D&Z Ch. 9 and 10

Chapter 9 brought up something I never really thought of doing, but totally love - Content Area Book Clubs. In many of my history courses in college we read at least 2 books each semester, yet in high school I don't recall reading much in history classes, which is a shame.  History is a content area with a countless number of great nonfiction books that can provide as supplemental material to a lesson and just enjoyment in general for the students.  The note taking choices and roles of connector, questioner, passage master, vocabulary enricher, illustrator and researcher are great tools to ensure that everyone is accountable.  Small groups can be difficult as some will not speak at all, and others may do all the talking.  With this method each student is responsible for reading the material.  I also asked the question of assessment because when reading a novel, certain moments will sick with students, and not all of the moments will be the same. The idea of a portfolio and project takes away the stressful aspect of assessment.  In high school it was easy to go on spark notes and memorize the characters and plots and regurgitate them on the test, without even opening the cover of the book.  That certainly did nothing to foster a desire of reading.

For my AP Human Geography class in high school we read the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. It is a story about Hmong immigrants and at first glance I dreaded having yet another novel to read on top of a heavy course load of my senior year.  My teacher organized the class similar to that of the book club.  We had many class discussion and activities that coincided with the book. Unfortunately the assessment part was more traditional with quizzes here and there to make sure we had read the material.  However, to my surprise, I actually really enjoyed the book and found it as enjoyment more than just "another homework assignment."  The book is used in a variety of fields.  I have friends in the nursing program who are reading it as part of health care classes.  I toculd be used for sociology as well.  Check it out!

http://us.macmillan.com/thespiritcatchesyouandyoufalldown/annefadiman

D & Z Ch. 5 and 8

I regret renting this book and not purchasing it because the strategies in chapter 5 are super helpful and is the perfect go to when planning lessons and introducing a new unit that may have difficult content. The strategies are all aligned to the Common Core Standards which is also helpful. For history, I particularly liked front loading with images post-it response notes (something totally new) exit slips and admit slips and tweet the text. Front loading with images prior to reading is common in many history classes and as a visual learner it was something I always appreciated.  I think what I liked most about the strategies offered in this chapter is that they are geared towards all students.  There are strategies for all learners and they allow for differentiated instruction in the classroom.  The Tweet and talk strategy caught my eye as a millennial who is overly addicted to technology. This concept can go much further than simply summarizing a text. A class twitter account is a great way to connect with students.  However, it is something to be cautious of when creating this account.  Do students have the ability to access twitter at home? Do they have a laptop or smart phone? Will it be used strictly in school?  Anyway, I checked out the link that was provided in the text and if offers some pretty cool stuff!  For history or sociology classes there is so much you can do! I particularly like the idea of following accounts with different biases to see how the media covers current events and interprets them differently. Tracking the government by following organizations is also a good idea.  In regards to current events and the news, lets face it, it's 2015 and our students are most likely not reading the newspaper.  I get almost all of my news from twitter. It's instant and in 140 characters you get the gist of what's happening and can chose to click the article and continue reading.  Students can share their findings via twitter and create a small academic sphere outside of the classroom. Check out some other cool ideas here! http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom

Another cool strategy that incorporates social media and was not mentioned (but maybe could have been) is having students create a facebook page as a specific character or person in time.  For example, each student can assigned someone in history, let's use the Civil War.  Someone creates a page for Abraham Lincoln and after reading about him they can summarize what they learned and create a status perhaps with a picture.  Other figures of the time can comment and create a dialogue.

Moving on from that excitement, the independent reading workshop is great to get students to read for both learning and enjoyment. Giving students choices can motivate them and they man actually look forward to reading.   As a teacher you would have to pay close attention to scheduling and timing to ensure that it does not too much time away from instruction. Other than that I think the idea is great!

D&Z Ch. 6 and 7

Chapter 6 is a great tool for the textbook analysis assignment, so I am glad to have read it before I started looking into textbooks. I will definitely look back to the Textbook Feature Analysis on page 184 as I analyze my textbook.  Questions 2-5 will help me assess areas that I had not previously put any thought into - sidebars and pull boxes, typography, color, and symbols and icons.  While reading a boring text with just black and white print can be boring, too much color, symbols and sidebars can be overwhelming. While looking through the text i will think about what activities would work well with the text, if any.

However, what I really want to talk about is Chapter 7, "Building a Community of Learners."  I first want to start with PBIS because I think when they threw it in the text it was a little confusing. PBIS is part of what is called MTSS, Multi-Tiered Support System which includes both PBIS and RTI. PBIS is used in many schools in Rhode Island, all of which have been trained by members of the Sherlock Center here at RIC. From all of my almsot 4 years as a college student and zero years of being teacher, I think D&Z did a poor job discussing it.  They threw it out there and say "We certainly hope this is not just another fad or mandate to be piled onto teachers, however."  Research has shown PBIS to be effective in the schools in which it is implemented.  Tier 1 is universal, for all student sin the classroom.  At this tier, students collaborate with each other and their teacher and devise a system or procedure for the classroom. Students have a say in how they conduct their classroom expectations and environment.  This is a crucial aspect in creating a community that establishes success, belonging, and value before students can establish academic belonging, success and value.  For student who express excessive problem behavior, supplemental intervention is applied in tier 2, which may include checklists, behavior systems or a check-in, check out system.  In order for students to work well together in an academic setting, respectful behavior must be established early on with each other and the teacher.  PBIS offers that opportunity and so much more.

Now I've cleared that up for myself, I like the five points they mention that help teachers build a community in the classroom.  High school is so much a social sphere as it is academic.  Some students may be timid to ask questions in fear of looking dumb, or may not try their hardest because its cooler to look like you don't care. Developing a classroom where all students feel safe to ask any question and work to their full potential will not only aid them right here and now, but in the future as well in college and their future careers. I particularly liked the idea of "using jigsaw activities in which small groups of students give presentations to help the rest of the class learn about various aspects of a topic.  Students dive into the material, while practicing teaching and presentation skills and helping their peers in an academic setting.

Connecting learning with students' lives and larger issues around them is also extremely important, not just for building community but for students to understand the importance of what they are learning and how it will affect them outside the walls of the classroom.