The Final Goodbye...

How Have I Changed...
That is a question that is really tough to answer. In some ways I feel like Sahara. I am now finding my strengths and weaknesses. I know it's my junior year and for some people say I should already know those things, but... I feel like this year has opened so many doors for me to discover new things about myself. I feel like EDU 300 made it possible for some of those doors to open. I have learned more about reading and writing than I ever knew. I learned more thoroughly the processes of each and the ins and outs of the rules for each thing. I enjoyed the writing process because it led me to make a wonderful book for my sister. (I felt like I was going to cry when I was reading it in class) I feel like with all the processes and ways to do things int he class (i.e. word wall, journaling) that I will definitely take this into the classroom. I feel like it helped me to envision what to teach in the class. With all the things we have learned about in class, I feel like it has given me a medium to express myself. I truly enjoyed this class and I truly enjoyed learning about the writing process, reading process, and much more.

Poems Galore...

My Favorite poem....

Actually I have two. They are The Land Of Counterpane by Robert Louis Stevenson and Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would not take the Garbage Out by Shel Silverstien. I have always loved these two poems because they were both in "imaginary" worlds. Well sort of. I just felt like when I read them I was whisked away to this place where the little girl was playing as she lay in bed, or where there was a ton of trash because this little girl would not take the trash out. I have always enjoyed immersing myself in different poems that make me feel like I am someone else.
I can use this in my classroom and just teach the students that it is ok to like different poems and to teach through the poems.

Hmm... How to feel about TALK!!

When we learned about talk, we saw a clip from Freedom Writer's. I have never seen the movie, but just from this clip now I want to see the movie. I have heard great reviews about it. The clip that was shown was about how talk is a powerful tool. In this clip, it was. Even though the lines were written out for the actors, i feel like they were very thought out and emotional lines. They had me tearing up in the classroom... I think that this was a great clip because it talked about race and it was just a powerful conversation with the TEACHER and the STUDENTS. I think that talk and communication between the teachers and student is a great thing. It is a learning experience for both of them and there is always a lot to learn. Even if it is from someone smaller or older than you.

Peer Conferencing

I really like the peer conferencing portion of writing a paper. I just don practice it very often. I do not write papers and let other people read them often... actually never. I kind of just write my own paper and let it sit for a bit, and then I got back and read it. I am kind of self conscious about my writing and I do not like for other people to tell me what I know I need to work on. But it is really good to get back constructive criticism. This can help a student to write a better paper. On the other hand, a student could not take the criticism well. It just depends. I do think though it would be a great thing to include in a classroom.

My experiences!!!

Writers Workshop, Readers Workshop, Literature Circles, Literature Focus Units, Thematic Units

Writer's Workshops.
I don't really think that I had much work with writer's workshops. When I was younger it was always just a one on one experience with the teacher. We would make an appointment with the teacher and then talk to her for about 15 minutes. I think that this method was not a good idea. The ways that we learned about in class (i.e. teacher, peer, one on one) are better so that the student gets more time to actually catch mistakes that they have made and make sure the story makes sense.

Reader's Workshop/ Literature Circles, Literature Focus, Thematic Units
I have not had experience with Reader's workshops. We did Literature Circles more. Literature Circles was mostly elementary school and middle school. I loved literature circles and the different tasks that we had to do every week. My most favorite books were the Cam Jansen Books. I also loved Charlotte's Web. I loved to be the illustrator. Drawing pictures was the thing I did best. I don't really remember Thematic Units. I would like to teach a unit on the Titanic or possibly Egypt.

Esperanza Rising

Book: Esperanza Rising
Grade: 5th
Theme: Perseverance
Time Period: 1920's in California
Plot: Esperanza is the daughter of a rich Mexican field owner. The family is known for their grapes. One night her father and the workers are out mending a fence on the property when he is killed by bandits. This begins the story of Esperanza and her family having to leave Mexico and move to California to find work.

In the back of the book there are activities that you can do with the students (eg. making a rag doll) or cooking activities. I would love to have the children dress up and do a skit from a part of the book. This would also be a great book to have them read in literature circles and to talk about the Great Depression. This book is from a Hispanic's point of view in the Great Depression which I also think is a great thing. It also teaches Spanish words, so we can add them to our word wall.

Blogging.. hmm!

~ A blog is merely a tool that lets you do anything from change the world to share your shopping list. ~Anonymous

So this quote is pretty accurate. I have seen blog posts about the craziest things to the most simplest things. Right now it is a bit hard to keep an updated blog because of all the classes and observations and mentee-ing and my job at the YMCA. I literally have to sit down and make five minutes to write a blog. And even then sometimes I don't feel like I am writing enough. It is kind of crazy. I said that I wanted to bog, but finding the time is the hardest thing. However I would like to do just simple blogs like in the movie Julie/Julia. Except I don't know what I would blog about!!!! So be on the look out for me.. in the mean time you can check me out with the other girls in my apartment making music videos on facebook, or http://www.youtube.com/user/ohitskhnk :) yay!!!!

Teacher Roles...

Organizer, Facilitator, Participant, Instructor, Model, Manager, Diagnostician, Evaluator, Coordinator, and Communicator. These roles that a teacher must fill are all great. I do believe that when i become a teacher I will fill these roles. Actually I work at the YMCA in the afternoons and I already have to fill some of these roles if not all of them. I believe that all of these teacher roles create an equilibrium in a teacher's life. If a teacher does this right then they can create a great learning environment for the students. I feel like the best one that a teacher can display is to be a participant with the students. I feel like it works best for the students if they have someone that can be a friend (of sorts) as well as a disciplinary person. I feel like a teacher that hold all of these qualities can create better activities for the children to have all that they can.

Affect/Effect...

I like this statement. I think that Ralph Fletcher was saying that in order to learn things you need to let someone else teach you things, so that you can teach other people the same things. In a writing community the teacher has to be able to listen to her children and learn from then, and use what she has learned to teach her students as well. In a writing community there has to be an equilibrium of learning and teaching in order to create a great atmosphere. So yes.. in order for you to affect someone, you must first allow them to effect you!!!

To read or not to read...

Writing and reading...
Reading writing...
I love fantasy and I love feeling like a piece of writing is taking me on some adventure. For me writing that makes me feel certain ways are worth reading to me. Writing has to be emotional and moving. It has to make a point. I don't normally like persuasion papers, but if a person can write a good paper and persuade me to do something then I would love to read it. I don't know what makes compels me to read certain writings but I love to read so I basically read anything. I also LOVE to read things written by children because I love their imagination and they way they write freely. Even though I have given you reasons about why I like to read any writing, there is still not a definitive reason as to why writing is worth reading.

How Did I Learn to Read...

"To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries." -A C Grayling

There was more of an emphasis on phonics when I was growing up. My parents were raised in Trinidad and their schooling was British based. That is how I was raised. The British learn using a lot of phonics. With this they are able to learn words easier, ALTHOUGH the children say words as they are spelled. To this day, I can't even say some words right. It takes me a little while to look at it and sound it out... but I am glad that phonics is the way I learned because it is also easier for me to spell and "guess" a word more quickly. Yeah its kind of oxymoronic right :) When I started the American school system, there was an equal amount of reading types. This helped me learn even more about reading and it also helped me to become a better reader. This helps me to be able to help students with different ways to learn ways to read and comprehend what they are reading.

Well, hope everything is going well for you!!!
Talk to you SOON!

Kerry... Special

Sahara Special is a really great book. I like how it started and I like how Sahara is telling her story. Sahara is a really extraordinary young girl and i like her ambitions and aspirations thus far in the story. the way Sahara has made a world for herself and the way she describes the characters is quite funny :) I actually can relate to this story. I was not born in America and when I moved here I had to have a lot of the hearing tests, and speech tests. It was rough because I didn't really respond well to the examiners because they had accents and I couldn't understand them. And the other examiners did not seem to understand that either :( So i kinda know what Sahara is going through, but at the same time I don't know. I think that they book is just going to get more intriguing. She might actually befriend the girl she met in the library and start on new adventures. I look forward to reading it :)

The Six Language Arts

The six types of language arts was interesting... It has literally been since elementary school that I have even heard of all six of them together. I think just hearing them as a whole again surprised me. Having to do them all again as a process kinda scares me. What if I don't do one part wrong... so forth and so on.

Viewing and Visually Representing should be a part of the list. There is nothing wrong with condoning media influences on children as long as we are doing it the RIGHT way. Now- what is the right way??
- don't just plop children in front of the tv
- there are a lot of educational kids programs (PBS, Discovery Kids)
- Let children know what they are watching and why...

I like different types of listening. I especially like it when I am able to read aloud or when teachers read for me. I also like when I am reading a play and am able to get up and act it out. (I am a very hands on person) I guess I have always been this way when it has come to listening. I like to hear myself think and read. Also to me talking in the class is one of the ways that is always shut down. I don't think teachers let students talk the right way, so when something inappropriate is said teachers automatically freak out and shut down any type of talking... that's just what I fell though.

Thanks for listening :)

First blog... ever

Sooo... this is the first time that I am blogging... in my whole life....
I have heard people talk about blogs and really have not paid much attention to them...
HOWEVER... this blog is not free willed- it is for my EDU 300 Literature class...
BUT I do think I could do this regularly depending on my schedule...
hmmm... seems I have run out of things to say at the moment, due to the long list of homework stuff I have to do...
well talk to you later :)