Student teaching has begun...

SO I am officially a student teacher and I love every minute of it! My students are wonderful and they make this experience worth while. My cooperating teacher has been so great with me. He has kept me calm and made me understand that you take things as they come and not to get too worried.

The only thing that I hate is the lack of sleep I am getting. It is crazy...I just am tired all the time.

I also miss Brice more than ever. Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I can't wait to see him for that!

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