Notes

So first off I've never had a teacher actually teach me how to take notes. It was always just assumed that we all knew how. It was always copy off the board, out of book, or write when the teacher said write. Which I would usually just doodle away or write notes to people in class...that kind of note I could write HA. But that is not the point here. 

A quote in chapter 7 that really stood out to me was at the very beginning of the chapter. " While people may have different ways of taking notes, I do believe that it's a skill that can be taught. I also believe that students need to be shown how to take notes, good notes, that they can use later." The chapter discussed how important it is to present the course of topics in an organized manner and also to not only provide notes verbally but also visually. I feel that students would benefit greatly from this, mainly because some students lack proper listening skills to catch every detail in a lecture. The visual notes do not have to be the entire lecture. Just present students with key words or phrases that you are explaining during the lecture so that they will catch a key part and when they look back through their notes and their book they will know where to look. I also like the use of signal words during lectures. Some students get completely overwhelmed and feel that they have to write every single detail down and they end up missing the important facts. If teachers simply gave the students a cue word to go by they would know what and when to write notes. If the students got use to the word and how it was used in reference to what was being taught they would develop a listening skill to apply during lectures that would help them take notes and even maybe eliminate the use of the cue word. 

I never knew the difference between note taking and note making....I just assumed they were the same thing. But. Once the book explained the difference it makes major sense. That note taking is when students a physically taking notes during a lecture. Compared to note making is copying from a source such as a book or online source. 

I really liked all of the visual examples in this chapter about note taking and organizational methods. figure 7.2 is a general note taking procedure layout. This would make a CREATE poster for a class or a simple lamenated card for students to keep in their binders or taped to their desk. It suggest doing things such as skipping lines for change of ideas, be selective, paraphrase etc etc.  The notes assessment suggestion in the book I am on the fence about. I feel that sometimes students should have a note check...but shouldnt nesscarly be assessed on their notes. Mainly because everyone takes notes different...and mine for example are completely understandable to me..but to someone else it is chicken scratch mess. Like I said...its a good idea...yet maybe not. I feel maybe it would be baby to provide the rubric to students to self assess their notes and maybe use as peers. THE BEST note example to me is the math one. How they take a math term, list examples, list like terms, and then list something completely opposite of the original term. This technique would have benefited me greatly in school. It is easy. Simple. And to the point. 

I find that sometimes teachers focus to much on note taking and they assume their students know how to take notes. Yes. Every student has their own way to note take...but do they KNOW HOW to take notes. Teachers should just take time in class to teach students how to take notes or provide guided notes and scaffold their learning. 

Questions:

What would be a note taking technique students who have poor motor skills or dyslexia can use?

How can we, as teachers, make note taking more fun?

Logophobia, fear of words. :)

Vocabulary has always been a struggle for me, in school and now in college. Simply because of how we learned vocabulary in school. Here is a list of words, here is a dictionary, use it in a sentence and at the end of the week we will have a test. It was more a pain then a learning experience. This chapter had alot of information that stood out to me and I feel would have benefited me greatly in school. One method it discussed was the Vocabulary self awareness chart and putting students in charge of their learning and recording it. I feel that it is gauged more towards the student and can give the teacher an accurate idea of what students know and do not know. I also like how the text pointed out to actually USE a word wall and not just post one. I have been in many classes that a word wall is just posted with common sight words and it would never change or be added to or anything. Students knew the words were there and knew some of the words, but they never really referenced it during the class time. I feel that maybe having a new word wall per unit or reading would benefit a class greatly. Also to spend time during class reviewing the wall and the meaning of the words on it, and to let students add words to the wall and have a say in what goes up. I really liked how the chapter divided up different subjects and types of instruction or ideas you can use with each one and mathematics is the section that stood out to me. I never learned math terms and if i did it was based on memorization and that was it. My math classes rarely had vocabulary definitions we just had numerical definitions or equations. They talk about providing students with the opportunity to use what they have learned with vocabulary, but rarely do students get the chance to do so in class. It also talks about providing students with real world examples and comparisons with the words they are learning. I feel that vocabulary needs to be an experience and not just a bunch of words students learn just because they have to. Students need the chance to use their words and to have multiple exposures and experiences. We learned in another literacy class that students need exposures up to 7 times for new terms to stick and words should only be given 3-4 at a times depending on the level. This assures the student will learn the term and have a firm understanding of the term given.

Supercalifragilisticepialidocius :) Of course you can say it backwards, which is Suoicodilaipxecitsiligarfilacrepus! I found this song fitting hahaha 

http://youtu.be/4b-Z0SSyUcw

Mah Na Mah Na

Share a smile and a laugh :) Click me! Its the Muppets!

Chapter One
In the book it points out how literature in English has categories and having a knowledge of common literary elements such as conflict, rising action, falling action and character development is a must know. Compared to other literature in other subject such as science and history become frustrating to students, because it lacks the structure like literature in English. Which is very true, students typically feel frustrated when they cannot read the text assignments for class, thinking it is their fault, when in reality it is the teachers fault for not teaching the student how to read and comprehend different types of texts. Some of the strategies mentioned in chapter one can help students get over the fear of reading different text styles. Strategies like think-pair-share, learning stations, jigsaw, and reciprocal teaching.  I enjoy the strategy jigsaw. We did this is Dr. Hanna's class for an overview of a chapter. It was neat to interact with others in the group and then have a discussion afterwards. It gave time for an all around understanding to occur because the group was on our level, student level, and it took a complicated topic and presented it in a manor we could understand. I also like the idea presented about reflective teaching. I think that teachers should reflect daily or weekly on their teaching. Reflect on their teaching and how it can improve, not on the grades of their students or their students behavior, unless it is about what the TEACHER is doing regarding the behavior. Teachers should reflect on themselves as educators and how can they improve. 


Chapter 8
I like how this chapter points out that students learn how to write, but never really write to learn. We all learn our letters and how to spell words, form sentences, suffer through painful grammar lessons, and come out the other side as viewing the writing process as this painful experience, when in reality it should have been taught to be a wonderful learning experience. If students only view writing as a graded process, they never see the greener side of writing. My own experiences are a testament to that. I remember in 8th grade english class having to diagram sentences and label all of those phrases and such....I had no clue how to do it. It was like only having the Chinese directions to how to put a bicycle together. My teacher would tell me how, send me to my desk, where i would sit and stare at the page. Then she'd ask why wasnt i doing the work, i'd reply i dont know how....which usually got me in trouble for being a "smart butt". I'd sit and wallow in frustration and fail every assignment and test. It wasnt till i was a junior that i truly saw the beauty in writing. Thanks to my teacher, who was more focused on what we wanted to write, compared to the grade. She encouraged us to write and be free writing, not to worry about the mechanics of it. To just simply...write. That is one reason why i like the strategy of writing models, such as the I am poems the book mentions. This strategy encourages students to write following a model and to be expressive as they want. I also liked the power writing idea, because it is open and free and gives the student the chance to create something, as long as it follows the subject given. Free writing for students, is like giving younger children free color time or play time. Older students like their expressions and opinions and like to voice them loudly, but in school they typically do not get the chance to be expressive or free. By giving students free writing time, to just simply write, about anything and everything shows them the pleasures of writing. 


I enjoyed the atmosphere of the think center. It was very comfortable and neat there. I enjoyed how they did not have traditional seating or desk and actually had color on the walls and floor. 


Questions:
What would be some ways you could motivate students who do not want to write, to write?

Super Bowl weekend post..I only watch for the commercials

The first article, Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom, I really enjoyed reading. I like how at the conference all of the teachers went through each step of the process and talked about how they would then apply it to students in the class. I like how students weren't given a typical problem, they were given a real life problem and applied the process to this problem. Sometimes we avoid giving real life problems in the class because of the chance students will not be able to understand the problem or it would be to complex for the students. I also liked how the article talked about getting students to work through their problems as a group using the yes and strategy compared to saying yes but when something might be wrong or disagreeable. I like group work in the classroom. To me it builds a sense of community and gives students the chance to see others views and build on their knowledge. But. Some students..well...hate group work. Now i know hate is a very strong word, but some students just really really REALLY do not like group work. So what would you do with a student who does not like group work and refuses to work in groups? Put them in charge of writing ideas down on the board? Be a time keeper? Peace keeper?

The second article, Making a Case and place for effective content area literacy instruction in elementary grades stood out to me because it is rare that any focus is put on informational texts. It is usually literary elements and comprehension and fluency. Yes, all of these things apply to informational texts BUT the typical focus is on the general reading..not informational. I know from experience that students enjoy informational/expository texts. I read a book about dinosaurs in a kindergarten class and they thought it was the most awesome book ever and it was a great interactive experience! Students need to be exposed at a young age to such informational text, like the article says. By doing this students will have the chance to work on their skills that go hand in hand with reading informational texts and avoid having difficulties in higher grades. Teachers need to expose their students to information rich texts and encourage them to read and ask questions about such text. Providing students with the chance to reflect on what they have read and ask questions opens the door to multiple learning opportunities that are typically not provided by typical literary readings in the class.

Something the article mentioned that sparked an interest was the 4th grade slump. I didnt really understand how the grades would change from 3rd to 4th grade when the level of difficulty has been increasing since kindergarten. So a question i would have is Why does the level of difficulty change from third to fourth and why is it so drastic at this stage?

Blog 2

Pretty much everyone's blog I read all thought the same thing....they are all interested in the Elizabethtown project :) One blog that stood out to me was Caitlin Ezell's post. She talked about how this class will prepare us to incorporate literacy across the curriculum. Another blog I read and enjoyed was Amber Miller's blog. I like how she brought up that literacy classes should be safe and nurturing. Which I can from experience I have had some not so nurturing literacy classes in school and it makes learning stressful and frustrating.

I enjoyed all of the different ideas provided with writing to learn. I think quick writes are great in a class, especially the upper grades. They can be used as a bell ringer or as daily journal's in the class. I can remember in my 5th grade English class we did quick writes in journals before class. They were either related to the lesson or whatever we wanted to write about. Two other things I found neat are the framed paragraphs and biopoem. The framed paragraphs to me are the perfect way to get students feet wet with writing and get rid of that anxiety about forming paragraphs. The biopoem to me is really cool! It would take some true modeling from the teacher and whole group practice before students could do it, but it would make a great study tool for history lessons and science lessons.

I enjoyed how once we watched the video on listening and discussed it as a class we got the chance to experience what was discussed. Have the chance to go out and listen then come back and reflect was nice. That would be great in a classroom with younger children, maybe not the video, but the discussion of listening and what we actually hear on a day to day basis. I know when i was in elementary school during recess would be when the high school band was practicing. Which to me at that age was the coolest thing EVER!! I remember just sitting by the fence and listening to them practice and hearing all of the different sounds of the band. All the other noise would just fall to the side and the music was all i heard. (I guess music was my calling as a child haha)

The only question i really have is...What type of lesson would you us the ABC list in and what would you do if words could not be formed to fit the topic?

With listening.....something i like to do is simply just listen to any song and pick up on the different beats in it. And if its classical music listen and identify the different instruments. I also like to just sit listen, close my eyes, and imagine the colors I see with the sounds and how they would move around.

Entry 1

Hey hey everyone!
My name is Melinda Hudson and I am a senior this year WOO!! I'm from starkville...the home of that other school HA!! I absolutely love it here in Hattiesburg and here at USM as well. I am a dual student (ele. ed and special ed) One reason I want to work with special needs is my sister. She is 18 years old and has down syndrome. I also love working with all types of children..always have. I'd say my ideal grade is an A, but I'd be happy with a B as well :) I really do not have a specific subject area I want to teach. I would like to teach any grades lower than fourth grade. I'm nervous working with anything math related and english related (not my strongest subjects BUT I am working on that) Another weak point of mine is grammar...so fair warning haha! I am also very opinionated and open minded as well.

Interesting facts? I can play 8 different musical instruments...i lived and breathed band in high school and junior college. Music is still close to my heart! I read when I can and I love going to the movies..also when I have time. I am a major BAMA fan...ROLL TIDE!! But I am also a big GOLDEN EAGLE fan as well SMTTT!!

The two things that stood out to me the most are the Elizabethtown project and also the service learning project. The Elizabethtown project seems very interesting to me and I have never done anything like that. I have always thought it would be a great idea to do pen pals in a classroom. I also like how the service learning project is explained and how we do have options to chose from to complete it. Some teachers just state it and then never really explain it till its almost time to be due or its a do it this way highway option.  This class deals more with the literacy aspect of adolescents compared to elementary school students. I would say the exciting parts are the Elizabethtown project and service learning...the daunting task to me is just the work to go into everything and also keeping up with blog post as well. I really do not have any questions or concerns....for now :)