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.