Fink Thinks...

[hannahhalyse]

Praise Daniels for mentioning Eric Paulson. Also praise Eric Paulson for recognizing the importance of post-it notes. When I look back and think of my experience in grade school, specifically concerning reading response logs, I remember many made up comments or over exaggerated feelings towards the texts that I read, and the texts that I “read”. What I find when I read Miller, as well as Daniels is that somehow they are making reading captivating enough to make the students stop, think, and interpret through their lives the worth of the text. I finally find myself attacking my textbooks with highlighters and post it notes with comments but I think that’s because I’m not 12 anymore and I can’t really get away with not reading (and I guess it is pretty interesting too) But when Daniels writes about post it notes being, “inserted right in the book to capture, and save responses” (Daniels 96) I know I want to do that but how do I make children that engaged with their readings and have the desire to record a thought then and there? What I pick up on most when I read Miller is the process of her think aloud. I understand her modeling a think aloud and what she wants the students to do, for example, “When I read those words, vivid images, or pictures come into my mind. I have an image of my mother, brother, and I streaking across the flatlands of Kansas on a train called the El Capitan. I see up looking…… Girls and boys, did you notice how creating mental images seemed to make the text come alive for me?” (Miller 101) she explains amazing descriptions of how she feels and what she pictures, but what I don’t grasp is when I try to incorporate these strategies with my small teacher, is the enthusiasm in my reading, the different voices, inflections, etc. I feel like this is the biggest part to making a think aloud work.  I want to capture the attention and have my children want to “lie down, close [their] eyes, and listen to the words as I read” (Miller 101) as Miller spoke about in her chapter, but how?

On top of all that nonsense kinda related, kinda not to our assigned chapters, this quote was probably the most inspiring thing I’ve ever read from a child about reading. “When my mom reads me Harry Potter, it’s like I have a paint set inside my brain. And I never run out of paint!” (Miller 109) *Praise HP too*

[hannahhalyse]

                Debbie Miller is pretty inspiring… even if it is learning oriented reading. (J) In chapter three I enjoyed how she implemented the children taking responsibility for their book choices. Like I wrote in my Tumblr post last week you have to live what you preach if you want children to follow your directions. I think a lot of teachers want children to choose a book that is appropriate but even in my classroom teachers aren’t reinforcing what they expect from the students. I remember as a child we would have to pick a book for SSR but there was never really a reason why I chose it OR that I was even planning on reading it. I simply chose a book to have something in my hand to ‘read’ while my teacher occasionally looked up during SSR to make sure we were on task. After Miller’s class took the 15-20 minutes she allotted for them to choose a just right book she brought them to the floor and had each student briefly discuss why they think their book is suitable for or why they chose a book below or above their level or reading. The method she uses makes sure that the time that she dedicates to them choosing a book is used wisely (aka practicing what she preaches).

 “I am raining with quetios. I do not no why. How do eggs hach? How do rainbows from? Why do bees sting? I am raining with questions.” (Crafton pg.94)

 This quote from Crafton is absolutely amazing. I love how the Iditarod was incorporated into her classroom and they were able to ask their own questions and search for their own answers. But this quote alone I think overpowered her entire article (at least I think so) Children have questions.  For example, in our practicum we have to write in our procedures everything we are going to say. How are we supposed to prepare for that? Am I supposed to know at 9:15 little Sam is going to ask how grapes become raisins if you’re teaching a lesson on adding and subtracting. This might be off topic from the intent of the article but the quote caught my attention

[hannahhalyse]

It is significant to realize that the most creative environments in our society are not the ever-changing one. The artist’s studio, the researchers laboratory, the scholar’s library are each deliberately kept simple so as to support the complexities of the work-in-progress. They are deliberately kept predictable   so the unpredictable can happen.  Pg. 13

I chose some quotes from your spirit animal that stood out to me the most. The first quote stood out the most because it took me off guard. Whenever I think of my future classroom and the way I will establish creativity with my students the word predictability never came to mind.  Even when I think back to classrooms that I’ve been able to work in I’ve always thought of how the lesson plans change and the activities they do that change would foster the environment to be open to new ideas. I never related predictability to the times I did hangman with my kindergartners every morning with the intent to reinforce their stepping stone words that that was predictability. The children trusted that I would be there each morning to play with them and no matter the word I used or who one; the environment was never-changing. Every day the children learned new tricks and tips to help them succeed and win (and they won a lot) I now see that I was fostering an environment for my students to grow and the unpredictable could happen.

“I hadn’t shown them how. I’d told them to be respectful, thoughtful, and kind, but I hadn’t shown them what that looks and sounds like.” pg. 22

I love this quote and it really put into perspective of being a good role model is. Asking students what expectations you want and not following them yourself creates altered expectation. I was observing in a second grade classroom last year and the teacher was asking the students to quietly line up to get ready to go to lunch. The teacher saw one of her team teachers in the hallway and while the students were lining up. When she was done she realized that her class was talking but before she went to yell at the students she realized she was setting a bad example. She apologized to her class for not being quiet and after the class cleaned they line up and stayed quiet. I loved this example because my teacher realized her own mistake of not being a proper role model.  

I enjoyed reading the other article about reading workshops and structuring but nothing really stuck out to me like the two quotes aboove

[hannahhalyse]

Doake's quote, "Once children try to match what they are saying with what they are seeing, the problem of achieving an exact match appears" made me think about my current practicum placement in my third grade classroom. On Tuesday I was trying to help one of my girls [who was in resource for extra writing/reading/spelling] spell word that the computer was saying to her. In attempt to assist her we had her spelling words laying out next to her so we could go through the words and hopefully match what they are saying with what they are seeing. Although it took a while for my student to catch on to the process [she would often skip over the flashcard of the word we were looking for] this quote reminded me that although she isn't "getting" it now, that she is in a stage where soon it will help her. 

I enjoyed reading Sipe's article when he talked about expressive engagement, but the sub category "taking-over" stood out most. This reminded me of a student also in my practicum. What he does isn't a direct example from the text but I think it still relates. The student is a very intelligent kid but its just in some areas hes not confident enough to speak up, or put his whole self into what he's doing. I found that whenever he tells a story and writes it he is really "taking over". As he speaks and tells his tale you can just feel a sense of pride and liberation from his normal attitude in the class. It amazing to see him come outside his shell and take over the classroom. 

Finally in Owocki and Goodman I highlighted the quote, "...,usually when he comes to an unfamiliar noun, verb, or adjective. He doesn't look at the pictures when he reads function words (such as the, with, and, or very.) that he knows do not appear in pictures. I highlighted this and wrote to the side and questioned if this is where it begins, like children beginning to not use illustrations while they are reading and is just begins to grow out of habit? 

[hannahhalyse]

"C-R-E-S-T could not spell Toothpaste because "it starts with C"". (Owocki & Goodman, pg.30)

I love this quote because it shows the development of children's minds and what they think about letters and their meaning. I never really remember an experience of not connecting meaning and a brand name when I was a kid in school. 

[hannahhalyse]

[hannahhalyse]

Wow this is long

After finally getting a grasp on Paley (maybe because I’m finally reading her story with the book in my hands rather than scanned onto a computer) there are so many things I want to talk about. So, let’s see how I do. At the beginning of our reading a quote popped out at me, “I too require passion in the classroom. I need intense preoccupation of a group of children and teachers inventing new worlds as they learn to know each other’s dreams. To invent is to come alive. Even more than the unexamined classroom, I resist the uninvented classroom” (pg. 50)”. Following that quote another one stuck out, “Compared to the confident speakers and mouse painters, he judges himself in-adequate” (pg.52), and again, further into the chapter, “So then, if Walter is Pezzettino, it must be the teacher who makes him feel inadequate” (pg. 53), and finally, “I have known teachers who were like rocks; nothing could move them or alter their ways” (pg. 54). I began to look at the timing of these quotes as Paley placed them in her book. The first one struck me because it is something that I want to implement in my classroom, and honestly it resembled any “ideal” classroom for a teacher. A classroom that is based on inventing (which I think is based off some of my comments from last week’s readings) is to know the contexts of each child and not grouping a classroom to fit one stencil. Paley then falls into the story of Walter and the book Pezzettino because of the connection Reeny finds in Walter and character. Paley notes the lack of self-confidence from Walter and his art. Paley briefly questions herself as his educator, does he need her, and does she appreciate his art? Here is where I began to question Paley. Was Walter apart of her “inventing of the classroom” or was he caught out of the loop? She points out that his classmates, Bruce, Arnie, Reeny, and Cory needing him therefore making him feels adequate. As I read pages 53-54 over and over again, I can’t find her reflecting on where she went wrong making him feel inadequate. Finally, for my last quote I chose Paley’s simile regarding teachers and rocks. I chose this quote for the reason being that the education program is teaching us to become adequate educators that stick to our methods no matter the pressure of expectations (like a heavy rock not moving).                                                  Although I did not connect with the Mills and O’Keefe and Owocki and Goodman text as much this week I was still able to find quotes that can over all relate and tie into the “theme” of my post. “It is the conversations that teachers have with students and students have with one another that make the critical difference” (Mills & O’Keefe, pg. 169) and “…interactions involves asking questions to reveal how and what children are thinking” (Owocki & Goodman, pg. 44). I think this connects well with my comments already because these quotes pose the importance of conversation and interactions with students and teachers, and students with students. 

[hannahhalyse]

Post 2

"He is removed from the hundrum of psychological categories and accepted as an artist who concentrates on one thing at a time while we play the role of audience and supporters" (Paley p.30)

"When teachers ponder the social and cultural forces that shape children's identities, they can begin to take into consideration the ways in which the specific elements of these factors influence learning" (Owocki & Goodman p.19)

"A partial version of this experience may not allow students to stretch their thinking about what reading is, how it is traditionally defined, and how its meaning is changing" (Williams p.340)

I chose the first quote about Oliver from Paley, and the second quote from Owocki and Goodman, and lastly the third quote from Williams for the reason that Oliver's instructor realizes his cultural and social identity and  accepts him as a individual, and learner he is. I think this is an important point to reflect on because the importance of understand learning and the inclusion of "Kidwatching" is to dig into the child and understand them in order to learn the child in as many different "contexts" so that they are unique and not summed as a whole. Kid watching is beneficial because students like Oliver exist everywhere and neglecting them and their needs only pushes them further away from education. The way I wanted to incorporate William's quote is of an outcome and interpretation of  his "gallery project" he did with his kids. It is a little bit different from the first two quote but the same in that is expresses the need for difference and change in the current path that education is sticking with (standard, tests, work sheets, reading the basics.. etc). In my future I hope to be at a Montessori School practicing an individualized curriculum, which I believe will applies all these concepts that we were assigned this past week. 

[hannahhalyse]

"You can't fall in love with the books that someone stuffs down your throat" (Daniels, pg.19).

I feel like this quote best sums up the whole idea of literature circles. Also, I feel like you could interchange the word books for any other phrase pertaining to education and learning. With education, and books in particular, there is no forcing a child to relate or be interested in the topic, but you can provide a system where the content is relevant (sometimes they even pick it) and interesting to where its something they want to do.