Vocabulary is actually a really important thing for teachers and students. That is what I experienced when I was growing up. We would spend a full day on spelling and vocabulary. This chapter opened my eyes to new ways to teach and help student's vocabulary. I really enjoyed the Vocabulary Casserole activity. It make me laugh a little bit, but it was a true way to think about how we teach vocabulary right now. What happens in this activity is you find 20 words no one has ever heard of before. Put them on the blackboard and ask the students to write them down THen put the definition on the board and have the students write the definitions down as well. Have the students use the words in a sentence and maybe give them a test on friday. It is not a strategy to use anymore, because really the students are not retaining the information. At least I did not when it was presented to me like this. But I liked how it was presented in the book in a humorous kind of way.
My favorite strategy in this chapter is the vocabulary trees. Instead of having the students know the root word and some words that come from it, have them make their own tree about the root word to build up their own vocabulary. It is a fun visual way to help students as well as give them something to reference if it happens to be on a test. I really enjoyed that strategy because I think that as teachers we need to be considerate of students who do not benefit from straight lectures and taking notes. Some students are very visual, and this activity helps those students in visualizing words and vocabulary.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Chapter 8: Extending Meaning After-Reading Strategies
This chapter was a long one. There were so many strategies to go over I felt a little bit overwhelmed. Though I got through it, there was so much information to take in. I did not know there were ant strategies for after reading a text. I found this to be very information and all the steps to take after reading a text really helped me get through this chapter.
I really liked that It says-I say is continued in this chapter. It becomes It says-I say-and so. First the student reads the question, then find information from the text that helps to answer that question. The third step is to think about what they know about that information, and the fourth step is to combine what the text says with what the students know and come up with the answer. I really liked the examples as well. It is important to show me how the strategy works, so I can use it effectively in my classroom. There was a lot of information in this chapter, and I even had to reread and use some of these strategies myself to get through it, but it was a very good chapter and necessary for students and teachers to know and understand.
I really liked that It says-I say is continued in this chapter. It becomes It says-I say-and so. First the student reads the question, then find information from the text that helps to answer that question. The third step is to think about what they know about that information, and the fourth step is to combine what the text says with what the students know and come up with the answer. I really liked the examples as well. It is important to show me how the strategy works, so I can use it effectively in my classroom. There was a lot of information in this chapter, and I even had to reread and use some of these strategies myself to get through it, but it was a very good chapter and necessary for students and teachers to know and understand.
Chapter 7: Constructing Meaning During-Reading Strategies
This chapter really was enjoyable. As an independent reader myself, I never really had problems making sense of a text. It was humbling to me to realize that dependent readers are not equipped to make sense of a text, because they don't realize that they can do that. This chapter when right into the classroom. It talked about three students who are having trouble with a passage. The first student is an independent reader. She explained that she reread the passage and decided what she could not understand and looked for answers. The third student did not realize that other readers did all that, and did not do that because the teacher said just to read the passage.
I really liked this chapter because of the strategy they mention. Say Something is a strategy that stops student's while they are reading a text, giving the students a chance to decipher what they have just read and as questions about it. I really think this strategy is a good one, because the students then get to talk to each other about the reading. It creates critical thinking and builds group work skills between students so they do not feel so alone in reading. This chapter mentioned other strategies like rereading, think-aloud, double-entry journals, and many others, but I really found Say something as my favorite. It is important for us as teachers to know all these strategies and find what works in our classrooms.
I really liked this chapter because of the strategy they mention. Say Something is a strategy that stops student's while they are reading a text, giving the students a chance to decipher what they have just read and as questions about it. I really think this strategy is a good one, because the students then get to talk to each other about the reading. It creates critical thinking and builds group work skills between students so they do not feel so alone in reading. This chapter mentioned other strategies like rereading, think-aloud, double-entry journals, and many others, but I really found Say something as my favorite. It is important for us as teachers to know all these strategies and find what works in our classrooms.
Chapter 5: Learning to make an Inference
Think back to when you were in grade school or high school. Think about all the teachers that told you to make an inference about the reading that you were going over. How many times were you asked to do that? As students, at least for me, I made a lot of inferences in my English classes. As teachers, it is important that we teach our students to make an inference.Most independent readers make inferences effortlessly. They do it without even knowing it.
This chapter foces solely on inferences and the types of them. I personally did not know there were different types of inferences and found it interesting to read about it. I really liked figure 5.1 because it was a chart about all the inferences that could be made on a passage. It gave me a visual on what inferencing really is, and gave a tangible way to teach it. Some students will not know what an inference is, or how to form an inference. I also liked that the section called "Helping Students make Inferences". It went over steps for teachers to use when going over inferences. I find that very valuable to me, being a new teacher. It helps me teach it in an organized way without confusing my students. This chapter turns a common lesson about inferencing into an extraordinary and even a fun way of teaching it.
This chapter foces solely on inferences and the types of them. I personally did not know there were different types of inferences and found it interesting to read about it. I really liked figure 5.1 because it was a chart about all the inferences that could be made on a passage. It gave me a visual on what inferencing really is, and gave a tangible way to teach it. Some students will not know what an inference is, or how to form an inference. I also liked that the section called "Helping Students make Inferences". It went over steps for teachers to use when going over inferences. I find that very valuable to me, being a new teacher. It helps me teach it in an organized way without confusing my students. This chapter turns a common lesson about inferencing into an extraordinary and even a fun way of teaching it.
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