Final Project Introduction

Introduction

As I write this paper, I think to myself “I’ve got one left in me” as a graduating senior of MSU. More importantly I consider the true depth of knowledge I’ve gained from this class and this assignment as I embark on my career as an educator.

For my TE448 project, I decided to focus on individuals with disabilities in quality literature. As a future educator, whether teaching all students or teaching students with disabilities, I want to have an open voice for all children in my classroom. I want a diverse range of literature in my classroom for a diverse population of students. Above all, I want inclusion for all students present in my classroom. In doing so my students will be able to learn about individuals like them self and not like themselves in the same sense. As this course has taught me throughout the semester it is important for children to learn from literature and to be given that opportunity to learn. Students need rich, quality literature from an insider or outsider point of view in order to be able to relate to characters in the text or learn from them.

Basal Reading

I think BASAL reading lessons are a bad idea, I know we worked a lot with them in class and that Tompkins outlines several ways we can implement them positively, but I still do not like agree with them. I think that they cause a teacher to become too dependent on pre-planned lesson plans and only allow a teacher to teach one way. I think students need differentiated literacy instruction and that not every child can learn through Basal reading. I think it is easy for many teachers to rely on this method of teaching, but that planning your own lesson with multiple ways to approach a text is the answer. Not only that, but the Basal readers I have witnessed in my CTs classroom only offer sections or excerpts of texts. How are the students supposed to be motivated to read and comprehend text when they aren't getting the whole story? My CT doesn't use Basal readers in his classroom, he has created his own methods to teach literacy, which I feel are more effective. He includes literacy in every aspect of his classroom and every lesson he teaches. Whether he is teaching literacy through prompts like
"What would you do if you woke up after sleeping for ten years?" or through Read Aloud and DEAR time, the students are motivated and comprehend more because of it.

The dreaded Basal reader talk! I think the Tompkins book does a good job of trying to show the positive and the negatives of basal readers. Basal readers are so improved from what they were when I was young. The programs are much more inclusive and attempt to explore a greater variety of subject matter. These are used very infrequently in my placement. Most of the reading that I have observed is free reading and chosen by the students. There are some unintended consequences to his. Often a student can spend weeks "reading" the same book which will consist of them looking at pictures (for example the Guinness book of world records) Students can also pick books that are two hard for them to read and become frustrated or pick up books that are too easy and provide no challenge. This chapter does end with a really helpful review list: How effective teachers use basal reading textbooks.

This week’s reading addresses my biggest worry which is assessment. Chapter 9 in Tompkins shows some great examples of different kinds of assessments and their practical uses. The thing that I gained from this chapter is that your assessments should have a purpose and not just be for grades. If your assessment has a proper purpose it can illustrate the goal or purpose for the assignment. I do wonder if time restraints will be a problem in an actual classroom. There is an example they have with a teacher using a checklist and writing down al the student miscues and then analyzing them. I wonder how long an activity like this takes and how often would you be able to do this. You would have to have good classroom management otherwise you wouldn’t be able keep the class under control while you’re working with the individuals.

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.