The end is bittersweet

I really enjoyed my student teaching, but was concerned with students lack of interest in reading. For my unit I had my students read a handout on Chuck Close and then answer questions about it. I thought that this excericise had gone well because almost all questions were answered correctly. However the next day when I asked questions from the handout no one could answer them. Not even the honor students. This shocked and saddened me that the students had not processed any of the material as they answered the questions. To rectify this situation I decided for the students to read popcorn style. I called on the first student to read and then he would call on the next student and so forth. This seemed to work well because all the students had to read along with the out loud reader because they never knew who would be called on next. After we finished the reading, I once again asked questions from the reading and the class discussed the reading. Throughout the rest of my unit I would ask students key questions, and they were able to asnwer them. The whole problem I found out and worries me is that students do not read the readings if they think that they can get away with it. I hope to find a way in my teaching to really promote the students to read articles about content areas and enjoy them. I had thought that they would enjoy the Chuck Close article, because he is handicapped and uses a forklift to paint 6ft to 8ft canvases in a unique fashion.
I really understand the frustration of Readicide. How do we as teachers fully engage our students to actively read. I worry that not enough teachers are concerned enough withh their students reading habits as long as the student gets their work done and passes. I for one will continue to look for neat articles for my students to read and hope that I can reach some.

So I just completed my 4th week of teaching and I'm really enjoying it. In my 7th period class I have a student with a 3rd grade reading level. When I found this out, I felt more compassion for this student. When I first met him he was constantly off task in class and did not seem to know what was going on. Since learning about his reading level I have made it a personal mission to reach out to this particular student and try to make a difference. I decided to move the student away from his friend that was constantly distracting him and place him next to a studious classmate. This has helped alittle. I also decided to make it a point of after getting the rest of the class started going and telling this student my expectations of what I want him to accomplish in class that day. Futhermore, when we do weekly vocabulary and questions, I make it a point to constantly check on this student and make sure he isn't struggling. I have also started teaching him to look for context clues in the reading to help him answer the questions. I also offer words of encouragement and let him know that he is doing good and keep it up. Since I have started taking time and working with the student, his work habits have improved. Also on book work, he no longer gives up, and usually when he trys his grades have improved. He doesn't alwasy finish the assignment, because he still struggles, but he is now attemping the assignments, and I grade accordingly. I only grade what he finishes which is usaully half the assignment. I hope to continue working with him and get him where he can complete the whole book assignment. Anyways I am proud of how afr he has progressed in the past 2 weeks.

The Art of Reading

Teaching in my content has been an amazing experience. I feel completely in my element. I have five classes that I teach: Drawing, Painting, Fibers/ Ceramics, Photography, and Art 1. In all the classes we incorporate lteracy before we start a hands on project. Usually we pass out handouts that give a background or history of what we are studying. The handouts range from history of techniques to brief backgrounds on artists. Later at the end of the lesson slash project we test the students on the knowledge they have aquired. Besides just giving the students the handouts and letting them read them, we go over them in class to make sure that everyone understands what the handout is about. This helps those students who dislike reading to still get the information. Throughout the lesson we give out other handouts/ worksheets that have the students use and apply the information we have already given them. We also give out vocabulary words every week of words that play a big role in their respective subject. Once again we read the words and the definitions outloud to the students. So my host teacher has stated that since she has been doing this, there has been an increase in the student's grades. Going over terms also helps the students understand concepts in class and causes less questions of what does that word mean. All in all I am very excited about teaching and can not wait to teach more.

A Novel Idea

I can't believe that some people do not know what Al Queda is or who our vice president is. I mean do you not watch the news? I really like the idea of having current event days. As a teacher you could even let the students choose their own article and then write a summary of what they read. This is allowing the student the freedom to choose what they want to read, and maybe encourage them to read more on subjects that interest them.

Anyways it concerns me that schools are taking away novels in English classes. I feel that novels are a great way to explore different types of literature that one might not normally be exposed to. From my own personal experience I did not like all the novels that I read in high school, but I did enjoy some of them and am glad that I read them. Reading different types of novels help people/ students to become more well read and understand different parts of literature (ex. what a metaphor is). It will also expand their vocabulary without the students even knowing it.

This reading is killing me......jk

I took from the reading of Readicide, is that the use of multiple choice testing is killing reading. Students are no longer having to think cognitively and are guessing or word recognizing through their tests. This may boost tests scores, but the students are not learning or getting anything out of teaching for testing. If one really wanted to teach for testing and let the students learn at the same time, then the teacher should ask essay questions. You can tell the students ahead of time the topics that may be covered, but let them know that only a few certain ones will be asked on the test but they dont know which ques. will be asked, so the students have to study for all ques. The book gives examples of teaching for standardized tests not working by mentioning Texa's high scores, and then delving into the omitted details such as high dropout rates, and high retention and special education rates. On a whole the book mentions that there is so much to teach and teachers teach it so fast, it is hard to get students to really read what is being covered adequetly.

My reaction to all of this is that it is our job as teachers to somehow interest students into learning more about our content. A good way to get students to understand what they are reading or the teacher is covering is to relate the content to the students lives ethier personally or everyday life events. This shows the students that they can use this knowledge and motivate them to futher learn and investigate that perticular content.

My personal experiences in school is that I dont remember much of what I learned in highschool. Probably one reason is that I was not that motivated to learn, I was however motivated to get A's and I did. I just do not remember what I learned, which is sad. Maybe if what someone had taught me how the particular lesson affected me and my life, I might have retained the knowledge more.

I plan on helping students read more effectively by taking old artists and relating them to new modern artists to whom they inspired. Also I plan on covering a variety of artists from different backgrounds and cultures, so that all my students can identify with at least one artists. I am also less inclined to use multiple choice tests, and more inspired to use a mixture of fill in the blank and essay tests.

Reading isn't just about the pictures, but they do help

My initial thoughts about my inquiry project is to focus on Visual Literacy and how it can be effective in the classroom. I feel that visual imagery plays a big role in the classroom as an effective stimuli in attracting a students attention. Sometimes a student can feel lost when reading tons of text, but visual pictures can help break up the monotny, while also adding to the student's comprehension. I plan on concentrating on pictures in general, maps, diagrams, and visual organizers. Pictures in books always attract attention and gather interest, and then lure the reader into reading to find out what the picture is about. I also think that pictures can help clarify what you are reading, by giving a visual representation. Also the book gives great examples about how diagrams and concept maps can help center a students thoughts and lead them to a better understanding of the text that they are reading. They are great about taking one main idea or several ideas and building on that knowledge. The book also talks about using graphic organizers to asses if the student is understanding what they are reading.

I feel that I can contribute my background in art to the inquiry project. Art is a great example about how pictures provide their own form of literacy. So much of art is visual and about learning how to comprehend the visual images presented to you.

As I mentioned in my previous blog alot of art is about learning the vocabulary and pictures are a good way to back up the vocabulary and present a clearer concept of what the words visually means. I feel that reading in my discipline is mainly about history or techniques of art. One is ethier learning about how or why art was created or how one can create art themselves. In art history, one is learning about why this art was created and why it is important to it's time. In learning techniques one must have a visual representation to fully understand the technique.

Why can't we all just read and get along?

I feel that it depends on the subject and the particular student on whether or not a student is adapt at reading that particular content's literature. If a student does not have a strong background in a particular subject, then they are not going to feel as invested in learning that subject or trying to learn that content. It is our jobs as teachers to provide a strong background and use a variety of methods to teach the students to be able to read our content and understand it. Alverman discusses that not all students read the same, and it is our job to provide multiple ways of reading and not just the textbooks, but at the same time teach students the way to read the textbooks through various comprehension strategies.
My experience through content literacy is that vocabulary plays a big role in comprehending a text. If you know the vocabulary then you have a better chance of comprehending the text. Also relating the text to your own life or current events helps the text become personal and meaningful which in turn makes it more comprehensible.
In my opinion art is all about the vocabulary. If you can get a sense of what the terms used mean, then you can figure out what is being talked about. Understanding art also relies heavily on the visual aspects. Taking a definition or term and applying it with a visual picture is a great way to get a point across. A great example is the word monochromatic and showing a composition with various shades of the same color. Discussing why a particular work of art was created also allows a better understanding when reading about the history of art.