Chapter 2 of Holding on To Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones

Chapter 2, titled "The Teacher as Schmidt" discusses that research and theory are taking over education mandates and should be used as a dialogic method to teaching, rather than an authoritarian method.  Teachers are called on to make judgement calls on a daily basis and deal with 25-30 studens at a time.  Teachers' goals are multiple and should be an ongoing series of microexperiments.  I feel that when teachers are not given any freedom to experiment, then teachers lose the desire to teach.

According to Neuman (2002), "Reading instruction must be based on sound research and not employ the latest fad in instruction."  However, the results of the interim study of the program Reading First show no reading comprehension gains than non-Reading First students.  Therefore, I believe that education should be based on a sound mixture of research based theories as well as the teacher's method of teaching and experimentation.

Holding On To Good Ideas In A Time of Bad Ones by : Thomas Newkirk

This is the book that I am reading for the semester in Language Arts 6-12 Methods course at FGCU.  After reading the first chapter, the curse of graphite means that if it can't be scored through a machine, then we don't hold the assessment accountable.  A lot of what we encounter as teachers is teaching to the standards and being held restricted as to how we teach, so that accountability is based on research rather than creativity.  Elwood P. Cubberly described schools being similar to factories in that we build our pupils according to laid down specifications.  Our students are the products and teachers are the machinery that transform the products.

In response to the first chapter, most teachers feel stressed due to the many objectives and material to use to cover these objectives.  Yet, we continue to lead teaching through the sameness of standardized testing.  With the more freedom we try to include in our teaching, the wider the discussion and debate can become as to our excellence in teaching.  I am looking forward to learning about the six literacy principles worth fighting for within the following chapters of this book.

Picture of Ron Clark and I

At the bottom of my blog is a picture of an educator that I really admire.  Ron Clark was Disney educator of the year in 2006-2007, and has made an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey show for educating inner city school children.  He is well-known for his book The Essential 55.  He opened a school in Atlanta, Georgia for underpriveledged students that received scholarships to attend his school.  Ron Clark is not only a terrific educator, but he inspires other educators.  I had the privilege of attending his school for a day to watch him teach back in 2008 and watch his 6th grade classroom come to life with learning Mathematics.  I recommend reading his book The Essential 55 to help with establishing routines and clear expectations in the classroom.

Fantasy amd Realistic Fiction Writing

After completing my author study on Kate DiCamillo, I realized that there are a lot of great ways to encompass the style of writing from the author with children.  Kate DiCamillo focuses a lot on writing realistic fiction and fantasy stories that include unique character qualities, problems and solutions, as well as unique vocabulary and a message from the author.

Here are some ideas for a Unit on writing a realistic fiction/fantasy story:
- Create a character web with detailed adjectives that describe the character's personality
- Create a list of possible problems and solutions that include unexpected turns and surprises for the reader
- Jot down unique vocabulary usageon sticky notes that are included in the story
- Construct a story that includes real characters with real problems and lessons to learn about the journey of life

Reading and Writing Connections

When reading a novel, read aloud, chapter book, or any kind of story, there are numerous writing activties that students can do to connect to the text.  Here is a list of writing connections to support reading:
- Sequence the events of a story
- Use graphic organizers to record the plot of a story
- Record facts and opinions from the text
- As students read, have them record connections they make to the text with themselves
- Fill out unknown words on a graphic organizer and what you think the words mean based on using context clues
- Record predictions about a story and then explain why your prediction was correct/incorrect
- Write a summary of a story or chapter
- Write down the main idea of a text and find details to support the main idea

“The world is dark, and light is precious.
Come closer, dear reader.
You must trust me.
I am telling you a story.”
― Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux

The quote above continues to give me motivation to live the life I choose in a positive light, and throughout my journey in life, I can overcome darkness through strength and motivation.

Strategies to engage with text

Students have specific genres that are more appealing for them to read than others.  To help students get engaged with what they are reading, I have a few strategies that work well in my classroom.  If students are reading in groups or with partners, provide a set of focus questions to discuss while reading through the text.  Provide students with sticky notes to reflect after each chapter or page (depending on the size of the book), where they can record questions, connections, or unknown words.  I also give my students Kagan reading comprehension chips to discuss and analyze stories out loud.