Chapter 8 in Tompkins really made me think of the children’s literature class that we had to take. I really enjoy getting the chance to see books from each kind of genre and to be able to make the comparisons. Truthfully I felt like that was one of the things that felt missing from this class. I wanted to know more about the literature that is being used in my classmate’s classrooms.
I noticed a pattern in this chapter. In almost every chapter there is a pink box that is labeled Nurturing English Learners. It then asks a question regarding the chapter topic and English learners, What I have noticed is the commonalities in the answers. Almost all the questions are answered by the most basic point which is to teach English learners lie the rest of your class with more support. They might require more help but the concepts that are important to the rest of the class are also important to the English Learners.
The chapter showed the features of text. My CT was teaching text features to the class and he gave each student a checklist that contained the common features of non-fiction text. It included things like headings, bold print, photos, diagrams, maps, and captions. The kids then had to go though a non-fiction book and make tally marks on their sheet for the items they found. They really enjoyed showing us all the tally marks they were able to make

In Tompkins Chapter 2, the beginning example talks about the class reading the book ,The Giver. (that book is a personal favorite of mine) I wish that I had read such an elaborate, thought provoking book when I was a seventh grader. It is strange but I cannot remember any of the trade books we used in school. They were usually dry and uninspiring. It is not until high school that I remember having any deep discussions about trade books.( I remember reading Catch 22 and Beloved in a modern US novel class in 9th grade) If as a younger student I had gotten the chance to have "grand conversations" about different text I think it would make a smooth transition into the analytical style of writing that is expected of students later in life. In the chapter they also talked about how in stage 2 one of the activities you can introduce is buddy reading. This is used in my classroom on a daily basis. The students can choose to buddy read during their free reading. I have seen great results when you have the right combination of kids. One of the kids ,James, has a tendency to not stay on task however when he does buddy reading he treats it like a chance to show off. The problem becomes that he often gets a little boisterous and has to be reminded that we do buddy reading quiet so others can read around him. I wonder if students would be more reluctant to read with a buddy in older grades.

Week 9 post

I believe that the basal method does not allow teachers to fully teach their students. No two students learn alike, so how could teaching the "book way" to every student, every year the same exact way possibly work? I am pretty sure that my CT would be all for this way because it causes little preparation by the teacher and, it seems to me, little student-teacher interaction. I do not think that I would like this teaching method because I like to teach creatively. Don't get me wrong, I am all for recycling lesson plans and borrowing from other people, but I do not feel as though every lesson plan should be recycled. I believe that teachers should cater lessons to their students because differentiated instruction is, in my opinion, the only way to teach effectively.

new literacies thoughts

While doing our new Literacies project, I have learned some great Yiddish phrases that I am excited to teach and I have also learned that I really do know a lot about my religion. Here are some of the common Yiddish words and their definitions:
bubbeOr bobe. It means Grandmother, and bobeshi is the more affectionate form.
chutzpahOr khutspe. Nerve, extreme arrogance, brazen presumption. In English, chutzpah often connotes courage or confidence, but among Yiddish speakers, it is not a compliment.
feh!An expression of disgust or disapproval, representative of the sound of spitting.
goyA non-Jew, a Gentile. As in Hebrew, one Gentile is a goy, many Gentiles are goyim, the non-Jewish world in general is “the goyim.” Goyish is the adjective form. Putting mayonnaise on a pastrami sandwich is goyish. Putting mayonnaise on a pastrami sandwich on white bread is even more goyish.
kibbitzIn Yiddish, it’s spelled kibets, and it’s related to the Hebrew “kibbutz” or “collective.” But it can also mean verbal joking, which after all is a collective activity. It didn’t originally mean giving unwanted advice about someone else’s game - that’s an American innovation.
klutzOr better yet, klots. Literally means “a block of wood,” so it’s often used for a dense, clumsy or awkward person. See schlemiel.
kosherSomething that’s acceptable to Orthodox Jews, especially food. Other Jews may also “eat kosher” on some level but are not required to. Food that Orthodox Jews don’t eat - pork, shellfish, etc. - is called traif. An observant Jew might add, “Both pork and shellfish are doubtlessly very tasty. I simply am restricted from eating it.” In English, when you hear something that seems suspicious or shady, you might say, “That doesn’t sound kosher.”
kvetshIn popular English, kvetch means “complain, whine or fret,” but in Yiddish, kvetsh literally means “to press or squeeze,” like a wrong-sized shoe. Reminds you of certain chronic complainers, doesn’t it?
Mazel TovOr mazltof. Literally “good luck,” (well, literally, “good constellation”) but it’s a congratulation for what just happened, not a hopeful wish for what might happen in the future. When someone gets married or has a child or graduates from college, this is what you say to them. It can also be used sarcastically to mean “it’s about time,” as in “It’s about time you finished school and stopped sponging off your parents.”
mentshAn honorable, decent person, an authentic person, a person who helps you when you need help. Can be a man, woman or child.
mishegasInsanity or craziness. A meshugener is a crazy man. If you want to insult someone, you can ask them, ”Does it hurt to be crazy?”
mishpochehOr mishpokhe or mishpucha. It means “family,” as in “Relax, you’re mishpocheh. I’ll sell it to you at wholesale.”
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/the-yiddish-handbook-40-words-you-should-know/

Week 9 Post - Basal Reading

The Tompkins chapter seemed to support the Basal reading program.  In one part of the chapter, they say that some teachers feel that they are limited with the textbooks, while others feel it's a great resource.  I feel that the Basal reading program is an easy way out for teachers.  Students should be reading tradebooks from second grade on.  The Basal reading program does not provide students with the full version of a book, they shorten the stories so the students are not getting the full effect.  I think the Basal reading program is great for first year teachers, but after your first or second year when you become more familiar with the curriculum and your atmosphere, you should step away from this reading program and be creative!  My CT strongly disagrees with the Basal reading program.  The third graders in my field placement read tradebooks and my CT has actually created packets full of comprehension, vocabulary, and prediction exercises for the students to complete as they read through the book.  By reading an entire book, students are able to see the full plot of the story, and learn more about the characters in the story.  The Basal reading program seems choppy, jumping from book to book.  I feel that you can learn the same content, such as spelling, grammar, vocabulary etc... by completing worksheets after each chapter of a book, instead of multiple shorter versions of books.

Vocabulary Lesson: "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry"

If I were to create a Vocabulary lesson based off of "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" I would focus on word choice. I would have students pair up into groups of two and pick out at least thirty words they liked from the chapter they had read. These words could be words they found interesting, words they don't know, words they have always liked, tasty words, etc. Next, I would have students record these words on paper. Then, I would have the students, in pairs, narrow their lists down to ten words, their personal favorites. After this, I would ask students to work independently and do the same lesson over again. Students will create their own list of personal favorite words, this time not only relating to "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry", but to any words they know at all. I will have students record this list in a notebook in which they can refer back to easily for their writing in the future. Students will be asked to update their lists frequently, but every time the add a word one must be eliminated from the list. Students will only exchange words in this process in order to keep them from using the same old "blah" words in writing. Through this process, of collecting words, students will learn to be more in tune to the language spoken and written around them in everyday life. They will learn to use more flavorful and enticing words in their writing and become more familiar with words they may have not known. Also, they will come to recognize more words in books they read and learn how to go about defining them and actually implementing them in their own writing later on. To make this lesson even more vocabulary related, I can have students define each word they add to their list and use them in a sentence, but the key part of my lesson is to get students to broaden their vocabulary use. Also, to get students to start using more enticing and interesting natural language that will authenticate their writing in the future.

Roll of Thunder Vocab Task

If I did a vocabulary lesson on this first chapter, I would break students up into small groups and have them pick out ten words throughout the chapter that they did not know. I would then have the students look up in a dictionary the meaning of those words. After that, I would have them write ten new sentences using each of the ten new words that they found. Then, we would popcorn around the room until we learned every word from every group and what it meant. After that, I would collect all of the student’s papers and type up a list of the new words that they did not know and hand them out to the students. If I felt it necessary, I would have the students learn the words for a vocabulary test that we would take and keep adding to throughout the book. This would only be necessary if they were choosing common words that they should know or would need to know later in life. Vocabulary is always good to learn!