CDLP

Ch. 11

I found that this chapter was very When we sit back and think about how much writing is an everyday part of our lives we can see that it is used in an enormous amount of things outside of the classroom. I feel that we are not prepared when we exit high school for all the things that we will use writing for as we mature into adults. Conley points out (p.307) that in high school we are taught to write simply five paragraph papers. All our papers consisted of an opening, three middle paragraphs, and then a conclusion. This did not at all prepare us for our college career. Just in the last week we were assigned a 6-12 page paper. How are we suppose to make it five paragraphs like we are been taught? It’s impossible. As a future teacher I believe that it is important for students to reflect on their experiences as students as well as things that are going on in their lives. I believe that we should also teach them alterative ways to use writing in their everyday lives. By using writing in these ways students will be more prepared entering into college as well as their adult lives. imformational and can apply to us as teachers in many ways.

Smart Board/ Promethium Board

To be honest I very little experience using either one of these. I have seen them use multiple times but have personal never used one. I have done a presentation using a smart board using power point and that is it. I think they are great to use in the classroom especially with the world we live in today. Our students use technology on a daily basis and if it is incorporated in the classroom then the material will be more relatable for them.

Chapter 7

I particularly enjoyed the section on The Prior Knowledge- Motivation Connection (p.190). This section discusses the importance of connecting students various prior knowledge and using this to motivate students. Students have knowledge from family, community, and school experience that a skillful teacher can take and apply to what students are learning. When I began to think about this I noticed that this can be used from kindergarten and even apply to us now in college. Whenever a teacher tells a story that I can connect to I automatically become interested in what they are saying, then this leads me to wanting to know more about the topic. As we grow we enquire more and more prior knowledge and I believe as teacher we should use this to our advantage to engage our students and hold their attention.

Lesson Plan p.160

Curriculum Standard
2. The student will apply strategies and skills to comprehend, respond to, interpret, or evaluate a variety of texts of increasing levels of length, difficulty, and complexity.
d. The student will interpret increasingly complex literary text, literary nonfiction, and informational text to compare and contrast information, citing text-based evidence. (DOK 3)

1) Story elements (e.g., setting, characters, character traits, events, resolution, point of view)

Big Idea: Identifying the story elements in a piece of literature (Charlotte's Web) and then move on to different types of literature.

Preparation:
1. Introduce the story elements (settings, characters, character traits, events, resolution, point of view)
2. Relate the story elements to the preciously read Charlotte's Web.
3. Open a class discussion on the story elements and how they relate to Charlotte's Web, if students have questions or are unsure of an element now is they time to clear them up.
4. Have students work in partners to find the story elements of either a short story or a piece of literature they have previously read. (Scaffolding)
5. Move on to discuss different types of literature with the students, the short story the students went over in number 4 and literature works they have previously read. Move on to work on that not all literature will contain every story element.
6. Have students create their own short story that contains at least 4 out of the 6 story elements.

Guidance:
1. Introduce all story elements and connect them to concrete ideas from Charlotte's Web
2. While students are working in partners use teacher observation and assistant to see if students are grasping the concept of story elements
3. Have student questioning during the discussion to ensure students reach and understanding of the story elements before they move on to work alone.
4.Allow students to continually ask questions and offer assistant while the students are writing their own short story.

Application:
1. Introduce all six story elements after the reading of Charlotte's Web

Assessment:
Students will create their own short story that has at least 4 out of the 6 story elements. The teacher will read the students short stories and check for accuracy and understanding.

Chapter 5

First off this is my second time typing this because the first one disappeared into the black whole of the internet. So I seem short and sweet and to the point that it why. Haha. What I got from the text is that text can be frustrating for students if they do not understand what the text is conveying or if it is to over their head. How many times have we read material (especially in our major) and ask ourselves what they are talking about. I know that when this happens I become easily frustrated and want to give up and not want to continue to read. This is also true for students. If they become frustrated with text they will shut down.
One thing that I did find interesting in text was about digital text (p.132). In this day in age we know that we live in a digital world. Kids are automatically going to be more drawn to something if it is on a computer. By having students even read off the computer it is going to hold their attention longer. For example, if a student is reading an article on caribou and there is a video of the caribou it will obviously intrigue them more.
One Blog that I found interesting through bloglines was a blog that talked about how a school in Britain changed their student’s behavior by having Victorian styles rules. Its very interesting. Also through bloglines I found a very good website: elementary-teacher-reesources.com