Curriculum Standard: 2b. The student will analyze text in order to identify, understand,
infer, or synthesize information. (DOK 2)
Objectives:
a. The student will distinguish which feelings are relevant to a particular section of text by using context clues embedded in the text.
b. The student will create a vivd paragraph about the topic given to them by the teacher.
c. The student will recognize that powerful words accompanied by adjectives and adverbs will make a paragraph much more interesting.
d. The student will infer how they would feel when presented with a situation like that in those portrayed in the text.
Big Idea: Being able to distinguish and understand feelings in text provides a better mental picture to go along with the words.
Preparation:
1. The teacher will read the book The Babe and I.
2. The teacher will model a Think Aloud while reading the story to help students interpret the feelings present in the text.
3. The teacher will ask students to describe a time when they have had strong feelings about a particular person, place, or thing and do a quick write about those feelings.
3. The teacher will model ways to determine the feelings being portrayed in the book by using the context that goes along with the particular feeling.
Guidance
1. The teacher will provide students with a Think Aloud while reading the book so that they can understand how to determine the feelings.
2. The teacher will model for students how to create a paragraph about how the character feels.
3. The teacher will use student suggestions for how to make the paragraph more visual by incorporating more powerful language and using adverbs and adjectives.
Application
1. The teacher will give students a topic for their paragraph, “How would you feel if you saw your Dad on the street selling apples?”
2. The teacher wil have students create a paragraph that answers this question and uses more vivid details so that the reader will be able to have a mental picture.
Assessment
1. The teacher will assess the students ability to create a paragraph containing powerful words by using a rubric.
2. The teacher will assess that students are correctly distinguishing feelings and inferring feelings that are likely to occur by informal observation of the student's quick write.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Chapter 5 Understanding and Using Texts
One of the major aspects of Chapter 5 that stood out to me was the section about making personal connections with the text. The book mentions that “students who are widely read in an area or have relevant life experiences often build on those experiences to confront complicated texts. By having background knowledge about a topic, students can better understand and interpret a text. If a teacher presents a reading selection with which students have no previous knowledge, then the teacher needs to take steps to insure that the students have something to relate the information to. By taking the extra time to provide some background on unknown topics, the teacher can help some students to better comprehend the reading.
Another section of Chapter 5 mentioned how sometimes different types of texts are not appropriated because they are confusing. I know from my own personal experience, that when I am reading any type of text that is not clear or is complicated, then I lose interest very quickly. The reading does not have to be so simple that it is not stimulating, but it also does not need to be so difficult that a dictionary is needed to understand the sentences. Some students struggle enough with just simply reading; they do not need the extra difficulty of having to fight with arrangement.
I really found the section on digital text very interesting. As mentioned in Chapter 4, by bringing in things that students are familiar with, the teacher stands a better chance of getting the students motivated and involved. Naturally, today’s students are more interested in digital text than reading a textbook. Even though the textbooks are still necessary, supplemental information can be found using the different forms of digital text, such as the Internet. In addition, the website list that the book presented for teachers to find helpful additional information was phenomenal. I know that I will find it useful in locating more reading materials for my students; reading selections that they are actually interested in reading, not just some that I give them to say they are reading.
Another section of Chapter 5 mentioned how sometimes different types of texts are not appropriated because they are confusing. I know from my own personal experience, that when I am reading any type of text that is not clear or is complicated, then I lose interest very quickly. The reading does not have to be so simple that it is not stimulating, but it also does not need to be so difficult that a dictionary is needed to understand the sentences. Some students struggle enough with just simply reading; they do not need the extra difficulty of having to fight with arrangement.
I really found the section on digital text very interesting. As mentioned in Chapter 4, by bringing in things that students are familiar with, the teacher stands a better chance of getting the students motivated and involved. Naturally, today’s students are more interested in digital text than reading a textbook. Even though the textbooks are still necessary, supplemental information can be found using the different forms of digital text, such as the Internet. In addition, the website list that the book presented for teachers to find helpful additional information was phenomenal. I know that I will find it useful in locating more reading materials for my students; reading selections that they are actually interested in reading, not just some that I give them to say they are reading.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Chapter 4 Assessments Response
Assessment should be varied, ongoing and guide instruction. A fearsome threesome I shall not soon forget due to the tenacity of Dr. Marilyn Foxworth. She practically seared those three components in my brain forever. By using assessment information, teachers can better know how to instruct students based on their interests, strengths and weaknesses. By taking into account all aspects of a student’s life, the teacher provides a better opportunity for student involvement, motivation and success.
Throughout the chapter, the phrase, “Do not rely on results from any one test” is reiterated. So many times so much focus is placed on one test that the outcome is somewhat clouded. Some students do excellent on standardizdized test but are not actually successful students in the classroom, and vice versa. The standardized tests should only be used as supplemental tool in determining student success, not the final verdict. However, many times, major decisions are hinged on a students score on these types of tests, when should be an overall view of the students work in the classroom along with the standardized test. By using all aspects of a student’s career, teachers can better grasp the level of learning the student is actually at, not how well they can take a test to suit some preconceived idea of where students should be.
The most interesting part of the chapter for me was the mention of portfolios. In my opinion, portfolios allow students a great deal of artistic freedom to express themselves. All the teacher needs to do is give students a guideline to follow, and then let the students go in any direction that feels right to them, as long as they cover the necessary material in the final product. In addition, student involvement will be much more prevalent because they are given a say in what is taking place in their curriculum. By allowing students ownership of an assignment, teachers get a chance to see the real student, not the one they are expected to be. I agree completely with what the chapter says, “Portfolios present the greatest variety of chances to represent a student’s personal identity, literacy skill, content knowledge and ways of knowing, communication and motivation, and knowledge and skill in content area literacy.” I most definitely favor portfolio assessments as opposed to other types because they provide a small window into the student’s life that might otherwise be closed to teacher eyes.
Throughout the chapter, the phrase, “Do not rely on results from any one test” is reiterated. So many times so much focus is placed on one test that the outcome is somewhat clouded. Some students do excellent on standardizdized test but are not actually successful students in the classroom, and vice versa. The standardized tests should only be used as supplemental tool in determining student success, not the final verdict. However, many times, major decisions are hinged on a students score on these types of tests, when should be an overall view of the students work in the classroom along with the standardized test. By using all aspects of a student’s career, teachers can better grasp the level of learning the student is actually at, not how well they can take a test to suit some preconceived idea of where students should be.
The most interesting part of the chapter for me was the mention of portfolios. In my opinion, portfolios allow students a great deal of artistic freedom to express themselves. All the teacher needs to do is give students a guideline to follow, and then let the students go in any direction that feels right to them, as long as they cover the necessary material in the final product. In addition, student involvement will be much more prevalent because they are given a say in what is taking place in their curriculum. By allowing students ownership of an assignment, teachers get a chance to see the real student, not the one they are expected to be. I agree completely with what the chapter says, “Portfolios present the greatest variety of chances to represent a student’s personal identity, literacy skill, content knowledge and ways of knowing, communication and motivation, and knowledge and skill in content area literacy.” I most definitely favor portfolio assessments as opposed to other types because they provide a small window into the student’s life that might otherwise be closed to teacher eyes.
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