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?
Melinda, I strongly agree with you in the first article about the real world/life problem. Most students today are not given a chance to actual work with these types of problems. I know when I was younger in math class, I always wondered how math would apply to me when I graduated. I did not believe I would actually use math, but if I would have had real world/life problems and was able to see the connection, then I think I would have liked math a lot better!! I also like the comment "To me it builds a sense of community..." I think group work, especially for us now, gives us all a better connection with each other so that we can feel more comfortable and depend of each one to hold/build each other up. Group work is not always the best thing for some students, but everyone has to get out of their comfort-zone and do things they do not entirely like. That's just life!
ReplyDeleteFor the second article I saw where you were talking about your own personal experience with informational text in a classroom. I also had a very positive experience in my first grade class. I was very surprised that informational text where not used as much in the past as they are today. I am just glad it has been researched more and we are now able to help students be able to read better by using the informational books. These books are very motivating, and gives students the desire to learn about informational topics. Great job Melinda!!
Melinda, we wrote very similar things in our blog about the literacy instruction. We both reflected on reading to younger students informational books. We both agreed that the students loved non-fiction books rather than fiction books. I also agree with you that students should be exposed to expository text at a young age! I also think that this could help increase a students background knowledge at a young age. I have noticed that background knowledge is something that a lot of students lack. In my opinion, if they read more informational books they would have more of this!
ReplyDeleteAs far as your question goes: "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?"
I was wondering the same thing, I do not remember a huge change in fourth grade. Could it be because I went to private school and the curriculum was a little different? What exactly is it that changes?
Ps- you did a great job! I enjoyed reading your blog!