Final Assignment-Lesson

My Final Assignment Lesson is available at the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD3QEGxmJ98

FINAL ASSIGNMENT
REED 502 Content Area Classroom Observation Form
Date of Observation: May 12, 2010
Grade/Content Area Observed: 8th Grade Social Studies
Objective of the Lesson:
Students will be able to make connections to the text using prior knowledge and experiences. Students will be able to use a graphic organizer or another note-taking technique to record important ideas or information. Students will be able to periodically summarize or paraphrase important ideas while reading

What procedures, texts, and assessments were used?
Procedures-Students brainstormed facts about Rosa Parks and Christopher Columbus. They then completed the pre-reading section of Venn diagrams for each person. Next they read “Mythbusting” information. In the end they completed their pre-/post Venn diagrams about Rosa Parks and Christopher Columbus and summarized what was learned.

Texts-Copies of The Politics of Children’s Literature-What’s Wrong with the Rosa Parks Myth by Herbert Kohl: Zinn Education Project. Copies of Columbus: Fact vs. Fiction by The Order of Sons of Italy in America: The Commission for Social Justice.

Assessments-Completed Venn diagram of pre & post “Mythbuster” of Rosa Parks’ facts, Venn diagram of pre & post “Mythbuster” of Christopher Columbus facts.

Describe the students’ level of participation:
Students were very involved in the lesson in many ways. Student participation was an integral part of the lesson in terms of the class discussion. Students were engaged in various activities. During the activities they could work with partners and were very engaged in the lesson.

In what ways was the observed lesson similar to the main points you identified in your Content Literacy Graphic and Video?
The lesson contained several aspects stated in my overview. Rapport was used throughout the class period. Wait time was employed after each question and or statement to allow students time. The teacher used modeling to give the students examples of how the Venn diagram assignment was to be completed. Students also worked in groups/pairs.

Did the classroom teacher utilize any of your “toolkit items”? If so, how were the items utilized? If not, how do you think the items could have been incorporated into the lesson?
The teacher used modeling, rapport, and Overall Literacy Teaching Techniques. The modeling was done before students began their work in pairs as an example. Rapport was evident throughout the class period.
In what ways, did the classroom teacher utilize Dr. Moje’s ideas regarding content literacy instruction?
The observed class was a Social Studies class that included “literacy across the curriculum”. Students used basic literacy skills to take notes, read, complete organizers and will be writing essays in future lessons.

What part of the lesson was most interesting to you? Why? What did you learn?
The most interesting part was the dispelling of myths and the student reactions. It was interesting because a lot about these figures was myth. I learned that students like being investigators and finding the truth in situations.

What recommendations would you provide to the classroom teacher? Why?
I would include various sources about each of the historical figures. This would allow further exploration of their myths. It also could foster further discussion.
Did you debrief with the classroom teacher by sharing your answers to the previous questions? How did s/he respond?
N/A
Additional thoughts, comments:
This assignment made me miss being a classroom teacher.

Observation Summaries

Science Unit

Math Unit Overview

Social Studies Unit Overview

Unit Plan Overview

Blogs Summary Video

Blogs Information Summary Graphic Organizers

Part 3 Summary

Chapter 4 Summary-Video 3

“What to include in your content literacy instructional toolkit”

Mixed literacy media-Teachers should be prepared with many different media to address literacy such as: journals, websites, textbooks, computer resource software and novels.

Baseline literacy assessments-Teachers should assess their students’ pre-course or pre-content literacy. This will allow the teacher to develop their literacy approach and determine what type of differentiation of instruction is necessary in the classroom.

Overall Literacy Teaching Techniques-Teachers must provide basic literacy instruction to all students no matter what content area they teacher to ensure literacy success.

Content Literacy Teaching Techniques and Medias-Specific content areas offer their own type of literacy instruction. It is essential that content teachers be competent in their areas’ literacy specific techniques and media. But at the same time hold strict literacy grading policies that parallel those in reading/language arts classes.

Teaching across the curriculum/content collaboration-Teachers must collaborate with their grade level team to incorporate similar approaches to literacy. This is effective to overlap content area which allows further exploration of specific subjects and offshoots of content areas.

Up to date research-Teachers need to be provided with and keep themselves current with the latest research and techniques in the areas if literacy and their specific content area. This can be done by school based professional development, system wide professional development, membership in professional organizations, and journal and web-based information subscription.

VIDEO 2

Progress Update Webcam Video

I have not been able to upload my video on to Blogspot. So below is a link to view my Progress Update Webcam Video that I was able to upload to Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/rich.darago?v=app_2392950137#!/video/video.php?v=1231766754558

My reaction to Dr. Moje’s article “Foregrounding the Disciplines in Secondary Literacy Teaching and Learning: A Call for Change”

Dr. Moje’s article “Foregrounding the Disciplines in Secondary Literacy Teaching and Learning: A Call for Change” was very thought provoking and brought up many good points. The extra attention that Dr. Moje speaks of that has been shown toward improving literacy because of declining test scores had almost reached epidemic proportion.

Obrien’s work stated “that student’s beliefs, values and knowledge constrain the practice of teachers”. I totally agree with this research. Most students, adults and even educators look at different subject areas with preconceived ideas of the types of work that should be done in each discipline area. An educator feeling an “unfair burden of teaching reading” is ludicrous. Students read in every subject area so it is an educator’s duty to teach reading in some form to ensure student success in all discipline areas. I feel it gets even narrower when it comes to literacy instruction in the discipline areas. The disciplinary norms that Moje speaks of that students must be aware of for each discipline make learning even more confusing for some students.

Dr. Moje suggested building “disciplinary literacy instructional programs”. The suggestion of these programs due in part to the varied approach to literacy in discipline areas and the expanding media areas of literacy materials.
Even though each discipline area has their own form of literacy instruction, they all need to be on a uniform literacy instruction model as well. Using literacy to explore and enhance content knowledge seems to be what most disciplines lean toward. But, as the article stated, being able to make sense of the texts requires some background knowledge. Traditional texts can be used to provide the basic content knowledge and then the discipline areas can be vastly explored using the different forms of literacy media.

The discussion of the need for students to be metadiscursive not only in society but in their education can only help enhance their success. I agree with the Dr. Moje and the other researchers when they alluded to the need for students to be literate thinkers across many school disciplines. The more adaptive in terms of literacy students are, the more successful they will be. But, until educators and society revamp their ideas toward literacy in the disciplines the struggle to improve test scores will continue.

In conclusion, educators and students need to reconfigure their ideas toward literacy education. This can only be done by a total new open minded outlook for students, educators and society toward literacy in all discipline areas.

Literacy & Me

My name is Rich Darago. I am married and the father of 3 children (Will-7, Anna-3 and Josephina-1).
I am currently the School Counselor at Hazelwood Elementary Middle School. Previously to being the school’s counselor I taught 7th grade World Cultures and 8th Grade U.S. History for 5 years. I always felt like Social Studies was the outcast subject, as if students did not have to know how to read or write to be successful in Social Studies. I integrated reading and literacy activities daily in my Social Studies classroom and continue to do so today in my classroom counseling visits.
I expect that by taking this course I will further expand techniques for applying literacy activities in my everyday encounters with students through research, course assignments and self reflection.