Vocabulary and Glog

While reading the book The Capture in class we have been doing several different vocabulary activities. After learning how important vocabulary is to students learning I love that I have been learning so many different techniques. The word wizard notebook which was discussed in the vocabulary powerpoint is a wonderful way for students to learn and study new words. After the look up the definition and synonyms they record each word in their notebook. They then have words from every book they have read to use in their writing. The multiple uses of these words are going to help reinforce them.
In my world literature class we learned about a form of reciprocal teaching. Instead of having one child perform all of the jobs we each had a different role that we had to perform while we were reading and then teach it to our group. I like the idea of one student leading the discussion but I hated leading discussion when I was younger and I feel that if each student had a job it might take some of the pressure off. I think that maybe if you could give each student in the group a role and slowly lead up to one student leading discussion it might be easier for the shy students.
I had never heard of a glog before this class, but I think that are so fun! I love being able to create an interactive website that the students can get on to look at or create their own and post. It is also a great way for students to incorporate their vocabulary words. I love the wanted poster idea because you can relate that to almost any book you are reading. I am thinking about creating a glog on the lost colony for my IDP!

My Glog: http://kendelj.edu.glogster.com/gylfie-wanted-poster/

Breaking down words to build meaning

The article states that “A balanced approach to vocabulary instruction combines explicit instruction of a limited number of well-chosen words with instruction in strategies with which students can acquire words independently” Morphology is a tool/strategy that has been proven very useful in enhancing students vocabulary and comprehension. Morphology can be broken down to mean shape and study of (Study of shape). Morphology normally refers to the study of the structure of words (Morphemes). Students with a large vocabulary had a higher understanding of morphology, and students with greater knowledge of morphology had higher reading comprehension scores. The activities that we did this week for the book The Capture correlate very well with this article. For each vocabulary word students are to find a definition, synonyms, and relate that word to something or find a connection. This will help students with the individual vocabulary word and also comprehension of the text. Although the activities do not help with morphing strategies students who are proficient in morphing could use these skills to form definitions and meaning of the words which would build their vocabulary. With so many wonderful benefits, I will be sure to spend time on learning morphing strategies.

Internet Workshop and Blog Publishing

I found this article very useful in easing my fears of using technology in the classroom. I am not a very technology savvy person, so I worry sometimes how I will integrate technology in the classroom. If I can not successfully use the technology, how will my students? Well this article gave wonderful clear instructions on how to set up these workshops to make them safe, easy, and fun for the students. I love the idea of using a webquest or thinkquest. I am using one for my IDP and it is such a fun way for students to do research. I think that this is a wonderful way to introduce younger students to using technology to find information on a selected topic. I also love using a child friendly search engine. In block 1 we learned how to create a search engine. I loved how we could hand pick the websites so that the students could only search for information from those websites. The research activities will also help guide students through the websites and help them with content knowledge and comprehension. The second part of the workshops which is student blogs are a great way for teachers to publish student work and incorporate not only 21st century skills but also other content areas. I love how the teacher in the article used the research they found to create poetry. Students will be so proud that their poems can be found on the internet. Parents can also easily access their students work and keep track of what their child is doing in class. I used to believe that having a blog was unfair for those students or parents who did not have internet, but after we talked in class about how anyone can use computers in the library I feel much better about that. As technology becomes more important in our society, I think that as teachers we must try to incorporate it in any way possible and this is a wonderful way to do so. It not only helps children become more comfortable with technology itself, but they also are covering several different content areas while having fun at the same time!

The child friendly websites that were included in the workshop were very interesting! They were also safe and very easy to use which of course is important aspects to look for in child-friendly websites. I love that the websites had videos and pictures. I think that students would love to see the owls in action. It also makes them more interesting which will keep the students attention.

1. List the barn owl’s scientific name.
   Tybo Alba

1. What does a barn owl look like? (color, size, etc.) What kind of sound does  it make?
   A barn owl does not hoot, it screeches. A barn own has long legs, toes, and talons. The underpart of the barn is light gray. There is normally spots on its feathers.  Its beak is off-white and it’s feet are a yellow-white color.  A female barn is is about 34-40cm, A male is 32-38 cm.
2. Describe the habitat of a barn owl: Where do they live? What kind of shelter do they need?
   The barn is can be found in open woodland areas, more than in a forested area. They can be found in most habitats though. They roost in hallow trees, but can be found in caves, wells, an out buildings.
3. How is the barn owl especially equipped to catch its prey? (Describe its camouflage and other adaptations.)
   The barn owls long toes and talons enable them to easily catch prey. They are also often camouflaged by their coloring because the ground which they prey is often brown much of the year.
4. What do barn owls eat? Where do they find their food?
   The barn owl specialize in hunting very small rodents. The majority of their food consist of this, for example field mice, shrews, and gophers. They may also eat frogs, lizards, birds, and insects. Most of their food is found in open grasslands.
5. Describe any “special talents” of the barn owl.
   In complete darkness, a barn owl can still find even the smallest of prey because of their excellent hearing.
6. Describe the life cycle of a barn owl. (including reproduction)
   Barn owls may breed any time during the year. They have lay about 3-6 eggs (sometimes up to 12). The eggs are incubated for 30-34 days. After they are born chicks are covered and brooded for around 2 weeks. After this the chicks will stay close for a week or so until they learn hunting and survival skills. Young owls can start breeding at 10 months. The life expectancy of a barn owl is 1-2 years.
7. What are some cool “WOW” facts that you learned?
   Although the life expectancy is 1-2 years there have been barn owls who have lived to be 11 and 17 years old!

Double Entry Diary

As Good As Anybody
By: Richard Michelson

My double entry Diary: double entry diary

Child Friendly Websites:

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmheroes1.html

http://holidays.kaboose.com/black_history_month.html

http://constitutioncenter.org/BillofRightsGame/

http://www.imahero.com/readingprogram/september2001.html

http://www.educationworld.com/holidays/archives/mlking.shtml

http://bcsd.k12.ny.us/middle/lmc/CivilRightsWebQuest/Intro.htm

Shared Reading

Like many others in our class, prior to reading Shared Readings: Modeling Comprehension, Vocabulary, Text Structures, and Text Features for Older Readers , I thought that shared reading was the same thing as reading aloud. However, it is not. Shared reading is a way for a teacher to model text processing. Shared reading focuses on four major areas: comprehension, vocabulary, text structures, and text features. Many of the teachers also modeled fluency, by practicing reading the text beforehand. I think this is very important. Students will not know what fluent reading sounds like if they do not hear it from somewhere first. The teachers also modeled their own thinking. The focus of the lesson was not to ask students questions about the text but to model the teachers thinking. For comprehension one ff the teachers talked out loud as she made predictions of the book, summarized each page, and things that she thought about along the way. For vocabulary the teachers did not just read out the word and the definition but used context clues, word parts, and resources to figure out the definition or meaning. Text structure (plot, characters, setting, conflict) was modeled by thinking out loud to the class about the different parts of a book. As a teacher was reading she stopped and said ” I think that Machiavelli is comparing and contrasting here. I’m thinking that he wants me to understand the difference in the two types of fighting”  Text Features (headings, captions, diagrams, glossary) The teacher taught children how to use text features by modeling how to use one. I think that shared reading is a wonderful way for children to learn how to properly read. Anyone can read a book, but to really absorb what you are reading you need to know strategies. Shared reading is not only more entertaining to students then listening to a teacher talk about how to use a glossary to look up words, but it is also a way for the teacher to get involved in teaching. Modeling allows the students to see reading as a process that is not going to just end after the year is over, but continue through-out their life. Unfortunately I have never seen shared-reading taught in class. With so many benifits associated with shared reading I plan on using it in the future!

My shared reading plan: Freedom Summer Shared Reading

Sustained Silent Reading

I thought that the article about sustained silent reading very interesting. I was not aware of the research suggesting such a powerful link between reading and reading achievement and standardized test scores. This is reason enough for me to get interested in transforming my students into engaged and enthusiastic readers. All I can remember from my schooling is silent reading at our desks during transitions from subjects or if they teacher ran out of something for us to do. They had baskets on our desk of library books that we could read. Based on this article this is not a good idea. I did not really have a choice in what I was reading and I was also “fake” reading. I skimmed through the pages to let the teacher think that I was doing what I was supposed too, similar to many students in the beginning of the article. This type of reading does not help me with fluency or comprehension skills. In the first grade class I was placed in for Block 1 I was amazed at how excited the students were for silent reading time. They had at least 15 minutes a day to a book of their choice which was in their lexile range. Books were labeled different colors by the lexile numbers. This made it easy for children to see which books they could read. The teacher had such a wide range of books in her class, it was very easy for the students to find a book that they were interested in. The only thing that I noticed that really bothered me was that the students were obsessed with taking the reading counts tests after they were finished with the book. Although the tests can assess their comprehension skills I think that it makes the children more excited about getting points form the test and less excited about reading itself. In the article they had the children write about what they had read. I think that this is a better way of assessing comprehension because it really makes the children think about what they have read and use the metacognitive skills they learned.I loved the idea of the “elbow” partner. Although I do not like calling on students who do not have their hand raised, this will cut down on the fake reading. It also allows students to talk out loud about what they had read which will also help them with their comprehension skills. I also think that this is a good way to get students excited about the books they are hearing about. If their classmates are talking about a book they liked than maybe they will want to read it too. This will help established the excited reader they are working towards. Overall I loved the article and found it very useful for a future teacher like myself.

Read Aloud Reflection

The Wretched Stone
Written and Illustrated by: Chris Van Allsburg
Grade Level: 2-5
Genre: Fiction

 

After hearing The Wretched Stone read aloud to our class I decided I wanted to read it to my fourth graders at Hardin Park. I read on Friday and it did not go as I planned. I started off showing the cover and asking them to make predictions about what the title meant and what they thought the book would be about. They were very distracted. Some were talking in small groups, others were hitting each other. There were probably only a handful of students that were even paying attention. We had a substitute so the classroom was a little hectic. I tried to ask a question after every page to see how they comprehended the story. They were having trouble coming up with ideas about the stone. I tried to guide their thinking towards something they know of in their everyday life that had similar characteristics of the stone but nothing was catching. At the end of the story they were left very confused. It was a very frustrating experience. I felt like I was asking the right questions, but it was not helping them. The talking and lack of interest did not make matters any better. I think that the time I had to read may have had something to do with it. It was twenty minutes before lunch and I think they were excited. I hope that next time I read out loud it goes more smoothly.