Synthesis

• How will you integrate critical literacy instruction in your discipline?
• I will integrate critical literacy into my instruction by teaching students to realize that everything around them can be considered text. I will show my students that they are constantly absorbing new information, and that they have the ability to understand anything they wish.
• How will you incorporate comprehension instruction into your discipline?
• Comprehension is a staple in an English classroom. Student have to be able to comprehend what they are reading and be able to do something with the knowledge that they gain from the class.
• How will you choose and teach vocabulary words?
• I will choose vocabulary words based on student feedback as well as noticing words from the readings that I think my students will find particularly difficult.
• How will you structure opportunities for students to use oral language?
• I'm really excited about doing both a poetry and play unit where my students will have to read portions of the plays and poems out loud in front of the class and in partners. Students will also engage in dialogue with other students as well as the teacher to better understand the work we are doing in class.
• How will you support your students in writing texts and producing other representations in your discipline?
• Writing is a critical component to an effective English classroom. I will allow students to engage in writing on a daily basis, and will encourage them to continue to write in their free time.
• How will you support academically, linguistically, and culturally diverse learners?
• I will make sure that my lessons incorporate different learning styles to make it so students from all backgrounds can identify with the information that is being shared in my classroom.
• How will you integrate digital technologies?
• Technology has become almost essential for a twenty-first century classroom. Technology will be used as a resource to help students accomplish their assignments and to provide them with high-quality information about topics for discussion.
• What kinds of texts will you make available to your students?
• I will make magazines, novels, short stories, poems, apps, movies, etc. available for my students to checkout or read/listen to during their "free" time in my class. I want my students to become well versed in as many varieties of texts as possible.

Blog 6: Oral Language

Over this last week I observed an English classroom where the teacher utilized oral language in his classroom in a positive and interesting way. In the class that I observed, they were reading Romeo and Juliet. The teacher had an activity that he called the Verbal Volley. Zakk, the teacher, handed out a worksheet with a list Shakespearean insults. The class then broke off into pairs and they stood on the opposite sides of the room. The students then took turns yelling the insults back and forth to one another. The students really got into it and enjoyed this portion of the class a lot!

From the reading, I really liked the Mock Trials idea. I think that one thing that would be fun would for the class to hold a trial to determine who was to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s death. I think that this technique would be really fun and appropriate for Zakk’s ninth grade class. Other than that I think Zakk did a great job with his use of oral language in his classroom.

Critical Literacy

To me critical literacy is the encouragement of readers to actively analyze texts. It is being an active participant in learning and education. Critical literacy allows for the texts to incorporate television, movies, web pages, music, etc. thus making critical literacy perhaps more appealing to modern day students. In Lynde Tan’s article “From Print to Critical Multimedia Literacy: One Teacher’s Foray Into New Literacies Practices,” she mentions that the reception of new types of literacies has been a sort of mixed bag. An even number of teachers either fight the new process with tooth and nail or they fully embrace the ideal. Tan also notes that it is important to distinguish the roles of the teacher and students. If students and teachers understand their roles within the classroom they will be able to better facilitate the lesson. All in all, Tan’s article was more informative rather than helping solidify what critical literacy means in the classroom; although, she does have apt advice when detailing specific strategies to incorporate the roles within the classroom.

Digital Literacy

This week I spent quite a bit of time think about what I wanted to do as my digital literacy assignment. One thing that I've been interested in having students do a Book Talk. In a Book Talk, students will review and give a short summary about a book of their choosing. For my Book Talk I discussed the book Alive. I will let the Book Talk tell you what it is about :)

I found the process relatively easy. The biggest thing that I noticed was when I used my laptop's built in mic it would pick up the fan of the computer creating a little bit of feedback that was slightly annoying. Also the programs were easy to find, and most of them were already installed on my computer.

Vocabulary Instruction

The main way that my elementary and secondary teachers taught vocabulary was by having the students write the words down in their journal at the beginning of each class period. The other way we would learn vocab is by repeating the word out loud as a class. Orally speaking the word over and over again was effective, but became monotonous after several meetings. In college, however, the challenge of new vocabulary was placed on the students. If I came across a word that I didn't know I was expected to look it up or as a clarifying question in class otherwise the professor would assume that we all knew the word.

These techniques gave me a basic understanding of what each word meant. The repetition of words didn't truly make the meaning of the word seem flexible or adaptable to different situations. We also were taught the primary definition for the words rather than multiple definitions to be used in different situations. This fact presented a problem mostly because it too me along time to be able to distinguish between the different meanings of the same word.

I think that having students write down vocabulary at the beginning of each class period is helpful to build the students own word bank, but I don't feel that by itself will be a truly effective tool. Same with repeating the words and definitions as a class. There needs to be a connection made between utilizing those aspects of teaching with helping the students gain a deeper understanding of the vocabulary. Personally, I feel that during a reading or anytime during instruction that one of the vocabulary words appears there needs to be discussion about how the word is being used.

Comprehension Instruction

In my ENGL 5340 class, Monsters vs. Science, we read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Frankenstein deals with many complex ideas and metaphors that are used to describe the world that Dr. Frankenstein lives in. While reading this book my professor asked us to ponder the idea that the monster is actually a modern day representation of Adam from the Garden of Eden. When he first introduced this foreign concept my brain had trouble processing exactly what this meant. My professor lets us think quietly to ourselves for a couple of minutes. He then went to specific passages from within the book to help support his claim. This particular professor showed me that in order to make claim and reach conclusions that may seem far-fetched or a big stretch are sometimes the biggest and best conclusions to make. He also showed me that in order to prove your point you have to have provide evidence that supports your claim otherwise people will not find you to be a credible source.

In comparison to the teachings of Buehl, my professor didn't really front-load us to much, if at all. He was more about the art of discovery within his classroom. This form of instruction did sometimes leave us feeling ungrounded when we would leave the class, but there was always a feeling of stepping out into uncharted water that made it all worth it in the end. As to what I can learn from this teacher I would say that the most important thing is that sense of accomplishment when I would make connection or draw conclusions that no one had thought about in the class, and when challenged upon my stance I could find the proper evidence to support my claim.

SCED 4200 Introduction

What would you like us to know about you?

• I am an English education major with a psychology teaching minor. I originally started out in the Biology education program here at USU, but completed the first two years and decided that biology just wasn't for me. I then transferred to the Special Education program where I applied two years in a row and didn't get accepted. Deciding that I wanted to continue pursuing a career helping people with disabilities I made the switch to Communication Disorders; however, I realized I did not care for anatomy and finally made the correct switch to English education. My college journey has been long, but rewarding. I currently feel like I am where I need to be, and am passionate about the subject matter that I will be teaching.

What are your interests, hobbies, and/or other interesting facts about you?

• Outside of work and school I really only have two hobbies that I spend any time on. The first would be rock climbing. I have been a climber since 2006. I have been a sponsored athlete since 2009. It has taken a lot of work and dedication to maintain everything that is going on in my life. The second hobby that I enjoy is running. My wife and I are currently training to run our first marathon this coming May.

Which disciplines will you be certified to teach, and which disciplines do you hope to teach?

• I will be certified to teach both English and psychology.

What drew you to teaching in this discipline? How do you define your discipline?

• I love to read! I am especially drawn to the Gothic and Romantic era of literature as well as more contemporary poets.

How do you define literacy?

• I would define literacy as my students ability to read and write.

Does literacy relate to your content area? If so, how? If not, why not? Please explain.

• My content area is all about literacy. My job will helping the students become confident and competent in both reading and writing because if they can't be fully functioning in both areas then I have failed them as they go forward into the real world.

Anything else you want to say? 

• Nope. I think that this is everything that I would like to say :)