Have you ever spent time with children while they were playing? Whether with your own children, relatives, or students in your class have you ever paid attention to the imagination that is being used and the story-telling going on during playtime? I have seen my niece and nephews while they play and sometimes just had to laugh in surprise at their creativity. Sadly however, play in schools has been starting to dwindle. As more pressure has been put on increasing test scores there has been more pencil/paper work and less play. As Dr. Karen Wohlwend stated in a podcast with Dr. Betsy Baker, play is looked at more as a nice thing to have, but not of enough value to keep around when push comes to shove with our time (2009).
In this podcast and her corresponding article, Dr. Wohlwend looks specifically at play with Disney princess dolls from popular media. Some teachers have felt that allowing students to write about these popular media themes would not encourage children to be creative and they would just be writing based on stories they knew. However, as Dr. Wohlwend points out, these themes are rich with literacy material.
Play provides a safe environment where mistakes are inconsequential and where they can practice and extend their literacy abilities. Children can practice language oral skills without fear. In interacting with others they can build those literacy skills together and develop their own strategies. I think most people recognize that school can be very draining. When all day long students are sitting at their desks working with pencil and paper it is bound to be mentally exhausting and become less effective. Children need some time to let their creativity out in a way they dictate. It is up to us as teachers to harness that imagination and creativity, not stomp it out.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Fun with Reading
We live in a culture where story telling is a big part of our conversations, whether we discuss our own life experiences or we are sharing our thoughts about a movie we just saw or book we just read. During my experiences in the classroom this semester I have come to really value the opportunity to do read-alouds with the students and really getting them involved with stories. I have had several opportunities to do read-alouds with my first graders. While their enthusiasm can sometimes be overwhelming with every student wanting to comment, I find it a valuable tool when it comes to building their comprehension of a book or story.
Some may have the misconception that a read aloud simply implies reading a book out loud to children; they sit and listen while the teacher reads through the story non-stop. If this were the case, I would not consider read-alouds quite as valuable as I do. A good read aloud gets the children interacting with the story, asking questions and making connections. In their book, Catching Readers, Johnson and Keier refer to a scenario where after reading the book the teacher asked the students to take some time to share their thoughts with a partner. This gives the students a chance to construct meaning, make connections and support one another (p.99). Not only does this help the students work on literacy skills, but it usually makes the story more enjoyable! So often we expect students to only talk about what we are learning in school. Read-alouds can give them a chance to bring in their life experiences and to just have a purposeful conversation that is not based on right or wrong answers.
Shared reading can also bring a lot to the table. We can use some of the same tips from read-alouds in letting students talk and build meaning while allowing each student to have the book in front of him or her. At my current school they use something called the Fab Four when doing shared or guided reading. The Fab Four are four different characters: Quincy the Questioner who asks who, what, when, where, why questions about the story, Paula the Predictor who predicts what is going to happen next in the story, Clara the Clarifier who stops to examine words we are not familiar with, and Sammy the Summarizer who gives a brief summary of the main points in the story. I have found these to be very effective in helping students build their comprehension.
There are many benefits in reading aloud to children AND allowing them to participate in the story. Finding a way that makes reading more enjoyable and more productive is a definite win.
Some may have the misconception that a read aloud simply implies reading a book out loud to children; they sit and listen while the teacher reads through the story non-stop. If this were the case, I would not consider read-alouds quite as valuable as I do. A good read aloud gets the children interacting with the story, asking questions and making connections. In their book, Catching Readers, Johnson and Keier refer to a scenario where after reading the book the teacher asked the students to take some time to share their thoughts with a partner. This gives the students a chance to construct meaning, make connections and support one another (p.99). Not only does this help the students work on literacy skills, but it usually makes the story more enjoyable! So often we expect students to only talk about what we are learning in school. Read-alouds can give them a chance to bring in their life experiences and to just have a purposeful conversation that is not based on right or wrong answers.
Shared reading can also bring a lot to the table. We can use some of the same tips from read-alouds in letting students talk and build meaning while allowing each student to have the book in front of him or her. At my current school they use something called the Fab Four when doing shared or guided reading. The Fab Four are four different characters: Quincy the Questioner who asks who, what, when, where, why questions about the story, Paula the Predictor who predicts what is going to happen next in the story, Clara the Clarifier who stops to examine words we are not familiar with, and Sammy the Summarizer who gives a brief summary of the main points in the story. I have found these to be very effective in helping students build their comprehension.
There are many benefits in reading aloud to children AND allowing them to participate in the story. Finding a way that makes reading more enjoyable and more productive is a definite win.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
The Looming Presence of Assessments
I remember test taking as always being part of school. By the time I got to high school one would think I would have mastered taking tests (which I still have not). Then during my undergraduate work I was exposed to different kinds of tests and assessments, which showed me that I am just not as strong in multiple choice or true/false tests as I am with tests that require reasoning and give me a chance to argue my claims. Having decided to enter the field of education I have seen that standardized testing in schools has become even critically tied to a student's performance than when I was in school. Obviously there does need to be some kind of assessment, but is constant testing (and the same kinds of tests at that) really the best way to evaluate performance, knowledge, or ability?
Just as I have my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to different forms of tests, I believe all students have a testing niche in which they are most successful. I completely agree with Dr. Caitlin Dooley who stated that a single test cannot tell the whole story and that we need to have different genres of assessments (2010). Tests should not be a measure of how gifted a student is at taking tests, but at assessing what they have learned and where improvements can be made. Assessments should be a means of helping teachers figure out how to be more effective in the classroom.
According to Johnson and Keier, authors of Catching Readers Before They Fall, other forms of assessment include informal conferences with our students, taking notes on students's performances throughout the day, or a more formal assessment like a running record or benchmark tests (2010). We as teachers are in the classroom to teach our students. What better way to assess how we as teachers are performing and how our students are doing than by watching them and taking note of their learning processes?
Just as I have my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to different forms of tests, I believe all students have a testing niche in which they are most successful. I completely agree with Dr. Caitlin Dooley who stated that a single test cannot tell the whole story and that we need to have different genres of assessments (2010). Tests should not be a measure of how gifted a student is at taking tests, but at assessing what they have learned and where improvements can be made. Assessments should be a means of helping teachers figure out how to be more effective in the classroom.
According to Johnson and Keier, authors of Catching Readers Before They Fall, other forms of assessment include informal conferences with our students, taking notes on students's performances throughout the day, or a more formal assessment like a running record or benchmark tests (2010). We as teachers are in the classroom to teach our students. What better way to assess how we as teachers are performing and how our students are doing than by watching them and taking note of their learning processes?
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