Response to Emily's Mini Lesson

After reading your lesson and reflection, I wish I had done a lesson similar to this one. Especially because I have never seen my MT address predicting. But I thought your lesson was well thought out and totally addressed the aspect of literacy you wanted to focus on. I haven't read this book, but the guesses by the students at the beginning are really cute. In your reflection I would have liked to hear more about what actually happened once you started reading the story and how did you talk about the predictions after you finished the story? But other than that I really like this mini-lesson!

Mini Lesson and Reflection

For this lesson I decided to focus on two of my students who are not lower level or higher lever, because a few readings this semester have showed that those students in the middle are sometimes overlooked. Javon was the first student I chose to do this with, because we had recently become friends, he took a while to warm up to me but once he did he always wanted me to sit by him, help him and play with him at recess. Like I said he is not at the top or the bottom of the class, but he is definitely closer to the top half. The next student I chose to work with was Tim, he is a student who get distracted easily and usually needs reminding to finish his work when students are left to work on their own. In the beginning I was just planning on working with these two students, but once Curt noticed I was sitting with these boys on the other side of the room he quickly came over and said, “Miss Andrea, can I sit with you too?!” Of course, I said yes, but he doesn’t fit into the middle of the class like the other two. Curt seems to be one of the lower level students, he has trouble staying in his seat (at his desk and the carpet) because of this it takes him longer than the other students to finish any work. 

Now that I have these three boys sitting in front of me I follow my outline and tell them I  am going to read The Lorax and we are going to be paying attention to what happens in the beginning, middle and end. All the boys nod their heads, they seem a little uncomfortable in the corner away from the rest of the class. So I start reading the story and very soon after Javon interrupts me to comment on the rhyming of the story, “This is a rhyming book!!” I say, “Yes, it is, but remember we want to focus on what happens in the story so try to pay attention to the words I am reading the the pictures, they can give you good clues since some of the words in this book are kind of silly and made-up.” All the boys agree that the words and pictures are kind of silly and I continue reading. I mostly make it through the reading without any other interruptions. While I am reading though, I realize this was not the best book to use to talk about beginning, middle and end, because it is two stories in one, it is about a boy who pays to hear a story, he hears it and then he brings back the trees. I get discouraged before finishing that this will be too difficult for these students since the structure of the book is kind of confusing.

Once we are done reading I ask if any of them can tell me what happened at the beginning and I am so excited when Tim says, “The boy pays the guy in the tower to tell him something.” I say yes and open the book to that page so the other boys can see and understand what Tim said. I say, “So in the beginning the boy goes and asks the thing at the top of the tower to tell him a story and then what happens after this? This is the middle of the story” At this point all three boys start talking, its hard to tell who is saying what, but one says something about the thneeds being made, another talks about the Lorax and all the other animals leaving because the trees are gone and someone else says, the Lorax comes! After they are all done sharing in top of each other I say, “Wow it sounds like a lot happened in the middle of this story can we think of a way to get all of your ideas together into one BIG idea?” All the boys agree, and I ask, “Should we get the book out and use the pictures to make our BIG idea?” In the end we decide to say that a man comes and uses all the trees and so the Lorax and all the other animals have to leave. This sentence seemed to incorporate all the ideas they had stated before. I say, “Okay now we have a beginning, he asks the Once-ler to tell him the story, then in the middle a man comes and uses all the trees and so the Lorax and all the other animals have to leave, now we have to figure out what happens in the end, can someone tell me what they think happens at the end? One at a time please.” This time I ask Curt to share and he says the boy gets a seed. And I am so excited!  

The students were able to identify the beginning, middle and end with ease when asked specifically about them. I think the focus and talking before the reading really set them up for success. Now I know that even though my teacher never really focuses on this aspect of comprehension these students have a pretty good understanding of it.

Grade: Kindergarten

Focus students: Tim, Javon, Curt (added later)

Mini-Lesson

Rationale (Why are you teaching this lesson?): I have noticed when I read books to students and then ask them what happened in the story they struggle to identify a beginning, middle or end. They can give a few details, but once the story is over they just put another book in front of my face and say, “Now read this!!!!”  I really want to concentrate on this aspect of comprehension to see if the students understand the order of events in a story, or if they don’t since I haven’t really seen it addressed by my MT/seen them do it on their own.


Objective for this lesson: Students will be able to…
(Remember it must be student centered and observable!!!!!!!) Students will be able to identify the beginning, middle and end of the story and they will be able to use discuss it with each other and use other ideas in order to come to a conclusion.

Materials & supplies needed:

-The Lorax by Dr. Suess

-Paper with 3 blank boxes for Assessment

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event

• Introduction to the lesson (What will you say to help children understand the purpose of the lesson? How will you help them make connections to prior lessons or experiences? How will you motivate them to become engaged in the lesson?) (2 minutes)

-I’m going to read you guys a story today, and I really want you to pay close attention to what happens throughout the story. In every story there is a beginning, middle and end. So while I am reading I want you to pay attention and try to remember what happens so you can tell me at the end. Does this make sense? Do you have any questions?

• OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (Include specific details about how you will begin and end activities; what questions you will use; how you will help children understand behavior expectations during the lesson; when/how you will distribute supplies and materials) (15-20 minutes)

-After introducing the objective of the lesson I will introduce the book I am reading. “This book is called The Lorax written by Dr. Suess. Let’s get started, please make sure to sit quietly and pay attention throughout the reading so we can talk about the beginning, middle and end of the story when I am finished reading.  

-Read the story

 
-Ask students, “Now that we are finished reading can anyone tell me what happened in the beginning of the story? The middle? The end?”

-If students need scaffolding we can get the book out and use it as a reference to find the order of events, so they can see the pictures and remind themselves of the storyline.

• Closing summary for the lesson (How will you bring closure to the lesson and involve children in reflecting on their experiences? How will you involve them making connections to prior lessons or prepare for future experiences? What kind of feedback do you want from them at this time?) (3 minutes)

-Wow, that was a great discussion of the events in the story, now that we know all the major parts of the story and the order they happened in, we are going to draw them out together so we don’t forget what we learned today. And from now on when you hear a story think about what happens in the beginning, the middle and the end, it will help you keep track of the story.

Assessment: (How will you know the students are progressing toward your identified objective? What will you observe for and/or take notes on to help you plan follow-up instruction?)
-Finally I will ask them to draw (as a group) the beginning, middle and end of the story on a piece of paper that has three boxes (already labeled for them).

Mini Lesson Reflection

For this lesson, I chose to work with three of my students who tend to struggle in comprehending what they read and making meaning of it.  For this reason, I chose to work on a predicting lesson.  I felt this would be beneficial to the students, as they would need to focus on a few pages at a time, comprehending what they read to make educated guesses as to what may happen next in the book.  I have worked with these students numerous times throughout the year on group work, but felt these three in particular could use some extra reading attention in the classroom.  All three of these students love to talk and are very imaginative, but struggle in comprehending what they read or what they hear when being read to.  I thought incorporating an activity where they would be able to have some creativity was important, as these three students are especially active and work best with hands-on activities. 

As they have worked a lot with Eric Carle books this semester (and LOVE them), I chose to bring in the book, “The Very Busy Spider.”  I chose to do this activity as a read aloud instead of having the students try to read pages with me, as they are not yet strong enough in the reading category, and trying to read would distract them from my overall goal of the lesson.  When I took the students into the hall to work on the activity, they were all instantly excited that they were receiving “special time” with me, but this made their focus levels drop slightly from when they were in the classroom.  I was able to get them back on track when I told them this activity would help me with my class at MSU (they love when I tell them they are helping me with homework), so the lesson progressed well after that.

I began by asking the students if they knew what a prediction was, and all three were able to give me a varying definition from what they had discussed in a previous lesson with my MT.  I was pleased to see this was something they still remembered, as they do not have a lot of work in this subject matter.  I then went on to show the students the front and back cover of the book, and read the title aloud to them.  When I asked the students what they thought would happen, I had responses such as, “I think the spider will go on vacation,” and “The spider is going to have a busy day because it is going to make a big, big web.”  I was happy to see the students understood the initial intent of predictions, and that they were grasping pieces of the overall concept.  I then explained the assignment, and begin reading the story to them.  When I paused to have the students draw pictures of what they thought would happen next, all three of the students drew pictures that could potentially occur next in the story.  They each included the spider, and gave acceptable responses for why they drew what they did.  The students all seemed to enjoy this activity, and got excited when they were able to draw the pictures for the predictions.

Overall, I felt this lesson went really well.  Since the book choice was at a level they were comfortable with, it helped the students to be able to think past simply the text they heard.  This helped the students to be able to focus on what may happen next, as they actually understood what they had heard.  If I were to give a follow up lesson, I would possibly choose a book that was slightly increased from the level of “The Very Busy Spider,” so that I could see if the students were still understanding predictions with a slightly more advanced book with a different type of plot.

Lesson used:

Grade: Kindergarten Mini-Lesson Rationale (Why are you teaching this lesson?): I have several students in my class who are still struggling to make predictions when reading, and don’t know how to use prior knowledge or given information to make accurate predictions in a reading. Objective for this lesson: Students will be able to…  make predictions when reading a story based on what they have read so far. Materials & supplies needed:  -        “The Very Busy Spider” by Eric Carle -        Plain paper for each student -        Crayons

Procedures and approximate time allocated for each event  • Introduction to the lesson (2 minutes)    “Since we have been working on reading new stories, I thought it would be fun to do something a little different today.  Who can remember what it means to make a prediction.” Explain prediction definition if necessary as reminder from previously lesson with MT.  Tell students they need to use their best thinking and best imaginations when doing this activity, to make the best predictions they can. • OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (15-20 minutes) -        Explain to students that we need to use our “level one voices” (whisper/quiet talk) in this discussion, as we are working in the hallway and other rooms have doors open.  Tell the group the lesson should be fun, but that they still need to be responsible students. -        Read students the title of the book, and show students the front cover and back cover.  Ask students to share predictions on what they think the book will be about, or what they think may happen.  To build student ideas, ask students who they think the main character is, if they think there will be a problem, and what they think this problem may be. I will ask each student to share an idea. -        Read the first few pages to the students aloud to the students.  I will read it aloud so they can purely focus on the occurrences in the story instead of on the fluency aspects that would occur if they were reading.  I will then ask each student to draw a picture of what they think will happen next on the piece of paper with the crayons provided.  Ask students to share their pictures, explaining why they drew what they did.  Read a few more pages of the story, and ask students to draw another picture showing what they think will happen next.  Have students share and discuss pictures/reasoning.  Finish reading story to students. • Closing summary for the lesson (2-3 minutes) - After finishing the story, I will ask the students if they liked making predictions, and why it is a good thing to know how to do.  I will ask the students what helped them make the predictions, and will tell them to try this activity with a family member at home for a fun activity. Assessment: For the assessment, I will examine the students’ pictures to see if they understood the concept of making predictions and educated guesses.  I will also audio record the activity to listen back to the discussions and student responses throughout the activity.  If the students were able to make educated, on-task predictions with the pictures, I will know they are grasping the concept.

Mini Lesson Reflection

For my mini lesson, I chose to work with three of my lower-level second grade students. The three students that I chose are three girls who I have noticed throughout the year have struggled in reading in particular, but also could use some extra assisted writing time. Each of these students I have worked one on one with throughout the year and have realized that comprehension is an area of difficulty. Since comprehension is such a large component of the literacy framework I think that is crucial that these students improve on their skills. I have also found that these students have a low fluency when reading and I think that is a big contributer to their comprehension. I wanted to design a lesson that would not only work on their fluency but also give them strategies to improve their comprehension of any given text. I chose a story that I thought my students would enjoy reading, Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor. This is a fun, girly book that uses some larger vocabulary words. Since it does it use words that are not sight words for my students it provided me an opportunity to see what the students thought these words meant by looking at the context. This is a great way for the students to work on decoding (even though that was not my main focus).

For my lesson the three students and myself sat in the hallway. I explained to the students that they would be taking turns "playing teacher." From free time in the class I have noticed that these students like to pretend to be teacher and write on the chalkboard and ask each other math questions etc. So I thought this would make the lesson more interesting and fun for the students. Each student would had an opportunity to read aloud a few pages of the text. When reading aloud I asked the students to show the pictures, use their finger to follow along, and using voice inflections. After that particular student was done reading I had her summarize what she just read. This allowed me to see how much she comprehended from her own reading. I then asked the group to share predictions on what they thought would happen next. Each of the girls did an excellent job completing this task. They were very enthusiastic to read and summarize. I found that when the students used their finger to follow along there were far few errors in reading, which made the reading more fluent. I also found that by breaking the book into smaller chunks each of the students had a better idea of what was being read and did a better job comprehending the story. One of the students, Sarah*, is the only one that I felt had difficulty explaining what she had just read. She was able to give a few of the main points but did get distracted to give a full summary. She went off on tangents about other stories she has read. This was important for me to recognize because it demonstrates that she is making connections. Sarah is also the weakest reader of the group. She has difficulty decoding and has a very low fluency. I think these two areas make it difficult for her to truly comprehend what she is reading because she loses meaning in the sentences.

After the reading I asked the students to write a short paragraph describing their favorite part of the story. I asked them to be as descriptive as possible so that someone who has never read this story could make a mental picture. This task was to see how much the students remembered and will also force them to be detailed. The students did an excellent job in their writing. I found that they were able to describe a scene clearly and used settings, characters, and details.

Overall, I was pleased with how my lesson went. I felt that the students enjoyed working with me and took away some tools to help them comprehend. I think that my students benefitted having some extra one on one time and working on reading and writing. If I were to do a follow up lesson I would work with them further on decoding and fluency. I think that they took away some tools to improve on comprehension but I think they would also benefit from tools to help decoding. In terms of fluency, I think having them use their finger helped but they could use some more work on sight words.

Small Group Literacy Lesson Reflection

For my small group lesson, I chose to focus on four of my lower-level first graders (3 girls, 1 boy). I've noticed throughout the year that they struggle with not only reading, but also writing. From working one-on-one with them, I've attempted to help them spell words by telling them which letter comes next. All four of them have shown confusion as to which letter they were supposed to write. I chose to create a "game" that focused on letter-sound knowledge and phonemic awareness. Using a paper plate, I wrote all of the letters on the alphabet and create a spinner with a paper clip and pencil. One student spun and whichever letter the spinner landed on, each student had to think of word that started with that letter. We also practiced saying the sound the letter made. Whoever's turn it was then placed a sticker on this piece of the letter wheel so that we didn't repeat letters. One student, Emily*, was very unenthusiastic at first and disappointed to have to leave the nature walk early to come inside and do a letter game. However, afterwards, she was telling all the other students how fun it was. Another girl gave me a big hug after we finished working in the hallway and were heading back to the room. I knew that this girl, Angelina*, would likely struggle coming up with words since her letter-sound knowledge is so weak; therefore, I created a PowerPoint with a slide for each letter of the alphabet and then pictures/clip art images that started with that letter so that students could have an extra form of support. This came in very useful several times when students were stuck and alleviated some of their anxiety/reduced embarrassment.

We didn't make it through the whole alphabet during the time alloted; thus, one modification would be to either do it with a smaller group so that more letters can be covered in the same amount of time, or increase the alloted time. Another change I would make would be to refresh students' memory and practice saying the alphabet. Even though they are in first grade and were exposed to it last year, undoubtedly, after doing this activity, it is apparent that some of them are a little rusty with this skill. Although in my lesson plan, I had students writing out these words on white boards, I recognized that this would take too much time to complete. A potential follow-up lesson could be to incorporate the spelling aspect of words. Even if students didn't write all the words, the teacher could choose one to have all students write on the whiteboard, or the teacher could type the words the students volunteered onto the PowerPoint or write them on a whiteboard and have everyone practice reading the words together.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with how smoothly this activity went and that my students were enjoying and benefiiting from this extra practice at the same time.

Response to Emilys Reflection

I used a prezi and am in a kindergarten classroom too, and I totally agree that they would not be able to handle the technology. But I also found while working on this project that as teachers we need to be on top of all the newest technology so we can use it to our advantage, even if its not usable with our students. I definitely think you could show your kindergarteners a prezi that you made and they could get some good knowledge from it especially if it had a lot of pictures (a feature I didn't really figure out yet).

I also really like your new literacy definition, I feel as though we talk about literacy as only reading and writing sometimes, and I was completely unaware of all of the other types of literacy as well! Overall I think you wrote a really honest reflection that I can totally relate to!

New Literacy

Before TE 402 I had a very shallow understanding of the word "literacy." As the semester has progressed I have learned that literacy is a much broader term. When we started this project I was slightly confused as to what these new literacy's were and how they were going to connect to our class. I chose to do my project on emotional literacy and can truthfully say that I have learned a lot about this topic. But I also feel that I have learned more about the other types of literacy from the other projects I have viewed. I started off thinking that literacy simply referred to reading and writing and my understanding as grown to include these new literacy's. After this project I have realized that literacy can encompass many different areas and is important to teach students about them and help them become literate in all these areas. Many are stuck in the mindset that I had coming into this class and are more concerned with the traditional types of literacy. However, it is just as important to integrate these new literacy's in the class to make your students more well rounded individuals.

Technology has never been my best friend. I tend to struggle using technology but the finish project always is enjoyable. For my project I chose to create a website that explained emotional literacy and all the components to it. Using this piece of technology was much easier then I had anticipated and was extremely user-friendly. Just like emotional literacy or any of the other new literacy, being technologically literate is very important. I think that by using a technology to learn and explore the new literacy also helped make me more comfortable with technology. Our world has become so technologically advanced that is important for teachers to keep up to date with technology and help integrate it in the classroom as much as possible. Students tend to learn about technology before adults, so it would be beneficial to the students for teachers to incorporate it as much as possible. I found that using weebly.com to create my website would also be a great resource to have in the classroom. I think that a classroom website would be a great way for students to keep up to date and informed about homework or upcoming events.

I am placed in a second and third grade split classroom. If my students were to complete this project they would need to be taught a little background information on the new literacy as well as the technology. I believe that giving the students enough background information that they would be able to use and learn about this type of literacy. My students are very good at using the class computers and are capable of getting to a website. I think that my students may struggle with paying close attention to instructions and that would be challenging. Creating a website is not very difficult especially if it was kept basic. Once on the website it is very simple to write on each page as it is similar to a word document. However, creating new pages and adding pictures may be more difficult. In terms of learning about the new literacy I think my students would be able to find out information. When I was learning about emotional literacy a simple google search came up with many simple definitions. I think that my students would be able to find this information and would be able to understand what it means. They would need to take their time reading the information and try to fully comprehend and digest the information before sharing with others. I think the students would also benefit from knowing what literacy means to then be able to understand any new literacy.

Integrating this technology in the classroom would be easy and interesting for the students. One way that you could use a website for a language arts lesson could simply be based around a class book. Students could participate in a book club and then create a website to share what the story is about, quotes, questions, etc. The other students could then look at the website of the other books to get information or a summary about each book. This would be a great way for the students to publish their work and make it more meaningful to their learning. The teacher would need to give the students a tutorial on how to use this technology but after that students can have creative freedom to design and set up their page as they please. Teachers can assess what the students have written on the webpage, or how the webpage was set up. Integrating technology is important for students learning and can make any lesson more fun for the students.

New Literacies Reflection

             Prior to this assignment about new literacies, I was unaware of many of the forms that literacy can take, such as visual or mathematical literacy. As someone who has studied abroad and worked with ELLs at MSU, I place a high value on cultural literacy. Prior to this project, I understood this as being respectful and knowledgeable about other cultures, as well as appreciating diversity. However, after exploring and researching this topic, I now have a broader understanding of what this literacy also encompasses. This project taught me that there is a great deal of information we encounter in our daily lives, especially in education, that is assumed knowledge. However, those not from the dominant group in society (with an emphasis on ESL students) are often left out of the loop. This information gap affects their access to opportunities in life, in addition to them missing important connections or meaning when reading a text. My level of conscientiousness about cultural literacy has increased after completing this project and I will make every effort to bridge this gap in my classroom. As I stated in my prezi, “if it’s worth mentioning, it’s worth explaining.”

                This was my first experience working with the Prezi technology. In past classes, I’ve found this to be a more engaging format for a presentation than the average PowerPoint. It took some trial and error to end up with a project that I was satisfied with, but feel that I have a good sense of its features and how to use it now. I can easily incorporate this into my teaching and can also educate my students about how to use this technology. By using a technology to teach others, media literacy is also included and emphasized!

                In order for my students to produce a similar project, there are several skills that they would need to possess prior to beginning. First, they would need to have an understanding of what literacy is and that it can take many forms. We would also need to discuss the different components of the forms. It would be helpful for them to have access to resources, like we did, to explore the different types. Some of my students can read and for them, this research stage would be doable; however, many of my students struggle with reading, so they would need assistance with learning more about the topic. Also, for these students, creating a Prezi (which involves conveying information in text form) would not be very accessible unless they were given assistance from a higher-level peer or a teacher. Students would need to have keyboarding skills, as well as expertise in using the mouse. They would need to develop a knowledge about the different features of Prezi, but I think if the teacher did a tutorial on the projector from her computer, they would catch on quickly. A skill they would need for deciding on the content for their presentation is selecting the main ideas, as well as providing specific examples. Students would also need to know about various multimedia extras they can include, such as images, YouTube videos, sound, etc. I think if my students worked in pairs and had a long timeline for this project, they could be very successful in using the Prezi software. Having them teach each other about the different literacies would definitely be a topic that would need to be scaffolded and incorporated into the classroom from the beginning of the year in order for students to have a solid grasp on it.

                For my literacy lesson I chose to focus on retelling a story using the key words, “first,” “next,” “then,” and “last.” I think that using a Prezi would be an easy way for them to practice this series of words. They could create their own stories and add images with a transition between key words to a new frame. This visual shift to a new frame would reinforce the shift in their stories to a new event and signal to them that they need to include a new key word (whichever word is appropriate). Plus, this would be an engaging way to share their finished pieces with the class and demonstrate a way to publish a text in the 21^st century!

New Literacy Blog

When I began this class, my definition of literacy consisted mainly of a person being able to read and write. As the class has progressed, I have continued to add elements to my working definition, as we have been introduced to numerous new literacies and aspects that should be included. Looking back at my first post about my definition of literacy, I stated, "I'm still not sure if I have a set definition that I can apply to the term, but for now I believe that literacy is the ability to comprehend and effectively use reading, writing, listening and speaking." After continuing in 402 and researching social literacy through a prezi, my definition of literacy has expanded. I have come to realize that literacy is much more than simply reading and writing, but how one uses these skills to effectively communicate with others. Through my research on social literacy, I have found that there are many critical skills that can be learned through the use of technology. While I focused my project on social literacy, looking at the other literacies has helped me to grasp a better understanding of included elements as well. Emotional literacy is one that I had not thought to include, but it is a critical part of how a student becomes literate.

After viewing my classmates' projects and learning about the multitude of literacies that are present, I have learned that I need to have a good grasp on what they all are to ensure my students benefit to their fullest. In language arts for instance, technology can be incorporated using digital and social literacy to interest students who may not otherwise prefer the language arts topic. Working with this new literacy (social literacy) and new technology (prezi), I came across many resources and websites that I did not know existed. All of these new sources would be effective tools to provide effectice literacy instruction to students. With blogging, wikijunior, and all of the other sites available, students from multiple learning styles can be accomodated and instructed. Each student has a different way they learn best, and using social literacy with technology can help to address each student's style. Each of the seperate literacies are also crucial to consider when working with students, as each child brings a unique background and characteristics that an educator needs to be aware of to ensure the student is learning the material.

As I am in a kindergarten classroom for placement, I feel that a prezi would be an incredibly difficult resource for my students to use in the classroom. In order for the students to make an effective prezi show, they would need to understand how to use a computer and the internet, which is something they do not have practice with in the school setting. They do not have access to a computer within their classroom, so it is hard to say how much experience they have outside of school. They would need to know the concept of a slideshow (one they have not been exposed to in school yet), and the purpose for putting information into an online resource for people to view. As they are still learning the alphabet and how to spell simple words, this project would be one that would be challenging for them, as they would not be able to explain social literacy through the use of words. The concept of social literacy may be difficult for them to understand as well, and would need to be thoroughly explained. To share what they do learn with their peers, the students could use a variety of pictures to communicate their message. Even using pictures, the students would have to understand how to use computer functions such as saving and uploading files.

The two most relevant resources that I found when searching social literacy for young students are www.epals.com and http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior. These websites are both child friendly, and incorporate communication and collaboration through technology. I would use either one for a lesson plan, as they are both interesting and exciting websites for children to discover. If I were to incorporate wikijunior into a lesson, I would open the website on the smartboard (we do not have computers in the classroom for the students to use), and would show the students examples of books that other children have created. After explaining the project and the idea that children can post books online, I would work with the students to create a class book that we could then edit and upload to the website for others to see. Towards the end of the year, if my students were progressing well in writing, I would have them create their own books to add to the sites. This lesson would allow the students to see components of a book, and would allow them to practice creating chronological events in a story. One of the big common core standards for the kindergarten grade level is that students can recall important details in a story, so this lesson would push students farther, as they would be creating the important details and learning what should be included and what can be left out. Assessment would be informal for this lesson, as I would look to see who was contributing, and the types of answers that the students were contributing to the discussion.

I forgot to take a picture this week and I can't find a good example on the internet, bu I think everyone will know what I'm talking about. A literacy resource I see used in my kindergarten classroom is the alphabet border name tags where each child sits. It shows them the upper case and lower case versions of each letter of the alphabet, as well as a picture that helps them identify the sound made by each letter. I think this helps enhance student learning because they are still learning to write all of these letters and having them right there all the time is very useful when they are working on writing assignments. I think it also helps to just see the letters of the alphabet often and my MT has many different places around the classroom where they are displayed for everyone to see. I would definitely recommend it to others, its a simple thing that seriously comes in handy for the students. I'm sure they don't cost much and most of them will last throughout the whole year. I don't really think any modifications are necessary to this particular tool, but I would change my MT's classroom to have more literacy tools throughout it. Because there isn't much throughout his classroom it took me a very long time to think of a resource I could write about for this blog.

Literacy Resources in the Classroom

Due to technical difficulties, I don't have a picture of my chosen literacy resource from my classroom. Each of my students have a book box. It's almost like a maganize holder or file organizer and is made from cardboard. On average, each student has 5-7 books in it that they are supposed to choose from during independent reading time. I think that it is a great idea to have students select books ahead of time so that when it is time for daily independent reading time they are wasting time and being disruptive to their classmates when selecting reading material. However, I would make several adjustments to this resource in order to make it more beneficial. My students don't have a set day or time when they switch out their books; several students have had some of their books in their box for months. I think that starting each week by having students swap out their books would be a good way to keep kids interested during reading time because they would have new options. Also, I would have each student keep a book log so that I could monitor whether or not students have already read a book they've selected. Additionally, many of my students do not have books that are at their independent reading level. Some of them have chapter books that are incredibly too advanced for them, or picture books that list Spanish vocabulary. In my classroom, I would be sure to monitor students as they select books, as well as periodically check my students' book boxes to make sure that they had appropirate level books. While I think the concept of book boxes is great, my MT does not effectively incorporate this literacy resource into her classroom.

This image I found online, however in my classroom we have something very similar. This picture board uses the letters of the alphabet to represent different objects and brands. In my classroom my teacher also uses the students names and puts them under the corresponding beginning letter. This helps enhance the students learning because it puts emphasis and examples of the sounds letters make. It help the students see that letters can have different sounds in different words. It also helps the students recognize letter sounds with pictures. Sometimes students have difficulty deciphering what sounds letters make and using pictures helps them hear the sounds better. I would recommend this to others because I think students benefit from it. I think students learn best through examples and this is a great representation. It is also fun to include the students names so they can see others that share the same first letter. This is also a fun and easy way to decorate your classroom. I don't think that this could use any modifications, but if you wanted to make it more advanced you could not just use starting letters and sounds. You could include pictures of a letter sound in the middle of the word to make it more complex.

Literacy Element

The picture above illustrates our classroom word wall. I am in a kindergarten classroom, and find this resource to be extremely convenient for the children. Each week, my mentor teacher introduces new words to the word wall, after discussing the words to the class. The words that appear on the word wall are either high frequency words that the students must know, or words specific to the theme of the lessons for that week. This week, for instance, they are discussing St. Patricks day and all of the concepts that go along with it. The word "lucky" listed at the bottom is a special word that the students will be working with often during this week. This word will be frequently seen in books being read, as well as on math worksheets and writing responses.

In our class, the words on the word wall are known as "popcorn words." When working in the work books, the students "butter" the popcorn words (use yellow crayons to color highlight them). The students look at the word wall so often and practice highlighting the words, that they quickly are able to read and spell a majority of the words on this wall. The students are also able to take a word off of the wall to take back to his/her seat if having a difficult time spelling it. I like that this is easily accessible for the students, and that they are able to use it when needed but without taking advantage of it. I would suggest a word wall in this format to others, as the students are able to visually see the high frequency words that are important, and can access them if needed.

Repsonses!

My computer won't let me directly comment on specific blogs, so here are my commments.

To Emilys Discussions post
 

Emily, this is exactly how I feel! My kindergarteners have never seen a discussion and I am nervous to be the first to introduce it to them. I think breaking them up into small groups to practice before is a great idea, it just depends on how much time you have and how long the students are able to stay focused on this on task. I'm worried that even with this practice our discussions might completely fail, so I think we should keep each other updated while working through this lesson. We could both help each other a lot.

To Erikas literacty definition post
I love your library idea, I am also hoping to have a wonderful collection of books in my classroom. And I think giving them a cozy space to use these books or other literacy activities is a great way to help them as they continue to learn. I totally understand your dislike of the Morning Message, I feel like a lot of the work my students do is just copied from the teacher and then struggle when they have to come up with something on their own. How do you help them in your classroom? I try my hardest to help them along without directly giving them the answer, but that is what they are used to. I am so sad they think reading is a chore :(

Teaching through Talking

Everyone knows that children love to talk. They will chat your ear off about what they did over the weekend or what their favorite movie is. It is logical then to employ talking in one's classroom as a means of encouraging dialogue and learning amongst students. Discussions are incredibly useful for literacy activties. This is especially beneficial when reading a text as a class. Each student will make different text-to-self and text-to-text connections that are worth bringing to the class's attention. Additionally, when working with ELLs, discussion allows them to construct a deeper meaning of the text and gives them the opportunity for creating comprehensible output. If the teacher is lecturing or just presenting the students with display questions, the chances for students to produce language are greatly diminished. In Janice Almasi's article, "A New View of Discussion," she states "the reader's interpretation constantly evolves, and the interpretation that each person brings to a discussion may ultimately be transformed and shaped by the thoughts and ideas of other group members" (3).

The types of talk I've seen in my placement's classroom are very superficial. Part of this is due to the lack of confidence that my students have when speaking in their L2 (since it is a Spanish Immersion Program), while part of it is due to how my MT leads the talks. I've rarely seen her read a book that interested the student or had any connection to another activity, such as a follow-up writing extension. Although she clarifies and explains vocabulary so that the students comprehend the story, she doesn't ask them to make predictions or discuss the book afterwards to learn what questions or thoughts the students have. In order for them to have an Almasi-quality discussion, I think my teacher would need to select a book that was a more appropriate length (i.e. shorter) and present students with open-ended questions instead of display. Also, she would need to do a better job of encouraging the more shy students to share their ideas/thoughts/questions. I think the hardest thing for my students would be to bridge the language gap. Having a quality and meaningful discussion when students are hesitant to talk is problematic, as is the fact that most of the time when they do share something with the group, it is a short sentence that consists of very basic vocabulary words. The could undoubtedly expand on these ideas and be more articulate if they were allowed to have a literary discussion in a classroom where speaking English was the norm. If my MT incorporated authentic discussions around texts in our classroom, I hypothesize that the oral proficiency of our students would increase as a result of increased opportunities for production.

Discussions in the Classroom

I am currently placed in a kindergarten classroom, so true "Almasi-type" discussions are mainly unheard of in my placement. As the students have just entered school and are still learning how to "behave correctly" for a school setting, they are still practicing skills such as sitting quietly and raising their hands when they want to speak. For this reason, recitation is the most common form of talk that occurs in my classroom. In these situations, the students are seated quietly on a rug, while my mentor teacher leads a conversation about the current topic (either a book they have just read, or vocabulary for a book they will be reading shortly). In the recitation setting, my mentor teacher will ask the student straight-forward questions, such as, "What is this?" or "What is this used for?" The questions that she asks get the students thinking, but are not as open-ended and usually are just asking for a single word answer.

In the Almasi discussions, the students would be feeding off of each others answers, and the instructor would play a minimum role. This is not the case in my classroom, for the reasons answered above. With that said, I am worried about trying to lead a discussion in my classroom for the lesson I will prepare. Scaffolding would be a key factor to help my students work their way up to this type of discussion, as it is not something they have done before in their current kindergarten class, and may not have experience with otherwise. Before conducting any group discussion in the Almasi way, it would be important for me to tell the students how the discussion should work, and to let them know how it is supposed to work (for instance, the importance of not interrupting each other). It may be important to practice this technique in small groups before working as a whole class. If my mentor teacher allows me to, I may break the students into groups and have them discuss a topic related to the discussion we will have as a class, so that I can see how the students react to the discussion type, how they handle the situations, and what they have to say about the topic. The majority of the students love to talk so I will not have to worry about the students being silent, but I worry that they will not be able to build off of each other's answers without my help and comments.

Discussions in the Classroom

In terms of discussion there is not one type that works best for all students. This means it is important for the teacher to make sure they are changing the type of discussion to best suit the students. In my current placement I have been seeing a lot of reciting. The discussions that take place involve the teacher asking a question and waiting for the response or answer from the students. There is not a framework for classroom discussion in any manner. The students do not know how to participate in any other type of discussion because they have been exposed to only reciting. In the class I see a lot of my MT asking questions regarding literature and the students answer and they move on. We do not have in depth conversations that I think my second and third grade students are capable of having. In order to have an "Almasi-type" discussion my MT would have to establish a set of rules to promote a structure. The students may also need to be scaffolded to correctly participate in another type of discussion. My students are very creative and have a lot to offer in terms of opinions and views. I think my students would have an easy time being able to speak up and say their piece. They are not shy students and I think that they have a lot to offer each other. However, I think that my students would have a difficult time being able to practice self control and listening to each other. They are a hyper active group of students and I think may not be able to listen to each other without talking over one another. I think that my students would benefit greatly from having an "Almasi-type" discussion. They would learn more about each other and how to have respect for each other's opinions.

Discussions

The only type of discussion I see in my kindergarten class is recitation, and I really hardly ever see that. Most of the classroom instruction time I see is my MT telling students information or directions and not giving them a chance to give feedback or add on. I think in order for an “Almasi-type” discussion to happen my MT would have to set up a lot of rules and expectations because the students have never even participated in a discussion where they are called on to share ideas, let alone a discussion run mostly by them. I think most students would be worried about getting to say what they want to say and not paying attention and responding to what the other students are contributing to the discussion. I feel in this specific kindergarten class the students wouldn’t get much meaning out of this type of discussion, in a whole class setting. I think it could be done well in smaller groups, but then I think as the instructor it would be hard to facilitate that many discussions and make sure all of the 6 year-olds are staying on topic. Overall I think an “Almasi-type” discussion can be a really meaningful form of instruction I don’t think its appropriate for the kindergarten setting I am currently placed in.

Diversity+Discussions

From our own personal learning experiences as students, as well as those we've gained during our teacher preparation program, it is obvious that one size does not fit all when it comes to school. As a teacher, one of the best ways to help each student succeed is by getting to know who he or she is as a person, as well as a learner. I think that one of the best ways to increase diversity in a classroom and learn about one's students is by employing discussions whenever possible. The article "Text Talk: Using Discussion to Promote Comprehension of Informational Texts" by Gambrell and Mazzoni, presents a variety of strategies for fostering discussions, specifically to increase student learning with different genres. By encouraging students to share their reactions, as well as their opinions, and make connections to the text, we are allowing them to experience literature as something with meaning and also showing them that we value them and their ideas. Instead of using questions as reading checks, we should use them, along with reflective questions or student-to-student questioning so that we are not interrogating them, but allowing them to incoporate their own background knowledge and personal experiences into the conversation. This creates a richer discussion and allows the teacher and students to get to know one another better.

In my upcoming visits to my placement, I will try to learn more about the diversity of my students during reading time. When I work one-on-one with students, I will try to look for opportunities to engage in discussions with students to learn about their opinions or reactions to the book. I think that by understanding how my students are approaching the material they're reading will help me to learn more about their thinking process, as well as who my students are as individuals. They may be able to relate to the events of the story or it may remind them of something else that has happened to them, which would provide me with the opportunity to get to know more about their world.

Diversity When Teaching

As a teacher, it is very important to learn about the diversity in your classroom, and to know each of your students from multiple perspectives to ensure that you are teaching to benefit each student. It is important to learn these characteristics early in the year, so that you know how to teach towards your specific students. When I have my own classroom and in student teaching next year, I plan to do a community profile of the surrounding areas around the school to get an idea of where my students are coming from, and the types of things they have access to. Researching and exploring the area around the school will give me insight into the different types of housing, jobs and resources that the students grow up with as a whole. As we have discussed in class, having diversity in the classroom will benefit all of the students, as they will be able to learn about their classmates, and have a comfortable classroom setting. The experiences that the children have will impact the way they contribute to the class, so it is important to understand where each child is coming from, and what they can bring to the class to make a unique and effective classroom community. As discussed in the Almasi article, it is important that the students are comfortable sharing and discussing, so that the conversation is effective (such as when discussing a certain piece of literature). I feel that the students should be exposed to each others diversity as well as myself, as it will help to create a more comfortable classroom environment, since the students will know each other on a deeper level than purely surface information.

I am currently placed at the kindergarten grade level, but work with two separate classes each week (one day with the morning students, one day with the afternoon students). Since I do have a lot of students that I work with, I have found that I do not know very much about many of the children, as I have not had enough individual time with each of them. One concrete action that I plan to take is to talk with each student and to ask questions regarding home life, friends, hobbies, etc. My mentor teacher has centers set up daily, so I usually spend my time in the classroom working at one of these centers. Instead of purely focusing on the assignment, I may sit at one of the tables that does not require as much work, and ask the students different questions to get to know them. I may also allow them to ask me some questions, so that they feel more comfortable sharing with me as well.

Diversity in the Classroom

Getting to know your students should be the first and foremost step each year when you meet your new class. Knowing your students is the best to teach them, gain their trust and respect for you as their educator. Every classroom is made up of a unique set of students that all have different backgrounds and previous experiences both in the classroom and at home. It is important as a teacher to recognize the the diversity in the class and use it to your advantage. Some teachers feel that you need to constantly compensate when you have a diverse class but I think that you should be able to learn a lot from the diversity. Students can teach other students about their culture and how they are unique and they can gain a lot from that interaction. In the reading Instructional Conversations by Goldenberg they talk about how the U.S school system is like "painting by numbers." We ask the students a question and expect a single response most of the time. If we used Instruction Conversation, or IC, in the classroom more learning can occur. IC allows for an open ended discussion where students can share opinions and provide personal examples of what is being taught. IC looks at the bigger picture and realizes that students can also learn from each other. The best way to learn about diversity in the classroom is by getting to know your students. One simple way to get to know your student body is driving around the area where the school is situated. You can learn from what your students have access to and what their neighborhood provides. It will help you know where your students come from and make you more aware. Another simple way to learn about the diversity is to talk to your students. If the teacher is able to implement IC in the classroom students will be able to discuss their diversity and learn from each other's experiences. Sometimes teacher's forget that students come to the classroom with plenty of knowledge, and if you take the time to actually get to know them you will learn a lot. It's important to take the time to get to know your students and where they come from so you can better educate them.

In the next few weeks I want to increase my understanding about diversity and the students that I am working with. Although I have been in the classroom for quite some time now there are still a few students that I would like to get to know better. My goal is to sit with these students more often and talk to them in a way just to get to know them. Let them share with me anything that they want. While doing this I also want to try and find more ways to use my students previous experiences and connect it to their learning. Often I hear "this isn't important" or "why do I need to know this?" from my students and I would like to be able to find ways to show the importance that are culturally relevant to them. If I am able to find ways to teach my students in a way that they find important and meaningful I will be able to get through to them more and further their learning.

Literacy Defined

My ideas of literacy are continuing to change throughout my education, as we are continually learning new aspects that can be put into the definition of "literacy." We have learned about concepts of print, vocabulary, motivation and so many other factors that go in to the main category of literacy, but those are more like elements of the overall topic than part of the definition itself. I had originally just thought that literacy consisted of reading and writing, and that is also how it was defined in the Tompkins textbook, but after class last week my views and definitions are changing. I'm still not sure if I have a set definition that I can apply to the term, but for now I believe that literacy is the ability to comprehend and effectively use reading, writing, listening and speaking. These tasks are important when trying to convey and understand messages, as well as for communication and learning information.

I think a good literacy environment would welcome students to the ideas of the elements presented in the definition above. One idea that would encourage this would be to have a comfortable reading area set up in the classroom, with books that not only enhance students learning but also their interest in reading books of all different types and genres. Fostering student writing is also beneficial, as students should feel comfortable and excited about expressing ideas in a written fashion. My mentor teacher provides this for the students in her classroom by giving each student a journal to write in. When they finish with an assignment, they are given free time to write whatever they feel like in their journals, allowing them to practice expression as well as their writing skills. Since the students are in kindergarten, this expression is sometimes brought out in drawing instead of writing, but the concepts are still being learned and practiced. In my placement, the students are often given multiple options to practice speaking with their peers in conversation as well as in front of the class. My MT wants her students to be literate individuals, and believes that reading, writing, speaking and listening are all crucial tools in order for this to occur.

Literacy Definition

In class on Monday when we were asked to write down our own definition of literacy I kind of blanked, so, of course, I turned to Wikipedia. Although this site is not the best resource I found the first few sentences about literacy really helpful in forming my own definition. Wikipedia says,

"Literacy has been described as the ability to read for knowledge and write coherently and think critically about the written word. Literacy can also include the ability to understand all forms of communication, be it body language, pictures, video & sound (reading, speaking, listening and viewing)."

The first sentence describes the literal acts of literacy: reading, writing and thinking. But it also includes HOW to use those acts to be fully literate. Many people can read, write and think, but the qualifiers in the definition above, for knowledge, coherently and critically make literacy more academic. The next sentence focuses a little more on the social aspect of literacy, and I think in order to have a complete definition of literacy you have to include both parts of it, they are equally important to every literate person.

I think an ideal literacy environment includes too many things to name, but at the beginning of the year I would have said that my MT did not have a good literacy environment. Now that I know the students and have seen them mature, and learn more about reading and writing I would say he actually does a pretty great job. He models writing for them, encourages them to sound out words and the many posters of words all over the classroom give students the help they need when stuck. 

So far I have not come up with my own final definition of literacy, but I think I am on my way to developing a working and complete definition.

What is Literacy?

Literacy is a term that is thrown around a lot in the teacher preparation program along with in the classroom. But does anyone really have a good definition for the word? I think that literacy encompasses so much that it can be difficult to form a concrete definition. In TE 301 we did a lot of work with literacy and defining terms that fall under the "literacy" category. I always had difficulty creating a definition for literacy but working on the definition in class helped shape my understanding. The definition that my table group created to define literacy was "literacy is the ability to read, write, understand, and think critically about texts in a variety of formats. It allows one to explore the world and new ideas in personal, academic, and professional contexts." I really liked this definition that we came up with. I think that this definition is broad enough to incorporate all the sub categories of literacy. It also discusses the different contexts that literacy is used. Many get stuck thinking literacy is only in the classroom, when in fact it is used in all environments. Defining literacy is a tricky task and there isn't one clear cut answer. I think that any literacy definition needs to be flexible to be able to fit to the given environment.

In the classroom that I am working at I feel like the task of reading and writing has a negative connotation . Most of the students do not enjoy to read or write and that makes it difficult to encourage literacy. My classroom set up however is conducive to literacy. There are couches and comfortable chairs to help make reading more comfortable and enjoyable. My MT tries her best to include writing tasks that the students will enjoy but that seems to still be a challenge. When I have a classroom I want to put emphasis on the enjoyment of reading and writing and try to create an environment that stimulates the students literacy development. One thing that I have observed in my classroom that I feel takes away from literacy is when the students must write as a form of punishment. Sometimes my MT uses writing as a way to correct a behavior and this makes the students feel that writing is a negative thing. Literacy is an important concept both in the classroom and outside the classroom. It is important to recognize this as a teacher and enhance the concept.

Defining "Literacy"

My current working definition of literacy is that it "is the ability to read, write, comprehend, and think critically about texts in a variety of formats. It allows one to explore the world and new ideas in personal, academic, and professional contexts." Since TE 301 focused a great deal on literacy and its components, my defintion was more influenced by that course more than our last class session and its corresponding readings. My ideal literacy environment in my classroom would consist of a well-organized, labeled by difficulty level, library full of a variety of books, along with a special area of the room designated for reading that has pillows/beanbags, lamps and is overall cozy. Students would engage in free-writing in their journals, structured writing with meaningful prompts, and frequent poetry writing in their poetry notebooks. We would discuss the mechanics used, such as punctuation, capitalization, etc. As a class we would read stories and engage in critical discussions that allow them to share their thoughts, ideas, and experiences with each other. I wholeheartedly believe that young students are capable of such discussions, as demonstrated in Leland's article "Out of the Box: Critical Literacy in a First-Grade Classroom," if they are given the opportunity to do so. I would explicity teach and model reading strategies, both regarding phonics and comprehension. Reading and writing and speaking would be incoporated into all other subject areas, not just skills used during a scheduled time of the day.

My current classroom is far from my ideal literacy environment. Although my students write a Morning Message daily, much of it is copied from the teacher's paper. When they are supposed to generate their own part of the message, they are unsure what to write about or how to do it. They lack strategies for sounding out words and spelling. Also, many of them need more practice with how to correctly form letters and use mechanics. During independent reading, many of them read books that are not at their appropriate reading level and end up goofing around and distracting their peers. I rarely see my teacher read to my students, which is something I would do on a daily basis in my own classroom. To them, reading is a chore and not rewarding experience, which makes me quite sad :(

Abby Markert

One literacy event in my life that stands out to me occurred in the 6^th grade. In the 6^th grade I was living in Sydney, Australia. I was making adjustments with this move, although not my first move, so there were some challenges I was overcoming. School was starting to become more challenging as the workload increased. I noticed that more assignments were requiring more reading and it was harder for me to maintain high grades. I have never been a strong reader or ever really enjoyed reading for fun. My mom became aware of this and noticed that I was struggling in school because of it. My mom than took me to a special reading center where they did all sorts of testing on my to see if I had any learning disabilities. I remember going to this center and going through a series of tests and had high anxiety. I remember feeling like I wasn’t doing a good job on the tests and it was hard for me to articulate what aspects I was struggling with. It turns out I am slightly dyslexic. My mom and my younger sister are both dyslexic as well and that is one of the reasons I was tested. Growing up it was always a challenge for me to read and enjoy reading because it did not come easy to me. As a result I always had a sour taste about literacy. It was something that I knew I was going to have to overcome and really practice at. It took awhile for me to learn the tricks that worked best for me, and also a lot of practice. However, I am about to receive a specialization in language arts, which is something I would have never thought. I had to work really hard to get where I am today. I learned new strategies to reading and constantly need to work harder at it than most people. But I am now a much stronger reader and enjoy reading so I am thankful to those teachers that were able to help me get to where I am today. When I become a teacher I want to make sure I pay close attention to those students who struggle with reading and give them the tools they need to improve. Literacy is one of the most important components to school and I want to make sure that each student feels strongly about it.

I'm not sure if I have one specific moment with literacy that has shaped my views, but I think a lifetime love of reading has helped build the way I think about literacy in the classroom. As a child my parents were always reading to me, my dad and I loved Where The Wild Things Are the best. Most nights throughout my k-12 schooling I would read before bed, and some nights this reading went past my bedtime. This always made my mom feel bad, she didn't want to get me in trouble for reading, but I did need sleep. In 4th grade I asked for a flashlight for Christmas, so I could read in bed without having the big light on, then mom wouldn't know I was still awake. Eventually she caught on, and my Christmas flashlight was taken away. My parents love reading and throughout my childhood this love was instilled in me. I understand not all my students will come from a home like mine, where reading was valued so I hope my love of literature rubs off on my students the same way my parents love of reading rubbed off on me.

Literacy Moment

When I was a child in elementary school, I always excelled in language arts. I read material far above the average for my grade level, and tested far above the rest of my classmates. For this reason, I was always very excited to read a new book or to write a new story for the language arts segments of our classes. For many of my classes throughout elementary school, we were placed into reading groups based on our ability levels. I was always in the highest group with a few other students, and everyone knew what group everyone else was in.

Since I was in the highest group, I was allowed to choose my own books above my levels, and had a little more freedom than some of the students in the lower groups. We would also take time in these groups to read individually aloud to a parent volunteer or teacher in the classroom, and our group always finished first since we were more fluent readers and could understand the material at a much faster pace than other students in the class. After finishing our group work, our teacher would have us pick a book from the designated reading level bin that we were at, and we would be asked to read silently until the other students had finished. I loved being able to choose my own books, and felt very honored to be in such a high group in the class. While I loved being put into the higher group and knowing that I was doing well, there were other students in my class who despised these activities and the groups in general. If a student was in a lower group in the class, all of the other students were aware, and tended to think these students weren't as smart, or that they didn't try.

Looking back now, I do not think that I would use these group strategies in my future classroom. I think it is important for students to read at the correct reading level or just above where they may be, but placing students into physical groups based on reading level may affect the motivational levels and attitudes of the students if they are not comfortable in the level they are placed in. The students in my class who were in the lower groups would shut down when it came time for reading in groups in placement levels, as they felt they were more "stupid" than other students. A lot of time teachers do not think that simply placing a student in a particular group will affect their attitudes and views on a subject, but doing so can either work in favor for a student or in negative ways. Teaching literacy is a very important subject in school, so I want to make sure that I do so in a way that learning is not hindered for any students.