The Final Countdown...

“What in the world is LLED 3530?” I was completely puzzled as my advisor read the list of classes I would be taking. I remember thinking to myself that this was probably just a UGA thing as I had not previously heard of such a course. Why would they make everyone take a literature class? I did not see how it was relevant, and that means a lot coming from an ELA major.

 The first day of class rolled around and I had no idea what to expect. I thought we would be reading or listening to a professor read for an hour and fifteen minutes and that in itself was enough for me to not get excited for my first day of my first semester at UGA. “Well, it can’t be that bad. I’m sure all we’ll do today is introduce ourselves, listen to the syllabus, and go home.” I smiled internally. I was mistaken. We introduced ourselves and just as I thought Mr. Robinson was going to whip out the syllabus, he introduced an interactive activity. It was at this juncture that I knew this class would not be anything like I expected. He did not even go over the syllabus in depth. “What kind of class is this?”

 Needless to say, and in all honesty, I am extremely happy that this class was the polar opposite of what I believed it would be. I enjoyed not having to read a ton of literature every night for homework. I appreciated not having to listen to a teacher read a ton of literature or stand before the class presenting a boring lecture. LLED 3530 actually made me excited about literature again because there was a plethora of activities and strategies that can be implemented in ANY content area almost effortlessly. LLED 3530 was a class that I felt engaged in. For years, I have enjoyed writing. Had I been able to write in other classes like physical science or math (insert side eye), I probably would have a done a lot better. I was able to stay afloat partially because I was able to write and communicate how much I learned via blogging. I cannot understand why my middle school teachers taught the way that they did after taking this class. Honestly, I believe a few college professors should take this course as LLED 3530 sort of became my rubric.

 Of all the strategies covered and lessons taught, my all-time favorite was the Think Aloud strategy. As we observed the video shown in class and as my classmates and I presented to each other, I discovered that there are so many different ways to implement this strategy. There are so many angles that one might come from and that is the beauty of it. As noted in the textbook, it is a way that students can hear a proficient reader. That is especially important because many students cannot read well. By stopping to break down the information as the text goes along, one can ensure that the children are keeping up and that they understand what the text is saying. I appreciate how connections can be formed. Because I love poetry, I used poems from Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes to model the Think Aloud strategy. I was excited about the real-world connections that could be made, but I also enjoyed hearing feedback from classmates and listening to the connections that they made and their interpretations. Using this in a middle school classroom would be wonderful because it will allow students to express themselves and feel good about their thoughts. It will also help teachers understand where their students are coming from and how their thought process works. The Thinking Strategy is also useful for questioning the text, thus making students critical thinkers.

 Although I really enjoyed this class, I am not so sure how well it would work if it was presented differently. If it was not as engaging, I honestly do not think I would see the need or how useful it would be for pre-service teachers who are not interested in ELA. Nevertheless, I learned lessons that I will take with me well into my teaching career. I also have enough Text Sets, resources, and lesson plans to last a few units. That’s a win-win in my book.

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Strategy Lesson Reflection

Doing the strategy lesson on Sketching My Way Through the Text was not as intimidating as I believed it would be. Not that the strategy itself was difficult, but standing before a group of (pre-service) teachers is always a little frightening. I must admit that I felt as though I did not speak enough or go as in depth as I should have, but I do believe that the class understood the materials and the objective of the lesson. Next time, I will elaborate a little more. Also, I believe the time kind of got away from us and the actual practice was not as structured as we hoped it would be. The text was not the best example to use. However, it did show us how the strategy could be difficult to implement and ways to counteract the troubles that may arise. We should consider everything that could go wrong when planning our lesson from now on. Overall, I do believe that it went well and I appreciate the experience. I am definitely not ready to stand before a group of middle Grades students just yet. 188

Math Content Literacy... a Podcast

Jazz It up a Little

This piece of art was created by an American artist, William Halsey, in 1937. As soon as I saw the beautiful painting, I immediately thought of jazz music. Ironically, Halsey entitled the piece “Jazz.” I was drawn to the colors that were used as well as the almost abstract feel. This painting exudes music and emanates poetry. There are so many different angles that one might take when implementing this piece into an English/Language Arts classroom. I would have my students write a ballad inspired by Halsey’s work. As I stood in the museum and studied “Jazz,” I wished that I had a notebook and pen to write a short ballad myself. I would also have students research various jazz artists and write or create a visual presentation explaining why they believe this painting depicts the work of the musician or singer of their choice.

If I were in a social studies class, I would have my students research the origin of the genre in addition to different jazz artist and composers and their contributions to American history. I would help students learn and understand that jazz music was an essential component of American history, particularly African American history.


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Quizizz

While searching for a fun resource to use in the classroom, I thought who better to ask than an educator – my mother. She told me about a website that has been working well for the children and teachers on the high school level, but could also be beneficial to middle grades aged children.

Quizizz is a free website that allows teachers to make up their own quiz or use quizzes that other content area teachers have created. It works on all devices so the teacher has the option of allowing children to pull out their cell phones. Students are also given the opportunity to work at their own pace. While the children are engaged, it gives the teacher an opportunity to analyze how much each individual student has retained. At my mom’s school, they use this data as an actual quiz grade. Unlike Kahoot, the teacher’s host computer is not used to display the questions for the students. Instead, it shows the instructor the class’ real time results. Quizziz shows the questions and answers on the students’ devices rather than just the symbols that they would get on Kahoot. Quizizz has been more efficient in comparison.

Teachers may assign Quizzizz as an in-class activity or as homework. It works well as homework because it is not the “boring” pen and pencil work. Also, because the teacher can make up their own quiz and a lot of the shared quizzes are original, the children cannot merely look up the answers on Quizlet or Google. 

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One Size Fits All?

I appreciated this week’s video lesson. Firstly, it was inspiring to see the students actively engaged in Ms. Maronpot’s classroom. Student engagement is pertinent to their success. With that being said, this is what makes differentiated instruction so imperative. It is important that all the students are involved so that they are all able to benefit from the material as was pointed out in the video. However, it is easier said than done. When one finds oneself standing in front of a classroom of thirty young minds, it may very well be intimidating and, if I am honest, overwhelming. How can one be sure that all of the students learn the material and are able to apply what they learned when it comes time to assess them? How can one be sure to reach the many levels that are sure to be present amongst a mixed multitude of learners when all children need to be challenged? Differentiated instruction. Whether the students are on the gifted/honors level or have special needs and learning disabilities, by differentiating instruction, teachers are able to reach both ends of the spectrum.

While watching the video lesson, I learned that inclusion is a huge part of differentiated instruction. As was mentioned, research has proven that students best learn via social interaction. I observed how the classroom was composed of special needs students and high achievers. It was nice to see how the children who may be a lot slower to learn were included in the classroom activities. They were not tucked off on one side of the room, but were dispersed and given the opportunity to work with those students who achieved at a higher level. I appreciated the fact that Ms. Maronpot did not dumb down her lesson as that would not have been beneficial for the high achievers. Instead, she made the lesson more relative so that those who may have not been proficient readers were also able to grasp the various science concepts. For example, she had key questions for each individual student. They were then able to think critically and give a response based on where they were on the spectrum. This is the basis and overall objective of differentiated instruction. It is all about providing task that are tailored to meet the individual needs of students. 

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Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (Text Set)

I have decided to center my text set around the Integration of Knowledge and Ideas portion of the Georgia Standards of Excellence for 8^th graders. There are three standards listed under this heading, however, two of them especially grabbed my attention. ELAGSE8R17 requires the instructor to teach the students how to “evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.” ELAGSE8R19 requires students to learn how to “analyze a case in which two or more texts provide information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on.” Because I believe that the two of these standards are inextricably connected in a sense, I would like to tackle both of them in my text set. In my opinion, ELAGSE8R19 can be used to prove or examine ELAGSE8R17. Students will use an example of how two texts tell the same story from completely different perspectives to identify some advantages and disadvantages of using different means of presenting information. This text set will be instrumental in not only fulfilling the requirements delineated in the standard, but also teaching students the importance of thinking for themselves amongst other literary skills. 

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