Chapter 7

Having the mind set in a purposeful manner to gain facts and truths is studying. We all know that studying really can be all over the place if we are not given a heads up on what’s on the test or a study guide. Not always do we have teachers or professors who will be so kind to “fill us in”. They are the ones who lecture and expect you to take notes. That’s all well and dandy but shoo, how do you take notes. Even though note taking is the most important study skill, I don’t remember anyone teaching me how it’s done. I mean, I took it upon myself to listen to the sometimes “highs and lows” when they’d say something important, but who knows, maybe I missed something. I would have loved the opportunity to share what knowledge I took from the lecture and listen to what my classmates took as well. Even my note making skills could have been developed because I would be adding to what I missed, or even changing something I wrote down wrong!! Notes can be very valuable study aids because they can remind you how to do the problem and what it looks like. Note taking and activities surrounding it, can make us more aware of what is being said and we become skilled listeners. More content is learned because writing it down deepens our understanding and all the information can be used for tests.  

When I enter my classroom, I will remember the importance of providing my students with resources to help them become note takers or better note takers. Such resources would give procedures or “tips” on note taking. I would also make sure to provide feedback to them about their notes thru…NOTES. It provides a way to give feedback on their current performance in note taking. All in hopes that they see how helpful and useful note taking is and move toward independent skills in note making.  

Blog #5

I absolutely cringe when I hear words that don't belong together. Knowing techniques on how to build vocabulary will not only help my students, it will be of great value to me also. Because the gap in word knowledge is expansive, it's hard to know where to begin with choosing words. There are different types of words and they type of words determines whether or not it should be taught in detail. Vocabulary and the understanding of each, will determine whether a topic is comprehended. The thing to keep in mind is how helpful would the word be to know. Is it a word that the students can figure out on their own or does it take in-depth information on the study of the word. Words should be taken from the texts the students are reading. This gives them the opportunity to have many exposures to the word. When reading the texts to find vocabulary words, it is good that the teacher puts the words into context during think alouds. Having students interact with words from the text is better than relying on rote memorization for them to learn each. This way is inefficient, words should not be taught in isolation. They should have many uses of context surrounding each. I know when I was in school, my teacher would give me a list of words on Monday and tell me to be prepared on Friday for the test. At no point during the week did we have any type of interaction with the words. I would have liked to have had visual glossaries, word sorts, and did vocabulary word play. I mean I got by with just memorizing each but that's just sub par. Truly knowing a word is more than knowing the definition of it. It is understanding how to use the words in context and being able to make a educated guess about its meaning. The more background knowledge a student has about the word, the better chance they have of understanding so sometimes we as teachers need to find out exactly what they know, and go from there to help with comprehension. Vocabulary self-awareness..I don't know who had the idea, but it is great. Giving students words then having them gather information about each, allows for discovery and their own interpretation of the word. They are able to make guesses about the word then revisit it later to add or clarify as needed. I will keep in mind how explicit instruction in multiple meaning words can boost comprehension. I think it will be really interesting choosing words. 
I am wondering what good way I can incorporate my library of words. Like how will we keep track of all the words from the year since we will be choosing them as we read. I am also thinking about how the students will feel to choose their own words. How will they choose each.

Blog #4

I loved that Fisher and Frey reminded us the importance of teaching our students how to think or how their thinking works. We all learn through language. We are exposed to language daily. Exposing students as often as possible to language across subject areas is important. We should be able to find some kind of writing activity to go along with the content we are teaching. Having them to write down their thoughts about the days lesson as they go, and give time to jot down questions they may have, will enhance their learning. They will begin to take charge of their learning and become motivated to find out things on their own. Offer activities to make them a critical thinker that can be done with their peers and have them present supporting details on the topic. Standing and just providing information is only so good, having the students apply the knowledge you tell is where true learning happens. I love the idea of and the warm feeling a group provides. I would make sure I point out to my students all the benefits of having their peers input. Peers can always provide an extra avenue of checking understanding.
We all know that experiences help with learning. Have background knowledge of key concepts earlier, and text structure earlier, will enable students to make connections at a later time. Connections are best made when comprehension happens. If students do not comprehend something, it's useless. We should teach students strategies that help them learn how to comprehend things. As a teacher we have to role to model good practices. Regardless of the activity we are doing, we can find something to model a good practice. And if things don't go so well during the lesson, it will be better next time, improvements will be made accordingly.
I remember having a journal when I was in school but I don't remember a rubric that went along. I don't think we were ever given the reason for the journal or what specifics to include. Besides the journal, I don't remember many tools that helped in the classroom. I merely remember my teacher telling me how to do something then doing it. I was never given its importance or reasoning behind it. Just a right way to do it. If we had something in the classroom that compared to the THINK center that we had a chance to experience now, I am sure I would have had a better outlook of school. I really enjoyed my experience there and I did not feel out of place at all. I would love to design my classroom around it and have the opportunity to have that homely feeling in a great effective learning environment.

Baby medium cat

SOOOOO yea...I was just on pinterest and I saw this beautiful thing!! Cutier than the little baby leopard from class today!!! Too cute!!





Scroll to Top
Scroll to Top

Blog #3

America is said to be behind other countries when it comes to education. Many factors contribute to this depressing realization. The old techniques were not effective so more has to be done. Effective content area literacy instruction drives students to becoming better learners. Showing and teaching students how to read and understand the world around them very early on is the central idea. It recognizes the need to provide elem. school students with instruction in reading to learn. It address all the literacies in the students lives. Right now our elementary classrooms have the basic basal readers and not doing much with them but reading it and not even much is done with comprehension. Giving the students exposure, early on, to more expository text and shown how to navigate through it, the slump between third and forth grade would decrease. The students should be given that direction, verbatim, on how to navigate any text. I was glad to hear that a study presented findings that a 1st grader was able to retell a informational text just as well as a narrative text. Informational texts actually motivate children to read and give them more access to literature as a whole. Giving them this exposure to read and retell this literature, will improve their writing abilities later on. Effectively instructing students on how to navigate content topics will increase new knowledge domains. They will not only be able to understand the information they are reading but they will also be able to evaluate it themselves. This requires long term immersion in the topic. It can enhance vocabulary understanding and comprehension, and comprehension is definitely a piece that has been missing in the past. As a supporter of this strategy, I understand the concept and importance of children learning to read the same time they begin to read to learn. Learning logs we introduced to me in my intro block and I will always be a fan. It is exciting to think of the possibilities of integrating them into any topic or content area. I know the textbook will be a guide but I really want to leave the learning up to the learner. I want to introduce them to all kinds of texts like websites or even how to pay attention to the bold print in textbooks. Students who learn to use their organization and structure of informational texts are better able to read and comprehend them. Opening the stage for retellings, dramatic activities, or any other experiences that will allow them the opportunity to use these structure in their own writing. A perfect classroom has the students so interested in something they ask questions and go find the answers and just want to know more and more about all there is to know about that one topic. Before long they have a desire to Read the World.
I think it is important to start early teaching children and motivating children to try to read everything around them with purpose and conviction. Everything matters and providing them with the avenue that leads to success due to their own curiosity is a great achievement for a teacher.

Blog #2

I see Nicki thinks the way I do...a lot of writing. But as Cassie pointed out, the expectations for everything is completely laid out. I like that indeed. I don't know how to swim but I would love for my babies to learn so it was interesting to learn that Mary Catherine teaches children how to swim. The article on Writing to Learn was not as long as I anticipated it to be..LOL..but it was interesting. It offered ways to incorporate writing among all subject areas. The techniques shown can be adapted to fit any objective. Reading and writing together can enhance comprehension and mastery of content can be shown through such. Writing to learn focuses more on the student and their ability to communicate. They should be motivated to further their learning. We as teachers should have our students to connect and integrate ideas from the text. We should show them how to connect with the text and put an emphasis on taking their thinking beyond the surface. We should provide authentic engagement with the text and always, always provide them with frequent feedback. Any feedback will be valuable to them as learners. To help them be more responsible for their grades, we should tell them exactly what we expect. Let them know up front how they will be judged. This will have them become more mindful of their own work. I will remember to provide my students will enough opportunities to explore the text. I really enjoy the strategies provided. The Guided Writing Procedure reminded me of the importance of activating prior knowledge. Microthemes was another strategy I think will be really useful. I enjoyed our time in class that we spent doing biopoems. That was probably the highlight of my week. I am sure I will be using biopoems in my classroom!!

About Me

I'm Isha Toney. My mom has been teaching 33 years. It was her that attracted me to the field. Every time we are in Walmart or off somewhere, a past student will run up to her and it's funny to see her try to remember their name because it has been so long. I'm sure she enjoys the attention. I have always had a desire to be a coach so I knew I had to get into the school system to do so. My ideal grade would be kindergarten because I would love all the hugs but working with older students is ultimately my goal. I am excited to be working somewhere around English (will do grad I'm sure) and Language Arts. Social Studies has really become a possibility, it caught my attention. On a more personal note I am a mother of two. Edgerrin Rashad is 5 and E'Miyah Rae is 3. They are indeed the loves of my life. School has always been in my sights but I did indeed stray. I am proud to be back and I don't see another vacation anytime soon. I am very excited about this class!!! I think it will help me to focus more on my students as individuals as it teaches me how to teach them. It will help me broaden my view on reaching them through different avenues for creativity. Something that stood out on the syllabus was indeed this blogging component. I have never been a fan of blogs and I definitely didn't think I would have my own. But anything, and I do mean anything, for good standings!! I definitely want to take advantage of learning as much as possible about making students individuals. I am so nervous about the other college and what type of interaction that will be..! That would be my only concern and I am curious as to whether they will even get to read THIS!!!!