Chapter 6

“On the surface they (graphic organizers) are such a simple tool that there is a temptation to merely distribute them and ask students to fill them in.” I chose this quote because it seemed to be the most true statement. Used improperly, graphic organizers are only used to mark as task off of a list. This is true with a lot of things. We forget why it is that we do certain things, and just start going through the motions of a certain task. However, if done right, these organizers seem like they could be quite effective tools. I appreciate that the graphic organizers are so diverse. They can be used as a pre-reading tool to build and activate schema, or during to increase comprehension, or even after to expand on ideas and take to the next level. They also are effective in realizing the connections between ideas and subjects.

I think that this strategy is especially good for learners who need to create some type of visual representation of what they know and/or have learned. I don’t think that it would be quite as effective for learners who are more linear thinkers. A concept web or graphic organizers may be too jumbled and busy for this type of learning style. Personally, I like everything being all over the place when I take notes, so I would like using an organizer. I do think that, as the chapter stated, that these organizers would be great for ELL’s. It would help them to make the connections between what they already know, and allow them to communicate with peers, where they really need confidence. If graphic organizers are so effective, then why do teachers not use them more often? Even though teachers said that they agree that they should be used, most still do not.

I would like to ask the author how long it took him to compile his book of strategies.

Chapter Four and "Text Talk"

                Reading this article was less fun to me because it gave a rebuttal to a few strategies that I thought were supposed to aid in comprehension. The first was pictures in a book. I have previously learned that pictures help children to understand the story and now I learned that they do, except when they don’t and they actually distract. The next was background knowledge. If I had a quarter for every time I have heard how much “schema” and a child’s environment is essential to comprehension, well, I would be living by the beach somewhere. But, now I read that background knowledge can distract. Thanks, article, for busing that bubble. However, in the end, I gathered that the moral is to use background knowledge, but don’t rely on it. Use the pictures in the book, but don’t rely on them either. Now I understand why Ms. Walker would always read the entire page, and then after, show us the picture. I always wondered why she did that. I was sitting there thinking, “Just show us Franklin the Turtle already!” Turns out, that was a comprehension strategy.

I agree with the article that “Children can handle challenging content.” As long as the material is not too high above their “zone,” they can use what they know about the world to make sense of the difficult text. I found that with the second graders last semester, they actually did better when I read them a book that I initially thought would be on the hard side for them to understand. Because it had a challenging plot, it kept them engaged. On the other hand, when I read a predictive text book, they caught on to it by the third time, so by the fifteenth time, they were tired of repeating with me, and therefore got distracted. It is amazing the behavioral problems that we can likely avoid by keeping kids challenged and engaged. (The books were Anansi the Spider series, if you were wondering).

On chapter four:

I loved the example in the beginning about the (effective) history teacher, who using colonial-style lanterns, engaged students by making history into story hour. I hear of so many people who hate history because they were made to memorize seemingly meaningless facts in social studies. I think that teachers need to be great story tellers. I need some work on this!  

“Students need to be read to by their teachers on a daily basis.” Agreed. This this is the type of more challenging literary material, of which the article spoke. I think that more so than not, we challenge the students, but simultaneously provide support and scaffolding.

This chapter made me think of Dr. Hanna a lot because it talked about self-questioning and self-monitoring. She used to say that we have to be the voice inside the child’s head asking, “Does that make sense?” so that students learn to monitor themselves. Also, the book discussed how teachers are responsible for conveying to students the importance of new knowledge. We must show the “why” and not just the “what.” Teaching children how to be strategic is teaching them to be independent readers and thinkers.

Lastly, I learned a new word, “interspersing”, so I think that I will intersperse it into my spoken vocabulary.

Reaction to "Writing to Learn..."

I really enjoyed reading this article, perhaps because it was interesting, or perhaps because I so enjoy writing. I’m not sure which. In any event, I loved the idea of using writing as a method of deepening the understanding of our students. As the article stated, “writing enhances comprehension,” and one must have a deeper level of understanding of a concept in order to write about it. Writing involves deep thinking, questioning, and grappling with your thoughts. If you are merely answering multiple choice questions about a topic, you are not required to actually learn a great deal about it. However, if you have students write, possibly in essay form, about a topic, they can actually show all that they learned. This is the higher level of processing that we need to get our students to attain.

I also liked how the article referred to writing to learn as a “catalyst for further learning.” Writing is not the destination in learning; it is a beginning point from which we launch into deeper understandings.

The article made me reflect on writing as a life skill. Writing is like math, in that, no matter what your career or path in life, you will always use the two. Teachers really need to get their students comfortable with writing because they will use it the rest of their lives, even if they do not choose to go to college. And as the article stated, in today’s job market, written communication skills are imperative.

I think that most students are intimidated by writing, perhaps because they have not had many positive writing experiences, or because writing was not appropriately modeled for them in school. Writing is a complex process, and so many mistakes will occur in writing. If I know that my writing is going to be scrutinized at length, I am naturally going to be apprehensive to write. I think that the article had a great idea about allowing students to make mistakes in their writing. Let them write, but provide support and feedback to help them improve, but don’t freak children out by making too big of a deal about mistakes. This blog is an excellent way to motivate students to write. Imagine if you started a classroom blog and allotted time each day (or week) for students to contribute to the blog. Kids always want to “play” on the computer.

Concerning the “writing helps students to think critically and creatively,” part of the article, I have to agree with Sarah G, who said in class that school has taken away our creativity. America itself was built by a group of people who thought creatively and “outside the box.” Creativity and entrepreneurship are what made this country the greatest in the world. I think that we are going to see serious repercussions from a lack of creativity in years to come. What business will never be started due to a lack of creativity? What inventions will not be created? What cures to diseases are being stifled all because we are not teaching or allowing our children the freedom to think for themselves and be creative? Perhaps we can be part of the change of atmosphere in classrooms and allow children to be creative and innovative again.