Action Research Post

Part 1:

Title: Chemistry in Art: Crossing the Cirriculum
Question: Can teaching chemistry be paired with art instruction to boost student performance in chemistry?
Strategy: These observations were for general insights about teaching and learning, not statistical evidence.
Evidence: The students liked the art projects and their connections with science. Motivation remained high throughout the year.
Collection of data: personal insight and journaling to gather the information thoughout the year.
Analyzed: How well the students were doing and if they had interest in the subject. The following year a point system was given to teachers.
Results:Seemed to keep the students interest in both chemistry as well as art.
Teacher practice: The teacher made changes to the cirriculum when things were not working as needed. As well as kept the things that were needed the same.

Part 2:
 Title: Rhyme, Word families, and reading in kindergarten
Problem: Students are not able to find word families and rhymes while reading a text. Therefore not improving student reading.
Rational: Studies show that students who play rhyming games improve one word families and rhyming recognition and pickiong them out in the text.
Strategy: Using rhyming games during reading instruction.
Question: How can I use a variety of rhyming games to help my students recognize rhymes and word families in text?
Evidence: Students were able to recognize the word families as well as the rhymes. Test scores improved.
Data: Pre and Post test for each student in reading. As well as use check lists when observing students.

Double Entry Journal #11

What is formative assessment? Formative assessment is an assessment that aids in student learning and knowledge. It also puts student learning at the center. Helps students learn about the goals for a specific lesson.

What is the CENTRAL purpose of formative assessment? To find out what the students know and what they might need help with during or before the beginning of a lesson. For the students to see how their learning is different from other students.

Connect a best practice in formative assessment to one research-based strategy. Setting objectives, students could write an entrance goal of what they might think an assignment might be about based on the title and then an exit slip on what it was about and what they had to do to accomplish the assignment. Students can then focus on the real task of what is to be taught, with some insight based on the name and title.

Give an example of how a specific assessment can be used formatively and summatively. A KWL chart would be a good example students could fill out what they already know based on not doing the assignment at all or mid way through. Students then could fill out the what they learned part as a final example of what they learned. Or entrance and exit slips. What the student knows before the lessons begin and what they learned at the end of class to exit.

Give an example from your field placement related to formative assessment and timing. I had students tell me what they thought happened in Haiti and why Haiti was in need of help. By doing this I could eliminate some of the materials I had to cover because what was the point in teaching that to them if they already knew it. Saved time and gained extra work time.

What are some strategies to help formative assessment be more effective when providing students with feedback? High-quality formative assessment provides enough detail to give students a clear idea of what, why, and how they are to proceed as they continue to work on an assignment. But they need to be made managable into learnable chunks so that student is not overwhelmed.

Name two advantages to high quality formative assessment. Shows teachers what students are struggling and what students are gaining knowledge. Students who experience formative assessment transfer knowledge from class to class because they understand the given area of knowledge.

What are some challenges to implementing high quality formative assessment?Linking assessment to teaching so that both teachers and students benefit, recognizing the need for a variety in assessment for different types of learners, and adjusting assessment so that students more beyond so student excell at their work.

Double Entry Journal #10

In a blog posting briefly describe why it is the responsibility of all teachers to provided writing instruction for their students.Name and describe four research-based strategies to support writing instruction for students.

I think that it is the responsibility for all teachers to provide writing instruction for their students because it is something that everyone needs to know and something that everyone needs to be proficient at. Everyone needs to know how to write and get their points across. By providing writing instruction for all students, it boosts them in their future achievements. As a teacher no matter what content area or grade level all children can write about something that the class is doing or talking about, what they don't know about a topic or what they do know about a topic, and the students could also write about something they find interesting. Just like reading students need to be interested. Students are not going to want to write about some thing that does not interest them, make it fun for them and they will enjoy what they are dong and continue building on the skills that were just given. I think that reading and knowing how to pronounce a word is just as important as writing and writing correctly.

Summarizing and note taking

Not only will the students be learning about the topic being discussed in class, but students will be working on their writing. Even thought the grammar might not be perfect students will be getting the major concepts of writing just by practicing. Students will also be able to learn other parts of writing such as summarizing.

Identifying Similarities and Differences

Students can write about the differences and similarites on the topic being discussed in class. This will help with future assignments that students might have because they will know more words to use in place of words that are used often.

Nonlinguistic Representation

Students can use writing in different ways including making graphs, charts, posters, etc..Stimulates different kinds of learners.

Setting Objectives

Students could set goals and objectives by writing them down in a journal and marking each as their accomplish them.Students should know that they should be goals that can be accomplished and goals that are within reach of getting.

Monarch High School Haiti Houses

Web Quest overview/review

The web quest that I found simliar to my ideas for a web quest was on Malaira. The web quest wants students to find out what the disease is, how it effects people, what would happen if alot of people got sick from it. There are animations on how Malaria evolves and what carries Malaria. The navigation was easy-it loaded as a PDF. The page had good visuals-pictures, graphs, animations, and videos. The intro said excatly what was going to be done-tells what will be learned, but not in cso's. Steps are clearly stated.There are no roles however, but roles could be included if I were to make my own. All the info and tasks are linked to the information be given and learned. There are worksheets to be complete, videos, animations, pictures, links to websites- good resources. There is not evaluation, but once again one could be added. I give it a 37/50.

Several things could be added or improved. The roles, an evaluation, and some of the links do not load or are no longer available. Overall this web quest was really good.

Can't wait to make my thoughts into a web quest. Some of the CSO's that I would like to use for my Web quest include

VA.O.5.1.3: use media, tools and technology in a safe and responsible manner.

VA.O.5.5.1: compare the purposes of functional and non-functional crafts.

VA.O.5.6.1: recognize various subjects as expressed through two or more arts disciplines.

Wordle

An art interest survey at my clinical with 5th graders. These were the most used words from the questions I gave them and the anwsers I got.

Deciding on a Web quest and topic

The web Quest that I found was based on Malari Challenge. Click the hyper link to see the Web Quest. There is not art project with this but one could be incorprated.

I would like to do my Web Quest on Haiti Houses- as well as use the theme for my 3 lessons. I would like to have the students at my clinical site to make their own Haiti Houses.
http://www.haitihouses.org/build.html

Double Journal #9

The three quotes from the online article

"In spite of the fact that the vital importance of play has been shown in study after study, many people believe that play is a waste of time in school. School, they say, should be a place for learning. There’s plenty of time for play at home."
I really do not like the fact that people think that there is plenty of time for play at home. If you think about it a student gets up in the morning and is at school by 7:30-8:00am. They have to sit in a classroom for hours on end while the teacher talks about stuff they should be able to do and know. There is lunch and bathroom breaks. Then the student gets on a bus around 2:30-3:30 and either goes home( which they have to work on the tons of homework given) or they go to an afterschool program until parents are able to pick them up. By the time students get home they have to do homework/ finish it, eat dinner, and get ready for the next day. When exactly is there time for that "plenty of play"?Most a childs life is spent sitting in a classroom learning so that they can do well on a test so that the school and state looks good.

Why Kids Need Recess and Exercise


"Classic play materials like blocks, sand and water tables, and props for dramatic play have largely disappeared from the 268 full-day kindergarten classrooms studied."
I also think this is absurb. If teachers and professionals expect children to learn and retain knowledge children need to be able to connect the learning they do in class with toys or items to play with in class as well. I think that even though a child plays with blocks- there can be learning from the shape of the block, the color, the texture, how many sides that block has, or how many blocks the child has on the floor. Right there are many things that a child is learning- math, colors, textures, etc.. What if the child does not get to play with blocks or dramatic props he or she might never get the thought of building houses for a career or being a nurse because they like taking care of the dolls or other students. There are so many things that children can learn from playing. I have worked in a daycare setting for almost 6 years and have seen all kinds of play that children have done. Currently I work in the infant room with the 6week-6month age range. Young children being able to play builds on their life and helps them learn, it would be like me not letting the infants explore the room- they would be afraid and not succeed.

Should Toys be in Kindergarten Classrooms?


"The power of play as the engine of learning in early childhood and as a vital force for young children’s physical, social, and emotional development is beyond question. Children in play-based kindergartens have a double advantage over those who are denied play: they end up equally good or better at reading and other intellectual skills, and they are more likely to become well-adjusted healthy people."
I agree that the power of play is an engine of learning. Children need that interaction with other children( there age or not) so that they will have a physical, social, and emotional life. If a child in Kindergarten is not allowed to talk during class time or lunch, how are those students going to be able to get along with others if they don't know what to do in the first place. And how are students supposed to get to know each other and their similarities, not letting students socialize could lead to bullying. Finally, if a child is not allowed to play and they only lead a seditary life at school. They might not know how to play and their health could deteriate because the only thing they know is sitting and learning. I agree that when a child hits all the developments they will be able to learn and focus better.

Starting Kindergarten

Student Observation

I observed a 5th grade male student at the school that I am doing my clinicals at. I noticed that he was not interested in working on his art project. He was up out of his seat, going to other tables and talking to other students. Disrupting the other students cause the class to be rather to loud for what it should have been. The teacher was constantly telling this student to return to his seat and work on him assignment. Once in his seat he would work for a few minutes and then start to get restless. He would stand up or put his feet underneath himself on the chair or simply turn sideways in his chair. He continued doing this through out most of the class period, where he would talk and not be focused and then he would work for a few minutes. The students on the other side of the room were sitting and talking quietly to the other students at the same table, but they continued to work on their assignment. However the other side of the room where the student, who was not focused, were a bit louder and they were not working on their assignment as closely as the other side of the class. The teacher kept having to tell the class to settle down and stop talking as much and work on their project. Towards the end of the class period the student finally got settled down long enough to work on his project. He only got about 10 minutes of drawing and coloring done before the class period ended.

Double Entry Journal #8

What are some challenges to inquiry approaches to learning?

Some may think that inquiry based learning is that it is unstructured and may fail to provide proper scaffolding, assessment, and redirection as projects unfold. General academic skills, students may have difficulty developing logical arguments and evidence to support their claims (Krajcik et al., 1998). Students often find it hard to work in groups, manage their time, the complexity of work, and motivation (Achilles & Hoover, 1996; Edelson et al., 1999).

Make connections between project-based learning and three research based strategies (Choose strategies you have not already been assigned to read about). Give a brief explanation of the connections.

A good way to show students that they have done well on an asssignment or a project is to Provide Feedback. Feedback improves learning, helps students see their errors and how it can be corrected.
Another connection between project-based learning and a research strategy is that teachers can use Stimulations and Games. When students use multiple systems of representing knowledge, the better the students are able to think about and recall what they have learned. Simulations enhance potential by making modeling dynamic.
The third connection between project based learning and research based strategies is Cues, Questions, and Advanced Organizers. Finding out what students already know and then connect new ideas to what the students already know. Asking questions and then prompting students to reply with cues. Students learn for when they are given information in multiple ways.

Citations:
Hyper link to each website about reasearch based strategies.

Barron, B. (2008). Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

Double Journal Entry # 7

1. Read the
Introduction. What "dominant paradigm" is showing signs of wear?
The model of the teacher and the
textbook as the main sources of knowledge, given through lecturing, discussion,
and reading, has proven astonishingly persistent.

2. According to
the research, how does Project-Based Learning support student learning
better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the
studies.
Project-based learning involves
completing complex tasks that typically result in a realistic product, event,
or presentation to an audience. Research on project-based learning has found
that students who engage in this approach benefit from gains in factual
learning that are equivalent or superior to those of students who engage in
traditional forms of instruction (Thomas, 2000). It showed a large increase in
scores in the critical-thinking test as well as increased confidence in learning
(Shepherd (1998). Also PBL’s showed an
increase in the ability to define problems (Gallagher, Stepien, &
Rosenthal, 1992). A third benefit is positive attitudes and motivation for
teachers and students towards learning, including work skills, critical
thinking, and problem solving skills (Bartscher, Gould, & Nutter, 1995;
Peck, Peck, Sentz, & Zasa, 1998; Tretten & Zachariou, 1995).

3. According to
the research, how does Problem-Based Learning support student learning
better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the
studies.
Lessons typically involve a
specific type of activity focused on using reasoning and resources to solve a
problem. In small groups students investigate meaningful problems, identify
what they need to learn in order to solve a problem, and generate strategies
for solution (Barrows, 1996; Hmelo-Silver, 2004). Some benefits include
students score higher on problem solving (Vernon & Blake, 1993; Albanese
& Mitchell, 1993). Another benefit
is that students learn to analyze complex, multifaceted situations and to
develop knowledge to guide decision making (see, e.g. Lundeberg, Levin, &
Harrington, 1999; Savery & Duffy, 1996; Williams, 1992). Finally, students
can generate accurate hypotheses and coherent explanations (Hmelo, 1998b;
Schmidt et al., 1996).

4. According to
the research, how does Learning by Design support student learning
better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the
studies.
Learning
by design is based on the premise that students learn a lot when they are asked
to design and create an artifact that requires understanding and application of
knowledge. One study shows that LBD’s have better outcomes and than the
traditional approach (Hmelo, Holton, and Kolodner 2000). Another study showed
that both higher- and lower-achieving students showed strong evidence of
progress in learning targeted concepts and to apply key concepts (Fortus and
colleagues 2004). Finally, researchers also observed that design activities are
particularly good for helping students develop understanding of complex
systems, noting that the systems can be presented as a united whole whose
structure is adapted to specific purposes (Perkins, 1986).


5. What are the
differences between the three approaches?
Project-Based
learning is completing complex tasks that
usually result in a realistic product, event, or presentation. Problem-based
learning is a specific type of activity focused on using reasoning and
resources to solve a problem. Finally Learning by Design has students to design
and create an artifact that requires understanding and knowledge.

6. In your opinion, what is the most important
benefit to learning that is common across the three types of inquiry-based
learning approaches?
I think that the most important benefit about
all three of these types of learning is that they show a change in student’s
progress in school subjects as well as tests. These methods prove that students
understand the content that is given to them at the start of the lesson.

Citations:
Barron, B. (2008). Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

PBL and Power Point quiz

The PowerPoint activity did not support the assigned Project-based strategy because the reading talked about how teachers use opportunities to guide students through a series of steps including asking good questions, generating hypotheses and predictions, investigating through testing or research, making observations, and finally analyzing and communicating results. The Powerpoint project had a set of directions and we were let loose on the project. We could not ask any of our peers what they thought, we could only ask the teacher.
The project could be changed so that the it was a Project-based strategy by using questioning strategies. The reading talks about a couple strategies and the last one was Use questioning
strategies. Ask questions throughout the inquiry cycle—when students are posing questions, while they are investigating, when they analyzing results or presenting conclusions. At
each stage, challenge them to explain their reasoning and defend results.

Citations:
Generating and testing hypotheses. (2005). Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/gene.php

Double Entry Journal #6

~Why is this video helpful for teaching in West Virginia?
This video is helpful for West Virginia's teachers because it talks about proper grammar. And how proper grammar is important. It also talks about how correcting the errors of grammar is not enough, the students are not really learning from their mistakes. Also talks about how talking at school, home, and work are all different when it comes to talking and speaking correctly.
~What evidence is presented that supports the credibility of the speaker?
She is an associate professor and the author of a book talking about code switching and she is a literacy consaltant among many other qualifications.
~Describe the traditional approach to responding to student writing?
The traditional appraoch is to just correct the student writing.
~Why does the traditional approach not work in improving student writing?
The traditional approach is finding errorers. And that by just correcting the error the student is not learning.
~Name the three strategies associated with the linguistic approach to writing instruction?
Scientific Method, Contrastive Anyalsis, Code switching as meta congnition.
~How do you know the cat and Taylor go together?
We know that Taylor and the cat goes together because of the way the pattern is. Taylor comes before what she owns. And because it is Taylor's cat.
~What is different between the two patterns of possessives for informal and formal English?
The difference between the two patterns is that the first has not markings and no symbols. The other has correct markings and symbols to show the possession of items.
~What strategy is being used for teaching the second grade students the different patterns between informal and formal English?
Showing the students the correct way and the wrong way to use proper grammar. It shows with out the proper grammar things can be misunderstood, but with the correct grammar and markings that items are not confused and are more clear to who owns what.
~Describe how the scientific method is used to teach students to code switch.
We collect data, lead students to look for a patterns, kids discover a hypothesis, check the hypothesis with the children when something is wrong, and then correct the hypothesis with the students and try again.
~What question is being asked to engage students in the comparison and contrast strategy?
What changed between the formal and informal patterns of Engish?
~How does code switching support meta cognition?
Shows support when we should use formal English vs. informal English
~What evidence is presented the code switching approach works?
That students came up with lists of the times when students should us informal english and when to use formal english. They decided that there was a time and a place for everything.
~ Describe one of the studies?
One of the studies was to comparision vs contrastive anylasis between two groups of students. There more vanacular features in the comparision group and drecrease in the constrastive anylasis.


Second Speaker
~How did the students respond when asked how they felt about being corrected when they talked?
The children felt angry, hurt, confused, and stupid. The students were not learning.
~Give an example of a "fund of knowledge" the teacher drew on to help students learn to code switch? She looked at her own results. She talked to her students about how they felt when teachers corrected them. Before she started code switching she simply pointed out the errors. After she designed a way to use language correctly. She asked what informal and formal was in real life- like clothes (she did an activity), then use that to take the students to what is unknown to change into formal.
~What are some added benefits aside from raising test scores that stem from using contrastive analysis? Some benefits of raising test scores are recognize informal language and formal language when others are speaking. Kids would correct and notice contrastive analysis. Also they realized that everyone speaks differently and it is okay.


Explain how contrastive analysis for writing instruction is an example of each of these research-based strategies:
Constructive analysis is an example of these research based strategies because it is applying understanding by finding a hypothesis and solving what the problem is in many different content areas. It helps learners find patterns and make corrections to their mistakes. By doing so creates not learning experiences that students will recall and be able to find differences and similaties.

Citations:
Generating and testing hypotheses. (2005). Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/gene.php

Identifying similarities and differences. (2005). Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/iden.php

Teaching standard english in urban classrooms. (2007, November 20). Forum Network. [Video podcast]. Retrieved from http://forum-network.org/lecture/teaching-standard-english-urban-classrooms

Google Doc.

Was not sure if I needed to post a link to this.. Culturally Responsive Teaching

I am from...video

Double Entry Journal #5

What does the research say about the impact of negative teacher attitudes about students
ethnicity and language variations on student learning?

The research says that the impact of negative teacher attitudes about ethnicity and language variations effect student learning in ways that the student will not do well on assessments, in class, they will with drawl from learning because they are “not able to learn” based
on how the teacher reacts to them. If the teacher is negative it can affect the
entire classroom. Factors that can be loosely categorized as environment,
personal factors, and behavior interact and play off each other in a cyclical
way.


What aresome assessment pitfalls?
Some assessment pitfalls are that if a teacher is negative they will have a hard
time motivating his or her students to learn and want to learn. Therefore, the
class will have problems taking and or scoring well on assessments given in
class. But if a teacher has a positive attitude toward everything the students
will see that there are other ways to learn and that they can learn and succeed
then assessments will go well.


What three approaches can be used to transform students’ dialectal diversity into an asset (funds of knowledge) rather than a liability (cultural deficit).

One of the approaches that can be used to transform dialectal diversity is Critical pedagogy; it transforms the social order rather than teaching students to succeed in the current social order. The second approach is the critical awareness approach that combines the awareness and critical pedagogy approaches. The third approach is Bidialectal instruction is an approach supported by research.


How prepared do you feel to teach in a culturally diverse classroom?

Honestly I do feel pretty prepared to teach a diverse classroom. There are so many things that can be taught on diversity so that the students will not want to judge others and by me researching diversity it will help me not judge others either. I think that I will have a positive
attitude when it comes to teaching, there may be times when I am not sure about
a project and doubt whether or not the students will be able to understand and
accomplish some parts, but I am a teacher to help the students with what they
don’t know. And who knows maybe from the experiences of teaching a culturally
diverse classroom I will be able to build and make projects better because I
will be learning from the students too.


Citations:

Teacher Attitudes. (2009, Sept. 4). Retrieved from http://ecelinguisticdiversity.wikidot.com/

I am from...

I am from the silence and beauty of the country, from the
home grown tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and fresh rhubarb pie.

I am from the old farm house lived in by my past family
members, with the cut stone and the hand dug basement.

I am from the Pawpaw trees, the Black Eyed Susan’s, the
fields of summer hay, and the quiet creeks.

I am from gardening and canning, from my mom’s blue eyes and
my dad’s brown hair, from Ernestine’s love of teaching and Delbert’s summer hay
season, Norma’s ham sandwiches and Rufus’s cactus collection.

I am from love, hard work, and knowledge. From a country
life full of walks in the woods, summers nights catching lightning bugs and
star gazing, and clean water from a hand dug well.

From the muddy waters of a duck pond, chasing chickens,
catching frogs with my little brother, and imagination.

I am from the small town stained glass old brick church on
the corner of Jasper Street.

I am from up a gravel road of an old street car stop, where
the Thorne’s from the top and the Wilson’s from the bottom came together in the
middle to work the land and make it their own.

From the Heck family reunions with the teal and pink shirts,
the fun at Mum mum and Pap pap Heck’s building forts and playing football, and the hours
of swinging on the swing set and playing in the play house at my Grandma Moore’s.

I am from the front porch of old family photos, the barn in
the background, the enlistment papers of family into the Civil War, the
carvings of names in the old trees. I am from the Home Place where I call home.

I could not ask for more.

Double Entry Journal #4

This is the Cultural Deficit link to my Own Word
This is the Cultural Capital link to my Own Word


Citations:
Bolima, D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding: Educational learning theories. Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu/saki/strategies/101/new_page_5.htm (n.d.). Parents are checking homework. [Web Drawing]. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=484&tbm=isch&tbnid=nGDFAVUhGJQV1M:&imgrefurl=http://www.supercoloring.com/pages/parents-are-checking-homework/&docid=8WqmHwiIdCcq2M&imgurl=http://www.supercoloring.com/wp-content/main/2009_04/parents-are-checking-homework-coloring-page.jpg&w=344&h=350&ei=c5EkT5zCIuPo0QGP0bHNCA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=122&sig=106547699332163008445&page=1&tbnh=137&tbnw=136&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0&tx=78&ty=79

(n.d.). See?--stop hurting kids. [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=484&tbm=isch&tbnid=SmrT9Otfe_kIOM:&imgrefurl=http://looneytunes09.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/child-abuse-should-be-prevented-every-month/&docid=Ehnz2fVbb1d6zM&imgurl=http://looneytunes09.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/abuse11.jpg&w=450&h=566&ei=J5ckT7ncKsbZ0QGIuJTjCA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=179&sig=106547699332163008445&page=1&tbnh=123&tbnw=93&start=0&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0&tx=35&ty=76

Double Entry Journal #3

Describe 3 things you learned about teaching literacy development.

~One of the things that I learned about teaching literacy development was that sometimes the geographic location can cause different types of learning, such as the dialect of Appalachia. Another thing was that the teachers have to respect the dialect of the community and area mostly where the dialect does not apply to Standard English. Teachers have to adjust. Teachers are teaching the children to learn Standard English but yet not taking away their dialect and history.

Give 2 examples from your schooling experiences that reflected effective or ineffective literacy instruction for speakers of non-standard dialects.

~I cannot really think of any specific time where there was an effective or ineffective literacy instruction. The school that I went to for elem./middle was made up of a lot of the same
kind of kids both middle class and lower class. We all had to read books and do Grammar in
class and at times we had to get up in front of the class or read to the class aloud. I feel that we all talked about the same and the teachers did not really try to change the way we talked just the knowing that there were other ways to talk and explain things by word. When I got to high school things changed there were all three classes and English was harder because we were expected to say things a certain way and if we did not say it a certain way with correct grammar, it reflected on our grades-as in writing. But over all I felt that there was not really any major dialects in any of my schooling.

Explain 1 relationship between the strategies for the teaching of literacy presented in this article and Inclusive practices.

~The relationship between teaching literacy and inclusive practices is that as a teacher you have respect the students heritage and back ground. As well as the fact that as a teacher you
don’t want to push the child away from their life into something different. You
need to try and have the students use the correct English in class, but home
you cannot change. You want the students to know correct English and the proper
way to speak and write, but it is up to the student to decide whether or not
they want to us the correct way to speak.















I picked this image because it shows that the entire United States has a certain kind of dialect that teachers have to adjust to and help teacher students the correct way to speak and write. West Virginia may have a dialect that some consider horrible, but other areas might have a worse dialect. West Virginia is just put out in the public because people don't know that we are normal and have dialects like other areas, they are just what West Virginia is used to and how we have grown up and been taught to talk like. We can always learn more about Language and literacy if given a chance to succeed. We can learn and progress in the future.

Citations:
Delaney, R. (Photographer). (2000). Dialects. [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://predatorhaven.blogspot.com/2010/06/dialects-wildebeests-baby-boomers.html

Epstein, P. (2011, Sept. 15). Honoring dialect and increasing student performance in standard english. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655

Doule Journal Entry #2

“Both of these children have acquired some basic, crucial, concepts about reading and the written language. And they learned these concepts not by being formally taught, but by being there and part of the action when important people in their lives were reading and writing for their own purpose.” (Purcell, Gates V.-2002)

I feel that this quote from the text is correct. I work at a daycare and I have observed young children ages 3 and 4 pretending to read to the younger children even though what they are reading is not what the book says or the book maybe upside down. Because that is what they
see their parents do as well as the teachers at the daycare. I have also seen the children during free play at the writing station writing bills, orders, and letters. Sometimes they will even pretend to address envelopes. Even though the children do not know how to read and write correctly they are on the basic path to be able to read and write properly.

What is literacy knowledge? Give examples of both print and non print literacy knowledge.

~Literacy knowledge is the concepts that the child acquires during the preschool, during
the years preceding the formal literacy instruction. An example of print
literacy knowledge is a child scribbling something on a piece of paper, even
though no one else can read it, it means something. An example of non- print
literacy is a child reading a book to someone even though the words the child
is saying is not the same as in the book.

How do stereotypes interfere with literacy instruction?

~Stereotypes can interfere with literacy instruction due to the fact that a student might
come from another area that is typically stereotyped as a place for low
knowledge. For example folks from West Virginia are thought as hillbillies that
cannot read or write. But someone from New York is thought to be smart and can
write and read. So less attention would be spent on the child from West
Virginia because since they are supposed to not be able to read or write that
they cannot learn those skills, whereas the person from New York is thought to
be able to read and write and will make big strides and succeed.

How do schools and teachers contribute to poor literacy instruction in school?

~Teachers and schools contribute to poor literacy instruction is schools because they
assume that if a child is poor that they will not be able to read and not be able to succeed
and by doing that to the student is limiting them to what they can do and succeed at in the future. Teachers and schools do not help the children who are having trouble reading in the correct way. They just put them aside and help the students who are already succeeding
and thriving in the class. Students that have disabilities are also classified
under the section that they will not be able to learn and succeed. Every
student needs a chance to expand their knowledge and grow.

What is the relationship between language, social class, and the denial of educational opportunity?

~The relationship between language, social class, and the denial of educational
opportunity is certain social classes are not able to speak or read then the
education for that person is not pushed to the fullest. The social class
depends on how smart the person is perceived in which if the person is of low
social class they are denied education.


What are some misconceptions about the relationship between language and literacy?

~One of the misconceptions between language and literacy is that everyone who can
speak correctly can read, but in that case sometimes people who are proficient
in speaking can’t read a word and vise versa.

What can schools and teachers do to improve literacy instruction?

~I think that teachers and school can improve literacy instruction by expecting that every child is on the same page in the beginning-page one. Once children show if they are more proficient
in literacy move them ahead. They could help the students that are having
problems. Have group reading sessions or play games so that the children will
want to learn to read. Make it fun. The schools can have special reading
programs for example Title I. Where specialized teachers come in and help
students with reading and writing.

How do you feel about use of the term "Proper English"?

~I like the term Proper English and I think that proper English should be
continued in use. Proper English is important, but not as important as in the
older days because today we use abbreviations for everything, acronyms, slang, etc…
Students however need to know Proper English because some day they will be expected to know it for example writing papers, giving presentations, resumes, and so on.

I picked this image because with the education system no one no matter what disabilites, race,class, etc... The children are supposed to have the same right to learning and succeeding as any other child. But many times children are not all treated the same when it comes to learning weathly and high functioning children get more chances to learn, but the children that are not as wealthy, have learning disabilites, or the possiblity of the childs parents not be educated do not get as high of a chance with learning and reading.

Tall Tales Of Appalachia:

"It's time the people of the southern Appalachians stood up for themselves."(O'Brien, 2003)

I really like this quote from the article because it is true. The people from the Appalachian states need to stand up for themselves. They( we) need to prove to the rest of the world that we are not a bunch of hicks. That we are smart and have the abibitly to succeed, provide, and to do great things. There are many people from West Virginia that have done great things in the history of the United States. Many parts of history is because of people from West Virginia. Many wars have been started here, records, etc... So many of the tv shows and movies depict WV as bad and gross and incested. We as a state need to prove that there are many other places that is equal or worse than this state. But I have also heard people talk that we should just let people think that we are a bunch of hicks so that we can keep the serenity and greatness of this beautiful place to ourselves. That we don't want others to come into the state and mess up the land, family ties, or make the state grow so that it is not like it was before.

I picked this image because it seem appropriate for people who are not from West Virginia. A guide for outsiders to read to know the basics of WV. That way they will not judge and think that we hillbillies or a flash back from the past.

Citations:

O'Brien, J. (2003, May 10). Tall tales of appalachia. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/10/opinion/tall-tales-of-appalachia.html

Purcell Gates, V. (2002). As soon as she opened her mouth. In L. Delpit & J.K Dowdy (Eds.), In The skin that we speak: An anthology of essays on language culture and power. (Print: Anthology)

Ramsey, M. (Artist). (2001). The schools left behind. [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://theweek.com/section/cartoon/60/220669/education

(2008). Wv for dummies. (2008). [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://www.myspace.com/westvirginians/blog/407621746

Double Entry Journal #1

Define Inclusive Education and describe the kinds of students Inclusion is meant to benefit.

• Inclusive Education is the inclusion of all students into one classroom. So that the disabled students can get every opportunity to learn and succeed. Students that inclusion benefits are students with some sort of special need such as bilingual students, speech, mental health, physical, etc...

Then describe:3 types of students Inclusive Education is meant to serve.

• Inclusion is meant to serve students with special needs such as speech impairments/problems, mental health issues,learning disabilities, physical disabilities, etc...

2 characteristics of Inclusive schools

• Two characteristics of inclusive schools are they have a sense of community- students are respected as a part of the school community and are encouraged to learn and achieve as much as possible. Another characteristic is that the school has students as problem solvers- peer mediators, peer tutoring, buddy systems, etc...

1 strategy that helps students become more responsible and effective in the inclusive process.

• A greater participation in the community helps the student become more responsible and effective in the inclusive process.

Inclusion Video Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8NUktSNe8s&feature=related

I found this video talking about inclusion. The video would be good for children even. The video talks about how everyone is a little different and that we all have to manage with what ever is different about us. There is no reason that someone should be excluded from something including school and the chance to learn. Everyone should get the chance to succeed when it comes to learning and be able to do the best that they possibly can.

Citations:

Inos, R. (n.d.). Research reviews for inclusive practices. Retrieved from https://online.fairmontstate.edu/webct/urw/lc15057011.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct

Mc Cracken, R. (Director) (2008). Year 10 fleming fulton [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8NUktSNe8s&feature=related

Class syllabus

Link to EDUC 3351 Course Syllabus: Spring 2012