Question Four:
I don’t think my planning has really been inline with what UBD outlines. I don’t take a backwards design approach. I guess to an extent I have an end result in mind. For instance, for all works of literature that I cover, I want the students to comprehend the plot as well as recognize and appreciate literary devices. I also want them to be able to identify and understand themes, symbols and motifs as well as the methods of characterization utilized. However, I don’t start planning the unit by coming up with the big overlying questions. I typically start with the novel and focus on the comprehension of the words and the plot first. The thought behind that is that if the students don’t understand the basics, they can’t really go anywhere from there. The assessments that I give the students are usually focused on smaller skills and understanding verses the big picture. For instance, I just assigned a compare and contrast essay between two characters from different texts, I assigned this because it will help them to work on their writing skills while making a connection between two tests and utilizing higher level thinking to make the comparisons. Additionally, the outside text is written by Maya Angelou, who is one of the motifs in the novel we are studying, so it helps the students to understand that concept better too. It seemed like a valid assignment to me, but not quite in alignment with the proposed thought process outlined in UBD.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Question 3
Question Three:
I have always been a unique sinner, and my teaching “sin” is no exception. I definitely don’t rush coverage to try to get to too may things in one year. Furthermore, although I do incorporate hand s on activities into my teaching arsenal, they are typically worthwhile activities to enhance the learning process, not replace it. For instance, I might have the students research a topic and then develop a poster or a pamphlet that they will have to present to the class. I would have to say that my sin is going too in depth on some topics. While I think it is a valid learning experience for the students, I end up running the risk of not getting to all the texts I need to over the course of the year. However, I good conscience I need to take the time to make sure that the students understand the concepts that I am trying to get across. If I have to walk them through the writing process and take three weeks to do it; then that’s what I’ll do becasuwe3 it is a valuable skill that they will need not only for the remainder of the year in my class but they need writing skills for the rest of their lives. The danger of my sin is pissing the administration off. The danger of the other the twin sins is that teaching becomes purposeless. If we move through things too quickly, it isn’t possible for the students to gain a true understanding and a lasting impression of what is being taught. “Mindless activities” kind of speaks for themselves.
I have always been a unique sinner, and my teaching “sin” is no exception. I definitely don’t rush coverage to try to get to too may things in one year. Furthermore, although I do incorporate hand s on activities into my teaching arsenal, they are typically worthwhile activities to enhance the learning process, not replace it. For instance, I might have the students research a topic and then develop a poster or a pamphlet that they will have to present to the class. I would have to say that my sin is going too in depth on some topics. While I think it is a valid learning experience for the students, I end up running the risk of not getting to all the texts I need to over the course of the year. However, I good conscience I need to take the time to make sure that the students understand the concepts that I am trying to get across. If I have to walk them through the writing process and take three weeks to do it; then that’s what I’ll do becasuwe3 it is a valuable skill that they will need not only for the remainder of the year in my class but they need writing skills for the rest of their lives. The danger of my sin is pissing the administration off. The danger of the other the twin sins is that teaching becomes purposeless. If we move through things too quickly, it isn’t possible for the students to gain a true understanding and a lasting impression of what is being taught. “Mindless activities” kind of speaks for themselves.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Question 2
Question 2:
With the particular novel I brought in as my sample, I did take a well-rounded approach to developing the curriculum. Speak is a YA novel that is about a young girl who gets raped at a party over the summer. As a result of the rape and the sequence of events following it, Melinda becomes ostracized and loses her ability to communicate. In the case of this novel, my main goal was to educate the students about the difficult topics in the novel that my students will more than likely be affected by over the course of their lives. To do this, I reach out to the community and bring in several speakers, such as a representative of the Women’s Crisis Center, the police department, and/or a psychologist. I also have the skills and ideas that the students need to learn over the course of the unit, such as themes, compare and contrast, writing skills critical thinking etc. I incorporate these into my lessons. For instance, while reading an excerpt of Maya Angelou’s, I review literary devices and do an oral quiz as well as practice comparing and contrasting and writing. I take the learners into account and keep an eye on them to see how they are handling the work load and how their skills are progressing as well as their reactions to the content matter being covered. I make the work challenging but attainable and then give them opportunities to do activities that trigger the multiple intelligences. The assessments in this unit are very formative. I ask them to utilize information to make something new and think about a variety of topics and present their thoughts in writing, speech and artwork. I don’t give a typical pen and paper test on this unit at all. However, I must admit that not all my units are as well-rounded as this one.
With the particular novel I brought in as my sample, I did take a well-rounded approach to developing the curriculum. Speak is a YA novel that is about a young girl who gets raped at a party over the summer. As a result of the rape and the sequence of events following it, Melinda becomes ostracized and loses her ability to communicate. In the case of this novel, my main goal was to educate the students about the difficult topics in the novel that my students will more than likely be affected by over the course of their lives. To do this, I reach out to the community and bring in several speakers, such as a representative of the Women’s Crisis Center, the police department, and/or a psychologist. I also have the skills and ideas that the students need to learn over the course of the unit, such as themes, compare and contrast, writing skills critical thinking etc. I incorporate these into my lessons. For instance, while reading an excerpt of Maya Angelou’s, I review literary devices and do an oral quiz as well as practice comparing and contrasting and writing. I take the learners into account and keep an eye on them to see how they are handling the work load and how their skills are progressing as well as their reactions to the content matter being covered. I make the work challenging but attainable and then give them opportunities to do activities that trigger the multiple intelligences. The assessments in this unit are very formative. I ask them to utilize information to make something new and think about a variety of topics and present their thoughts in writing, speech and artwork. I don’t give a typical pen and paper test on this unit at all. However, I must admit that not all my units are as well-rounded as this one.
Question 1
Question One: Describe in general how you currently develop curriculum.
When I develop a unit like my sample unit on Speak, I begin by reading the book once all the way through. Then I read it again more slowly and write down vocabulary words that I think the students might struggle with that I find important for them to know at this juncture (I can’t use all the words they don’t know; it would be too overwhelming, so I typically have 40-80 words per text.) While I am doing the second reading, I start jotting down notes on what strikes me about the book—symbols, themes, motifs, connections that the kids might be able to make to the text. I will usually do a third reading at which time I develop guided reading questions. I also research the novel to see what other people have done. I am a big supporter of not reinventing the wheel for everything. Typically, I find ideas that I think are interesting and then adapt them for my classroom. For instance, for my Speak unit, I found a research project about rape. It required the students to research several components (avoidance, self-defense, and post-rape response/help) develop a pamphlet and a poster and then present them to the class. In addition to covering this topic, I also assign to the various groups bullying and depression. I also have speakers come to my class to discuss rape and depression. I think they are important topics that the students need to get real information about because, unfortunately, many of them will have to deal with these issues over the course of their lives. I also think of a variety writing assignments based on the book and making connections to it. Furthermore, I find outside texts to bring in and use with the class. This year, I used an excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. While we were reading it in class, the students were actively looking for examples of literary devices and participating in an oral quiz, and then they compared and contrasted Maya Angelou’s experience with Melinda’s. Every year, I tweak it a little bit and make changes based on the needs of the students and what else is happening in the students other classes, especially if they have a second English class. I cover all of the strands of the NJCCCS for Language Arts Literacy over the course of reading and discussing the novel.
When I develop a unit like my sample unit on Speak, I begin by reading the book once all the way through. Then I read it again more slowly and write down vocabulary words that I think the students might struggle with that I find important for them to know at this juncture (I can’t use all the words they don’t know; it would be too overwhelming, so I typically have 40-80 words per text.) While I am doing the second reading, I start jotting down notes on what strikes me about the book—symbols, themes, motifs, connections that the kids might be able to make to the text. I will usually do a third reading at which time I develop guided reading questions. I also research the novel to see what other people have done. I am a big supporter of not reinventing the wheel for everything. Typically, I find ideas that I think are interesting and then adapt them for my classroom. For instance, for my Speak unit, I found a research project about rape. It required the students to research several components (avoidance, self-defense, and post-rape response/help) develop a pamphlet and a poster and then present them to the class. In addition to covering this topic, I also assign to the various groups bullying and depression. I also have speakers come to my class to discuss rape and depression. I think they are important topics that the students need to get real information about because, unfortunately, many of them will have to deal with these issues over the course of their lives. I also think of a variety writing assignments based on the book and making connections to it. Furthermore, I find outside texts to bring in and use with the class. This year, I used an excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. While we were reading it in class, the students were actively looking for examples of literary devices and participating in an oral quiz, and then they compared and contrasted Maya Angelou’s experience with Melinda’s. Every year, I tweak it a little bit and make changes based on the needs of the students and what else is happening in the students other classes, especially if they have a second English class. I cover all of the strands of the NJCCCS for Language Arts Literacy over the course of reading and discussing the novel.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
HSPA HELP
I went to a workshop today on using an online test skills building site. Basically, my district wants us to use it to teach to the HSPA. The problem with this very helpful site is that it will be least effective with the students that my school wants it to help the most. Basically, the way it works is that the students either take a test or do practice activities and then the computer grades it and tells the students why each answer is correct or incorrect. Sound pretty good so far, right? The problem rests in that fact that many of the students most in need either aren't motivated enough to read and analyze all of the explanations or don't have the skills to fully process it. I don't think that the site is useless, but I think that it is a disservice to the students to try to let the program "teach" the students. I think the greater value in the site is to take some of their practice sheets and guides and work on it in the classroom so the teacher can "teach" and the students can learn interacting with the teacher and the other classrooms instead of putting the onus on the students to process and learn on their own.
Conundrum part II
Well, I decided to do what I thought was best for my students; it cost me a little corner of my soul…
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Yes, but...
Yes, but…
On a good day at my school, that is the common refrain. More typically, you’d hear, “Are they out of their F’in minds? There is no way in hell we are doing that! Isn’t hat against our contract? They can’t force us; there is no way for them to keep track of it.” So many teachers are so entrenched in their ways that they automatically fight anything new. In our school, that still includes test prep (HSPA). They are so resistant to change I think that giving up teaching for “understanding” because of teaching to the test is the least of my district’s worries. They need to learn how to motivate teachers to become more engaged. After all, if the teacher isn’t engaged, obviously, the students won’t be engaged.
On a good day at my school, that is the common refrain. More typically, you’d hear, “Are they out of their F’in minds? There is no way in hell we are doing that! Isn’t hat against our contract? They can’t force us; there is no way for them to keep track of it.” So many teachers are so entrenched in their ways that they automatically fight anything new. In our school, that still includes test prep (HSPA). They are so resistant to change I think that giving up teaching for “understanding” because of teaching to the test is the least of my district’s worries. They need to learn how to motivate teachers to become more engaged. After all, if the teacher isn’t engaged, obviously, the students won’t be engaged.
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