Williamsme1's Blog

I really enjoyed reading this article and found it very helpful.  Not being able to read on the level the teacher is requiring, impacts everything they are asked to do in the classroom.  If they are not reading on the same grade level as their classmates, they will fall significantly behind.  If a student has no idea what he/she is reading, their fluency will not improve, and neither will their comprehension.  I sometimes worry about being able to find reading-level material for my class as a whole, along with my low-level readers.  I feel that if I select texts that are too easy, my higher-level readers and grade-level readers will become bored and less interested in what they are reading.  If I select a text that is on grade-level, my low readers will struggle to read and understand the material or comprehend the story.  What is a teacher to do? 

In CI 3110, we just finished the book Blue by Joyce Hostetter.  I really enjoyed this book and did not think it was too difficult for upper elementary students.  We discussed in class what grade level we thought the book would best suit.  We decided that if the book was read aloud by the teacher, third grade would be appropriate. If the book was done independently or read aloud in class by students, fourth or fifth grade would be an appropriate match.  I think the book would be great to read in fourth grade because that is when students learn about North Carolina history, and since this book takes place right here in Hickory, NC, students might enjoy the book more because of that fact.  The lists that were provided in the article will be quite helpful when I become an elementary school teacher.  Sometimes, especially for new teachers, it can be overwhelming to try and fit in everything that has to be taught.  Teachers have to integrate the curriculum in some way.  This article shows practicing teachers, as well as students, like me, how to do this the best way.

The dictionary has a few different definitions for the word “poetry”, but I chose to list the one I thought would be most helpful.  Poetry is, “the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts” (Dictionary.com).  Some synonyms for the word include:  verse, rime, lyricism, song, and stanza.  When I think about poetry, the definition above and the words listed as synonyms are not what I envision.  When I think of poetry, I think of random words written down that are sometimes misread or misinterpreted, and of course the dreaded “rhyme”.  I have always feared writing poetry because of the “rules” each poem is given.  Some poems have to rhyme, some poems have to have so many syllables on each line, some have to have so many words, etc.  However, after reading the texts we were assigned in class, my fears have become less of a fear and have developed into excitement.  I want my students to see that poetry does not always have to have “rules”.  Sometimes you can write about anything you want; just like Jack in Love That Dog.  It doesn’t always have to make sense to the reader, as long as the author enjoys writing/reading it.   Free verse is one of the best ways to introduce poetry to the class.  In fact, I think it should be introduced first, before all the “rules” of writing poetry are introduced.  I think free verse is a great way to open students up to writing and get their thoughts and feelings on paper.  If students know they can write about anything in the world, they will choose something that inspires them, not what inspires the teacher.  I enjoyed all the poetry books we read and found them very helpful.  These books have opened my eyes and helped me see that poetry really is “the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts” (Dictionary.com).

The first book I want to discuss is Love That Dog.  I really, really, really (see the similarity), liked this book and the way in which it was written.  I thought that the author of this book was really clever in the way she wrote from the perspective of a student who was learning about poetry.  At first, Jack did not want his name to be written on any of his poems because he thought they were not good enough to claim.  After writing for about three months, Jack was still not sure what he was writing was really poetry.  I think that is a misconception that a lot of students have about poetry.  Love That Poetry emphasizes the need to ask students what they like and dislike about poetry.  Students dread poetry because they think they have to be written a certain way and have to rhyme.  I always found it really tough to rhyme words.  I focused more on the words rhyming, and not the context of the poem.  A lot of students do not think about all the different ways they can write poetry.  According to the author of Love That Poetry, “Free verse poems invite children to break with the tradition of rhyme and offer the freedom to focus on thought patterns, phrasal boundaries, and precise word choice where the emphasis in on feelings and meaning over form” (Love That Poetry 1). Students who feel they are incapable of writing poetry, have not been exposed to all the different ways in which they can write poetry.  Students will have more of a desire to write poetry when they are given a chance to write about what they like and are interested in.  I really like the idea of concrete poems and think students would really enjoy writing a concrete poem in a shape they construct.  I remember writing concrete poems in the sixth grade and them being my favorite.

I was introduced to Mr. Walter Dean Myers, just like Jack, through poetry.  Brown Angels is an amazing book of poetry.  I see why Jack wanted Mr. Myers to come read his poems in the classroom.  I think that this poetry book would be great to introduce during the beginning of a poetry lesson. The poems in this book are not the typical poems that a child envisions when thinking about poetry.  Most of the poems have no rhyme, and are written in a free style sort of way.  The pictures are also a great addition to the poems.  Children love pictures, and when they can relate pictures with a poem, they can begin to develop their own ideas for the poems they write.  This is also a great book to introduce during the month of February, which is black history month.  This would be a great time to talk to students about being comfortable in their own skin and knowing that no matter their color or race, we are all perfect in God’s eyes.

All the Small Poems and Fourteen More was my favorite out of all three books.  I liked this book of poems because I thought kids would like it and could easily relate to it.  It is made up of free verse poetry, which students tend to like.  I love how Valerie Worth takes ordinary objects and writes about them.  She writes about chairs, hoses, crickets, pies, etc.  Anything that she sees and feels like writing a poem about, she does just that.  I choose to look at the Safety Pin poem in more detail.  I love how she compares the safety pin to small fish and shrimp, which we know is a simile.  She uses words like silver, tail out, thin, sharp point, etc. to describe the safety pin and give the reader a vivid picture of what is being described.  The subject of this poem is a safety pin and the qualities it has; e.g. opening and closing.  The poem is written with short lines; each line being no more than three words.  The safety pin feels sharp, quiet, and thin.  The safety pin lies quietly on its side  while it sleeps, and when is opened it snaps its tail out and looks at the sharp point with a surprised eye.  A safety pin is used to mend things together and attach materials to other materials.  The author writes about objects and the way they look to her.  She compares the objects to things she feels represent them, which may be different than someone else who is writing about the same object.  Some patterns I do note include:  The two stanzas each start out with describing words that describe the two uses of a safety pin.  “Closed, it sleeps; Opened, it snaps”.  Also, when the safety pin is both opened and closed it is described as looking like a fish from the ocean.  Both stanzas consist of seven lines.  The author gives the safety pin life: Closed it sleeps; Opened it snaps its tail out; Looks at the sharp point with a surprised eye.  She gives the safety pin life-like qualities, which is better known as personification.  She uses simile when she compares an opened safety pin to a shrimp.  She uses the word “like” to compare the two.  However, when she compares the closed safety pin to small fish, she does not use “like” or “as”, therefore making it a metaphor.

Name:  Megan

Pronounced:  MEG-an

Origin:  Greek; Welsh

Meganing:  Pearl; Little Pearl

Megan is the Welsh diminutive of Margaret. 

In the English Speaking world outside Wales it has only been reguarly used since the middle of the 20th century.

The form of Megan may have been borrowed from, or given rise to such abbreviated forms of Meg, Maggie, and Mags.

Megan was the most popular girls name in Welsh in 2006, and came in second place in 2007.

There are 226, 723 people in the US with the name Megan.  There are 1,289 people in the US with the name Megan Williams.

My mom and dad gave me the name Megan Elizabeth Williams.  My mom said my name was given to me because of a character in the book, The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough.  The character in the book was named Meghann ”Meggie” Cleary.  My mom said that when she read this book, and even watched the movie, she knew she wanted one of her girls to be named Megan.  She loved everything about the character in the book, which inspired her to give me that name.  Of course, the spelling is different, but is pronounced the same way.  Elizabeth was given to me by my mom and dad.  My sister’s best friend was named Elizabeth, and they thought Megan Elizabeth sounded good together.  If my dad had named me, I would be Alethea.  He loved that name so much.  He thought it was so beautiful.  I’m glad I am Megan though .

HOT Blogging:  A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking 

 By:  Lisa Zawilinski 

I really enjoyed this article.  I feel that blogging is a great way to involve parents in what their children are learning.  It is also a great way to review homework assignments, spelling lists, classroom rules, etc.  Blogging has become a big part of the cyber world, and is being used more and more in the classroom.  I feel it is important for teachers to utilize tools , such as blogs, in order to teach students how to use the internet as a learning tool.  Students who are exposed to these twenty-first century technologies will have a great deal of knowledge that others may not have.  We live in a fast-paced world where everything is evolving and changing.  In order to keep up with society, teachers must learn new ways to teach their students.  Now a days, most every student in a college classroom has a laptop.  Students are not using pencil and paper like they did 10 years ago.  In just 10 years we have gone from writing everything down, to writing nothing down.  Most everything we do is electronic, and it is important to teach young children how to use these great technologies to aid in their learning.  The younger we start teaching children how to type on a computer, search on the internet, and even blog in the classroom, the better prepared they will be for college, and even in the workforce. 

The author of this article has many great ideas about how to blog in the classroom.  I think it is wonderful that students want to share their work with classmates.  Students may work so hard on something and only get to share it with the teacher.  It is a great idea to let students show their hard work to their classmates.  It is also a great way to build self-esteem in one’s own work, as well as help others see things in a different perspective.  Last semester was my first time ever using a blog.  I really like using a blog, and love reading my classmates’ posts.  I encourage all teachers to use blogs in their classroom.  Some teachers may feel uncomfortable using blogs in their classrooms because it is something new and they may not know enough about them to feel comfortable using them.  I really encourage teachers to learn more about the advances of the internet and blogging so that our youngsters’ can be one step ahead in our ever changing world.

Image provided by Google.com

     I do not typically like to read, and when I am given a reading assignment, I dread it and put it off as late as I can.  However, this book made me change my mind.  I didn’t put it off until last-minute, and decided to give it a try.  I really enjoyed reading this book.  I did not feel like I was just reading boring material on the same thing “what to do and not do with your students”.  All of the information from Chapters 1 and 2 was helpful.  The author has some wonderful strategies to use to help students become engaged in writing in their writing notebooks.  I too find myself struggling sometimes to find something to write about at times, and these strategies have helped me, as well as I know it will help my students when they do not know what to write about.  I agree with the author, and feel that after you have presented your students with various ways to write in their writer’s notebook, it is okay to let them start writing all by themselves.   If you are always giving students a prompt or topic to write about, you will never learn anything new and students will not be given a chance to write what they want.  For example, if a student wanted to write about something that happened over the weekend that was really cool, and they are given a prompt, they will not be as excited to write, thus not writing well. 

     I feel there are many purposeful reasons for a Writer’s Notebook.  First and foremost, I feel it is a great way for children to express their thoughts and experiences on paper.  For students who struggle talking in front of others or are very shy, writing in a notebook is a great way to get them talking.  It is a great way to help students not forget ideas, experiences, memories, etc.  I was required to write in a Writer’s Notebook my eight grade year in Social Studies and Language Arts.  In Social Studies we were not required to write about anything in particular, just what we wanted to write about.  However, in Language Arts, we were given a prompt, like “tell me what you are doing this weekend”.  I did not like that because if I did not have anything planned for the weekend, my entry was pretty short and boring.  I wanted to write about something I found interesting and exciting.  In Social Studies class though, I got to write about things that I enjoyed.  Because I got to write about things that I liked, I kept the notebook and still occasionally read it.  I like going back and looking at things I wrote and things I did.  I couldn’t even tell you where my Language Arts Notebook is. 

     A Writer’s Notebook also helps students start writing; really writing.  Just writing down your spelling words or answers to questions in a textbook is not writing.  When I was in Elementary School, I was most happiest when I got to write.  I absolutely loved to write.  Writing fictional stories using my imagination and creativeness was so much fun.  Unfortunately, schools have become more textbook driven, and fail to give students enough time to write and be creative.  Students have so many thoughts and ideas they want to get out, but may not be allowed time to do so.  Writing in a notebook helps students get their ideas out on paper.

    My goals as a teacher of writing, is simple.  Let my students write.  I do not want my students to groan and moan when they hear it is time to get out our Writer’s Notebook.  I want them to be waiting for me to say it, and then when I do, rush to get their notebooks and begin writing with a smile on their face.  But in reality, not all students are going to be excited about writing.  It is my job to help those students who do not like to write, become better writers and maybe enjoy it in the process.  I remember that when my teacher would give me writing prompts, that I really could not relate to, I struggled to get anything down on paper.  I think it is good to get to know your students, and when you get to know their likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies, etc., you can begin to help them write about things they do enjoy, which will get them more excited about writing.  Giving them a prompt about their favorite ice cream and why may not be the best choice for a student who has never eaten ice cream or dislikes ice cream.  Get to know your students.  This will be beneficial to you and your students. 

    Getting a Writer’s Notebook started may be the hardest part of the writing process.  Students may have had not so great experiences with Writing Notebooks in earlier grades, and may have mixed feelings about them.  I think that the author of Notebook Know-How has some great strategies for getting the notebook started.  I like the idea of getting them started with some strategies about what to write, and them letting them do their own thing.  Read a story to them and then relate the story to their own lives.  This will help them discover things to write about that they would have never discovered without the help of a simple story.  It could even be a picture book.  I have always heard that readers make the best writers.

Me writing at age 3.