It All Comes Down To Knowing Your Students

I thought the readings for this week were really great at giving easy solutions to common problems in a classroom, so I chose a select few that were the most interesting to me to talk about in terms of Mrs. Potter’s students.

The first thing I would do for these students was make sure that Mrs. Potter had as many visual cues in her room as possible. Visual supports, as evidenced in the Breitfelder article, are very beneficial in a variety of ways. They can help students who have trouble reading, which seems to be the case for Lupita, Jonathan, and possibly even Eddie. If the students had visual supports for all of their activities, according to the article, these supports could potentially improve their reading abilities, and even decrease problem behaviors (in the case of Eddie and Jonathan).  When a student can’t understand something either because they can’t read it, they didn’t understand the auditory direction, or they are just visual learners, having visual cues can make a great deal of difference in regards to their learning success (or failure) in the classroom. The  Breitfelder article also provides links to websites with free visual support print offs which could save time and money when setting up a classroom (unfortunately I could not figure out how to post some of the picture cards on the blog).

Another thing that I would make sure Mrs. Potter does for her students is have her parents write about their children in “A Million Words or Less”, like in the Maples article. In previous weeks we have read about the importance of parent involvement, and this article is another great example of the benefits parent involvement can have on a school and its students. In this case, there seem to be many benefits of getting parents involved in even a simple task, such as writing a letter about their child. If Mrs. Potter had her parents do this homework assignment, she could get some very valuable insight as to why all of her students behave the way they do, and it could help her understand why Lupita, Jonathan, and Eddie are having difficulties in her classroom. Mrs. Potter may be able to find a way to connect to her students and even break some stereotypes about her students that she may not even realized she had, just like the teacher in the article.

At the end of the day, it comes down to knowing your students well and constantly tweaking things to make sure your students are getting the best education possible. The better you know your students, the easier these tweaks will be. Just like in the Maples article, you have to teach as if these children are your own. Would you want your “blessing” to receive less than exceptional education? I don’t think so.

Literacy Instruction in my Placement

Starting in September of this school year, all of Holt Public Schools implemented a K-2 literacy program that involves much more time devoted to literacy. In my kindergarten classroom, this means spending at least 90 minutes on literacy instruction without any interruptions (in theory). The students spend time on their letters, letter sounds, sight words, and comprehension. All of their small group time is dedicated to practicing these skills, and because the students have specials they are often rushed through the learning process and forced to work on it when they get home. My CT has a book that spells out exactly the worksheets she should be using, the stories she should read to her students, and even the questions she should ask her students while she's reading or after she finishes the story. All of the freedom to plan activities, allow for thoughtful discussion, and time for students to reflect has been seemingly taken away, although other school systems claim to have seen improvement in their reading scores after they implemented the program.

Although in this situation, my CT doesn't have many options in regards to her literacy instruction, all hope is not lost. In the Leland article about critical literacy, she essentially describes the literacy program at my placement by saying "For while many classroom reading programs are now micro-managed to the point of becoming scripts that teachers are asked to 'stand and deliver,' the time-honored institution of story time leaves a tiny chink in the armor". This article gave me hope that even if I have to teach such structured literacy, I can still find some loopholes to expose my students to meaningful reading experiences.

In my classroom, I want to build a learning community where my students feel comfortable taking risks and stretching outside their perceived "limits". In TE 401 we talked a lot about how to create a successful learning environment, and after reading this article, I now have another method that not only will foster a learning environment but also help my students become more literate individuals, think critically about text, their experiences, and the world around them in which so many social issues exist. Exposing children to societal issues is controversial, but by the time some students reach kindergarten, they have already been exposed to these issues in one way or another (depending on their home life and other experiences). By talking about these issues, students are learning to think critically about meaningful things and building literacy skills that are essential later in life and also experiencing positive interactions with reading, increasing their willingness to participate in the classroom discussion and the activities that may follow.

Along with the content of the literacy instruction of my classroom, I believe the medium in which I teach literacy is just as important. Like we talked about in Lindsay's blog post last week, there are so many new ways to experience text (due to technology) that it is important for students to be exposed to many different mediums. Between the internet (blogs, wiki's), eReaders, iPads, and even children's learning toys (LeapFrog), and just plain paperback books, there are many options on how to give your students rich literacy experiences.

With all of these options, it will be difficult trying to incorporate it all into my classroom, but I'm up for the challenge!