Fables and Fairytales

We have been reading the graphic novel Fables by Bill Willingham in my classes. I have used the text across the board for every level. I know graphic novels are traditionally used for struggling readers but I've used them for students ranging from pre-AP to inclusion. I found that all of my students not only enjoy them but learn from them.

The majority of my students have been so excited about the text that I have to tell them to put away their books and focus on the class. It's wonderful to have students who care about the text. I actually have one student that went home, downloaded the book and has already read that book and the next two in the series.  The problem I am facing now is that I only have 30 copies of the text and 160 students. So, we have to do all reading in class. Because of this limitation I have to cut some of my actual instructional strategies. I feel as if time and materials are preventing me from doing the in depth teaching I would like to.


One of the strategies I was able to use was a Socratic seminar. This activity was incredibly fun and fruitful. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed using this in my classroom. When I read about the strategy, it honestly seems a little boring, but in practice it was awesome.The most difficult part of the strategy was keeping myself in the role of facilitator and limiting my opinions/ input. I know you're all surprised, I had trouble not talking. I usually talk so much in class because I HATE dead quiet time in class. I can't stand it when a teacher asks a question and the students just stare back, allowing the awkward silence to fill the air. It's a waste of everyone's time, it's boring, it's annoying and it's rude. I understand people who are shy or honestly don't know, but someone should say something. I don't mind the silence in my own classroom, nor do I talk over my students. I allow them ample time to share their responses. Staying silent for the Socratic seminar was difficult because I had to let some teachable moments go in order to allow conversation to move.

As soon as we passed out the standardized tests on Wednesday the energy in my classroom flew out the door. I could actually feel a significant change in the atmosphere when the tests were distributed. I know that my students will need an energetic activity to start Monday off with. We are using Monday to finish up a writing assignment they started this week, so I have time in class to do something a little fun. I haven’t decided what I want to do yet. I’m a little concerned about getting the kids too excited because then they will have trouble focusing. But, I know that if the atmosphere we had on Wednesday working will be painful for all of us anyway. Any suggestions on some good energizing activities that will not throw my students focus?

 This upcoming week I get to start my TWS and I’m very excited. I hope the unit goes as planned.  The unit as a whole is focused on fairy tales, legends and fables. The first text we are reading together is a comic book based on fairytale characters that are living as undercover refuges in our world. I have a day of frontloading planned for this text. On the frontloading day we are talking about elements of a fairytale and giving the tales of the character in the graphic novel. We are also spending time discussing how to read a graphic novel. Then the second day we are going to start reading in class together. I still haven't fully committed to what reading strategy to use. I might read aloud, but I like the stop and think sticky notes we've used in class. Has anyone had any luck with particular reading strategies? I need a strategy that will help me cover a significant amount of text in class. 

If anyone has any fairytale teaching material that has worked well for them or any tips in general on teaching fairytales/ comics, let me know : ) 

apologize that this post is a little late, I had my weeks on the syllabus mixed.

This past week I taught persuasion using guided imagery as a front loading strategy. I had my classes look at various print ads and questioned them about these ads. These questions were designed to get them thinking about the various ways ads affect them. 

Below are some examples of questions I used:

1) What is the first thought that comes to mind when you see this ad?

2) What kind of emotional response do you have from this ad?

3) Is there bright colors, someone famous or anything else that stands out about the ad?

4) What is this ad trying to sell you?

5) What is the story in this ad? 

 

Below are a few of the images I used:

 

     

One of the results of this strategy that was most interesting to me was the unpredictability of student results. Many students found details and meanings in the ad that I had not noticed before, despite having carefully picked out the ads for the lessons. One student pointed out that in the Lebron James ad there was a typo and for him it ruins the ad. This comment flowed nicely into a conversation about the authority appeal.

I enjoyed using this strategy and feel that it worked well for my students. They seemed to be more invested in the lesson that followed the guided imagery.

Literacy in the Classroom; Placement Week 1

I am currently trying to write this blog from a very old computer using my phone's internet. I will do my best to avoid spelling and grammar errors.

This past week I was lucky enough to see first hand numerous literacy comprehension techniques implemented. We have been reading Romeo and Juliet and this week we acted out scenes from the text. This is a perfect example of a discrepant event. The student's were highly attentive and involved. They learned a lot about the mood of the play as well as the characters.

We also watched a movie of Romeo and Juliet. During the movie, I used questioning to help deepen comprehension. For example I asked questions like why Romeo is so upset over banishment, or why Nurse tells Juliet to marry Paris after Romeo is banished. By using questioning, I found myself surprised at many of the inferences and conclusions my students could draw. One of the most helpful aspects of this technique was that students who did not draw the inferences were learning from their peers.

Literacy Timeline and Textual Lineage Reflection

Writing my own literacy timeline was eye opening in many ways. I had never before reflected on my literacy history. One aspect of my timeline that really stood out to me was that I learned to read music and write my name before I could read text. After noticing this I started to think about the kids in my life and their literacy. I realized that all of them are learning to write the alphabet and spell their names before they're being asked to to read sentences. This is really strange to me. It seems like we should teach kids to read before they write. This observation leaves me wanting to do some research into why we learn to write first because it seems like putting the cart before the horse to me.

The first book I have on my timeline is a children's book called Rabbit Hill. I haven't thought about this book in years, but I have very fond memories of my mother reading it to me. I ordered the book off of Amazon.com, and started re-reading it the other day. It wasn't until now that I realized the book is full of social commentary. I wonder how many other texts of my youth have social agendas behind them. I'm suddenly very skeptical of the Golden Books. ( I still and always will love Rabbit Hill).

I love the idea of teaching literacy timeline in my class. While literacy territories are a great way for some to get to know themselves as readers, it did not help me much. After attempting to create my territories I realized I simply had a couple of pages of seemingly random things I like to read occasionally sorted into categories. I now know my problem was a lack of focus. The timeline forced me to focus my attention to my literacy in a chronological way. After creating the timeline, I went back and tried to create territories again and was much more successful in creating something meaningful to me. When I teach literacy identity in my class, I will first have students create a timeline and then territories.

Reading Blog

This is my first blog. This post is just a test.