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Readerly Exploration #7

Lynsey Mayberry

Readerly Exploration #7

Due: 4/8/19

Four Practical Principles for Enhancing Vocabulary Instruction (Manyak, 2014)

Big Idea:Teachers should vary their instruction in ways that allow the students to learn through multiple different experiences, strategies, and presentation of vocabulary words.

Nugget: The deep-processing word review activities stood out to me while I was reading. I liked how they were four good examples of how teachers could incorporate different ways that students could connect with the words. I was used to the typical look up the definition way of learning vocabulary words, so this helped me gain a better understanding of how teachers could make learning vocabulary words more creative.

Readerly Exploration: Engage in the reading process to increase the likelihood of text comprehension (pre-reading, reading, responding, exploring, and applying). After you read, document your initial response to what you’ve read. Consider how the ideas you read about made you feel and what they made you think about.

The author talked about Graves’s framework of the four components he believes is important to developing knowledge of words. I was able to use those four suggestions as an overarching view of how to incorporate the four pragmatic principles Manyak talked about. While I was reading, I felt myself comparing my own experience with learning vocab words to the ideas suggested in the writing. This helped me to visualize what those techniques would have looked like in my own educational experience. The more I thought about it, I was reminded of these videos that my social studies teacher would show us on either Fridays or Monday (I forget), that would rap about the weekly events that happened that week around the world. The website is called Flobaculary and I was always very engaged and interested in the videos. I started to think about whether or not I could create a rap or video that would present the words at the end of a unit that could continue to foster that development of word consciousness. I believe that this would help keep the students motivated to learn about new words. I also thought about how creating a rap could be used to enforce the first principle of “establishing an effective yet rich routine for introduction target words”. This activity would also have to be supplemented with other deeper processing activities throughout the week.

Multimedia Connection: https://www.flocabulary.com

This website is the one that I thought of while I was reading this article. There are multiple different resources teachers have access to and can use in the classroom. I also explored more on the website and found that they have a specific vocabulary lessons. I also believe with the videos I have watched, it could be a good resource to do different cross curriculum activities.

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Readerly Exploration #6

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 3/25/19

The Comprehension Matrix: A Tool for Designing Comprehension Instruction (Gill, 2008)

Big Idea:Many elements such as instruction, the text, reader factors and the situation in which the student is reading play into comprehension of the text for students.

Nugget:The author talked about the difference between efferent stance and aesthetic stance while reading. I had thought of it as reading for fun and then reading for school especially when I was going through elementary school. This nugget helped make the terms more clear with the example that the author had given.

Readerly Exploration:Engage in the reading process to increase the likelihood of text comprehension (pre-reading, reading, responding, exploring, and applying). As you read, highlight experts form the chapter that reflect the authors purpose.

As I read this article by Gill, I highlighted different parts that I thought contributed to the reason the article was written. A few of the highlights on the particular page below talked about comprehension theories. When I read the definitions and then highlighted them it helped me to remember the meanings and better comprehend the information. I particularly liked doing this exploration with this article because the author had the reader think about different ways he/she comprehends the reading he/she does. By highlighting the different points that stood out to me, I was able to comprehend and pull out information that was important. The author included strategies that could be used to help students comprehend the text they are reading. While I was highlighting, it make me think that highlighting is one strategies that I and many college students use to help aide the comprehension process. I also highlighted the terms efferent stance and aesthetic stance which led me to going back after reading and looking deeper into the terms. While I read, I had some questions about the words but as I read and then did more research I was better able to understand the meanings/examples. If I did not highlight them as my own comprehension strategy, I might have skipped over them and then would not have comprehended the real meanings. I want to try to use the different comprehension strategies such as reciprocal questioning strategy during my lessons to help the students gain comprehension.

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Readerly Exploration #5

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 3/13/19

Chapter 9: Promoting Comprehension: Text Factors (Tompkins, 2017)

Big Idea: Literature contains various elements including text factors such as genres and text structure which helps strengthen a readers and writers comprehension of text.

Nugget: One section that stood out to me was the poetic forms section. I had forgotten about some of the different types of poems that teachers can teach their students. One form that I didn’t remember was the found poem. I think this would be a good way for students to write and be creative at the same time.

Readerly Exploration: Engage in the reading process to increase the likelihood of text comprehension (pre-reading, reading, responding, exploring, applying) After you read, create a work of art that represents/symbolizes your personal response to the readings.

While reading the section about poems, I kept being reminded of the poems that I would write in fifth grade while we were learning about the different forms. I remember making so many concrete poems with my friends in our free time. I also love to read poems which helped me engage in the reading even more. For my exploration, I decided to create my own concrete poem of the different aspects that stood out to me while I was reading. The shape of the poem was a C which stood for comprehension. I then wrote points such as text features and then some of the forms of poems that were in the book. By doing this, I was better able to comprehend what I was reading. That is because I was able to make personal connections while I was reading and which led to the idea of making a concrete poem. Then when I was doing the poem, I added the important parts that stood out to me. I was able to review the notes I took and then continue to write the parts of the chapter in my poem. I also thought I could make multiple different poems out of what the chapter talked about. It got me thinking about how I could use poems such as concrete and found poems in lessons such as science and social studies.

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Readerly Exploration #4

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 3/10/19

Chapter 8: Promoting Comprehension: Reader Factors (Tompkins, 2017)

Big Idea: The big idea of this chapter was what comprehension is for students and how teachers are able to encourage and teach strategies for students to achieve comprehension of the text.

Nugget: One idea that stood out to me was the chart on page 271 that showed ways to teach comprehension strategies. I liked how it listed all the strategies that can be taught and then different instructional ways to teach them. One strategy and instruction in particular that was new to me was for visualizing by creating open-minded portraits of characters.

Readerly Exploration: Reflect on the contributions of reading experiences to reader identity in an effort to better articulate who he or she is as a reader. Make a concept map or timeline of your comprehension of this text from when you started reading to when you read the last word.

For this exploration, I decided to make a concept map while I was reading. The main focus of this chapter was about comprehension which made everything on my map revolve around it. While I was making the concept map, I found myself putting a lot of the main ideas down first and leaving space to put more details. After I finished reading, I went back in the book and my notes to see what smaller details stood out to me. This really helped me comprehend the reading more because I was first writing down different point and then I went back and revived my notes and the book to get more information for the map. By doing that, I was able to review the information in multiple different formats such as first reading then taking notes and making a map and then finally going back to review for more details. I was able to better understand the four different types of comprehension. Before reading this chapter, I did not know that there were even different types of comprehension such as literal, inferential, critical, and evaluative. I also liked how the author talked about the differences between skills and strategies. I feel like I can easily blur those two terms together and writing it on my concept map helped me remember there is a difference.

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Readerly Exploration #3

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 2/25/19

Chapter 1: Becoming an Effective Literacy Teacher (Tompkins, 2017)

Big Idea: This chapter cover many different aspects of being a literacy teacher in the primary and intermediate grades. There were nine different principles that were covered throughout the chapter that touched on various functions of literacy such as the cueing system, addressing standards, and balanced approaches in instruction.

Nugget: One nugget that stood out to me was about sociolinguistics specifically the sociocultural theory. It focused on creating a culturally responsive classroom and using the community/culture throughout literacy. I like this because we will have various cultures in our classroom and even if we don’t it is still good to include all different perspectives into the classroom and literacy is a really good way to do that. I also like how that goes hand in hand with critical literacy and instilling the idea that students can be agents for social change.

Readerly Exploration

Explore relationships with other people through reading by using text as a shared experience with another person/other people or to gain insight into the perspective of another person. Choose an excerpt from your assigned course reading and share with a friend in another major to get his or her insight and perspective on it.

For this readerly exploration I talked to my roommate Bella who is a communications major. In the book, the author talked about how to create a classroom culture. I asked my roommate what her classroom culture was like growing up. She said it was very interactive and had two-way communication between her and her mother since she was homeschooled. She was often taught by herself with her mom at the kitchen table doing the work. Some of her instruction would be with her brother during their reading time. As she got older it was more individual and she had to take more responsibility. The next question I asked was “was the content differentiated compared to your siblings?” Since we were all at different levels we didn’t receive the same instruction but she would sometimes reuse the lessons that she previously did with them but just tweaking them depending on the learning style of each of her siblings. For example, her brother has a learning disability and her mom would do things differently with him. This relates to the section where the author talked about differentiating instruction and the three parts (the content, the process, and the product) that can vary for each student.

Media: Bella and me during our discussion.

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Readerly Exploration #2

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 2/18/19

Chapter 2: The Reading and Writing Processes (Tompkins, 2017)

Big Idea: This chapter talked about the key aspects of the reading and writing process. There are many different parts such as prereading and prewriting that go into the completion of the reading and writing process. There also was talk about the different types of reading and writing that can be used during the processes.

Nugget: I like how the author included the chart that compared both the reading and writing processes side by side. I think it is good for students to know how the two can go hand and hand. Both will benefit each other when reading and writing. Finally, I like the quote “the quality of reading experiences seem closely linked to success in writing” (pg.61). This might help motivate students to continue to achieve in both reading and writing.

Chapter 6: Developing Fluent Readers and Writers (Tompkins, 2017)

Big Idea: The main idea of this chapter focused on how students can develop fluency in their reading and writing. It specifically focused on developing the skills of automaticity, speed, prosody, and voice in reading and writing. It also talked about how we can begin to handle students are struggling with their fluency abilities.

Nugget: One part of the chapter that I found particularly helpful was the section on obstacles that students who are struggling with fluency may be facing. Which section presented a struggle and then ways in which the teacher can work on that skill. It is helpful because I can see how I can use these strategies in my current placement.

Readerly Exploration

Reflect on the contributions of reading experiences to reader identity in an effort to better articulate who he or she is as a reader. – Based on your successes and struggles reading this text, write down two or three goals for yourself as a reader for your next reading assignment.

Throughout the reading I found myself getting a little distracted and just trying to the reading done so I could move on to the next assignment. For my readerly exploration, I decided to write down some goals for myself for the next time I do my reading. My first goal was to write down key words and their definitions. In chapter 2, important words such as reading process and what an interactive read-aloud is would have been important to take note of. This goal will help me better understand the chapter in general. Another goal I set was to pay more attention to the charts and figures in the readings. After I finished the reading and when back I read through a few of the charts and they were very helpful in summarizing certain ideas. In chapter 6, the chart about syllabication rules was helpful in understanding the concept in more depth. Another chart in that section was the word-identification strategies. This will be helpful to refer back to in the future. One challenged that I faced while reading both chapters was getting myself to fully engage in the sections that seemed to be repetitive from reading and writing. I found myself wanting to skim but my goal for next time is read more thorough that way I can get all the details about the main idea. 

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Readerly Exploration

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 2/11/19

Chapter 3: Assessing Literacy Development (Tompkins, 2017)

Big Idea: The big take away of this particular reading is that there are multiple ways in which teachers are able to assess and evaluate their student literacy development in the classroom.

Nugget: One particular idea that stood out to me was the portfolio assessment section. I thought it was a good idea to have students create their own portfolio of their work and then be able to add to it throughout the year. The portfolio is beneficial for both the student and their teacher because the students are able to take more responsibility and the teacher can show it to parents at conferences. I also think it would allow for student to be proud of their work and make them more confident.

Chapter 11: Differentiating for Success (Tompkins, 2017)

Big Idea: This chapter focused on what to do for student who are struggling with reading and writing and then how we can differentiate our instruction for those student on both an individual and group level.

Nugget: Something that stood out to me was the chart on page 388, figure 11-4. I thought it was interesting to see the different writing problems and then the steps that can be taken to intervene on the issue. I believe this is helpful because I feel like I don’t know when to determine if the student is actually struggling with the skill or if the student just hasn’t reached the autonomous stage of learning that particular skill. This will help me to become more aware and then take the next steps to addressing the issue.

Readerly Exploration

Read texts deeply in order to interpret, critique, and analyze the various layers of meaning a text might offer a reader. – View the reading through a particular lens (faith, socioeconomic, disability studies, feminist, etc.) to consider the implications of the reading for a specific audience.

I chose to read the two chapter through the lens of socioeconomic status. I was interested in this because through this lens it helped reveal possible inequalities in the systems and that can help us as teachers be more proactive about the differences. In chapter three, the author talked about high-stakes testing. Specifically, it talked about preparing student for standardized test. When I was reading with a socioeconomic lens, I thought of the different ways rural, urban, and suburban school would approach this. The schools with more funding and resources would probably be better able to support the preparation for the students compared to a poorer school. This would cause different inequalities within the system and the results of the exam creating gaps. In chapter eleven, the author talked about interventions and address the student who may be struggling. For schools that may have a higher socioeconomic status, they may be able to provide more materials or even staff who are able to meet the needs of students. In comparison, a poorer school may not have the staff or materials to conduct interventions. Another issue may be that almost all the student in a certain class may be behind their grade level so their teacher would be working just to catch them up to that grade level. Finally, the author talked about high quality of instruction. The quality of instruction may vary from school to school. If a school is in an area with high socioeconomic status the students may have teachers who are more motivated and have a higher quality of teacher training. Where in communities with low socioeconomic status it could be the opposite.

Multimedia Connection

Reading the chapters with a lens of socioeconomic status reminded me of this TED Talk.  I think it was power because if we instill this “grit” into our students they will be better able to get back up and try again when the struggle keeps trying to drag them down academically and emotionally. There could then be an opportunity for the achievement gap to close between the different socioeconomic status among students. We might be getting closer to actually having somewhat equal education for all students.

https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance/discussion#t-118062

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Readerly Exploration #8

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 11/13/18

Why Reading Should Be HOT! (Rasinski, 2012)

Big Idea: The big idea was that fluency is more than just the rate at which students can read. Fluency can create an authentic reading experience for students.

Nugget: One part that particularly stood out to me was the approach with voice and performance. The author says that the students are able to have a more authentic experience if they are able to perform which allows them to repeat their readings. I like how the author brought up about how the students are able to create their own materials that they were going to use to perform. By doing that comprehension becomes more connected to fluency which is one goal.

“She’s My Best Reader; She Just Can’t Comprehend”: Studying the Relationship Between Fluency and Comprehension (Applegate, Applegate, and Modla, 2011)

Big Idea:This was a research study that looked at the idea of reading fluency affecting comprehension. There has been a back and forth about whether high fluent readers perform well in the area of comprehension. Even though students may be considered “strong readers”, those students still may struggle with comprehension.

Nugget: I really thought it was interesting how the teacher automatically placed students based on pace of their reading. I think this is because I have just learned about how there is much more to fluency than just the pace at which the student reads. I also found it interesting how there is multiple varying opinions about the topic.

Readerly Exploration: As you read, annotate any questions that arise for you in the margins.

As I was reading the first article by Rasinski, I found myself agreeing with a lot of the information being described. Although I did have questions throughout the piece. One spot that I had a question dealt with the “voice”. The author talked about how performance and voice could improve fluency. I questioned the definition of voice because I was not sure if the author was talking about the reader’s voice that they hear in their head when they were reading silently or actually reading the way the author intended it to be read. My other questions for that reading is annotated on the sides. I also had questions for the Applegate article. This one was a research article which was helpful to read after reading the Rasinski article. For some reason, I had difficulty reading this article. I was confused on whether or not fluency and comprehension actually go together. After reading the first article, I was for sure convinced that fluency and comprehension go together really well. After reading the second article, I was unsure if those practices are actually used and then evident in students’ achievement. Also Emily (my best friend since 3rdgrade) and I were talking about how we perceived fluency and what we remembered from our elementary days. She talked about how she remembered one kid who got to go with the first graders when she was in kindergarten because he could read really fast.

Multimedia Representation

Emily holding my notes that are annotated after we discussed. 

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Readerly Exploration #7

Lynsey Mayberry 

Due: 11/07/18

Vocabulary Practices in Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Classrooms (Silverman and Crandell, 2011)

Big Idea: This article was a study that revolved around the different practices used to instruct vocabulary for the prekindergarten and kindergarten grades. Specifically, the teachers were observed during read-aloud and non-read-aloud times.

Nugget: One thing that I found interesting while reading the study had to do with the population of the student and teachers involved in the study. There was a total of 244 students and of that 38% were African American, 32% Caucasian, 17% Asian and 14% Hispanic. Recently, I have read other research study and have analyzed them. The participants in those article were not very diversified. Therefore, I found it interesting how this one had a little more diversity within the student participants. I also liked how the author described the five different instructional practiced used.

Work Study Instruction in the K-2 Classroom (Williams, 2009)

Big Idea: The author wrote about the practice of word study and how it can be used in the classroom. There were nine different suggestions given on how to implement word study in schools.

Nugget: One thing that stood out to mewas the frame work mentioned in the writing. The author talked about the how the work was grounded in sociocultural theories. I thought this was interesting because it led to them saying that word study is a certain kind of cultural tool.

Readerly Exploration: As you read, highlight excerpts from the chapter that reflect the author’s purpose.

As I was reading the article (Work Study Instruction in the K-2 Classroom), I highlighted different quotes through the whole piece. The particular page that I selected to look at deeper was the page that laid out the theoretical framework for the particular study of word study. I also mentioned this in my nugget aspect which explains why it stood out to me more. I think this section really opens up the readers to a perspective that word study can be viewed as. By talking about cultural tools, the authors can make a way for word study to be an interest for the readers. It also helps bring in the writing aspect of the word study which I like how the author ended the theoretical framework section. Word study can be integrated into independent reading which is one of the goals that the authors were trying to portray. While reading this section in particular, I learned about what cultural tools were and also about “apprenticeship in thinking” (Williams, 2009). This helped me expand my professional vocabulary that I can use throughout my classes and future. Finally, I also highlighted different aspects in the Silverman and Crandell article. Those highlights helped me figure out the authors goal in what the article was about and what the author wanted to achieve by doing the study.

This is a page from the Williams article that highlighted while I was reading.

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Readerly Exploration #6

Lynsey Mayberry

10/19/18

Talking back and talking over: Young children’s expressive engagement during storybook read-alouds. (Sipe, 2002)

Big Idea: This article was focused around different ways students interact with the lessons in expressive ways and why that is important for their learning process.

Nugget: I really liked how the author questioned how culture would affect and shape student’s responses. Then the author asked if culturally sensitive classroom would participate in this freer way of expressing engagement. I think this is an important thing to think about because our country is becoming even more diverse and we need to be including and respecting everyone.

Readerly Exploration: Reflect on the contributions of reading experiences to reader identity in an effort to better articulate who he or she is as a reader

After reading the article by Sipe, Emma and I took time to discuss different parts of the article that stood out to us. I first talked about how the five different conceptual categories which stood out to me. I mentioned about how I would not have thought of those five categories and connecting them to a deeper level of learning. We also talked about the word “carnivalesque” which was used because we thought it was a funny description and kind of confusing too. After that conversation, we then moved on to the topic of on/off task behavior. I asked the question about if people who observed my teaching and saw my students doing one of the five conceptual categories, would they think I do not have control of the classroom or would they recognize what the students were doing?  One aspect of the article that stood out to Emma was that by allowing students to expressively engage, they were able to make the story their own. Therefore, it was more meaningful for them. Then to finish, we talked about our different reading processes. Emma took notes on what she thought the author thought was important where I took notes on what I personally thought was important. Overall it was good to discuss the reading and hear Emma’s thoughts and opinions.

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Readerly Exploration #5

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 10/17/18

Shared Book Experiences: Teaching Reading Using Favorite Books (Holdaway 1982)

Big Idea: Achievement of high literacy levels can be reached through different processes such as using books that are favorited by individual children.

Nugget: I appreciated that one of the goals for shared book experience revolved around acknowledging the levels of literacy due to the backgrounds in which the students come from the classroom. The goal was to not separate the students due to the lack of previous literacy work. I really like this because I do not like it when students feel left out or incompetent compared to their peers (I don’t think anyone likes when that happens). The second goal also talked about trying to get students to make progress without creating a sense of failure. I am not sure what this would look like in my own classroom. I question how I can create an environment of support and encouragement on a student to student basic while we live in a culture of competition. This may look different depending on the grade of the students.

Readerly Exploration: Make a t-chart that lists “Struggles” you encountered when working to comprehend the assigned course reading(s), as well as the “Successes” you had comprehending the assigned course reading(s).

I honestly had some trouble following this particular article. I don’t know if it was just my own focus or the article itself. I felt that the article jumped around and I had difficulty figuring out the main goal. Although I had some trouble there were also some successes. I was introduction to the meaning of syntactic sophistication which I had not thought about before. I also thought of the book that I have read throughout my education career that I actually enjoyed. Two book that particularly came to my mind was October Skyby Homer Hickam and the other one was Mirror to the Church: Resurrecting Faith after Genocide in Rwanda by Emmanuel M. Katongole. These books were clearly not read during my elementary education years but reminded me of the joy I had for reading even if it was for an assignment or homework. The t-chart shows other struggles and successes.

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Readerly Exploration #4

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 10/14/18

The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading Intro and Ch.1 (Richardson, 2016)

Richardson, J. (2016). The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading.New York, NY:        Scholastic Inc.

Introduction

Big Idea: The introduction basically “introduced” the basics of guided reading and how schools can begin to using it effectively.

Nugget: I really appreciated how the author included a preview of each chapter and also put the chart of the alphabetic reading levels. My teacher was talking about the different letter levels but I was unsure what they meant. Now I have a basic understand from looking at the chart on page eleven.

Chapter One

Big Idea: Chapter one dove more into more of the actual definition of guided reading. It also talked about activities that could be done alongside guided reading to make the small group meetings more efficient.

Nugget: One thing that stood out to me was the idea of poetry notebooks. A student would be paired with another student who is in a higher grade level who applied to be a “reading coach”. Then the pair would meet for a short amount of time and read the lower grade student’s poetry notebook. I like this idea because it allows the students to interact with students who are either older or younger. It also gives a space for growth in different areas for both of the students.

Readerly Exploration:Make a list of three or four questions about literacy classrooms that come up for you as you read.  Then, do some preliminary research on one of them.

Out of my questions, I chose to research “How can I incorporate ELs in guided reading activities in a helpful way?”

I read an article from tesol.org about how oral guided reading was crucial for English Learners. The author talked about how often ELs are forced to read books that do not meet the student’s diverse interest. The context or ideas in the story do not grab the readers interest because of the cultural differences. The author also talked about how the small group meets improved the independence of the ELs. I find this really valuable because it probably also boosts the confidence of the English Learners and encourages them to keep reading.  

Marinaccio-Eckel, P. (2009). The Critical Role of Guided Oral Reading for English Language Learners. Retrieved October 14, 2018, from http://www.tesol.org/read-and-publish/journals/other-serial-publications/compleat-links/compleat-links-volume-6-issue-3-4-(october-2009)/the-critical-role-of-guided-oral-reading-for-english-language-learners

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Readerly Exploration #3

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 10/09/18

Reading with Meaning, Ch. 4: In October, Digging into the Thinking Strategies; Focus on Schema (Miller, 2013)

Big Idea: The main idea of this chapter revolved around children gaining a better understanding what they are reading by connecting different aspects to their personal life or the knowledge they already have. This could be done through think-alouds and creating a conversation around that topic.

Nugget: Miller talks about developing empathy as a reader which is a certain level of understanding. I think this is really important because it helps the reader gain a social/emotional skill while reading and connecting to the characters in a story.

What Are the Rest
of the Students Doing? Literacy Work Stations
in Two First-Grade Classrooms (Worthy, 2015)

Big Idea: This article focused on research done to see how productive literacy work stations were in the classroom which was shown through two different teachers. In the end, the authors really emphasized that teachers should be more involved in work stations because they would be able to better support the students.

Nugget:For Ellen’s work stations, she had the students split up into the different reading groups that they were in. This stood out to me because I was unsure if this was a good idea because I do not want children to feel bad if they knew that they were in the lower reading group. I do not know how I would separate the different people for the groups but this nugget made me start to think about that and what could the best approach be. Is it better academically for students to be with other students on their level for the stations? Would students notice if they were on a certain level even if they were put together?

Readerly Exploration: Before you read, skim the assigned course reading(s) for unfamiliar terms. Then, take the time to look up the definitions of those terms.

When I first started to skim the two text, I was unsure that I would find many words that I did not know. Once I started to read, I found more words that I did not know the meaning of. I was able to use the definition and context clues to figure out the meaning of the sentence all together. When I looked up the tried and true texts, I found out that it is a common phrase that can be used for many different ideas. I got most of my definitions from dictionary.com. 

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Simulation Journal #2

Lynsey Mayberry

Part I. Within our simulation, your first deadline for your Unit Plan pilot project is fast approaching and you will have to submit Part I to Mrs. Fletcher this week. In your In-Service trainings, she’s been walking you through Messiah School District’s approach to instructional design using the Systems Model and has also begun to explain the district’s instructional plan template bit by bit. However, she hasn’t had time to answer all of your questions and seems to expect that you will complete parts of the Unit Plan before you’ve had a chance to really gain your confidence with the process. Not only that, but she’s asking you to do things for which she never intends to provide professional development for you at all, such as how to design a strong scope and sequence for a thematic unit of study. Describe how you have felt “giving it a go” when you know there are very real expectations (deadline from your fictional principal and grades from your real professor) and share some things you’ve learned about yourself as a professional as you’ve undertaken this task. 

When being told to just “give it a go”, I became slightly overwhelmed and a little nervous that I might fail. I thought to myself, “I’m not going to be able to complete this” which then led me to the thought of getting a bad grade. In class, I look around the room and I feel that everyone is grasping the tasks much better than I am. I question my ability to teach a classroom of kids successfully. I faced this constant question of “am I doing this right?’ I am then reminded of something my mentor teacher says to her students when they say they cannot do something. When the students get frustrated and want to give up, she reminds them that they may not be able todo the certain task YET. I find this encouraging because we are all in the process of learning. We may not be able to make a perfect unit plan YET because we are learning how to accomplish that particular goal. We have to trust the process. This phrase was stressed so much during my time abroad in Uganda. We were often thrown into situations where we did not know how to react or had questions on questions with no firm answer. In those moments we just had to trust the process. Throughout this time of “giving it a go”, I learned that I have the ability to be flexible even in my academic work and I have to believe in the knowledge that I already have. I also learned that it is okay not to have everything mastered yet. This helped me professionally because I do not know what I may encounter in my future job but I do know that I can be flexible. I know that everything is not going to be perfect and that is okay.

Part II. How does reflecting on our simulation in this way help you think about our course driving question differently? (Driving Question: How can teachers create effective instruction that is good for children and maintains the integrity of their philosophy within the constraints of administrative and other external mandates?)

I think it is good to reflect on different challenges we face especially during a busy season where we may believe that we do not have time to just stop and think about ourselves. For example, I really appreciate how we just stop in the middle of instructional design to recognize that we may feel like we are drowning but we will make it through. This happened in three of my classes this week and even though it seemed to be negative, in the end there was encouragement that came out of it all. Back to the driving question, I have observed three of my teachers stop class and ask how we are doing. That can be a model for me when approaching my teaching philosophy. I want to make sure my student know that I am not just trying to teach them information and then moving them on to the next grade. I want them to know that I am here for them and will do what they need to succeed whether that is their intellectual or emotional needs. Even when the district pushes for higher test scores, taking time to check in with students in a practice that I find really valuable. I do not know what that looks like YET but I will figure it out. Finally, I think even reflecting with these simulation journals is preparing me to create effective instructional plans. I am recognizing the difficulty but then sending myself out there to learn even more.

This is a little example of what the students in my class have on their desk. In the beginning of the year, they got to color and design their own encouraging bubble. The teacher also has a board where they wrote different things they can't do YET. The students wrote down some things they can't do yet. 

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Readerly Exploration #2

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: 10/05/18

Debbie Miller, Ch.2 “In September, Part One” (Miller, 2013)

Big Idea: Throughout this chapter, Debbie Miller talks about the importance of setting up the classroom routines and getting to know her students in the beginning of the school year. This include creating a relaxed environment and finding books that are suited for each student’s interest.

Nugget: I really liked how Miller gave the opportunity for parents to write about their children’s interest. I appreciate how she recognized the that there is a pressure to get started on academics but she slows down and takes time to get to know her students. This builds that relationship and in turn creates a more relaxed and comfortable classroom environment.

Debbie Miller, Ch.3 “In September, Part Two” (Miller, 2013)

Big Idea: In this chapter, Miller focuses on the students having more responsibility in their learning process. They could do this by choosing their own books which is modeled by the teacher.

Nugget: One nugget that stood out to me was when Debbie talked about wanting children to realize what they can do today but couldn’t do yesterday. She says about how it allows them to see their own progress and recognize that their work has paid off.

Readerly Exploration: Take yourself on a field trip to a place on campus that connects with the big ideas of your assigned readings.

I took a field trip to children’s books in the Murray Library! This part of campus reminded me of the reading because of what Debbie Miller wrote in the beginning of chapter three. She talked about creating mini-lessons around different book selections. Miller also talked about making sure students have an opportunity to have choices about what they read and where they read. This then leads to children being more engaged because they would have picked a book that they are personally interested in. Now to connect it back to why I chose to visit the library. I think it is important for students to have a variety of books to choose from in the classroom. There are many book out there so there are many options to have in the library. I looked at a few of the book and also tried to find some books that brought in diversity and other themes. 

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Readerly Exploration #1

Lynsey Mayberry

9/26/18

“Why Children Need Play” (Leong and Bodrova, 2018)

Big Idea: Children should have opportunities to participate in pretend play or dramatic play in classroom because it is proven to help build social and cognitive skills.

Nugget: One thing that was interesting to me was how the author said about children not having as many opportunities to play because of electronics such as TVs and iPads. While babysitting, I have observed that the child always wants to watch TV instead of playing with toys. If children are exposed more to electronics than types of play, their social skills may develop in negative ways.

“Enriching and Assessing Young Children’s Storytelling” (Wessel-Powell, Kargin & Wohlwend, 2016)

Big Idea: By incorporating storytelling into a literacy classroom, students and teachers are able to teach and learn in more creative ways.

Nugget:The author mentioned about giving students time to work on their own project revolving around storytelling. I think this would be a good idea because students are able to use their imagination and work together to create an end product.

“Building Language and Literacy Through Play” (Scholastic, 2018)

Big Idea:The use of props, scenarios, and types of dramatic play can help develop language skills and promote literacy throughout the classroom.

Nugget:I like the ideas that the author suggested such as field trips and guest speakers. This opens the doors because children are able to have that aspect of play while learning as well.

Readerly Exploration: Explore Relationships with other people through reading by using texts as a shared experience with another person/other people or to gain insight into the perspective to another person.

For this exploration, I asked my two friends who are in different majors what they thought about the role of play in early education and beyond. This question and conversation is based off the article by Leong and Bodrova. My friend, Janelle (sociology/anthropology) talked about what she had learned from her one professor at Messiah College. She talked about how he mentioned how play is good not only for children but adults too. It lowers the pressure to always be doing something productive. Although there should be an atmosphere of play established at a young age to have that foundation. My other friend, Claire (ministry major), suggest that puzzles are a good way to incorporate play and mind stimulation at the same time. This could be used in a classroom setting in many different ways. I like hearing their ideas because it helped me understand the role of play in a new way.

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Simulation Journal #1

Instructional Design: Simulation Journal 1

Lynsey Mayberry

Due: Friday, September 14th2018

Part I

Now that you’ve made it through your New Teacher Orientation in our simulation, talk about an instance in which what is expected of you in this district might be at odds with your teaching philosophy and/or an instance in which what the district says they believe might be at odds with how things are actually run.

There was not much during the orientation that I thought went against my teaching philosophy. That made me think deeper about what my teaching philosophy actually is. Even though I am starting my first year of teaching (according to the simulation), I have found myself unsure of what I believe about my own teaching viewpoint. I think one of my goals for this semester is to start developing my own teaching philosophy and the more I learn, I am sure it will change but finding a base is important. During orientation, I also struggled with being confident in my ability to create an instructional plan that agreed with the academic standards that (from what I am understanding right now) basically lead teachers to teach to the PSSA. I think as I practice making plans, it will become more clear but for now I am slightly confused at how that will play out. When making instructional plans around the standards, I find it challenging to create ways to make the instruction more diverse especially since we are supposed to start with the standards as Principle Fletcher stressed.  

Part II.

How does reflecting on our simulation in this way help you think about our course driving question differently? (Driving Question: How can teachers create effective instruction that is good for children and maintains the integrity of their philosophy within the constraints of administrative and other external mandates?)

Reflecting on the simulation really helped me think more about my teaching philosophy. It also is showing me how important it is to know the steps to instructional planning. When we were told about the pilot program, I realized how crucial instructional planning is. Since we are setting up a completely new curriculum, organization and planning is going to be key. This will personally help me grow more, especially in developing my skills in the first domain of Danielson’s framework. Overall, I still think there will be even more challenges that will happen and test what I believe in my teaching philosophy that will cross with instructional planning.

Media 

I chose these two pictures as my media part for two reasons. When I first was thinking about making an instructional plan, I was a little scared. I did not want to mess it up the process and then have the plan be wrong. That then lead to me thinking that I need to be confident in my skills and my professor’s teachings. I also had to recognize that I am still learning so not everything is going to be perfect.