1. What is the problem? Reading in Kindergarten


2. What is the rational for the project? Teachers and principals say that their students struggle in this area.

3. What strategy will be used to address the problem? Rhyming games to help students recognize rhyme and word families in text to expand their phonemic awareness. Assessing them before, during , and after the project.

4. What is the question? How can I use a variety of rhyming games to help my students recognize ryme and word families in text?

5. What evidence is presented that the strategy will work? Teaching students to decode words through word families, or “phonograms,” makes it possible for them to quickly identify unfamiliar words by using spelling patterns instead of sounding out letter by- letter. ( Wylie and Durrel (1970)

6. How will data be collected? Pre-test, model and demonstration, rhyme and memory, observation, literature reading,

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B6DFAmexYq7vZmUyM2MwMjEtZjlkMS00MDc1LTkzMTQtOGI1OWRjNzRhMjFh&hl=en&pli=1

Evidence of understanding in an 8th grade classroom.

1. What is the title of the project? Evidence of understanding in an 8th grade classroom.
2. What is the Question? How do we know students are learning?
 4. What strategy is being used to address? Assessments, through observation, dialogues, traditional quizzes and tests, performance tasks and projects, and students' self-assessments gathered over time
5. What evidence is presented that the strategy will work? Alfie Kohn describes as our propensity to do things "to" children rather than do things "with" children
 6. How will data be collected to determine if the strategy will work? Discussed as a class what the students needed to show as evidence for their understanding. Once the students decided on the standards, they spent the next few days reading and working on their evidence of understanding the texts. Through observations, interviews and class discussion, He documented the data.
7. How was the data analyzed? Students then presented their evidence to the class and we discussed whether their work "met standards" or not. This provoked many interesting discussions about what’s good evidence of understanding and the challenges of assessing their learning.
 8. What were the results? Students should be active, not passive. By being involved in the process, students were more focused on what they were supposed to be learning by providing evidence of what they learned rather than answering true or false.
 9. How do the results inform teacher practice? This informs teachers that there needs to be balance and freedom to asses in unique ways.

Web Quest Rubric and CSO'S

1.4--Students will use technological tools and

other resources to locate, select, and organize information.

1.8--Students will organize data, information,

and ideas into useful forms for analysis or for presentation.

2.1--Students will plan and make written, oral,

and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

4.6--Students will identify tasks that require a

coordinated effort and work with others to complete those tasks.

4.7--Students will identify and apply practices that

preserve and enhance the safety and health of self and others.

Overall visual appeal -2 points

Graphic elements sometimes, but not always, contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships. There is some variation in type size, color, and layout.

Navigation and flow- 4 points

Navigation is seamless. It is always clear to the learner what all the pieces are and how to get to them.

Mechanical aspects- 2 points

No mechanical problems noted.

Motivational effectiveness of introduction- 1 point

The introduction relates somewhat to the learner's interests and/or describes a compelling question or problem.

Cognitive effectiveness of the introduction-2 points

The introduction builds on learner's prior knowledge and effectively prepares the learner by foreshadowing what the lesson is about.

Connection of task to standards- 4 points

The task is referenced to standards and is clearly connected to what students must know and be able to do to achieve proficiency of those standards.

Cognitive level of the task 6 points

Task is doable and engaging, and elicits thinking that goes beyond rote comprehension. The task requires synthesis of multiple sources of information, and/or taking a position, and/or going beyond the data given and making a generalization or creative product

Clarity of process 4 points

Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next.

Scaffolding of process-6 points

The process provides students coming in at different entry levels with strategies and organizational tools to access and gain the knowledge needed to complete the task.

Richness of process- 2 points

Different roles are assigned to help students understand different perspectives and/or share responsibility in accomplishing the task.

Relevance & quantity of resources- 2 points

Connection between the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don't add anything new.

Quality of resources 4 points

Links make excellent use of the web's timeliness and colorfulness.

Varied resources provide enough meaningful information for students to think deeply.

Clarity of evaluation criteria-6 points

Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors.

45/50 score

web quest

WEB QUEST IDEA

http://questgarden.com/129/67/8/110730192856/

Students will take a virtual field trip to learn about how food and exercise can promote a healthy lifestyle. As they explore the online resources, they will collect information to include in a Health Camp brochure. They will collect images and graphs or use clip art to add interest to the brochure.

Double entry #8

Meaningful Learning

Some challenges to inquiry approaches to learning
One of the most significant challenges to the successful implementation of inquiry approaches is the skills and knowledge of the teachers engaging in this alternative form of teaching and learning (Good & Brophy, 1986). If the teachers do not know how to impliment this syle of teaching it can can be very hard to keep up with it.

"When teachers don’t fully understand the complexities of inquiry-based learning, they may simply think of this approach "unstructured," and may, as a result, fail to provide proper scaffolding, assessment, and redirection as projects unfold" ( )
Teachers must also be able to design and support inquiry-based lessons that meet a variety of criteria, such as illuminating key subject matter concepts, balancing direct instruction with inquiry opportunities, scaffolding the learning of individual students through modeling and feedback, facilitating learning among multiple groups, and developing assessments to guide the learning process (Blumenfeld et al., 1991)

On the student side, the might not have the prior knowledge and expierence to learn with this style."With respect to general academic skills, students may have difficulty developing logical arguments and evidence to support their claims (Krajcik et al., 1998).
overall, there are many things that contribute to the diffuclties this style of teaching has. It is much easier for a teacher to watch movies, hand out worksheets, and give students test. As we saw in this reading that doesn't work anymore. We need to be more involved and more educated on how to teach meaningful learning.

2.Make connections between project-based learning and three research based strategies (Choose strategies you have not already been assigned to read about). Give a brief explanation of the connections.

Project Based Learning is an instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation. These activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom. With working in groups known as cooperative learning, Project Based Learning allows students to reflect upon their own ideas and opinions, exercise voice and choice, and make decisions that affect project outcomes and the learning process in general.

Providing feedback- providing students with the right kind of feedback can help with their achievement in the classroom.Feedback has been shown to be one of the most significant activities a teacher can engage in to improve student achievement (Hattie, 1992). Rather than giving a letter grade in the grade book on a activity and giving it back to the student, active feedback on the students lets the student understand what they did well on and what they could do to make it better next time. Engaging with the student is a grate way to help a student succeed.

Cooperative grouping- Effective cooperative learning occurs when students work together to accomplish shared goals and when positive structures are in place to support that process (Johnson & Johnson, 1999).Students help each other learn and encourage individual team members' success and it also includes Interpersonal and small-group skills, including communication, decision making, conflict resolution, and time management.
This strategy works with project based learning because students get to be more engaged in a activity. They're not just sitting individually in their chair doing a worksheet they are working together to achieve a goal.

Simulations and games- this strategy helps students learn in a different way, since we know that children learn in different ways this stratgy should be used. Providing students the opportunity to visualize and model improves their chances for understanding. Simulations enhance this potential by making modeling dynamic. Games and modeling activities can elicit curiosity, create a demand for knowledge, and enable students to discover knowledge through exploration (Edelson, 1998).

Getting students up and moving around engages themselves into a activity to work with others,be active, have fun, and be more alive in class. Rather than a lecture and a test, getting students up and moving with a game or a simulation will allow for more knowlege gain.





Barron, D. B., & Darling-Hammond, D. L. (2008). Teaching for meaningful learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. (2005). Integrating technology into research-based strategies. Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/focus/

Identifying similarities and differences.

Instructional strategy, it includes various activities that help learners see patterns and make connections. For example, students compare things that are similar and contrast things that express differences

Most of our class has some type of previous knowledge with power point at some point in time in our lives. We are not however used to being pressured into doing something in a short amount of time. Along with the pressure of getting things done in a certain time, we are also not familular with being told exactly what to do. There was no freedom to explore the program therefore I do not think anything was learned.

Double Entry #6

Why is this video helpful for teaching in West Virginia?
Though there are not many African American students in west Virginia, we still have children struggling with writing.
What evidence is presented that supports the credibility of the speaker?
Associate Professor of English of literacy of new port news of Virginia and co author of “code switching” also a literacy consultant for national council of teachers of English

Describe the traditional approach to responding to student writing?
Finding error. Response with correction.

Why does the traditional approach not work in improving student writing?
Correcting vernacular features . its obvious that correction does not work , because we have the same problem popping up 2nd grade- college

Name the three strategies associated with the linguistic approach to writing instruction?
1. Scientific method.
2. Contrastive analysis.
3. Code switching meta cognition



How do you know the cat and Taylor go together?
Informal.. Owner is Taylor and the cat is what she owns.

What is different between the two patterns of possessives for informal and formal English?
Informal paternal the owner + what they own.
Formal- Owner + ‘S plus + what they own.

What strategy is being used for teaching the second grade students the different patterns between informal and formal English?

Describe how the scientific method is used to teach students to code switch. We collect data, similar issues cropping up in student writing. Observing and seak a pattern which is the hypothesis. Check every example to see if it conformed to the hypothesis


What question is being asked to engage students in the comparison and contrast strategy?
What changed between the informal side and the formal side? She led the students to compare and contrast to find the pattern of formal English. Raising the students awareness first is which is what they know and 2nd ,what we are trying to teach them.


How does code switching support meta cognition?
As students think about “ where I am “ or “what is my purposes “ and choosing the language to fit the setting When to use formal English and when to use informal English.
What evidence is presented the code switching approach works? Describe one of the studies?
Taylor: found that her African American students were continuing to struggle and failing, she used two different methods to help linguistics , the traditional approach and the other classroom she used contrast approach.. her results were dramatic, in the traditional approach students produced 8 % more vernacular features in their writing one semester. The contrast approach produced 59 % percent decrease in vernacular features.
Fogel and Erei- basically they looked at traditional techniques and contrast techniques. Basis was they had 30 percent vernacular features in a pre test. Traditional methods showed no change. Contrast group had a 100% improvement.
Second Speaker
How did the students respond when asked how they felt about being corrected when they talked?
Students felt stupid, and angry, confused. The children were not learning.
Give an example of a "fund of knowledge" the teacher drew on to help students learn to code switch? What does it mean to be formal and what does it mean to be informal? Kids already know this. What do you wear when you dress up? Children knew that’s being formal. So she used clothes and different settings on what you wear. Comparing them to English

What are some added benefits aside from raising test scores that stem from using contrastive analysis?
Students use proper and formal English in a serious environment that help them sound more professional. This can go a long way in speeches, higher education school papers, and job selections.





Explain how contrastive analysis for writing instruction is an example of each of these research-based strategies:
Generating and Testing Hypothesis---Across content areas and grade levels, inquiry in the classroom turns native curiosity to the learner's advantage. Through active learning experiences, students deepen their understanding of key concepts” this practice of the scientific method helps students discover what the problem was and fix it. Not just correcting it from the start, but actually getting deep into it and why.


Identifying Difference and Similarities-As an instructional strategy, it includes various activities that help learners see patterns and make connections. For example, students compare things that are similar and contrast things that express differences. They classify when they identify features or characteristics of a group of objects or ideas, and then develop a scheme to organize those objects. This is an example of writing instruction because it explains to the student that helps a student see the difference in the two types of writing.

Entry #5 (late)

What does the research say about the impact of negative teacher attitudes about students ethnicity and language variations on student learning?

Research has shown that many teachers have a negative attitude and are more critical towards dialects other than Standard English, considering it the "correct dialect."
Teachers identified nonstandard pronunciation and vocabulary associated with dialects as “incorrect.” They also expressed the belief that “bad” speech equals bad behavior and speaking a nonstandard language equals lower ability.

What are some assessment pitfalls?
No matter what type of teaching strategy a teacher might use to help with cultural diversity in their class room, one can still stereotype their students. Teachers need to get to know the student and family background before making assumptions about how one might write or speak. This can have a huge effect on a student’s performance in the classroom. How do you know what a student is capable of doing if you automatically think “ if they can’t speak or write correctly, then they can’t do anything”

What three approaches can be used to transform students’ dialectal diversity into an asset (funds of knowledge) rather than a liability (cultural deficit).

The awareness approach- examines history and social climate when dealing with the development of certain dialects. Important in this approach that comparing and contrasting students’ native dialect with standard English is the right way to go instead of the liability and cultural deficit direction. (Compose a movie or a poem in their dialect)
Critical pedagogy- focuses on transforming the social order rather than teaching students to succeed in the current social order. These teachers who practice employ students to have a voice of their own and support language power structure. (roll play scenarios where students use multicultural dialect and standard English)
Critical awareness – students are taught standard English, but are also taught to think critically about their language ideology. (Students may have discussions in their own dialect so they can actually say how they really feel)

Wikidot.com. (2009, September 4). Linguistic diversity in ece. Retrieved from http://ecelinguisticdiversity.wikidot.com/teacher-attitudes

Matts Photo story

WHERE I'M FROM....

I am from the back roads and small towns, from the Tygart River that flows under the covered bridge as fast as people can get to the market.

I am from the door is always open, dinner on the table, and a place where there is always something to do when there isn’t anything to do.

I am from the oak trees over a sparkling campfire, and “remember that time”
I am from the sound of the river and the train going through town in the distance, from mom and dad fixing steaks on the grill with the sound of a basketball bouncing underneath .

I am from the back packing trips and stories of how we grew up.
From drinking the water from the crick, and always wanting to swim when it’s hot. I am from loving one another no matter how they might treat us.

I am from Philippi West Virginia, where the corn on the cob and homemade potato salad always go hand and hand.

From the “matt always wanted to go to the pool, even though we were in Disney world, to Nathan always beating him in everything.

I am from knowing every face in this small place. I am from creeks and streams, and outdoor movie screens. I am from “howdy neighbor,” to “can you do me a favor?” I am from fishing, biking, running and swimming. I am from the outdoors, screen doors and everything in between. I’m from HOME, and that is where I’m from.

Double entry 4..With problems

Had problems getting the picture, but I used google docs to get it on my blog.

CLICK HERE FOR CULTURAL DEFICIT -THE LINK TO "MY OWN THE WORD"DOCUMENT

CLICK HERE FOR CULTURAL CAPITAL

Double Entry #3

“It's my responsibility to teach the learning standards, but not to change them or take away their dialect." (Epstein & LastHerring-Harris, 2011)

I learned a lot about teaching literacy development. I learned that Appalachian English has changed over the years, and that students find that interesting. One main thing that I have learned as I have becoming a teacher is that students need to be interested to be willing to learn. This activity gives students the background information on how and why people in this area speak and write. I learned that just because a student may not talk “correctly” does not mean they are incompetent and have no literacy knowledge that will hinder them from learning how to speak and write correctly. Through practice and learning, a student can understand the similarities in proper English and the cultural language of their area and apply that to their speech and writings for instance,” engage their students in studies of their home dialect, contrast it with Standard American English, and learn how to demonstrate their ability to code switch in order to succeed in school and jobs.” (Epstein & Herring-Harris, 2011)

The third thing helped me understand not only literacy development, but inclusion also. Each student should be given a chance to succeed in the classroom. Everyone has their differences. Some children can’t pay attention, others use the word “aint.” Does that mean we just forget about them and only teach the kids who are easy to teach? No, we do not. So finding ways to help these students who have unique differences in their dialect can change the way they look at learning the rest of their lives.

One positive experience in my high school that helped students be more professional in their speech and writing was a Senior Project. This project could be on almost anything you wanted to do it on. It was a 15-25 page paper describing the project and its processes. Second was a 5-10 min presentation. It wasn’t your typical project though, this was reviewed by board members and presented to two administrative members. You had to dress appropriate and your paper had to be professional. The point of me using this as a example is that I witnessed many projects that I thought were going to be very unprofessional and incorrect. I was wrong, I saw many people who did not have very proper language skills to develop a project like they did. This project after trial and error of being proof read, made the students learn how to speak and write correctly. Which probably helped them in college, because it defiantly helped me.
Writing across the curriculum: Once every few weeks our school gives out a topic and every student has to write a 1 page paper. This assignment is graded by the homeroom teacher and is given back. There is one problem with this assignment. There is no follow up, no reflection, no instruction on the errors made on the paper. You get a piece of paper back with more red ink on it than in math class. A student who can write correctly with correct punctuation and spelling gets good grades on every paper and keeps on getting good grades. A student who has trouble with literacy problems keeps on getting bad grades, and will hate to write the rest of his or her life. How do you expect someone to get better at something when they are set up to fail each time? It’s funny though, I never thought of it that way until now.

Comparing literacy development and inclusive practices.
Like I had said before, we are all different. There are many students who can speak and write correctly, some that can’t. There are some students who can learn by just listening to a teacher speak. There are some who can’t understand a thing a teacher says, but soon as they see it on paper they are fine. That’s just a couple of the many different types of students that are out there in the class room every day. We as teachers can’t pick out your favorite skittles and give your little brother all the reds. We have to accept every student and try and figure out a way to ensure a student’s success in the classroom, even if that takes some creativity and exploration.

Epstein, P., & Herring-Harris, L. (2011). Honoring dialect and increasing student performance in standard English. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655

As soon as she opened her mouth!": Issues of Language, Literacy, and Power

Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”
Chinese proverb

This quote is one of my favorite educational quotes I have ever read. Though it is well known, It describes the way I wanted and needed to learn when I was in school. My favorite teachers growing up were the ones who practiced this strategy. I grew up being medicated for attention deficit disorder as most kids these days are. A.D.D wasn’t as big of a deal back then as it is now. Not very many people knew how to keep kids who can’t pay attention on task. These teachers I had growing up knew how to get me involved, and used ways of teaching that wasn’t just work sheets and test. Those teachers made me the student I am today, and made me want to teach for the rest of my life. I can be in a class for five minutes and automatically know who has trouble with staying on task. These are the kids we need to be more involved with, figure out strategies that allow them to learn.


This link helps describe why this quote is important in Education (Davis, 1993)
CLICK HERE





Literacy knowledge

is understanding the basic concepts that children obtain when in preschool or in their everyday life, and not formal literacy instruction.
Literacy components

Stereotypes in literacy
Throughout life we as humans stereotype people on a daily basis. This can also be true and observed in probably every school across the country with teachers in the classroom. As we have learned, first impressions are everything. Whether its applying for a job or meeting a significant others parents. The first day of school can set everything up for a student’s success or failure. In this reading, Donny didn’t have a chance. Only because his mother was illiterate, was the teacher automatically ready to give up on Donny.

How do schools and teachers contribute to poor literacy instruction in school?
I feel that schools do not do enough to help students with poor literacy. I think they may feel that their job in the 4th grade isn’t to teach them to read and that was the job of a parent or a first grade teacher and that if they didn’t get it the first time then they are not going to get it now. Reading and writing should be taught in every class in every level all the way through grade school.



What is the relationship between language, social class, and the denial of educational opportunity?
There is a relationship between these 3 things, is it unfortunate? Yes, I think it is. When we first hear someone speak, we automatically have this judgmental state that goes through our heads classifying them into social and economic statuses. Just because a student may have a accent or pronounces words differently because of where they live, doesn’t mean they actually are illiterate .In the article the teacher first hears the mother speak and seems like she automatically gives up on the woman’s child. Maybe the thought through the teachers head was,” if she is illiterate, then her son is illiterate and I’m not going to get any help out of her so I’m just not even going to try.” To me that is why we are so lucky to have free education. Every child gets a opportunity to learn and grow up to be successful and live a happy life, but if you are going to shoot down a child because of how he is raised you are in the wrong profession

What can schools and teachers do to improve literacy instruction?
The main thing schools and their teachers can do is have an open mind and get rid of any stereotype they might run into. They should give every child the equal opportunity to learn no matter where they are from, how much their parents make, or what their home life is like.

How do you feel about use of the term "Proper English"?
I feel that students should practice “Proper English” in any type of formal setting. I also feel that you should speak the way that you would write a paper. This question is a bit broad in a sense that a student in high school I think should know when to speak proper English and when they don’t. A student in elementary or middle school might have trouble distinguishing the two. As a teacher in any grade however, I think it is our duty to correct student’s language to ensure proper education and literacy.


Davis, B. (1993). Tools for teaching. san Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from http://www.uww.edu/learn/motivating_students.php

Purcell Gates, V. (2002). As soon as she opened her mouth. In L. Delpit & J.K Dowdy (Eds.), In The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language culture and power

Double Entry 1

I'M BACK!

Inclusive Practices

“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”

Inclusive education is a process where the school system strategic plans, and policies adapt and change to include teaching strategies for a more diverse range of children and their families. Inclusive practices involve diverse students with highly complex learning needs, including students with varied ethnic, linguistic, socioeconomic and ability components.


3 types of students Inclusive Education is meant to serve are:
1. Learning disabled students
2. Mentally disabled students
3. Low Soc economic status

2 Characteristics of Inclusive Education are:
1.School as a community
2.Students acting as problem solvers in teams

A strategy that helps students become more responsible and effective in the inclusive process.
Using a discussion that allows students to speak their mind, by getting everyone on the same level. This allows students not only to hear the teacher,but also listen to their classmates.


Here is a link to a article that I read and found very interesting. I thought it was more in detail regarding the frame work that is needed to have a more inclusive school.

CLICK HERE

Vaidya, Sheila. "Meeting the challenges of an inclusive classroom of improving learning for all students.." questia.com. N.p., 1997. Web. 18 Jan 2012. .