Kist Reflection Blog

The best part about this class is basically what I have reflected on previously--I have experienced a new genre of literature and learned how to teach it, I read about how to teach film and realized that it can be studied like literature and I have realized that there are more texts I can work with and teach other than just written literature.  I will definitely teach graphic novels and film, and will continue to read young adult literature so I can recommend it to my students.  Also, I realized that students can use critical thinking in ways other than just writing papers or speaking in classroom discussions.  I like the idea of incorporating outside current events, history and theatre into English lessons, and students can use critical thinking skills when incorporating these items into activities.  For example, creating a mini actors' studio in the classroom and having students act out parts of a Shakespearean play forces students to think hard about the characters' motivation, traits and flaws.  

I did not really think about how to use technology, film or music in lessons prior to this class, and now I am excited to incorporate all kinds of new texts into my lesson plans.  One negative about this class, however, was that we did not actually make a full lesson plan--I would have liked to make and teach a plan, perhaps one idea from the wiki.  I am confident in my ability to be creative in making lesson plans, but still weary on how to actually teach them.  I am stoked that I have the canonical wikis to gather ideas from, but wish I had more hands-on teaching experience. 

Pytash Course Reflection

I enjoyed this course, and like that I have all these blog entries to reflect on, and a useful textbook to use when making or revising lesson plans.  I will definitely use the tips Jago gives for teaching students how to analyze literature--she really knows what she's talking about.  I like her theories and that she provides worksheets and lesson plan ideas in her book to use.  Jago has a sort of old-fashioned view on things, but brings new and effective ideas and techniques to implement her teaching.  

Also, it is obvious that Dr. Pytash knows what she is talking about, and she has been able to answer all my questions and address my concerns about teaching; it was great to have a professor who was an effective teacher, herself, and not just someone with ideas about how teaching should be. 

I am glad that we were able to work with Firestone students again--I tutored a different student this time, and was able to create mini, personalized lesson plans for her, and I really began to feel confident in my teaching abilities.  I am so excited to see how my student scored on her OGTs, and glad that this class gave  me the opportunity to work with these students. 

I do wish that we could have done a few more expert group presentations, and perhaps individual ones too, because I am still apprehensive about what works and how long lessons will really take.  It seems like the only way to become an effective teacher is to have experience to back knowledge about lesson plans, standards and content. Overall I had a good experience with taking this class, and I wish that Dr. Pytash was teaching a class next semester!

Kist Blog Check #3: Post 3: Reflecting on Graphic Novels

When the graphic novels we were to read arrived in the mail I was disappointed.  I instantly judged them, deeming the Pinocchio one scary and weird and Naruto just weird.  As it happens, I should not have judged a book by its cover.  While reading the Pinocchio book, I found myself laughing out loud often, and when it was over I was disappointed: I wanted to read more.  I went online and found the author's website, where I discovered that the authors have been busy since they published the first novel: there was a description of a second book and some videos to watch as well; apparently I was not the only one who enjoyed the unlikely lovable novel.  I went on to amazon immediately and ordered the second book (click here!).  I am very excited to start the second installment, but mostly exhilarated that I found a new genre of books to get involved in that I previously thought to be odd!

Being that I love super hero and sci-fi films, I decided to look into purchasing some Marvel comics.  I realized that there is an awesome book store in downtown Kent that has a wide selection of second hand books and comics! I went in and purchased a book that is a compilation of Marvel comic characters and their stories, and made a note to go back and purchase more in the series when I have a bit of spare money.  Reading through this comic book gets me even more excited for the films coming out in the next few years involving Marvel characters: Thor, Captain America and The Avengers. 

I am thrilled that I got into this genre, and it makes me think about how important it is to incorporate myriad of texts into my future English classroom.  When I interviewed the Firestone student whom I tutored last semester, he mentioned that he would read more if he knew what to read.  Based on these two revelations, I have decided that it is without a doubt crucial to include a choice project at least once during the school year in my plans, and also crucial for me to continue to expand my horizons in the literary world so I can make book recommendations for all types of students.  Perhaps if I require students to read a graphic novel, listen to classical music or watch a foreign film I can ignite a new desire to indulge further in that text, as I did with graphic novels.  For example, I can require students to read the original translated text of "Beowulf," then read the graphic novel as well.  Additionally, I like the activity we did in class where students respond to bits of classical music, writing images and emotions they felt while they were listening--classical music would be a new text for middle school or high school students. 

Overall, I am glad that I discovered the enjoyment in reading comics and graphic novels, and will be sure to include different texts in my future classroom in hopes that one or two students will make a similar discovery.

Kist Blog Check #3, Post 2: Listening to Music

In my elementary school music classes, we would sing songs from different eras and play instruments like the recorder or the xylophone. We spent little to no time discussing what we thought about the music or what stuck out to us; we listened, sang and played the music we were given with no questions asked.  My last music class was in seventh grade, and at that point, nearly everyone who was involved in band or orchestra was forced into it by their parents, or got involved initially for that reason and learned to love it. Few kids joined and stayed in a musical extracurricular because they had a burning desire to play the flute or the violin.  Why is this? Is it because of the way we were taught? I was never asked to analyze a song, or really think about it, but I was asked to look and think about books in Language Arts, and to think and do experiments in science class and write papers in social studies.  Even in art, we studied colors and were asked why we liked certain things.  Perhaps it was just my school experience, but I feel that in every class i was asked to study, think and consider my opinions and what I enjoy in each subject, with one exception: Music.  Why was I never asked to analyze music?

I came across this article a few weeks ago and it made me think: what if I had studied music in school this way? Would I enjoy music more, and be more inclined to listen to songs just for their arrangements or the instruments used? Perhaps if music was studied more like literature was, I would have seen more of a purpose in it from a young age.  This article begins with the author describing his experiences in music and pointing out that people do not often just sit and listen to music anymore, but do other activities while it plays in the background.  That is exactly what I use it for: a soundtrack for driving, working out or hanging out with friends--not just to listen to its beauty.  I love that the author tells readers what to look for in a song, then posts a link to the song.  I wish I would have learned music like this.

Picking out themes and emotions in songs would have drawn me in, and given me a connection to it, rather than just playing simple songs robotically.  I am a very visual person, and when the author asks readers to listen and imagine scenes, emotions or images in Debussy's "Le Mer," I have a much stronger connection to it.  I never really realized that I like certain songs because of the connotations that I have with them, until this article.  I wish I would have learned which instruments are used to convey certain emotions, like anger, and why composers chose the instruments they did for certain parts of their songs.

After reading this article, it reinforced my thoughts that schooling and parenting at an early age is extremely important to children's development.  I grew up in a home with parents who valued literature and board games more than music, and a school that taught music superficially, compared to literature.  At the very least, my seventh grade music class should have included this more analytical approach to studying music.

Additionally, the thought crossed my mind that this article would not have been the same if it had been published in print--readers would not be able to listen to the songs the author describes instantly, and few would listen to them at all.
How do my experiences compare to everyone else's? I am really curious to know what everyone thinks about studying music more analytically, or if anyone went to a school who did!

Pytash: Chapter 7

Jago begins the chapter by writing about how there should be national standards and how making them and getting them put into effect is quite challenging. I agree with her to an extent: I think there should be some national standards, but not quite as much as state standards. I believe this for two reasons:
1. Different lessons and skills apply more to different states. It is tough to apply the same standards to schools located in rural environments as ones in inner-cities. Basics, like reading, writing and grammar should be incorporated, but the details should be kept to the states.

2. Teachers already stress out about teaching to the state standardized tests, and would be even more if there was both a state and a national test. Obviously the tests would overlap in some places, but it still seems like these may be overkill, in some places. I would definitely like to know more about the potential creation of these national standardized tests; it can either makes students more robotic and memorize exactly what they need to know to pass, or hold them to higher standards and improve their learning. I would like to hope that the latter would occur.

Another part I really like about this chapter is when Jago describes how she taught Brutus and Antony's speeches. My initial thought was to parallel the speeches with presidential candidates, and have students debate on what qualities would make a better president, and if our current president embodies these qualities. Reading forward, Jago describes a similar idea to mine--I love when English class incorporates outside lessons, where students can see how English skills can apply everywhere in the real world, not just when reading canonical literature. I will definitely use lesson ideas like that in my classroom.

Blog Check 3 Kist: Comparing Graphic Novels

Using the worksheet from class, I am making a graphic novel comparison between "Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer" and "Naruto."

P= "Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer"
N= "Naruto"

Text and Dialogue

Balloons:
P- Filled with them, relies most on them
N- Filled with them, but expresses dialogue in other ways

Captions:
P- There are a few captions, about a handful, mostly in the beginning of the novel
N- Also, there are few captions

Emanata:
P- Very few: when Pinocchio snaps his nose off, or to indicate action
N- Lots; in the form of "Zoom" or "dash" to indicate speed, also words used to convey anger (examples on pages 16 and 17).

Labels/Signs:
P- None
N- See page 84. In the beginning of the chapters, often things are labeled.

Lettering:
P- Simple font with a flair
N- Curvier font, more oriental/anime looking

Sound Effects:
P- Again, the snap when Pinocchio breaks off his nose
N- Many, to indicate sounds like slaps or when a character uses doppleganger; See example on page 46


Visual Features

Characters:
P- All are dark-looking, white spots in the place of eyes. Looks like a horor cartoon.
N- Has the anime feel, look like Americans with Asian influence.

Objects:
P- More than Naruto; focus on the scene itself over just the people and their facial expressions.
N-A few props, detailed and made to look more realistic. More of a focus on the characters, though.

Icons:
P-None that don't make sense in the text. None are used to indicate emotion, or anything.
N- A few icons used, mostly hearts and question marks (see page 78).

Scenery:
P- Detailed, shadowy scenery, important to the story.
N- Detailed when shown, but the focus is on the characters and their faces.

Depicted Action:
P- Both internal and external-Pinocchio visibly blames himself for his father's death, but the book is about him fighting mosters, and many scenes were drawn centering around these external conflicts.
N- Both as well; the book is about ninjas and fighting, but it is equally a novel about how each character has an internal goal they are trying to reach or a conflict they are trying to overcome. For example, Naruto wants to be the best ninja.

General Layout and Design

Borders:
P- Defined, but with a thin line. Some pages have no borders at all.
N- Borders are more clean; every page has them.

Gutters:
P- Most pages have a thin gutter, but some don't; some panels are located on top of others.
N- Very defined, organized gutters. Every page has them.

Panels:
P- Most pages have panels, but others are just a whole picture. Looks more hand-drawn, with imperfections.
N- Every page has defined panels. More clean/computer looking than P.

Open Panel:
P- Has many open panels and some are flushed together.
N- Has very few open panels (page 78).

Splash:
P- has many splash pages, notably the first few in the text.
N- Has only one splash page, when a very significant moment in the character's life occurs (pages 54-55). Additionally, the beginning of some sections are splashes, but not inside the stories, themselves.

Angles and Frames

Bleed:
P- Has many incidents of bleed and sometimes a word or Pinocchio, himself, will reach into the adjacent panel.
N- Sometimes words are bled over a little bit (page 51), but the panels are generally well defined and keep to themselves.

Close-up:
P-Has a few close-ups, story focuses on the action more than facial expressions.
N- Many close-ups, like in many other anime novels. Emotion and reactions are important. Many close-ups on eyes.

Head Shot:
P -Same as close-up.
N -Same as close-up.

Head-Shoulder Shot:
P-Occur fairly often, but not as much as in Natuto.
N- Very often- most of the novel contains head/shoulder shots; the main way the characters are drawn.

Full-Figure shot:
P- Many full-figure shots, the scene around the characters is important and seeing the size difference between Pinocchio and the other characters is also important.
N- There are a few of these; they show how small Naruto is compared to his counterparts. Again, most of the book contains closer shots.

Longshot/Extreme Longshot:
P- Same idea as Full-figure shot, but even less of these; maybe three or four.
N- Same idea as Full-figure shot, but possibly only one of these.


Rhetorical Techniques Applied in Text, Visuals and Design

Exaggeration:
P-Not much exaggeration, if one puts himself into a world with monsters and talking puppets. The story, itself, is real inside that world.
N- Much: Every few pages some unrealistic ninja move is invented to get the characters out of some situation. Also the emotion is exaggerated: the characters get angry about everything.

Empathy/ Identification:
P- Readers empathize with Pinocchio because he feels responsible for his father's death, and he feels a heavy weight on his shoulders with having to kill monsters. Some elements are relatable, like the feeling of being ostracized or trapped.
N- Readers can relate to some of the emotions in the text, especially young teenagers. Also, the main character is persistently working toward a goal, which everyone can relate to. I, personally, couldn't emphasize with the main character because the situations he is put in are obscure compared to what I am familiar with. Perhaps if i read the next book in the series I would better understand the story to empathize with him.

Mood/Tone:
P- Melancholy, but uplifting. Also scary, yet enough comic relief to be very entertaining.
N- The mood is emotional and tense-someone is always getting attacked physically or mentally.

Simplicity/Complexity:
P- The idea is simple enough, but after characterization and details about this world, the story becomes complex.
N- Although there is a lot to learn about this world, it seems like a simple story: Young ninja trying to prove himself in a fantastical, Japanese world.

Irony/Satire:
P- It is ironic that the creation must defeat his creator. Light-hearted, mild satire on the vampire craze.
N- None.

Realism/Icons:
P- The characters and scenery make the story feel more real. No icons.
N- The fact that the story takes place in Japan makes me feel like it could be real, despite the fantastical element. There are a few icons, like hearts, and a constant reference to women as sex symbols (page 14).

Order/Disorder:
P- This seems like a disorderly world that Pinocchio and his friends are trying to set right.
N- This seems like a very structured and organized world with defined conflicts.

Juxtaposition:
P- Good vs. Evil in Pinocchio and the monsters. Living flesh human vs. Puppett.
N- Good Vs. Evil inside Naruto, himself. Nice vs. mean in himself and his friends.

Relationships:
P- Relationships with his friends are positive ones, and with the town is generally negative until the end. Also, he is constantly fighting monsters.
N- Many, many relationships. Tough to keep track of names sometimes. Positive relationship with Naruto and his instructor, negative relationship with everyone else, and within himself.

POV:
P- Inside view on Pinocchio- Limited first person. We only see his thoughts a few times, when they are critical to understanding the story, like his feelings about his father.
N- Third person view following a child. We see everyone's emotions and a few thoughts from everyone, especially Naruto.

Pytash Chapter 6: Lesson Planning

Although this chapter was more than twice as long as the others, it was one of my favorite to read. One concern I have with teaching my first year is not really knowing how long things will take. Also, I was not sure whether I could make all my lesson plans the summer before the school year, or if I had to do it week by week; this chapter made me realize that it is really both. I like how Jago introduced the chapter with discussing the Japanese lesson planning, then led into teaching how to teach a lesson.

I really like the way the Japanese do lesson planning for three reasons:
-I like the idea of all the teachers in the school getting together once a week to talk and come up with a lesson plan; some really neat ideas could be generated this way. Also, teachers could address and work through issues, and work together to find solutions for students who need more help, or students who aren't being challenged.

-Students would get a more equal classroom experience if all teachers taught basically the same lesson. The whole grade would be on the same page with their learning and could discuss lessons with friends outside of their individual classrooms.

-Planning lessons as a group during school hours once a week would save lots of time for teachers who have to do so much planning outside of school. I know that in America, students would not be able to be left alone for legal reasons, but perhaps they could all have lunch, study hall, an elective or an advisory period during this part of the day. The more I consider this idea, the more I like it.

*My only problem with the idea is that part of my excitement with teaching is that I get to plan out lessons and put my personal touch in them. If we worked as a group, some of that personal touch would be killed; I could vary the lesson slightly, but the idea is to have the whole school on the same page and for teachers to collaborate toward one goal.

I liked how this chapter felt conversational and gave so many teaching strategies and ideas. For example, I love the "What's Important" activity on pages 134/135. If students filled out one of these worksheets, detailing the most important aspects of the reading from the previous night and included quotes, it would make writing an essay so much easier. Additionally, If I were to include a section on a test of identifying quotes, perhaps I could use the quotes students wrote on these worksheets, since they would be most important to the students.

Cleveland Film Festival Reflection

Driving up to Cleveland on a Sunday morning was pleasant: no traffic, just a straight, open road. I figured that at 9:15 on a Sunday, Tower City in Cleveland would be dead, even with the film festival in full swing. After working through the maze that is the parking deck, I rode up the escalator and was shocked to see how many people were crowded in or around the cinema. I had never woken up and gone to a movie so early, and was shocked to see so many people there before me! I walked up to purchase tickets for a film and it was sold out! On the spot, my group and I decided to see “Vincent Wants to Sea.” I walked into the theatre, passing through groups of buzzing people, to find that our theatre was nearly full. I had not expected it to be so crowded so early.

Although I enjoyed the atmosphere of the buzzing film festival, I did not spending the gas money to make the drive or the expensive ticket prices. In the past few years I have limited myself to going to the movies only on occasion, and only on five-dollar movie Mondays. After spending money on the drive, I was not pleased to spend an additional ten dollars on one film on a Sunday morning—I can purchase a film for that price! Sadly, I did enjoy my time at the festival and wish I could have watched more films, but one is plenty expensive. Also, I was surprised to learn that each seat costs Tower City 30 dollars to fill! I don’t see how it is beneficial to host the festival if they are losing money; perhaps they can sell advertisements to turn a small profit and cut the ticket prices!

Overall, I do see how attending the festival was beneficial, and I would love to take my future English class on a field trip to one to accompany a lesson on film study.

Check out the film's trailer!

Film Festival Analysis: Vincent Wants to Sea

A: This film is about three misfits who have diseases that greatly impact their lives, and they escape from a mental health center to travel across Europe to the sea. Vincent has torrettes, Alex has OCD and Marie has anorexia. The one who stuck out the most to me was the anorexic girl—one has to be in an extremely low state of mind to reject food. Although I can relate to the pressure to be skinny, I cannot relate to the rejection of food on her level—it is as if she enjoys feeling hungry and destroying her body, past the point of wanting to feel skinny and into wanting to hurt herself. The scenes involving her disorder were disturbing.

B: The camera angles in this film are very unique, making scenes without dialogue move quickly and spark intrigue. When the characters are in the Austrian mountains there is no dialogue, but the camera angles convey that it is a peaceful, happy time in the characters’ journeys. The camera moves from close up, to wide-angle shot, to panning, to zooming all in one scene.

C: The acting was excellent in this film, and the actors were cast based on skill. Obviously a skinny girl had to be cast in the role of the female with anorexia to fit the role, no matter her skill level, but this actress does a fantastic job with the role.

D: The plot is very compelling. The main character is Vincent, and his father checks him into a mental health facility in Germany. There, he meets his OCD roommate and a girl who he develops romantic feelings for. The three of them escape from the facility to go to the sea in Italy, while being pursued by the director of the facility and Vincent’s aggressive father.

E: Themes in this film are in-depth. The debate on how to deal with people with mental diseases arises, like how to treat torretts, and how the main character should be integrated into the real world. The film shows a more personal side to the three mentioned disorders, and the love story between Vincent and Marie displays that there are real, normal human thoughts and emotions inside these characters. When the three characters escape the mental facility, viewers watch as Alex overcomes parts of his OCD and Vincent learns to deal with his syndrome a bit better while Marie’s condition becomes near fatal. It shows that different treatment methods work better for different people, and sometimes professional help can actually hurt an individual.

F: If any genre could be placed on this film it would be Indie: a broad genre title for a unique film. Although there is romance, political issues and adventure, none of these genres define the film, whatsoever.

G: This film represents people with mild to moderate mental disorders. It portrays them in a very human way, not a stupid, emotionless animal as some may view them. The film also shows that these people are very capable and should not be sheltered or babied, because it can worsen their condition rather than help it. Alex’s OCD lightened up significantly when he set out on his own in the real world, rather than was cooped up in a room with only the disorder to think about.

H: In addition to the political questions regarding what treatment is right for mentally disabled, family values are also questioned in the film. How far does one go for his family? At what point do you give up on someone? These questions are overcome to show that although family can be frustrating, communication and understanding is key in these relationships. No matter how tough or uncomfortable a situation gets, a father must always be there for his son.

Chapter 4

This was not my favorite chapter, although it does include many useful items. Many pages (especially in the beginning) read as a lesson to the reader about elements of a novel, rather than teaching us about how to teach the elements to students. That portion of the chapter is not at all beneficial to me, as I am looking more for techniques than content from this book, especially content as basic as that which was written about. One item that I love is that Jago includes a list of literary terms. I absolutely agree that literary devices give students better meaning to a text, as Jago writes. That list of terms covers basically all the main terms I want to teach.

Another item I agree with Jago on is that there should not be a stress on completing busy work, but on understanding the material. While the occasional worksheet may be beneficial, it is absolutely redundant to make students complete worksheets regularly, because there is not much understanding that goes behind them. Class discussion and teacher-led instruction is more beneficial than busy work.

Additionally, I like the chart Jago has on page 74; modeling how to complete this chart and having students copy it and work through it can seriously help them figure out difficult texts.

Pytash Chapter 2: Words and Vocabulary

After sixth grade, I do not remember any time when an English Teacher focused on general vocabulary in a meaningful way. I almost feel like I was cheated, after reading about the way Jago teaches vocabulary to students; the words I know are mostly from my own independent reading and from using context clues. My freshman year of high school I remember being indifferent to reading one difficult text, Great Expectations, until my very passionate English Teacher showed how much he loved it. It made me wonder what I was missing, and made me work harder to understand it. Reading canonical literature became much easier, and I think about how much I would be missing if I kept up with my indifference. Like Jago writes on page 29, stories are better if students understand all the vocabulary!
Because I have no recognition of studying vocabulary, I have a difficult time thinking how to teach it to my students: often times I struggle with finding ways to explain words. I love the idea Jago writes about when she models how to figure out words based on context, prefixes and suffixes. I will definitely use this modeling activity with my students. The skill of figuring out words will be extremely helpful for students when taking the OGT and ACT. Additionally, I love the activity on page 33 where students get the definition of words and have to identify them in characters from Shakespeare, then in themselves. It is critical to apply new vocabulary after learning the definitions to retain it in long-term memory, not just to memorize it in the short-term. This chapter was very helpful in learning how to teach vocabulary effectively.

Kist Firestone

Working with my student at Firestone got me thinking of different ways that I could help her learn. Every night before I went to the school I would consider what I feel she needs the most work on and sit with my OGT prep materials to devise a two-hour, one-on-one lesson plan. Working through the packet provided was not enough: I had to focus on the areas that she struggled in. The main problem areas were algebra, writing and keeping focused on a question.
Being that I am not a math professional, I had a tough time being creative with the math portion of tutoring. Working multi-modalities into this plan was necessary, but difficult for me to be too creative. The way I taught it was reading through and pulling questions from a Math OGT prep book I borrowed and modeled the first few equations for her, then scaffolding my help on the problems until she could work through them herself. Additionally, I wrote out things to remember: the things I felt she may forget, but were critical for her to know to solve the problems. I wrote these things on a piece of paper and had her tell me what they were before we solved many of the problems. The paper read:
Goal: Isolate all variables!
Parentheses must be rid of the equation first!
3x means divide 3 from both sides, etc

One issue I find with American test preparation is that my student often said that her teachers were pressuring her so much to comprehend the material that she just gave up at one point. I am confident that my student is smart enough to pass the OGT, but by putting so much pressure on passing this test the first time, she has lost sight of the reason for learning, other than to pass this test. She only wants to focus on what will be on the test, not the breadth and importance of Math: that is another problem for teachers. With pressure like this from every class, it is tough not to feel overwhelmed, and like passing the test is impossible. These problems apply to each of the three subject areas I will discuss, not only Math.
The other main problem my student had (and the one we worked on the most) was her writing. She was not a bad writer, although her grammar definitely could have been improved, but

In my own classroom, I think I would do a week-long OGT preparation lesson plan. I will apply these ideas by not just assigning OGT packets to work on with my students, but modeling questions on the board so they can see how I work through problems. Both using a visual element, like working on a problem on the overhead, and verbalizing my thoughts are important in teaching with a multi modal approach. By the end of week of OGT prep, students will have worked independently on a workbook, seen me work through questions and heard my thoughts as I answered them. The problem here is that since the structure is so cut and dry, there is not much creativity that can go into studying for this test, unless the test, itself, changes. The reading and writing portions of the OGT are limiting in that they are strictly formal writing and set on informational responses. I, myself, have no solutions or ideas for change that would work across the board, because creativity or informal answers are difficult to measure and grade based on a statewide standard.
When doing the writing section of the OGT, first we read through a question together and I asked her how she would begin. She said she usually jumps into the question without prewriting, so I let her answer the prompt in full, then reviewed the answer. While the writing, itself, was satisfactory, the structure and organization of the answer was very poor. This was at the end of a Monday tutoring period, so I had time to go home and devise a plan for the next day’s lesson. I decided to model a prompt and talk through my thought process. I wrote out a prompt for myself: “Do you like school? Why?”
It is a very basic question because I wanted her to focus more on the structure than how I was answering the question. I talked through pre-writing (my thesis and topic sentences one, two and three, then began the writing. I explained to her that pre-writing is helpful because it allows me to organize my thoughts and see the bones of the paper to come. I began writing a four-sentence intro paragraph, showing how to start broad, then narrow. I modeled the rest of the paper then asked her if she had any questions. She seemed to understand. Next, I wrote out a guideline for her to follow when she writes her paper:
Intro:

Body 1: (Topic Sentence 1)
Body 2: (Topic Sentence 2)
Body 3: (Topic Sentence 3)

Conclusion:

After I gave her this worksheet, I gave her the next prompt from the OGT writing book and we worked through it together. Finally, the next week I gave her a third and final prompt and she wrote a flawless essay in exactly the format she was supposed to. By modeling the strategy and working one on one with a visual graph of what was expected, she finally understood the material.
In the end, I wrote out on a paper to remember to be formal and to keep focused on what the question was asking, because those were two important ideas to keep in mind that she kept forgetting. Repetition, modeling and scaffolding were overall the three most important techniques I used in tutoring this student, and all three led to my student’s success.

Pytash Chapter 5: Learning Poetry and Literary Terms

Jago begins chapter five with explaining how she teaches literary terms.  I prefer a slightly different approach.  With my freshman year of high school came the most influential English teacher I ever had.  In the first week of class he had the class memorize a list of literary terms and we had a quiz at the end of the week.  The terms I memorized when I was 14 have stuck with me these past seven years, and I am grateful that I had a teacher who pushed the class to remember terms. I plan on using the same method as him when I become a teacher, unlike Jago.  After memorizing these terms, the class could educationally converse and discuss literature and apply the terms to the stories: they did not just disappear, but enhanced our communication and analysis of literature.  Adding to the term quiz, I will take Jago's suggestion of creating a word wall (one small poster for each term) to reinforce the terms as we learn and and apply them.
   When studying poems, especially, I like Jagos' idea of identifying imagery in the poems as a class, read on page 90.  It seems that above all literature, students complain about poems the most, and it is perhaps because students have the most difficult time understanding and relating to them.  By discussing imagery, and even emotions conveyed in the text, students can begin to understand and relate to the literature.  A final project idea could be some sort of study on one poet students choose from a list, where they select one poem (not one analyzed in class) and review it, along with a brief background of the author.  I loved Edgar Allen Poe in high school (and still do) and would have loved a project that gave me the opportunity to explore more of his work.  By doing a project like this would give students the opportunity to have some choice in what they study, and perhaps take interest in a canonical poet or poem.

Pytash Chapter 3: Reading Lit in Classrooms/Activity ideas

    While I like Jago's approach to teaching "in the zone of proximal development" rather that "the zone of minimal effort," the reading lists she recorded in her textbook contain too much reading in one year for students. She mentions that she is aware that the occasional student may refer to Cliff's Notes, but I think that nearly every student would refer to Cliff's Notes, skim the text or not read a few books at all.  20 texts in one year is a lot to assign for one high school class.  Avid reader that I have always been, I don't think I would have even read all of those texts in one year in high school--students should be well-rounded as well as well-read.  I would not have been able to enjoy reading unassigned books or partake in as many extracurricular activities as I did if I had to do that much intensive reading and writing for one class.  Even taking five books off of that total would allow for students to have an annotated knowledge of classic texts, acceptable for one year in high school.
    Two points Jago makes that I really agree with are, firstly, that students write essays on texts they read outside of class; that would allow students to analyze texts in class and on their own.  Writing an analytical essay on outside reading in the second semester would allow teachers to scaffold the writing assignments and analyses so that students could become more independent analysts by the end of the school year.  Also, I like the idea of having a list of books students have read throughout high school.  Perhaps in the freshman year (or even seventh or eighth grade, if the district is really cohesive) students can make an online profile of some sort, or even a blog, including each book he or she has read.  Writing a paragraph or two in response to each book read over six years of schooling would add up to a wide range of entries! After reading "Cyrano de Bergerac" again in my adult life, I would like to compare my thoughts now to when I read it the first time as a fifteen-year-old.
   While I agree that students should be challenged, I feel that there is a difference in challenging, insightful coursework and a syllabus that overworks students to the point of losing their interest and motivation to learn.

Pytash Chapter 1

I love what the author writes on page 5, about how YA literature is like a mirror and classic literature is like a window.  I have always agreed that we should not abandon the cannon just because people don't like it or it seems outdated--I, myself, have gained so much by reading and studying that type of literature.  The challenge is how to teach the cannon in a way that students will actually try to read it and pay attention in class.  For example, I love classic literature and some teenagers probably do too, but what about the ones who don't and think it is too tough to even try?  I agree with the author when she mentions on page 7 that all students in any level of English should have to read classics, but it seems so difficult to devise a lesson plan for every classic novel or play that will help these students.  I love the idea on page 12 where she just showed a scene from a movie to help students understand the novel's setting, but it seems tough to find a movie or a creative idea for everything we read--I guess that research and effort is just part of the job!

Kist (Blog Check 2)

First, I'd like to comment on this article: I heart Novels.  It seems crazy to me that this girl typed on her cell phone because she was bored, and out popped a novel.  Perhaps the use of technology made it easier--first because she was simply texting out of boredom, and secondly because she had a small audience who asked her for more.  She had readers as she wrote the novel.  This idea could definitely be integrated into a classroom, even simply by requiring students to have a blog or an online journal rather than one kept in a notebook or folder, as we are doing in this class.  I especially like the idea of having some sort of online forum for students to write in.
In the case of the girl and her cell phone novel, it does not seem overwhelming to text thoughts to cyberspace while a few people read and comment on them as it would to sit down and consciously write an entire 300 page novel.  This idea of not getting overwhelmed with a task, and breaking it down into small, manageable pieces can be applied as well.  Thinking back to the idea of an online journal--asking students to sit and write out a 6 page paper seems overwhelming, but students' journal entries may amount to about 6 pages of text when they are finished with them, also blogging adds a more modern feel to homework.

Next, I looked at the article Learning by Playing: Video Games in the Classroom. I found the article both exciting and scary. As i have expressed previously, I think it is an awesome idea to put educational video games into lesson plans--perhaps one day there could be different games created to meet certain standards and indicators, especially in math.  I love the idea of centering lesson plans around certain video games, but I still think that some of the old methods need to be kept in practice.  One guy mentioned in the article that learning to write is not as important--I wholeheartedly disagree.  People should not have to 100% rely on technology for every aspect of their lives, but incorporate it.  As the article mentioned, the study of video games in the classroom is still in its infancy, but I am very excited to see where this can go.  Something to consider, however, is whether the implementation of this new technology will further the gap in success for students across the country--countless schools struggle right now to afford athletic programs or music classes and could not afford this technology.  Perhaps creators could take a Google approach and make the educational video games free online so that every kid with internet access could benefit from them.  There is a lot to consider and discuss with this topic, and I am definitely going to be keeping track of the research's progress!

Gaming and Learning

I watched this video and from it stemmed many ideas...

http://blog.ted.com/2011/01/14/gaming-to-re-engage-boys-in-learning-ali-carr-chellman-on-ted-com/

Firstly, I agree with many of the points the speaker makes.  Second, she mentions how many boys are diagnosed with ADHD compared to girls, which confirms what I have been thinking ever since I heard of the disorder: they are just being boys.  Obviously there are people who actually have ADHD but it is tough to diagnose a little boy with it because that's just how little boys are--endlessly active and energetic.

Also, a few games came to mind that can be played in school or outside of school.  One is called Machinarium and it is a computer game where you play as a robot and make your way through levels by solving problems and algorithms.  It is neat, different and addicting, and I can see a good educational use for it in 7-12 grades.  Another game I thought of was Spore: it is a game where you begin as an single celled organism and grow into a real organism where you move from the more savage creature stage to the tribal stage to the civilization stage to the space stage.  Every time the game is played it is different because gamers have to choose what their character will look like, what his demeanor will be (do you fight your neighbors or ally them?) and choose whether characters will be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.  I can see a game like this being played at the 4-8 grade levels.

Rather than fighting this new technology why not embrace it and mold it to be educational, revolutionary and fun?

Kist 1

    Prior to reading "The Socially Networked Classroom" I had not thought about how to incorporate twitter or facebook or other social networking sites into classroom lessons.  Now, I am considering ways for students to use social networking for education rather than just after school for fun.  Perhaps after reading a play, like Macbeth, students could be assigned a character to make a facebook for; they could write short descriptions for what is known about the character and use a bit of creativity to supply the rest of the information.  I'm realizing how many possibilities there are for social networking in the classroom and am interested to hear others' ideas.
    Going along with incorporating a more modern approach to education is the idea of the multi-genre literacy presentation.  In making my presentation, I realized that books and television made up for most of my interests growing up.  Obviously, that is not the case for everyone; I'm sure music and computers had a larger influence on other people.  Before assembling this presentation I had not considered how someone's upbringing could have been heavily influenced by music and how this could be incorporated in education.  I will definitely assign my students to assemble their own multi-genre presentations in my classroom so they can have similar revelations and share what molded them.
  Additionally, I had not thought that movies could be taught like books, although I saw the importance of movies.  Why is it that English classes never teach movies to students? The only time I have seen a movie in an English class was when it was the movie version of the book or play we had just read.  I am excited to read the teaching film book to get study guides and ideas about how to teach great films in my classroom.