Week 8

• Discuss the components of an effective writing program and why they are important.
• 1. the importance of an effective writing program is where you can get your students to use the proper grammar and fluency.
• How might you rearrange your schedule to create more time for students to write in general and, in particular, for students to write about their personal experiences?
• 2. I would use whatever down town we had in the classroom to help the students.
• How can you create ways for students to make personal connections in different subject areas through writing?
• 3. have the student write why they think they are struggling in and why they feel they are not doing well.
• How can student work help you decide which conventions to teach?
• 4.by looking at the student`s work it will show you what areas they are strong in and what they are weak in.
• When can you promote student inventions and experimentation with different formats in writing?
• 5. I think that it is very important for your students to be confident in their writing skills. When they feel that they are a good writer they will write and write.

COCA

I that this is a great way to assess a student`s reading level. This method, COCA, helps allow you as a teacher to work one on one with a student to get a better understanding on the student`s reading level. There are two different levels that can be used, Salmon and Dragonflies. This is good becasue you can chose which one fits best for all different types of students. Also, by a  teacher asking the students questions it helps the teacher get a better understanding  on what the student`s comprehension level is.

A Writer`s Story

From this video clip, it showed how the author had the students come up with an idea to show his imperfections when he was a child and told his own stories. By doing so, he showed all of the students that it was alright to be different and who you want to be. He made the students come up with their own stories about someone who was an outcast and different from everyone else. I thought this was a great idea to use in a classroom. By doing this it can somewhat have an effect on kids being bullied in school, because it shows the students how everyone is different in their own way and it isn`t “weird” so nobody should be picked on. This video clip shows a lot of positive outcomes.

Question: How would you use an activity like this in your classroom to make the student aware of bullying?

R4

I listened to the podcast about the reading engagement method. It talked about motivating students to read more at home and how parents should help their children read more at home as well. The R4 is used to help the students understand what they must do when reading and for the teacher can touch base and see how the student is performing with their reading. When a student understands on their own what they are actually reading, I think they will feel more confident in what they read. I think that it is a great way for parents to also help their children read and it will help make the students want to read more in the classroom as well as at home. The R4 is a method which helps promote students to read at home and the R4 is to Read Reflect relax and Respond.  is This podcast has taught me a lot about the R4 and it informed me on why students are having problems reading on their own and it will help with their confidence as well as their reading skills.

NAEP testing

In this article it talks about the differences in NAEP testing and the tests that are given by the state to the students on their levels of reading. In this article it talks about how teachers all over don’t spend enough time reviewing on the reading and literacy with their students and it causes the students to start falling behind each year. This article talks about that teachers are more focused on working with the textbook rather than on the testing that is being done. On tests, the students are scoring well because the bar is set very low, but it does not help the students to their benefit. The NAEP test helps challenge the students and it is exactly what the student’s need. It will help them do better and it sets the bar higher in which they need to strive harder to pass this test.

-Why wouldnt the states make it mandatory for the school districts to make the teachers focus more on the testing rather than the textbooks?

RTI article

In this article it discusses RTI, which is Response to Intervention and it talks about the effect that it has on the struggling students. RTI was made to help teachers learn more about students who have learning disabilities. It helps teachers react to what the certain students need and then help them in that area that they are having a problem with. RTI is very important to the students as well as teachers. It has made a big impact on many people’s lives especially those students who are not meeting the standards and are falling behind. The RTI helps give a better chance to those struggling students and move forward and not struggle. I feel that this helps many struggling students who are just giving up because they feel as if they cannot keep up anymore and feel like failures.

Video Assessment

In this video there are many things being discussed by Dr. Paratore. She talks about the importance of many assessments which are used to evaluate the reading and literacy of the student`s. The topic being discussed is how students should understanding what they are reading not just reading it. She thinks that as a teacher, you should learn how to assess the students to make them stronger readers and many different methods should be used to help the student`s want to read. Running records were mentioned as a good way to help the reading assessments. This video was interesting because it gave many ideas and good information that can help prepare me for my future as a teacher.