Noticing Students Strengths: Developing Relationships

I work in a kindergarten classroom with children of mainly two different racial backgrounds and most of the families of these children are working class or in poverty. Based on my three weeks with them, the children don’t seem to bring their experiences at home into the classroom but they do express their own learning styles when they are allowed to be expressive such as during playtime or in the library. Rosebery comments on children’s everyday experience in sync with their educational experience saying, “Everyday experience is a critical yet misunderstood and undervalued intellectual resource in science learning and teaching.” While choosing books, I notice that most of the children don’t particularly like to take books with people who look like them in it. At first, I found this very strange and it took me back to the “Doll Test” performed on children during the Brown vs. Board trial. Yet, once I started to talk to the children I noticed that the few students who showed this behavior did not necessarily come from stable homes. Of those children, some have moved quite a bit, have many more brothers and sisters at home or do not live with parents. Rosebery states that “[…] Not only can everyday knowledge be a powerful resource for these children but it can deepen learning for these children whatever their families’ linguistic, cultural, educational or economic history.” This factor I notice during “Fun Friday” for my class when they are allowed to visit two of 6 or 7 centers at the end of every Friday and just have fun. There is an area of the classroom where a play kitchen is and this is where I see most of the students home life portrayed. I find it compelling how these children who can’t count to ten or even write their names properly can act out a full day at home with their husband/wife and children and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them actually do help take care of younger siblings. These children are smart beyond our school system allows for them to get credit for and I plan to take use of some of this knowledge in implementing my lesson plan.

What's in a assesment?

In my kindergarten class, my CT expressed to me that she cannot formally assess the students on a daily bases as she would with older students because most of the activities that the students do, even though they are worksheets, because most of them just allow the students to draw or practice their handwriting or numbers. They only time my CT is able to formally asses the students is when she is getting ready to report grades for report cards. She informed me that the principal, although she is currently head of three schools, goes through each and every one of the students report cards because she likes to know what is going on with the students and how well the teachers are doing in their classrooms. By doing so, my CT take a small group of four students at a time and measures their reading skills by having each student read the “kindergarten words” on a page of the book she provides them with and their math skills by having them count by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s up to a expected number. The students know that the formal assessments are what their report cards are based off of but the students do not seem to worry about the outcome which is of course a great thing.

I'm still working on learning how to properly produce formative and summative assessment but its harder for me because I have been working with lower elementary and middle school students and their needs are much different.
Suggestions for successful assessments are highly appreciated!

Reflecting on Education: Current Experience

My placement is in a Kindergarten classroom that varies between 5-6 year olds majority low class and working class with a variation of African American, White, and Hispanic children. My CT is a white woman in her early 30’s who has finally started back teaching steady after having a few children of her own so her perspective is a bit different then some of the other instructors I have worked with recently. The classroom is a busy beehive but has a structure to it that keeps the children constantly moving yet very structured. My CT presents every lesson with discussion and repetition. There are always worksheets or writing on a dry-erase board to help keep track of discussions. She chooses students to answer question based on their behavior (hands raised, sitting quietly) and students answer questions which usually require some time of explanation to display understanding yet the children don’t usually interact with each other during learning time. "this sequence is referred to as the teacher-i-student response teacher evaluation or IRE. IRE prevents the exchange of ideas among students and inhibits them from building meaning together." While I don’t see this as a problem because the students are in kindergarten and may respond to group work differently, it could potentially serve as a opportunity for students to become more socially comfortable and engage their minds to things they hadn’t thought of before.

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The Movie "Waiting On Superman" sparked much debate and uproar within parts and educators alike. I myself did not know of the seriousness of the situation pertaining to the movie and it has caused me to do more research and I'm starting to obtain my own thoughts on the lottery system situation at hand. What do you think?

Social Studies Lesson Planning

Seeing Student Thinking: An analysis and Introduction

Maps

Sometimes we become so familiar with our daily routine that when asked to describe where we’ve been or how to get there, we can’t! Maps, on the surface level, help us to navigate and understand directions which essentially guide us in daily life. This lesson is designed to help students understand what a map is, its function as well as vocabulary related to cardinal direction. Students will be able to understand and describe how to use a map as well as demonstrate the ability to navigate in small spaces that are well-known to them. Students will also be able to experience bird’s eye view and engage in activity that allows them to re-create a familiar place based on the concept of map drawing.

Students:

Anthony*: 5 year old African American student. Anthony is usually very active and talkative in class and while he does not display any learning disabilities he is not one of the more advanced students. He usually needs help getting started with things and sometimes has a tendency to give up without consistent help but he does finish the work.

Lucas*: 5 year old Caucasian male. Lucas displays characteristics of asbergers. Although he has not been officially tested he does see the school counselor because he has textile issues such as sitting on a cushioned seat that helps him to move around while staying seating instead of getting up out of his seat. Although he is highly intelligent he has some social issues and sometimes because so overwhelmed with noise that he sings to himself or may even yells to calm himself down.

Questions via Anthony:

Q: Do you know what a map is?

A: Um… yeah (pauses and thinks for a while and gets distracted by other students talking) [He never elaborates on the question so I ask another]

Q: Well, what can you do with a map?

A: On a treasure map you find stuff like gold.

Q: Okay so you know about treasure maps. Are there any other kinds of maps?

A: Yeah you find stuff with maps because people look for stuff so they find the stuff on the maps and then look for it.

Q: Have you ever used a map?

A: No cause I don’t hide stuff I know where I put all my stuff.

Q: What else could you use a map for other than hiding things and finding them?

A: (Looking confused) well I would only have to find stuff.

Q: Could you tell me how to get to the Mrs. Ruff’s* room from Mrs. Finch’s* class?

A: Yeah you go right out there and Ms. Ruff* is over there in the hallway.

Q: So which way should I go?

A: Out that way where the cars are.

Q: Oh okay. If you saw a map, what kinds of words or pictures would you see on it?

A: Um on Spongebob he had a map that had a big red spot and some lines.

Q: Do you know what those lines were or what the red spot was?

A: The red cause it was a X had to show him how to find where it was um where his stuff was but I didn’t hide his stuff.

[End of Interview]

Interview via Lucas:

Q: Do you know what a map is?

A:Ya, it’s a mapt that you use to go places.**

Q: Have you ever had to use a map?

A:My mom use a map when we go far to my grandma’s house.

Q: Do you remember some of the things that were on the map

A: (shakes head no)

Q: What do you think was on the map?

A: Cars and houses and my school because she had to know where to go on the map so it showed her how.

Q: How would I get to the main office from Mrs. Finch* class?

A: (Gets up) I’ll show you.

Q: Can you tell me how first?

A: Umm, we would have to go to go to the up that way [points] and then you turn really fast and go up that way again [points] and then it’s right there on this side [gestures to the right side].

Q: Could you draw me a map from here to the office?

A: Um yeah but I would need a lots of colors and pencils and papers cause maps are big sometimes really big and I wouldn’t know how to do all that.

[End of Interview]

When told to introduce this lesson, my main concern was the ability to pre-assess the students to the extent that none of their preconceptions would be influenced by me or any other teacher. I explained to the students that I would soon be teaching a brand new lesson to them that had never been introduced in the classroom. As a prerequisite I instructed them to go home and start thinking about where they put their backpacks at, where they eat, play, and sleep. As a class, I told them that we would begin to talk about maps and how they can help us. In doing so, I hope to plant a seed in my students mind to begin to become aware of their surroundings and spaces that are most familiar to them. I wanted to explore the students vocabulary relating to the topic, experience with maps or giving directions and ability to understand the function of a map. By doing so, students will be able to learn about maps in a way that is most beneficial to them because the activities and discussion would encompass places and spaces that they are most familiar with.

The interview conducted with the student Anthony drew on an effect of media especially television. Anthony’s main idea of what a map is about, its function, and the things it may consist of were all based on the idea of a treasure map. Based on his responses, the concept of hiding and seeking things or belongings and having a way to find them later is what you use a map for. When asked “What kinds of things do you see on a map?” Anthony responded “Um on SpongeBob he had a map that had a big red spot and some lines.” One of the issues I see here is that Anthony has never seen a mapped used in real life or either he doesn’t remember the experience. So the earliest account he has of knowing what a map is comes based off a cartoon that uses it for one specific purpose. Anthony also seems to display a sense of responsibility for hiding things that may or may not belong to him. His focus on the treasure map seems to require ownership for things and this factor displays a need to only use a map for things that are his.

The interview conducted with Lucas was based strictly from real life because he had a chance to experience his mother using a map to get to his grandmother’s house. I’d like to point out that Lucas mentioned the fact that his grandmother’s house was far away therefore his mother had to use a map. One of the factors I can draw on from this statement is that Lucas associates maps with going to places that are at a great distance and may not understand that maps can be used on smaller spaces. As discussed in the brief description of Lucas, although he is highly intelligent and can easily be identified as the brightest students, he also has a speech impairment and displays (off the record) symptoms of autism. During the interview, Lucas explained everything with lots of energy and confidence in his understanding. When I asked him to give me directions and to tell me the kinds of things he would see on a map, he was very sure using hand gestures and head nodding.

With both children I notice that neither of them really mentioned the concept that maps are used to give direction. One reason I asked both students could they tell me how to get to another place in the building is to get a feel for their vocabulary such as turning, right and left, or other directional terms. Neither of the students seemed to feel confident in their ability to express right or left so they either used pointing as a mechanism or term like “right over there” or “just go that way”. Although both children have had an experience with maps, neither of them have actually had to use one for themselves as I would imagine most kindergartners haven’t because they are still working on counting and learning words with more than three or four letters. In essence, this pre assessment of sorts has helped me to gauge the amount of experience they have had with maps without being formally and educationally introduced to them. While there is a world of words and different kinds of maps and locations I can introduce them to, the following is how I plan to plant a seed in the students mind on what a map is and more importantly how they can relate it to their everyday lives.

There are a number of factors I had to consider while planning my lesson. According to the text “Social Studies in Elementary” by Brophy and Alleman, “First, children tend to focus on individuals, families and local settings” (Brophy and Alleman 117). Although this comes strictly from the text book, it is the first and main thing I incorporated into my lesson. Children, especially as young as kindergarten, tend to only care to pay attention to things that are directly related to or affect them unless you urge them to pay attention. Due to this factor, I concluded that it would be best if the main activity would require students to draw maps of their room or some place in their house that they spend a lot of time in. This way, students are learning new vocabulary and the function of a map in cohesion with a space they are personal with. While getting students to recognize how the places they are most familiar with can be represented on a map, having them understand their place in space also will help in building their understanding geographical location. Referring back to the text, Harwood and McShane state “Primary children have difficulty understanding nested geographical relationships (community within state, within region, [etc.]) however they can learn these relationships through exposure …” (Harwood & McShane 1996). While this part of the text was intended to aim at 2nd – 3rd grade, I think kindergartners can be exposed to this understanding of relationship as well. To keep it simple yet introduce the connection between city, state, country, etc. Students will know that Lansing is in Michigan and that Michigan is one of the 50 states of the U.S. That way, students are exposed to the idea without having the challenge to remember things of irrelevance to them.

Brophy and Alleman also discuss the Five Fundamental Themes of teaching Geography. While all are helpful, two themes in particular can help students who are being introduced to maps and the concept of spaces. Place: Physical and human characteristics location tells us where and place tells us what is there and Movement: Humans interactions on earth (relationships between places) places are connected by movement. Basically, students touch both of these themes just by understanding the function of a map an d also understanding direction. I plan to introduce students to cardinal direction by directing walls in their classroom for each point. To help them remember outside the classroom I plan to teach students songs especially one relating to the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. The last token of information I plan to focus on based on my student’s responses and experience is to bring a simple map in on a small scale of detail and to have them see a globe. Having them relate their own maps to the 2D map as well as recognizing the earth is round and the difference between land and water on a map will be as far as I feel comfortable and that they are ready to learn about maps at this stage.

© Shalayla Williams

New Age Reading

“Today, the vast majority of the new “book-like” digital genres are targeted for general purpose, network-connected computer workstations that have Web browsers and sometimes an array of other software that extend the browser’s capabilities (such as movie viewers, or QuickTime VR).”

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Up until my pursuit in education, I had not heard of most of the assistive technologies that can help a student progress in reading. Becoming better acquainted with the digital story held a lot of promise for me as a special education educator in urban schools. As expected, it did bring about lots of benefits and opportunities for students success. Students have the ability to use features such as text-to-read, enlarging font, read along and much more on the PC, Notebooks, and even newer technologies such as iPad and similar products by Amazon. One thing that Lynch mentions is that the new digital book era is targeted toward commercial use and major companies when we have a large percent of the nation’s urban population reading below grade level and failing out of school. Who are these digital book companies really working for and how is there obvious and unavoidable pursuit to market and sell products helping our future? While I am a advocate for digital text, things need to become more student-teacher friendly and less geared toward the progress of making people in general lazy readers.