- Department chair will invite department members to blog about reading strategies used in class.
- Articles and information about teaching and student engagement will be posted here. Staff will be asked to react to what they read.
- Teacher that go to conferences will be asked to post a blog here.
- Teachers will be required to comment or post here at least once a month (to start with).
- We want to keep the discussion collegial and geared towards improving instruction here a PHS.
- It is my hope that this will bring about purposeful reflection and response about issues involved in improvement of instruction.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Welcome to the PHS staff development blog
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Reading strategy for Anatomoy and Physiology: When students are finished learning about the layers of the epidermis in the skin, I have them write a paper where they become a cell. In this paper they are required to give their cell a name and personality then explain to me their life as they travel through the layers of the epidermis. This allows more creativity to a writing project and students seem to become more interested in the topic. This writing style is called "RAFT" but I don't actually remember what that stands for. I do know that my students have fun writing this way and seem to retain the information better.
My Foods II students are learning about being better consumers in the grocery store. We have taste tested several items and compared National brands, store brands, and generic brands. They also unit priced these items. They found out that National brands are not always the best nor are generics. More recently we have been discussing food labels and the new laws that took affect regarding allegins and trans fat. Each group has had to make a label for rice krispie treats. More than you think. They had to take each nutrition fact from each ingredient and determine how many servings were used. From there they had to make a nutrition fact for one serving of rice krispies. I am not sure where all of this fits into reading strategies, but I know they are having to think!
My focus on reading in Geometry and Algebra is more based on translating the foreign language of Math into English. We work on constantly asking, "what is this actually saying?"
I sure don't reinvent the wheel in my classes, so I don't do much that is new and exciting. I have found that when we are reading a play, story, novel that has a lot of characters that my students HAVE to have some type of graphic organizer to keep them straight and visualize the relationships between the characters. There are lots of ideas on-line for such organizers.
In my Spanish 4 classes the students have been reading mystery stories. As an after-reading activity, they are using their new vocabulary words to create original plays. Students are required to construct backdrops, assemble costumes and props, and turn in typed scripts. The plays then will be performed in class. Awards will be given for best actor, best display, best presentation etc. just like the Oscars. I think the students have really enjoyed the activity, and it has been a way to involve all the students.
I'm trying something daring in Physics on Friday (if we don't have a snow day). Students were given the Momentum Lab today (Wednesday). They are to read the lab on thier own and come to Friday's class prepared to perform the lab with no teacher interference. They will have 5 minutes at the beginning of the period to discuss procedure with fellow students. Grades will be partially based on completing the lab correctly.
Dough....I will be interested to see how this turns out....snow or no snow!
In my Career and Technical Ed. courses, obviously we use technology everyday. What I have to remember is to assign importance to the basics--such as reading and writing. It's also important to let students know what they are doing and why they are doing it. For example, my Computer Concepts and Applications classes are working on our technical reading and writing skills--not just today, but constantly.
I've asked them to pick three intermediate skills from the Microsoft Word unit in which they are currently working. They are to explain how to use them, what they do and in what kind of situation they could use those skills outside of my class. They then must write detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to acquire those three skills. Before grading these reading/writing assignments, they must be reviewed and tested by another student in class (peer review) to prove their instructions are complete.
If I can get a student to understand how our daily step-by-step instructions are written, it sometimes helps them when reading and completing assignments in the book. It can help future obstacles disappear.
Living Environments is a class in which we study different aspects of the housing industry including housing styles, trends, construction techniques, and exterior and interior design elements. Recently we took a field trip to Indianapolis. Our first stop was the James Whitcomb Riley House (Museum) in the historic neighborhood of Lockerbie Square. We toured the victorian preservation (different than a restoration) and took a walking tour of the neighborhood which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We observed past housing elements and trends here and then traveled to see the present and future of housing at the Indianapolis Home Show. Students are currently using technology to create projects in their personal interest areas from information gathered from our trip.
I also tied a literary element to our trip by first learning about James Whitcomb Riley, the author. We read a biographical sketch about his life and several of his well known poems. One poem was written about the home we toured on Lockerbie Street. We analyzed his poem and the feeling he portrayed about his love for this neighborhood and house. Students were asked to then write poems about their home or future home and portray the feelings they have or hope to feel there. James Whitcomb Riley often wrote in "Southern Indiana dialect" so his readers could get a feeling for the time and place of his work. To follow Mr Riley's style, I then asked my students to write their poems in their dialect - text! They really enjoyed the freedom to use the "language" they so often use now. Hopefully they felt a connection with a prominent literary figure of the past and encouragement to plan and think of how to accomplish their loving homes in the future. I extend a big "Thank You" to Ms. Hill for her ideas and input on this assignment. Hopefully I will have some of their poems posted on the web for you to enjoy soon.
Mary and Mitzi,
Reading strategy for the reproductive system. We are going to try to have students read about the male and female anatomy. Then have them label a diagram of each system using the information that they learned from their reading.
In English 2, we have been reading & then analyzing different types of poetry. Having read & deconstructed several poems, students are now trying their hand at writing various "types" of poems trying to follow the format/ requirements of each poem form.
After writing their own poems, students are to synthesize the image or emotion conveyed in the written poem into visual images - how they respond will be interesting. Lee Smith
I have found that most of the students I have in Physical Education class aren't able to identify specific items from an entire reading. We do crossword puzzles pertaining to fitness articles. I have been trying to help students pick out keys words in their puzzle then quickly scan the article for that key word. It's like everyday reading. If I want to find out when a movie starts, I need to be able to find that information without having to read an entire newspaper before I find that answer. I feel the students are getting better at this and many have said they even learned health and fitness facts too!
Freshmen English students are reading Elie Wiesel's account of his experience in the Holocaust. Students are keeping a response journal. Rather than having students just summarize what they've read, students make inferences or explain their thoughts about the feelings and motives of the characters. They make connections by putting themselves in the character's place and discussing how they would think or feel in that situation. Some students have even added pictures. The students have done an excellent job with the response journal. I feel they have a better understanding of the book.
Since our math reading is more like technical reading than literary reading I've found that the "Read Aloud Think Aloud" strategy works best. When we are reading examples or word problems I can give the students an insight into a process that organizes necessary information for the solution to the problem.
This year I have really concentrated on reading in Spanish 4, even though it is a painful experience for them (and me).At the end of each reading unit I have tried to have a creative assignment that will be a little more enjoyable for the students. This month we have been reading romance stories(rated G of course!)After we finish, the students will draw the names of a famous pair(Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra etc....)and they will write a Spanish love letter (also rated G) from the perspective of one of the famous people. I have done this assignment in the past, and have been surprised at the creativity( even from the boys).This assignment allows them to apply new vocabulary and use a variety of verb tenses. It is a little more exciting than one of my worksheets.
In foods I, I am always amazed by how little students know about fractions and how to use them. We have been doing several activities with equivalents. Today, my students had to read a recipe and combine different size measuring cups to get the desired amount. If anyone has any ideas on how to make fractions and equivalents easier.........please let me know. Also this is a problem across the board. Students from upper level math to the other end have a hard time with this. I do have some who get it and have always gotten it and look at me like I have two heads when I use some of the activities. I also know, there are a lot of students out there who do not know how to use a simple ruler. Again....any suggestions are welcomed.
Angie said...
(Sorry I don't know how to do this with my name on it!!)
Spring Semester is a very "hands-on" semester in Room 43. One "reading strategy" I am working very hard to achieve is simply making my students accountable for their technical reading. I created more sewing sample projects with detailed instructions. They had to achieve mastery of these before they could start their first project. Believe me, it is much easier for me to simply show them what to do but I MADE them read. Students are always welcome to ask me questions, but only after they have attempted to read and follow the directions themselves - then I'll step in, have them read the directions to me and help them understand with clarifications. I have seen them struggle, get frustrated, and have multiple do-overs with measuring errors and reading errors. However, I have now seen them emerge as more independent learners and problem-solvers. They rely on each other and work in partners to figure out steps in a process. I have also seen confidence grow and leaders emerge as they teach each other the skills they proudly figured out on their own. It has taken more time (and patience on everyone's part - including mine!) and we may not complete as many projects but I believe they will be able to function better without me as they pursue this skill at home after leaving PHS.
This month I have tried to incorporate grammar in our reading. I find that my students have difficulty with Spanish parts of speech because they don't know them in English. In Spanish II we have been working with adjectives and adjective agreement. This is sometimes a difficult concept because the feminine/masculine idea does not apply in English. To help them build adjective vocabulary the students are creating collages and writing poems. This activity allows them to be more creative while still applying grammar concepts.
My foods II classes learned a valuable lesson on planning and timing. Each group prepared a menu based upon meal appeal elements. Throughout the semester we have prepared the meals. Today, however, did not go as smooth as before because I put the group who planned the menu in charge. Yesterday, they were to make sure everyone knew what they were making and answer any questions the others had. Needless to say, they only delegated dishes to be made and nothing else. I could have jumped in and saved the day, but I wanted them to see how much effort it takes people to put a meal together and have all of the dishes ready to serve at the same time. Students were very aggrivated with each other as all were to blame. Not only did the group leaders not explain in detail what was going to have to be done, but the rest of the class failed to ask any questions or read through their recipes. I am anxious to see how well they prepare next week. I'll keep you posted.
Mrs. Pittenger
This is posted anonymous as I cannot remember how to post it with my name. I am still way out of my league with this :)
It's April and it's getting harder to keep my seniors interested in reading. We are spending this month concentrating on "real world" reading-articles from Spanish magazines, newspapers, phamplets etc. Then, the students will be using the vocabulary in a variety of units, such as health and fitness, environment, 911 scenarios and a final project of constructing an entire newspaper of their own in Spanish.
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