Chapter 18: Effective Teachers, Effective Instruction

This chapter was all about how to teach effectively and ensure that you reach all students. This is not an easy task, but it is a must for teachers. To many times, teachers get caught up in the teaching of the curriculum and don't worry about reaching their students. This chapter had some great lessons teachers have done to make sure they are effective teachers. One strategy teachers used was to use multiple text. Teachers did not just teach from the textbooks that were given to them. Teachers looked for text that would interest the students which will help their literacy skills. Some teachers even gave students a choice of what book they read for a particular unit or lesson. Students become more interested and motivated to read! Effective teachers don't worry about getting their planned lesson taught. Sometimes a lesson doesn't go exactly how you planned and an effective teacher just goes with it. A lesson may lead to a great discussion that takes up the remainder of the class. Effective teachers know that is ok! Literate conversations is what every teacher should want. These conversations will help all students! Strong readers can be models for the struggling students. They can listen to how the strong reader is discussing text and be able to repeat what they do. This will essentially help struggling students comprehend the text read. Discussions also teaches students how to communicate with others. Students are not always going to agree, and they will learn how they respectively tell students they disagree. Effective teachers are essential in the learning of students. We need to be able to do whatever it takes to make sure our students succeed. We need effective instruction so are our students have the chance to grow!

Chapter 15: Making it Matter Through the Power of Inquiry

The opening to this chapter was not all that surprising. I always find that girls in my classroom were better readers than boys. Now that doesn't mean that none of my boys were great readers because I have had some very strong boy readers. It is essential to make sure that all students are motivated and engaged in literacy. Without that component, students are going to struggle in literacy. They don't have interest in it. The book says that student motivation is the primary challenge face teachers. I would agree with this. Sometimes I feel that no matter what I do my students are just not motivated in certain topics. I like the part in the book that discussed the lesson on the Plague. Many students would not be engaged in this topic, but the teacher allowed students to use their prior knowledge and become interested in the topic. The teacher used up-to-date information that students could relate to. When students can relate to a topic, their motivation increases. There are so many different resources out there that will help in student motivation. One thing that teachers can try is electronic texts. There is a big push towards electronic text, whether that is using iPads, iPods, kindle, nooks, etc, but one electronic text that many teachers don't think about is video games. Video games involve a lot of reading, involve characters, and are embedded in an overachieving narrative. They offer interesting and engaging experiences that always involve problem solving and offer real-life issues. Teachers can incorporate video games into the classroom to help motivate students in literacy. One part of the book that I found very interesting was the story about the girl who didn't think she was good at history because she got a B. It made me really think back to my class. I bet a lot of students feel this way that if they don't get an A then they are not good at that subject. I remember back when I was in college, I had the same situation with American History. I didn't like it because I wasn't good at it. I got A's  on all my other topics, but History. What does an A even mean? We are moving to standard based grading, which may help students not feel that they are as "not smart" as they thought. Children need to know they can succeed, but they also need to be motivated in learning.

Chapter 2: Creating a Comprehensive Structure for Learning

Comprehensive secondary literacy builds on a CAI foundation. It focuses on aligning literacy and content learning. I love the phrase in the book that says "Content area reading is no longer regarded by most experts as a matter of reading information from a single textbook. Instead students must seek, evaluate, and comprehend information from a variety of print and technology sources." I have seen this shift in reading, and I believe it is for the better. When I started my teaching career a short 5 years ago, the district I was in was just starting to get out of the basel textbooks and had a curriculum that allowed students to seek, evaluate, and comprehend information from a variety of sources. I loved it! Teachers were able to be creative. I know so many teachers that are attached to their basil textbooks. Teachers need to step away from teaching textbooks and worry more about how we are teaching are students to read. This is a lifelong skill! Every subject requires reading and content teachers should use reading techniques that will help their area of instruction. Literacy builds on a CAI foundation. C means curriculum. Educators use a standards-based curriculum as a guide to know what they want their students to know and be able to do. A good curriculum allows students to embrace the text and bring meaning to what they are reading. A means Assessment. "Reading assessment must have the primary consequence of helping students continue their development as readers." There should be a variety of assessments appropriate to their learning environments. Assessments need to determine students' knowledge base to inform instruction and to motivate and engage students. Assessment provides students with feedback. Students can learn how to make themselves better. I believe it is important for teachers to use a variety of assessments. Students do not all learn the same way; therefore, we need to use different types of assessments for the different types of learners. The last letter is I for instruction. Effective instruction is about "how" and "what." "How" to ensure that a wide mental grasp of the "what" (curriculum) is occurring with the learner. This can be done with meaningful teachings and use of different reading techniques. Also, it is essential to differentiate for all learners. I believe that effective instruction is not just teaching the content. It is responsible for the learners' needs. Being in an elementary setting, I have students with all kinds of needs. It is my job to address them to help my students grow! This requires me to use different techniques to ensure that I am reaching all my students. It is our job to support students to become responsible and strategic readers, critical thinkers, and effective communicators. We are not just teaching out of a textbook and hoping it reaches all students. We need to teach each individual students' needs! We want lifelong learners and readers!

Chapter 13: Writing: Commonsense Matters

I love the opening story of this chapter. Those children of Haapsalu had a story to tell, but due to their customs they weren't allowed to express it! I absolutely love how the teacher gave them their voice to write. These students had something to say! This reminds me so much of the movie Freedom Writers. The teacher in this movie gave each child a journal. At first, the students were not so sure about the journals and didn't want to write. Then, they realized they had a voice, and someone cared about what they had to say. I watch this movie every summer to pump me up for the next school year. Writing is crucial in anyone's life! I believe this is an area that many schools lack in. Many schools are all about literacy and forget about writing. When students feel like someone cares about their writing or that they have a real audience they want to write. They want to voice their opinions. I love that in writing you can teach many of the craft and conventions in writing. Grammar and spelling go perfectly with writing. A teacher doesn't have to teach any of those conventions independently. Students need a place to write. All of my students have a writing binder that is full of notebook paper and resources to use to assist them in their writing.

One part of this book that I LOVE and will use in the classroom is the tellingboards. What a great idea!! Many of my students love to draw but hate to write. The solution is tellingboards! Students can tell their stories in pictures. If I was to use this in my classroom. I would do a lot of modeling. I would tell students this considering writing because writing is thinking and drawing is thinking. This is a great way to brainstorm. Students can do multiple drafts of their pictures adding more details to their second draft. Their third draft can be their actual writing. By the time they finish their second drawing drafts, they will have a great guideline to start their story. Students can't say anymore "I don't know what to write!"

I really hope that high-stake testing does not take the importance of authentic writing away. I couldn't believe the teachers that had to sign a clause in their contract that if they didn't raise their scores in their classroom that they could be fired. There is so many factors in students passing or failing a test. I know that in third grade we spend a lot of time teaching students the format for writing for ISAT. I am spending time teaching this when I should be teaching students writing skills that they will use in the future, not writing skills that will help them pass a test!

Chapter 12: Teach Writing Your Way

Wow...reading this chapter, I am completely guilty of having my students do an assignment that I have not done myself first. I am guilty of not writing myself. The only time I have really taken the time to journal was when I studied abroad in England. I kept a journal that I wrote in everyday. I wanted to remember every moment of my time there. I need to do better at writing in my spare time and learn to love it before I expect my students to want to write. I really like the index card writing. A lot of the time my students will stare at a piece of paper and say "I have nothing to write about." An index card is not as intimidating as a big, blank notebook paper. I am sure that if students continue to jot their story down and not worry about grammar, spellling, etc then they can come up with great writing pieces. The hard part is getting your idea. Once a student has an idea in mind then they can write more and more about that topic. I am sure the first card compared to the fourth card is very different. I love the part that says writers welcome surprise. They are the happiest when they write what they do not intend. A lot of the time your vision of your writing piece is different than your final copy. Writers need to be patient! They are not going to whip out a final draft in 20 minutes. It takes time! The one area my students don't understand about writing is rewriting. I always make them do a sloppy copy. They hate after revisions that I make them do it again. I have showed them famous authors that have to write several drafts before completing their final draft. Writing is work, and many of my students don't want to do it! This is partly my fault. I have not taught my students the love of writing. I hope in the future to teach my students that they have a voice within, and it is their right to express it!

Chapter 11: Teaching Writing from the Inside

Writing is such an essential habit for all people. Writing is a skill that one will use in every area of their life. Personally, I am not a big writer, but through my years of teaching I have learned to love it. I know how important it is to show your love for something if you want your students to love it just as much as you. Writing gives students a voice. Sadly, many of my students do not enjoy writing, unless it is narrative. Like the book say, story telling comes so naturally to everyone! Students should know how to write many different types of writing. In third grade, we work on narrative, persuasive, expository, and poetry. Our third grade team put writing binders together for each child. Our district does not have a strong writing program. This is something they are working on. I would like to see some type of curriculum that goes from K-12. I want a guideline of what I should be doing to make sure my students are ready when they get to the higher grades. My students cringe when I tell them they need to write at least three sentences. It is like pulling teeth! I worry about them as they get older. We just finished a poetry unit where students learned a variety of different types of poems. Several students really enjoyed this while other students dreaded it! Writing is not my strong area in teaching, but I am working on it. I have read a variety of books on writer's workshop and incorporating writing into the classroom. When I taught in San Antonio, we had a great writer's workshop program that lead to some great pieces of writing from my students. My hope for our district is that we adapt a strong writing curriculum. Students need to learn how to use their voice within. I think if student could do this then they would find a love for writing. My goal as a teacher is to create students who love to write! It is a goal that I am working on for awhile and learn something new every year!

Chapter 14: Unleashing Potential and Emerging Technology

Technology has come such a long way in the education field, and I believe it is a good thing! A problem that I see arising is that teachers are not getting the proper training on how to effectively use technology in the classroom. For example, there are many teachers, like the one in the book, who think using technology means students typing a paper in word and sending it to the teacher. Yes, that does save on paper, but there is so much more one can do with technology. Students are becoming the experts in technology and passing up their teachers. We need to use this power of theirs and use it to our advantage. Google is such an amazing resource to use in the classroom to help with collaboration. This year students in my class used google presentation for their big science fair presentation. We usually have boards that the students make to present their Scientific Method. Now, this usually ends up me doing a lot of the work because I am an organization freak and want it to look nice for the parents. This year I thought "enough is enough." This is the kid's work, not mine. It was like a light bulb went off and thought "google presentation" This worked out AMAZINGLY!! I brought the students to the computer lab about four times, and they were able to complete all their work in that time frame. I assigned each student their own individual slide they were responsible for. They were then able to go to the computer lab, pull up their presentations, and everyone could work at the same time. It was so cool to see students collaborating to make their science projects. They were able to incorporate videos and pictures. It took the work off my hands and put it in the hands of the students, which is ideally what all teachers want to happen in their classroom. Next year, third grade is getting their own chromebooks. I am so excited to research this summer on great ways to use the chromebook! There are an abundance of ideas to incorporate technology into the classroom that goes beyond turning a paper in on a word document. Many teachers are scared for this new shift in education, but as a young, very technology-oriented teacher I am beyond excited!