Kelly

Kelly Emerick

Wed, June 15, 2011 I found the section, in __Smart Answers__, which outlines the benefits of reading aloud to students very exciting. As an elementary student, I always loved coming in from recess and relaxing while listening to my teacher read a fantastic book! Now I enjoy being the teacher reading to my students. Not only does it have all of the benefits outlined in __Smart Answers__, but is also a great way to introduce my students to new genres, authors, and writing styles. On more than one occasion I have had students come back from library with a book by the same author that we are reading. This is a great feeling and makes the time I spend reading aloud very worthwhile. In addition to reading stories and chapter books aloud to my students, I also always keep a book of poems handy. (I've found that they really like Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein!) Anytime that we have an extra minute between recess and lunch or at the end of the day I share a poem or two with my students. It is just another way to introduce a new genre and writing style to my students which doesn't take a long time!

﻿6/16/2011 Kelly, I really agree with you on the read-alouds. It was refreshing to see in the __Smart Answers__ about this topic. I too enjoy reading to my studnets and letting them relax and listen to a great story that they might have never heard of. I find that many times the books i do for read-alouds are the ones that they want to pick to look at/read when they have time look at a book. I like your idea of keeping poems handy too, I feel like they could be ready quickly at different times and would expose them to the different generes so that when they get to first grade they will be prepared and have a preview of what great literature is to come in their school career! *Amanda

Thurs, June 17, 2011 I really liked the way that the author of __Classroom Strategies__ describes the brain as two parts - the world brain and the school brain. I was able to visualize a student entering learning information into their brain and the differences between the two compartments. The way that Beuhl described the compartments makes me realize how important it is to discuss the material in class and the connection it has to real life. Even if the connection seems obvious to me, many students may not realize how the information relates to their prior knowledge and therefore the new material will be stored and eventually "dumped" from the school brain. I am sure that this visual will stick with me when planning lessons and having discussions in class! Another portion of our reading which made me think about my own teaching is from the book __Literacy Lessons.__On page 7, the authors mention the three factors which RAND highlights as necessary for comprehension. After reading that a relationship needs to be built between the reader, the text, and the activity or purpose for reading I realize I do incorporate these 3 factors into my reading lessons and activities. Two ways that I ensure this relationship is by having students complete literature circle reading groups and also buddy reading programs with both an older and a younger class of students. It is great to read about the benefits of activities which I am already having my students complete! :) Love your comments about the two types of brains – right on target! Dr. P.

Mon, June 20, 2011 After our class today, I find the __Strategies__ text very helpful for my classroom. Being able to not only discover these new organizers and text frames, but also have an opportunity to discuss these with other teachers is great. Just by meeting with my group of three other students, I was able to gather many new teaching ideas! One great idea that I really liked was using the popular story, __The Boy Who Cried Wolf__ for teaching cause and effect. That would be a great story to teach this skill, and I will be keeping this text in mind!

**Kelly,** **I agree with you. It is very powerful to be able to talk to other teachers and hear thier ideas and get ideas that we never thought of. Everyone has had such great ideas and it has been great to learn something new. I also enjoyed the text frames and learning new ways to implement them for my students!** Amanda

Wed, June 22, 2011 When I read the Literacy Lessons chapters I found a lot of portions that I had a connection with or found interesting. For example, I really liked the portion about lit circles and the various ways of grouping. I have always grouped students by book choice, however I really liked the idea of grouping by skill also. If there is a skill that students as a whole are strugglig with this would be a great way to have them practice this skill. Not only would they be reading to practice the skill, but then they would be able to justify their choice, describe how they used the skill to get that info, or help other struggling students in their group! What a great way to practice the skill multiple times in one activity, which is fun for the students! I also really liked the section about picture books and picture story books. The author names many wonderful authors of children's books, but one in particular that I love to read and read to my students is Chris Van Allsburg. They really love his stories and illustrations and I actually use one of his books for writing activities in my classroom. His book, __The Mysteries of Harris Burdick__ is filled with many interesting and creative pen and ink illustrations with an accompanying title and caption. My students love to create wild stories to go along with the pcitures. They are practicing valuable skills, however they just see it as a fun activity!! Kelly, I noticed that you enjoy sharing picture story books with your students, and that you particularly enjoy sharing stories by Chris Van Allsburg. I also enjoy sharing picture story books with my students, mainly as a way to introduce new reading comprehension skills, new word work skills, or new concepts in the areas of math, science, and social studies. In the last two years I have used a book written by Chris Van Allburg entitled, "The Wretched Stone" to introduce and begin practice with drawing conclusions. If you haven't read this book with students, I highly recommend it. The main concept is that there are a group of sailors who visit a remote land and during that visit they retrieve this "wretched stone." The book goes into further detail about how the sailors bring the "wretched stone" aboard the ship and how it gradually consumes their minds, replacing other activities that they previously engaged in like working and storytelling. All of the sailors are just entirely hypnotized by this "wretched stone." The book provides clue after clue discussing the "stone's" shape, color, and the fact that there is a strange glow that comes from it. By the end of the book, students are able to conclude that this "wretched stone" is really a television. As you also mentioned, a common thread in Chris Van Allsburg's books is his remarkable illustrations and "The Wretched Stone" is no exception.

-Rachael

June 27, 2011 After reflecting on our class discussion and presentation today, I began thinking about the language I use with my students. A principal that I worked with this past school year gave me a wonderful book called, __The Power of Our Words__. This book discusses the phrasing we use as teachers and how to alter our language to best communicate with students and have them respond the way we would like. I have gotten into the habit of using praising sentence starters such as, "I see that..., Thank you for..., etc" or reminding sentence starters such as, "Show me...". I have noticed a big difference in the way that students respond when I use these starters. It usually grabs their attention right away and when using a reminder starter that points out a student who is doing the appropriate task/behavior the other students quickly model their behavior after that student. They also help me communicate and remind students in a more positive way. And, I talked about it in class on the 28th! Amazing connection, isn't it??? Dr. P. I also thought of the way that my communication and language changes based on the student I am talking to. For example, I had a male third-grade student that had a lot of behavior and emotional needs in my classroom. It was very challenging to keep him on-task, in his seat and focused. He didn't respond well to authority figures and often became noticeably stressed out and upset when interacting with other students or teachers. I found that the best way to interact with him when he was off-task or upset was to give him choices. ("You have two choices. You can either complete the center work now or you can complete it at recess time. It is your choice.") He always made the choice that I wanted him to make, but instead of someone telling him what to do, he felt that he was able to make a choice. I would tell him that he had one minute to make his decision and then I would walk away. He always took the minute to calm down and then he would continue with his choice. It was amazing to see that just a little rephrasing made that much difference!

6-28-11 Kelly, You make a lot of really great points in your post. One of the most important things that I learned from watching my co-op during student teaching was the importance of using this type of language with children. Like you, once I realized that how I speak to students is as important as the words I say to them, I noticed a positive difference in my classroom management. One phrase in particular that I have consciously eliminated from my teaching vocabulary is "Who can tell me...." The correct answer to a question phrased in this way is "I can"--//not// the information that I want.

I had a student with very severe Oppositional Defiance Disorder this school year. If anybody simply started a sentence with "You have to" or heaven forbid told him "You don't have a choice" he was under a table, throwing things, or hiding behind bookshelves. These phrases really just made him feel out of control. Once I understood this, I became very very careful about how I phrased instructions and classroom tasks. This year I'll have him again....I hope this continues to work!!! Thanks for brining up this topic-I think it often gets overlooked.

-Leah

//Kelly,// //I agree that the language we use with students is extremely important. I can't wait for the day when I don't have to consciously think about my phrasing and it just comes naturally! I too have had a few students that needed to be given choices or else they would be defiant. By given them choices they feel like they have control. Just make sure YOU are okay with either choice. I think this strategy is good to use with all students in the classroom!// //Brandy//

June 29, 2011 When reading chapter 5 (about Vocabulary) in Literacy Lessons, I was reminded of the many television shows and clips I have used to engage my students. The text mentions Sesame Street as a valuable show for beginning readers, and I agree. My kindergarten students from a summer program I work with love Sesame Street. Another show that the text doesn't suggest is called Word World on PBS. My students really love this show because it's colorful, fun, and creative. The show is so neat because the places in the show are made out of the word that they are. For example, if the characters are near a barn, the barn building will be formed out of the letters b-a-r-n. The show also introduces spelling, phonics, and site words! They have a great website for the show also at www.pbs.org with games and such.

Another series which I sometimes used in my second grade classroom for fun movie times was Planet Earth. My students loved watching these videos and it was a way to have a relaxing movie, but have it be educational. My students, both males and females, really loved watching these movies because they were interesting, colorful, and about animals! - Kelly

Kelly, As I was reading your post it made me think about how educational and helpful those two shows are. I was babysitting the other day and the little boy was watch Seasame Street and I was reminded why it is so helpful to students. It gave them repetition of the number of the day and letter of the day and touched on phonics and things that they need for kindergarten. I also love word world. It gives them a great connection between the word and the object. I will have to take a look at the website and see if it is useful in my classs fort he fall. Thank you for the info! Amanda

July 1, 2011 I really liked the idea of including parents in the classroom (page 143 of Literacy Lessons). The authors mentioned having parents write letters to their child and sending them to school. I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate parents into the classroom and their child's education and this seems like a great way to do it! Doesn't seem like it would be time-consuming and will promote reading and writing! Anxious to try this next year. I also like the example rubric on page 165. This would be an easy rubric for younger students to use because of the visual component of happy and sad faces. - Kelly

//Kelly, // //I also like the idea of parents writing letters to their kids. This is a great way to get parents involved. Recently I read about a teacher who has her students write letters home each Friday, telling about what they did in school that week. It would be a great way to get students writing and keeping parents updated and involved with the classroom. // //Brandy //

Kelly, I agree that parents should be included in the classroom. Writing letters to parents/students is a great idea! At the beginning of the school year, I have the students create a Friday Folder. They can decorate their folder however they would like, which they love! Then every other Friday I send home a reflection sheet that goes in their folder. At the top there is a place for students to reflect on what they have been working on in their different classes. Another section asks students to share things they are enjoying or even things that they don't enjoy so much or concepts they are having trouble with. A third section has the students thinking of goals that they have for themselves both in school and out of school. Parents then have a similar part in the reflection, they need to list three goals that they have for their child. The parents of course have to sign the form and there is a spot at the bottom for teacher comments. I have found this to be very important throughout the school year, especially when you don't meet some of the parents at conference time. The students enjoy this kind of writing as well! Heidi