Hot Topics
September 2, 2009
The New York Times has been sparking great discussion in the past week with it’s article about The Future of Reading. Stanley Fish has caused similar debate with his articles What Should Colleges Teach and What Should Colleges Teach Part 2.
In his first article, Fish laments that colleges are no longer teaching composition courses that focus strictly on the craft of writing. He wishes to see more focus on crafting an argument and understanding grammar and syntax, rather than content-based writing courses that use interesting topics to get students to want to write. In his second article, he responds to the flurry of complaints he received in the first article’s comments.
The argument highlights the balancing act we face between getting students to be engaged with their writing and teaching them to be competent crafters of the English language. I understand the motivations of “writing courses” focused on controversial issues that will inspire and engage students to want to write. However, I also feel we are not doing enough to teach our students how to write effectively.
In many ways, isn’t this the same argument we have in every issue in education? Love of writing vs. mechanics? A love of literature vs. phonics? Concepts vs. math facts? And haven’t we learned yet that the most effective answer is “yes and yes” – you need to teach both?
It seems to me, a course that uses articles and essays written on interesting, engaging topics could also teach grammar and mechanics by using those essays as mentor texts. I believe this is what we try to do when we use mentor texts at the elementary level to teach sentence structure and style.
However I do feel that we as teachers need to be sure we are capable of teaching grammar and mechanics well. Much as I felt I learned how to multiply and divide all over again when I first began learning how to teach those concepts, when I look at why I change verb tense or use a comma, I find I don’t have a very strong grasp of the subject at all. Things just “look right” or “sound right”. Obviously, not good enough.
I think this article piqued my interest for two reasons. First – and here’s where I get to put on my snobby teacher hat -I am appalled at the poor spelling and grammar people use on Facebook! It’s unfathomable to me that one would not reread his or her comment and fix the wrong homophone or mispelled word! [pause while I scan upwards to make sure I haven't made an such aggregious errors in this post...] Secondly, since I’m not taking classes this semester, I’ve been hoping to tackle the pile of “teacher books” I have waiting for me on my desk. I think this solved the question of which book I should read first: Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer’s Workshop
Poetry Pickings
May 6, 2009
After hearing Jim Holt on NPR one day, discussing his essay “Got Poetry?” where he makes the case for memorizing poetry, I was inspired to sign up for Poem-A-Day at poets.org. I may not get around to memorizing many poems, but I thought it would be useful as a teacher of writing (and a literate adult) to get more poetry into my daily reading. Some days the poem comes and I don’t feel very engaged – the poet’s message and my mood just aren’t jiving at that moment. But sometimes the poem arrives in my inbox and it sparks all kinds of images and ideas. More after the jump:
Today’s poem was Ode on Dictionaries by Barbara Hamby. And while the poem itself is not appropriate for children, there are snippets that could be shared to show how a poet loves words – devours them.
I’m building
my own book as a mason makes a wall or a gelding
runs round the track—brick by brick, step by step, word by word,
jonquil by gerrymander, syllabub by greensward,
swordplay by snapdragon, a never-ending parade
with clowns and funambulists in my own mouth, homemade
treasure chest of tongue and teeth, the brain’s roustabout, rough
unfurler of tents and trapezes, off-the-cuff
unruly troublemaker in the high church museum
of the world.
I like the idea of students keeping track of words they adore – whether because of how they sound or what they mean – and building a poem “brick by brick, word by word” with their favorite words they’ve found over time.
Good Books for Playing with Language
April 22, 2009
The April/May issue of Reading Today has a nice list of Children’s Book Reviews by Susan Dove Lempke that highlight great books for playing with language. I just added these titles to my wishlist…
- Llama Llama Misses Mama
by Anna Dewdney
- Peter and the Wolf
by Chris Raschka
- The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems From Beyond the Solar System
by Jack Prelutsky
Still Blogging Reading Teacher Dec 2008/Jan 2009
January 5, 2009
An Effective Framework for Primary Grade Guided Writing Instruction by Sharan A. Gibson (subscription required)
This article described a missing component of my writing instruction: guided writing. Similar to guided reading, guided writing is when a small group of students who have similar instructional needs meet with the teacher for an intensive session of instruction. In order for this time to be worthwhile, teachers must assess regularly enough to have an accurate understanding of students' instructional needs, target specific ways to address those needs, and then reassess afterwards to plan for future instruction. Work and time-intensive to be sure, but definitely worthwhile.
The author uses the phrase "leaning in" to describe how the teacher can intervene at the moment of hesitation by a frustrated student. I think this has great implications for that student in every classroom who doesn't know what to write, or how to go on. Being there to provide instant "feed forward" that keeps such kids going can help turn around negative attitudes towards writing.
Another nice idea presented in this article is the use of cue cards in these lessons that students could then return to later as resources. I envision students completing small writing exercises in their writers' notebooks and then carrying these lessons with them in their independent writing later on.
For more ideas on how guided writing would work in a primary classroom, see this lesson at ReadWriteThink.org: Four Simple Steps to Small-Group Guided Writing.
Blogging The Reading Teacher – Dec 2008/Jan 2009
January 1, 2009
Reading Literacy Instruction with Digital and Media Technologies by Diane Barone and Todd E. Wright (subscription required), I came across lots of great technology resources.
Todd Wright's Classroom, at Fernley Elementary School in Fernley, Nevada incorporates technology through laptops provided for each student that they can use both in school and at home. Some sites the authors suggest in the article:
Flashcard Exchange – This site is a little unpolished, but it is a quick and useful resource for creating flashcards, rote memorization, and self-quizzing. Teachers can set up the flashcards for students to access.
Gaggle.Net – A nice site that provides email for student use. Teachers can block & monitor all student communication.
KidBiz3000 – While this is a service that a district would need to paid for, it does seem to be a good resource. Students are paired with ability-specific non-fiction articles. First they receive an email that provides a background knowledge prompt, then after reading they participate in polls, respond to multiple-choice questions, and open-ended response questions that would be good preparation for standardized tests.
Nettrekker – A search engine that prescreens web sites, rates them by reading level, and provides a student-friendly search environment.
QuizStar – Also subscription-based, this site enables teachers to create quizzes, attach media files, and manage your class's scores.
United Streaming – Another subscription-based site. They have thousands of educational videos for online streaming.
The Writing Fix – Wow this site has lots of stuff on it! It will take time to sift through it all. So far I see loads of writing prompts, mentor text lessons specific to the 6+1 writing traits, and numerous opportunities for writing across the curriculum. A must see site.
Blogging The Reading Teacher
November 22, 2008
I received my November 2008 The Reading Teacher today and I thought I'd try to use this blog as a way of archiving ideas I get from the articles.
The first article is "For the Love of Words: Fostering Word Consciousness in Young Readers" by Michael F. Graves and Susan Watts-Taffe. (subscription required) This article discusses ways to promote word consciousness – "an awareness and interest in words and their meanings" – in the classroom. There are many good ideas in this article that would work in any classroom:
- Word Wall Favorites: students bring in favorite words to add to the word wall and classmates respond with synonyms, related words, ideas etc.
- The Word Station: An area in the classroom devoted to the love of words filled with dictionary, thesauruses, word games, riddle books, etc.
- Repeated read alouds in the early grades provide an opportunity to focus on complicated vocabulary and interesting words.
- Word Card Files: Files of subject-specific words students can refer to in their writing.
- Fun word play games like Applause Applause, Get It?, Word Associations, and Idea Completion (see article)
- Activities that focus on slang and how it has changed over generations. Students can interview parents and grandparents to learn about the slang they used when they were young.
Web Sites this article suggests for word activities:
- Between the Lions: This site has basic word games that focus on adjectives and synonyms. Suitable to grades 2-4.
- Vocabulary Parades at Debra Frasier's web site
Lesson Links:
- Vocabulary with Franklin: This lesson for first and second graders focusing on learning new vocabulary through many different modes – readers' theater, word games, and writing activities.
- Delicious, Tasty, Yummy: Enriching Writing with Adjectives and Synonyms: For 3rd & 4th grade, gain familiarity with adjectives and synonyms through webs, organizers, and picture books.
- The Magnetism of Language: Parts of Speech, Poetry, and Word Play: 6th – 8th grade. Students review the parts of speech, use them in poetry, and create their own magnetic poetry kits.
Books to Add to the Wishlist:
- Donavan's Word Jar (Trophy Chapter Book)
- The Boy Who Loved Words
- Frindle
- Why the Banana Split
- Double Trouble In Walla Walla
- Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster
