Every person views the world through their own lens. As humans we were raised in various situations and under certain circumstances. Culture is a hard word to define in one sentence. For individuals, childhood circumstances, and situations play a role on the type of person you view yourself as, and how others view you. This is one small definition of culture. Dialect is an aspect of culture. In America, people speak many languages, and talk in various forms. There are various terms that people associate with language, such as Standard English, English Language Learners, and African American Vernacular, just to name a view. Not for one minute have I ever thought because the way someone speaks the English language, he or she can be placed a scale the outlines his or her success. Individuals look at others in the Media, and view how they talk as the way you should, or the way you shouldn’t. He talks black, or she talks white! What does that even mean? Like I mentioned before, in America today, people have their own dialect which defines who they are. This is a very positive component. The way youth talk needs to be embraced. We must also understand that Standard English is a tool for success. Growing up in the city, I, myself, didn’t speak Standard English, I spoke the dialect that was a part of my environment. As I grow older, and kept guiding myself toward success, I realized I had to step out of the home, and neighborhood dialect I was accustomed to, and incorporate the usage of Standard English towards my relationship to achievement. This is the mission I bring to you. We all have our own security in the way we speak. Learning and incorporating Standard English in the right situation can be a tough and also very fun method to learn how to use. It’s something that individuals have to take with them for the rest of their lives. I don’t talk the same way to my boss as I do to my friends, and I’d suppose you don’t either. This can be referred to as code switching. Code switching can become a talent. Let us take this talent and work on it to become better speakers, writers, readers, and citizens of the world.
Grammar can be a troublesome issue. If Brock Haussamen’s Grammar Alive a Guide for Teachers has taught me anything, it would be the various activities that I can do to implement learning about grammar fun and exciting. My friends and I live by motto; you have to play the part to live the part. To conquer grammar, I want students to become trained to understand when and where to use proper dialect. This will gives us the opportunity to act these scenarios out, to challenge each other, and to continually build off of what we’ve already learned. Language itself can’t be learned in a day. Society has become so fast pace, and things continue to change. The English Language is one of those things. Think of me as a coach rather then a teacher. I will habitually view new tricks that we can incorporate to better understand how to become more effective speakers. I will continually introduce these new methods to you, and have you perform them in your daily lives. The objective we want to conquer is to embrace the dialect we have, whether it’s one from our neighborhood, or one from another country, and learn how to use Standard English to help better channel us towards victory.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Teaching Writting in Middle and Secondary Schools, Chapter 6
“Although Standardized test can be useful as one measure of a student’s knowledge, it is imperative that they be viewed in the context of the whole child” (96).
“Students in our classrooms create and perform awesome feats everyday, and they should have a place to display their efforts” (99).
“When give ownership over the direction of their learning, they will work to their greatest capacity and in a creative fashion” (105).
“Clearly, portfolios contribute to student’s development of self-discipline, self-direction, and self evaluation” (106).
This chapter speaks a lot about creating a portfolio for secondary writers. It also went on both sides in regards to student testing. Of course testing is only one measure. Student’s abilities need to be measured with different activities and at different stakes. I started my first portfolio when I was as sophomore in college. I’m sure that nobody really reads the work that I put on there (yet). I do make it a priority to put good work on there though. After reading chapter seven and soaking in the portfolio portion, and what it can mean and escalate positively towards, I see why portfolios can implement a sense of independence and self worthiness for academic work. If I knew that someone was going to view my work as a high school student, then I’d make it worth my effort for writing it, and the audience’s effort for reading it.
I look at work I did two years ago, which I posted it on my portfolio, and I look work I did two weeks ago, which I posted on my portfolio. It’s fun to see the difference. I’m pretty sure that if this was implemented regularly in the classroom, then students may get that same opportunity and feeling when they post and look, post again and look back. You have facebook where you talk about what you’re doing in the next five minutes. If that’s not going public, I don’t know what is. How about create that same mentality with school work. Have a portfolio webpage for high school students to show their work for people to look at. Of course not every student will be intrigued by this idea, and their are lot of kinks to work out, but if students see that people are viewing the work that they do, then they’ll be more opt to put it on a web portfolio. That’s why we are doing blogs. We put small pieces of writing up here, you look at it, comment on it, and the cycle continues.
“Students in our classrooms create and perform awesome feats everyday, and they should have a place to display their efforts” (99).
“When give ownership over the direction of their learning, they will work to their greatest capacity and in a creative fashion” (105).
“Clearly, portfolios contribute to student’s development of self-discipline, self-direction, and self evaluation” (106).
This chapter speaks a lot about creating a portfolio for secondary writers. It also went on both sides in regards to student testing. Of course testing is only one measure. Student’s abilities need to be measured with different activities and at different stakes. I started my first portfolio when I was as sophomore in college. I’m sure that nobody really reads the work that I put on there (yet). I do make it a priority to put good work on there though. After reading chapter seven and soaking in the portfolio portion, and what it can mean and escalate positively towards, I see why portfolios can implement a sense of independence and self worthiness for academic work. If I knew that someone was going to view my work as a high school student, then I’d make it worth my effort for writing it, and the audience’s effort for reading it.
I look at work I did two years ago, which I posted it on my portfolio, and I look work I did two weeks ago, which I posted on my portfolio. It’s fun to see the difference. I’m pretty sure that if this was implemented regularly in the classroom, then students may get that same opportunity and feeling when they post and look, post again and look back. You have facebook where you talk about what you’re doing in the next five minutes. If that’s not going public, I don’t know what is. How about create that same mentality with school work. Have a portfolio webpage for high school students to show their work for people to look at. Of course not every student will be intrigued by this idea, and their are lot of kinks to work out, but if students see that people are viewing the work that they do, then they’ll be more opt to put it on a web portfolio. That’s why we are doing blogs. We put small pieces of writing up here, you look at it, comment on it, and the cycle continues.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Burke Chapter 7
On page 181 Burke talks about Journal Entries. He says: “I don’t have to worry about collecting the papers and responding to them” (181). If you’re a teacher why do you have to worry about looking at papers? Shouldn’t you be excited? Journals are personal reflections. Getting in touch with students is hard to do. Journals are the source that lets you get in touch with students. I’d say; let students know that you are going to read what they put in their journals. Personally, I don’t remember an experience where we had journals that we wrote in, and teachers would read those entries. In today’s school system, I’m confident that reading students journal entries and conversing back with them would be a very positive and beneficial outlet.
“I don’t favor the big poetry unit myself”
That’s probably why poetry is barley taught
Responding to student work
“No more then three items to focus on, (210).” I like that idea when it comes to responding to oral presentations by students. This makes the responses more concrete, and they’ll know what to look for, you’ll know what to look for, and you’ll both know how to correct it. On page 217 it talked about spell checker. It is very beneficial to have. For myself, I’ll make a mistake, and spell checker will correct it. I try and steer away from that mistake next time. How is spell checker addressed in schools? I hope it doesn’t seem to be the only editing and grammar proofreading tool they have. Teachers have classes of thirty students. When is it possible for teachers to sit down one to one with students and go over the editing and proofreading process? From what I understand now, teachers go through a mini lesson, and or set and example of how to edit and proofread, and for the majority of time it is set on the students to handle that. One to one conversations about revision can be a key factor for improving wiring performance. The whole workshop concept tied into that.
“I don’t favor the big poetry unit myself”
That’s probably why poetry is barley taught
Responding to student work
“No more then three items to focus on, (210).” I like that idea when it comes to responding to oral presentations by students. This makes the responses more concrete, and they’ll know what to look for, you’ll know what to look for, and you’ll both know how to correct it. On page 217 it talked about spell checker. It is very beneficial to have. For myself, I’ll make a mistake, and spell checker will correct it. I try and steer away from that mistake next time. How is spell checker addressed in schools? I hope it doesn’t seem to be the only editing and grammar proofreading tool they have. Teachers have classes of thirty students. When is it possible for teachers to sit down one to one with students and go over the editing and proofreading process? From what I understand now, teachers go through a mini lesson, and or set and example of how to edit and proofread, and for the majority of time it is set on the students to handle that. One to one conversations about revision can be a key factor for improving wiring performance. The whole workshop concept tied into that.
A mode of writing I am willing to teach
Getting a deeper understanding of poetry ventures into other avenues. Poetry is a mode that I’m more then willing to teach. It can start abstract, but build concretely off that. Students can be on different academic levels, but it seems that when the mode of poetry is involved, every student can have a different beginning, and finish with a different ending. From a teacher’s standpoint, chapter five said teaching poetry takes time and patience. A teacher is obligated to learn about poetry just as much as the students he or she teaches. With poetry, there are many forms, and different lenses to look at it through, therefore perception can continually change, which is a positive note.
To me, the mode of poetry is engaging because it gives voice to students, even in a way a narrative doesn’t. Every student has a voice. Poetry can be a tool for students who haven’t found the voice they’re trying to harmonize. A teacher could take a student’s work and do what chapter five did with Hinton’s the outsiders. Break a student’s formal written work into a poem; this shows students that they have the ability to write in poetry mode. Let’s say a student has trouble writing a formal paper, but can write in poetry mode. You can do the opposite of what the text did with Hinton’s the outsiders. Take a poem about a topic the student choose; basketball, running, lava, etc. You can use that poem and turn it into an introduction paragraph. In the real world poetry will help student find their voice if they haven’t already. The book mentioned that teachers tend to breeze over poetry lessons. When this happens the essence of poetry isn’t captured, and students don’t take poetry as a tool with them when they walk out the door. Let’s say a student has family over, or grows up and has three kids. Would that student rather share a three page expository paper to his family, or a self though poem he or she wrote? It’d probably be the poem. Personally, the text didn’t give enough tools or exercises to teach poetry. Poetry is creative tool that you have to tap into. Some people talk about it, but haven’t even tapped into their own poetry realm. If you haven’t tap into your poetry realm, you sure as heck shouldn’t teach it to anyone else. At this point I’m trying to figure out how to start small to get students writing towards poetry mode, and end up big with have students produce works which reflect on the progress they’ve made in poetry.
To me, the mode of poetry is engaging because it gives voice to students, even in a way a narrative doesn’t. Every student has a voice. Poetry can be a tool for students who haven’t found the voice they’re trying to harmonize. A teacher could take a student’s work and do what chapter five did with Hinton’s the outsiders. Break a student’s formal written work into a poem; this shows students that they have the ability to write in poetry mode. Let’s say a student has trouble writing a formal paper, but can write in poetry mode. You can do the opposite of what the text did with Hinton’s the outsiders. Take a poem about a topic the student choose; basketball, running, lava, etc. You can use that poem and turn it into an introduction paragraph. In the real world poetry will help student find their voice if they haven’t already. The book mentioned that teachers tend to breeze over poetry lessons. When this happens the essence of poetry isn’t captured, and students don’t take poetry as a tool with them when they walk out the door. Let’s say a student has family over, or grows up and has three kids. Would that student rather share a three page expository paper to his family, or a self though poem he or she wrote? It’d probably be the poem. Personally, the text didn’t give enough tools or exercises to teach poetry. Poetry is creative tool that you have to tap into. Some people talk about it, but haven’t even tapped into their own poetry realm. If you haven’t tap into your poetry realm, you sure as heck shouldn’t teach it to anyone else. At this point I’m trying to figure out how to start small to get students writing towards poetry mode, and end up big with have students produce works which reflect on the progress they’ve made in poetry.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
I listen to 96.3 a lot. They kept talking about twitter. My friends keep asking about twitter. Twitter is trying to give facebook a run for it's money. They share some of the same similarities. I went to twitter's what's happening search bar, and I typed in Kevin Garnett, and numerous links popped up about what's going on with him, and also there were link that had people selling K.G. products. I'm nervous about twitter!!! I don't know all it's casualties, but I waste enough time on facebook, I hope I don't turn into a twitter-head.....
Monday, March 16, 2009
Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools Chapter 3
The Writing Workshop
For the most part; language arts was divided into units. Each unit consisted of an overall goal that touches many bases. I don’t remember having a unit that was guided towards one specific feature for instance, writing a poem. It always involved various components. In eleventh grade we had to do a research paper on a person who had an autobiography written about them. This unit consisted of reading a book, conducting support research, giving an oral presentation, and writing a paper. The point I’m trying to make is that as far I can remember: In language arts and English no unit consisted of solely one thing. In college I’ve learned more about creating outlines, and making reference sheets. It seems that college has recognized what secondary English consists of, and college picks up the missed pieces, which isn’t a bad thing.
In my secondary schooling, I don’t remember ever having writers work shops to learn about one certain writing aspect. I also don’t remember having mini lesson to gain quick digestible knowledge (as the book put it). I have a good decent memory. If I don’t remember it, it’s probably because it didn’t happen. In a couple of our classroom meetings we’ve did two small writing activities that were interesting, and stood away from my typical experiences when learning about writing. These examples are student focused, more fast paced, self reflective, and critical. I have a lot to learn about teaching writing to the youth, but these positive tactics will seek their interest and they’ll lead off into bigger components that make writing, reading, and the whole language arts concept more exciting to students and their teachers. It seems to be a trial and error battle, what works and what doesn’t.
For the most part; language arts was divided into units. Each unit consisted of an overall goal that touches many bases. I don’t remember having a unit that was guided towards one specific feature for instance, writing a poem. It always involved various components. In eleventh grade we had to do a research paper on a person who had an autobiography written about them. This unit consisted of reading a book, conducting support research, giving an oral presentation, and writing a paper. The point I’m trying to make is that as far I can remember: In language arts and English no unit consisted of solely one thing. In college I’ve learned more about creating outlines, and making reference sheets. It seems that college has recognized what secondary English consists of, and college picks up the missed pieces, which isn’t a bad thing.
In my secondary schooling, I don’t remember ever having writers work shops to learn about one certain writing aspect. I also don’t remember having mini lesson to gain quick digestible knowledge (as the book put it). I have a good decent memory. If I don’t remember it, it’s probably because it didn’t happen. In a couple of our classroom meetings we’ve did two small writing activities that were interesting, and stood away from my typical experiences when learning about writing. These examples are student focused, more fast paced, self reflective, and critical. I have a lot to learn about teaching writing to the youth, but these positive tactics will seek their interest and they’ll lead off into bigger components that make writing, reading, and the whole language arts concept more exciting to students and their teachers. It seems to be a trial and error battle, what works and what doesn’t.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools Chapter 2
Composing the writing process
Like Blasingame and Bushman pointed out, sometimes a piece of writing for school is introduced at 10:00 and it is expected to be finished at 10:50. In between that fifty minute period there are certain guidelines that must be done in order to finish that piece of work. Writing was established that way for me in high school, and so that is how I tend to compose my pieces of writing. I want it to be as concrete as possible, therefore I’ll know what to do. Chapter two also mentioned that it is important to give students assignments that they’re familiar with or have knowledge about. That phrase is pretty self explanatory for me. If I don’t know what I’m writing about I either will compose a not so good piece, or I’ll wait until I get the knowledge I need in order to write.
I stick away from the brainstorming on paper when it comes to writing. I do that part in my head. The brainstorming in my head occurs for a couple of days depending on when the piece needs to be done. From the brainstorming part, I like to do an informal/sloppy outline just so I know where I’m headed. Even if an outline isn’t required I do it because it helps me see the knowledge I need for that piece more concretely. Then I write. If it’s a ten page paper I usually do three-four pages a day. I don’t like to write more than four pages any session. It seems if I write four pages a session, I can stop for awhile, brainstorm new ideas, and continue what I was doing. Once I finish a piece, the revising gets kind of tedious. One thing I’ve learned over the past year is to print out your composed work and proofread it that way. It lets you see and feel the whole flow of the paper. Recently I learned that if you read a paper out loud, it generally helps you take out the things that make the paper less sensible. And finally for revising, I always enjoy the help at the writing center.
Like Blasingame and Bushman pointed out, sometimes a piece of writing for school is introduced at 10:00 and it is expected to be finished at 10:50. In between that fifty minute period there are certain guidelines that must be done in order to finish that piece of work. Writing was established that way for me in high school, and so that is how I tend to compose my pieces of writing. I want it to be as concrete as possible, therefore I’ll know what to do. Chapter two also mentioned that it is important to give students assignments that they’re familiar with or have knowledge about. That phrase is pretty self explanatory for me. If I don’t know what I’m writing about I either will compose a not so good piece, or I’ll wait until I get the knowledge I need in order to write.
I stick away from the brainstorming on paper when it comes to writing. I do that part in my head. The brainstorming in my head occurs for a couple of days depending on when the piece needs to be done. From the brainstorming part, I like to do an informal/sloppy outline just so I know where I’m headed. Even if an outline isn’t required I do it because it helps me see the knowledge I need for that piece more concretely. Then I write. If it’s a ten page paper I usually do three-four pages a day. I don’t like to write more than four pages any session. It seems if I write four pages a session, I can stop for awhile, brainstorm new ideas, and continue what I was doing. Once I finish a piece, the revising gets kind of tedious. One thing I’ve learned over the past year is to print out your composed work and proofread it that way. It lets you see and feel the whole flow of the paper. Recently I learned that if you read a paper out loud, it generally helps you take out the things that make the paper less sensible. And finally for revising, I always enjoy the help at the writing center.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools Chapter 1
Establishing a writing environment (semi-autobiography)
In elementary school writing wasn’t an issue for me. I always had the ability to complete the writing task at hand. I enjoyed, and still do enjoy writing about personal things, and the less formal. Writing in a formal sense makes me feel like I have to get it one way, and if I don’t, then I didn’t do my job. In sixth grade we had a media class once a week. There was one time when I was writing on the computer and it caught the teacher’s eye. I was writing a poem about Martin Luther King. I assume that it was around his birthday, or maybe I wrote it during black history month. Anyway, she read the poem to herself out loud, and asked me if I wanted to read the poem at the next assembly. I ended up reading it at the next assembly, and it was a pretty good poem, well at least the audience thought so. My mom gave me a framed picture a year ago of me reading that poem. This moment was significant for me because it’s a point I can use to remember how writing played a memorable and positive part in my life. There was also a time in fifth grade when we were asked to write a DARE essay for the DARE program, which we were in. The best essay had the opportunity to be read in front of the whole school. I won and read the essay/speech in front of the school. I made my mom proud that day. Come to think of it, (I’m tooting my horn now), during the same year I read the MLK poem, my teacher asked me if I wanted to do a sixth grade graduation speech. I was excited about that. I spent so much time working on that speech, and with no help, I wrote it, recited it, and awed family and friends. I’m twenty two, and that was in sixth grade. I don’t even know if those abilities I had in sixth grade have enhanced, stayed the same, or maybe even declined.
In my high school years writing wasn’t the most fun thing to do. I never got to express myself through writing. It was always formal. I didn’t dread it, but I wasn’t excited about it. At times, college made me doubt my writing ability. In my first College English class, I remember that my first paper was about euphemisms. I worked real hard on that paper. I got a C on it. I didn’t really understand why. I got a B in the class overall though (: That C resembles how writing has been for me in that past four-five years. Besides my creative writing classes, I sometimes get unsure about my own writing abilities. I enjoy writing essays, and different forms of formal papers because I work hard on them, but sometimes I get lost in the process. I feel that I have to be concrete with my writing, but I end up being vague. Sometimes when I feel I’m vague or abstract, and I get to concrete? Balsingame, and Bushman talked about writing can become internalized through bad experiences. I’m far from being the best writer, but I do have some strong qualities. I also have some weak qualities. I don’t necessarily know what my weak qualities are. If I don’t know them, then it’s hard for me improve. I try to be self-reflective. I read the comments that instructors put on my assignments, but at times they can be intangible, and my specific flaws aren’t pinpointed. Of course I have had positive feedbacks on works that I’ve produced. I utilize those positives to produce better pieces for the next time. I don’t want a student to get a negative internalized feeling about their writing. I’ve learned so far that you have to find the positives in a persons writing. Use those positives to identify the errors, and improve on them.
In elementary school writing wasn’t an issue for me. I always had the ability to complete the writing task at hand. I enjoyed, and still do enjoy writing about personal things, and the less formal. Writing in a formal sense makes me feel like I have to get it one way, and if I don’t, then I didn’t do my job. In sixth grade we had a media class once a week. There was one time when I was writing on the computer and it caught the teacher’s eye. I was writing a poem about Martin Luther King. I assume that it was around his birthday, or maybe I wrote it during black history month. Anyway, she read the poem to herself out loud, and asked me if I wanted to read the poem at the next assembly. I ended up reading it at the next assembly, and it was a pretty good poem, well at least the audience thought so. My mom gave me a framed picture a year ago of me reading that poem. This moment was significant for me because it’s a point I can use to remember how writing played a memorable and positive part in my life. There was also a time in fifth grade when we were asked to write a DARE essay for the DARE program, which we were in. The best essay had the opportunity to be read in front of the whole school. I won and read the essay/speech in front of the school. I made my mom proud that day. Come to think of it, (I’m tooting my horn now), during the same year I read the MLK poem, my teacher asked me if I wanted to do a sixth grade graduation speech. I was excited about that. I spent so much time working on that speech, and with no help, I wrote it, recited it, and awed family and friends. I’m twenty two, and that was in sixth grade. I don’t even know if those abilities I had in sixth grade have enhanced, stayed the same, or maybe even declined.
In my high school years writing wasn’t the most fun thing to do. I never got to express myself through writing. It was always formal. I didn’t dread it, but I wasn’t excited about it. At times, college made me doubt my writing ability. In my first College English class, I remember that my first paper was about euphemisms. I worked real hard on that paper. I got a C on it. I didn’t really understand why. I got a B in the class overall though (: That C resembles how writing has been for me in that past four-five years. Besides my creative writing classes, I sometimes get unsure about my own writing abilities. I enjoy writing essays, and different forms of formal papers because I work hard on them, but sometimes I get lost in the process. I feel that I have to be concrete with my writing, but I end up being vague. Sometimes when I feel I’m vague or abstract, and I get to concrete? Balsingame, and Bushman talked about writing can become internalized through bad experiences. I’m far from being the best writer, but I do have some strong qualities. I also have some weak qualities. I don’t necessarily know what my weak qualities are. If I don’t know them, then it’s hard for me improve. I try to be self-reflective. I read the comments that instructors put on my assignments, but at times they can be intangible, and my specific flaws aren’t pinpointed. Of course I have had positive feedbacks on works that I’ve produced. I utilize those positives to produce better pieces for the next time. I don’t want a student to get a negative internalized feeling about their writing. I’ve learned so far that you have to find the positives in a persons writing. Use those positives to identify the errors, and improve on them.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
morethingsonastick.com.pbwiki
Thing 34
In my early high school years I didn't like it when teachers had to question my findings from the interent. They did this because they knew the correct answer, and I used a false due to the fact that I didn't know any better. I was reading a self help book once, and it said that people believe your advice more when they hear you got it from someone else. The main way for students to find a a website creditable is to keep doing backup research until they find a close definite answer. Of course there is some form of bias, and with answers, facts, and theories found on the interent, students will develop their own biases, but the more you do to backup research on your findings, the better of with credibility you'll be. Bottom line: don't go off of one research article, see where those articles got there data from, and build off that.
In my early high school years I didn't like it when teachers had to question my findings from the interent. They did this because they knew the correct answer, and I used a false due to the fact that I didn't know any better. I was reading a self help book once, and it said that people believe your advice more when they hear you got it from someone else. The main way for students to find a a website creditable is to keep doing backup research until they find a close definite answer. Of course there is some form of bias, and with answers, facts, and theories found on the interent, students will develop their own biases, but the more you do to backup research on your findings, the better of with credibility you'll be. Bottom line: don't go off of one research article, see where those articles got there data from, and build off that.
Friday, February 27, 2009
teachingmedialiteracy.com Chapters 7 and 9
On page 71 in Beach’s Teachingmedialiteracy.com, it talked about the crime genre. Recently I rented a documentary called Enron, the Smartest Guys in the Room. It is a description of how the Enron catastrophe took place. For students in their high school years, they might find this piece appealing. Correlate a piece a literature with this movie, mix it with it some compare and contrast, and you have a recipe for a decent lesson plan.
Students are definitely interested in day-time talk. It touches all types of social issues. Some of them are more commercialized them others, but getting articles with expert opinions that deal with day-talk issues from shows like Tyra or Maury, can make it educational and interest seeking.
T.V. News.:
Beach notes that news coverage focuses more on a younger audience. There is a lot of ground to cover when it comes to learning about the news business and its operations. Beach also mentions that news is expanding to the web, partially because people in general don’t have time to catch it on T.V. How about a unit where students learn about the simple elements that news coverage uses to run a show. There has to be at least one educational standard they use? Take the methods that news companies use for research, delivery, script writing, collaborations, reporting, and create a news report on an issue they find engaging. Their report doesn’t have to be video inclined; they can have the option to pose it as a written text.
Read an article from the paper, or listen to a commentary on the news, and disagree with it. Demonstrate the disagreement to that news company through writing. Make sure to use an example of how writing a disagreement of a news article can be affective.
Students are definitely interested in day-time talk. It touches all types of social issues. Some of them are more commercialized them others, but getting articles with expert opinions that deal with day-talk issues from shows like Tyra or Maury, can make it educational and interest seeking.
T.V. News.:
Beach notes that news coverage focuses more on a younger audience. There is a lot of ground to cover when it comes to learning about the news business and its operations. Beach also mentions that news is expanding to the web, partially because people in general don’t have time to catch it on T.V. How about a unit where students learn about the simple elements that news coverage uses to run a show. There has to be at least one educational standard they use? Take the methods that news companies use for research, delivery, script writing, collaborations, reporting, and create a news report on an issue they find engaging. Their report doesn’t have to be video inclined; they can have the option to pose it as a written text.
Read an article from the paper, or listen to a commentary on the news, and disagree with it. Demonstrate the disagreement to that news company through writing. Make sure to use an example of how writing a disagreement of a news article can be affective.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
morethingsonastick.com.pbwiki
Thing 38
Screencasting. From a beginning standpoint, screencasting is needed to use the internet because Adobe PDF is essential for watching a video. If you don't have Adobe PDF, then you're probably not watching anything on youtube.
http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cQnOoRehu
1) I picked the screencast-0-matic. I don't how I did it, but follow that think, and somehow I end up recording on it???
2) Screen-cast is so easy to use, and it's fun
3) I can use this personally, I can record up to fifteen minutes. instead of taking notes, I can record through my laptop.
Screencasting. From a beginning standpoint, screencasting is needed to use the internet because Adobe PDF is essential for watching a video. If you don't have Adobe PDF, then you're probably not watching anything on youtube.
http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cQnOoRehu
1) I picked the screencast-0-matic. I don't how I did it, but follow that think, and somehow I end up recording on it???
2) Screen-cast is so easy to use, and it's fun
3) I can use this personally, I can record up to fifteen minutes. instead of taking notes, I can record through my laptop.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
morethingsonastick.com.pbwiki
Thing 29 WIKI
I went to goole and typed in the search bar: Plasma Wiki. Tons of information showed up. For whatever subject you type in and then reference it with WIKI, you always tend to get loads of information along with numerous references. In an education setting, I'd say go head and let students use WIKI if need be, but you better make sure that the sources are creditable
I went to goole and typed in the search bar: Plasma Wiki. Tons of information showed up. For whatever subject you type in and then reference it with WIKI, you always tend to get loads of information along with numerous references. In an education setting, I'd say go head and let students use WIKI if need be, but you better make sure that the sources are creditable
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Unit Plan Man
I've narrowed it down to one standard: Speaking listening and viewing for high school; The student will demonstrate understanding and communicate effectivley through listening and speaking. And there's six benchmarks with that standard.
1) We can first understand opinion versus fact
2) The relationship versus verbal and nonverbal in speeches- Obama, Bill, Chris Farley, Dr. King.... cooperative learning groups
3) What does it mean to have interpersonal communication...We can explore that
That's week 1 ( I haven't worked out the details yet)
4)Lets evluate commcercials, songs, and texts Whats their VAIL-P and how do the market it
Vocab Audience Image Langauge and Purpose (VAIL-P)
5) Lets watch a clip from the pursuaders
6) Get a guest speaker. We can critque him or her on what we've learned. Then spend two days coming up with a two minute speeech...Maybe two weeks isn't enough, but that's where I want to go with. I want to spend time using media to learn about verbal, non-verbal, interpersonal and VAIL-P and then having students come up with a speech of their own, or maybe a group presentation or something!!! Or maybe focus on a piece of work that they've picked and use what we've learn to critique it...
1) We can first understand opinion versus fact
2) The relationship versus verbal and nonverbal in speeches- Obama, Bill, Chris Farley, Dr. King.... cooperative learning groups
3) What does it mean to have interpersonal communication...We can explore that
That's week 1 ( I haven't worked out the details yet)
4)Lets evluate commcercials, songs, and texts Whats their VAIL-P and how do the market it
Vocab Audience Image Langauge and Purpose (VAIL-P)
5) Lets watch a clip from the pursuaders
6) Get a guest speaker. We can critque him or her on what we've learned. Then spend two days coming up with a two minute speeech...Maybe two weeks isn't enough, but that's where I want to go with. I want to spend time using media to learn about verbal, non-verbal, interpersonal and VAIL-P and then having students come up with a speech of their own, or maybe a group presentation or something!!! Or maybe focus on a piece of work that they've picked and use what we've learn to critique it...
Saturday, February 7, 2009
morethingsonastick.com.pbwiki
Thing 24
Make sure a blog is personal and reflective. If you don't interest youself in the blogs of others, then it is likely that no one will follow your blogs. Blog in Blog on!!!
Things 25
Videos pictures and more!!! Upload some.... I'll upload a video after this blog, I'll try, let us see if it works.
Widget; little bits of code that you embeded in your blog or website that let you display content from other sources.
Thing 27 twitter.com/gallag01
Twitter; Answers the question what are you doing now. This is an instant wirting link. We our so built on instant gratification, that this seems like an ideal option for most. Microblog, yup, that sounds like the right terminology for that.
Make sure a blog is personal and reflective. If you don't interest youself in the blogs of others, then it is likely that no one will follow your blogs. Blog in Blog on!!!
Things 25
Videos pictures and more!!! Upload some.... I'll upload a video after this blog, I'll try, let us see if it works.
Widget; little bits of code that you embeded in your blog or website that let you display content from other sources.
Thing 27 twitter.com/gallag01
Twitter; Answers the question what are you doing now. This is an instant wirting link. We our so built on instant gratification, that this seems like an ideal option for most. Microblog, yup, that sounds like the right terminology for that.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Teachingmedialiteracy.com Richard Beach
Film Techniques
Lighting
Lighting is what tells the story. Depending on the audience and what the writer is trying to pursue, lighting can move an audience in different directions in order to develop a certain perception. I used to wonder why my T.V. had options to change the lighting in regards to what I was watching. The lighting was divided into four sections (I think) on my T.V.; Movies, Sports, Shows, and I can't think of the other one??? Anyway, the link titled Lighting, located on the teachingliteracy.com website, helped me realize that the sections where there to make audiences focus on certain aspects thanks to the lighting.
Fostering Classroom Discussions
Sstudents benefit from making reflections and applications to literature. People watch television programs and are involved with media everyday. The next step is to make connections, applications, and reflections with daily media usage. It mentioned in the section labeled Fostering Classroom Discussions, that it's a beneficial strategy for students to compare ideas and themes with literature. This needs to be done with media. This engages students to dig deep into what each piece of media is trying to convey. Students will be asked to research different time periods, and find facts that support opinions on what these pieces of media depict.
Pop Matters
The website, pop matters is one of the biggest pop critiques today, how come I haven't heard of it? It shows some of the good, and some of the bad. It has over thirteen different sub-sections on it's website which touches on the aspects that pop culture really deals with: DVDS, Music, Sports, and etc. The audience for this site is world wide. There's a blog section on the page for viewers to conduct their own ideas about some of the events in pop culture. The thing I like about this site is that it takes things a person isn't aware and makes it interesting. I clicked on the comic section, which is something I know nothing about. I learned about this comic called Kick Drum Comix, where they have this villain rapper. This a new age comic series. Kim Ellis gave it a 7 out of 10.
Lighting
Lighting is what tells the story. Depending on the audience and what the writer is trying to pursue, lighting can move an audience in different directions in order to develop a certain perception. I used to wonder why my T.V. had options to change the lighting in regards to what I was watching. The lighting was divided into four sections (I think) on my T.V.; Movies, Sports, Shows, and I can't think of the other one??? Anyway, the link titled Lighting, located on the teachingliteracy.com website, helped me realize that the sections where there to make audiences focus on certain aspects thanks to the lighting.
Fostering Classroom Discussions
Sstudents benefit from making reflections and applications to literature. People watch television programs and are involved with media everyday. The next step is to make connections, applications, and reflections with daily media usage. It mentioned in the section labeled Fostering Classroom Discussions, that it's a beneficial strategy for students to compare ideas and themes with literature. This needs to be done with media. This engages students to dig deep into what each piece of media is trying to convey. Students will be asked to research different time periods, and find facts that support opinions on what these pieces of media depict.
Pop Matters
The website, pop matters is one of the biggest pop critiques today, how come I haven't heard of it? It shows some of the good, and some of the bad. It has over thirteen different sub-sections on it's website which touches on the aspects that pop culture really deals with: DVDS, Music, Sports, and etc. The audience for this site is world wide. There's a blog section on the page for viewers to conduct their own ideas about some of the events in pop culture. The thing I like about this site is that it takes things a person isn't aware and makes it interesting. I clicked on the comic section, which is something I know nothing about. I learned about this comic called Kick Drum Comix, where they have this villain rapper. This a new age comic series. Kim Ellis gave it a 7 out of 10.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Linking Literacy and Popular Culture. Ernest Morrell
Teaching Popular Sports
"Athletes, for instance, have been shown to have higher graduation rates and better grades than their non participatory peers," (pp. 105).
"In fact, athletes, more than any others , have found ways to work together across multiple lines of difference including race, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic status," (pp. 105).
The question I have: Why? And how to do we get to help students see why this takes place?
"I took Calebs comment to mean that he could not read and relate to texts in a manner that would earn him academic credit," (pp. 107). I work with a third grader named Jasmin. We work on inferring from facts and developing a main idea using context clues. Sometimes she says: "Mr. G, I can't read." Sometimes I get discouraged when she says that because she can read well, but from Morrell to Caleb, I now understand why she had trouble coming up with and inference from a fact or a main idea from a context clue, comprehension is her off-set.
"Teens are often more motivated to play for a particular coach than they are to complete the literacy tasks required in secondary classrooms," (pp. 113). Of course there are youth who don't necessarily enjoy watching sports. Give students the option to find something about sports that they like and turn it into a form of literacy in the classroom.
"Athletes, for instance, have been shown to have higher graduation rates and better grades than their non participatory peers," (pp. 105).
"In fact, athletes, more than any others , have found ways to work together across multiple lines of difference including race, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic status," (pp. 105).
The question I have: Why? And how to do we get to help students see why this takes place?
"I took Calebs comment to mean that he could not read and relate to texts in a manner that would earn him academic credit," (pp. 107). I work with a third grader named Jasmin. We work on inferring from facts and developing a main idea using context clues. Sometimes she says: "Mr. G, I can't read." Sometimes I get discouraged when she says that because she can read well, but from Morrell to Caleb, I now understand why she had trouble coming up with and inference from a fact or a main idea from a context clue, comprehension is her off-set.
"Teens are often more motivated to play for a particular coach than they are to complete the literacy tasks required in secondary classrooms," (pp. 113). Of course there are youth who don't necessarily enjoy watching sports. Give students the option to find something about sports that they like and turn it into a form of literacy in the classroom.
Linking Literacy and Popular Culture. Ernest Morrell
Teaching Mass Media
"Some punidts and philosophers predict that the English departments of the twenty first century will look more like media and cultural studies departments," (pp. 93). Does that mean I am going to have to get a mass media degree?
I AGREE: "Individuals wishing to remain informed need to learn to read news media carefully," (pp. 94).
It seems like the overall concept of teaching media literacy is to separate the perceptions media develops about certain cultures. Commercials for certain audiences come on at certain times. Morrell mentioned on page 99 that students/youth seldom question commercials and advertisements. Almost every kind of advertisement carries a perception about a certain culture. It's a good thing to see youth recognize these advertisements and pick them a part. Doing this gives them a mature stance to see where advertising places them.
"Teachers and students can work together to create a class website or newsletter that provides counter narratives of reality," (pp. 100). That is similar to what is going on right here, but in a different fashion.
"Some punidts and philosophers predict that the English departments of the twenty first century will look more like media and cultural studies departments," (pp. 93). Does that mean I am going to have to get a mass media degree?
I AGREE: "Individuals wishing to remain informed need to learn to read news media carefully," (pp. 94).
It seems like the overall concept of teaching media literacy is to separate the perceptions media develops about certain cultures. Commercials for certain audiences come on at certain times. Morrell mentioned on page 99 that students/youth seldom question commercials and advertisements. Almost every kind of advertisement carries a perception about a certain culture. It's a good thing to see youth recognize these advertisements and pick them a part. Doing this gives them a mature stance to see where advertising places them.
"Teachers and students can work together to create a class website or newsletter that provides counter narratives of reality," (pp. 100). That is similar to what is going on right here, but in a different fashion.
Linking Literacy and Popular Culture. Ernest Morrell
Teaching Film and Television
The God Father vs. The Odyssey . I think I might have to use that idea, it sounds like a good one.
"It was not uncommon for students to differ in their interpretations and have heated discussions over possible meanings of images , camera angles, dialogue, and so on," (75).
It mentioned that during a Time to Kill there were racial riots which brought in the Carl Lee Trial. I wonder what movies were put out that relate to the Rodney King incident.
"The class here is beginning to relate the popular cultural text to their everyday lives." (pp.77). This sounds good and dandy, and I'm sure the students are having a blast, but are there or were there certain standards that a teacher had to follow, and what standards is he or she following when they conduct lessons like these. After reading a little further I realize that this instructor is taking these different forms of texts and having students relate them to bigger issues in society.
In one of the groups discussions they talked about femininity and sex roles. Do they grasp those concepts just from this assignment, or do they have to dig deeper before they get into the different texts? Let us pretend that they are supposed to dig deeper into issues of femininity and sex roles before the movie portion, does the instructor have it all laid out? Does he let the class know what the whole overall objective is, or is it best to introduce a little bit at a time? (HELP ME ON THAT ONE).
SHALIA: "If it wasn't for someone in 1919 to speak out, we wouldn't have a voice now," (pp.83). Was the prior knowledge taught by the instructor to help her infer this?
ANSWER TO A PREVIOUS QUESTION: "Teachers were excited about creating lesson that interested and related to students while simultaneously satisfying district and state curriculum standards," (pp. 89). It's finding a happy medium between teachers and the students.
The God Father vs. The Odyssey . I think I might have to use that idea, it sounds like a good one.
"It was not uncommon for students to differ in their interpretations and have heated discussions over possible meanings of images , camera angles, dialogue, and so on," (75).
It mentioned that during a Time to Kill there were racial riots which brought in the Carl Lee Trial. I wonder what movies were put out that relate to the Rodney King incident.
"The class here is beginning to relate the popular cultural text to their everyday lives." (pp.77). This sounds good and dandy, and I'm sure the students are having a blast, but are there or were there certain standards that a teacher had to follow, and what standards is he or she following when they conduct lessons like these. After reading a little further I realize that this instructor is taking these different forms of texts and having students relate them to bigger issues in society.
In one of the groups discussions they talked about femininity and sex roles. Do they grasp those concepts just from this assignment, or do they have to dig deeper before they get into the different texts? Let us pretend that they are supposed to dig deeper into issues of femininity and sex roles before the movie portion, does the instructor have it all laid out? Does he let the class know what the whole overall objective is, or is it best to introduce a little bit at a time? (HELP ME ON THAT ONE).
SHALIA: "If it wasn't for someone in 1919 to speak out, we wouldn't have a voice now," (pp.83). Was the prior knowledge taught by the instructor to help her infer this?
ANSWER TO A PREVIOUS QUESTION: "Teachers were excited about creating lesson that interested and related to students while simultaneously satisfying district and state curriculum standards," (pp. 89). It's finding a happy medium between teachers and the students.
Teaching Popular Music. Ernest Morrell
At Northwest Passage Charter School, my niece did a project where she interviewed people asking them; What is youth culture to you? She was involved in this project to find out more about her own self identity and culture. For youth to find out about origins of Hip-Hop and compare it to different works from different eras and relating it to social events gives youth a chance to think more deeply about their culture.
"It's Urban Americans expressing their struggles in Urban America where they were forced to deal with poverty and alienation." This is a definition that a student came up with while doing the Hip-Hop Research project. It fantastic that students can use a part of music to express themselves. What about the youth who don't listen to the music? Where do they fit in to all of this?
Students gained structure on how to conduct research, plan interviews, write notes, and publish papers. The hip-hop project seems to be a great stepping stone to pull in students interest and get them to learn some basic tendencies of an English class.
"Selecting songs that may not have the largest appeal, but are important for the large goals of the class," (pp. 70).
"It's Urban Americans expressing their struggles in Urban America where they were forced to deal with poverty and alienation." This is a definition that a student came up with while doing the Hip-Hop Research project. It fantastic that students can use a part of music to express themselves. What about the youth who don't listen to the music? Where do they fit in to all of this?
Students gained structure on how to conduct research, plan interviews, write notes, and publish papers. The hip-hop project seems to be a great stepping stone to pull in students interest and get them to learn some basic tendencies of an English class.
"Selecting songs that may not have the largest appeal, but are important for the large goals of the class," (pp. 70).
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