Module 6

Presentation Tips PPT

This was a great PowerPoint presentation that provided plenty of tips on how to make a “good” PowerPoint presentation. In fact, I used the slides while I created my presentation of my tutorial highlights. I enjoyed the good and bad examples as this was a great refresher. I never thought of adding a question slide, but it now makes sense because you do not want to abruptly end your presentation without any follow up. I also added an outline slide at the beginning so my viewers knew what was in store for them before starting the presentation. I use to love adding animation and pictures all over my slides when I was younger, but now I understand that it takes away from the information you are presenting. Overall, this was a great PowerPoint to view before making our final tutorial highlight presentation for this course.

 

Kid Pix and PowerPoint Games Resources

My students often use Kid Pix in their technology class during their specials rotations. We have a wonderful technology teacher that instructs our students on various programs such as Photo Shop, Kid Pix, PowerPoint, Kidspiration, etc. My students enjoy Kid Pix because there are numerous art tools and they can be very creative. Also, text can be added fairly easily to any picture they create or draw on Kid Pix. This link had plenty of projects that were created with PowerPoint and Kid Pix. I really enjoyed how they turned the students’ individual projects into books! There are numerous great ideas that I will have to keep in mind as we approach the end of the school year.

Module 5

Effective Classroom Management Video
It is vital that students learn how to work together at an early age.  I agree that students need to be held accountable for their actions and work ethic. I make sure that I do not overwhelm my students when they are working at their centers. I want them to feel that they can be successful at that specific center. I always place my students into groups where they can work collaboratively together. They are reminded of our classroom rule, which is showing C.A.R.E.S. (cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, and self-control).  At every center and throughout the school day, students are held accountable for their work. I might have them complete a worksheet, write down their work for math, or create a book much like the students were doing in this video. Overall, it is important that the students know and understand the rules of the classroom which in turn creates an effective classroom and environment where the can learn.

What is Literacy and why is it important Video
I will have to admit that I cracked up when I heard the background song as it is Michael Jackson’s instrumental of “Smooth Criminal”. I enjoyed how this video presented all of the different definitions of literacy. It opened with “Literacy is the ability to read and write” but expanded upon that definition and applied it to our everyday world. There were a lot of great quotes about becoming a reader and what it means to have literacy in today’s world. It also talked about being illiterate and what issues may arise for those that are. One quote that spoke to me was from Gov. Kathleen Blanco. She said, “Think about it: every educated person is not rich, but almost every educated person has a job and a way out of poverty. So education is a fundamental solution to poverty”.  This quote is very true because literacy empowers you, as a reader, to learn more in life. However, motivation comes from within and sometimes people limit themselves due to lack of motivation.  I agree that it would be very difficult to live in today’s world if you were illiterate.  Even something as simple as eating requires you to be able to read the food label or menu.

Using Literacy Centers Video
I agree that small groups should remain flexible. I do not utilize literacy centers since I am a teacher in the fourth grade and our school follows the Reading Workshop model. However, I believe literacy centers are a great way to practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills that students have already learned. Literacy centers should be directly related to the curriculum and should NOT be busy work. The students enjoy practicing and applying their literacy skills while at the centers. A teacher must have great management skills so she can better use her time to work with small groups and individuals while other students are at the literacy centers. Literacy centers do take a great amount of planning and setting up, but the outcome is great for both the teachers and students!

Designs for Balanced Literacy Video
I was able to relate to this school because we have a population of over 1,000 students in prekindergarten through fifth grade. That means that we have a lot of students in each of our classrooms. However, the main language at my school is English. I loved (and was secretly jealous of) how large her classroom was! I also try to layout my classroom where the students can comfortably work either in a large group, small group, or individually. We have a large area rug that we gather on for our whole group lessons. We also have a rectangular table that is low to the ground so the students can sit easily on the floor and work at it. Finally, I have a kidney-shaped table where I gather my small groups. The students’ desks are set up in rows and some groups are facing the Smart board so they can work with partners, if necessary, and benefit from the technology available in our classroom daily. I agree that “kids crave structure” because my students know their routine immediately and hate when we have to change our schedule. I also agree with the second grade teacher that if we model our lessons well, children will be able to do the specific skill that was modeled. I always set reasonable but high expectations for my students because I want them to be successful students, not only this school year, but all the school years ahead of them. I model and scaffold their thinking throughout the school year. I also provide them with tools to use so they can develop their skills and behaviors and can become independent citizens of our community.

Spaces and Places Video
I have seen this book in our school library before because I am always one that wants to organize my classroom that is appealing to my students and me. At times, I feel that my classroom is too little with all the furniture I have. J I like how the book is broken up into chapters: planning your space, arranging your room, come on in, using your walls, and organizing your stuff. I feel that I am a very organized but after you place all of the desks in the classroom, the space seems to disappear! I thought I had a great plan this year but then after placing 31 desks in the classroom, the room became quite crowded. We still make it work but would enjoy more storage space for items. I had to buy cubbies for supplies so my students could access these items throughout the school day since they are quite old enough to do so. I think I will re-examine this book at the end of this school year and see how I can redesign my room and use my space more systematically.

Module 4

Literacy across the Curriculum
I agree that literacy should be taught across the curriculum because it is easy to integrate with all subject areas since they all incorporate some aspect of literacy.  It is difficult to teach all of the literacy components separately during the “assigned” reading and writing times. I have been teaching social studies and literacy together lately because my fourth graders are learning to take notes on the S.S. curriculum. They also are responding to events with their own personal reactions and they love completing R.A.F.T. (role, audience, format, topic) papers. With the Common Core, I believe there is a stronger emphasis on spreading literacy across the curriculum because we are raising the text complexity for all students. These “pirate plans” looked interesting and was an entertaining approach to integrate information across all areas including the arts.

RTI Articles and PowerPoint Presentations
I found all of these articles useful and teeming with information. I feel very comfortable with the RTI process here in Georgia since I have always had at least 6 students a year on this tiered system. I have had students go back to tier 1, but have also had students that have been staffed into tier 4 with special education. I believe the RTI program is helpful for early prevention and providing students several opportunities to succeed in their academics.  I wish there was more information about the behavioral side of RTI since I have seen a lot of students lately tiered due to their behavior. I agree with Brozo that that there is more pressure on the teachers to meet the needs of all learners in all subject areas.  I also agree that we need to increase print encounters and experiences with informational text for all students. In fourth grade, I focus a great amount of time on note-taking and reading/understanding informational texts. I am always surprised at how much students do not understand on how to critically evaluate information from nonfiction texts. By the end of fourth grade, my boy students love informational texts especially if they like sports, history, or science. When I read Brozo’s opening statistics in his Response to Intervention or Responsive Instruction? Challenges and Possibilities of Response to Intervention for Adolescent Literacy, I found that I was not surprised by the low achieving scores and how our high school graduates are not prepared for college. I met several friends in college that could not write papers nor understand the basic fundaments of literacy. Unfortunately, a lot of students that are “sweet” and “low-achieving” students get looked over. I have tiered many students in fourth grade that have always struggled but are the most caring children you’ll ever meet. I never want to do a dis-service to my students and I hate to see them struggle. I often use the visual aid of the pyramid and discuss with my families that this is a team effort to improve their child’s education. Why should we let students struggle if there is a program that will offer them different strategies and interventions to help them succeed at school and later in life?

Reading Rainbow New Theme Song
I grew up watching the Reading Rainbow and remember loving the adventures I would go on as a child since I was not into reading individually. I did not see much of a difference in the theme song other than they modernized it and made it more “pop” sounding. It still has the lyrics “I can go anywhere, friend to know, and ways to grow” which was the most important part of the message to me growing up because as a reader, you are always growing. I think it is a great program that lets children “go anywhere” and “be anything” while reading and exploring.

Writing Express with First Graders Video
I love how this teacher had the students interact when constructing a sentence! It is a wonderful idea to have all of the students involved as much as possible during lessons. I feel that students learn more when they are actively participating instead of just listening. I appreciated how he stressed the importance of what a sentence actually does. I was surprised that the students knew a sentence has two parts: “name something” and “what it did”. He reminded the students about capitalization and punctuation throughout this activity. Then near the end of the video, he talked about expanding the sentence, which is a concept that many students struggle with. The teacher asked “Where?” which made the students think and expand their sentence. Overall, this was a great lesson with first graders learning about the essential elements of a sentence.

PowerPoint Presentations & Articles of Literacy
I disagree with the quote by Francis that “Children do not outgrow reading difficulties” because I believe that with the correct amount of motivation and scaffolding, a child can become successful. Children need plenty of time to practice their skills and help to guide them. Many students tend to dislike reading because of reading programs that place pressure on them (i.e., Accelerate Reading). Students need to learn how to read for entertainment and should have a choice of what to read. I appreciated one of the presentations that started off saying “Literacy begins at birth, and is a lifelong process!” because I truly believe that it is something that grows with everyone throughout their entire life. The Conquer the Code presentation was very informational about how reading is the union of comprehension and decoding. I have some fourth graders that have excellent fluency but lower comprehension skills. However, most of my students struggle with both fluency and comprehension because they go hand-in-hand. It is vital for students to be taught phonological and phonemic awareness so they can properly decode. I am noticing more and more fourth grade students that do not know the basic phonic rules and cannot decode because of this.  After looking at the 44 sounds in the English language, I understand why it is one of the most difficult and confusing languages in the world today. I guess I never really thought to analyze and separate out all the different sounds in our language. However, students need the ability to “play” with their native language early in their life so they are aware of letters and their sounds before they try reading and writing. I like the different phonological activities they listed in the presentation and agree with all of the examples.  It is important to teach children that learning how to talk, read, and write can be FUN!

WebQuests
WebQuests have become a very popular way to integrate technology within a students’ learning. I have never made a WebQuest but I often use them for my fourth grade students. I frequently use those that are related to our social studies and science curriculum. I know my students love when we travel down to the computer lab to “play” on the computers. I think WebQuests are helpful in a student’s education because it is designed to be interactive where there are specific tasks and questions the students have to discover while on this quest. The students have to search for information on given links, play curriculum-based games, analyze charts/data, read timelines, etc.  The only problem with WebQuests are sometimes the links are out-of-date and do not work. Nevertheless, one of my favorite WebQuests that relates to our science curriculum is http://mrscienceut.net/phasesofthemoonwebquest.html.

Module 3

Encouraging Enthusiasm for Reading Video
       This video was very touching and I believe there are a lot of parents that should watch it. I agree that parents can initiate a love for reading by reading bedtime stories to their children. I really enjoyed B. F. Skinner’s quote that “We shouldn’t teach great books; we should teach a love of reading.” I believe there are numerous ways that parents can encourage a love for reading with their children. Children should see their parents read for pleasure on a daily basis whether it be a magazine, cookbook, or a library book. Parents should read aloud to their children daily when they are younger and discuss the pictures and make predictions. Also, parents can create stories aloud and have their children help add details to the story. Children need to have a “book nook” where they can relax and enjoy their books. Parents and children should visit the library together to rent books. They could also visit book stores or thrift stores where they can buy some books to take on a trip or just read at home. Additionally, parents should hold discussions with their children as they grow up and become independent readers. They could also have their own book club where they could discuss the plot, analyze characters, etc.  These are just some ways that parents could encourage a love for reading and exhibit their own love for reading to their children.

Using the Smart Table for Collaboration Video
       I love the idea of the Smart Table! Our school has one located in our library that is utilized for special rotations. However, I have never used it nor have any of my students. This table actually allows all of the students to touch and interact with it at the same time. My students love my Smart Board, but we always dislike how only one person can maneuver it at a time. The Smart Table requires students to work collaboratively on activities. I believe this technology piece lets students to create, discover and explore new knowledge and information. I like how there are already readymade material on the Smart Table, just like the Smart Board. The Smart Table could be used for extension, remediation, or just a small group with any topic. I feel the possibilities with the Smart Table could be endless just like the Smart Board.

Exploring Social Studies and Technology Video
       This video contained more information about the Smart Table. I found out that the Smart Table can be manipulated in 12 different languages which would be great for students who are in the ESOL programs. I also like how you can control the document camera with the Smart Table. The Smart Table is friendly enough for kindergarteners, but I also think fifth graders would enjoy this technology.  I could see kindergarteners using the Smart Table to make stories using real life photos like the presenter showed on the video. On the other hand, I could see upper elementary school students using the Smart Table for making their own presentation or activity based on their specific topic (e.g., World War II or Benjamin Franklin). I believe you could integrate any subject with the Smart Table. Students could explore social studies and technology by creating interactive sorts, timelines, charts, etc.

Integrating Science and Literacy in Early Childhood Video
       I believe that reading and writing can be integrated throughout a child’s daily life at school as well as at home. Literacy will help students achieve goals in their everyday life. I agree that we should focus on students’ strengths in literacy so they can grow as a reader and writer. Teachers should be able to observe children and understand where they are in their current life and help scaffold them to further strengthen their skills. I liked the idea of using an alphabet book with butterflies for preschoolers so these students can learn information about butterflies (science), count how many butterflies are on the page (math), and learn the alphabet (reading/writing). This program was helping students build their literacy and will also help build their math, science, and reading skills. There are numerous real-life experiences (i.e., walking to the park, going grocery shopping, getting dirty by digging in the yard, etc.) that children should have as a preschoolers that provide them with a background for literacy, math, and science.  I agree that it is important for students to interact with nonfiction texts to gather more information about their favorite topics. In my classroom, we constantly have read alouds about our current science topic. I also have students who further research their questions spark a new found love for a current topic in science. Science and literacy work easily together because one can read an abundant amount of nonfiction books to learn about such things as the rainforest or sharks which are normally  places we cannot physically go and visit.

Development of Literacy Strategies Presentation
       I am glad that this presentation offered a “plain English definition” of information literacy, because I was quite confused when I tried to comprehend the original definition. At my school, fourth and fifth graders visit the library as part of their specials rotation because educators have seen a deficit in basic library and informational skills. We were asked to answer “How would you describe literacy development?” after viewing this presentation. I believe literacy development begins before children are in elementary school because literacy is developed during the communication of reading, writing, hearing, and speaking.  I believe that it starts as young as a couple of months old when they are cooing and babbling nonsense sounds and words, scribbling on pictures, and listening to stories. They are not completely clear about their verbal messages but they fine-tune their skills as they watch and imitate others.  It is important that adults interact with children and remember to build their vocabulary (i.e., do not use “baby” talk). Children then start to form words, simple sentences and eventually they are chatting away, reading small picture books, and drawing pictures.

Article Expository Text Structures: Moss
       This article discussed the benefits gained when teachers help students comprehend common expository texts by having them retell with information trade books. I think it is vital that we use expository texts throughout our school day because students have a high interest in nonfiction texts and there is additional vocabulary to be learned. Most expository texts are a higher reading level due to their challenging vocabulary. A child must first understand how to read a nonfiction text by being scaffolded and modeled on the different text features and their purposes. I agree that information is constantly being updated or changed especially since we live in the “Technology Era” where students spend a lot of time with technology whether it is a television, internet, music player, etc. I enjoyed reading the section on “What are Retellings” because I just went over the difference between a summary and retelling with my class and there are adults that still have problems differentiating between the two. I ask for a retelling when I want to check my students’ comprehension. However, I ask for a summary when I am asking about the main ideas and supporting details. The article gave some specific examples of how to teach the retellings using informational books, which is good for teachers who are just starting this type of reading skill in their classroom. In my opinion, if we expose our children and students to expository texts as early as kindergarten, they should be able to extend their knowledge as they reach the intermediate grades and become experts on topic with further research and reading.

Smith-Kathryn: Effect of Explicit Instruction on Reading Preferences
       This was a research action project performed with second grade students that explored the effects of explicit instruction on voluntary reading preference.  I enjoyed reading this article because I often wonder if gender plays a role in our academic or social lives. I was not surprised to learn that most classrooms have an abundant amount of fictional titles. I have two bookcases full of fiction but also have one entire bookcase full of nonfiction because I know older boys tend to like to read about the “world around them”. I am not surprised to see that students tend to increase their selection of nonfiction because my students tend to be excited about our academic subjects when I intertwine them with our reading workshop. I believe that nonfiction texts are not “too hard” because children learn about the world and challenge their reading skills though these books.

Module 2 Summary

Goals for Differentiated Instruction Video

     This video discussed differentiated instruction goals for a teacher. I agree that differentiated instructions help meet the learning needs of all students. I continuously engage my students in all curriculum areas. I believe it is important for all students to be engaged throughout their school day. I let my students choose their individual reading book because I feel that it is important for the students to be interested in the topic as well as feel a sense of ownership. I also engage my students by designing opportunities that enhance their creativity and challenge their individual needs. I provide appropriate scaffolding throughout my lessons so I can watch my students prosper. Additionally, I provide flexible approaches to content instruction and products. This allows the students to work in varied instructional formats. In conclusion, I agree that one major goal for differentiated instruction is to establish learner-responsive, teacher-facilitated classrooms.

The story of Differentiation by Tomlinson Video

     This interview was interesting to watch and listen to and I was hooked in when she discussed her first teaching experience when she had half of students above level and the other half below four grade levels. I think some teachers tend to teach to the middle because it is the easiest. However, we are not serving justice to our students. This is very common in schools. As teachers, we always want our students to work together and excel within the curriculum as well as everyday life. I agree with Tomlinson that we need to use flexible grouping throughout our school year. I use it in math and language arts because students’ knowledge changes almost daily. My students enjoy having different centers or homework in mathematics. Yet, they also love reading their own books at their level. I often remind the students that doctors wouldn’t give a Band-Aid to a person with a sprained ankle or broken arm…only the one with a cut would receive a Band-Aid. This analogy helps the students see that they all learn at different levels and speeds.

Learning Theories PPT

     This PowerPoint discusses the various learning theories. I agree that we need to pay attention to students’ learning styles and teach our lessons with that in mind. I also like the slide about what life really is because I agree that it is creative, abundant, full of surprise, and diverse. My students and I often talk about how boring it would be if we were all the same and acted the same. Students need to learn though discovery and a problem solving curriculum. This helps them become engaged in their learning as well as responsible for new knowledge. They should have technology to utilize while learning new skills or practicing old skills. I like how this PowerPoint encouraged us to “stop reinforcing a curriculum that’s a mile wide and an inch deep” because Common Core has challenged us to change it to a curriculum that is an inch wide and mile deep. We have shifted to a more critical thinking and problem solving curriculum where the students have to develop higher order thinking skills at a much younger age than what we expected prior. I am excited to see how the Common Core changes the ways teachers teach and students learn.

Planning Strategic Reading Lessons PPT

     This PowerPoint provided vast knowledge regarding the definition of strategic reading lessons and how to develop them. Strategic reading is a teacher-directed instruction approach that allows for students to be grouped together based on which strategy they need to review. We utilize strategy groups at my school during reading workshop which is a great way to have students review the basic reading strategies (i.e., comprehension, inferring, fluency, comparing and contrasting, etc.). However, I try to use the students’ texts so they become more interested in the lessons and groups. I personally have never used the format that was discussed on this PowerPoint although I do use parts of it. I always plan with the end in mind so that students know the purpose for reading. I have seen my students’ attitudes increase positively towards reading and thinking critically. They also gain knowledge of other books that they might not have thought of prior to the group.

Literacy Content Reading & Scaffolding PPT

     This PowerPoint identified ways to use content area reading materials to support reading comprehension along with listing materials and resources available for us to accomplish this. I find it easier to integrate all academic areas with each other. I am currently teaching science and social studies via my reading and writing workshop. We are learning how to take notes on the science and social studies curriculum and read nonfiction text. It is important to scaffold students throughout all academic areas so they can become successful. I agree that all students need scaffolding before, during, and after reading. Once you incorporate this method, you will learn which students need more or less scaffolding. It is important that the teacher prepares his/her materials and identifies vocabulary, text structures, and prior knowledge before the students dive into the text. I try to gain my students interest and motivate them to read about our curriculum by showing them video clips or reading a fun read aloud book. I really enjoyed the charts on slides 15 – 16 showing the pattern differences that we can teach using science, social studies, math, and literature materials. All of these literacy skills (i.e., identifying main idea, locating facts and specific details, organizing material mentally, vocabulary comprehension, summarizing, etc.) are vital to have because they will them throughout their lifetime at school and into their adulthood out in the business world.

Module 1 for EDRD 7718

Reading Strategies for Struggling Readers Video
Reading is the pinnacle for all academics. Not having the foundation for reading detrimentally affects students. Phonological awareness is only taught in primary grades but I agree that it should be taught throughout all grade levels. Phonics seems to be difficult because English incorporates over 40 sounds. I like the idea of saying nonsense words like during a game of “war”. In fourth grade, I tend to focus on the fluency of reading so the students can read accurately and quickly. I like the idea of reading the same piece three times in a row to build a child’s fluency – building their confidence and fluency levels. I also focus on building vocabulary. In fourth grade, I teach students to use context clues but oftentimes we have to use a Frayer model (definition, synonym, part of speech, sentence, and picture) to learn a new word. This helps the students learn the new word and gain more knowledge about this word. I loved the idea of using an ice cream sundae as an example of a main idea and its supporting details. I always use box and bullets but appreciate the use of graphic organizers for my students who are lower leveled readers.

Trip to Hawaii Videos
I really enjoyed this assignment because I have only been to Hawaii once and would love to go back, especially since I had to scrape ice off my car this morning! This reminds me that I should always hook my students into my entire lesson – I often use simulations or grabbers in an effort to get them involved. I agree that graphic organizers should be used because they can help maximize students’ exposure, knowledge, and organization. I use them a great deal with my students who struggle with reading or writing or cannot organize their thoughts individually. However, I use foldables and other organizers daily in all subjects. Many students are now visual learners due to the technology they are continuously interacting with, and graphic organizers help students “see” the picture. Since I am a fourth grade teacher, I have often allowed my students to create their own graphic organizers either on paper or the computer. They need to take ownership of their graphic organizers because this helps them complete them and actually use them throughout the lessons. I agree that we constantly are working on improving their cause and effect skills in fourth grade. This video was a great review of the different graphic organizers in grades K – 5 and how they build upon each other as students become older.

Expository Texts – Understanding Text Organization PowerPoint
I believe it is important to teach organization with all texts because this sets the students up for improving their comprehension for both fiction and expository stories. I believe that most people remember more information if they make notes while reading. It is important to teach students how to compare and contrast. This is a skill we are currently working on in fourth grade because my students can talk/write about their differences but have a difficult time seeing the similarities between ideas, which surprised me. I like the idea of telling them about the “signal words” and will introduce this concept to them next week. As I mentioned in the trip to Hawaii summary, I really love having the students involved in making and completing their own graphic organizers (they love to decorate them to their liking).

Expository Text Structures - Lewis and Clark, Website/Reading
The PowerPoint began by comparing expository and narrative texts and I believe most students understand the difference between the two styles. I do agree that boys prefer non-fiction based on the fact that I always have four to six boys that I cannot get to read a fictional book but they love reading the non-fiction books. This was an interesting PowerPoint since “Expanding West with Lewis and Clark” is a fourth grade standard. It is always challenging to have fun with this topic because it is at the end of our school year. I liked the idea of sequencing events with a timeline – my students in the past have used a computer program to create a timeline for their biography project. This helps students see the big picture in chronological order. I have never used the Problem and Solution graphic organizer but like the idea of the flow, and believe that we could use it when we start talking about the American Revolutionary War in a few weeks! I think it is difficult to find primary sources for our students to be exposed to but this is an important standard in fourth grade because they must know the difference between primary and secondary sources and then be able to compare the sources. Finally, I really enjoyed reviewing the SQ3R since I am tutor for studying skills and just printed off slides 45 and 46 to use with my students. It is important to get the students involved in their reading and finding out information about the topics instead of the teachers always being in the front of the classroom.

Fry Readability
I chose to examine the reading level for Number the Stars since I just finished it for another class and did not have any of my fourth grade teacher edition books at home this weekend. For the 100 word passage, there were almost 6 total sentences. The average amount of syllables per 100 words was approximately 130. This indicates that the book is in the fourth grade section on the Fry Readability Graph. This was a difficult task to complete and would not like to do this for every book I had read – very thankful for DRA and AR levels.