 3D dinosaur landscape is available. You can see the creatures that ruled the earth before the dinosaurs and download desktop wallpapers. I am going to put my Kindergartners on this site next week for a science activity.
Reading Response 2/11
Leu 3
This chapter describes four instructional models that teachers can use to teach students how to use the Internet.
The first model is Internet Workshop. The teacher locates a good site that has appropriate content for a thematic unit that will be taught. An activity is then developed that uses the site. The activity must be completed during the week. Finally, students engage in a short workshop session where they can ask questions and share what they have learned in their Internet search during the previous week.
The second model is entitled Internet Project. Your class and another class work on the same learning activity or many classes contribute data to the same site and then analyze the data that is posted. There are two approaches to Internet Project which are website projects, and spontaneous projects developed by teachers.
The third model is Internet Inquiry. There are five steps to Internet Inquiry. They are developing a question, searching for information, evaluating the information, composing an answer to the question, and sharing the answer with other students.
The fourth model is called Webquest. The Webquest model has an introduction, a task definition, a description of the process, informational resources, guidance in organizing information, and a final activity.
I really liked the descriptions of the four instructional models with the practical websites that were listed to help teachers implement these activities in the classroom. This chapter was very user friendly for Internet beginners. I would feel very comfortable trying out some of these models with this chapter as a blueprint to guide me. However, most of these models were too complex for my Kindergartners.
The Yahooligans search engine was of particular interest to me because this search engine has
been screened to ensure childrens' safety. I will definitely check this site out.
Using the educational directories for planning units was an invaluable resource for linking internet resources with the content areas.
I took a technology class called TIPS in our school district three years ago and we all had to design a webquest as the final assignment. Since I didn't have much Internet experience the navigation required to find the appropriate resources was a nightmare! If I had read this book before the TIPS class it would have helped me tremendously with the Webquest assignment.
Xu 2
Xu explains how three different teachers incorporated popular culture into their literacy lessons while addressing a multitude of required standards for their grade level.
Jean did a unit on superheroes that included brainstorming for superheroes, reading books with superheroes, and discussing the traits of superheroes.
Sherry and her students selected a common theme for a music unit, read the lyrics of two songs by two different bands, learned about the artists, compared and contrasted the two songs, and learned to dance La Cumbia.
April had her students compare and contrast the popular culture hero Scooby Doo with Inspector Gadget, complete a creative writing piece about Scooby Doo, identify character traits on characters from the Scooby Doo show, and write down recipes for snacks for Scooby Doo.
I think this chapter shows how engaging and relevant using popular culture characters and text can be for students. Students can tap into their background knowledge and interests while still addressing state standards and literacy issues at the same time.
These vignettes show how powerful student motivation and learning can be. Nevertheless,
matching student interest to learning activities requires more time and effort by the teacher. For this reason some teachers will not be interested in this philosophy.
I say that some teachers don't have twenty years experience of teaching. They have one years' experience of teaching twenty times. I think it is important to keep current and try new things every year.
This chapter describes four instructional models that teachers can use to teach students how to use the Internet.
The first model is Internet Workshop. The teacher locates a good site that has appropriate content for a thematic unit that will be taught. An activity is then developed that uses the site. The activity must be completed during the week. Finally, students engage in a short workshop session where they can ask questions and share what they have learned in their Internet search during the previous week.
The second model is entitled Internet Project. Your class and another class work on the same learning activity or many classes contribute data to the same site and then analyze the data that is posted. There are two approaches to Internet Project which are website projects, and spontaneous projects developed by teachers.
The third model is Internet Inquiry. There are five steps to Internet Inquiry. They are developing a question, searching for information, evaluating the information, composing an answer to the question, and sharing the answer with other students.
The fourth model is called Webquest. The Webquest model has an introduction, a task definition, a description of the process, informational resources, guidance in organizing information, and a final activity.
I really liked the descriptions of the four instructional models with the practical websites that were listed to help teachers implement these activities in the classroom. This chapter was very user friendly for Internet beginners. I would feel very comfortable trying out some of these models with this chapter as a blueprint to guide me. However, most of these models were too complex for my Kindergartners.
The Yahooligans search engine was of particular interest to me because this search engine has
been screened to ensure childrens' safety. I will definitely check this site out.
Using the educational directories for planning units was an invaluable resource for linking internet resources with the content areas.
I took a technology class called TIPS in our school district three years ago and we all had to design a webquest as the final assignment. Since I didn't have much Internet experience the navigation required to find the appropriate resources was a nightmare! If I had read this book before the TIPS class it would have helped me tremendously with the Webquest assignment.
Xu 2
Xu explains how three different teachers incorporated popular culture into their literacy lessons while addressing a multitude of required standards for their grade level.
Jean did a unit on superheroes that included brainstorming for superheroes, reading books with superheroes, and discussing the traits of superheroes.
Sherry and her students selected a common theme for a music unit, read the lyrics of two songs by two different bands, learned about the artists, compared and contrasted the two songs, and learned to dance La Cumbia.
April had her students compare and contrast the popular culture hero Scooby Doo with Inspector Gadget, complete a creative writing piece about Scooby Doo, identify character traits on characters from the Scooby Doo show, and write down recipes for snacks for Scooby Doo.
I think this chapter shows how engaging and relevant using popular culture characters and text can be for students. Students can tap into their background knowledge and interests while still addressing state standards and literacy issues at the same time.
These vignettes show how powerful student motivation and learning can be. Nevertheless,
matching student interest to learning activities requires more time and effort by the teacher. For this reason some teachers will not be interested in this philosophy.
I say that some teachers don't have twenty years experience of teaching. They have one years' experience of teaching twenty times. I think it is important to keep current and try new things every year.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Website Review 2/4
I reviewed the website enchanted learning.com. It has a host of lesson ideas, worksheets, activities, art projects and other themed projects for primary grade teachers. It is difficult to find a website that can be used for Kindergarten students. But this website is one of the great ones! I got the website from the Leu book and it is a definite keeper!
There is a host of alphabet letter sound workbook pages for my Kindergartners. I can print them out and make an alphabet book that reinforces the letter sound associations we have learned in our classroom.
When you join the site you can print out short books for early to fluent readers.
There are holiday activities and crafts.
Little Explorers is a picture dictionary linked to thousands of educational activities.
There is a music section that talks about notes, scales, and has printouts for these concepts.
Fill in the blank worksheets and monthly activity calendars with an activity for every day of the month are featured.
K-3 rhymes, crafts, and printouts are available on a variety of themes.
There is a section on Preschool and Kindergarten activities.
Science and Social Studies activities are available also.
It is a site I will use over and over again!
There is a host of alphabet letter sound workbook pages for my Kindergartners. I can print them out and make an alphabet book that reinforces the letter sound associations we have learned in our classroom.
When you join the site you can print out short books for early to fluent readers.
There are holiday activities and crafts.
Little Explorers is a picture dictionary linked to thousands of educational activities.
There is a music section that talks about notes, scales, and has printouts for these concepts.
Fill in the blank worksheets and monthly activity calendars with an activity for every day of the month are featured.
K-3 rhymes, crafts, and printouts are available on a variety of themes.
There is a section on Preschool and Kindergarten activities.
Science and Social Studies activities are available also.
It is a site I will use over and over again!
Reading Response 2/4
Leu 2
This chapter gives strategies on how to navigate the Internet with critical analysis and efficiency.
It gives examples of Internet usage with Mr. Montero's class. Students share navigation and searching strategies with each other and take notes so they remember what they have learned
for the whole group Internet workshop that takes place later.
Different browsers were identified and the features of each one were discussed.
Browser tools such as designating a start up page, replacing commercial links with educational links, organizing bookmarks, sharing bookmark collections, downloading plug-ins and installing them, and saving webpages were discussed.
Strategies and search tools for teachers were explained. Using central directories with links about topics were endorsed. A list of central directories were given.
Search engines were identified and directions given on how to find images, audio or other types of media besides text.
Copyright issues and web sites were listed.
Four keyword search strategies for teachers included putting quotation marks around phrases to narrow keyword searches, searching for certain phrases, typing a topic plus keyword to narrow searches, and using electronic spelling to make sure words are spelled correctly.
Child safety issues and encouraging schools' acceptable use policies were strongly cited.
How to get around internet filtering tools for teachers was interesting.
The authors were in support of having students earn an Internet driver's license before they are allowed to use the Internet without an adult's supervision. When a child encounters a site they are uncomfortable with they may hit the back button to escape and tell an adult.
Instructional strategies for students were demonstrated such as searching vs. browsing, selecting keywords, understanding search results, critical analysis, reading in a website, and managing advertisements.
A list of navigational resources on the Internet were provided at the end of the chapter.
This chapter gave me many ideas and strategies to use with elementary school students on the Internet. The websites have given me invaluable resources to check into when planning units for my Kindergartners.
I didn't know how to find out who has set up the URL addresses or how to do bookmarks until I read this chapter.
Our school district has an Internet acceptable use form that parents and students are required to sign before they can use the Internet in our computer lab. However, I feel that having each student go through a computer training on privacy and safety issues would be very important. I liked the idea of giving each student an Internet Driver's License.
I don't have much experience with the Internet so this chapter gave me lots of useful information and was very user friendly!
Xu 1
Literacy as social practice is only meaningful when it is in specific contexts. Reading and writing are more effective when they have a specified purpose.
Domains and discourse are also related to literacy as social practice. School and home are two different domains where literacy is used and learned. Discourse involves ways of behaving, thinking, reading and writing that are accepted by certain groups of people.
Literacy shows a power relationship between individuals and organizations such as between students and schools.
Critical literacy practices should include delving beyond surface text, looking at text in a wide social and cultural context, and explore meanings and what the text is saying to the reader.
Multiliteracies involves other forms of media beside the printed word. They include visual meanings, audio meanings, gestural meanings, multimodal meanings, and spatial meanings.
Literacy changes within our society and new forms of literacy emerge.
Research on popular text shows that students who engage in it learn new forms of literacy that are not learned in school. If students are directed they can become critical thinkers.
The four approaches to using popular culture texts are banning popular culture, critically analyzing popular culture, celebrating popular culture, and celebrating and analyzing popular culture. The fourth approach is the one Xu endorses. However, teachers predominantly use the third approach.
I feel that there needs to be more purpose communicated to students when they engage in literacy activities. Students do learn more if they can see the purpose for an activity at school.
Children learn different things at home than they do at school with multiliteracies like video games, movies, cartoons, etc.
Teachers need to purposefully plan to include popular text inside the curriculum to promote more current, engaging, and critical thinking literacy endeavors.
This chapter gives strategies on how to navigate the Internet with critical analysis and efficiency.
It gives examples of Internet usage with Mr. Montero's class. Students share navigation and searching strategies with each other and take notes so they remember what they have learned
for the whole group Internet workshop that takes place later.
Different browsers were identified and the features of each one were discussed.
Browser tools such as designating a start up page, replacing commercial links with educational links, organizing bookmarks, sharing bookmark collections, downloading plug-ins and installing them, and saving webpages were discussed.
Strategies and search tools for teachers were explained. Using central directories with links about topics were endorsed. A list of central directories were given.
Search engines were identified and directions given on how to find images, audio or other types of media besides text.
Copyright issues and web sites were listed.
Four keyword search strategies for teachers included putting quotation marks around phrases to narrow keyword searches, searching for certain phrases, typing a topic plus keyword to narrow searches, and using electronic spelling to make sure words are spelled correctly.
Child safety issues and encouraging schools' acceptable use policies were strongly cited.
How to get around internet filtering tools for teachers was interesting.
The authors were in support of having students earn an Internet driver's license before they are allowed to use the Internet without an adult's supervision. When a child encounters a site they are uncomfortable with they may hit the back button to escape and tell an adult.
Instructional strategies for students were demonstrated such as searching vs. browsing, selecting keywords, understanding search results, critical analysis, reading in a website, and managing advertisements.
A list of navigational resources on the Internet were provided at the end of the chapter.
This chapter gave me many ideas and strategies to use with elementary school students on the Internet. The websites have given me invaluable resources to check into when planning units for my Kindergartners.
I didn't know how to find out who has set up the URL addresses or how to do bookmarks until I read this chapter.
Our school district has an Internet acceptable use form that parents and students are required to sign before they can use the Internet in our computer lab. However, I feel that having each student go through a computer training on privacy and safety issues would be very important. I liked the idea of giving each student an Internet Driver's License.
I don't have much experience with the Internet so this chapter gave me lots of useful information and was very user friendly!
Xu 1
Literacy as social practice is only meaningful when it is in specific contexts. Reading and writing are more effective when they have a specified purpose.
Domains and discourse are also related to literacy as social practice. School and home are two different domains where literacy is used and learned. Discourse involves ways of behaving, thinking, reading and writing that are accepted by certain groups of people.
Literacy shows a power relationship between individuals and organizations such as between students and schools.
Critical literacy practices should include delving beyond surface text, looking at text in a wide social and cultural context, and explore meanings and what the text is saying to the reader.
Multiliteracies involves other forms of media beside the printed word. They include visual meanings, audio meanings, gestural meanings, multimodal meanings, and spatial meanings.
Literacy changes within our society and new forms of literacy emerge.
Research on popular text shows that students who engage in it learn new forms of literacy that are not learned in school. If students are directed they can become critical thinkers.
The four approaches to using popular culture texts are banning popular culture, critically analyzing popular culture, celebrating popular culture, and celebrating and analyzing popular culture. The fourth approach is the one Xu endorses. However, teachers predominantly use the third approach.
I feel that there needs to be more purpose communicated to students when they engage in literacy activities. Students do learn more if they can see the purpose for an activity at school.
Children learn different things at home than they do at school with multiliteracies like video games, movies, cartoons, etc.
Teachers need to purposefully plan to include popular text inside the curriculum to promote more current, engaging, and critical thinking literacy endeavors.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Website Review
I chose the www.starfall.com website because I was intrigued with Patrick Manyak's presentation of the site in class. A parent in my class said that another elementary school uses it with their primary grade students in their computer lab. She asked me if we were using the program, and I told her I just found out about it in my Master's class the previous week. I assured her I would be putting my Kindergartners on the site.
The site has interactive talking story books that help emergent readers to decode words. I liked the alphabet activities associating letters and sounds. These activities also foster phonemic awareness and word recognition.
The site offers free printed materials to use with the multimedia presentations on the computer.
This site is just another medium I can use to reinforce my literacy lessons. I am currently using Saxon Phonics, and the Macmillan McGraw-Hill basal reading series.
Our school lost our Josten's learning lab software last year because it was outdated. The computer technicians refused to service the older computers. This was a big loss to the primary grade students because they loved going to the computer lab two times a week for a half hour.
Our school has not been able to afford another educational software program this year because we are not a Title 1 school. Therefore, I am really excited about using these websites to replace our older educational software. I'm not sure how focused I will be able to be with 17 Kindergartners on the computers but I am going to give it a shot.
The site has interactive talking story books that help emergent readers to decode words. I liked the alphabet activities associating letters and sounds. These activities also foster phonemic awareness and word recognition.
The site offers free printed materials to use with the multimedia presentations on the computer.
This site is just another medium I can use to reinforce my literacy lessons. I am currently using Saxon Phonics, and the Macmillan McGraw-Hill basal reading series.
Our school lost our Josten's learning lab software last year because it was outdated. The computer technicians refused to service the older computers. This was a big loss to the primary grade students because they loved going to the computer lab two times a week for a half hour.
Our school has not been able to afford another educational software program this year because we are not a Title 1 school. Therefore, I am really excited about using these websites to replace our older educational software. I'm not sure how focused I will be able to be with 17 Kindergartners on the computers but I am going to give it a shot.
Reading Responses
Leu 1
This chapter explores the need for teaching new literacies via the Internet across all content areas in the curriculum. The students learn how to identify key questions, navigate through
a variety of networks to find relevant information, evaluate information sources, synthesize the information they find to answer their questions, and how to communicate their findings to others.
When students are able to use the Internet they are more excited about learning which usually leads to more learning. They are able to engage in more collaborative learning with people from around the world.
The new literacies are the wave of the future and students need to know how to use them for their continuted success at home, at school, and in the workplace.
The theoretical principles of the new literacies are new forms of strategic knowledge, socially constructed knowledge, critical literacies, changing new literacies, and teachers becoming more important although their roles change in the new literacy classroom.
Life long learning may be more important than learning specific new literacies now.
I really liked this chapter. The new literacies are here to stay and we need to teach our students how to use them effectively so they can function in the information age we are in now. It was nice to see a primary grade teacher's use of the Internet with her young students. I don't use the Internet with my Kindergartners so this chapter gave me some ideas I can use with my class. I would like to try a website for parents to go to for information on our class. Usually I send home a weekly newsletter to parents for class information. Sometimes the notes don't make it home. The website would be a very effective way to get around this communication barrier.
It would be exciting for my students to see their work online. How would you get around the confidentiality issue of student work?
I perused the smartfall web site and I am excited to try it with my Kindergarten students since our school doesn't have any money for an educational software program for the primary grades.
Xu Intro
Xu defines three definitions of popular culture. The first one is mass culture. It is culture that is produced for the general public by producers of popular culture. The meanings are the ones that are intended by the producer. The second one is folk culture. It celebrates popular culture for the general public, and believes that people interpret popular culture, not the producers. The third type is everyday culture. It believes that producers have the power to relay meanings, but the consumer have the power to analyze those messages.
Popular culture text contains print and nonprint text. It can be TV, DVDs, films, videos, hypermedia texts, musical CDs, comic books, trading cards, game texts, and zine texts (magazines). The authors want us to use popular culture texts in our literacy learning in school. They argue that students have a wealth of knowledge about popular culture texts and this literacy knowledge may not be evident to teachers if popular texts are not used.
Students will learn more if they are able to pick out the popular texts that interest them.
The book shows research based practices for using popular culture texts with students from diverse backgrounds. Part 1 of the text discusses research and teachers' lessons for using popular culture texts in conjunction with literacy. Part 2 gives specific instructions for using popular culture texts with literacy lessons.
I think that the arguments in the introduction of this book are valid. Students are immersed in popular culture. If we use their interests to educate them they are more engaged and learn more. I'm excited to learn more about this topic.
Moll
This article was about a research study that was done with working class Mexicans in Tucson, Arizona. The researchers analyzed household cultural dynamics, studied classroom practices, and developed after-school study groups with teachers so they could use the information they learned in the student's home to make use of each students' fund of knowledge. The teacher and anthropologist interviewed each family and came away with a more in depth understanding of the student in the home and this knowledge was very helpful for guiding instruction for this child.
I have tried to do at home interviews with each Kindergarten student before they start the school year with no success. My principal said it was a safety issue and I could not go into the home of each child by myself. The other concern was that we are a school of choice. The principal didn't want the parents to know who their child had for Kindergarten before the lists were posted on the door a few days before school opens.
It makes sense to me to interview parents and meet children so you are looking at the whole child in his environment. This would give you more information to plan appropriate instructional activities for each child.
This chapter explores the need for teaching new literacies via the Internet across all content areas in the curriculum. The students learn how to identify key questions, navigate through
a variety of networks to find relevant information, evaluate information sources, synthesize the information they find to answer their questions, and how to communicate their findings to others.
When students are able to use the Internet they are more excited about learning which usually leads to more learning. They are able to engage in more collaborative learning with people from around the world.
The new literacies are the wave of the future and students need to know how to use them for their continuted success at home, at school, and in the workplace.
The theoretical principles of the new literacies are new forms of strategic knowledge, socially constructed knowledge, critical literacies, changing new literacies, and teachers becoming more important although their roles change in the new literacy classroom.
Life long learning may be more important than learning specific new literacies now.
I really liked this chapter. The new literacies are here to stay and we need to teach our students how to use them effectively so they can function in the information age we are in now. It was nice to see a primary grade teacher's use of the Internet with her young students. I don't use the Internet with my Kindergartners so this chapter gave me some ideas I can use with my class. I would like to try a website for parents to go to for information on our class. Usually I send home a weekly newsletter to parents for class information. Sometimes the notes don't make it home. The website would be a very effective way to get around this communication barrier.
It would be exciting for my students to see their work online. How would you get around the confidentiality issue of student work?
I perused the smartfall web site and I am excited to try it with my Kindergarten students since our school doesn't have any money for an educational software program for the primary grades.
Xu Intro
Xu defines three definitions of popular culture. The first one is mass culture. It is culture that is produced for the general public by producers of popular culture. The meanings are the ones that are intended by the producer. The second one is folk culture. It celebrates popular culture for the general public, and believes that people interpret popular culture, not the producers. The third type is everyday culture. It believes that producers have the power to relay meanings, but the consumer have the power to analyze those messages.
Popular culture text contains print and nonprint text. It can be TV, DVDs, films, videos, hypermedia texts, musical CDs, comic books, trading cards, game texts, and zine texts (magazines). The authors want us to use popular culture texts in our literacy learning in school. They argue that students have a wealth of knowledge about popular culture texts and this literacy knowledge may not be evident to teachers if popular texts are not used.
Students will learn more if they are able to pick out the popular texts that interest them.
The book shows research based practices for using popular culture texts with students from diverse backgrounds. Part 1 of the text discusses research and teachers' lessons for using popular culture texts in conjunction with literacy. Part 2 gives specific instructions for using popular culture texts with literacy lessons.
I think that the arguments in the introduction of this book are valid. Students are immersed in popular culture. If we use their interests to educate them they are more engaged and learn more. I'm excited to learn more about this topic.
Moll
This article was about a research study that was done with working class Mexicans in Tucson, Arizona. The researchers analyzed household cultural dynamics, studied classroom practices, and developed after-school study groups with teachers so they could use the information they learned in the student's home to make use of each students' fund of knowledge. The teacher and anthropologist interviewed each family and came away with a more in depth understanding of the student in the home and this knowledge was very helpful for guiding instruction for this child.
I have tried to do at home interviews with each Kindergarten student before they start the school year with no success. My principal said it was a safety issue and I could not go into the home of each child by myself. The other concern was that we are a school of choice. The principal didn't want the parents to know who their child had for Kindergarten before the lists were posted on the door a few days before school opens.
It makes sense to me to interview parents and meet children so you are looking at the whole child in his environment. This would give you more information to plan appropriate instructional activities for each child.
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