Blog Reflection

This last year I taught kindergarten for the first time in six years.  I regularly visited a number of blogs to collect ideas on updated strategies and activities to use in the classroom.  The blogs I visited were colorful and included cute graphics, fun fonts, links to additional resources, and an abundance of research based information on running an effective kindergarten classroom.

At the beginning of this course, as I set up my blog, I tried to recreate some of the positive characteristics I enjoyed in the sites I visited.  I found a limit to the backgrounds available on the blogster website I used.  I selected a background that was appealing to the eye, but it wasn’t the cute and fun background I was hoping for.  I was able to use a fun font throughout the blog.  A little variety with font would have been fun, but again, the choices were somewhat limited.  The blog I created was satisfactory for this purpose, but it wasn’t the cute, engaging blog I was hoping for.  I found myself wondering how the kindergarten blogs I visited were created.  Did they use a different program or website to begin with?  Where did they get their backgrounds, graphics and fonts?  Did a separate company create the blog for them and they just maintained it?   I find myself looking at these blogs with new eyes.  Not only am I collecting creative information about teaching, but I’m also looking at how the page is put together so that I may someday create a fun blog as well. 

This last year we sent a homework menu home each week.  The menu included a reading log and various assignments to be completed during the week.  After creating and maintaining a blog for this course, I think posting the homework menu on a blog would be a terrific option.  Parents would have the option to visit the blog and view the homework menu.  If they have questions, they can post them (perhaps there are other parents with the same question) and I can respond.  In instances where a worksheet was used, that could also be posted.  Posting homework menus on a blog would save copy paper and time.  The only issue would be for parents who do not have access to the internet. 

I enjoyed visiting the blogs posted for this course.  They were all so different.  However, I missed following discussions on the forum as we have done in other courses.  I felt as though we were all posting on our blogs and occasionally visiting and replying to a blog, but I missed the community feeling and group learning that comes from the forum discussions.  I sometimes felt a little bit disconnected.  So, although a blog might be a good idea for a weekly homework menu, I’m not convinced it is a great format for a class like this. 

I will continue to visit blogs to continually update my teaching strategies and activities in the classroom.  Blogs are a valuable resource to teachers across the country.  As I visit, I will continue to collect ideas on how to create a classroom blog that is pleasant and easy to understand.  I think it would be a terrific resource to parents. 

Comparing Fiction and Non-Fiction Texts

The books I selected for this comparison are books that might be found in a kindergarten or first grade classroom.  Dinosaurs are a popular theme at these grade levels.  Students would be eager to enjoy these books. 

Sheltered Lesson Video

           The video showing a sheltered literacy lesson was obviously filmed in a secondary classroom.  Because my principal focus throughout my career has been elementary, specifically the primary level, I naturally watched it with that frame of reference.  From the beginning, I wondered if all of the strategies demonstrated by the teacher would be useful with primary students. 

In the introduction to the video, the environment was identified as a home economics classroom.   My first thought was whether the environment, which was irrelevant to the subject being taught and which included kitchenettes and posters on topics specific to home economics would be distracting for the students.   I had the same thought again as we saw the white board and chart paper the teacher was using so enthusiastically.  I felt that the copious amount of written notes across the white board and on the chart paper could easily be overwhelming to students who may still be learning the language. 

Prior to reading, the teacher did a terrific job of helping students activate background knowledge.  Providing each student with an opportunity to share his very unique background prior to reading helps students more easily understand the text.  The guidelines described in the video for vocabulary included selecting key words, saying them aloud and writing them on the board, and providing context for understanding.  The teacher in the video was introducing new words to the students.  Looking at the list of words, I wondered if it was necessary to introduce so many at one time. In my work with primary students, I tend to select only a few words for a specific passage or text so as to not overwhelm students. 

At one point in the video, I noticed that one student seemed more open to responding than the others.  Although students need to build confidence before feeling comfortable offering a response, I wonder if the teacher should nevertheless have encouraged other students in the class to share their thoughts. 

During the reading, I think it is especially important for the teacher to model fluent reading as students follow along.  At the beginning of this course, as I attempted to read a text in French, I came to the realization that having someone fluent in the language read the text and model reading and the language for me would have been very helpful.  This teacher did an excellent job of stopping occasionally as she read and sharing her thoughts about the text.  These think-alouds are especially important for young students who are learning to read for meaning.  I think that wait time is imperative for ELL students.  Wait time is important for all students, but for students collecting their thoughts in a new language, it is essential. 

Although teacher modeling is important, students should also be reading.  Round Robin reading has been found to be an ineffective technique for building both skill and confidence.  Additional strategies can be found in a book called Goodbye Round Robin by Michael Opitz and Timothy Rasinski. 

After reading the text, it is important to review the reading strategies the teacher modeled and the students practiced.  Students should also be given an opportunity to review important vocabulary.  Retelling or summarizing the story will help students ensure they understood the entire story.  I think it would be especially important for ELL students to work in groups on hands-on activities after reading.  This gives them a chance to talk to other students about the text while using new vocabulary.  They are able to share their connections to the story with other students, deepening understanding of the text by all students.  This kind of group work provides struggling students an opportunity to vent frustration and learn more informally from their classmates. 

The teacher in this video has a terrific strategy sequence for her students.  She starts with visualization.  Secondary students may be able to handle this exercise fairly well, but it can be a more difficult for primary students. 

The next skill she mentioned was questioning.  I think this is a difficult task for all students regardless of age.  While questions such as “What color is the sky?” are mastered fairly early, asking deeper questions such as “If air is invisible, why is the sky blue?” is much more difficult for students to do.  Perhaps we should allow students more time and practice in order to master this skill.

Inferencing is the third skill she teaches.  Skilled readers can infer from a text without conscious thought.  However, because this skill is more conceptual, I think it is not only difficult for students to learn, but often difficult for teachers to teach as well.  

I found the teacher in this video to be knowledgeable, skillful and enthusiastic.  While some of her strategies would work well with students at all levels, I have reservations about others.  The almost overwhelming notes on the white board, for example, would probably not be useful in a class of primary students.  Nevertheless, I found this video over all to be both helpful and thought provoking.