Christenson isn’t afraid to engage her classes in serious topics and have them question race, class, gender, etc. inequalities. I like how she creates debate and questions that provoke examination of student’s lives and the role of people throughout history. In order for students to understand and be totally involved in readings, they should know how different people were treated that time period and even how their role is affected today. I really connected to Linda’s study questions for each unit. She has the students studying their own lives, reading a variety of texts – which I greatly am in favor for. I think it’s important that students read a variety of literature and are involved in a variety of activities. The more interaction with different literature, characters, nationalities, cultures, and people then the greater learning experience if offered to students. Linda also includes a final product for students to produce their own knowledge and build on it from what they learned. I think it’s important to let students use their own knowledge and show how they have grown and can apply it.
Within Christenson’s units she uses a diverse, variety of literature from different perspectives. I think this is really important because the more contact students have with different cultures and people, they more they can learn about others and themselves. Christenson encourages students to write back to authors about scenarios they play out in the book or question things the author does. I think this is key to getting students to voice their opinions. If a student feels passionately or can relate to a topic/scene, it’s important to make sure their voice is heard. Students should be able to question authors and books – to either agree or disagree – about what is happening. I think through this questioning process is when students learn more about who they are and what the world is. I also think it’s essential for students to relate to the literature. I like that Christenson points out and asks how her students lives parallel characters in the novels they read, including struggles they may face or situations. By having students free write on this or writing an essay gets students to open up. Christenson uses these prompts to get students to key in on a topic or cause that is important to them. They then talk about potential audiences or outlets they can address from their topic, problem, or cause. I think it’s important to show students that there is a world outside the classroom that they can be involved in and be a part of to make a difference.
In order to get students engaged in the books and asking questions, Christenson has students act out a “tea party” scenario. I thought this was a good way to get students out of their seats and talking. She has students be assigned a role of a character and give out some key facts about them while everyone walks around the class. Students then pose questions to each other about these facts or wonders they have about what will happen. I think this is a good jumpstart into a novel to get students attention and make them brainstorm about the novel. By students formulating questions, it makes them wonder about each character as a person or who they were in history.
Once again, I like the remember me poems. I think the poems and monologues are a great way to get students to find their voice. With the remember me poems, students randomly pick names out of a hat and write a poem honoring that person. It is always nice to hear others praise you and notice good qualities within you. I think this teaches a respectful and tolerant classroom. It shows that students feel safe and respect each other. Even if they aren’t friends outside of school, they can come together in this classroom to be friends.
I think that this chapter was very important because it emphasized the importance of our students being individuals, and not just “a class.” When we as teachers recognize that each person is as unique as their culture and language, we show them that really appreciate them for who they are, and not just for the grades they get in class. I enjoyed reading the poem “Hey! Go Boy!” by Thieson Ngyuen because I think although it’s short and simple, that many students will be able to relate to it, just like I did (except for the boy part). By ending the poem with “just try your best” I feel like it could really allow those who are bullied for being different feel better, and those who do the bullying really think about how they are treating others. That way, everyone in the class, no matter who they are gets a chance to just think and reflect on how they act whether they are the bully or the one who is being bullied. By validating the differences students have in their own cultures, teachers are more able to find topics that children would be motivated to read as well. Also like stated in this chapter, “I want them turn their anger, their hurt, their rage into words that might affect other people” (112). I think that this is also extremely important because passion without writing is writing with no purpose. If you have a purpose and an audience, you are able to reach out to others and possibly teach them something. I think that that kind of writing is the most effective.
Michelle I love that you pointed out how Christenson not only wants the students to be immersed in a variety/divers group of text to learn but also to study their own lives and learn from themselves. Many people do not take the time to analyze themselves or why they are who they are and this is a big part of finding your true identity. Christenson is guiding her students along the path of discovery to their souls. The aspect of diversity being good and all race shape and gender being equally important allows the students to see the good in themselves and not want to hide their backgrounds or hold back their thoughts, hopes and dreams. I completely agree with you when you say “it’s important to show students that there is a world outside the classroom that they can be involved in and be a part of to make a difference.” Christenson always brings the real world into the classroom because the kids are a part of it and will one day have to face it without someone to hold them up. She is preparing them for life and trying to show them that tolerance is a peaceful and enjoyable way to live.
Arianna also referred to the idea of identity and individuality. It is true that a class is made up of parts and everyone is unique with something to contribute to make the community work more efficiently and enjoyably. Your idea about passion in writing has definite evidence; I would rather read a book written by someone who enjoys it and spends the time putting in their all then someone who decided they wanted to write a book just to make money and make a name for themselves. I feel the one from the dedicated writer would be more enjoyable because the person put their “blood sweat and tears” in to speak into it. It is our job as teachers to excite and motivate these children; make them have a passion for expressing their ideas so they can write to their full potential.
This week’s reading was very encouraging. I felt Christensen really cared about her students’ voices and tried to make them feel and understand and learn that their voices do matter. I read this today and I thought about my teacher profile that I did for our other course and I feel like even though I didn’t say like Christensen, she and I as well as all of you think it’s important that our students feel like their opinion and say matters. I really liked how she accepts the cultural differences and made it a part of her teachings. She tries bringing the students culture into her classrooms and it’s really beneficial because the students aren’t than just learning about English and Literature, but about each other. I really liked when Christensen said “What I said was more important than how I said it” and how she took a long time to realize that. I think especially in an English class where students all have their own language or approach to speaking English what really matter is that they express their ideas. This quote reminded me of my experience in 12th grade and even in some of my classes today. I don’t know why but every time I’m put in the spot light to speak I just fumble over my words and for the most part my teacher’s understand this and actually incorporate my ideas in their next remark which shows me that their actually listening to what I’m saying rather to how I said it. Oh just a side note…Christensen incorporated Rayford’s Song the poem that we read in the beginning of the semester! I felt kind of special because I knew the poem beforehand I really liked how she tried to get her students use their voices in their class and not be intimidated by the class or teacher in the room. Christensen has an understanding of her students and I think her activities build a comfortable atmosphere in which the students can confidently share their thoughts and opinions.
Another thing I really enjoyed about this week’s reading was Christensen’s approach in getting reluctant readers to read. The Tea Party is such an amazing idea and it could be utilized in any age groups. When I was reading this part I started thinking about the 7th graders I’m with now and how this kind of activity would really open their perception about books and how they would enjoy reading them just to do this activity. Having a tea party or popcorn part or whatever the teacher calls it really gets students engaged with the story and allows them to read it from a different perspective. The Tea Party idea enables them to become one with the story and actually live out the story while still examining the essentials in analyzing a novel etc. Chapter 5 was all about poetry…my favorite!! I really liked this chapter and I would love to photo copy this chapter and give it to some teachers just as a guideline to use in teaching poetry in their classrooms. I know this semester I was there when mine and Arianna’s mentor taught poetry and let me tell you “boring” isn’t the word to describe that day. It was so dry and very dull and for a genre like poetry I think a lot could be done. The examples of exercises and activities she makes her students do really revitalizes poetry and even though our mentor teacher said that she hated poetry it shouldn’t mean that it’s okay to make a unit so boring and dull. I mean I wasn’t there for the rest of the week and I didn’t see what the kids did on the days I was there, but the way in which she began the unit was very straight forward right out of the textbook and I think poetry shouldn’t be done like that anymore. The projects that the students had to do at the end of the unit was really interesting but I think had they been taught to make poetry interesting and personal the poems that they wrote would have been more creative. Poetry I think is a time for creativity and I really liked the idea of the Remember Me poems. I remember doing something like that in 8th grade. However, now that I look back on it, it wasn’t done in my ELA class; it was my social studies teacher that made us write about each other. She had printed out a roster of the class for each student and everyone was supposed to say one good thing about the individual or one thing they liked about them and hand in the roster sheet and on the last day of school she made a small card of all the things everyone said about each other laminated them and had us go around and read our cards. My teacher’s idea wasn’t like Mrs. Christensen but it’s another good activity students could do at the end of the year to remember the good times in class. It was really encouraging and she had told us to keep those cards and put them in our wallets, and if ever we doubted ourselves we should take them out and see what our peers had thought about us. (I unfortunately lost mine when I was moving upstate and I’ve kicked myself about it but, just the memory of doing that and having once had that card of encouragement really makes me appreciate how far I’ve come and encourages me to push forward when I feel like throwing in the towel.
Something else I really enjoyed in this weeks reading was on page 123, the teaching strategies. I am looking forward to using the "Text Rendering" aspect of the assignment in my own class. The idea is similar to a "found" poem except the students work together and use multiple words and phrases from other poems to create their own group poem. Not only are they working on social skills by working in groups but they are able to discuss why they chose certain lines or why they want to use a particular word they underlined. The process keeps the students looking back at the poem read and gaining a better understanding from what their group members are saying.
Overall, I really liked this week’s reading. Christensen is very into student centered activities and I think the kids would learn more about one another as well as learn about the importance of reading and writing. I think if we take the time to engage our students’ lives in our lessons, they will be more willing to become active learners and become independent readers and writers.
In chapter four, one piece I absolutely loved was the " Tea Party" idea for a new book. Basically, since most students despise school required readings, this is a brilliant way to have students getting into the book in a stlye different that simply reading page after page. I also liked that it got students out of their seats and asked them to interact while being in character. I felt this was a great idea for any classroom where students are as Chirstensen calls it " reluctant readers." The introduction to chapter five basically explains all the reasons I chose English as my teaching subject. Giving students a chance to explore societies and worlds outside of their own through literature is something every teacher should strive for in their classroom. the poetry idea that Christensen gives about making a poem about who a character in the book is, I feel, gives students a great way to review/share their knowledge of a character while using their artistic writing abilities. All students like to "compete" when it comes to writing skills and poem writing is a great activity that will most likely engage them all. In a way, this touches into what we talk about in class "writing to learn." Students are writing both poems and tea party speeches while at the same time learning and synthesizing the information they've read in the book. Combining these activities is sure to be a success because it uses all skills and knowledge at once. ( and student's don't even realize it)
Our third book club meeting went really well. We mainly discussed the importance of giving students a voice. This voice represented each student’s own unique perspectives, cultures, races, ethnicities, etc. Arianna and Valentina shared first-hand experience about this since their mentor teaching didn’t fully let each student represent themselves. The rest of us agreed that the classroom and activities should celebrate student’s voices. Christenson promotes this concept by recognizing each students own distinct aspects and engaging students in diverse literature. She shows the students the importance of their voice but letting them write back to authors, writers, and treats students with respect. We all agreed that we want to pick diverse amounts of literature and have our students connect to it. We want our literature show appreciation to all cultures. Tory brought up how Christenson compared reading to an escape from reality for students. We all agreed with him that this is a main reason we want to teach, to show students that through reading, they can give characters a voice and create one of their own.
Another topic that we dwelled upon for a while was the aspect of poetry. We felt that Christenson does an excellent job engaging students within poetry. Valentina felt as if she would recommend this reading about poetry to any teacher. Arianna pointed out the example poem in the book, “Hey Boy,” which pertained to bullying, a concept any student can relate to. We all witnessed students struggling with poetry and even discussed ourselves finding poetry a little challenging to grasp. Professor Clayton also agreed, poetry can be a topic that, if addressed wrong, could be overwhelming for people. A lot of people think they aren’t good at poetry because they see all these famous examples of great poetry. I think teachers need to use a diverse skill level of poetry, starting with basic poetry to make it less “threatening” for students. We also discussed how Christenson uses poetry to continue giving students a voice. She teaches some content about formation and structure along with letting students find their emotions to write. We thought the “remember me” poems were a really cute idea, although, you would have to establish a safe, tolerant classroom first and use it with appropriate older grade levels.
I loved reading this unfolding dialogue, being a bit of a part of your discussion, and reading (and reliving) the discussion through Michelle's summary. I love how you all talk about the focus on giving students a voice (which Christenson is a real master of) and getting kids to study their own lives. It seems that getting adolescents to study themselves is perfectly and developmentally appropriate! It's what adolescence is about! I'm glad you see real possibilities with this book selection and connect to it with the ideas and angles on student work presented. I'm thinking back to your personal vision from TCH 323. I think you all would have a lot to add to that now after reading this book.
Christenson isn’t afraid to engage her classes in serious topics and have them question race, class, gender, etc. inequalities. I like how she creates debate and questions that provoke examination of student’s lives and the role of people throughout history. In order for students to understand and be totally involved in readings, they should know how different people were treated that time period and even how their role is affected today. I really connected to Linda’s study questions for each unit. She has the students studying their own lives, reading a variety of texts – which I greatly am in favor for. I think it’s important that students read a variety of literature and are involved in a variety of activities. The more interaction with different literature, characters, nationalities, cultures, and people then the greater learning experience if offered to students. Linda also includes a final product for students to produce their own knowledge and build on it from what they learned. I think it’s important to let students use their own knowledge and show how they have grown and can apply it.
ReplyDeleteWithin Christenson’s units she uses a diverse, variety of literature from different perspectives. I think this is really important because the more contact students have with different cultures and people, they more they can learn about others and themselves. Christenson encourages students to write back to authors about scenarios they play out in the book or question things the author does. I think this is key to getting students to voice their opinions. If a student feels passionately or can relate to a topic/scene, it’s important to make sure their voice is heard. Students should be able to question authors and books – to either agree or disagree – about what is happening. I think through this questioning process is when students learn more about who they are and what the world is. I also think it’s essential for students to relate to the literature. I like that Christenson points out and asks how her students lives parallel characters in the novels they read, including struggles they may face or situations. By having students free write on this or writing an essay gets students to open up. Christenson uses these prompts to get students to key in on a topic or cause that is important to them. They then talk about potential audiences or outlets they can address from their topic, problem, or cause. I think it’s important to show students that there is a world outside the classroom that they can be involved in and be a part of to make a difference.
In order to get students engaged in the books and asking questions, Christenson has students act out a “tea party” scenario. I thought this was a good way to get students out of their seats and talking. She has students be assigned a role of a character and give out some key facts about them while everyone walks around the class. Students then pose questions to each other about these facts or wonders they have about what will happen. I think this is a good jumpstart into a novel to get students attention and make them brainstorm about the novel. By students formulating questions, it makes them wonder about each character as a person or who they were in history.
Once again, I like the remember me poems. I think the poems and monologues are a great way to get students to find their voice. With the remember me poems, students randomly pick names out of a hat and write a poem honoring that person. It is always nice to hear others praise you and notice good qualities within you. I think this teaches a respectful and tolerant classroom. It shows that students feel safe and respect each other. Even if they aren’t friends outside of school, they can come together in this classroom to be friends.
(For Arianna)
ReplyDeleteI think that this chapter was very important because it emphasized the importance of our students being individuals, and not just “a class.” When we as teachers recognize that each person is as unique as their culture and language, we show them that really appreciate them for who they are, and not just for the grades they get in class. I enjoyed reading the poem “Hey! Go Boy!” by Thieson Ngyuen because I think although it’s short and simple, that many students will be able to relate to it, just like I did (except for the boy part). By ending the poem with “just try your best” I feel like it could really allow those who are bullied for being different feel better, and those who do the bullying really think about how they are treating others. That way, everyone in the class, no matter who they are gets a chance to just think and reflect on how they act whether they are the bully or the one who is being bullied. By validating the differences students have in their own cultures, teachers are more able to find topics that children would be motivated to read as well. Also like stated in this chapter, “I want them turn their anger, their hurt, their rage into words that might affect other people” (112). I think that this is also extremely important because passion without writing is writing with no purpose. If you have a purpose and an audience, you are able to reach out to others and possibly teach them something. I think that that kind of writing is the most effective.
Michelle I love that you pointed out how Christenson not only wants the students to be immersed in a variety/divers group of text to learn but also to study their own lives and learn from themselves. Many people do not take the time to analyze themselves or why they are who they are and this is a big part of finding your true identity. Christenson is guiding her students along the path of discovery to their souls. The aspect of diversity being good and all race shape and gender being equally important allows the students to see the good in themselves and not want to hide their backgrounds or hold back their thoughts, hopes and dreams. I completely agree with you when you say “it’s important to show students that there is a world outside the classroom that they can be involved in and be a part of to make a difference.” Christenson always brings the real world into the classroom because the kids are a part of it and will one day have to face it without someone to hold them up. She is preparing them for life and trying to show them that tolerance is a peaceful and enjoyable way to live.
ReplyDeleteArianna also referred to the idea of identity and individuality. It is true that a class is made up of parts and everyone is unique with something to contribute to make the community work more efficiently and enjoyably. Your idea about passion in writing has definite evidence; I would rather read a book written by someone who enjoys it and spends the time putting in their all then someone who decided they wanted to write a book just to make money and make a name for themselves. I feel the one from the dedicated writer would be more enjoyable because the person put their “blood sweat and tears” in to speak into it. It is our job as teachers to excite and motivate these children; make them have a passion for expressing their ideas so they can write to their full potential.
This week’s reading was very encouraging. I felt Christensen really cared about her students’ voices and tried to make them feel and understand and learn that their voices do matter. I read this today and I thought about my teacher profile that I did for our other course and I feel like even though I didn’t say like Christensen, she and I as well as all of you think it’s important that our students feel like their opinion and say matters. I really liked how she accepts the cultural differences and made it a part of her teachings. She tries bringing the students culture into her classrooms and it’s really beneficial because the students aren’t than just learning about English and Literature, but about each other. I really liked when Christensen said “What I said was more important than how I said it” and how she took a long time to realize that. I think especially in an English class where students all have their own language or approach to speaking English what really matter is that they express their ideas. This quote reminded me of my experience in 12th grade and even in some of my classes today. I don’t know why but every time I’m put in the spot light to speak I just fumble over my words and for the most part my teacher’s understand this and actually incorporate my ideas in their next remark which shows me that their actually listening to what I’m saying rather to how I said it. Oh just a side note…Christensen incorporated Rayford’s Song the poem that we read in the beginning of the semester! I felt kind of special because I knew the poem beforehand I really liked how she tried to get her students use their voices in their class and not be intimidated by the class or teacher in the room. Christensen has an understanding of her students and I think her activities build a comfortable atmosphere in which the students can confidently share their thoughts and opinions.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I really enjoyed about this week’s reading was Christensen’s approach in getting reluctant readers to read. The Tea Party is such an amazing idea and it could be utilized in any age groups. When I was reading this part I started thinking about the 7th graders I’m with now and how this kind of activity would really open their perception about books and how they would enjoy reading them just to do this activity. Having a tea party or popcorn part or whatever the teacher calls it really gets students engaged with the story and allows them to read it from a different perspective. The Tea Party idea enables them to become one with the story and actually live out the story while still examining the essentials in analyzing a novel etc.
ReplyDeleteChapter 5 was all about poetry…my favorite!! I really liked this chapter and I would love to photo copy this chapter and give it to some teachers just as a guideline to use in teaching poetry in their classrooms. I know this semester I was there when mine and Arianna’s mentor taught poetry and let me tell you “boring” isn’t the word to describe that day. It was so dry and very dull and for a genre like poetry I think a lot could be done. The examples of exercises and activities she makes her students do really revitalizes poetry and even though our mentor teacher said that she hated poetry it shouldn’t mean that it’s okay to make a unit so boring and dull. I mean I wasn’t there for the rest of the week and I didn’t see what the kids did on the days I was there, but the way in which she began the unit was very straight forward right out of the textbook and I think poetry shouldn’t be done like that anymore. The projects that the students had to do at the end of the unit was really interesting but I think had they been taught to make poetry interesting and personal the poems that they wrote would have been more creative. Poetry I think is a time for creativity and I really liked the idea of the Remember Me poems. I remember doing something like that in 8th grade. However, now that I look back on it, it wasn’t done in my ELA class; it was my social studies teacher that made us write about each other. She had printed out a roster of the class for each student and everyone was supposed to say one good thing about the individual or one thing they liked about them and hand in the roster sheet and on the last day of school she made a small card of all the things everyone said about each other laminated them and had us go around and read our cards. My teacher’s idea wasn’t like Mrs. Christensen but it’s another good activity students could do at the end of the year to remember the good times in class. It was really encouraging and she had told us to keep those cards and put them in our wallets, and if ever we doubted ourselves we should take them out and see what our peers had thought about us. (I unfortunately lost mine when I was moving upstate and I’ve kicked myself about it but, just the memory of doing that and having once had that card of encouragement really makes me appreciate how far I’ve come and encourages me to push forward when I feel like throwing in the towel.
Something else I really enjoyed in this weeks reading was on page 123, the teaching strategies. I am looking forward to using the "Text Rendering" aspect of the assignment in my own class. The idea is similar to a "found" poem except the students work together and use multiple words and phrases from other poems to create their own group poem. Not only are they working on social skills by working in groups but they are able to discuss why they chose certain lines or why they want to use a particular word they underlined. The process keeps the students looking back at the poem read and gaining a better understanding from what their group members are saying.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I really liked this week’s reading. Christensen is very into student centered activities and I think the kids would learn more about one another as well as learn about the importance of reading and writing. I think if we take the time to engage our students’ lives in our lessons, they will be more willing to become active learners and become independent readers and writers.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter four, one piece I absolutely loved was the " Tea Party" idea for a new book. Basically, since most students despise school required readings, this is a brilliant way to have students getting into the book in a stlye different that simply reading page after page. I also liked that it got students out of their seats and asked them to interact while being in character. I felt this was a great idea for any classroom where students are as Chirstensen calls it " reluctant readers." The introduction to chapter five basically explains all the reasons I chose English as my teaching subject. Giving students a chance to explore societies and worlds outside of their own through literature is something every teacher should strive for in their classroom. the poetry idea that Christensen gives about making a poem about who a character in the book is, I feel, gives students a great way to review/share their knowledge of a character while using their artistic writing abilities. All students like to "compete" when it comes to writing skills and poem writing is a great activity that will most likely engage them all. In a way, this touches into what we talk about in class "writing to learn." Students are writing both poems and tea party speeches while at the same time learning and synthesizing the information they've read in the book. Combining these activities is sure to be a success because it uses all skills and knowledge at once. ( and student's don't even realize it)
ReplyDeleteOur third book club meeting went really well. We mainly discussed the importance of giving students a voice. This voice represented each student’s own unique perspectives, cultures, races, ethnicities, etc. Arianna and Valentina shared first-hand experience about this since their mentor teaching didn’t fully let each student represent themselves. The rest of us agreed that the classroom and activities should celebrate student’s voices. Christenson promotes this concept by recognizing each students own distinct aspects and engaging students in diverse literature. She shows the students the importance of their voice but letting them write back to authors, writers, and treats students with respect. We all agreed that we want to pick diverse amounts of literature and have our students connect to it. We want our literature show appreciation to all cultures. Tory brought up how Christenson compared reading to an escape from reality for students. We all agreed with him that this is a main reason we want to teach, to show students that through reading, they can give characters a voice and create one of their own.
ReplyDeleteAnother topic that we dwelled upon for a while was the aspect of poetry. We felt that Christenson does an excellent job engaging students within poetry. Valentina felt as if she would recommend this reading about poetry to any teacher. Arianna pointed out the example poem in the book, “Hey Boy,” which pertained to bullying, a concept any student can relate to. We all witnessed students struggling with poetry and even discussed ourselves finding poetry a little challenging to grasp. Professor Clayton also agreed, poetry can be a topic that, if addressed wrong, could be overwhelming for people. A lot of people think they aren’t good at poetry because they see all these famous examples of great poetry. I think teachers need to use a diverse skill level of poetry, starting with basic poetry to make it less “threatening” for students. We also discussed how Christenson uses poetry to continue giving students a voice. She teaches some content about formation and structure along with letting students find their emotions to write. We thought the “remember me” poems were a really cute idea, although, you would have to establish a safe, tolerant classroom first and use it with appropriate older grade levels.
I loved reading this unfolding dialogue, being a bit of a part of your discussion, and reading (and reliving) the discussion through Michelle's summary. I love how you all talk about the focus on giving students a voice (which Christenson is a real master of) and getting kids to study their own lives. It seems that getting adolescents to study themselves is perfectly and developmentally appropriate! It's what adolescence is about! I'm glad you see real possibilities with this book selection and connect to it with the ideas and angles on student work presented. I'm thinking back to your personal vision from TCH 323. I think you all would have a lot to add to that now after reading this book.
ReplyDelete