Many thanks to the groups who presented today. Please scroll down to find the prompts for each group.
Here is the reference for the article we read in class today, "Scott's Gift": Elbow, Peter (1990)What is English? NY: The Modern Language Association of America.
I will be putting up today's lessons in the next couple of days but here is the link to our class website: Lesson Presentations
For next class, Tuesday, July 17, please bring your textbooks and three questions you still might have about teaching English Language Arts. (Not that I can answer them! This class is off the charts! But maybe we can put our brains together...) We will still be covering assessment/evaluation and planning, so questions other than those topics would be fine.
Stay cool!
11 comments:
The article, “Scott’s gift” was an interesting read. I enjoy hearing stories about student success, as an individual in our class yesterday said it is a feel good teacher story. I think that many teachers never tire from hearing these types of stories in articles, novels, or movies (i.e. such as the recent Freedom Writers). This desire for good news is part of a teaching culture because we seek to help, aid, or guide students to reach and to surpass the goals they have set for themselves. Many of the schools that I have attended, volunteered at, and taught at want their students to strive for excellence. The struggle, like that of Scott’s at the beginning of the article is only one part of the journey towards the final destination.
The writing workshop idea was good for class, but I question it being put in place in English 9 regular and gifted classes. I am wondering where the teacher will meet the prescribed learning outcomes of British Columbia’s Ministry of Education and engage with the students in studies of short stories, poetry, and Shakespeare plays. I am for the idea of Creative Writing in grade 12 as an option for students, but I think in the grades before this the curriculum should be kept in place. If teachers can work a way of addressing the curricular needs in a writing workshop based class that would be unique and I am open to seeing this in practice.
Round Robin Game
I really enjoyed the round-robin game we played at the end of the class yesterday with the cue cards. I think this is a valuable activity because it not only acts as a review game but also as an active listening activity. Students have to read, listen and speak when it is their turn to say the answer to the question being spoken. This is a GREAT way to engage the entire class! I believe in modeling ways of learning and giving students the necessary tools to promote learning in the classroom adds to a better classroom community. This activity not only works as a review game in the classroom, but students can also practice this way of using flashcards and peer testing/review with their classmates as a way for preparing for a test. This round robin review game works in all subject areas (science, math, P.E. etc) and can be either modified or made to be challenging as a multi-level activity. I LOVE IT!
I agree with Carolyn! I thought the Card Review Game was awesome. It was very engaging and definitely ensures that students will pay attention (for the most part). I think this is a great activity to use before a test or exam, or even just to ensure that students remember what they have learned earlier in the year.
I also thought that it might be fun to put students into groups and have each group create a set of cards for a particular topic or part of a unit. This gives students a chance to create review material for the entire class and will hopefully create even more interest in the activity. This is a great idea and I will definitely be using this in my practicum.
The round-robin review game is something that I have not seen before, but definitely something that I would use in the future. As Carolyn stated, I like the fact that the review forces students to pay close attention to everyone speaking. Not only does it cover important material, it is also a great way to manage your class. The other aspect of the round-robin that I really like is that it includes everyone. So often we see the same 2 or 3 students participating orally, while the others feel shy to contribute. This game allows every student in the class a chance to participate and it is set up in such a way that students won't feel intimidated to take part in discussion.
Excellent idea- I can see myself using this a lot!! =)
The ‘Scott’s Gift’ article was an uplifting read. Every teacher has a moment when they touch someone’s life and that’s what makes this job special. I would like to see what would happen if the writing workshop was applied to different ability levels. There was a popular author when I was a young teen, Gordon Korman, who actually wrote his first book in high school through an L.A. writing assignment. The possibilities could be stunning.
I thought the round robin question cards were a great approach to reviewing students’ knowledge. Thanks, Sue!
I liked the card review game. I liked Orla's ideas with the game; I would just add that it could be used to access prior knowledge as well for review. I really liked Orla's idea, also, of getting the students into groups to come up with their own review questions. As some others mentioned, the card review has many other uses, like for extensions, multi-leveled lessons, and use in other subjects.
The article was also interesting. What I really took from it was how powerful and useful a writer's workshop type idea could be. But also the idea that if you just allow students to write for the sake of writing and, resist the temptation to mark for grammar, punctuation, and spelling a deep interest in reading and writing may develop, which, in the big picture is more important to me and the student than getting grammar, punctuation, and spelling right.
I found the article enjoyable to read, as it is always great to read about the positive impact that teachers can have on their students.
I still find myself preoccupied with wanting to know more about the classroom set-up, routines, active and passive management techniques, and other strategies/activities that were used by the teacher. It is one thing to say that you use such an open style in the classroom, but it is another thing to make it work effectively.
I think the card game was brilliant- like Carolyn said it's a fun way to get students to learn. I think the greatest value would not be to use it just before a test but as a check for understanding in the middle of the unit that way students still have time to ask questions or clarify areas of difficulty.
I have used some of the ideas we discussed regarding the writer's workshop in a class I am teaching now and I think it is really starting to help. I tried it largely because I had little prepared that day, frankly, but I have been surprised at how motivated students are to write outside of the usual grade/reward system. It has been lovely to watch them enjoy the actual process of writing, regardless of the quality of the product. It is something I will definitely continue to explore...
I am unsure of whether we were supposed to post any comments here, but I will say that I love the idea of Writer's Workshop. I quite enjoy writing, and encouraging students to enjoy and take pride in their own writing is important to me (up there with getting them to love reading).
I also think that the trivia card game is cool, and I encountered it in my social studies course as well. I will be using this one for sure.
I also believe the card review game was a great way to do some review. I agree with Carolyn, that this type of game is requires students to multi-task in reading, listening and responding. I think that review that challenges students to actively participate, (especially when they know that some of the questions being asked will be on a future test!) students will have motivation to engage in each of the reading, listening and responding skills.
It was really a great idea to add to the bank!
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