Learning Letter

Sean-

This quarter has been tough for me to get through everything. Taking this course at the same time as the 90 hour observation quarter was… busy. Between the mini-lesson, article responses, unit plan, book talk prep, lesson prep, and other requirements, I stretched myself pretty thin at times. Overall, though, it was definitely worth it.

I feel like everything we did in class prepared us for the busy atmosphere we’re going to have to get used to for the first years of teaching. My favorite part of the course was the book talks because it provided so many different resources for my future students who want to expand their reading habits. I have already had a few of my students ask me for books that they might be able to read, and having the stack of book talk handouts has proven to be so handy. Another portion of the work load that I enjoyed was the mini-lesson since I was able to get different kinds of feedback for my teaching style. I stayed as true to my usual style as possible during the teaching of my lesson as I am in the classroom, so hearing what my colleagues had to say on improvements and small ways that I could tweak things was awesome. I’m always worried that I could do better, and hearing the positive aspects was also really reassuring.

Some of the theories we covered were recap for me, but others were new to me. I had previously learned what differentiated instruction was in other classes, but it was good to hear about different articles that my peers had found that clear up different ways to incorporate differentiated instruction into lesson planning.

Finally, I think this course helped me overall realize a few things about my teaching tactics. I know that I tend to put stud off until the last minute, but this class thoroughly reinforced my thoughts on my ability to get things done. I did most of my work in a timely manner for the course and it helped solidify my beliefs that I can do what it takes to get things done in time. Granted, there will be MUCH more work in my first years teaching, but getting everything done on time with my schedule this quarter was great.

-DaVena Clark

American Born Chinese

For starters, I ended up really liking this text. I hadn't ever read a graphic novel before, but really enjoyed the different dynamic of it. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to get through it because I expected it to take as along as reading a regular novel. Thanks to the limited text, however, I was pleasantly surprised with the ease in which I was able to finish the book.

Now for the academic aspects--this book could be used to grasp the attention of several non-readers in my classroom. Despite the harsh terms and hyperbole of the "stereotypical" Asian, this is a text that is entertaining and makes you pay attention to the different connections made throughout the text. By having the three stories intertwine, the author provides us as educators with a portal to show connections between seemingly unconnected things. I feel as though that is a great skill to teach students and using this graphic novel to do so would speak to their demographic. Since the main character of one story-line is a high school student, my students would be able to connect with the isolation and conflicting emotions that Danny experiences when interacting with his "cousin" and new friends.

Another reason I like the idea of using this book in the classroom is because of the fact that my students lose focus easily, but this book is easy to look through and understand, even if you don't read the text. By having pictures to tell the story instead of only words, we get to see into the characters' worlds much more clearly and vividly. This could help my students maintain attention and grasp some further concepts of the lesson being conveyed.

Romeo + Juliet = Forever and Always...... kinda

For starters, I don't like this play. I feel like it's gotten way too much focus and that society should expand and enjoy some of Shakespeare's other works. That being said, I do find literary merit in the play. The character development and conflict throughout the play show to be good resources when teaching about plot. There is a lot going on throughout the play, even though it's focused on the two lovers and their families' anger toward each other. I feel as though showing the quickness of budding affection and the drastic measures the two characters took can be looked at through a modern lens and over-the-top and naive. Students, on the other hand, might relate to this naivety and claim their love for their significant other is that strong.

One way to make a connection to the text for the students is to help them realize that the characters in the play were about their ages. If you think about a freshman and a senior in high school making all of these plans to run away and get married, then end up killing themselves. It's pretty twisted to think about, and making these connections with the students could help get Shakespeare's point across even clearer that feuds such as that represented in the play, or even simple petty hatreds, can lead to drastic outcomes and hurt innocent people.

Sherman Alexie Response

This book would be very easy to incorporate into your high school or middle school  classroom. Due to the fact that the main character is dealing with a lot of the same issues that your students are dealing with, it would be very easy to tie in aspects of the book and personalize it with the kids.

The key component that I feel the students could connect with it that of bullying and being the victim of bullied. The fact that Arnold deals with issues with his physical attributes, poverty level, and skin color can mean that there is an array of issues that you can connect with your students’ lives. Along with this concept of bullying, you could pull excerpts and use them for anti-bullying month in October—Central Valley does this recognition every year, I’m not sure what the other schools do. There are some really good pieces of text that could be impactful for students.

Not only do I feel like students can connect with this text, but I also enjoyed reading it and thinking back to my teenage years. I transferred high schools mid-way through my sophomore year from a small town to a school four times the size. I connected with a lot of the isolated and “different” aspects that Arnold went through.

"Things Fall Apart" Response

I've read excerpts from this text before, so some bits of it were familiar to me. In high school, my teacher pulled the text that followed the fate of Ikemefuna and we read several of those pieces. This was my first time reading the whole book, though. That being stated, there were a lot of things that I got from this text. Not many of them were very literature related, but mostly societal norms and character personalities that are different than the majority of the society around me.

First off, Ikemefuna's character became much more developed for me through this reading. It was rather interesting how he stayed in the village so long and became so close with the family. I would have thought that people would have either accepted him into the tribe and let his servitude pay for the death of the young Ibo woman or killed him right away. It was strange that everyone "forgot" about him.

Okonkwo's development also threw me off a bit, and his character pissed me off at times. His constant portrayal of everything strong and manly seemed too over-the-top. I disliked how he let his anger get out of control in some instances and that the village often sided with him. For instance, when he beat his third wife during the week of peace for being out late, why would that demand such a serious beating? Along with his anger, he was a very prideful person. This ended up leading to his downfall because he returned from his exile to find the "white man" having power in his village. By rising up against  them, he earned himself a trial. But he hanged himself instead of proceeding with the trial. I didn't like that Okonkwo had spent his entire life trying to be strong and live a labor-filled life, but shamed himself and ruined his reputation forever by hanging himself. I feel as though this shows him as worse than his father because at least his father was strong enough to deal with his problems and didn't end his own life. This just goes to show that physical strength and endurance isn't all that matters in life; you must have emotional strength and the ability to be patient in order to be truly successful in life.

TPA Guideline Response

Having worked a lot with the TPA format for the past couple of quarters, I am very familiar with the layout. I will admit, however, I am still learning how to best use the format to benefit my planning. What's different about the layout posted on the class blog and the template we get through the education department is that the template provided here has several good prompting questions and highlights. I was completely lost when trying to plan my first couple of lessons during the classroom assessment course about two years ago, and having something that provided these prompts would have been very helpful.

The academic language portion of this prompt in particular is one piece that really sticks out to me. That's the portion I've always had the most trouble with and having several different types of terminology to point out really helps. In fact, I asked my supervisor on Monday what exactly needs to be included in that piece of the TPA. Although talking with her helped me understand it better, this template helps clarify the couple of questions that still lingered.

Another portion that I really liked is that the portion in Instructional Strategies about student voice was in bold. I sometimes forget to put the objectives and tasks into student voice and having it in bold like this is a great reminder to watch for it.

Finally, the differentiated instruction also stuck out to me. Part of this extra notice was because of the fact that this was where I needed the most focus after teaching my lesson on Monday, as well as the fact that we had the discussion in class on Wednesday, but also because it's worded in a more easily understandable way. I always considered differentiated instruction to be meeting the needs of the lower learning level students and making sure your lesson either meets their needs or can be altered for their needs. Until Monday's lesson, I hadn't put much thought into how to accommodate the higher learning level students, or those who simply worked quickly. The wording in this layout really makes it clear that it's supposed to be a level playing field for everyone in the classroom. By stating that we need "equitable learning opportunities," we see that it's not just the lower level students that need focus, but that everyone needs the same opportunities to learn the most they can.

October 23rd Response-Differentiated Instruction

The article I found would have been really helpful a week ago when I was prepping for the lesson I taught on Monday. The article goes into the definition of differentiated instruction (DI) and includes how it is meant for those who are struggling as well as those who excel. I had always just thought of DI as accommodations for those who struggled, not the ones who work fast and produce quality work and proceed to get bored. The main issue I had with my lesson on Monday--which was my first lesson observed by my EWU Supervisor--was that there were a group of student who had finished the assignment 10 minutes before the rest of the class and were causing disruptions because they kept talking too loudly. Had I thought about how to accommodate them in my TPA lesson plan under the differentiated instruction, I could have prepared for that and told Char--my supervisor--how I avoided the disruptions.

The article does a good job of showing the importance of planning for both kinds of students; I like the equal focus it give both types of students. I always simply plan for the IEPs, 504s, or "problem students" and let those who are a more responsible and ahead of the curve slide by. After reading the importance of focusing on those "superb students," however, I plan to focus on them as well as the problems students when prepping for my future lessons.