Drive by Daniel Pink

After reading this chapter, I found myself pondering the following two thoughts....

1) I love the ideas in here, especially about homework and model-schools that do creative, innovative things.

2) None of this would fly in a public school.

Sometimes I feel like teaching at a private school or a semi-private/semi-public charter school is the way to go! Can a lowly English teacher make so much change in the public school atmosphere that we can implement Do It Yourself Report Cards? I am betting that current public school teachers would read this and think, "Wow, that's pie in the sky kinda stuff." Do I see the value in them? Yes. Do I see how they mean SO much more than regular report cards? Yes. Do I see myself using it? No. Because I will never be allowed to in a public school.

I find myself struggling with the same idea all of the time: I am going to be equipped with all of these great ideas and tools, only to enter a teaching world that won't allow me to implement any of them. It's a constant uphill battle. Nobody said it would be easy, and I like a good challenge, but could I make a bigger difference in a private school where I can start implementing fresh, new, innovative ideas from the start? I am trying to teach to make a difference in people's lives more than anything English-content related. As progressive teachers, I feel like we have so much working against us.

My next frustrating thought was WHERE in the world are all of these amazing schools that provide students with such creative and engaging outlets? With that in mind, I went to all of the websites for the example schools in the article.

1) Big Picture schools look great. There are 60+ around the country. Awesome! There's one in Kensington in Philly which is the closest to us. A Washington DC school is second closest. The article says the flagship school in Rhode Island is public; however, I noticed that the Big Picture affiliation accepts donations from major sponsors like the Bill Gates Foundation, for example. It appears there is a hybrid setup with both public and private funding. I did some research on the Met in Rhode Island because it was mentioned in the article...

"As a public, state-funded school, The Met accepts all students through a random lottery system, which occurs in March. We are mandated to accept 75% of our student body from the city of Providence and the remaining 25% from the rest of Rhode Island."

2) Sudbury Valley School is an independent school in Massachusetts. It is actually within an umbrella association of schools in the Sudbury system (or schools that operate very similar to them). There's one that is local! The Circle School in Harrisburg. Anyone know more about it? Tuition at the school in Massachusetts is $7,400 per year.

3) The Tinkering Schools are my favorite so far (and I'm working through these in order). The school that recently opened up in San Francisco called Brightworks is ridiculously amazing. PLEASE research this one. http://sfbrightworks.org/ Maybe I am really excited about this because I see myself living in San Francisco one day, but if nothing else, it looks like a really interesting place. Tuition at Brightworks for the 2011-2012 school year is $19,800.

4) The Puget Sound Community School places a huge emphasis on teachers as mentors/coaches rather than lecturers/dictators. Self-direction seems key. It looks great! Tuition for the 2011-2012 school year is $15, 500.

5) The Montessori Schools have been around for a really long time. It looks like the New School here in Lancaster is one. http://www.newschool.net/ I am glad to see one that is really close to here! Tuition for a middle school student is just under $9,000 per year.

I pointed out tuition rates for these schools. They are all private schools except for Big Picture. The author, Daniel Pink, made a connection between...

-All of these great things teachers/parents can do

with

-A bunch of schools we will probably never teach at unless we go the private route.

Sigh.

-Taz

DI Debate

When you get the chance, read the debate over Differentiated Instruction that is occurring on the New York Times. You'll see how educators view it in a range of ways.http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/10/02/are-top-students-getting-short-shrift

"Drive"

As we get closer to the day when we all enter our designated schools to begin our journey through student teaching, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want that classroom to look like during the time I hold the student's learning in my hands. It is a daunting thought, at times. At other times I am liberated and want to run out tomorrow. In the midst of the preparation, I am thankful for readings like "Drive". I really loved this reading because it seems to hold multiple meanings (maybe it's supposed to and I am just very tired, hmmm- I think that may be possible). I get out of it that the student is the driver of their own education, they are in control. I also get that it is up to us as educators to help the students find drive (motivation) to meet their own goals.

There is an idea that keeps resonating in my mind. I am doing a unit plan on themes found in The Merchant of Venice and am thinking about DI and how to incorporate that into my lesson plans. I am thinking about the section of the reading where the author is talking about letting the student take control of their learning. Right after I read that I looked down on some notes I had written while reading Chapter 8 of Bridging English (drama) and saw the example of Absorption Exchange which is re-enacting scenes or scenes from a play. I have several examples of Shylock's "Hath not a Jew" speech. Would the re-enacting of a speech or scene involving the character they are studying and the theme that they represent be a good activity that represents DI? Thank you in advance for any input concerning this question.

Identity and Facebook: A Rambling

My roommate deleted her Facebook for a month and told me it was liberating. I've wanted to do the same thing for a long time, but I always chicken out. My reasons are mostly related to my procrastination habits, but I've also been thinking a lot about Facebook and identity.

How weird is it that I can tell people exactly what I want other people to know about myself? This information can range from as mundane as my favorite sports team to something as major as my religious beliefs, political views, and overall ideologies. Huh?

I've also been thinking about it as a future teacher. I feel thankful that FB didn't exist during my middle school years. I have enough embarrassing memories and photos of that period! Our future students don't have this, for lack of a better word, luxury. Many students now document their every move on Facebook.

And they've created separate online identities, too. In theory, the cool thing about Facebook is that allows you to shape others' perceptions of you: the unpopular kid can post photos to show everybody else how many friends he has, the weirdo can like the same movies as everyone else.

But if I were a middle schooler, that concept would terrify me. I still don't know who I am, but I definitely didn't know who I was when I was in middle school. I was sure I would become a judge, news reporter, or actress. I had no idea of my identity.

Students now are charged with crafting two identities: their school identity and their online identity. Are they the same, or are they different? (When I was in 7th grade, I told everybody I loved Good Charlotte but I actually loved my dad's Billy Joel tunes---which "favorite artist" would I put online?)

And as teachers, how do we deal with this? Secondary students are in the prime age of figuring out who they are and what they want to be. Juggling the usual pressures of school and puberty while also making sure their Facebook statuses get sufficient "likes" must be tough.

I think, in striving for relevancy, we tell our students that it's okay for identities to be malleable. It's okay to not know who you are right at this exact second, as long as what you're doing feels right. It's okay to not know what you want to be---because identity is comprised of many things. It's okay to feel confused, and it's okay to try new things.

It's okay not to know who you are. You'll figure it out. But in the meantime, don't try to figure it all out on Facebook.

Breaking UBD Down

Hello there.

Here is a link to a PowerPoint that breaks down UBD a little more:

http://www.grantwiggins.org/documents/mtuniontalk.pdf

Revision Checklist for Poetry

Hi,

I went to the talk at F&M today featuring three Lancaster writing teachers. It was really interesting and beneficial. One woman gave out this handout about poetry, which I thought was very helpful. Although it's a revision checklist for poetry, I could also see myself using it to kind of get my ideas flowing, too.

It's divided into four categories: A(add) R(remove) M(move) S(Subsitute)---ARMS!

A. Do you need to add more to let the reader know a little more?

Is each part of the poem strong?

Do you use sound devices like alliteration or rhythm?

Do you use interesting details that give the reader a picture?

Do you use poetic devices like similes, metaphors, or personification?

R. Do you need to remove parts of your poem?

Do your details support the thread of the poem?

Does the beginning of the poem set up the scene too much?

Is the ending too much of a closing, or summing up?

M. Do you need to move parts of your lines?

Do you need to change the order of your stanzas?

S. Did you use interesting and original words in interesting ways?

Did you use words that give us a picture?

Did you use words that make us care by giving us your own feelings?

Technology Use in Differentiated Instruction

Using and incorporating the wide variety of technology we have been introduced to in our TED class would be a great way to have differentiated instruction in the product of students’ work. Many of the technological tools, such as Glogster and Animoto, meet multiple of the different learning needs of students. Creating video, imagery, and audio clips would greatly benefit auditory and visual learners.

For example, in my unit on poetry I could have students create a Glog, which is an online poster that uses video, images, text, and audio, to serve as a sort of backdrop or background for their poetic performance. This would allow students to express their poetry in ways that go beyond written text. Students could use, instrumental music or powerful imagery to enhance their poems. The art of “performing” poetry in and of itself is a kind of differentiated assessment, for students can present their works in any way they see fit.

Another way technology could be used for differentiated instruction is through the tic-tac-toe method. By providing students with multiple forms of technology, they would be able to choose which one they like best. This would take student interest into account and would give them a sense of freedom or power (which may make the project more attractive to them).

I strongly believe that technology can be implemented into the D.I. process as well. Showing students movies, having them listen to songs, and promoting group discussion through blogs are all excellent ways to meet the various learning needs of our students. We have all seen firsthand how effective these techniques are and how they can really pique interest and engagement. Therefore, I think it is essential we attempt to replicate this “learning community through technology” into our future classrooms.

Sermon

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you all know know that I will be giving a sermon at Stehman Memorial United Methodist Church this Sunday, October 30. The service starts at 10:10 am and is being run by the Junior High Sunday School class (9-12th grade). If anyone is interested in coming just let me know, and I'd be more than happy to give you directions (it's only about 3 miles away of Millersville's campus). We are all very friendly and welcoming! :)

Philly Museum Film Exhibit on Humanity, Poverty, and a Dying City. A Must See!!

Hey yall!

October fifteenth I went to the Philly Museum of Art with my dad to check out this exhibit (along with checking out some real Rembrandts!)... I immediately thought of class, and how we are always making an attempt to reach our students through contemporary texts and technology. I strongly encourage each one of you to check this out... I know Philly isn't down the street, but the exhibit is completely free and had such an impact on me that weeks later I am still contemplating it.

I'll tell you a bit about it, since the website fails to do it justice... ( http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/754.html in case you want to check it out yourself).

Live Cinema/Peripheral Stages: Mohamed Bourouissa and Tobias Zielony:
The exhibit consisted of three rooms. The entrance room of contemporary photographs, a visual study of cities and portraits documenting life around the world, in particular city decay and hardship. (Check out the film La Haine if you're interested in film/commentary on love-hate-poverty-decay-etc..). The two side rooms exhibited short films. The one that impacted me the most was a documentary of a Paris prison. The artist gave an inmate a cell phone and over the course of several years collected low-res images, short videos, text messages, and phone conversations. The two characters - artist and inmate - are strangers at the beginning of the project, and watching/hearing their relationship build is heartbreaking. I can't stop thinking about this short 20 minute film that left me aching, inspired, and contemplating. Weeks later I am still in reverie over it. While it may not be something that is on youtube or something easily integrated into a classroom, it is something I suggest everyone see for themselves. Maybe one day we will gain access to it to share with our students!

I loved, loved, loved this exhibit. Not only was it painful, mind-opening, and beautiful, it was also something that I saw myself wanting to share with others - my friends, my peers, my students. It felt important. Challenging. Edgy. Humbling. Do yourselves a favor and drive to the museum and check it out. I promise, even if you're not much of a film, photography or documentary fan, you will not be let down.

In fact, I will personally drive you! I would love to check it out again.

Unit Plan

Like Eric, I'm also struggling to create a cohesive unit out of all my ideas. (Hang in there Eric). For now, I'm getting inspiration from looking at completed lesson plans online. I'm adding without much editing, trying to get my ideas on paper without judging them too harshly. I'd rather delete a bunch of ideas than have to come up with too many at the last minute. I guess the hardest thing for me is coming up with novel, discreet parts of the lesson that aren't the same old Englishy "write an essay, now write a reflective essay, a blog post etc." I believe in the writing part, I just don't know enough about the effective activities like jigsaws etc. I think the group activities will be key in keeping the students engaged. If anyone knows a resource, I would be grateful for your input. I will be hitting my teacher friends up for ideas in the coming weeks.

Struggling to organize my thoughts...

So last night I sat down to work through some of my Unit Plan. I succeeded in muddying my notebook with a bunch of ideas that all seem pretty scattered. I was wondering if any had any suggestions on how to sort of organize my thoughts? I'm almost unsure of where to go next and what to start putting down into my Google Doc. I have so many ideas, but I'm not entirely sure which are plausible, which aren't as relevant, and which are exactly what I'm looking for. Anyone else struggle with this?

D.I.

Why Differentiate if the Class is Homogeneously Grouped?
This section of D.I. really struck me personally actually. This small section points out an example of an AP English classroom and I know from first-hand experience how this has affected my life and now understandings of D.I. Of course here I sit today and I’m an English major, but just because I’m grouped into a category of English majors doesn’t mean that I love everything about English! In my AP English class in high school, I hated the majority of the things we read and looking back on it, I know it was because of the way it was taught. My teacher taught to those highest in the class (sitting in my class was the valedictorian and salutation). Then there was me and a few other ‘eager and willing students’ but we simply needed a different way to approach the material and that teacher knew no other way to differentiate her instruction. Now throughout my college career, I’ve gone back and read almost everything we’ve read in my high school English class and I love it! But only because I was able to connect to the text in a way that I understood. This example that our D.I. textbook brings up about needing to still have differentiated instruction even in supposedly homogeneously classes must be brought more to attention.
I've been talking a lot this past week with some of the kids in PDS and they were simply telling me whether or not their schools are tracked and how they think that has an effect on the school and students. I've heard good and bad about both ways and I honestly cannot tell which I prefer. I understand the need to track learning abilities of our students but how can we level the playing field? I think D.I. is the answer. If we, as teachers, find a way to make the activities fit the needs of our different students, we will accomplish our goals.
The part of the book that briefly talked about assessment is still my biggest worry. How do we differentiate instruction and assessment to fit everyone's needs? I think the ideas that the text brought up are really valuable; i.e. getting to talk to the parents and students about expectations, etc. But I'm still incredibly worried about this! Does anyone have some suggestions or recommendations that can help quell my worries?

Hello Everyone!

So Corinne's post got me remembering something that I wanted to post about our Tech Tips.


I used the site bitstrips.com for my tech tip, and I thought it would be interesting to share with you that this site could be very useful when you are incorporating Graphic Novels into your lessons.  What you could do is take a text and have them create a graphic novel version of a specific chapter or scene through the website.  I believe using bitstripsforschools.com would be a better resource,  since you are able to monitor content vs just bitstrips.com.


I just remembered all of the things we did with Kim with Graphic Novels and figured that this might be a prominent theme we may find in our classrooms or even want to use ourselves during student teaching or even in your unit plans.  This also allows our students to use technology which is always a plus.  You can use bitstripsforschools.com for your classroom,  have them create avatars which look like them,  assign them projects,  and keep track of their progress and log-ins.  If you guys want to know anything more about bitstripsforschools.com let me know! 


:) Thanks!
Dakota

Project

For my tech class, we recently had to create a project that featured an online publishing site. I just wanted to share that I had done with everyone, maybe to get some feedback, and maybe some way I could improve this if I wanted to this is my classroom.

The exemplar that I made for my project:
http://karodgers13.glogster.com/glog-303-6776/

Glogster

Hey Everyone!

So I know that all of us are taking Instructional Methods this semester and learning all about the different tech tips! Well, I just wanted to share my thoughts on Glogster!

For class we had to develop a class project that was central to a tech tip and I decided to use Glogster. To refresh your memory, Glogster is an online poster where students can insert text, graphics, and videos. I decided to incorporate my Glogster into my Unit Plan to hook students into a poetry unit. I had students analyze a song for poetic elements, post a music video, and images that correlate with the song. I found that the Glog was fun, creative, and a great way to hook students!

I just thought I would share my experience with everyone (:

The Engagement of Students

This is what happens whenyou get students engaged:

Students act up. They get out of their chairs. They 'cause a ruckus.' There may be a dancing of some type involved. Funny hats are a bonus as well.

But, more importantly, the students enjoy themselves. They actually learn something. They can hear something, such as the previously intimidating words of Macbeth, in a completely different light. The words may dance off the pages as well and grow to make more sense.

Students experience that learning can be fun.

What the Students Say

Here are the top ten pieces of advice from students to teachers according to our NWP website:

1. Be pushy.
2. Make the lesson relevant to our lives.
3. Be relatable, but please don't say: "It's time to dip, y'all!"
4. Teach us with words, sights, and sounds.
5. Be consistent and firm.
6. Believe in us.
7. Explain, explain, explain.
8. Use our time wisely.
9. Have clear objectives, clearly communicated.
10. Be a good example.

Kids want to have boundaries and consistencies. An example of this can be found in a humorous story my friend tells me when she first started student teaching years ago. It was her first day and her co-op teacher had to leave the room and 'go to the office.' Briefly, he said, 'just watch the class.' To her horror, as soon as the teacher left the room, the class erupted. She could not control them because she hadn't the chance to establish her 'rules.' At one point, a student turned to her and screamed, 'You should be controlling us.'

Technology

Thoughts about Technology:

Yesterday, I gave a presentation on a talking avatar technology called Voki (Voki.com). When I signed up for this presentation, I had no idea what Voki was. When I checked out their site, I was disappointed because I have no interest in avatars/gaming technology. As I thought about it further, I was reminded of all the times in my past when I didn’t like something and by default--missed an opportunity for growth. As I thought about it further, I decided this technology is exactly what I should be learning more about. As people (and future teachers), I think we tend to stick to what’s comfortable: teaching to our strengths. Through working on this presentation, I realized I have the opportunity to connect with a student that is very different from me: a student who views the world through different eyes.

After finishing, I was amazed at how many ways I could use this technology to engage learners. It combines visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities. Additionally, it may appeal to today’s youth. I decided to integrate it into my Merchant of Venice lesson plan. At least I can offer it as an option and see what happens.

PCTELA!

I thought I'd take a moment to further expand on some of the stuff that I had the opportunity to be a part of this past weekend at the PA English Teachers Conference out in Pitt. First and foremost, I thought I could provide you with a few links of some interesting mentor texts or prompts we used throughout the weekend. I listed them below.
Also, I wanted to share with you some of the advice that so many writers, teachers, and friends gave me this weekend. The theme of the weekend was Building Community through Collaboration, so here's my small part in that. 1) Network! Don't be afraid to post ideas or comments on the English Companion Ning. I absolutely love that site and now after this weekend, a whole new group of people said they'll be looking out for me on there to help me out wherever possible. It's awesome knowing that strangers are willing to help us out. 2) Be prepared to show how technology can be used in the classroom. Regretfully, a lot of people that I encountered this weekend seemed afraid of using it, but part of me wonders how much it is because they themselves don't know how to use it. Educate others on all the stuff you know! 3) To be a good writer you have to write every day. I had the opportunity to sit down with Philip Beard this weekend and hear how he slowly began to develop a book. Hearing his story made me realize that he once started out at the same place I'm at! It takes patience and a lot of practice. 4) Connect with your students! Getting to hear Linda Christensen talk about connecting with her students was powerful. Meet them on their level and then help build them to where they needed to be / get going. 5) Chris Crutcher talked a lot about censorship during the time I heard from him. He made a really fascinating point about what we should and shouldn't sensor. In a brief summary he basically discussed how we should give kids the freedom to read about their own choices because for each of them, it'll mean something different. Instead of choosing what's best for kids, we should let them decide on their own. I included his article below.
* (I'll probably add more to this as I think of more, but I wanted to hit some key points for you now.)

Two prompts that Phillip Beard challenged us with:
Scenario 1: Have students write out a script of interaction if two characters were locked in a room together. Scenario 2: Have students write down the contents of their backpacks, purses, pockets, etc and then develop a few paragraphs with plot that incorporate every item they are carrying. (Think of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien).

The article Chris Crutcher wrote for The Huffington Post: Young Adult Fiction: Let Teens Choose
A poem used by Linda Christensen: For My People
The Def Poetry Jam video Linda Christensen also shared with us: Knock, Knock
Mentor Text used in a small break out session: Girl


And finally I just wanted to address something that Eric also shared with you in class. After the four us presented our WPPs to the small audience we had, we received nothing but positive feedback. Like Eric said, the one woman in particular actually said that the future looked bright with us in it. This is our generation to create a change! I hope you're as excited and honored as I am to be a part of this time.

Unit- The Merchant of Venice

I am working on my unit design and have come across some really amazing material that I wanted to share. I was at work yesterday and was daydreaming and thinking about my unit plan. I have googled all sorts of information about The Merchant of Venice but never just googled lesson plans for The Merchant of Venice. I did that last night and oh my goodness. I spent quite a while playing around on the Folger Shakespeare website (these are the guys that wrote our Shakespeare Set Free text).
Whether you are doing Shakespeare or poetry or anything, please check out this website. There is an amazing video about teaching iambic pentameter that is awesome.

Unit Plan

Hey guys,

I've began work on my Unit Plan and, so far, it's been an eye-opening experience. I hadn't realized how much work it was to lesson plan! There's so much involved. You have to find texts and figure out how you want to use them and what about them is worth teaching. Granted, it will probably be an easier task once we have curriculum and those dreaded "big green binders" to work around. In the meantime, though, we're left to our own devices.

Which is what brings me here. I'm one of those certifiable ones who would voluntarily like to teach middle school, so that's where I'm gearing this lesson. My unit is on short stories and I'm having trouble finding enough material, other than my main texts, that are both age appropriate and academic enough for the lessons I want to include. Does anyone know of somewhere I can go to find possible sources? Do any of you happen to know any lower-level short stories that I could look into? I feel like I've exhausted all of my own resources and I'm stuck as to where I can go from here. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Good luck with your own planning. And trust me, it's not nearly as terrifying as it may seem. :)

Lit Reactor

Hey everyone, I wanted to share with you all a link to a useful website for writers: http://litreactor.com/

This site allows you to publish work, get feedback, attend writing workshops online (for a fee), and more. I haven't looked around it too much, but it seems to be a pretty awesome resource! It just opened two weeks, so they are still sort of gaining ground. I hope some of you might find this useful for you writing endeavors!

I also wanted to post a little about how my unit is coming and get some feedback from you all on what I've been doing thus far. I'm doing my unit on cause and effect using Hamlet as my primary text and so far it's been going pretty well. I have two (maybe three) activities/projects done for sure, but I'm not entirely sure how I want to approach them and I wanted to get you guys' thoughts.

Project one: "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie..." is going to be a text I use as my hook; I'm sure many of you have read it and understand the general concept. A person gives a mouse a cookie, and it leads to a series of other things that the mouse will want. After we've read the short work in class, I want to have the students create their own "If you..." stories, imitating what is being done in the mentor text "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." If any of you guys have good ideas for a hook for Hamlet or know of something that worked well for you, please let me know!

Project two: Character blogs. This project came about as a result of the current assignment in my technology ed. class with Dr. Dietrich. For this project I want to have students take up the role of a character in the play and blog about their feelings after every act. I'm wanna give them the choice of as many characters as possible, though I don't know that they could use characters such as "The Gravedigger," etc. without making up stuff, given that they're only in small portions of the story. The characters I am sure they could use include Hamlet, Laertes, Claudius, and Gertrude. The reason I am hesitant to give them Ophelia and Polonius is due to the fact that they die prior to the end of the play. Alternatively, I could give them the ability to blog as these characters, though they would need to blog as the characters 'from the afterlife,' once they've been killed off in the play. This project provides some character analysis, which feeds well into my final project.

Project three: Mock Trial. For this project, students will take on the roles of characters in the play and we will conduct a mock trial, wherein they will try to prove that Hamlet is either crazy and a murderer or sane and justified in his act of vengeance. I haven't thought this one through as much as the others, but some initial roadblocks with this that I've encountered are: when will this trial be set? If it's late in the play, all the major characters are dead, but if it's too early than not everything has yet been laid out on the table. How can I be sure every student is involved? At most I can only guarantee probably 10-15 students spots, and assuming I have a class of 30 kids, that's half the class that's acting as the jury. Finally, I would like to incorporate a writing component in the form of a court "debrief" where students will state what the verdict was, whether or not they thought it was correct (I'm not gonna ask for 100% agreement to pass a verdict), and why they thought that. Any feedback on this would be really, really appreciated.

This became a really long post, which I apologize for. Thanks in advance for anyone who reads this. I hope you guys all had a good weekend!

Slam Poetry

I hope you're planning to participate in MU's second bi-annual Poetry Aloud! We will be teaming up with F&M's Writers House to bring an amazing evening. They will dedicate their Poetry Walk and introduce NYC Slam Poet Tyrek Greene.

Check out his performance on YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWAek60HdLE

Louisa May Alcott

The Elizabethtown Public Library, with support from Elizabethtown College, has received an American Library Association/National Endowment for the Humanities grant and has organized fall 2011 programming on the theme “Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women.” Bethleen Bradford of EPL is the project director, and I am the lead scholar. The grant programming is structured around the award-winning documentary by Harriet Reisen and Nancy Porter, Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women (which has been shown on the PBS series American Masters). Ms. Reisen published a well-received biography of the same name. She will be speaking on the Etown campus in November.

You, your colleagues, and your students are cordially invited to these Alcott events. Please feel free to forward the e-mail and attachment.

· W/19 OCT.--Film screening: Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women. Brinser Lecture Room in Steinman Hall (Alpha Drive), Elizabethtown College, 7:00 p.m. Parking available on College Ave. and Alpha Dr. and in the Leffler lot.

· SAT/29 OCT.--Jéan-Paul Benowitz, “Louisa May Alcott and the Civil War.” Elizabethtown Public Library Auditorium (lower level), 10:00 a.m. Free and open to the public.

· T/1 NOV. --Kimberly VanEsveld Adams and Meghan FitzGerald, “Gothic: Louisa May Alcott's Thrillers,” Brinser Lecture Room, Steinman Hall (Etown College), 3:30 p.m. Free and open to the public.

· TH/10 NOV.--Harriet Reisen, “Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women.” Leffler Chapel and Performing Arts Center, Etown College, 7:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Funded by an ALA/NEH grant with generous support from the Provost’s Office. Etown Public Library screenings of the documentary by Harriet Reisen and Nancy Porter, Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women, to be announced.

· T/15 NOV.--Kimberly VanEsveld Adams, “Corsets, (Un)employment, Education: Louisa May Alcott and All Kinds of Reforms,” 7:45 p.m., Bucher Meeting House, Etown College. Free and open to the public.

Yours,

Kimberly VanEsveld Adams

Associate Professor of English

Women and Gender Studies Faculty

Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown, PA 17022-2298

adamsk@etown.edu

Non Required American Reading

Hey Everyone!

So I have been meaning to make a post about this text for a while because I really love this book! I just connected so well with all of the material in the book and I found myself literally laughing out loud over some of the entries. My favorite was the article about women not being able to write a piece of comedy. The article was sarcastic and witty from start to finish! This is a book that I would read for fun in my free time because it is just so rich and fresh!

Hope you're enjoying this as much as me!

Spoken word poetry

Hey Everyone

I'm on this new slam poetry kick. I really want to use it either in my unit or for my technology project. So I found this video by a girl our age who is out teaching spoken word poetry. Here she is talking about it and it's pretty awesome. Watch it. She's funny and relatable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_j6S2UBhKc&feature=related

Engaged Learning

So far this semester, this has been the most helpful and insightful book. I believe this has a lot to do with its practical methods along with its "scientific" approach to helping students develop into better learners. My brain was throttled while reading the first half with new information and the second half provided much insight to how I will run my own class.

I've come to the realization that teachers need to "practice what they preach." For example, if you want your students to write with emotion, you should show them your own writing where you revealed emotion. So, the chapter on modeling seemed pretty straight forward. But as I read, I began to pick up on some vital strategies to model what I know for them. VanDeWeghe says we need to show our students how we think. This can be done by thinking out loud, expressing our own confusions, and showing students how we come to a conclusion. I think I often overestimate my students abilities to think critically, and can get frustrated when they have difficulty answering a question posed about our topic. What I am seeing is that the students are not being lazy or are unable to comprehend the question, but rather that they need to be shown the process of thinking.

I also enjoyed the chapter on involving students in authentic discussion. I can admit to envisioning myself as the teacher in the beginning of the chapter who does a "run through" of a chapter by having the students shouting out the answers (even if they are using the text to supply them), and counting this as a class discussion. Clearly, this is not causing the students to think and I cannot imagine many students would come away with much knowledge, aside from learning how to use the glossary a bit faster, by using this method. The key is to pique their interest early on with a "big idea." With this, they are able to connect what they are reading to their world, and hopefully statements such as, "This reminds me of..." or "I don't agree with..." can inspire our class to think a little.

Along with these strategies, I plan to further develop my methods for teaching reading and writing. One thing the book showed me about this was that many students need to be shown how to comprehend what they read. I will definitely teach reading with a "trinial" approach.

Engaged Learning

VanDeWeghe has some great ways to promote student engagement and involvement. I am particularly fond of his concept of flow, specifically of the mind and heart. This shows that there needs to be an emotional connection to student learning. As a teacher, I hope to bring the same amount of enthusiasm, energy, and cognitive engagement to my classrooms as I want my students to bring. This type of modeling is extremely crucial when teaching. As one of my classmates said, “tell students to ‘Bring it’ because I certainly am going to!

Modeling is not limited to effective, practical habits, such as respect, listening, and patience but can be extended to classroom practices and pedagogy. I want my students to see me writing with them, reading during their sustained silent reading, and struggling with understanding difficult texts. Modeling classroom projects and assignments is also essential for a teacher. For example, showing a sample research paper or poem before assigning the actual project will give students a visual guide and representation. I want to be a model for my students, for if I want them to do their best, then I should do mine.

Therefore, if I want to be a model student, I must be aware of how I speak and talk with my students. Communication can either enhance or extinguish a relationship. Thus, it is essential that I develop an awareness of how I interact with my students. I will promote malleable, rather than fixed, intelligence by pushing them to their full potential and using the language associated with it. Also, I will give positive reinforcement and show them the power of hard work. I hope to help students see that they can learn if they are willing to try and put in the effort.

Relevance to students’ lives is essential for the content of my lessons and unit. Students should find meaning and purpose in their reading and writing assignments. This meaning should be relevant and applicable to their daily lives and not simply to “pass the test.” Mind you, the content will still meet core understandings and pa standards, but it will extend way beyond testing purposes. Using thought provoking and engaging questions such as “Is this ideal right?” “What would you do in this situation?” “How does this make you feel?” will hopefully be of more interesting to students.

These are just some of the concepts that I plan on implementing in my classroom. I appreciate how they extend beyond the traditional methods of “Industrial Age” schooling. They are radical ideas that will be effective in the 21^st century classroom. Therefore, they will be excellent “tools” in my “toolbox” as a future educator.