This week’s readings hit a note with me, especially in terms of last week’s post. In a way I think I wouldn’t want to teach in an urban school because I would have such a hard time relating to the kids there. At the same time I foresee myself having difficulties in a rural school when I need to teach about social issues. This is once again because I have a hard time feeling like I have any kind of authority with issues like race. It was nice then to read the article from Leland that showed how texts could be used to help address these issues. I can actually see me learning as much as the kids using some of these methods.
At this time, I am still trying to get a grip on the language arts curriculum in my 5th grade classroom. The first half of the day is devoted to language arts and the second half is devoted to everything else. Last semester I went for the everything else half of the day and this year I’m going for the first half. I’ve only seen one language arts period because of this. (We went to a play on my first day.) What I’ve learned is interesting to me. When I was observing science and social studies I saw that the school didn’t have a set curriculum they had to follow. There was just a set of guidelines and the teachers were allowed to use whatever sources they wanted to reach them. Language arts seems to be drastically different. I’ve been told that they are held to very high standards and accountability for teaching out of a curriculum called Reading Street. I’ve explored it a little and it seems to be a textbook that is full of stories. The teachers guide is specifically laid out for the State of Michigan and explicitly states which GLCE’s are covered in each section and what the teacher should do in order to achieve each expectation.
I find this approach odd when I consider our readings. In one sense it says that language arts is more important and teachers need to make sure they are covering each expectation. When the readings are considered it says that we may be taking away the critical thinking aspect of literacy. I didn’t see evidence of multi-media being explored like Hassett or Tompkins recommend. I didn’t see social issues either. These are things I want to look for when I go in next week.
I’ve been in the class at all times of the day now too. One thing I’ve never observed is the teacher reading to the students. I have done it and they have a procedure for it, so she must read occasionally, but it is definitely not regularly. I wonder if it is because they are too old for picture books, if there just isn’t enough time in the day, or if there may be some other reason. This is something else I intend to discuss with my CT.
I’m looking forward to hearing the other perspectives you guys might have. Is my classroom missing something or is this just the way it is now?
Joel, I can definitely relate to you on not having a very expansive grasp on dealing with race or confronting challenging issues(I'm from Westphalia, so I have even less diversity than what you're used to!). As you know, where I come from is very homogenous. One high school, one elementary school, one church, one race, and it's almost safe to say one pretty standard set of morals, ethics, and beliefs. I do not remember being taught a whole lot about issues dealing with race, or even really understanding what it would be like to be in a bigger place where most people aren't the same as me. I feel very similarly to you when you say that you're not sure how to teach that sort of thing; nonetheless, I had a very good experience student teaching in a more urban school and chose to do my internship in Chicago because I like the other side of what I grew up with.
ReplyDeleteLike the Langer article states, you have to know your audience when you discuss challenging topics. She taught in a type of classroom like I would have grown up in. The way she went about issues like homelessness have to be brought up in a way that the kids can logically process and relate (I say that word with caution) to the topic. Middle class white kids look at homelessness a lot differently than lower SES kids who may live in the city and firsthand see homeless people. Books are a great way of starting a discussion towards those types of things. Nowadays, I love debating controversial things and seeing how other people go about their beliefs, and I wish I could have been exposed to more of that earlier in life. I also think that it is important to get kids thinking more globally and not just within the realm of their community.
I am also placed in a fifth grade classroom and my CT does a really good job teaching language arts. The classroom is very diverse and there are tons of books in the room that appeal to all of the kids. He integrates LA with other subjects that keep lessons very interesting. For instance, he had the kids interview someone they knew (most of the kids are first or second generation immigrants) with all kinds of questions about where they were from and what their culture entails as part of a social studies lesson. The kids then got to present their stories and show artifacts from their homelands. Afterwards, the kids got to ask questions. It was a cool way of integrating a lot of different subjects in one lesson.
To answer your question, my CT does not really teach from an LA book. There are a lot of books he uses as a reference and also passes out different copies to the students, but there is not one specific book. And even though they are in fifth grade, he still reads them picture books and everyone loves it. He shows a lot of outside examples for what he is teaching and he uses a lot of technology as well. For example, today he was teaching about Dialogue and showed them an episode of an old black and white detective TV show on youtube. After that, he read them a story with a lot of dialogue. After that, they dissected a page from the book and figured out the "rules" for writing dialogue. So, I definitely agree with you when you say that your type of LA is kind of contradicted the point of these articles. Maybe that's a learning point for you to learn what not to do!!
Overall, I agree with the readings, it is important to integrate critical thinking pieces into language arts. It is good to have well-rounded students who can think in contexts beyond what they know on a day to day basis. It will also build a foundation for these students to become better and more critical thinkers later on as well, and that is never a bad thing!
I completely agree about the urban district teaching and not being totally comfortable and prepared. I believe we discussed this somewhat last week but it's nice to know where you guys are coming from and what your concerns are if this is the case for our internship year and beyond. Joel I agree that the Leland article is helpful by demonstrating how different stories can be useful when it comes to critical literacy. I also learned about this in TE 448- diversity in education (or something along those lines)! We read different stories and discussed whether they would be good or bad to have in the classroom and different reasons that would make them qualify as good or bad. If you guys didn't take that class and want to know a little more about the books, let me know and I will pull up my old papers and files!
ReplyDeleteI found the Leland article really interesting. Kim brought about one of my biggest worries- that although I want my students to understand diverse issues and critical literacy, they won't relate to it, or maybe I won't relate to it, and they will get nothing from it. However, Kim found out that the students actually made a bigger connection to these books then the so-called "happy books" that they tend to read in school. Do you think that involving diversity in reading forces students to think more critically about the reading? How do you think this makes a stronger connection? I'm afraid that they will think so critically that they will become frustrated because they won't actually understand it fully.
Some additional ways to incorporate literature into the curriculum is story time. I have already considered this option, but this was a big focus in the Leland article and is also a good opportunity to bring about critical literacy in the classroom. Students can draw pictures and write captions about stories they read to make connections to literature. Another way to incorporate literature in the classrooms is by using it in all subject areas. I think this is a great concept and can tie together different areas of learning in a classroom. When learning about different jobs, like mining, have the students read to one another about a day in the life of a miner and then instruct them to write a letter to their parents pretending that they are miners and what they go through on a day to day basis. This would involve literature and writing skills when dealing with jobs and historical pasts. There should be many types of literature in the classroom, including diverse subjects that may be difficult to talk about or teach about, history, science (the magic school bus is really neat for this!) and I'm not so sure about math, but I'm sure there are a few books out there that may be fun to include in the curriculum. I also think involving technology in the classroom could be beneficial when it comes to literature.
To be continued on the next post!
I have not yet seen literature in my classroom this semester, but last semester literacy was all I saw. My CT has a program called, "read a bunch of books." She sends home different books to each student and they record how much they read each week. When they are all finished with the book they return it and swap books in their color group. My CT will assess their reading by calling groups up to read aloud to her. If she feels they have improved they will be bumped to a different color and receive different color books in their read a bunch of books bag. The students are semi-determined to practice their reading at home, but I think many of them don't get all the support they need, so a lot of reading is done at school. My CT also does the Daily 5 aspects of literature. There is a bookshelf with books for the students to read during read to self or read to someone else. However, there aren't too many books for the students to choose from, and I'm not sure how diverse the books are. I will make sure to take a look at that this week! Have either of you noticed diversity in the literature in your classrooms?
ReplyDeleteAnother way literature is incorporated in my classroom is through a morning read-aloud. I used to read to the students in the mornings last semester. My CT usually chose a book that dealt with an important event that was coming up (elections, holidays) or something specific to that month/season. The students enjoy the read aloud in the morning and usually end up asking questions at the end.
I have had one sort of weird experience involving literature in my classroom. Just before winter break, my CT told me I could bring in my favorite Christmas book to read. I asked if she read any Hanukkah stories to them and she said, "No, they don't know what that is." My students are first graders so they're a lot younger than both of your classrooms, but isn't it our responsibility to teach them about things they aren't aware of, and include diversity in the literature in our classrooms? How young is too young to include diversity in literature? I really like my CT but I found this a bit odd!