Articles

The articles this week really got me thinking about the classes I am working with this semester at Dalton. The 7th and 8th graders were assigned their first book project and the students were all allowed to choose the books they were going to read as long as they were on or a little above their reading level. The 8th graders were not allowed to choose R.L. Stine though. The 7th graders were given a page limit that they had to meet, and I found this to not be the best idea. When I was with the 7th graders in the library, they were so concerned with page length and not getting a really long book, that I feel many may have missed out on some great novels. In my 8th grade classes however, the students were not given a page length and it was never really a discussion. Kids chose books where the title jumped out at them or from the suggestions of myself, my cooperating teacher, or the librarians. I found that the kids loved the idea of choosing a book for themselves, and I took that opportunity to have them tell me why they chose their books. It is so exciting to see kids reading and being excited about what they are doing. I also love it when my students come up to me to tell me how they like the book that I helped them pick out!

I agree with Julie Lause when she says that reading can not become strictly an academic exercise or it will become “BORing.” Students need the opportunity to read about things that matter to them, they need to read for meaning, and that will strengthen their language development. I also really liked “The Reader’s Bill or Rights” in the New Voices article. At Dalton, the kids are given a week with their book, and in that first week if they really can not get into their novel, they are allowed to pick another one. I really think the focus of all of these articles is to get kids reading, and the more they read, the more they will want to read, but they need to be able to have a choice in many/most of their reading materials.

Old and New

BPR Ch. 3

New technologies and the changing times are things that teachers now much just learn about and accept. I feel that many digital devices could provide positive reinforcements to the more standard class materials. I do not think it needs to be thought about as an either/or for the classroom. I like what Gee had to say about online games; he predicts that Internet video games will “sit beside [books], interact with them, and change them and their role in society in various ways” (25). It is important for teachers to learn about new and emerging technologies, and many different digital tools, and play around with them to see how they could be used in the classroom as an enlightening learning resource. Many kids see text messaging, video games, blogging, etcetera as gear to use when they are not in school or not in an educational mindset. If we can get kids using those same tools in a classroom environment, it may increase their motivation and interest. I think it is important that the new goods be used alongside the more standard texts, novels, and pen/paper. For example, if a student reads a book in class, they could have the choice of writing a response or maybe creating a webquest. Most importantly, technology in the classroom needs to be used in a meaningful way. I think it is probably true that “learning with multiple sign systems often helps even the least motivated and underachieving readers redefine their literate competence” (26). A reluctant student may become more intrigued with literature and learning if they are given a different outlet in which to express themselves that may interest them more than a standard written assignment would. Most importantly new and old teaching tools/devices need to be used in collaboration with each other.

The Book Thief

As I finished The Book Thief, I found myself wiping tears off my already soaked cheeks. I found this book to be very powerfully and beautifully written. I was fascinated how Zusak showed the brutality and sadness of the time period in a way that was not obvious or crude. The way humans were portrayed many times as things (Hans is an accordion, the Jews were tablets) and many times the objects were given human qualities (the ribcage of the plane). I loved how often knees were spoken about in subtle ways. I also was struck by the character of death. Death was made out to be so human like, and at times he was so wise, and yet other times ironic and witty. I particularly found his line, “It kills me sometimes, how people die” to be very powerful (454). I feel that high school students could really excavate many strong details/connections from this text and have many brilliant conversations as well as endless paper topics. (This would also be great taught alongside Art Spiegelman’s Maus).

However, I tried to think about it as something I could use with my middle school children as well. I think this may be too much for a young middle schooler (though Liesel is actually of the middle school age), I may suggest it to children who really like reading and can handle the content of such a story as this. I think if this book was taught in a middle school, there would really need to be significant time spent on it for kids to really understand what was going on and they would need time to express and work through their emotions and confusion. Or, am I mistaken? What grade level should this book be taught?

I also think that it would be beneficial if this was taught alongside a history class (or even IN a history class) when the Holocaust is being discussed.

"So What?"

The “So What” responses these unnamed students gave were very interesting. It is apparent that these students, whatever the age/race/gender, are digging into the poem. They are thinking about what they read and applying it to the bigger picture. The “So What” question also brings about more questions from the students. It is interesting to see how each student caught on to the racial tensions of the poem, yet there was some disparity about the gender of the two people in the poem. This shows how each student will take a poem and make it their own. I really liked that one of the students said that, “literature provides a way for us to step outside our protective bubble into situations that are foreign…” Students need their teachers to present them with material that pushes them out of their comfort zone and exposes them to new ideas and situations. Students should be aware of the wide array of materials available. Hopefully, the more diverse materials students read, the more well-informed and tolerant they will become.

Up For Discussion

I feel that group/whole class discussion is becoming more and more prevalent in schools today. When I was in middle and high school, we were rarely engaged in whole classroom discussion, especially where the students would lead the discussion. It is important that we, as teachers, remember that there is a social context to learning. Discussion needs to be a fairly significant part of a student’s education, yet the discussion needs to go beyond “common recitative answering of closed questions with their anticipated correct answers” (M&M 25). Students need to be challenged when talking in class; they need to feel that they have a “stake” in the conversation. Children will then be prone to take class more seriously and take ownership of their thoughts and of their learning. Students should lead the discussion a fair amount of the class discussion time, yet they need some ground rules to make sure their learning is meaningful.

Also, kids should respond to each other; when a student asks a question, another student should answer back to him/her, not back to/through the teacher. I thought it was a good idea for students to write down questions they have and then they could trade with another student and they could respond to each other. Another idea is to have students write down their questions/topics for discussion and give them to the teacher. The teacher can then bring up the questions without students knowing who is asking a particular question. The anonymity of this discussion may make shy or quiet children more likely to participate since there would not be that fear of ridicule when stating what they want to discuss.

Ridicule, humiliation, or punishment for an incorrect answer can keep many kids from wanting to speak up in class discussion. It is important that students feel that they are in an amicable, encouraging environment where they can speak freely and debate respectfully. Nancy Rost Goulden says that teachers should expect, and teach their students to expect, that every student will speak every day. I see where that could lead to a fully participatory classroom, but I also think that additional written assignments should occasionally be made available to those students who have an extremely high anxiety for speaking in class. That way a teacher can see that the timid student was actively listening in class and their written assignment is responding to something they heard in class discussion that day. I suppose I just have a soft spot for those extremely nervous children, because I was that child in many of my classes growing up. I do, however, feel it is important that all students speak up in classroom discussions, so it does not become a place where two or three children show off their “verbal acrobatics.”