Student Teacher: Andrea Winters
Field Advisor: Greg Long
Feb. 17, 2012
Reading Review 1
The book "Tools for Teaching" by Fred Jones, was a book given to me by my partner teacher, Ms. Reed. She studied this book with other staff in her school and district for Professional Development. Classroom Management is extremely important to teachers in District 91 in Idaho Falls and in any school. Jones describes ways a teacher can succeed at training his or her classroom and at being more productive with curriculum work in the classroom.
The first section of the book talks about building on Classroom management. Teachers such as Ms. Reed make classroom management look easy, but she is doing specific actions in class to get the desired outcome from her students. Jones states that the prevention of problems takes center stage in a classroom (Jones p.10). Many of the classroom distractions come from students Jones terms "helpless handraisers" (11). The first section is more of an overview of what the book is about. Section two goes into more detail about making independent students. "Helpless handraisers" interrupt and distract learning time. The best way to work with these students and all students according to Jones is to praise, prompt, and leave (57). Praising the student is not always necessary, prompting the student the next step in ten seconds or less, and then leaving isthe way to approach students' questions in the class. Some ways Jones says teachers can implement this structure is to have Visual Instructional plans, where there are step by step visual prompts for teaching students how to learn material. (p.71). Many of the examples he gives are related to math in the book. His methods are much like the Universal Design plan for teaching. He advises teachers to give explanations for learning, modeling what is to be done, and structured practice. Other ways he encourages teachers to be proactive is to have work for students to do as soon as they answer the classroom. The most successful teachers establish routines and procedures in the first two weeks of the school term (125). Classroom chores are also important to help with classroom efficacy. Jones gives ways teachers to handle discipline without what he terms "The Backup system". This is the system where teachers send students to the office for detention, and then the more severe the penalties are suspension, expulsion. (142, 143). Ways to be proactive in the classroom are using body language effectively, being consistent with discipline, routines, procedures and leaving Preferred Activity Time for students (201, 247). Preferred activity time can be curriculum work done in ways the students find entertaining or enjoyable, such as games, projects, or other preferred activities that have to do with course work.
My Teaching Across Borders environment is proactive and in favor of helping students stay in school and succeed. They value Classroom Management. They value the individual in students and teaching. As a new teacher, it is mandatory that I take this information and continue practicing my classroom management skills while I am in a classroom. I want to be successful at being a teacher and a competent professional who can manage a classroom of students, motivating students to work cooperatively, and produce their best curriculum work.
Student Teacher: Andrea Winters
Field Advisor: Greg Long
Feb. 17, 2012
Reading Review 2
The second review I chose is called The Trumpet of the Swan" by E.B. White. I chose this fiction novel because the teachers in District 91 gave each student a copy of this book to read with their family every night, a chapter a day- to increase reading literacy in the district. Ms. Reed provided me with a copy of the book as well and I thought it would be appropriate to do a reading review on the book since it was chosen by the district to be read by all families. Questions are asked every morning over the intercom after saying the Pledge of Allegiance or the National Anthem on Friday mornings. The students answer the question in their journals and if they answer right they are given a ticket and there will be a school raffle in the school for prizes once the book is read.
The story is mainly about Louis, a Trumpeter Swan who cannot speak, and how with help from family and friends he finds a way to communicate, most importantly to another female swan he wants to mate with. Sam Beaver, who lives in Montana with his parents and goes camping a few times a year to Canada, after wandering in marshes, sees two Trumpeter Swans. The swans were having cygnets and Sam sees them hatch later. The swans trusted him because he saved the female's life by scaring away a fox that was planning on killing her. He threw a stick at the fox and scared it away (27). Once the cygnets were born the male cob led the cygnets over to Sam who was watching from afar (pp38-39). Sam wrote in a journal every night, usually about the birds and questioned what he wanted to do when he grew up (41). Louis, one of the cygnets, was the only one who could not speak. His parents were concerned because he would not be able to find a mate without being able to speak to a female swan. Louis' Father calls his son "dumb" only meaning that he cannot speak but tried to cheer him up, saying he would try to get him a trumpet to use since his voice wouldn't produce sound (50-51). Louis flies off to Montana to get his friend Sam Beaver to take him to school so he can learn to read and write in hopes that this would help him communicate( 62). He gets admitted to grade one after spelling the word 'catastrophe" for the teacher , Mrs. Hammerbotham (73). Louis goes back home with a chalk board around his neck to write what he is thinking to the other swans. None of the other swans can read. He falls for a female swan but because he cannot make a noise she ignores him. (86-87). Louis' father decides to break into a music shop in Billings, Montana and steal a trumpet for his son. (93). Louis practices using his trumpet all summer. One of Louis' adventures is going to camp with Sam Beaver as the camp bugler (108). Louis saves a boys' life at the camp (129). From there Louis heads to Boston where he finds work leading a swan ferry boat playing music on his trumpet (143-145). He was paid money for his work which Louis planned on saving to pay off the debt of the trumpet and the music store. Louis decides to head to Philadelphia to play his trumpet in a nightclub and at the Philadelphia zoo Sunday afternoons (169,172,174). All this time he was fantasizing about his love Serena. One day she blows into town from a storm.(182). Louis wins the love of Serena with his beautiful music (194). The zoo keeper wants to clip Serena's wings so she will stay there forever but Louis, with Sam Beaver's help persuades the zoo keeper. The exchange was any cygnets of Louis or Serena's that could not survive on their own will be given to the zoo (222). Louis gives the money he earned to the music store manager, though his Dad got shot and almost died while delivering it (230). Louis and Serena visited all the places Louis had his adventures at, and had cygnets in the same area his parents first had him(245).
In my Teaching Across Borders environment, the community is family oriented. This novel fits the culture and beliefs about the school community. The reason for having all the families read the book in the community was to build family literacy. It's a heartwarming story that talks about the triumph of a 'dumb' swan. I couldn't help but think of this as an analogy to children in school with disabilities, such as the grade one girl on the autism spectrum in Ms. Reed's class. The schools in Idaho Falls and Idaho State are concerned for children with disabilities and offer much assistance and help to families for their children to be contributing members of their communities. Ms Reed mentioned to me that the two most important parts of the school curriculum here are reading and math, as they are in most schools in North America. This novel helps me become more familiar with the culture here, and helps me see why people choose to live in this area, since there is not much for desirable weather conditions or anything particularly fascinating about Idaho Falls, except for the strong-knit communities. As a new teacher I'd like my focus to be on reading and to support programs such as this where the district community can come together and read the same novel. I took my sons to the doctor's the other day and had this book with me, and he said "I'm reading that book with my children". Literacy and reading a novel as a district brings a whole community together sharing stories about perseverance and adversity with the help of family and friends.
Student Teacher: Andrea Winters
Field Advisor: Greg Long
Feb. 17, 2012
Reading Review 3
Ms. Reed recommended the book "Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The Siop Model" by Jan Echevarria, MaryEllen Vogt and Deborah J. Short as a must read. She studied the book with her fellow staff and as a district for Professional Development. This book is relevant to the teaching environment in Idaho Falls since there are many Spanish speaking students in the community.
The book contains an explanation of the SIOP model, which is Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol; remodeling lesson plans to a more simplistic version, with visual aids, additional resources, and learning strategies to teach to the English Learners students. Objectives need to be clear, displayed, and reviewed with students (25). Examples of objectives for a math lesson are "Students will solve word problems using a two-step process; students will write a word problem for a classmate to solve requiring a two-step process" (30). The first objective is the content objective, while the second objective is for language. Lists of materials for the SIOP program are listed that would benefit any classroom; "Hands-on manipulatives, real-life objects such as bank slips, nutrition labels, called Realia; pictures; visuals; multimedia; demonstrations; literature that is related; readers that are modified for lower readers; books high in demand for lower level readers called Hi-low readers( pp33-34). There are additional resources the teacher can provide for adapting the curriculum for EL learners: graphic organizers, scaffolded study guides, outlines made by the teachers, highlighted text, taped text, adapted text, native language texts, and marginal notes (pp36-38). The authors list teaching scenerios and evaluate the teachers based on their teaching styles and what resources they used that benefit English Learner students. An example of a high teaching SIOP score was Ms. Chen. She introduced a lesson on the Gold Rush by first stating clear objectives for the students. Then she asked students to ponder why people would travel to seek fortunes, and the ideas were recorded on the board in groups. She gave the students picture books to create a paragraph on the Gold Rush independently or in pairs. She took extra time during writing to spend with the English Learner students, leading them through picture books and maps to help clarify understanding. The students did shared reading. Then the children routed the Gold Rush on a large map. As an ending to her lesson, she handed out outlines of the new chapter (pp40-41). In Chapter four, Comprehensible Input" is important term that focuses on the teacher slowing down speech, building on background knowledge, showing pictures to increase comprehension for English Learners (79). Mr. Lew taught his ninth grade class on Buoyancy. He scored high on the SIOP chart. Mr. Lew gave clear objectives. He talked about vocabulary such as "float" and used actions while he was speaking, such as pointing at a floating orange, and dropping a peel into water when he said "sink" (86). Mr. Lew spoke slowly for his students, and enunciated words clearly. He used repetition in his language. He wrote steps to a group activity on the overhead projector. He went to each group for questions. After group work was gathered to collect data, a graph of findings as a class was created (86-87). An important part of the SIOP model is giving students learning strategies, such as metacognitive, cognitive, group discussions, mnemonics, graphic organizers, comprehension strategies (96-99). One strategy that is more comprehensive is called SQP2RS. It stands for Survey, Question, Predict, Read, Respond, Summarize. (98). The authors go into detail about ways of scaffolding, questioning, and lessons to assist English Learners, 100-101). Ways are listed to interact effectively with ESL students by giving them more talk time to practice their English (119). Wait time in teaching is important to give EL students time to respond to questions and discussion in the classroom. Lengthening wait time for all students in the class and not just for EL learners is important (127). In an example in the text, Ms. Dowden succeeds at helping her students the most by organizing her lesson plan to include reading, discussion, and writing on ecosystems. She divided her class into two groups. She assisted the EL students and a few others on the internet while the other students worked independently (145). Assessment is discussed in the later portion of the book, rubric for meeting clear objectives (166- 192). In Special Education, more than 17 % of Hispanic students are labeled as learning disabled, while 61% of white students are learning disabled and they make up 75 percent of the population (194). Sometimes being an EL learner can be confused with having a learning disability.
In my grade one class at Fox Hollow Elementary, one of the eight ELL students is suspected at having a learning disability. The Hispanic students are proficient readers, and 4 excel in math and reading. This book is informative and helpful in giving me ideas to teach to the EL students in Ms. Reed's class. The reading and writing program based on Reading Street Units by Scott Foresman has examples of how to support EL students in each of the lessons. There are lists of books, poster, activities, computer programs, and teaching tips in each lesson. For example, in the unit story "I am a Caterpillar" an ELL side note is "To help children understand the pronoun she in "Life Cycle", have them cut out a caterpillar, a chrysalis, and a butterfly, using photos as models. Have children hold up the matching prop as they sing each verse" (118m). In the Math program by Saxon Math (Harcourt Achieve Inc. and Nancy Larson) the math lessons are designed to do hands-on math, problem-solving, written work, discussion with visual aids to helps all students including ELL to achieve greater success in math. Reading how to improve my teaching to ELL students will expand my abilities to teach a wider range of students with various cultures, abilities, and backgrounds.
