Margaret+Reimer

May 6, 2011

You might consider some of the following questions to guide your reflection: o What are the best forms of assessment and how can we implement them? o What is our role in preparing students to be competitive in the 21st Century? o As English Language Arts teachers, what is our role in Content Area Literacy? o How can we make ourselves active voices in these and other important educational topics? o Others?

Eek! Sorry, I forgot about this last posting! Anyway, I think our role in preparing students to be competitive in the 21st Century is to teach them to read/write well, introduce them to things like Wikis, and incorporate as much technology as possible into our classroom. Students will need to be able to read well in order to function at any job as well as move up. They will need at least the comprehension skills it takes to read training manuals, but would benefit from having knowledge of classic works of literature that are commonly made reference to in all parts of our culture. They will also need to be able to write well in order to participate in writing blogs, writing resumes, and writing for their jobs. Future careers will probably involve more writing as we incorporate the internet into our work life more and more. Jobs will also require basic knowledge of how to write an e-mail, blog, use a Wiki, and eventually knowledge of how to use virtual worlds like Second Life. Smartboards and webquests are a nice start, but it will take more of a commitment to technology in your classroom to really prepare kids for the 21st century.

April 7th, 2011

Eckert Chapter 16

April 4, 2011

Reflection on Discussion Groups

I was very skeptical about the effectiveness of group discussion before I started reading //Talking In Class//. Throughout my school experience from high school onwards I have found that I learn less in groups. This is usually, because my fellow students are A) unengaged B) unprepared C) shy/lack chemistry with other group members D) aren't very smart. In spite of the teacher's best efforts to keep students on task and contributing to the subject every group I've ever been in has always veered off topic and started chatting. The other experience I have had is that everyone sits there quietly staring at each other and two people do all the work. And then there is the group work I have observed--this tends to follow the same pattern of my own experiences. Although, not all students start gossiping there are groups that simply refuse to engage in discussion for more than ten minutes. My mentor teacher observes each group, and does follow McCann's rule of having them write before discussion. She also circulates frequently asking guiding questions, and asking the group what breakthroughs they have made so far. However, some groups still stop the discussion as soon as she walks away. My most memorable breakthroughs in class have been in whole class authentic discussion with the teacher leading, but also asking questions such as the one McCann uses as an example: "How would you know if Romeo or any adolescent were really in love?" I think this is when real learning occurs.

March 11, 2011

This is a rough rough draft of my unit plan. I am having some serious issues with thinking of some creative and effective activities. My mentor teacher also doesn't have any on hand to show me right now for inspiration, because she had her last student intern teach that unit. I have started searching the internet for some ideas, and discovered a great way of introducing the idea of the hero's journey at: []



February 27, 2011


 * Reflection**

Recently actress Danica McKellar released a book called: //Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss//. It is the epitome of connecting student's prior knowledge to lessons in the classroom. Basically, she is making Math relevant for girls by doing story problems that don't involve cars, trains, or gallons of gasoline. Instead, she has story problems that talk about shoes, blind dates, parties, and working on the school play. When I heard about this I felt relief for every girl out there just learning Math. I remember reading the examples in my Math book, and being bored out of my mind. I had no prior knowledge of race cars, painting my house, or building a tree house. My prior knowledge would been activated by McKellar's book. The idea of making what we teach in the classroom important to the lives of our students makes complete sense to me. I often remember sitting there wishing my teacher would tell us why we had to learn whatever we were covering. Everyone in class would complain that they could never imagine needing to know algebra in real life. Other students couldn't understand what the point was of learning about cells, MLA, Indiana state history, and/or the names of the Presidents. It was fairly rare that teachers connected these things to our lives. However, every time a teacher did connect new learning to our prior knowledge we were all much more engaged as a class. There was no grumbling when it came to learning about circuits, because my science teacher connected it to electronics we used every day. There were also no complaints when it came to learning about molds, because he was able to connect it to the times we discovered something moldy in the fridge. These might be overly simple examples, but I just know that the only way we will engage our students will be through connecting it to them personally. It might be through connecting their vacation trip to //The Odyssey//, or connecting their first crush to //Romeo and Juliet//. We just need to do it or face a sea of bored blank stares.

February 13, 2011


 * Unit Topic Memo**

The Hero's Journey and Archetypes--Boise High 10th grade

Resources: //The Crazy Horse Electric Game//; Steinbeck's //The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights//; Tennyson's //Idylls of the King//, White's //The Once and Future King//; Malory's //Le Morte d'Arthu//r

My mentor teacher and I have not narrowed down which of these books I will focus on yet. Thankfully, since I will have all summer to prepare I should be able to read all of these works in order to prepare.

Standards:

Students will make connections between the hero's journey and personal life experience.

Students will understand the concepts of chivalry, atonement, anachronism, romance, myth, and legend.

Students will create a thesis statement for a selected topic and share it with the class.

Essential Questions:

Is revenge justified?

What is an example of a modern day hero's journey?

How do you become a legend?

Culminating Performance Project:

I would like to have students connect heroes of the past with those of the present in their final project. So I would have students create an illustrated book of heroes that with each student contributing a hero from the past (pre-20th century) and one of today (2000-present). The book would include a 1-2 page essay on each hero to give background into how they qualify as a hero. They would also include a picture of each hero.

January 31, 2010

__**Reflection on Learning**__


 * What does it mean to learn?**

I see learning as evolution. It can be a subtle process or a major life altering epiphany. In some cases you don't realize you've learned anything until years after the learning event. In other cases, it is an immediate. Learning changes the person who has learned.

We outlined many different styles of learning in our presentations. The athletes in class experienced a lot of kinetic learning in school such as learning how to spike a volleyball, run long distances, and dunk a basketball. They are able to apply this learning to coaching other students.

Other presentations outlined learning from life experiences. Lyn learned to stand up for herself by first applying this as a child to the girl who stole her toys in the sandbox. More recently she appllied this same lesson to ridding herself of a manipulative roommate.


 * How do we know when learning is happening? How do we know when learning has happened?**

I think we know learning is happening when our students are asking questions, summarizing the information they are learning for understanding, and engaging in discussion on the subject. We will know they have learned the subject once they are able to use it in another context. Once students are able to take their learning and apply it in some way you know learning has occurred.


 * What Does it mean to Understand?**

To understand is to be able to perceive all shades of meaning or possible applications of learned information. Understanding is being able to take the knowledge that adjectives describe/modify nouns and apply it to your writing knowing that it will alter the effect of what you have written.

Understanding is being able to apply what you've learned such as in the case of the athletes in class using their knowledge of sports to coach.



Artist Statement:

I chose to focus on tough teachers for my learning autobiography, and life events that have contributed to my learning. I concentrated on tough teachers, because in the past I have sometimes slipped into being lazy and these teachers have demanded more of me. Beginning with Mrs. Powell in 5th grade, I have had an appreciation for teachers that might be less friendly, but make up for it in high expectations. These teachers have been the ones who have shown me what I am capable of accomplishing.