Reflections on Language Arts Content

This semester seemed to fly by.  We did so much but it went fast.

I enjoyed learning about and participating in writers workshops.  I find it difficult to concentrate on writing in class but I think getting some ideas down on paper is useful and can be used as a stepping stone for out of class writing.   I am sure I will have students with the same challenge.  I would be inclined to allow them to have music in headphones to help focus. 

I loved using the new technology tools like Bookemon.  I think kids would have an amazing time making their own books and having them printed.  I also appreciated seeing that writing does not have to be long and involved.  Quick writing projects can give teachers a look at where students are in their writing skills.  I love the idea of creative ways to get kids engaged in writing.  Every kid has something that they are passionate about and as teachers we need to tap into those things to get them to open up in writing or in speaking.  Even reluctant writers will be more enthusiastic with the types of projects that we were able to work on this semester.  Not every child will like every project but if we keep things creative we can reach them all at some point during the year. 

When I was in my practicum placement language arts instruction was broken down into Reading class and English class.   Although the English teacher was very dynamic and used fun activities I found that class to be much less interesting than the reading class.  The material just seemed more fun in the reading class.  The more I think about my language arts abilities I think my strength is not in the mechanics but in the creative aspects of reading and writing.  It was interesting to see the two separated like that. 

Overall I loved Language Arts before this semester started and I still do.  I am glad that we now have such creative toosl to use with our future students.

Writing in Kindergarten

In my Kindergarten practicum placement my mentor teacher had her students striving for correct spelling and punctuation of words that they wrote.  It was interesting to me how these kids rose to the challenge and did really well with spelling and punctuation at such a young age.  I know that some teachers and schools focus more on the creative content of writing during Kindergarten which I think makes a lot of sense too.  I Love the idea of having students stretch to improve their creative thinking when asked to write about general topics.  But I also think holding them to a higher standard with punctuation and grammar can allow them to achieve more.  I was amazed at how well these 5 year olds were able to write.  I think if I wind up in a Kindergarten classroom I will look for a happy medium by looking at my students as individuals and holding each one to the highest standard that they can achieve. 

Reflections on the K-6 Core Curriculum Language Arts Standards

I think that the core curriculum standards are very precise and clear in what they want students to accomplish in each area of language arts.  I think as compared to the Tennessee state standards the core curriculum standards are much less general. I have always thought that the standards were very vague.  When Eli went into Kindergarten I remember looking at the first grade standards to see what was in store and to see how he was doing.  At that time I felt like the standards for each grade were so similar that it was hard to know exactly what was expected at each grade level.  It looked like there was a huge amount of room for interpretation.  Probably not by the teacher but by the district.  I think the core curriculum standards address this problem.  I also like the fact that the standards are the same for every state that adopts them.  Children that move from state to state will have a better chance of having some continuity to their education. 
The other thing that I noticed was that media was not mentioned as one of the standards.  It is mentioned in the introduction but not as a separate standard.  I actually think that is a good thing because I don't think educators need to think of media and technology as a separate thing to teach but as a tool to use just like a book or paper and pencil.  Technology needs to be integrated into every aspect of the curriculum and it needs to be automatic not as a separate standard.
I am glad that Tennessee has adopted the Core Curriculum Standards.

Pedagogical practices (i.e. strategies, activities, Web 2.0 tools, etc.) for writing integration

Language arts is a dreaded subject for many students.  All that white space on a blank sheet of paper just waiting to be filled.  It can be overwhelming for some students.  The good news is that there are better ways to get students engaged and excited about writing.  If you look at a students daily life it is filled with writing.  Things like texting, Facebook and other social media outlets take up huge chunks of our students time.  Many times you  hear the complaint that kids today are not communicating face to face but on-line through - WRITING!  We as teachers need to keep this in mind when we complain that our kids hate to write.   They don't hate to write they just want to write about things they are interested in and in ways that mean something to them.   Web 2.0 tools are great ways to encourage kids to write in fun ways.  Glogster allows students to use their visual creativity while writing.  Allowing students to write a blog could be fun for them because they could imagine themselves becoming the next great blogger.  They could be right. Bookemon is amazing and they can easily give the finished products to friends and family.  These tools also allow students to place more focus on their creativity.  Writing can seem very detached from the creative process for some kids but I think if they are writing in a creative format like glogster or bookemon they may see the connection.

I allowed my son, who hates anything to do with handwriting, to do his homework on Glogster and he was so excited.   He had to do the exact same work but it was fun creating a glog.  I am sure there are many kids like him who just need an added element of excitement to make school work fun.  When school work is fun kids work harder.

I also like the idea that writing assignments don't have to be long and complicated.  Just getting kids in the habit of writing down their thoughts - big or small - is so helpful.  It takes some of the anxiety out of the writing process.

We as teachers need to find ways to reach our students where they are and engage them in the learning process.  I think including web 2.0 tools in the writing process is an excellent way to do this.

Concerns, thoughts, & perceptions about my writing

Writing, for me, has always come naturally.  I am not sure if that is because I have loved to read since I was four years old and would read Dr. Seuss books to anyone that would listen.  Maybe it is  because I come from a large family of readers.  My parents are both from the Midwest and were well educated so I have always heard standard English grammar spoken around me.  The areas I grew up in New England and Miami were upper middle class so again the English I heard spoken was exactly what an English teacher wants to see in writing.  Most bad grammar strikes my ears - it just sounds wrong to me.  I am sure that I am not perfect but I think for the  most part grammar is one of  my major strengths. 

I am also lucky to be able to gather my thoughts and organize them well.  I do have trouble with getting started but if I just force myself to write I can get the thoughts to start flowing pretty quickly.  I have a hard time letting go of my writing when I am done.  I like to edit and re-edit over and over trying to perfect things.  I have had to let go of that this summer because there were several papers due in my summer courses that I just didn't have time to hold on to for 2 or 3 extra days.  I found that it was ok to let go.

My biggest difficulty when writing is punctuation.  I am the queen of the comma splice.  It is important for me to have someone read over my papers to find these kinds of mistakes.  I also need to work on citations because it doesn't come naturally to me.  I guess it is not something that flows and I find it really tedious.  I know it is important I just wish there was a way to have all that information magically appear on my papers.  I do want to give credit; I just hate all the time it takes.  I have noticed that when pulling journal articles from the library's electronic data base I am seeing citation information along with the articles.  I think that is great, anything to make that process easier.  I know that the more I work with citations the easier it will get. 

Overall I would consider writing and Language Arts my strongest subjects.  As with any writer getting started can be difficult but once I get going I am able to clearly convey my ideas through my writing.  Language arts come naturally to me.   Math and science are a different matter!