I love this class! I love the approach in teaching it. I found it very helpful to listen to Mrs. Steffes' experiences and what she has found helpful. She made learning in this class fun and involved us all. She was positive and I feel that is how we should be as teachers. Students learn from teachers they like and Mrs. Steffes is always pleasant and bubbly. I enjoyed all of the resources that she shared with us. I have saved some of the ones that I like the best to put into my teaching toolbox. This class didn't stress me out like some have. I didn't procrastinate and dove right in to writing my lesson plans. The weekly breakdown was helpful.
I found interesting the weekly discussion where she asked us to come up with words to use other that "tell" when talking to our students. I love this graphic regarding that:
I think the key to any class is to actively involve the students in engaging lessons. Students will learn more and misbehave less. I feel like time just flies by to fast in this class where other classes I am counting the minutes until it is over! I love listening to everyone's lesson plans and approaches. No two are the same. We each bring our diverse backgrounds and experiences to the table. Since I am much older than many of you, I love hearing the newer ways of doing things. That is one of the things I do love about classroom observations, getting to see how teachers "teach" and manage their classrooms. There are so many fun and engaging activities that can be incorporated into lesson plans. I really feel that I am coming away from this class as a better teacher. The assignments and discussions helped me to grow and understand the subject of language arts better. What about you? Do you feel like what you learned in this class has become a part of you and made you a better teacher?
This post wasn't hard since I included more than that in my lesson plans! My unit is on Fairy Tales. Let's start off with the classics. I kicked off my unit with Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Since I used to work for Scholastic, this is the version of the story that I have in my library. image source: https://www.amazon.com/Goldilocks-Three-Bears-First-Fairy/dp/1848956835 This is the classic tale but with illustrations that are more modern, such as Goldilocks's clothing.I like that one of the morals of the story is to respect other peoples belongings. Students should learn not to use or borrow things without permission. I also like that it teaches children to be satisfied with what you get. She kept complaining that things were too hard or too soft or too hot or too cold. Next, in my lesson plan, we read Little Red Riding Hood. I love the lessons that this book teaches. Children shouldn't go wondering off alone, they should follow their parent's instructions, and they shouldn't talk to strangers. image source: https://www.amazon.com/Riding-Hood-retold-James-Marshall/dp/0140546936/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496716606&sr=1-2&keywords=little+red+riding+hood
In this version, Granny & Red are swallowed by the wolf and then rescued by a hunter. Here is the classic version. This one is a Caldecott Honor Book so the illustrations are great!
image source: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Riding-Trina-Schart-Hyman/dp/0823406539/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496716751&sr=1-5&keywords=little+red+riding+hood
In my lesson plan, we compare the classic story of Little Red Riding Hood with Lon Po Po, the Chinese version of the book. This version is different then the European version. In this version of the story, there are three children and the mother leaves the children to go visit the Grandmother. She leaves the children alone in the house. She told them not to open the door. The wolf eavesdrops and comes up with the plan to pretend to be the grandmother. The children let the wolf in.
image source: amazon.com
I then had the children also read Pretty Salma, which is an African version of Little Red Riding Hood. It has a modern day setting and is quite adventurous. The wolf cons Salma out of her belongs and fools Grandmother into thinking he is Salma.
https://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Salma-Little-Riding-Africa/dp/0618723455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496717338&sr=1-1&keywords=Pretty+Salma
You have to watch this amazing reading of the story. I would play the video instead of me reading it. She brings more to the story than I ever could!
Here are some other versions of Little Red Riding Hood.
I haven't read this one, but here is what Amazon says about it:
"When her grand-mère comes down wit' de flu, this Cajun Little Red knows what she has to do. With her witty cat, TeJean, she sets off in a pirogue to bring Grand-mère some gumbo. Who should she meet upon the way, but that big ol' swamp gator, Claude! Mean ol' Claude may want to gobble up Petite Rouge, but she and TeJean have a better idea. Before long, they have Claude running back to the bayou where he belongs!" (Amazon review).
image source: amazon.com
This version looks interesting. It looks like a modern day version. I personally haven't read this version. Here is what Amazon had to say: "When Little Red Riding Hood sets off to deliver muffins to her grandmother, you bet that a big bad wolf isn't far behind!
Set on the midwestern prairie, this is a "Little Red Riding Hood" that will captivate youngsters with its feisty heroines and bold humor. Especially to be relished is the way the story line plays against the classic tale's plot, with laugh-provoking lines that show true wit. As the dastardly wolf chuckles, appreciating his own schemes, the text soars, suspense builds and vibrant pictures bring out all of the fun" (Amazon).
image source: Amazon.com
I haven't read this one.
image source: Amazon.com
I haven't read this one in the series, however, I have read the Ninja version of the Three Little Pigs and got to see a lesson plan with it in a kindergarten class. Their weapon isn't their houses, they beat the wolf with karate.
image source: Amazon.com
Here is what Amazon says about it:
"Wolf just can’t catch a break! Ever since the three little pigs started teaching everyone Ninja skills, huffing and puffing just hasn’t been enough to scare up a good meal " (Amazon).
image source: Amazon.com
In my lesson plan, we also compare Cinderella stories from around the world.
In my lesson plan, we read Yeh-Shen, which is a Chinese Cinderella Story. I found this version to be sad. The tale starts off with explaining Chinese history that it was the custom of the day for the Chief to have two wives. Yen-shen's mother died. The other wife was mean to her and killed the fish that was her friend by stabbing it. This fish was no ordinary fish and it grants her wishes.
image source: Amazon.com
Here is the version of Cinderella told from the point of view of her Wicked Stepmother. Here is the synopsis from Amazon:" OF COURSE you think Cinderella was the sweetest belle of the ball. You don't know the other side of the story. Well, let me tell you..." (Amazon.com).
image source: Amazon.com
Here is my book wall for the story of The Three Little Pigs:
I haven't read this version yet. Here is what Amazon said: "Everyone knows the story of the three little pigs, but now you're going to meet the three little javelinas (pronounced ha-ve-LEE-nas)-loveable, wild, southwestern cousins of pigs. Living in homes built out of tumbleweeds and saguaro ribs (from the fallen giant cacti), the first two javelinas are soon running from the hungry coyote, who had hoped to eat them with red chile sauce. And where do they go for shelter? Why, to their wise sister's house, made strong with adobe bricks. This clever and humorous tale is sure to delight children of all ages, especially those familiar with the Southwest. Dressed in cowboy duds and prepared for life in the rugged desert, these characters are more than any coyote bargained for" (Amazon.com).
image source: Amazon.com
Here's the video reading:
I haven't read this one either but it looks really cute! Here is what Amazon says:
"A hilarious retelling of THE THREE LITTLE PIGS, with foil on the cover!
"Little fish, little fish, let me come in." "Not by the skin of my finny fin fin!" "Then I'll munch, and I'll crunch, and I'll smash your house in!" (Amazon.com),
I also included a version that told the wolf's side of the story. He claims that it is because of a sneeze and a cup of sugar that this whole mess because. He claims that he was going to bake and ran out of sugar, so he went to pigs house to borrow a cup. He sneezed and accidentally blew the house down. It landed on the pig and killed the pig. He couldn't let that pig go to waste so he just had to eat him. It wasn't his fault that wolf's like to eat meat!
image source: Amazon. com
For The Three Little Pigs, you have to read this version, The Three Little Tamales. It is really cute. The three tamales start off at a Taqueria. A flour tortilla runs by and says that he is runaway before someone eats them. So the three little tamales don't want to be eaten either so they set off to find someplace else to live.
image source: Amazon.com
This video is narrated by the author of the book, Eric Kimmel. Who could read the book better than the author himself??? For books that are written from other cultures, I prefer to find a video with a more authentic presentation than what I could do so that the students are exposed to other accents and dialects. What are your thoughts?
When writing a lesson plan unit my mind is swirling with ideas. Usually too many of them. I have a tendency to go a little overboard and try to do to much. I see something interesting and I think "Oh, let's see if I can fit that in somewhere!" I have to really focus and try to pick one thing and stick with that. For my fairy tale unit, I probably could have spent the whole unit just on comparing Cinderella stories. But I didn't. I included The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. I included these stories because I think they make good fractured fairy tales and show how the point of view affects the story. It would be fun to act out one of them. I didn't include that so far because I don't think there is time. Maybe in a three week unit.
My least favorite part about writing lesson plans is writing out the objectives. I don't really like the format of : Given examples and non-examples of constructivist activities in a college classroom, the student will be able to accurately identify the constructivist examples and explain why each example is or isn't a constructivist activityin 20 words or less."
I would prefer to write "I can" statements.
image source: http://www.teachwise.com/second-grade-common-core-standards-posters-i-can-statements-ela I also think differentiating the lessons can sometimes be challenging. I don't have a problem finding things for gifted students to do. It's helping students with learning problems that can be challenging. I don't want to pair them with a partner as an easy way out. I also don't want to trim the assignment down. What part of lesson planning do you find easy? What part do you find challenging? Any tips for making lesson planning easier or faster?
video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=779aFxFqrq4
I think the biggest take away that I got from last weeks discussion of chapters 4 & 5 was the quote that Mrs. Steffes gave us from the study, "Thirty Million Word Gap" which you can find here: http://literacy.rice.edu/thirty-million-word-gap. Here is a breakdown:
What affect does hearing 30 million more words have on a child? Exposing children to more words increases the child's vocabulary. In the infographic below, higher SES children have a vocabulary that is more than double that of low SES children. This makes the difference in how many words they know and how well they can express themselves when they get to school.
Besides quantity, I also think there is a quality difference. I think higher SES children probably are exposed to more rich vocabulary and hear more positive comments. Here's more of a breakdown:
image source: http://www.tandembayarea.org/our-impact/facts-figures/
This will break it down even further.
image source: http://keywordsuggest.org/gallery/69951.html
That information makes me sad. It means that children in poverty are missing out on these moments:
image source: https://www.all4kids.org/importance-reading-children/
video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qESE2GeZxo
In my other class, we read "Teaching with Poverty in Mind" by Eric Jensen. Both books can be found in our online college library (If you haven't taken Educ 198 or 298 yet, you can save money on your textbooks since they are free in the online Stafford Library). These books highlight how poverty can affect classroom performance and behavior. It also highlighted how a good teacher can help low SES students and raise their intelligence.
image source: http://shop.ascd.org/Default.aspx?TabID=55&productid=122852907&teaching/engaging-with-poverty-in-mind-2-book-set
I also like the exit emoji ticket idea. I think it is a simple and fun way to engage students. I would create the survey using Google forms. I want to save as much paper as I can. I would like for my classroom to be environmentally friendly.
I like this one for international talk like a pirate day or if you had a pirate them.
image source: http://blog.teacherspayteachers.com/ahoy-matey-its-international-talk-like-a-pirate-day/
This one might be fun as well.
image source: http://www.thebadpedagogue.com/plenaries.html
Mrs. Steffes gave another great resource for our lesson plan unit.
image source: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2015/02/50-ways-to-do-formative-assessment-in.html
I like that she took the time to explain the difference between summative and formative assessments. Not all of my teachers have explained the assignments this well. What was your favorite part of last weeks readings and class discussion?
