WEDNESDAY+GROUP+6


 * __ Katelyn Barnwell, Kimberly Yocham, Mary Beth Hale, Rebecca Myers __** **__ LEARNING LOG 1 __**

__At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.__ I think I have Katelyn's part in my e-mail, Right? Yes. T hank you for the complete log. I appreciate it.

Why are content area reading strategies (CARS) important for all students at all levels? Rebecca - All students at all levels need to be challenged in all areas of learning styles, not just pencil to paper. The CARS strategies implement those styles into their learning. Along the way students remember what they are reading, learn to apply what they are reading, and use their understanding of reading concepts in other areas of learning. MaryBeth - CARS is so important because it helps students learn and remember what they have read. It give different options to the material instead of everyone doing the same old boring thing. Once a teacher gets to know his/her students, they are able to give different vocab assignments to different students that would use their learning style. Once students learn how they learn best then are then able to apply their knowledge of their learning style to other subjects. Kimberly- Having multiple students in a classroom setting that are on completely different learning levels can be challenging. Being able to accommodate ALL students and utilizing the practice that all students can learn, reiterates what CARS is helping students achieve. Just reading the material and not being able to absorb the point of the reading is a loss of valuable knowledge. I would agree with Rebecca in that students at all levels need to continue to be challenged with new and innovative learning approaches. Swanson: CARS gives the structure and direction at all parts of a lesson so students can learn. It helps the teacher and the students concentrate on the content to be learned. CARS also meets all learning styles and helps students be motivated and engaged. What more do you want?  **WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?** Rebecca - The difference in perspective created by diverse materials is important for the learner. Students retain information when they have a personal connection with material. The book //Behind Enemy Lines// is a great resource for this. It enables students to see the war as more than just a story or a lesson in a text book. Students are able to make an emotional connection with the soldier in the book. The use of vivid language also allows students to "see" what the soldier was experiencing. Providing different resources for a subject lesson is great for all students. Teachers provide different experiences through different resources. //The Wall// was a great picture book, in that it allows students to see, feel, & sympathize with the story. Students that have been to the memorial would also have a personal connection to the story. MaryBeth - I love the way the perspective of the story changes how you view the world. Being able to step in someone elses shoes creates feelings of passon, love, hate, fear, empathy, friendship, and the list keeps on growing. Textbooks seem to relay facts, but stories bring the facts to life. When a student can feel and relate to a story they are more likely to remember it and it is more likely to change their lives. If I learn something I want it to change me not bore me. //The Wall// for example really envokes feelings of sorrow and pride. Being able to give my students stories they can relate to and feel emotion through is part of being a teacher. Its another perspective they can learn and grow from. Kimberly- I am generally a pleasure reader. If I am not interested in the material that I am reading, I will proceed through the motions of reading without retaining the information. I believe that is a main problem with students making a connection with reading. They are not interested in most of what is being assigned. Of course, we have to learn about the war and current affairs, but why not bring in an actual soldier or veteran into the classroom and have the students make an actual connection to what they are learning about. The phrase, "there are always two sides to a story" is a perfect example to the picture book Dr. Swanson read to the class. This allowed us as the readers to make a connection to history that evoked emotion that a general textbook generally cannot. QUESTION-Having taught for many years, what has been the best approach for improving students reading abilities?

Katelyn - The text sets make understanding the topic mush easier. It gives us a personal view of the topic, draws us in and gets us more interested in what we are learning about, and gives us more of a visual rather then the same boring things from the text book. It also gives us different points of view – the point of view from a child and also from a young adult.

Swanson: My students loved the text sets more than the textbook. They always wanted to browse, read, study the information before they had to read it in the text. Also for some of them, I would give them a comic book on the topic to read prior to opening the textbook. I always wanted to set the students up for success with background knowledge so that the information in the text would stick in their brain;

LEARNING LOG 2

T hank you for the complete log. I appreciate it.

__At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.__

Rebecca - 1. knowing the standards for your content area and grade level 2. Making instructional decisions based on authentic assessments throughout the school year about students' abilities to use reading and writing to learn 3. Intergrating content literacy practices and strategies into instructional plans and units of study. Kimberly- on page 4 in chapter one, "Literacy matters" it states that knowledge in a standards-based curriculum means at the very least: a) knowing the standards for your content area and grade level. b) Making instructional decisions based on authentic assessments through the school year about students abilities to use reading and writing to learn. c) Integrating content literacy practices and strategies into instructional plans and units of study. MaryBeth - a) know the standard for your content area and grade level. b) Make instructional decisions based on authentic assessments throughout the school year about students abilities to use reading and writing to learn. c) Integrating content literacy practices and strategies into instructional plans and units of study.
 * 1) ** (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom? **

Katelyn - I received the e-mail......
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** CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

2. Why is reading to learn a strategic, meaning-making process? Rebecca - reading to learn is a strategic, meaning-making process because language has to be understood to learn. The author used the poem "Jabberwocky" to make their point. Language without meaning or understanding is nonsense. You can't merely read words without having a knowledge base of those words. Once you have built a vocabulary or have the ability to build on a language base, only then can you understand or learn to make sense of the information. Swanson: Super example.

3. Demonstrate the importance of prior learning (schema) has in making reading as a meaning-making process. Katelyn- The book explains that schema activation is the way people access what they know and match it to the information that they read. This results on them building on what they already know. Schemata have been called "the building blocks of cognition" because without the prior knowledge, new information has nothing to be added on to. Schemata provides a framework, organization for the new and old material. and helps the person elaborate and make connections. 4. Evaluate your skills to the chart on page 21. How good of a reader are you? Rebecca - My reading skills are good. The chart pointed out things that I do automatically as I read. I find it interesting to have a verbal description of the actions I perform when reading. It is also interesting to see how instantaneous these habits become after so many years. Kimberly- I will be the first to admit that my reading habits are not the best. In general, for reading a homework assignment I will simply read the material without absorbing most of what I have read. Out of the seven characteristics of being a good reader, I feel that I identify most with being persistent. Swanson: I hope that this will show you that there are steps to reading prior to actually reading the text. I hope that you will incorporate the strategies which we are learning in this class to make yourself a better reader. MaryBeth - I was very frustrated by the time I got to these questions. I have already read four chapters in three other text books, so to read this one was very much over welming. I was very angry after i finished my assessment because I have always thought I was a good reader, but after I cooled down I realized I am a good reader when it comes to books i have chosen and I enjoy. I am a very bad reader when it comes to textbooks. I compile a list of other things I need to do and my grocery list while reading. I recall other entertaining events that have already happened. I don't ever go beyone reading and answering questions I have been asked to answer. I feel very behind in this class already. I didn't know what content literature was until I read this chapter and I don't know how to access and assess what I already know about an given topic. I am bad a all or the things on the list I had to look over. I hope to my over all comprehension. Swanson: You will learn much about how to read better yourself when you practice these strategies. As you practice, you find a strategy that you love at each of the four parts of the lesson and then you will choose to use that to help with the comprehension. Reading a textbook is something that must be taught and most teachers have not shared with their students the steps to effectively learn the materials. Each content area has a little trick to learn...math is vocabulary primarily with a visual component so picture dictionary is perfect for math. History is visual so it should be a movie camera as the action takes place on the page, the action in the brain awakens and a movie happens. Science is problem solving. When teachers share with their students the approach to reading then the students will learn. Katelyn- According to the chart, I am not a good reader. I mostly read for pleasure and when doing so, I follow some of the chart's strategies such as making predictions and reading selectively but I do not follow most of the rest. When reading something that is not engaging and enjoyable to me, I follow none of the strategies. Swanson: Then the question is, how can you make things that are not interesting engaging to you. The first step is to activate prior knowledge and think about what you know and what you have to know to be successful. You might have to google some video or read another text set to help you. Then you have to select the important vocabulary that you must know and select a strategy to learn the key words. Then you have to decide how to actively engage your brain with reading...asking questions or summarizing as you go along is good. Lastly you have to share the information orally or in written form. Reading is active and making strategic choices along the way. I hope that through the strategies we are learning in this class, you will be able to improve your reading. I know that everyone can improve their reading and writing and should be told to the students that the teacher is learning as well.

**// 5. Authentic question: Interview a content area teacher on effective teaching strategies that he or she uses to engage students in learning. //** Kimberly- During my pre-1 internship last semester I noted a specific strategy of my mentor teacher. While the students were given a reading selection, she would have them cross out the names on the paper and replace them with a familiar name. I asked her about this and she told me that it was easier for the students to read and identify with the material if they where personally connected to it. I found this an interesting approach. For example, my daughter’s favorite book (for the moment) is now "Purplicious". When I read to her, I use her name, Ava.

"What are painting?" asked Kendra.

"A picture of a sunset," I said.

"Eww, its soooooo ugly. Ava, why does everything you paint have to have pink in it?" asked Tara.

QUESTION: would this approach be considered appropriet? Swanson: You are right that personal engagement is one way to do this. This is why my student tutors write a personal story for Christmas with the main character being the student and their interests and ideas are featured in the story. The more questions the students personally ask about the story, the more engaged they are there.

MaryBeth - one of the guys I work with at Olive Garden is also a teacher. I asked him this question and here is his response. "I teach them something new every day. I communicate differently when I teach individually than when I teach the whole group. I keep them engaged by changeing how I teach about every 10 minutes. I change the direction of teaching because students have about a 10 minute window of concentration. So even if I am teaching the same thing all class period I have more than one method of teaching it." Johathon Berry Swanson: Your Johnthon is very wise. I like the way that he personalizes the discussion.

LEARNING LOG 3 __At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.__

Rebecca - Rebecca - 1. knowing the standards for your content area and grade level 2. Making instructional decisions based on authentic assessments throughout the school year about students' abilities to use reading and writing to learn 3. Intergrating content literacy practices and strategies into instructional plans and units of study. Kimberly-appropriet content grade material, appropriet assessments, integrating content leteracey strategies into lessons.
 * 1) ** (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom? **

** CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

2. Why is learning with new literacies essential for implementation into the curriculum? Rebecca - Learning with new literacy’s is important for the curriculum because it takes the students beyond regurgitating right answers. The idea is to get students to achieve a higher level of learning, by using inquiry and student choice. Kimberly-The learning process is about progression not recession. Having the understanding that as society changes, so do the students in our classrooms. If we as educators are developing future lawyers, doctors, and politicians, don’t we want them to have the most advanced knowledge? Learning with new literacy’s is about being involved with our students and keeping them engaged in the material, utilizing modern literacy tools that the students can identify with.

3. What are the similarities between the new literacies and the traditional print? What are the differences? What is the same? Use a Venn diagram.

4. Why are the new literacies not integrated into the most classrooms? Rebecca - New literacy’s are not integrated into the classrooms because educators are either not literate themselves or they aren’t sure how to integrate them into the curriculum. Kimberly- In general the teachers themselves are unsure of how to use modern technology, so that becomes a burden for them. Stepping outside of the box into an unfamiliar classroom setting requires challenges against the ordinary. It takes an extraordinary teacher to accept the challenges of developing and maintaining a "new age" classroom for the students.

QUESTION-KIMBERLY-During our final internship would it be appropriet to integrate other literacies into our classroom?

**// 5. Authentic question: //** **// Interview a middle-school or high school student about the use of electronic texts. What types of skills and strategies do students need to possess in order to use electronic resources effectively. //** Rebecca - Students need to be computer & web literate. It is important for students to know the effectiveness of what technology has to offer. They also need to know good sources from bad sources. Social networking is huge but there are other ways to communicate online. Students should know that to be considered literate. Nowadays being relevant in our society is linked with technology, its uses, its advances, and your understanding of them all.

LEARNING LOG 4 Thank you MaryBeth for finishing this. The log is complete.

__At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.__

Kimberly-- (1)Teaching for cultural understanding, which utilizes four distinct instructional approaches.
 * 1) **  (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?  **

a) The contributions approach, which teachers usually emphasize culturally specific celebrations and holidays within the curriculum.

b) The additive approach, which uses thematic unit of study.

c) The transformative approach, which emphasizes critical analysis and interpretation.

d) The decision-making/ social action approach, which provides students the opportunities to engage in activities and projects related to cultural concepts and issues.

(2) Ways of knowing in a culturally responsive classroom.

a) This is intertwined with ways of interacting and learning. Rather than emphasizing individual competition, some cultural groups prize group interaction, helping one another and collaborative activity.

(3) Funds of knowledge a) This uses the understanding that much is to be gained from understand the “social networks” of the households in a cultural group. The students bring their funds of knowledge into the classroom; it just needs to be acknowledged.

Katelyn- 1. The contributions approach – teachers typically emphasize culturally specific celebrations and holidays within the curriculum. This reflects the surface level of a culture but does not make provisions for in-depth study of its deeper elements. 2. The additive approach – underscores the teaching of various themes related to multicultural concepts and issues. These concepts and issues are integrated into the curriculum through the development of a thematic unit of study, but on the whole the curriculum remains relatively the same throughout the year. 3. The transformative approach – (combined with the decision-making/social approach) lends itself well to content literacy strategies that emphasize critical analysis and interpretation. The extension of this approach involves project learning. 4. The decision-making/social approach – provides learners with opportunities to engage in activities in projects and activities related to cultural concepts and issues, particularly those issues and problems dealing with social action. Rebecca - 1. Contributions Approach – teachers typically emphasize culturally specific celebrations and holidays within their classroom 2. 2. Additive Approach – underscores the teaching of various themes related to multi-cultural concepts and issues 3. 3. Transformative Approach – Allowing students ongoing opportunities to read about concepts and events make judgments about them, and critically think and generate their own conclusions and opinions 4. 4. Decesion-maiking/social action approach – provides learners with opportunities to engage in activities and projects related to cultural concepts and issues, particularly those issues and problems dealing with social action. MARYBETH - Culturally responsive teaching, Transformative Approach, Desicion making/social action approach  I personally think that while the contributive approach and the additive approack is nich to have to add culturally responsive teaching, the transformative and decision making approach was so much better. ** CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

2. What is culturally responsive instruction look like to in the content area classrooms. Kimberly—Understanding that all students bring an individual knowledge bank into the classroom. For those students who come from a diverse cultural background, they will bring a unique knowledge bank of differences in learning, different styles of questions, and interactions at school. Different cultures may emphasize and value various cognitive activities and styles of questioning.

Katelyn - Understanding that each students provides a unique contribution of each culture into the classroom. A teacher that uses multicultural literature in the classroom with texts that are not only engaging but also recognize these contributions of each culture and the similarities of the human experience across cultures is one example of a way a teacher can use culturally responsive instruction in her classroom .

REBECCA -Being sensitive to the different conceptions of education in different cultures and knowing how to engage those students based on those conceptions.

 MARYBETH - making connections with each students backgrounds, interests, origins to help teach standards and to help make connections to the curriculum. being able to draw on prior knowledge and experience is important. literacy development using multi cultural books helps students relate to others not like themselves and also helps students relate to others like themselves culturally, re 3. Support sheltered instruction for English-language learners to make content more accessible to them while providing additive language support REBECCA - Mainstreamed, core curriculum classrooms made up of native speaking and nonnative speakers who are at an intermediate level of language proficiency In ESL, classrooms made up of nonnative speakers who are at similar levels of language proficiency



4. Authentic question: **// Interview a teacher about the strategies he or she uses to met the needs of students with cultural or linguistic differences within the classroom. //**

Kimberly—I asked my sons preschool teacher about the different accommodations that the center provided regarding cultural and linguistic differences. To my surprise there were not many. The center did provide accommodations for handicap children and had resources for speech therapy. There had not been any children enrolled that had needed special accommodations so there were not any services. I also asked about any multicultural or diversity emphasized books and there were not any on site. The director did acknowledge how odd this was and said there should be books to at least introduce these areas. In addition, when I went to the library in my hometown, the list of books was unavailable and when I asked the librarian about having a section that emphasized multicultural or diversity she said this was a small community so it was very limited.

Swanson: I am surprised that they are not adapting more at this level.

Katelyn - I asked my daughter's teacher (a Toddler 1 teacher at a child development center) about the strategies she uses to meet the needs of children with cultural differences in her classroom. She explained to me that there were many different cultures in her classroom but that the things she did for one child, she did for all of the children. One of the children speaks mostly Spanish at home, so Ms. Kathi uses the English word and Spanish word when teaching the children new words and when saying words the children already know. Ms. Kathi also has a variety of pictures, books, posters, etc in her classroom that show diversity and can teach the children about the different cultures, races, religions, etc Marybeth - being in the classroom of my son's kindergarden teacher, I asked her and she showed me the many ways she incorporates linguistic and cultural differences of her students. she has multiple languages of comon things hanging up in her room. she has teacher in tn her area make sure the parents that speak spanish can ask and recieve answers in their native language and feel comfortable doing it. She also has multiple books for many cultural differences and has books in english and spanish. she teachers words in spanish and in english like counting and colors and haying hi or good by. they aren't shown different treatment for language or cultureal differences. .

Swanson: Ms. Kathi is doing many things. I am glad.

LEARNING LOG 5

__At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.__

Kimberly- Portfolio assessments, which involve the students reflecting on their work and making assessments of their own by critiquing and utilizing their own work. It is important to have the students be involved in the process of finalizing the portfolio, because it is their work that will be displayed for their parents to observe.
 * 1) **  (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?  **

Checklist and interviews, these are informal assessment techniques. The questions, concerns, and praises are done prior to the assessment of the student and completed during and after the meetings to set a guideline for progress.

Rubric for self-evaluation, this is a great way to self-assess the way a teacher is structuring her classroom teaching methods. This can help set goals for the teacher and find out what methods are working and what methods need to be improved or withdrawn.

Katelyn- 1. Portfolios are described as "one of the most exciting and energizing developments in assessment" and are composed of purposeful collections that examine achievement, effort, improvement, and most important processed such as selecting, comparing, sharing, self-evaluation, and goal setting. Portfolios are a great tool that can be used with any subject or grade level and monitor self growth beautifully. 2. Checklists and interviews are described as different from natural, open-ended observation and consist of categories and questions that have already been determined. The selectivity that a checklist offers is a strength as well as a weakness as an observational tool. Checklists and interviews are both considered part of the portfolio assessment. 3. Rubrics and self-assessments are an important tool for student success. Students need to be involved with their own assessments and teachers should be encouraged to nvolve the students in the practice of participating in setting goals for themselves.  MARYBETH - Portfolio assessment - provides and organizes information, involves studnets, helps assessing planning of approprate instruction to floolw, showcase work of student, intregrates assessment into daily instruction and expands the quality and quantity of work. Checklist and interviews - checklist reveals categories if information that are predetermined by teacher. helps with specific and direct observation. the teachers and students colloberate using these assessments. Rubrics and Self-Assessment - makes studnets become part of their own assessment. it gives students ownership and involvment in their work and grade. ** CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

2. How does a formal, high stakes approach differ from an informal authentic approach? What are the plusses, minuses and interesting facts of each kind of testing?

Kimberly-Authentic assessment is where there teacher is the major tool, and the high-stakes approach to assessment the test is the major tool. While some school districts and teachers “teach to the test”, focusing strictly on the test, they are leaving out valuable time toward other materials that are vital to a student’s education. Using authentic assessment the teacher is able to assess during the day, whether it be observing or interacting while a student reads aloud to assess the reading progress. Although I am not a fan of high-stakes testing and prefer authentic assessment, I can see that both mean well in trying to ensure that the students are given the non-discriminatory opportunity to succeed.

Katelyn - A formal high stakes approach is usually representing the perspective of a policy maker where the test is the tool and an informal authentic approach is usually the perspective of the teacher where the teacher is the tool. The teachers want to ensure that the students are learning while the policy makers want to ensure that students are leaving school well prepared.  MARYBETH - Authentic assessment or informal assessment is teacher based. this approach is major n the development and progress of the students day to day. the teacher could alter assessment though to guarantee success of the students this could be an issue and a minus. Formal assessment is created by professionals and given on a massive scale. everyone is given the same test and then ranked nationally. it doesn't care if your sick that day. its assessment is a one time bases. that is its minus. 3. What is your opinion of assessment? What can you do to make sure that you are assessing what you want to assess? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ASSESS? Kimberly-I know that assessment has to be done to ensure that progress is being made, and the students are being set up for success not failure. I will implement multiple strategies that will monitor on a daily basis what the students have done, and what progress is being made. Two particular strategies from chapter four are the behavior frequency observation charts and the portfolio assessment activity. Both of these assessment strategies are great ways to involve the students in their progress and to closely monitor the students progress. I want to assess everything! The littlest things that a student completes or takes part in, I believe are just as important as the state test that they are assessed by. Swanson: I agree with you that teachers need to measure the little things (the things that might not be on the tests) as well as the things they know. Too often we look to the negative when we should look to the positive and state what the child knows now, what the child is learning, and what the child can do (not necessarily measured on the test). When we have children that are behind when we get them and we have to always test at levels of frustration, then we are not measuring what has been learned. Katelyn - I know that assessment is an important tool in monitoring student growth and success but I do not feel that the assessments used are always the most beneficial. Students need to be given many different types and varieties of assessment for it to be accurate. It is important to focus on exactly what you want to assess and make sure that you are not being distracted and drawn towards other things. One of the most important things that I feel need to be assessed in students is self growth. I also think that another incredibly important thing to assess is whether students grasp and understand the curriculum we are teaching them. Swanson: I love the ideas of self growth...that is the philosophy of portfolio....seeing the growth over the year. I think that students are really really sharp and they know what they know, what they don't know. (I just interview lots of middle level students for tutoring.). They can state what they want to learn. We should listen to them more.  MARYBETH - Informal assessment I like. Especially if the student is involved. i don't like formal assessment when teachers are held accontable for studnets grades especially if they are being compared to last years students and not against students progress through out the year. i think formal assessment is required to keep the schools on level. I want to be assessing the progress of my students. i want to see that that they are learning and comprehending the material and not just floating through the class 

//4. Authentic Question:// //Interview a classroom teacher on how the current educational policy decisions and/or high-stakes testing requirements have impacted his or her teaching practices.//

**WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?** i would use a method of accessing prior knowledge by having students compare their life with the lives of the specific topic. this one being comparing life of the pilgrim as different and similar of theirs. i think by accessing is knowledge they might start understanding and snjowing the lives of others of the past.

Kimberly-As with all learning material, there should be an alternative resource other than the primary textbook that the lesson is being taught from. This can help the students compare and contrast the materials such as the pilgrims in the text set and the similarities from the periods.

** LEARNING LOG 6 ** __At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.__

Kimberly-1) B-D-A instructional framework. This is what the teacher does before reading, during reading, and after reading. 2) Lesson Plan Formats. Standards (benchmarks), instructional goals, essential questions, instructional strategies and activities, insturctional materials and resources, new literacies, assessment. 3) Planning collaborative interactions
 * 1) **  (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?  **

Katelyn -

1. Lesson plan formats- these are aligned with standards but also include instructional goals, objectives, essential questions, assessment, instructional strategies and activities, instructional materials and resources, and technology 2. B-D-A instructional framework- this is crucial to active and purposeful reading; these help teachers incorporate instructional strategies into lessons involving content literacy and learning 3. Planning collaborative interactions- this allows students to pursue academic goals through collaboration in classroom instructional activities, develops self esteem in the process of learning, encourages the development of positive group relationships, and enhances academic achievement

Rebecca - 1. Planning lessons - BDA instructional framework; BDA - is what a teacher uses for Before, during, and after reading activities. Explicit Strategy instruction is when texts serve as tools for learning in content area classrooms. 2. Planning Units of a study - usually revolves around all of the students. However, lesson plan formats vary from district to district, here are a few of the standard lesson plan formats: Standards, Instructional goals, Essential questions, Instructional strategies & activities, Instructional materials and resources, new literacies, & assessment. 3. Planning Collaborative Interactions - cooperative learning allows groups of students to pursue academic goals through collaboration in classroom instructional activities. Including but not limited to: jigsaw groups, student teams achievement divisions, learning circles, group investigation, & group retellings.  MARYBETH  - planning

lessons  (BDA), this inculdes the before during and after reading strtegies. planning units of study, this needs to inculde all students and help students reach common goals of learning even if the way to the common goal is different in that each student learns different. collaborative interactions, by using

cooperative learning, planning discussions that involve small groups and whole group.

** CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

2. What is involved in designing a text lesson based on a B-D-A instructional framework? Rebecca - B-D-A instructional framework - The teacher uses this strategy by doing preplanned activities Before, During, and After reading. Before reading students will be introduced to the text, During reading students will be given a task that correllates with the text, and after reading there is an activity that ties it all together. All three steps allow students to use different processes. Pre-reading, reading, comprehension, discussion, etc... Kimberly- B-D-A instructional framework. This is what the teacher does before reading, during reading, and after reading This may take up several class sessions. Before reading, there needs to be an established purpose, activate background, sustain motivation, and provide direction. During reading, guiding an active search for meaning. After reading, to exted and eleborate ideas from the text.

Katelyn - B-D-A instructional framework is what the reacher does before reading, during reading, and after reading. It is crucial to active and purposeful reading. How teachers adapt the B-D-A instructional framework depends on the students, the text, and the activities. The students need varying levels of guidance to support constructive learning.  MB - B-D-A is crucial to active and purposeful reading. the istructional framework can help teachers incorporate instruction strategies and activities into lessons involving content literacy and learning. 3. How can teachers modify lesson plans to be more student centered inquiry based to connect literacy learning? MB - ask students what they want to learn and find something they want to know from that specific tpic if the topic is nt that fun to learn about. it gets them to engage becuase they have created a question and personal connection to the specific topic of the lesson and seek out the answer to their question.

4. How can content area teachers plan and design instruction for all students to actively engage and motivate participation for literacy-related activities? Kimberly- Teachers can assign roles and division of labor in reading groups. The roles are leader, reader, writer-recorder, checker, and encourager.

MB - i think that students should have some imput on what they are learning. if they feel they are part of the choice they are more likely to engage in acivities and be more willing to pay attention and read and get information out of the lessons 5. Research states Bloom's Taxonomy or another questioning taxonomy benefits comprehension greatly. Why do you think this is so? Katelyn- I think Bloom's Taxonomy is so beneficial because it shows you the different levels of comprehension, gives you examples of how to make questions to to build comprehension on each of the levels, and shows you how they compare to each other.


 * 1) **//Knowledge//**: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state.
 * 2) **//Comprehension//**: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate,
 * 3) **//Application//**: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
 * 4) **//Analysis//**: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.
 * 5) **//Synthesis//**: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.
 * 6) **//Evaluation//**: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate.

Rebecca - Bloom's taxonomy benefits comprehension greatly because it makes you engage your brain beyond a yes or no answer. It takes you to a place that involves critical thinking. That is why we should use who, what, when, where, and why questions when discussing topics with our students.

6.. Authentic question

// Visit a classroom and note the details about the discourse which is taking place in a discussion format. //

**WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?** Rebecca - The text set helped give information on the topic by using different sources to help students of today relate to pioneers. The ABC book was a great illustration of that. Students will remember what they can relate to. Seeing the way pioneers lived and how they interacted with each other in a family setting is important. The text set helped accomplish that goal. Kimberly- This is another great example of using another source other than the textbook to help bring connections between the students in our classroom and the students of the past (pioneers), and the transitions that changed history and the developments we have today. Another way to incorporate a lesson about the history of pioneers would be to create a similation for the class to be envolved in.

MB - i would use a method of accessing prior knowledge by having students compare their life with the lives of the specific topic. this one being comparing life of the pilgrim as different and similar of theirs. i think by accessing is knowledge they might start understanding and snjowing the lives of others of the past.

** LEARNING LOG 7 **

Katelyn needS to finish this learning log.

I think you posted it under log 8. Right?

__At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.__

Kimberly- 1)Arousing Curiosity,2) Establishing Problematic Perspectives, & 3) Guided Imagery
 * 1) **  (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom?  **

Rebecca -

The three main points of this chapter were: 1. Arousing Curiosity 2. Making Predictions 3. Question Generation

Katelyn – 1) Arousing curiosity (which is also aligned with activating prior knowledge)   2) Making predictions (adds anticipation and imagination) 3) Generating questions (helps with active comprehension and expectations) MB - Arousing curosity - story impressions, problamatic perspectives guided imagery making predictions - anticipation guides,adapting anticipation guides in content area, Imagine Elaborate Predict and Confirm Question Generation - active comprehension, Request, Expectation outlines ** CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

2. How can this and other text sets activate knowledge and interest?

Rebecca - This text set and others help activate knowledge by giving a better understanding and a broader perspective to the topic. Students think in terms of what they know. By using this text set and others students are given the opportunity to explore a topic in greater depth, and broader terms.

3. Why do prereading strategies and activities help with prior knowledge and raise interest in the subject? MB - i thin that first there should be multiple strategies that could be used during a topic to allow studnets choice as to how they interprite and gain knowledge. and it lets studnets find what strategies work for them and learn best. I personally like the ABC brainstorming. i find that fun to find spcific words that relate to the topic. i don't like the 10 facts becuase once i find a fact i stop reading through the rest of the paragraph. I don't get as much out of it. I want my studnets to have options and know what works for them to look forward to using strategies they can get the most info from and different topics will require different strategies becuse interest changes. it helps students retain the information and take ownership of their learning. Katelyn - They guide students to make predictions, anticipate what will come, imagine, elaborate, predict, and later confirm. This helps with overall comprehension.

Kimberly-

Prereading strategies and activities such as the K-W-L chart can raise the interest level by establishing specific knowledge about the upcoming material, and then what they personally want to learn, and then they are able to make personal connections with what they previously knew with what they learned. This is a strategy that the students can use their individual learning tools to learn what they want and set their own expectations. It’s all about variety and choices!

Rebecca -

Prereading strategies activate the students thinking about the material ahead. It allows them to draw on prior knowledge and use that to expand their thinking about the new information before it is addressed.

4. Schema theory and visualizations are critical for opening a reader's mind for learning.

5. What are three ways you personally use to help open you mind for learning? Kimberly-

1) I usually have food intake (grapes) that helps me stay focused. This is something that I have always found myself to do, whether reading, studying, or doing homework, I usually have some type of food to munch on.

2) I skim the chapter or material to be learned for the main points.

3) A comfortable setting is preferred, so that I can be focused. Low lighting, moderate room temperature is also helpful for a good mind setting in my learning experience.

Katelyn - 1. Trying to make a personal connection so that it is more interesting to me  2. Making sure that I have an open mind beforehand 3. Trying to see what I am learning from different points of view 4. Being in a comfortable environment with food and a drink

MB - I try to make a personal connection to the content including finding something i want to use in the future in my class that i personally like. i make sure i make time for my learning. I make it a priority. I also give brain breaks from the material and it helps me keep coming back. I create a list of goals from different subjects and complete different tasks in different classes becuase i get overwelmend completing one class at a time. i feel more accomplished when somehting in each calss is compelted then look at one class that has nothing don't. i get more discouraged that way and tend to give up.

**WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?** MB - i loved how were were put into different perspecives and walked through the process of immigration on ellis island. i love the movie HITCH and ellis island is part of this movie and a place that was visited. I liked hearing more about the process of how americans became americans. it make it real. I learnied alot going over these resources and I liked that i cot to choose how i looked at the material and hope to use this technique when teaching new material to make it interesting. Kimberly-Variety, variety, variety! Having another perspective can either strengthen your original opinion and understanding, or show another possibility that had not previously thought of. Since we as a country are battling immagration laws, it is easier to relate to the topic with personal information rather than generic information and responses from the text. I have previously watched a documentary on the discovery channel that showed an illegal immigration family from Mexico and their fight for survival and trying to live the American dream. I do have relatives that I have never met that live in Mexico and grandparents that are now legal citizens of the US. Even in the same familia there are different cultures and backgrounds not just individual students in a classroom.
 * __Rebecca -__** I like the different perspectives presented with the topic of immigration. Currently as a culture we are inundated with illegal immigration which typically involves individuals from Mexican origin. The text set presented a completely different idea of immigration, it was refreshing. It also opens the door to a class discussion on where the students come from...:).

LEARNING LOG 8

At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.


 * 1) ** (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom? **

Rebecca :Instructional Strategies Modeling Comprehension Strategies Reading guides

MB - __Modeling Comprehension strategies__ - use think aloud models to make predictions, describing pictures to create images, link new information with prior knowledge, monitor comprehension and regulate comprehension. recriprocal teaching, question-answer relationships, questioning the author, __Instructional Strategies__ - KWL strategy, Discussion web, guided reading procedure, Intra-Act, Directed reading-thinking activity Reading Guides- Comprehension levels, three level comprehension Kimberly-Instructional Strategies, Modeling Comprehension Strategies, and Reading guides

Katelyn - Instructional strategies, Modeling comprehension strategies, Reading Guides, DRTA, Three-Level Comprehension guides

** CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

MB - different strategies work for different learnign styles/students and by finding what interest them on that specific topic and bringing the cirriculum to them they will more likely engage in the stategies and the topic. Kimberly- I would agree that all students are individuals and learn differently. I think that variety is always a great way to keep students engaged. Changing the activities in a daily routine, can keep the students actively thinking about what they will be doing. A favorite strategy of mine would be simulation activities.
 * 1) Engagement in the reading process is the key for great comprehension. What are additional ways teachers can stress to activate engagement? Rebecca – Using great strategies such as, Think Alouds to model comprehension strategies. Students become engaged in the topic before they start to read. It helps peak their interest.

Katelyn - I agree with Mary Beth and Kimberly in that every student learns differently. We as teachers need to find ways to spark interest in each individual student so that they are able to have a better level of comprehension. Using reading strategies such as Think Alouds, KWL charts, DRTA, SQ3R, Story Retelling, Book Talks, and many more.

MB - motivation helps create connection therefore gaining knowledge on their own accord. retension is higher and levels of participation increases. students learn that learning can be fun and enjoyable. Kimberly- Here is the equation: m+c=e (motivation+ connectiveness=engagement). Having the students make personal connections is key for their understanding and future learning growth. Before you can have the students engaged, in most cases they need to be motivated. It may take several attempts to find what motivates each student in the classroom to want to learn, but as a teacher that is, part of our goals is to help students develop a better understanding.
 * 1) Why do motivation and connectiveness help with engagement? Rebecca – If students are motivated to learn and they have a connection with the material they will delve deeper into the material on their own. They won’t have to be coerced or just cram for an exam. They will actually want to gain knowledge on a topic that interests them. Then you have begun the process of actually teaching a student what you want them to learn!

Katelyn - When students are motivated, they will be more likely to reach the higher levels of comprehension (reading between the lines, reading beyond the lines) because of the connection they have made with the text. If students are not engaged, they will not be motivated and will not be able to make those connections.

// Observe a teacher in a content area classroom, observing the questioning strategies the teacher uses. //
 * 1) // Authentic question //

**WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?**

REbecca? I enjoyed the text set provided. The stories were great for information and a different perspective on immigration than that which is so prevalent in the media today. Students don’t think of their ancestors as immigrants, unless it is discussed at home. My own children have no idea that their great great grandpartents immigrated form Germany and England. It isn’t something that we discuss as a family but this would be a great way to bring that up in a class discussion on accepting everyone for their differences. MB? Westward expansion was portrayed in vivid images and great description. it helps studnets to relate their own lives to that of the lives in the west. there are great exciting wild west stories that can really keep students interest and create learning opportunities. It helps activate prior knowledge and that helps with understanding.

Kimberly- I think that text sets should be required along with the textbooks. Although our country is based on freedom of choice and opinion, as students we are only being exposed to one version of the ‘truth’ about our history, foreign affairs, and other controversial topics. Katelyn - I think that the text sets should be used with (and even in some cased, instead of) the textbooks. The text set gives students the opportunity to make more of a personal connection with the topic Westward expansion instead of giving them boring information that only gives one viewpoint of the topic.

THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU, FOR FINISHING LOG 8

LEARNING LOG 9

At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.

MB - __//Use graphic opganizers to make connections amoung key concepts//__ - helps analyze vocab and list important words, helps arrange list of words, add to schema vocab terms students should understand and then finally evaluate the organizer. //__Activate what students know about the words__// by using word exploration, brainstorming, list-group-label, word sorts, knowledge ratings __//defining words in the content of their use//__ by using wocab slef collection, concept or definition word maps
 * 1) ** (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom? **

REBECCA – 1.Concept Relationships 2. Graphic Organizer 3. Activating what students know about words

Kimberly- Concept Relationships, Graphic Organizer, and activating what students know about words

Katelyn - Making direct, concrete, purposeful experiences so that students can learn concepts best. Using graphic organizers to make connections among key concepts Activating what students know about words

** CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

2. Why should students know the word structure (Greek and Latin roots and history)? Lots of words are greek or latin based and unknown words can be deconstructed and figured out by knowning the base meanings, the prefixes, and suffexes that make that word up

REBECCA – Having a strong understanding of prefixes and suffixes can help students formulate an understanding of a word, even when the student has never before been exposed to that particular word. For example, strangulate, if they can recognize strangle and have an understanding of the suffix –ate. Then the student can come to their own conclusion of the meaning of the word, strangulate.

Kimberly- Ok, I am going to try to relate another topic to show comparison. When two people get married, they form a new family. Each person brings a different background, which includes his or her history, religion, origin, etc., which can affect the combination of the new family. The same thing happens with words. A prefix and suffix join with another word, therefore forming a new word. Knowing the root words and their history will help make connections easier and quicker for students when learning a new word with a suffix or prefix they have already been exposed too.

Katelyn - When students explore the meaning behind words, they are activating schemata and jogging long term memory. This then allows students to "dig deep" into their minds and gather thoughts about a topic. Exploring the roots and history of words and word structure gives students the opportunity to make a personal connection and explore what a word means to them.

3. Why should the language of an academic discipline be taught within the context of concept development? REBECCA – The vocabulary/language within a certain academic discipline should be taught within the context of the concept development because it helps the student to gain an understanding of the vocabulary necessary to complete the assignment/task/unit and for comprehension.

4. What activities for vocabulary concept development help student define words? MB - __//**definition word maps**//__ provides opportinities to define and explore the meaning of words used in text reading. they provide a framework for organizing conceptual information in the process of defining a word. word maps supports vocab and concept learning by helping students internalize a strategy for defining and clarifying the meaning of unknown words.

Katelyn - Word sorts are a great tool for this. Students are able to sort words and classify them into categories. This helps students have a better understanding of the words.

//5.// // Authentic Question: //

Visit a middle level classroom and observe how the teacher develops general and technical vocabulary Kimberly-On Friday 10-8-10, I observed and taught a mini lesson to a group of eighth graders. While I observed for the first part of class, the students were taking a spelling test. This happens every Friday for the first semester, and then they work on writing skills during the second semester. I asked why this worked this way, and the teacher responded that the writing test for their driver’s license took place towards the end of the year, so they would focus more on writing later. In my personal opinion, memorizing the words for that one test is not going to build the students fluency for vocabulary. I would incorporate a short paragraph where the students would write a reflection while using their spelling words. This could build their understanding for the spelling as well as how to use the words properly.

**WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?** REBECCA - The text sets were again, a great addition to the required reading. It allows a different point of view for the reader. It allows a higher level thinking to occur because after you read the material you have a broader knowledge base of the topic. This also peaks the interest of the reader and causes a deeper level of learning to occur.

Kimberly- Text sets are a perfect example of comparing and contrasting. Building a broader knowledge base of information and resources helps develop a better understanding of the material and exceptance of other perspectives.

MB - Each of the text sets are so great in expanding outside of the book. it was great to have aternatives to WWII.

Katelyn - I think that all of the text sets that we are given are a great tool that we can use to help students understand the topic and give them a look at another point of view. I think that when students are given these text sets, it is important for them to make a connection between the text set and the textbook.

LEARNING LOG 10 EACH OF YOU NEEDS TO FINISH THE TEXT SET QUESTION. MB AND KATELYN NEED TO FINISH ANOTHER QUESTION IN THE MIDDLE. Completed all questions on log 10. please e-mail me if you see otherwise. thanks, MB

__At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.__

REBECCA - 1. Writing to learn 2. Academic Journals 3. Writing in Disciplines MB - writing to learn - microthemes,POVG's, Unsent leters, Biopoems Academic Journals - response journals, historical character journals, sketchbooks in art, math journals, double-entry journals Writing in Disciplines - RAFT writing, reseach based writing, guiding the writing process
 * 1) ** (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom? **

Kimberly- Graphic Organizers, Network Tree, & Series-of-Events Chain

** Katelyn – **
 * 1) ** Writing to Learn (Microthemes, POVG’s, Unsent letters, Biopoems, Admit slips and Exit slips) **
 * 2) ** Academic Journals (Response Journals, Historical Charactar Journals, Sketchbooks in art, Math Journals, Double Entry Journals, Learning Logs) **
 * 3) ** Writing is Disciplines (RAFT writing, Research-based writing) **

** CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

2. Why should 6 Traits +1 serve as a foundation for writing? Look up 6 Traits plus one ( REBECCA- Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Frequency, Conventions, Presentation. The 6 traits + 1 strategy covers the gamete of writing in its entirety. Allowing for a strong basis for a developing writer to flourish by following the guidelines of the strategy.

Kimberly- Ideas & Content, Organization, Voice, Sentence Fluency, Word Choice, Conventions, & Unit Outline [] This is a great resource for creating a solid paper. Just as we use a college of ed. Rubric as a foundation to create our competencies, this is a great rubric for a student to create a successful and meaningful piece of work. MB -Idea and content, Sentence fluency, organization, word choice, voice, conventions. it established a clar vision of what good writing looks like. it helps in communication between studnets and the teacher,. found a great web site for 6traings +1 [].

3. Why write for reader response? REBECCA - it encourages students to write out their thoughts about texts and their emotional reactions to them.

Katelyn – Response journals record what readers are feeling and thinking while they are interacting with the texts, Response journals allow students to record their emotions and feelings.

Kimberly- Just like you would encourage students to read for a purpose, they should also write for a purpose. This can be accomplished by having them write to the President or Congress to suggest changes they think would be beneficial. When you have the students create meaningful work, they are able to relate on a personal level while still meeting the learning criteria. MB - This gives them someone to write for. when studnets write isn't just to write in a journal that no one sees.. Finding a passoin and writing to someoe is a great idea. i express myself better, i think more. i hate to write in a journal that no one seees. it is a wase of time for me. I wish i had this idea presented to me in one of my classes. 4. Authentic question:

// Interview an intermediate or above classroom teacher about the writing, types of writing, writing process, etc. that s/he uses in the classroom. Also check on the assessment procedure. //

**WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?** **REBECCA - I enjoyed the text set for this learning log and wiki. I have enjoyed all the text sets. I find them to be a great addition to the text books. I have a hard time getting excited about the reading for knowledge when it comes to a text book. However, with text sets I read for pleasure and gain knowledge that will stay with me. Students are more likely to read and gain understanding if they are introduced to the information in a variety of interesting ways.** Kimberly ==As I always state, I enjoy reading the text sets rather than the text books any day. This time however; after I read the text set and the WWII era, I clicked on the student actives, then clicked on the recipes and loaded the ‘Abigail’ recipes and it had several choices that students could participate in. This is just another way to incorporate a new learning experience into the classroom, to alleviate “boring” textbooks! == You're lucky enough to be able to turn on your oven and bake anytime you like. When Abigail and her family wanted baked treats, they had to wake up very early in the morning in order to get their open-flame oven at the proper temperature. Baking was certainly an all day affair for Abigail. Ingredients You’ll Need · 2 cups of sifted all-purpose flour · 1 tablespoon of ground ginger · 2 teaspoons of baking powder · teaspoon of ground cinnamon · 1/2 teaspoon of salt · 3/4 cup of shortening · 1 cup of white sugar · 1 egg · 1/4 cup of dark molasses · 1/3 cup of sugar · 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon Makes 2 Quarts Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir the mixture to blend evenly and sift a second time into another bowl.

Place the shortening into a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually beat in the white sugar. Beat in the egg, and dark molasses. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the shortening mixture; stir thoroughly to blend. Sift in the remaining flour mixture and mix together until soft dough forms. Pinch off small amounts of the dough and roll into 1-inch diameter balls. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar and place about two inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake in the oven until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack and store in an airtight container. MB - text set was very informational. the more i look at the text sets the more i like the idea and feel like i would really use it in my classroom.

LEARNING LOG 11 Each has something to finish.

At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.

REBECCA - 1. Text Structure - Students need to understand how to recognize text structure. Teachers can't expect a student to know how to gain important information out of a text book if they have never been taught how to use the text book. 2. Graphic Organizers - graphic organizers are a great way to get students to take notes, organize their thoughts in a way that works for them, start the writing process without realizing that they have already begun. 3.Notes - The style in which a student takes notes truly depends on their learning style. As teachers we need to remember that there is more than the outline (my personal favorite) approach when it comes to taking notes. Just because it isn't our way doesn't make it wrong...words to live by...if we teach a student how to take notes we have taught a student how to develop one crucial part of healthy study habits. Please elaborate....Is this what you had in mind? RM Kimberly- Readers Theatre, Idea Circles, & Blogging. Using idea circles into the classroom, helps integrate the students into small groups where they hold discussion on the topics being learned. In most of my classes that have involved reading, we have been broken up into small groups for peer response and critique evaluations. This is great to have peer interaction as well as hearing another viewpoint of a certain topic from another person’s perspective. The phrase “bouncing ideas off one another” is a great analogy to an idea circle. Using a blog in the classroom can easily replace the “idea box” where the students anonymously place ideas or issues into the box in the classroom for a teacher to review. This is also a great resource to keep the students involved with current issues and provide them with the opportunities to share their stories, ideas, and topic conversations. This is a great alternative to a take home essay; the students could blog their opinions and receive feedback from classmates. Reader’s theatre is always a great resource to take the place of individual or classroom reading of the textbook. If the students are involved in the story, they are making personal connections, and more likely to remember the material.
 * 1) ** (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom? **

Please elaborate. MB - Graphic organizers - graphic organizers would have helped me so much going through school becuase i would have retained so much more information .the best part of this is that studnets can create any type of graphic. pictures. cue words, ect. the way in which they create it as long as it helps them retain information is fine.also there are different ways to create an organizer. this includes venn diagrahams, problem/solution diagrahams, network tree, or series of events cahin diagrahams. Note taking - i am very weak in this area and wish i could have learned some of these techniques in school.reading logs are great to organize information as studnets read.annotations help studnets bu taking out the thought of just words for notes and gives shape to the notes by rectangles and arrows and triangles which all have a purpose in the note taking process. these are used while they are reading. t-notes is used mainl forrecording information and comparing two things like communism and capitalism. cornell notes is great to record notes during a lecture. helps alot in studying. study guides are very important for sudnets becuase it helps them decifer what is important to their teacher out of all the information they have in front of them.

** CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

2. How is internal text structure different from external text structure? Why should students know both? Kimberly- Internal text structure refers to different text structures or organizational patterns to organize their information. Internal text will use signal transitional words to describe the information. External text structure refers to illustrations, underlined words, or subheadings that are used as a reference for the internal text. The students should have knowledge of both because essentially they correspond throughout the reading. If a student is unfamiliar with the internal text structure they are most likely not going to follow the external references either. MB - internal text structure refers to words and patterns with in the text.there are five different patterns. description, sequence, comparion and contrast, cause and effect, and problem and solution. knowing what structure of text is being read helps with the comprehension level for the studenets. external text is the table of contents, perface, bibliography, indexes. knwing how the text is set up is very valuable information because having a glossery in the back can be a great resource for studnets. it saves time and it lets the studnet know what definition the text is using for the word.

3. Graphic organizers help students comprehend and retain textually important information. How can you apply graphic organizers into the before, during, and after part of a lesson? REBECCA - graphic organizers are a visual tool that help students construct information and use it to make connections to the main idea. students will eventually be able to use the strategy to compare and contrast information to find the important details of the text. After they read they can use graphic organizers to look at the text to make resolutions between problems and solutions.

4. Authentic question:

Interview a teacher and find our how s/he applies research/based graphic organizers to enrich writing and reading.

**WIKI TEXT SET RESPONSE: After reading the text set, how do these books and electronic resources help with the topic understanding?** REBECCA - The play is fantastic for a different learning styles activity, it is a great kinesthetic learning activity. The text set offers a variety of texts with great activities that give the students a different perspective. It also provides more information than you would normally find in a simple chapter in a text book. MB - Loved learning about the first thanksgiving. went to the website provided and thought that planing a fish before corn to make toe soil fertal was really cool. i think studnets would love to learn through this instead of a text book. and it would be cool to rewrite the text book with a compare and contrast notebook. compre the text to other resources. Kimberly- Of course I enjoyed this text set, I am an extremely kinesthetic and tactile learner. Usually students are celebrating Thanksgiving with a class party. Everyone signs up to bring something, generally junk food, and the purpose for the feast is not emphasized or even recognized. This would be a great activity to incorporate into my future classroom.

LEARNING LOG 12

__At the beginning of your answer, write your first name and then answer the question(s) fully.__ Rebecca, you have another question to answer. Thank you for being proactive.

REBECCA - 1. Trade Books, 2.Picture Books, 3. Fiction Books - The author suggests to use all different types of books in your lessons. It enticed the student and creates an atmosphere for deeper understanding and learning. MB - use other resources thatn text books these are 1. trade books becuase they are rich in narrative and information.2. picture books becuasethey can enhance instruction in every content area. 3. fiction books becuase studnets can interact with the text from a number of different perspectives that are impossible to achieve in nonfiction. Kimberly- **__Picture books__** are a great source for students of all ages, not just primary grades. This can help stimulate and provide an alternative resource to help a student make a connection with the written material. This is great for visual learners. **__Self-selected reading__** is another great tool to utilize into the classroom. Letting the students select their personal reading material, when it is for pleasure, can help motivate a student to want to read. During D.E.A.R. time, the students and teachers are encouraged to read a book for the allocated time. The materials for self-selected reading includes magazines, newspapers, or a book that they have personally chosen. **__Reader response strategies__**, which includes post-it notes, is another great strategy to implement into a classroom. This is great for students to be actively engaged in the reading material. They can jot down words, phrases, thoughts, or feelings about the material they are reading about.
 * 1) ** (REQUIRED) What are at least three main points the authors suggest to improve the topic in your classroom? **

** CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING TO ANSWER OR DO. **

2. If teachers knew the problems with textbooks, why do they still use them? What can you do to eliminate the problems? REBECCA - Teachers still use them because they are a great resource even with their problems. However, they shouldn't be the only resource that the teacher uses. Follow the guidelines to choose a good text book. The guidelines are the 5 A's: 1. Authority, 2. Accuracy, 3. Appropriateness, 4. Artistry, 5. Appearance. When using these guidelines teachers should be able to make a great choice for a text book. MB - the problem is when teachers only use textbooks. like i stated earlier, they can be a great resource to teach note taking an compare and contrast mapping. thext books don't have great information becuase you can only say so much before you create an encycelppedia but it is a great palce to start generating questions and thoguths. Kimberly- the problems are not solely the textbooks, but rather how they are being used. They should be used as a resource not as a bible for the classroom structure. It is ‘easier’ for some teachers to teach by the textbook and provide the worksheets that come with the text, so that they feel they are teaching to the pass objectives. In many classrooms today, the ‘old school’ teachers are becoming frustrated with the changes in learning material, and the new teachers coming into the school system with new innovative teaching tools and methods. It is not always easy to step outside the realm of the standard classroom, where the students sit in their desks, do worksheets from the textbook; but that is exactly what we have to do as teachers. We have to move toward change when that change leads to greater student involvement and understanding. 3. How would a trade book and electronic sources text set on an historical event enhance the curriculum? REBECCA - by giving the students a different source. You have shown throughout your lesson plans how different sources can add dimention to an otherwise limited text. Students need to a difference in perspective when it comes to reference material. There are many reasons for this, a few examples include...different texts apply to different learning styles and applying different texts give students a chance to hear the material in a new way. MB - giving studets options gives them control over their own learning and education. i think they would be more open to assignments and learning. it keeps thier interest and they don't realize they are learning becuase it is fun. Kimberly- A perfect example of how an alternative source enhances learning would be our reader’s theatre that we conducted in your class on the Boston Tea-Party. I have never been a history fanatic because I do not enjoy reading the textbook. I think that the students related having their M&Ms taken for taxes based on ridiculous reasons, to controversial issues that surround us today. There has to be advocacy for changes in every aspect of government. Most specifically, a trade book and electronic source can provide an alternative view to what the textbook provides on any historical event. There are always three sides to a story, “the he said, she said, and what really happened”.

Make a list of ten trade books which should be included in the study of the American Revolution. Give a rationale for each book and give in a sentence or two how you would use the books. MB -

1. Gauch, Patricia Lee. **This Time, Tempe Wick?** Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-698-20300-3. Based on legend, this is the story of a young girl who hid her horse from the Continental army by hiding it in her bedroom for three days. 2. Turner, Ann. **Katie's Trunk**. Illustrated by Ron Himler. Macmillan, 1992. ISBN 0-02-789512-2. There aren't many picture books about the Revolution, but this is an especially good one. Katie's Tory family lives in fear of harassment by the rebels. They have been subjected to taunts and isolation already. When a group of rebels comes to Katie's home, intent on robbing and trashing, Katie hides in a trunk. One rebel neighbor, finding her in the trunk, distracts his rebel friends and leaves her undisturbed and unhurt. The point, of course, is that there was real human kindness on both sides. 3. Gauch, Patricia Lee. **Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys**. Illustrated by Margot Tomes. Shoe Tree Press, 1972. ISBN 1-55870-220-2. After taking over Fort Ticonderoga in 1777, British soldiers marched on Bennington, Vermont, intent on seizing supplies stored there. The Green Mountain boys, stretched to the limit of capacity, were summoned quickly. While they were there, they had to be fed and housed. This is the story of one boy and what he might or might not have done to help the situation. 4. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. **Paul Revere's Ride**. Illustrated by Ted Rand. Dutton, 1990. ISBN 0-525-44610-9. Longfellow might have taken some liberties with fact in his epic poem about the ride, but it makes a fine picture book with Ted Rand's illustrations of moonlit landscapes and lamplit street scenes that reflect the atmosphere of the time. 5.O'Dell, Scott. **Sarah Bishop**. Houghton, 1980. ISBN 0-395-29185-2.Sarah has good reason to hate war. Her father, a Loyalist, died after being tarred and feathered by the rebels. Her brother died on a British prison ship. Sarah is arrested as part of the harassment and escapes to the Connecticut wilderness where her struggle is with the elements rather than with the war. This is a Focus Book 6.[|Avi]. **The Fighting Ground**. Lippincott, 1984. ISBN 0-397-32074-4.This is an account of two days of a boy's life during the American Revolution. After he is captured in battle by three Hessian soldiers, Jonathan realizes that fighting is a complex activity and that informed choices are extremely important. In a farmhouse where a little boy is the only survivor of his family, Jonathan finds it impossible to kill the sleeping Hessians. He escapes with the little boy and finds the remnants of his troop. Realizing that they must have killed the boy's parents, Jonathan smashes his rifle and returns to the [|farm], less certain about the rights and wrongs of war. 7. Collier, James Lincoln and Collier, Christopher. **My Brother Sam Is Dead**. Four Winds, 1974. ISBN 0-02-722980-7.Sam, the only member of his family who is not a Tory, joins the Rebel army. When he is falsely accused of stealing cattle, his family's sympathies work against him, and he is tried and executed as an example of General Putnam's discipline. His death is a matter of political expediency, not a matter of right or wrong. This is a more cynical look at the war than one finds in most children's literature. 8. Forbes, Esther. **Johnny Tremain**. Houghton, 1943. ISBN 0-395-06766-9Johnny Tremain is a silversmith's apprentice in Boston. Another apprentice, jealous of Johnny's skill, causes him to be terribly burned by molten silver. Because of his shriveled hand, Johnny must find other work. As a rider for the Boston Observer, Johnny becomes interested in the Revolution and participates in the Boston Tea Party and other revolutionary acts. He also learns to accept himself, wounds and all. The book is an idealistic look at the Revolution. 9. Reit, Seymour. **Guns for General Washington: A Story of the American Revolution**. Harcourt, 1990. ISBN 0-15-200466-1This is a fictionalized account of Henry Knox's trip from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston to break the siege of Boston. The story sticks closely to the facts with some dialogue added. We see the hazardous journey through the eyes of Will Knox, Henry's younger brother. The action goes back and forth between Knox and his men on the trail and the armies and civilians in Boston under siege. Other characters in the story include George Washington, Paul Revere, and General Howe. 10. Hoobler, Dorothy and Hoobler, Thomas. **The Sign Painter's Secret: The Story of a Revolutionary Girl**. Illustrated by Donna Ayers. Silver Burdett, 1991. ISBN 0-382-24143-6. This short and easy-to-read story is about a young girl who spies for the Rebels during the Revolutionary War. Although the absolute certainty of every character in the plot is unrealistic, there is a believable and informative sense of family life in occupied Philadelphia in 1777. 11. Wibberly, Leonard. **John Treegate's Musket**. Farrar, 1959. ISBN 0-374-43788-2.John Treegate is a Loyalist who fought for the king at the Battle of Quebec. Changing sides is easier for his son, Peter, who quickly joins the Revolutionary forces. John defects just in time for the Battle of Bunker Hill. I personally ermember reading johnny temaine in the 5th grade. it totally made it more real. i could relate to this boy in the story. i would use the easy readders at the top to introduce the topic and use in the younger grades and give the list of the rest of the books as a choice read for studnets. i would even choice a book or two to do during group reading each day. Kimberly <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[|Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave **//Trade//**, and the **//American//** **//Revolution//**.] //Publishers Weekly//, 3/27/2006, Vol. 253 Issue 13, p70-70, 1/4p <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Subjects: BOOKS -- Reviews; UNITED States -- History; NONFICTION; REVOLUTION, 1775-1783; SONS of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade & the American Revolution (Book); RAPPLEYE, Charles This could be used to provide information an alternative source on the involvement of slaves in the American Revolution. <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[|Rum and the **//American//** **//Revolution//**: The Rum **//Trade//** and the Balance of Payments of the Thirteen Continental Colonies (Book).]Detail Only Available By: Price, Jacob M.//. William & Mary Quarterly//, Jan91, Vol. 48 Issue 1, p126-127, 2p <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.75in;">Subjects: BOOKS -- Reviews; UNITED States -- History; NONFICTION; REVOLUTION, 1775-1783; RUM & the American Revolution (Book); MCCUSKER, John

<span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[|Spark up the **//American//** **//Revolution//** with Math, Science, and More: An Example of an Integrative Curriculum Unit.]Full Text Available By: Lee, Michelle//. Social Studies//, Jul/Aug2007, Vol. 98 Issue 4, p159-164, 6p <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.75in;">Subjects: INTERDISCIPLINARY approach in education; EDUCATION -- Curricula; MIDDLE schools; SOCIAL sciences -- Study & teaching; CURRICULUM planning; WEB sites; UNITED States -- History; UNITED States; Elementary and Secondary Schools; Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals; REVOLUTION, 1775-1783 <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-indent: 0.25in;">This book could incorporate other areas of study regarding the revolution. [|**//TEN//**THOUSAND ROSES: THE MAKING OF A FEMINIST **//REVOLUTION//**.]<span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Full Text Available By: Mitchell, Penni//. Herizons//, Summer2005, Vol. 19 Issue 1, p34-35, 2p <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Subjects: BOOKS -- Reviews; FEMINISM; NONFICTION; 10 Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution (Book); REBICK, Judy Although most people conclude that the men contributed the vast majority of the revolution, this book focuses on the roles that women portrayed and their contribution and the road to feminism. [|The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Age of **//Revolution//**./Slave Nation: How Slavery United the Colonies and Sparked the **//American//** **//Revolution//**./Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the **//American//** **//Revolution.….//**] Full Text Available I would use this to provide another view on the Revolution. <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[|Immigration and the **//American//** industrial **//revolution//** from 1880 to 1920]Detail Only Available By: Hirschman, Charles; Mogford, Elizabeth//. Social Science Research//, Dec2009, Vol. 38 Issue 4, p897-920, 24p; DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2009.04.001 <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Subjects: INDUSTRIAL revolution; FOREIGN workers; LABOR supply; ECONOMIC development; MANUFACTURING industries -- United States; EMIGRATION & immigration; UNITED States; ECONOMIC aspects This controversial issue is still a political and debatable subject in today’s economic aspects. This is a great way to compare and contrast the foreign labor issues of the revolution era with today’s era. <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[|Taming Democracy: “The People,” the Founders and the Troubled Ending of the **//American//** **//Revolution//** – By Terry Bouton.]Full Text Available By: Skemp, Sheila L.. Historian, Spring2010, Vol. 72 Issue 1, p158-159, 2p; DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6563.2009.00260_6.x  <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">This could show the peoples perspective and how commonalities and diversity helped mold the revolution. The book can provide another source for reason regarding the cause/effect and conclusion of the revolution Subjects: BOOKS -- Reviews; HISTORY; NONFICTION; PENNSYLVANIA; REVOLUTION, 1775-1783; TAMING Democracy: The People, the Founders & the Troubled Ending of the American Revolution (Book); BOUTON, Terry <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[|Rebels Rising: Cities and the **//American//** **//Revolution//**.]Full Text Available By: Krawczynski, Keith. Georgia Historical Quarterly, Summer2008, Vol. 92 Issue 2, p256-259, 4p

<span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.75in;">Subjects: BOOKS -- Reviews; UNITED States -- History; NONFICTION; REVOLUTION, 1775-1783; REBELS Rising: Cities & the American Revolution (Book); CARP, Benjamin L. This book focuses on specific contested spaces in each of the five largest colonial cities. It would provide the students information on the largest colonies and the issues they encountered during this period. <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[|God of Liberty: A Religious History of the **//American//** **//Revolution//**.]Full Text Available By: Norton, Eric. Library Journal, 9/1/2010, Vol. 135 Issue 14, p113-113, 1/9p <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.75in;">Subjects: BOOKS -- Reviews; UNITED States -- History; NONFICTION; REVOLUTION, 1775-1783; GOD of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution (Book); KIDD, Thomas S I would incorporate this book to provide information on how religion played a part in the American Revolution. <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">[|Making Headlines: The **//American//** **//Revolution//** as Seen through the British Press.]Full Text Available By: HALE, MATTHEW. Journal of Southern History, Aug2010, Vol. 76 Issue 3, p693-695, 3p <span style="color: #92d050; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.75in;">Subjects: BOOKS -- Reviews; UNITED States -- History; NONFICTION; REVOLUTION, 1775-1783; MAKING Headlines: The American Revolution As Seen Through the British Press (Book); BICKHAM, Troy Authentic Question: // Take a poll of five teachers and find out how they integrate trade books into their content area classroom. //