Reflecting on Our Community Adventure

After taking our trip through our community, we decided that there were some things that we expected, that held true. However, there were also some things that we observed and learned that we did not anticipate. First, we anticipated that the library, the mall, and the restaurants we visited would all be filled with opportunities to interact with rich literacy. After visiting these places we decided that this indeed was true. While it was obvious that the library would be full of these opportunities, we were a little less sure about the restaurants and the mall. We went to the Friday's in Novi and boy was it surprising. The amount of stuff that they had on the walls was almost suffocating. They have tons of stuff ranging from old sports memorabilia to old dog sleds. Street signs, posters, plaques, you name it they have it. And most of it you can read. It was interesting to observe people interacting with it also. Its one of those things were you are eating and you kind of stare off, and then something wacky hanging on the wall catches your eye and you can't help but check it out, read what it says, and try and figure out what it is. There are endless opportunities to do this in Friday's. However, we were not even close to prepared to the overwhelming amounts of literacy there is to interact with at Twelve Oaks Mall. There are so many different stores, with so many different items, so many different sales, so many different menu's that it is almost overwhelming when you really look for it. But that is the thing, most people don't really even realize just how much they are reading and comprehending on even the most average trips there. Whether is is spatially figuring out where your car is parked if you left it in D3 and you are in D1. Or whether you are reading the hot sale and trying to figure out whether you meet the criteria. Whatever it is, the opportunities are endless!

Then there was the library. What can I say about that place other than WOW! It was absolutely unreal. And it wasn't only just the high-tech state of the art factor that got me. What really hit home and made me shake my head in wonder was how many kids were there!! This was after school on a Thursday, and there were kids everywhere. Downstairs working together at a table on a group project. Upstairs on the computer taking an accelerated reader test. In the quiet study area, doing their homework they got that day. It looked like a college library! All I could think about is how much I wished that I had exposure to something like that before I got to college. I definitely would have been able to get more out of the library at MSU had I learned how to study and use it effectively before I got there. It was just really cool to see so much learning going on, in a setting that wasn't forcing it. These kids weren't required to be there. They were there on their own free will. They could have been running around causing trouble somewhere, but instead they were in the library getting comfortable with a good book. I will definitely be utilizing this resource as much as I can this year, and why not?!?!

Cohen Group-work

Reading through the group-article I was reminded of a lot of conversations that my TE 401 class had last year. I don't specifically remember reading this exact article but the ideas are very similar to those that we covered last year. The biggest idea is the concept of status. This is a very intriguing idea to me. I have observed a lot of group work, as well as participated in a lot of group work (especially in our TE classes). The thing that really sticks out to me is how pretty much all issues of Status in group work settings is derived from perception rather than reality. That is why I chose the following quote from chapter 5: Dembo and McAullife (1987) demonstrated clearly that what is going on here is due to the perceptions of "high ability" rather than to some actual difference in ability. A lot of this part of the article discussed some of the things that lead to this perception. One of the major factors is reading ability. If a student is perceived to be a good reader, other students are more apt to turn to them to lead the group or to simply bow to their ideas without questioning or thinking for themselves. This is quite worrying to me, especially in my fifth grade class. A lot of kids are now starting to delve into more advanced books and series, while many others are not. The problem that I see with this, is that a lot of students are ignoring the guidelines to choosing a just right book that we have gone over and are choosing to read books that are too advanced for their reading level. While the student who knows he isn't ready for a more advanced book and instead is reading a book more suited to his reading level is probably getting more out of his book, the student that looks like their book is advanced is perceived as "higher achieving" even though they probably aren't getting as much out of their book. It is very interesting how crucial a simple perception that students might not even know they are making can dictate the way group work plays out. Some of the things we talked about last year to try and curb this status effect, is to 1. make sure that the assignment is "group worthy". In other words don't just make an assignment a group assignment for the sake of doing it, first make sure that there really is a need for students to work in groups to get more out of the assignment. And 2. complex instruction can be very effective if used correctly. By delegating jobs and tasks to students you give them some personal responsibility to contribute to their group by completing their assigned task. However, if that task isn't seen as important or worthwhile, you are falling right back down the slippery slope you were trying to navigate.

Book Club Model Comparisions to Classroom Context

The book club model compares quite similarly to what I am learning about from literacy instruction in my classroom. We are still getting into reading and writing as a daily task, and more is being integrated with each passing day. So far we have concentrated on read-aloud. We started a chapter book and my mentor teacher reads from it everyday. We have a discussion about what we are reading and students predict certain situations or explanations for situations they have read about. So far we have being using writing as a reflective part of literacy. Students draw upon experiences they have had or try and connect to the character in some way. This is a way students write through the text. Making reader-text connections, and tracking what has been learned. My students are using a graphic organizer to organize their thoughts about what is going on in the book. This is an area where students record problems and solutions and other events they are reading about in the book. I haven’t seen a concrete part of writing into the unit or text yet. We have practiced writing out of the text, giving students time to write in their reading reflections notebook. Here they have a chance to reflect on what they are reading and reflect on how that is affecting them or connecting to them. I think it is so important to give students ample time to do their reflections. I want my students to know that I care about what they are thinking and feeling after reading a text or book. I want them to feel like they can express the connections they are feeling or confusions that are facing throughout the reading.



We don’t devote a block of time everyday towards literacy so far. It seems like math and science/social studies have taken precedence thus far. But coming into the 4th week of school, we are finally devoting more and more time to literacy. But I do see literacy skills practiced throughout the entire day. From the daily warm-ups to sharing with the class an article they found online, students are practicing their writing, reading, hearing and speaking skills. As we devote more time to the literacy block I think I will see more and more connections to other curricular areas. I am excited to continue and to implement new book club ideas into my classroom. Seeing it all laid out and given suggestions on how to implement is very exciting!

Comparing Book Club to my Classroom

In my classroom, 'language arts' is broken down into sub-categories. They are reading workshop, writing workshop, making meaning, handwriting and read-a-louds. While it is similar to Book Club Plus there are a few differences. I am in a fifth grade classroom, so my students are at different reading levels. The DRA was just administer and the students ranged from level 24 to level 70 (so second grade to seventh grade). So one challenge we have is making sure all students are being pushed however some are not bored while others are not lost.

The Making Meaning unit is all about the students comprehension of stories and is very similar to chapter 3 in Book Club Plus. This is a scripted way of teaching comprehension and the instruction is very clear so the students know what to do. In fifth grade, some of the main focuses are 'text to text' and 'text to self' or as the book calls it making Intertextual connections. The students are asked to predict, question and use clues to help them while they are reading. Today's lesson was about inferring and reading between the lines. During making meaning, the teacher does a read aloud however the teaching is mostly peer to peer.

During reading workshops, the students mostly silent read. However, small groups will be asked to read with a teacher or each other. The students will meet about every 7-10 school days to see progress they are making with their 'just right' books as well as making sure they are understanding their book. Reading workshop starts off each day with a mini-lesson then the students break off into their areas. Also, once a week students will be asked to write a journal entry about their books. My teacher also is reading a chapter book aloud for 20 minutes per day.

Writing workshop has not yet been formally placed into my classroom yet. However, starting today the students were learning the formal editing steps and starting their haircut or bad hair story. Before this the students were working on small moments and using detail writing to describe these small moments. The students also have a hand writing lesson twice a week for 10 minutes.

My students are able to 'write into a text' because while in making meaning the teacher often ask how does this relate back to your life? Does something like this happen in your family? These are called self to text connections. However they are done verbally in my classroom. 'Writing through the text' is something the students do however right now we are in the modeling stage in making meaning so it is being done as an entire class. 'Writing out of the text' is one my students are working on right now. In their journals they are asked to reflect upon what they are reading and respond critically. Linking stories to stories is a common one that we are doing in fifth grade.

Reflecting on the Community

The community that I am teaching in is the White Lake, Walled Lake or Commerce Area. The three small towns boards blend together and all make up the Walled Lake Consolidated School District. My school is mostly in White Lake however it is a school of choice. The surrounding area is mostly lakes, fields and sub-divisions. To get to any "city" one needs to drive about 15-20 minutes, even to the closest expressway. The lakes make the roads very curvy and seem like you are going in circles.

One of things that it has taught me about my community is that the families seem to enjoy outdoor activities. Many of my students love to ride bikes, go on the boat, play sports or just go for walks along the trails. Many of my students favorite activity is on the water (i.e. wakeboarding, swimming, etc). Also, the community is beautiful which is well reflected upon at the school.

One of the places that my group choice to visit was the Outdoor Education Center. The reason why we picked this location was because the students visit it during school also on the weekends. As well as, this is where my fifth graders go to fifth grade camp. I was very excited to see where we would be spending our camp. I found that the camp represented the community very well. It was located on the lake and most of the learning activities were done outside. While there, we saw a rock climbing wall, obstacle courses, lakes, canoes, hiking trails, horse trails, etc.

While the literature the students need while at the camp can be as basic as reading signs or being able to follow a map. We found the new vocabulary they take away from the center combined with their experience will make from some rich literacy pieces. From describing their fear while climbing the tower or riding the American beauties, they would be able to develop small moments with rich, descriptive words. Also, vocabulary such as learning how to 'belay' while rock climbing. Their writing after or while there will be full of excitement, fear, conquering goals and so much more.

Another thing I learned while visiting the center was that the students take classes there, even while at fifth grade camp. They are expected to take notes while they are there, write feelings down and observations. These types are writings can make an written piece great as well as help with their writing in science (cross subject connection). I also was surprised to see the amount of literature the center had to offer about nature. I think since many of the students have a lot of property or live on the lake, many of these books would be an interest to them. Another important part of a the literacy community is building a safe environment. The students are taught to team build and that everyone has worth. While the entire class visits, this can be the start or build upon 'safety' in your classroom. At the center everyone has an opinion and it has to be heard. During reading workshop or writing workshop this is an important thing to have established in your room.

Other community activities we investigated were recreational sports and the St. Pat's Fair in Walled Lake. Similar writing activities were available for these activities. However, one thing we talked about with these activities was knowing what students like or do on the weekends can help guide a teacher to rich literature. It can also help encourage 'non-readers' to become readers!

Task 4, Debriefing on Visiting Community

After observing the community you actually notice all of the things that can be tied back to literacy. It is amazing how many things are connected and interconnected to literacy. Our school is surrounded by mile roads and what is very interesting is that the mile roads are sometimes written in number form “11 mile” and sometimes written in word form “Eleven Mile” the students are exposed to both of these types and it is interesting to see if the students make a connection between the two. Do they realize they mean the same thing? This connects literacy and math observations we saw in the community during our visit throughout the community.
I was surprised at the amazing resources the students have in their city. The Southfield Public Library is beautiful with a large children’s section included with a lot of variety in text selection. These resources are great and even students with a lower socio-economic status can obtain resources for free and use what the library has to offer. I also enjoyed learning about what our literacy coaches have as resources to our students. I knew that we had a literacy coach but going into their room and looking at the resources they use is very beneficial in my teaching as well. The community experience has helped be understand and learn a lot about my school, students and families. Simply spending time where students spend time helps you understand where they come from, how and what they see on their way to school and home from school. Driving around and looking at resources, businesses, libraries etc helps you to have a deeper understanding for where these children come from. Having this deeper understanding, allows for greater connection among you and your students. Visiting parks, libraries and other places your student might go, gives you perspective on their life. The closer we are to our students, the better we can help them achieve their potential.
When we also make connections with our students and understand where they live and come from, we can use that to help us in the classroom. If students spend a lot of time some where specific in the city, we can bring that in during a lesson. Knowing these facts can help us with the connections of our students and bringing the resources that they have and utilize in the city into our classroom. This makes more meaningful connections and it shows students that we are invested in their learning and care about their lives outside of the classroom.
Referring back to these initial investigations will aid in lesson planning and creating connections and meaningful learning in our classroom throughout the year.

Cohen- Groupwork

This weeks readings were very helpful. One quote that stuck out to me was in Chapter 5 Designing Groupwork: Planning Groupwork in Stages. The quote was as follows:

“Groups larger than five present problems for participation in interaction. For group discussion, I have always found that four or five is an optimal size. As the group gets larger there is more of a chance that one or more members will be left out of the interaction almost entirely….A group of three has a strong tendency for two persons to form a coalition leaving the third feeling isolated and left out.”

This quote stuck out to me because it was something I had not really thought about before. Of course I knew that small groups were beneficial in targeting certain students who are struggling with something, but I did not realize the ramifications of having too large or too small of a group, especially within discussions. Of course as I read it, I realized, well of course groups of three wouldn’t be ideal because two might be closer and work better together, and of course super large groups loose some of the children during discussion.

This is so beneficial for me in my classroom. It has given me ideas on how to approach discussions and groupwork. It has even helped me to think about placement of desks and tables in the classroom. If students are sitting at a pod, it should be between 4 and 5 students. More students at one table could create distractions and 3 people at a table might leave one student feeling left out. This will be beneficial when planning small groups (including a good mix of strengths, both genders) to keep it diversified.

I learned that not only is small groupwork important, but the number of students in your group is also important, it could dramatically change the dynamic of the discussion you were hoping for.

I am interested to see this played out into my classroom

Cohen Article-Group Work

The reading that stuck out to me this week was in the chapter 8 of the Cohen book. This chapter was about grouping students with the multiple ability strategy. One of the quotes that stuck out to me was “Instead of uniformly high expectations, high status students are expect to show strengths and weaknesses like everyone else. The same is true for low status students who are now expected and expect themselves to be at some of the important abilities relevant to this task. The teacher has created a mixed set of expectations for everyone.” (Cohen, 123). The reason that I enjoyed this passage was because it makes each student say things they are good at and things they need to improve on. I think this helps higher students and lower students while working in groups. The higher students realize that they are not good at everything and they will need help from everyone in the group. The lower students realize that they have an important role in the group and it makes everyone else in the group realize they have an important role in the group.

This chapter mainly focuses on socioeconomic status or race however I think it can be applied to almost any situation where someone in the group feels like they are not as smart and someone believes they are superior of others. My students are mostly come from white-middle class families, so the main problem in groups the superior person. If everyone in the group knew they had worth, I believe group work would become even among the members (or closer to). Also as the Cohen chapter said, my students need to stop thinking the only “smart students” are the ones who read well or “get good grades”.

The chapters focus about students using group work to find out their special abilities (Cohen, 122). I personally found this a very interesting way of thinking about group work. I am someone who, as a student, did not always like group work. However, as a teacher I can see if it is organized correctly and introduced right, it can be very powerful. After thinking about how putting this in my classroom this year, I have came up with some different things. For instance, explain the assignment and have each person think of something they can bring to the project. Then think about something that they are not as strong at doing. Once they are in the groups they will need to share these ideas and then decide who will be doing what part of the project. This way, roles are assigned and everyone knows what they are doing before diving into the group work.

I can’t wait to see if this makes a difference in my classroom.

Considering the Community

The school that I am doing my internship at is located in the White Lake however is part of the Walled Lake School District. Around this area it is mostly lakes, land and neighborhoods. The other two members in my group have grown up in the Walled Lake/White Lake area, so exploring the community is not as exciting for them as it was for me.  Just by driving to the school each day I pass by five different lakes, many small forest or open fields and neighbors hoods. Many of our students live on lakes and water sports are a big part of their lives.

 One of the places that we have deiced to visit is the local Fair that is coming up. One needs to be able to read the different signs of where to line up or reading the directions to get there. Once there, the students would be able to use rich vocabulary to describe the different rides or activities that they have gone one. For instance, “my stomach dropped when we hit the first big hill on the ride”. One thing I expect to find are rides, different kinds of games and fun food.

The place that I am most excited to visit is the Outdoor Education Center located. Many students in my class have stated they attend the Outdoor Education Center on the weekend with their families. Also, I am in a fifth grade class and this is the location where we will be going to for fifth grade camp. I expect to see different variations of outdoor activities, including petting zoo, nature trails, horse back riding and different lakes/ponds. I think the biggest literacy piece the students are going to gain while at the center is learning to write about nature and describe things with great details.

Another activity that is very common among students in our class is recreational activities. Many of my students play football, hockey, dance, cheer, basketball, volleyball, softball or baseball. Visiting these sporting events we found that the students need to have almost a different sent of vocabulary to understand the game. From jump shots to first done to different jumps not everyone might know about these activities. So one writing assignment we might do is have the students write out the rules of the game and explain them in way that everyone will understand. Also, this is help picking out different books to catch their attention and have them read things they enjoy doing.

Literacy and the Community: An Investigation

Where Will You Visit/Why? What Do You Expect to Hear/See/Learn

The first place on mine and Jenny's list to visit, like Shannon is our cities public library. Novi just built a multi-million dollar public library and according to my teacher and many kids in my class it is absolutely amazing. I am really excited to check it out, especially since it is obviously such a huge part of our communities literacy identity. I think that getting a better feel for the library will give us a better feel for how our children view and are exposed to literacy, because pretty much every kid in the district was all over it this summer. Because it is apparently so state of the art, I expect to see a lot of cool stuff, including some technology that I probably won't know how to navigate and these children that have been exposed to it can. Apparently there is a SMARTtable which is like a SMARTboard but on a table and more interactive. I anticipate that I will be far behind the learning curve of how to accurately navigate its features. I also expect to see a lot of learning happening without any force whatsoever. From the vibe that I have been getting from my students, the kids love to go there, and it seems like this place is doing just an absolutely wonderful job of getting kids hooked on reading, which to me is super cool.

The next place we are planning on going is to the mall. Novi is home to Twelve Oaks Mall, and it is a huge part of the community as a whole. I am sure that every single kid in my class has not only been there but is very familiar with it. We chose to head to Twelve Oaks mostly due to the magnitude of literacy that is under one room that our students interact with every time they go there and probably most of the time don't even realize it. All of the store signs, the price tags, the displays, the restaurants, you can read almost EVERYTHING at the mall. I think that we will see and hear a lot of children interacting subconsciously with literacy and that will be interesting to see.

Novi has a ton of great restaurants also, and we are planning on checking out some of those as well to get a flavor for the kind of literacy experiences and interactions our students might have on a typical night out as a way to get to know them better as learners and as people in general with the hopes that it will positively affect our relationships with them and our ability to relate to them on a more personal level.

Literacy-Knowing Your Community-Initial Investigation

Where/What will you visit? Why did you choose to go there?

We have decided to visit our local library. We chose to go there because this is a resource that students have the most resources at access to them terms of literacy. Regardless of socio-economic status, students can enjoy different resources at no cost to them. I am hoping to see that the library is a resource that students use in their community. There are a lot of literary elements in a library and I am hoping that this is a good resource for the students.

Another place to visit is a local restaurant that students attend a lot. We chose this as a place to visit because it is a connection to our students. We want to see what type of literacy learning goes on at this restaurant. From the basics we expect to see menu’s that students read to order the food and using their oral language skills to take what they have read on the menu and communicate it to the waiter/waitress. We want to visit a place where students don’t realize literacy is going on. A restaurant is much different then libraries, where students know literacy elements are present.

A final place we are considering visiting is our own media center at our school. We are interested to see what they have to offer in terms of resources. As a place where students can visit frequently and easily, we are interested to see what types of resources students have and what resources they take advantage of. As with the local library I am hoping to see that students utilize this resource for themselves.

Response to Talk Move Number 5

Well, while reading the text Talk Move Number five brought up different emotions as well and wanted to comment and both Dean and Shannon's points because I found them very interesting. The wait time is something that I have spent time thinking about if I like this idea or not. In theory, it would allow the students to think about the questions and formulate an answer.  Like Shannon was saying that students are not always able to think of the answer then the entire class is sitting waiting for the person to come up with the answer. This can be embarrassing or even degrading to the student. On the other side. there has been times when I know the answer however needed time to think about the wording or how I want to put together the answer. Like Dean was saying it can create some good dialogue and classroom discussions. What I have concluded is that it is important for the teacher to give the students time to think and formulate answers however not wait too long so the student feels stupid.

The Talk Move that stuck out to me was Talk Move Number 3, having students apply their own reasoning to someone else. I believe that this is very important to almost every subject and in life. One I think having students agree or disagree with other people means that students need to stand what for what they are thinking. I am finding that too many students do not speak their mind because they are afaird of what other people will think. If we can create a classroom environment in which students feel safe to share their opinions. The students will find they enjoy learning if they know they don't always have to be correct and people are not going to judge them. With that being said, the students need to learn the correct wordage on how to disagree with the persons answers or thoughts without putting down the person themselves. This will help promote the safe learning environment!

Another reason why I think this is so important in the classroom is because it does not just have the students giving answers they have to say their reasoning. I think critical thinking or explaining is the most important part of learning. Inorder for someone to say they have fully learned something, they need to be able to explain it in details. For instance, in math in my classroom L.L. gave the answer 20 however G.R. said the answer was 32. While G.R. was correct, I had her explain why she thought the answer was different from L.L. Not only did L.L. find her mistake, G.R. had to make sure she understood it herself. My teaching after this point was done because of G.R. explanation.

Talk Move #5

After reading through all of the Talk Moves, Number 5 which involves waiting or using wait time also stuck out to me, but in a different sense. I am not disagreeing with you at all Shannon, I am just playing a little bit of devil's advocate to look at it from another perspective. I agree completely that providing ample wait time is imperative to good classroom talk, however in my previous experience I have observed just how challenging it can be to use successfully.

My C.T. last year in 401/402 was a big proponent for allowing adequate time for students to think and generate their thoughts. However, as I experienced first hand this is not always a good thing. I don't want to offer up conjecture as to the Why's because I wasn't in the classroom often enough to be able to, so I will stick with the What's. Basically her students were simply not comfortable with each other. She had not created a learning environment in which her students felt safe expressing their opinions and thoughts with each other in a classroom discussion setting. As a result, the "wait time" she allowed was almost always just an awkward silence in which the student she was waiting for just got more and more anxious. This had rippling negative effects. In general, students were very hesitant to offer to verbalize and share their thoughts and opinions.

What I am trying to say, is that yes I believe that Talk Move number 5 is a very useful and important strategy in creating good/thoughtful classroom dialog. However, if the learning environment hasn't been created and formed in a way that makes students comfortable with that waiting or period of silence, it can actually have the opposite effect than intended. Instead of taking a couple seconds to formulate their abstract thoughts into a concise idea, students might be more worried about what everybody else is thinking of them as the seconds tick by and they are not responding. This is why I think that before this talk move is implemented, you must be sure that you have created an environment in which students are comfortable with this strategy, or else it might backfire.

Talk Move #5

Which of the five talk moves stood out to you, why to you think this is?

Talk move #5 was the move that stood out the most to me. This is a move that involves waiting for your students and giving them enough think when asked a question. There is nothing that gives me more anxiety then by feeling rushed to come up with an answer to a math problem or find the main point of a question. I need time to process the question and take time to thoroughly think of my answer. When I feel rushed I do not do my best work and sometimes skip important skills. Wait time is very beneficial to my classroom because we have a lot of quiet students. They will let the more talkative students answer the questions. Many times I observe that those quiet students don't even raise their hand, even though I know they have the correct answer.

Having silence in the classroom is daunting but I have been trying to work towards that. I think that the students pick up on the students that will always have an answer or raise their hand, and so they do not even try to figure out the answer. By waiting and not calling on the first student that raises their hand, gives the other students the confidence to try and answer the question. I remember being a student who was not super confident; having the time to think to yourself was very helpful.

One thing that my mentor does is has sticks with the children’s names on them. When we are checking homework or reading, she pulls a stick. She allows wait time for students to get their answer, but also gives the quiet students a chance to be involved in the discussion or checking of homework/warm up worksheets. It is a helpful tool because it gives all students an opportunity and you aren't constantly calling on the same children.

The combination of the talk move and other techniques have helped to create a good dynamic in my classroom. Students feel comfortable in sharing their work. It is a talk move that I will continue to work on and use in my classroom. Knowing that I like time to process things, I can understand that my students might feel the same way. It is important to understand the way you like things and how it can be similar or different to your students, as well as to different techniques you can use within your classroom.