I can see children’s literature and technology scaffolding writing instruction in my classroom because of the many examples I can show to my student’s to help improve and embellish their writing. In the article, there were so many great children’s books that not only had great illustrations and fun stories, but great tips and examples for students to use in their writing. It’s a great way to introduce nouns, adverbs, or whatever the lesson may be about, because the children will most likely remember a funny or interesting story with neat illustrations more so than they would remember it by learning with a worksheet or textbook reading.
Chapter 1-3 reponse January 18, 2010
When Lucy said “It is an illusion that writers live more significant lives than non-writers; the truth is writers are just more in the habit of finding the significance that there is in their lives”, I think she meant that writing is a very freeing experience. A person can discover and unearth so many things about themselves when they write. It’s like sifting through thoughts, emotions, experiences, and opinions in a way different from any other. I believe that notebooks may help non-writers note the significance because they jump start this process. Notebooks are an informal way to begin the writing process without feeling like everything has to be “#1 bestseller list” ready. It’s just a way for ideas to begin to flow, a way to organize thoughts, and a personal place to improve them.
Writing from lists could be a very effective strategy for engaging students because they make the lists based on their own experiences, likes/dislikes, etc. It’s much easier for a student who’s struggling to write about something they’re an expert on than to write about something they don’t fully understand. The topic should be something that allows their thoughts to flow quite easily.
The purpose for having students identify patterns in their own writing is for them to identify what they are unintentionally thinking about. By seeing these patterns they discover what it is they want to write about when working toward a finished product. These patterns would differ from notebook to notebook because every child’s life is different. Each student has a different home life, different interests, and different experiences altogether.
First post for RE-4030: History of my name January 17, 2010
When learning about the history of my name, I learned that it’s the word for small shrubs with pink or white flowers that only live in rocky areas. It was first used in the late 19th century, but didn’t really become popular until the last part of the 20th century. There are about 519,000 people with the same first name as me. It’s the 104th most popular first name and I have the 4th most popular last name. Over 1,500,o00 people share the same last name with me. I really liked learning about my name. I like it and it’s neat to know more about where it came from.
Glen Alpine Reflection: Week 6 December 1, 2009
The last day at Glen Alpine was one of the best I’ve had so far. I already had all of my reading assessment, math interviews, and case study assignments finished so I was just able to really enjoy being in the classroom and helping out. It’s been a great experience, I feel like I learned a lot. It was great to be in the classroom and see what fifth graders are actually doing and learning. I think I’ve gained a lot of ideas in how to help kids learn vocabulary (like making up actions or drawing pictures for the word). It’s been great to see the different reading groups and activities, and just how Mrs. Osborne differentiates instruction for so many reading levels. I’m really going to miss going. At first I was nervous because it was new and different, but I got used to it and how it will feel strange not being there. The only part I didn’t like was that we went and got attached to the kids and now we aren’t going back. I’ll always remember the time I spent there!
Glen Alpine Reflection: Week 5 November 29, 2009
Glen Alpine was great again this week! We only got to go on Monday because of Thanksgiving break. The day went by so fast because the class is constantly working on something or doing an activity. Reading instruction is still about the same. We’ve been reading more stories in the reading book about fire. We read about forest fires and another story about the men and women that investigate the forest fires and help to put them out. Mrs. Osborne has been focusing a lot on vocabulary with them. I can’t believe there’s only one more day. It’s been such a great experience and I’ve learned so much, I’m not ready to be finished…
