Comments for April's Teaching Blog

Comment on i’m in the bloghouse by cbh

cbh — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:10:35 +0000

I struggled with not coming across the wrong way or making parents/care takers uncomfortable during my literacy information night. i wanted the night be a night where parents would learn more about what was happening at school in literacy (especially b/c most of the parents in attendance were first time kindergarten parents) but then I tried to open the conversation to parents to share what they are doing at home. I found that most of the parents were reluctant to share their literacy moments with one another because either A) they weren’t sure they really counted as literacy or B) they were fearful of doing something wrong, and lastly C) they were there to gain information, not share information. I didn’t know how to change the tone of the night to help parents feel validated in their efforts to engage their children in literacy at home. Perhaps it was the wrong venue… a one-on-one conference might have been better. Food for thought….

Comment on i’m in the bloghouse by krisco85

krisco85 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:56:48 +0000

That’s great that you were basically doing those things without even realizing them! It sounds like pretty much anything can be turned into a literacy experience. I think even families that may not have as many resources as others, have something in their home that they can use for a teaching opportunity. I know some kids first learn the letter M from going to McDonald’s! Using things from the home not only teaches them literacy skills, but it may also help with teaching daily living skills as well. For example, if you use bills and appointment books, they’ll get a lesson on what those are and how you use them, plus whatever literacy lesson you come up with from them!

Comment on hot blog by cbh

cbh — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:50:19 +0000

April you crack me up but at the same time you have great insight into how to help ELL students in your classroom. This is my 6th year teaching and I have yet to have a student in my classroom that was ELL however this year my teammate does. However, she knows NO Spanish so couldn’t communicate with N at all. I at least knew how to say muy bien and that was all it took for N and I to establish a good relationship and help her feel more comfortable in Kindergarten.

Comment on hot blog by librarian2be

librarian2be — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:04:32 +0000

I like how you pointed out that just trying to say something to an ELL kid in their native language can mean so much. Just learning how to say, “good job!” can really make those students feel important. I work with an ELL girl on my kidwatching project, and although I don’t remember much from my high school Spanish days, I say short little things to her. Just saying, “como estas hoy?” (how are you today?) made her so happy, and our kidwatching session went really well. I think it’s important for teachers to try to imagine how hard it would be if they were suddenly thrust into a new situation where they didn’t know what was going on, and they couldn’t understand what anyone was saying. Just trying to make a simple connection like asking what their name is in Spanish (”come te llamas?”) can go a long way.

Comment on nada, nada, limonada by sirsand

sirsand — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:18:21 +0000

Hey April – I was so glad to see you giving support to honoring the home language – I completely agree with you and I think that the research on how children learn agrees with you too. I second that GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO binlingual!

I really liked seeing the real classroom segments in the video too – I notice that they all stressed honoring the home culture and language – it seems that this just makes things richer for ALL of the children.

Comment on running running and running running by krisco85

krisco85 — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:40:09 +0000

I also like running records and really enjoyed doing this assessment with my kidwatching project kid the other day! I agree though, it is easier when they are younger! They definitely give useful information though, as long as they are administered correctly.
As far as using the same books and reporting DRA levels, I think that teachers should be able to use the books that are in the classroom. You are right, you have an elementary education degree and know how to determine what books are appropriate for which students. After all, the books in the classroom are what they are exposed to on a daily basis, not necessarily the books that come in the kit. Basically you aren’t assessing the child using actual classroom curriculum, but some standardized curriculum that someone who is probably not a teacher thought would be a good idea to use. Don’t get me wrong, as a school psychologist, I obviously support the use of standardized assessments, but I think they should be used in conjunction with classroom materials. Both are important, not just the standardized measures.

Comment on its a blog eat blog world by krisco85

krisco85 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:24:00 +0000

April-you make a good point by saying that even we adults need things modeled for us! Also, I think it’s great to have your students help you think through things. I know I have been impatient at times (on the inside, didn’t show it to the kids!) with kids I’ve babysat when they sat there and told me something I already knew, like it’s the greatest thing in the world and that they were the first person to discover it. I realize, however, that kids need to have those experiences where they are the ones telling and showing. It helps them think it through and learn it for themselves, as well as gives them the confidence that they know something that you don’t. So, I know it is best to give them the praise and make them feel good about it. It is our job as educators to teach children to be critical thinkers, even if it is at our own expense of feeling silly or impatient

Comment on its a blog eat blog world by Cindy

Cindy — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:03:09 +0000

One of the best kindergarten teachers I’ve ever known was a master at implementing Readers Theatre. Perhaps the fact that he was a Artist in Residence before becoming a kindergarten teacher helped, but he was awesome. He seldom used costumes, but when they did, they were simple (maybe a hat or collar). His students loved it. I’ve also seen him conduct workshops with teachers as well. He had to work a lot harder to get teachers to play the parts, but once he got them up there, they had a blast. Give it a try. I bet the kids will love it!

Comment on go blog, go! by Megan Barker

Megan Barker — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:36:32 +0000

I also noticed the January 11 date. I would have liked to have seen some transcripts from earlier or later dates of interactions with the same children so we could see their progress.

I agree with csbagwell’s comment above about wanting to see studies of children who were being taught by teachers whose backgrounds were different from theirs. I wonder what the outcome would be. Also, like you said, it would be interesting to see the results of a study that looked at children who were not all “the same” because often classrooms, espacially in public schools, are mixtures of races, religions, and economic statuses. What kind of social contracts develop when many students’ varied backgrounds have to be taken into account?

Comment on go blog, go! by ketjeunc

ketjeunc — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:14:12 +0000

You crack me up. As one who can commiserate on the Sunday thing, I can also appreciate what you wrote about the articles. Not quite a heart from me, but the LEA seems like a great idea. I wish you would figure out a way to make a social contract for toddlers and twos so they would not bite and hit!!!