It's over...Final Reflection!

So it's over. My methods/practicum experience is finally over and now on to student teaching! Woohoo! I am so excited, pumped, nervous, scared, happy, sad all at once! The past 15 weeks have taught me so much; from in the classroom to my expereinces at Stow. I feel without this course, I wouldn't have learned some great ideas to help me teach writing. KSU hasn't really given us any other time to learn how to teach writing so this class was it, which I do think is pretty crazy. But the activities we did in class were very helpful. I am concerned about having to teach my research paper next semester because I feel like yes I did learn some creative writing ideas but I don't feel too prepared to teach the ideas for research. I am use to do doing research papers at the college level, not teaching research papers to HS students. I am fortunate though that I will have Writing Wiki's we created because I think that is a very helpful tool for me. Those Wiki's I will hold onto and use as much as I can because they truly have some great sites

I felt the texts selected for this course were very helpful, especially Nancy Atwells "In the Middle." Her ideas on writers workshops are something I hope to use in my classroom. I also liked the useful charts and guides in the back of text book that make it easy to use in every day life. I really enjoyed reading Koch's text as well. It was not only written so that I could easily follow it and it gave me helpful hints on the writing process and what it means to be a writer. I feel they were great choices that guided our class well. I enjoyed the fact that we di

dn't talk a lot about them in class but instead used our blogs to do the talking. I liked that we dedicated class time to our teaching and how to make activities stronger.

For me being from the 2005 catalogue year, I didn't get the opportutnity to do the multi-modal class. I felt for the first month of this course that I didn't understand anything. I literally was like, "what the heck is a Wiki? How do I put media in my blog? How do I make a movie?AH!" But through the semester and helpful hints from Dr. Kist and my fellow classmates I felt much more at ease. I actually did not know a lot of the students in this cohort as well; I had classes with the 2009 INLA class and knew them all so well, so I felt a little out of place at first, but I truly have had the best experinece getting to know everyone this year. I had so much fun laughing with everyone and getting to know everyone a little bit better. I have learned a lot from everyone and their stories, blogs, about their time in the classroom.

Next semester should be interesting. I am excited to just focus on teaching and not worrying about teaching AND my own classes. That has been the most stressful thing about this semester, but I feel if I could handle this semester I can certainly handle next semester. I am just so ready to be in my classroom every day and be a teacher!To have a sucessful semester I just need to remember the following:

1) be organized- find some system that works for me that will keep all my papers organized.

2) plan plan plan- although I don't have to turn in lesson plans to Stow I still need to do them to keep things running smoothly

3) exercise/eat health/sleep= BE HEALTHY

4) relax you are still learning. You aren't expected to know everything. Utilize your co-op teacher and any other resources. This is a learning experence

5) Enjoy it! This is the last part of my college career. Document the memories and enjoy it!

May 2010 here we come!!

Making Comics...Maybe, maybe not

Let me start by saying my brother LOVES comics, especially Batman. I always use to read through his Batman books but found myself not really enjoying them. I have never been a fan of comics; I have never thought of doing graphic novels in a class room. I basically thought what is the point of making comics.

After reading, "Making Comics: Storytelling secrets of comics, manga, and graphic novels" by Scott McCloud, I realized how useful graphic novels and comics can be in the classroom. Say for instance you have a student who might not be the strongest writer or might be someone that is unmotivated to write, but they LOVE to draw or love art. Why not try having them write a comic or graphic novel? This way they are still going the process of pre-writing, rough draft, editing, proofreading, and publishing but maybe in a way that is more suitable for them. Or perhaps you have a student that reads and reads and reads but doesn't seem to follow story lines. Perhaps if you used a graphic novel the student would be able to see the pictures and relate the stories much easier.

When I was required to buy "Making Comics," I was a little annoyed. I couldn't imagine how this would help me with my teaching. I thought the book was going to be boring and just go through the process like any other text book. But McCloud uses comics to teach how to write comics. It is visually stimulating and explains things to the most finite of details. For me however, it was a little to much on a page and I found myself almost stressing when reading it because like I said, not a fan of comics. I think this though, would be an AWESOME book to use for a creative writing class. Opening this option up to students and providing them this text would be so beneficial. I personally don't do well with the comic style set up but others may. Offering different options for students is really offering a great all around educational experience.

As much as I dislike comics I actually can see myself using them in a lesson. I think it would be so cool to see things like "Old Man and the Sea" in a comic or "Animal Farm." It really would allow the students to show they have an understanding if they created their own comic and it would be really cool. I can also see doing a free writing activity with this. Perhaps giving students a prompt and asking them to create a comic on it. I can only imagine what my first and second periods would do. I think teachers just need to be open to different options, whether it be new ways of thinking or new technologies used. Find things that work for YOUR students, not just for you!

Books that I think every student should read

For my Human Sexuality class I had to read two novels and write a response. While other students freaked out about reading 2 books and responding I thought it was a piece of cake. I was excited to get to read "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson and "Inexcusable" by Chris Lynch. Both books deal with the topic of rape in adolescent students, but from different perspectives. "Speak" talks about a girl who was raped and then depression and pain she goes through when she loses friends and support until the end. "Inexcusable" talks about a boy who rapes a girl but doesn't think he did because he loved her. Both novels are very compelling and give an insight to rape that we don't get to see.

I think if schools allowed their students to read books like this in the classroom it would do so much for students. It would educate them on sexual assault and teach them how to protect themselves from it or how to handle it if it happens to you. Rape is the most under reported crime in the US; imagine how many students have been raped but have been too ashamed or embarrassed to say anything? What if educators were more open to discussing topics through novels, such as these two? Wouldn't that help those that maybe have been too afraid to get help? It breaks my hear to think that I might have students like Melinda in "Speak" that are shutting themselves out from the world because they feel they did something to deserve the rape.

Through my RA training, I have learned to handle crisis situations, including rape. I feel more teachers should be trained in the proper protocol on how to handle a rape situation; who to call, where to send students, counselors, etc.

I suggest anyone working with adolescence read "Speak" and "Inexcusable." Both books are very moving and really will motivate you to learn more about sexual assault and how you can help your students.

here is a link to the youtube video for the movie "Speak." It was a Lifetime movie, but still very good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5h2wg4-jWA

After the grading is over and the projects have been returned...

I have finished all my grading for my students lengthy letter project. I have to say I was quite impressed. Throughout the unit I complained that I didn't think my students cared or at least they didn't show it. But reading over all their projects and seeing the creativity and thought they put into it blew me away. They really got the concept of theme/character development! They all took a different approach to the letter project but all were able to grasp the general goal of the project: to show me in the 14 letters the character development (of the character of their choice) as well as the themes that come into play in that characters life. I was concerned that maybe they didn't have the strongest grasp on theme but this showed me that they did. Over all my students did very well. Between 2 periods I had 8 A's, 4 B's, and 2 C's, which I think is excellent not only for them but for me. My cooperating teacher likes to see lower grades because he knows it is hard but I feel differently. I like to see higher grades because I think my students are understanding and doing what they need to do. I don't want to make things impossibly hard (like he does) because what is that doing for the students? If anything it is discouraging them from enjoying English class.

My goal for next semester is to really let these students have their own voice. I want them to enjoy my class; I want them to enjoy the reading and writing will be doing. I hope to do more projects and activities and I hope their grades remain as high as they are now.

I'm looking forward to January 25. I'm nervous, but excited! :)

Day 10 of Unit..it's all over

I have finished my unit! It is over! what an awesome feeling to know that I made it through my first 10 days teaching! It was such a great moment because this lesson showed me that my students have understood everything we have talked about it. From the beginning, I don't think my co-op thought my students would like/do well on this Found Poetry idea I had. Especially when I mentioned bringing in craft supplies for them to use. His face was funny when he saw all the glitter I brought because he hates messes, and lets just be honest, glitter makes a mess no matter how you try.

I let the boys pick their own partners except for 2. In first period 2 of my students didn't bring their quotes in (which is the basis of the entire project). They said they forgot. I didn't think it was fair to just let them go w/ another student who did his quotes and use them so I put those 2 together and they had to get quotes all over again. I then put on 1940's music ( to tie into the setting of the novel). At first I heard a lot of groans about it but by the end they were tapping their feet and even said that they worked well with that music in the background. I have to admit I was blown away by their poems. When they all finished they had to present them to the class and say what theme/character/idea they wrote about and why that it's important. They were SO deep. They totally understood all the themes we have talked about and have made some of the coolest poems. All of them were great! They used theme's like: war, snow/the dawn (symbolic for re-birth), Finny, and the fall. It was just so impressive. I was so so worried that they were getting the plot facts fine but not the deeper meaning, but these poems have proved that they get it.

At the end I collected their poems and told them that I would have their grades Wednesday when I come back in. They were like, wait you're not coming every day still? I explained to them how my unit works again and explained when I'd be coming back. They were bummed I wasn't going to be there every day and asked when i start teaching fully time. It made me fell really great. My 2nd period even said "let's give Miss Rahl" a round of applause. I feel like I have made a great impression these 13 boys. It's been the best experience and I can't wait to teach full time next semester!

The Professor and the MADMAN..muahhhahahahaha

Ok, so when I grabbed this book off the bookshelf I was so excited to read it. Anything that combines English with crazy people has to be good right? I thought about e-mailing Dr. Howard, who I had for History of the English Language and English Grammar because she LOVES the Oxford English Dictionary. If you didn't know what something meant she would say, "Have you checked it on the OED?" We even did a whole project on a particular root and its origins using the OED. I have become pretty familiar with the OED during my time in Satterfield. Dr. Trogdon gave us an assignment in English Studies where we did a library scavenger hunt (something I will be doing with my students for their research papers) and we had to look up words in the OED both electronically and in print. It's important to know how to use your research tools, and the OED is a great source...but onto the book.

This book caught me in the story from the beginning. Yes there were some boring parts but seriously, who would have thought that a Civil War vet and an inmate of an insane asylum created 10,000 of the entries that are in the OED. No wonder we have such a crazy language, 10,000 definitions were submitted by a crazy man! It all makes sense now!

Have you ever gone into the library to see the print version of the OED. They are seriously massive. No wonder they began being known as the 'Big Dictionary.' I love that that chapter starts out with the OED definition of Elephant. It's a great play on words.

I enjoyed the definitions at the beginning of a lot of the chapters (murder, mystery, etc) because it was like a sneak peak as to what we would be reading all the while tying it back to the reason we are reading about this story- the OED. I think this is a book that would be fun to read while doing research papers because it connects with the idea of research but has some fun mysterious elements that students could read about. It is interesting to see what students would think about Dr. Minor and had he not been insane (or if he had been treated) how things would have turned out. It's an interesting topic that would be a lot of fun in a classroom!

And for your enjoyment, here is a hysterical song about the OED and this book thanks to youtube. Oh how I love youtube!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IZYzxNOUtw

Image Grammar

So I think it is pretty cool that I had a class with Professor Noden last semester. When I signed up for his class and he talked about this "image grammar," I just thought it was something he did at Hudson; I thought it was a tiny pamphlet of ideas. Never did I realize his book would be so nationally acclaimed (I've done some research on it) nor were all his ideas so cool. I remember in class doing activities and being like what does this have to do with brush strokes? How do brush strokes teach? But after reading the text I understand completely. We did an activity (which someone actually kind of demo'd in our class) where he would show us pictures and we had to write about that picture. We had to be descriptive and talk about the details and images. It was a great practice in writing but I didn't realize it was conditioning us to look at the images and not think of things as just writing. Mr. Noden's book is FILLED with ideas on how to teach image grammar. Not only does he give written descriptions, but he also gives a CD to utilize. As many of my classmates know, I am a huge Hemingway fan (blame it on Dr. Trogdon). I thought it was so cool that there was a section in Mr. Noden's book that talked about Hemingway's unique sentence structures, in particularly with The Old Man and the Sea. It talked about people re-writing it using his rhythm. I think this is something I can use next semester when I teach this novel. If you understand rhythm of an author (and you have to, to do this assignment) then you are seeing grammar in a whole new way.

I applaud Mr. Noden for his work on image grammar. Grammar is something that our students aren't getting enough of. They get to college and professor's are just astonished by their poor grammar. I think we need to venture away from being grammar police and teach it in a unique and meaningful way like using the idea of brush strokes. Our students will be able to use it in their writing and will help them become stronger writers.

The Praxis II has no right to say who will make a good teacher...

So, I took a day to process my experience with the Praxis II, and I have decided that I hated it. First off, I hate standardized testing. I hate it with a passion. Especially when it's something that I had to a.) pay $220 for, b.) makes or breaks me from getting a teacher license and c.) something that either you know or you don't (it's quite hard to study for).

How can ETS and the Department of Education say that these tests show if someone can teach. These tests show that you can take a test! Ridiculous! When I am in my classroom, I know I can teach, but this test honestly made me feel like I knew nothing and I have wasted 5 years at Kent State. I took practice tests and passed them but when I got to the real thing I felt like it was all ridiculous! There were authors, and poems, and ideas that I haven't heard of. There were questions that I felt were very opinionated. What if my opinion on the summary of an essay is different than the person next to me? Does that make me wrong? What is that showing my students?

Another thing that annoyed me were the people from the other content areas. I sat next to this woman who was probably in her late 40's for the PLT section. First off, she was mad that I was at the same table as her. She kept saying, "this is ridiculous. Why are we all so cramped up in this room? I want my own table." I looked at her and said, "I don't bite," and smiled. She didn't find me funny. Darn. So then she is complaining about her math content section that she didn't finish. She asked me if I finished my content section, and I said yes. She GLARED at me and said "well that's because language arts content is WAY easier than math. All you have to do is read a book." I was trying to compose myself and not get kicked out (again, paid a lot of money to be here) and just said, "it's a whole heck of a lot more than just reading." And she LAUGHED at me. I just stared at her. The whole time I found myself becoming more and more congested. My eyes were getting itchy, my throat scratchy, my nose was running, and began sneezing. I felt like there was a cat sitting on my lap (I am ridiculously allergic to cats). What do I find out? Crazy math lady is ALSO a crazy cat lady! GO FIGURE! She said she couldn't wait to get home to get to her cats. I looked at her and it all clicked why I felt like death. I said how many do you have and she said thirteen!!! THIRTEEN! And she went on to say how they sleep with her and they are like her kids. THIRTEEN!!!!!!! So I felt like the thirteen cats were on my lap as they handed out the tests. The woman still was complaining about me being at her table. I told her to ask the proctor before we started if she could move and the lady was like no they won't let me. SO WHAT DOES SHE DO? The test starts and she raises her hand and says and I QUOTE, " "excuse me, this is unacceptable. This GIRL next to me keeps sniffling, cough and sneezing and it is VERY distracting." At the moment my mouth dropped and I just looked at the proctor who was as shocked as I was. The woman said, " I need to move or she needs to leave." I NEED TO LEAVE!! You crazy cat lady! The proctor looked at me and mouthed "I'm sorry!" and let the lady move to the back of the room. I really wanted to just sneeze on her and her dumb cats.

After the test I was just pissed off. Between the cat lady and the 4 hours of testing I was over it all. Lets see what happens in 4 weeks!!!!

Day 9 of Unit

This morning I woke up at 5:45 AM, like normal. But today I felt miserable. My throat was on fire and my voice sounded so hoarse. But I got myself up and moving and got to Stow by 7 AM. My co-op could hear my voice sounded awful but I knew I could suck it up (isn't that what teaching is all about...taking lemons and making lemonade?). I had to think on my feet and kind of find ways that I wouldn't be doing a lot of talking but still teaching. I gave the students for their quiz the chance to write a summary of the chapter and then write what they thought was the most significant point of the chapter and why. Then we went through the key points of the chapter but I made sure we had time for the students to do a character analysis worksheet. I wanted them to pick a character and they had to make 3 statements about that character then provide 2 quotes per statement of support. It was the light bulb moment for my students. Through these first 7 chapters I worried if they were getting it, if they were seeing the bigger picture. But through their conversations and questions for this character analysis I realized they did! It was such a great moment! As I read through their papers now I am very impressed. They are getting the themes, the symbolism and the parallelism. They are making some great points and I'm very impressed! It was a great way to finish out the week.

I kept apologizing for my voice going out and my students asked if I wanted a glass of water and offered to get one. They truly showed that they cared. It was such a wonderful moment that they really accepted me. Although I am quite different than my co-op, I think my students enjoy it. It's different and it's new which is always fun. I'm not only looking forward to my last day on Monday but also for next semester!

In class demo workshops and writing workshops

I have to say, at first I thought this whole demo workshop/writing workshop was going to be the most boring thing ever. I couldn't imagine reading 2 15 page stories every week and seeing demo lessons. But it has been such a COOL experience. Everyone's stories have been so unique and intersting. I feel I can hear each voice telling the story to me. I have been inspired, amused, saddened, excited, and have laughed out loud to all these different stories. I think this is the ultimate demo lesson. It has shown me that writing workshops are really effective tools to use in the classroom. Not only does it give the author the chance to try out their piece on others but it gives the class the chance to practice their constructive criticism. With the one prompt in my classroom, I had my students critique each others. I see we are going to have to work on this next semster. They just like to say " I agree with everything you are saying! Good work!" I explained that it is good to say you like it, but what is truly helpful is the idea of giving the author something to work on. I liked that in our class we started doing 1 positive and 1 constructive criticism. I think it is very helpful and will make us all stronger writers!

The demo lessons have really given me some good ideas. I have been keeping ideas in a notebook so that when I need to teach a lesson and am having a brain fart as to how to present the topic, I can just look through my notebook and be like "Oh yah Stephanie did a really good demo on writing a play.." (which I might be putting in Wiki, thanks Steph!). I think this has just been quite the helpful experience.

On another note, I am trying to figure out how to work these things. Not having multi-modal I feel really has given me an unfair advantage with these. I feel the rest of the class has fun and exciting blogs but I haven't quite figured out how to do that. I swear, I'm getting there! Patience is a virtue!

Day 8 of Unit

Today just kind of felt like a blah day. Not only was chapter 6 not the most exciting chapter of the novel, but I was exhausted today. Everything (aka life) is just catching up w/ me and it is really wearing me. I was determined to find some way to make chapter 6 interesting for the students, since it really bored me. Needless to say they were quite vocal about how boring chapter 6 was. But I was impressed that they made some mature comments about how it did not seem to develop any characters or further the plot. Gone are the days of them just saying "this sucks..." It was quite exciting to see them being little literary critics even just for a brief moment in time.

We did a reading comphrension quiz like always. Today I made the questions a little more on what they thought. They had to think about the information and respond which I have found many do not like doing. A couple said, "I don't like thinking." My response, " you better start like thinking when you fly those airplanes. That's all about thinking." As I was grading their quizzes this afternoon I got to one students who is probably my most outspoken in 2nd period. He strongly dislikes the book and takes every moment to make it known. He doens't like the idea of symbollism. He thinks that the author really didn't put it in there, that we as English teachers have nothing else to teach so we jsut pull it out of no where. I was like, really? I told him if he thinks this is bad wait till we get to Hemingway next semester. I told him that symbollism is what makes stories exciting and interesting to read and he told me it's what makes them dumb. The one question on the quiz asked them to think about what the 2 differnt rivers at Devon could represent. It was a pretty open question- they could have said good vs evil, the right path/wrong path, Gene vs Finny, summer session Vs winter session..etc. This particular student wrote "I think they are just rivers. We shouldn't think this much into things." UGH! Really? I haven't quite figured out what to do to get this boy to like this. I'm just terrified when we get to "Old Man and the Sea," b/c I am not a fan of that book b/c it drags on, so I just have this feeling he is going to hate it. But I am going to remain positive and think of interesting ways to teach it.

Only 2 more days of my unit left! Tomorrow we are finishing chapter 7 and then Monday is Found Poem Day! I am so excited to see what my students are going to create!

Day 7 of Unit

With the comments I received yesterday from my professor, I went into my class with a new perspective. I was excited for my supervisor to come watch me because I felt very confidant about my lesson and I was excited to see how my supervisor felt. Today, instead of a normal reading quiz I did the snowball game BUT with a cool twist. Instead of snowballs, we made basic paper airplanes, since these guys are aviation students. They LOVED it! They said writing to a prompt and responding not only made them understand the chapter more but it was a lot of fun to just lighten up and make paper airplanes. I was so glad to see their reactions and it put us on a great path for awesome discussion.

First period, I had one student fall asleep. We have been having problems with him staying awake. First I did the walk by him technique; that didn't help. So finally I just tapped my pen on the corner of his desk and just asked him quietly to wake up. He did, for a while. So then I start to call on him more and more. He admitted he didn't read. After class my co-op and I talked to him about why he is falling asleep all the time and he said he is up late playing video games. We talked to him about trying to get to bed earlier because he isn't doing well on his reading quizzes and having one every day for 14 chapters is 140 points, basically what their unit exam is going to be. He said he'd try harder. So I'm going to work on my lesson for the last 2 days to make them more interactive so he is awake more.

My supervisor said that I had a very strong lesson today and that I presented the information well and the students seem to respond well to me. It was nice learning yesterday things I should work on because it helped me feel stronger today as a teacher! I only have 3 more days left- 2 days of discussing chapters and the final day is our Found Poem project day! The students will partner up and work on making poems from their quotes! I'm looking forward to helping them and working with them to make an awesome poem (which I would like to hang up if my co-op lets me).

Day 6 of Unit

Today felt great! Dr. Kist came to observe my lesson and I must admit I was very nervous! My nerves didn't go away at first because 2 of my students ( who come from Hudson) were running very late. So it was this awkward wait time with 4 students. I didn't want to start too much. I waited a little bit then did a skit with the kids there because I didn't want to waste my students time or my professor. The skit went well and they seemed to get why we were doing it. My other 2 students finally showed up and I was able to start their quiz. Now, my co-op likes to do 10 questions, short answer, pretty straight forward. I played by his rules for a while, but today I decided to do things a little different. I gave them a prompt to write on. Then after they wrote on it, they had to pass it to another student and that student had to comment on their writing. I will grade both of their writings. I hoped this will not only give me a chance to see how they write but give them the practice they need not only in writing but in responding to others. We had an EXCELLENT group discussion afterwards. All but one student was engaged and putting forth information. They really read and knew details. I was very pleased by how well it went.

2nd period wasn't as smooth because we had a practice lock down then ended up going for 45 MINUTES (of my hour class). They had the kanine unit in the halls sniffing lockers. From what we could hear (in our locked classroom), they were taking classes into the hallway and the dogs were sniffing the students. It was crazy hearing all the dogs barking. When I left in the morning, the kanine unit was sniffing the student cars in the parking lot. I am sure I will hear ALL about details tomorrow but I have to admit it was frustrating because I had to do a condensed lesson for 2nd period. I ended up giving them a worksheet to do as homework instead of us doing it together in class. I guess that is just what you have to do as a teacher.

Tomorrow my supervisor comes to visit. I am a little nervous because he is coming during 2nd period and they are really hit or miss. Today they were ok but yesterday they all were zoning out. They CLEARLY tell me that they don't like the book and they think it is stupid. So I just hope that I can get them to work well tomorrow!

Day 5 of Unit

I feel today I had a really cool activity for my students. They at first seemed to think it was weird but by the end they thought it was fun. What I did was do a draft lottery with them. Basically, as they walked in I gave them a draft card. I had them write their name, date of birth, height weight, home address, and sign it...basically acted as if this were their draft card. I put a power point up and pulled numbers. Those that got pulled had to say goodbye to their friends and go to the back of the classroom where they were at war. I explained to those left that we had no idea what was going on with their friends and we talked about how that would make them feel. I then had the one student "killed in action." I reported the news to the class and we talked again about the guilt that some of the students felt for not being there and the saddness. The other people at war came back either physically or emotionally injured and I made them go through daily life. I asked them how that made them feel and asked those that didn't go to war how it made them feel to see their friends in pain. We had an excellent conversation on dealing with war in many aspects which I tied into Chapter 3 of the novel

Their quiz scores today were worse than the quiz before. I think a lot of them read earlier last week and then did not look over it over the weekend. They missed very easy questions. I also noticed that many of my students had the case of the Monday's-they were tired, non-responsive, and looked like they were going to fall asleep at any given moment. I was hoping for a better discussion but it was like pulling teeth. I'm trying to find ways to deal with this since they are such small classes and they are so early in the morning.

One thing that kinda annoyed me was in the middle of my lesson, my co-op interjected an idea he wanted the students to know. I felt like a complete IDIOT...like I was not intelligent enough to teach. I know he was just doing it to make sure all the classes had the same information by the time he takes over, but I wish he would have talked to me about it before class or after class and said what he wanted emphasized. I don't want spoon fed but I want more support than I am getting. I just don't know what to do. I feel like maybe he thinks I'm dumb, but anytime I ask how I'm doing he's says "all's good." Ugh! My professor comes tomorrow and my supervisor comes the next day so hopefully I'll get some constructive criticism. Too bad I'll only had like 3 more days to use it this semester.

Oh well, just got to stay positive! :)

Day 4 of Unit

Today was pointless and made me kind of angry. Last week I asked my teacher if there were any field trips during my unit and he said no. However, the science teacher did not tell either of us that most of the boys (all but 5) would be gone for the day for this Ambassador event. So basically we combined 1st and 2nd period, had 5 boys total. THere was NO way I could start chapter 3 without the rest of my class. So I decided to give them the time to work on the projects I have assigned. I turned a negative thing into a positive. I was able to sit and work with each student, answer questions and we still were able to have some kind of discussion about the novel. I still felt like I accomplished something with them even though it wasn't quite what I expected.

The only thing that I am not sure about is how I stand in the classroom in regards to my co-op. He doesn't say much. At first, he told me I would be using his password and entering grades in the Progressbook. But all week he has just been like "give them to me and I'll enter them when I do the rest of the other classes grades." I told him, "no I don't mind," but he keeps say it's no problem. Well yah, it might be when I don't know how to use Progressbook next semester. I feel he doesn't want to let go of the classroom, and obviously I understand. He's worked with these students and it's his classroom. I just don't know where the balance will be. I want the students to see me as their teacher but I am just worried that they will only see me as Miss Rahl, the student from Kent State.

Hopefully next week will go well. I have changed my lessons a little bit to fit the students and their needs based on the conversations we have had in class. Fingers crossed!

Day 3 of Unit

Today was a great day in the classroom! I feel like I am becoming more comfortable in my role as teacher. The students are becoming more comfortable with me; their personalities are really starting to show more. These 2 periods are very sarcastic and funny and the first 2 days I feel they weren't sure how to react to me as the teacher. But now they see that I am open to talking and having good time, but all the while stressing the importance of respect.



Today we did chapter 2. In the novel, the boys go to a tea with their headmaster so I brought in juice and donuts to go along with that. The students LOVED it. They thought it was a really cool idea to tie the book into real life. My co-op never does these kinds of things with them. We had another reading quiz and they did SO much better. I could tell they all read the chapter because they really had questions and comments to make on the chapter. They were interested of why things happened and how it will change the rest of the story. We talked a lot about themes today and they really liked being able to find ones that could possibly work throughout the novel.

During 2nd period, there was a fight in the hall way that my co-op teacher had to go deal with. My 2nd period class wanted to see what was going on. It was very difficult to get them to focus on the novel and not the fight right outside our door. They kept saying that "A Separate Peace" was way more boring than the fight in the hall. They liked seeing their teacher get involved and handle it. I kept having to bring them back to task which was very difficult. It kind of killed the momentum of the class, but I was able to bring it back. The end of class they had about 10 minutes left so I let them work on projects I have assigned and let them ask questions. They were awesome; they stayed on task and worked up until the end of the period bringing things up for me to look over.

So far, things are going so well! They are really doing a great job with the novel. They hope it gets more exciting because right now they are bored with it, but I think as it progresses they will like it more!

Day 2 of Unit

So today went much better than day 1. Today I gave the students their first quiz. My co-op teacher really wanted me to stress the importance of them reading every day so he said he wanted me to give them a quiz on every chapter. So this morning I gave them the chapter 1 quiz. I could tell many of my first period students didn't read because even the easiest questions they missed. Their scores were like 4.5/10 or even 3/10. First period didn't really get involved with my discussion questions, only 2 students. I tried to motivate the other students and tried to keep it up beat but they just were out of it. I did have a moment where I felt dumb. I was going over a very important quote with period 1 and the one part of the line is in french and I said I'm not sure what this means I don't take French. My co-op then asked to interupt, translated it and explained why that translation was important. I can honestly say known of my teachers ever went over that quote with me in HS and no site online that I looked at talked about that french translation so I kinda felt dumb.

Second period went much better. I could tell the students really did read, most of their scores were 7 or 8.5/10. They had much better discussions and asked a lot of questions which I enjoyed. They are very inquisitive and want to know what happens. I keep saying you have to wait and see but I know they want to know. They truly are a great group of students and made me feel much more relaxed teaching.

No feedback yet from my co-op teacher. I told him I thought I did better and all he said was it went beautifully. He is getting sick so I know this is a rough week for him but I wish he could give me some advice. I think tomorrow I will ask him what his thoughts were on my lesson.

Tomorrow we will discuss chapter 2. I have a fun activity with food for them to do so hopefully they enjoy it!

Day 1 of Unit

Yesterday was my first day taking over 2 class periods. I was nervous as all get out! I got to school early figured I'd have time to prepare and THANK GOODNESS I did. First off, my Macbook is not compatible with the smartboard coard. SO my whole lesson, which used a power point and video clips from youtube needed that smartboard. So my co-op said put it on your jump drive and put it on my computer. When I tried to open the powerpoint on his computer, it would not open because my powerpoint is a newer version. SO I tried saving it in a later format and it got ALL screwed up. 10 minutes to go until classes come in and I am frantic. I am trying to fix it and make it look presentable and readable. I get it fixed and then establish that NONE of my links work. I was unaware that youtube does not open in Stow HS. My co-op said that I would have had to embed the links....little late now. SO my video on history that were really cool, I couldn't use. 1st period came in and I seriously had to wing it. Luckily I had an extra worksheet in my unit plan folder than I gave out and we spent a little more time going over their projects. It was terrifying but exciting. My co-op said I did very well for having to fix everything on the spot and make a new lesson.

I guess I really got my first experience as a teacher; teachers are constantly having to revamp, redo, and fix lessons. You can't help what happens especially with technology, but you should always be prepared.

I am now going to go through ALL my powerpoints, re-do them to work at stow. If anyone knows where I can get an adaptor cord for a MacBook that can hook up to the smartboard cord let me know! Today is in-service so tomorrow will be day 2! Wish me luck!

Getting excited for next week!

A week from today I start my unit! I was sitting in period 2 and my students (after my co-op went to the neighboring classroom) were laughing at how bored they were. They looked at me and said "don't be boring next week please!" I laughed and promised them I was the farthest thing from boring. I think they are excited for me to start. My co-op said I seem to have everything in order and enjoyed my unit plan. I'm just hoping it goes well and the students like the activities. I use a lot of simulation leads and that is going to be VERY different for them. We'll see how it goes!

Frustration

Today, as I'm sitting in my observation hours, I was talking to my co-op about how many days off Stow has had recently. He went through and told me the rest of the in-services Stow had. He told me that Tuesday, November 3 was an in-service day. I felt my heart drop. November 3 was the day that I was scheduled to be observed by my professor. I looked at him and said, "you're kidding me?" He was like no why? I had to control my tone but I was pissed. I was like, "that's the 2nd day of my unit and the day my professor is suppose to come observe me! I had NO idea there was an in-service." My co-op is a really nice guy, but he is very laid back and didn't seem to realize it was a big deal. He said he was sorry and we would work something out. Then we talked about how the aviation kids (who are my first 2 periods) might have a field trip during my unit. I asked when, and he said it was up to the science teacher. FRUSTRATION! I talked to the science teacher with my co-op and he said he hadn't planned it yet, but would do it around my observation days. I explained to both gentlemen how important these observations were to my course and that it is important that we schedule them and stick with it.

I am just frustrated with this whole experience. I was excited when I first started at Stow that my co-op was so laid back, but as I have gone on I have realized that I would rather have a helicopter co-op. I am his first student teacher so I realize he hasn't gone through the process before from his side, but he has gone through it on my side. So I kinda wish he'd think back to when he was a student teacher and see it from my perspective. Basically he just agrees with everything. I'm not sure what he's going to think of my unit plan. Everytime I send it to him, he can't open it (some problem with his computer). My unit is much more interactive; a lot of projects, a lot of simulation activities. His class, is strongly lecture and discussion. He is an intelligent man, and knows his content area, but I don't see ANY creativity.

A part of me wishes I was back at North HS. I had an amazing experience there. The saddest part is that Stow was my #1 pick for a school. I guess I just never imagined it to be like this..

Hopefully my unit won't be as stressful as this pre-unit is. I'm stressed. Very much so. Nothing is going right and I don't want to upset anyone...ugh!

Sorry for venting! Just needed to get it out there. It's a writing process so that's what this is here for right?

Getting anxious to start my unit

I start my unit November 2nd and I feel like this is the final countdown. I am RIDICULOUSLY anxious, nervous, excited, scared, worried, happy about it. I think I have planned a strong unit (without the help of my co-op). I am a little frustrated that my co-op didn't really give me much guidance except saying daily reading quizzes and making sure to mention John Kowles (the author of our class novel) is a homosexual and how it might impact the reading of the novel. I think my students are in for a surprise when I start teaching. They are use to my co-op's very structured style of read, talk, quiz, read, talk, quiz, read, talk, review, test. That's just not me and I can't do it. They are going to be doing A LOT of simulation leads that might not go over well at first, but I think it will grow with my unit. I anticipate them really liking them more and more (besides, I am bringing food for 2 of the days!)

SO yah, I am excited and I will keep you all posted as I go through the process!

Hungry Minds in the real world

I feel very fortunate that I am able to volunteer my time at the Salvation Army of Summit County. This past weekend we went and I got to witness something very similar to the writing workshop of Chelsea in the article "Hungry Minds." When I got to the center in Akron, I saw a conference room with a group of elementary school students in 2 local HS students. I sat in the lobby listening and watching and realized they were doing a version of a writing workshop. They were working on a poetry project the students had in school. The HS students had the younger students read their poem allowed and every student had to say 1 thing they did well. The HS students then gave them a "helpful critique" and they moved on.

The students were engaged and seemed to be enjoying their time. I spoke to one of the workers at the center and they said this was their homework help time. These HS students really saw a need for writing help and decided to set up this time to help these young students improve their writing skills.

These students don't have alot. Many, I was told, have been homeless or are currently homeless. Yet they still are doing their homework. They come in and out of the center with their family, constantly needing a warm place to rest and a nice warm meal. How are these poor students suppose to focus on writing when their poor little worlds are so much more difficult?

I think the writing workshop for them, like the people of Chelsea, is an awesome idea. I am interested in maybe reaching out and helping start a program with them (if I can find some spare Saturdays) that allows students to write about their lives and then bring it to our workshop. I was very inspired by the work the center did in Chelsea and I think we as future teachers owe that to our community to do the same.

Writer's Worshop

When I first purchased books for the semester, I glanced at titles. When I saw the "Modern Library Writer's Workshop," by Stephen Koch I seriously might have groaned. I have gone through the English classes where they give you a text book on how to read a book, or how to write a paper and they all bore me tears. I figured this was going to be another one of those books. However, this book was an exception. Stephen Koch presents the idea of the writer and his/her text in a way that I wish every other author of how to write books do.

Koch breaks the chapters into ideas such as style, characters, and the life of a writer and the process they face.

The one chapter I really enjoyed was "The Writing Life," in particularly the section entitled A Writers Time. Koch says, "everything you write will take longer than you think it should." (45). I feel this is an important idea for people to realize. Writing isn't always an easy over night process. It can take days, weeks, months, or years. I have been working on a piece FOREVER, and when I first started it I thought I would be done in a month. 2 years later and I'm still working on it and I don't know when I will finish it. This is an idea we need to teach our students. Procrastination can happen, we all are guilty of it, however you need to allow yourself enough time to write. I hope to give my students adequate time for writing projects and I really hope they utilize it because they don't really understand how long it will take them.

This section also talks about writing everyday. It is important to maintain your progress as a writer to write every day. I feel I am fortunate because through all my different jobs, I do write everyday. Whether my writing is for pleasure, for business like in e-mails, or for class related things like lesson plans. I find myself in the summer not writing as much and I can tell it takes me sometime to get back into the swing of things come August. I think allowing students the chance to write every day is going to something I want to do. I think journaling or blogging will be important.

Over all, this book has a lot of great ideas and suggestions. I think this is an important text for every English teacher to have on their book shelf. I plan on using pages in lessons hopefully in the spring with my students.

A writing activity gone wrong in my Shakespeare class

So, I am in the 3000 level Shakespeare class. I love my professor; he teaches everything so well. HOWEVER, this semester he decided to add in a new part to the class, a "modern translation section." This section allows a group (that we do not pick) to translate a scene into modern every day English and perform it. That's fine and dandy but I have established that my group does not have the same style or voice as one another. My idea of funny is not the same as another group members. It has become the most frustrating writing experience of my life. Everytime I send a piece in to one of my group members, she changes it! I read through it and realize, that's not my voice coming through but hers! And then when she turns in "her"version of my writing, our professor says we are not getting the point of the assignment and we aren't being funny. I don't understand how he can make us do this group translation when I don't read things the same or write the same as the person next to me.

This group project has taught me that I need to be aware of things of this nature when I assign people into groups. I need to find projects that EVERY voice is heard, not just the over-zealous student who wants it her way. I need to find ways for students to feel comfortable in their groups that they can speak out and say, "no, please don't change that line. That is how I would like to portray my character."

Off topic of teaching...

Just wanted to say how excited I am! This week is homecoming week and I am a member of our Homecoming Court! I am soooooo honored to be on court. It doesn't matter to me whether I win queen or not, court is just the coolest opportunity.

Just wanted to share my excitement with you all :)

"Hungry Minds: Tales from a Chelsea soup kitchen"

At first reading this article, I couldn't figure out why I was reading it for an Education class and not a short story class. This piece seemed to have all the qualities of a short story that professors want you to read in your Freshman year course. But for some reason, I couldn't stop reading it. It was interesting and I don't know if it is because I love hearing about history, I love hearing about how others help others, or if I love hearing about religion and how over time things change. But all I know is that the author, Ian Frazier, captured my attention. He describes the set up of the soup kitchen so well that I feel as if I could walk outside my door and step right into it. It is interesting how you feel connected to these people. These writers, soup kitchen workers, and members of the church. You feel as though you could drive to Chelsea near the end of May on a Wednesday night and listen to these wonderfully different stories, poems, and excerpts of novels.

I love the way this article connected the idea of a workshop, which is what we have been talking and reading about so much in Nancy Atwell's book and other articles. Workshops bring people together; they allow people to open to talk about their backgrounds, their struggles, their heart aches, and their success. It is a community that bridges all types of people together and brings them back time and time again. I enjoyed the way Frazier ended his piece by saying, "you can imagine that the floor of the church, the pavement of Ninth Avenue, the asphalt in Chelsea Park, and the shiny surface of the Hudson River a few blocks away are all connected, one continuous terrestrial floor. As the evening advances and the sunset fades, the lights inside the church brighten. It's a benign time of the day to be in a church, or any public space open to the evening. For a moment, the whole city seems to flow in with the air." It is so poetic and insightful. It shows that the writing that these people do bridges time and space and people. It brings them together. Isn't that what we aim to do as teachers? Bridge our students together no matter their differences. Every one is an equal in a writing workshop. Everyone has fears and problems that they are forced to deal with.

Maybe I am reading WAY to into this but I was just inspired by the language, the mood, and the symbolism of Frazier's piece. It was beautifully written and I hope something I can use to inspire others.

In the Middle and The Future of Reading...they go so well together

I dreaded doing the reading assignments for class. I just felt like I had so much going on and reading a book about someone else's experience teaching just bored me thinking about it. Typically most books about educational practices are dull, irrelevant, and put me to sleep. But I was so very surprised that by chapter one I found myself wanting to read more. I even took notes (I know, I was shocked myself). I felt like dweeb because I found myself reading passages to my boyfriend over the phone or explaining to him some of her ideas. Being a former education major, he amused me, but I knew he wasn't thrilled. I then took the book into my co-op teacher he sounded as thrilled as my boyfriend. But once he started glancing through the text he was like "Oh wow, that is a cool idea. I wonder how that would work here?" I thought that was my glimmer of hope that maybe we can workshop in the spring when we do research papers, but I guess I'll have to wait and see on that one.

In the beginning of chapter one, Atwell quotes Glenda Bissex saying, "The logic by which we teach is not always the logic by which children learn." I think that is the best way to think of the whole Atwell book as well as the NY Times article "The Future of Reading". Long gone are the days where teachers read the same book year after year, for 35 years until they retire. Long gone are the days when each year papers, projects and tests are exactly the same because it was the "proven" way of doing things. Both Atwell and McNeil use techniques that are catching on across English classrooms, literature workshops. Allowing the students the chance to pick what they want to read, write what they are feeling in journals, and even write and have others in their class work with them are the wave of the future. I think this is the best thing that has happened to English classes. If every teacher were required to read and utalize Atwell's book they would see how simple yet succesful a workshop could be. Section II of her book, "Writing and Reading Workshop" is broken into sections of "Getting Ready," "Getting Started." "Minilessons," "Responding to Writers and Writing," "Responding to Readers and Reading," and finally "Valuing and Evaluating." This is the step by step process on how a workshop could work and how it can inspire students. How easy could it get?

Giving students the chance to have a say in what they do could make such a difference in education. Why force students to read and write about the same boring old topics? Why make the writing process not include others? If we allow the workshopping process we are giving our students the best we can give them. We are opening them up to helpful criticism and dialogue. We are allowing them to find their own voice, identity, and opinions, and isn't that what we as teachers are here to help do? I hope when I have my own classroom I can be like Ms.McNeil of Atlanta or Ms. Atwell, allowing my students to fulfill their ultimate potential and release their inner voice in their writing.

You can make a difference---Freedom Writers

Friday in class we had the opportunity to hear from a KSU alum who has made a difference in the lives of students who many have given up on. Ms. Pyle, a member of the Freedom Writer's, worked at the JDC, inspiring students and letting them know that there are adults in the world that believe in them. She read some excerpts from their book and give in sight to her classroom and how her students changed her. She allowed her students the chance to journal their feelings without worry that the guards or administrators would see what they wrote. One of her students wrote about the abuse he saw at home. His parents didn't want him, and when his grandparents got him they didn't want him. He was torn down constantly. Finally he got a puppy, something that showed him love unconditionally. But one day when his grandfather was yelling at his grandmother, the puppy got scared and had an accident in the house. The grandfather made the boy take his puppy outside; the boy knew he was about to lose his best friend. The grandfather made the boy watch as he shot his puppy. It is no wonder that this student never trusted adults when all his life adults failed him. That story just broke my heart.

I feel Ms. Pyles story of giving these students a chance to free their feelings through journaling, through class discussion, is something I want to do in my classroom. I have wanted to teach in an inner-city class and be able to do things like the Freedom Writers do. I want to inspire students, make a difference and teach them to write out their feelings instead of using violence.

One other thing I learned is how boring it is to read for an hour straight to students. I doubt Ms. Pyles did this to her students in the JDC; I am sure she had great teaching methods with them, however she was making some of us sleepy. It was early morning and just hearing her read was not helping the cause. I think maybe had she opened it up for more discussion, or did stuff to get us moving, while occasionally reading excerpts from her book, it would have been more rewarding for all.

Over all, this experience to hear from a Freedom Writer was an awesome opportunity that I think more teachers need to do. I would love to someday be a part of their organization .

Getting use to this

This is just a test post for me...I'm new to the whole blogging idea.

I am excited to discuss my thoughts and opinions usin this site. It seems like a great tool that I am more and more interested in using with my students.