Kist- Firestone Field Experience

When thinking about ways in which I would infuse multi-modalities into test preparation the first thing that came to mind was the Internet. While working with my student, I noticed that he had a hard time organizing an essay, so I came up with a formula for him which looked something like this:

Intro:

Thesis statement which includes X,Y,Z

X,Y,Z= Main ideas

Body paragraph 1 includes main idea X

Body paragraph 2 includes main idea Y

Body paragraph 3 includes main idea Z

Conclusion: Restate thesis statement

I also noticed that my student made similar grammatical mistakes in his writing. I did not want to spend our sessions tutoring him on grammar alone, and I also wanted him to understand how to organize his writing so when I got home that night I looked for websites that might help him. In my search, I found two very helpful websites; owl.english.purdue.edu, and englishforeveryone.com. I feel that it is very important for students to have many resources when it comes to reading and writing. In this way students can be more independent in that they will be looking at the resources available to them when working on English assignments. When I am a teacher, I will probably give each of my students a resource sheet which will include websites that will help them in areas in which they are struggling.

During my time tutoring, both this semester and in the fall, I noticed that the students had two common interests; music and social networking. One of my classmates mentioned in her blog how she might use a social networking website as a kind of support system for her students. I feel that this is an excellent idea and would really help students when preparing for such an important test. Actually I feel that making a facebook for this Firestone experience would have been very beneficial. This facebook group would be primarily for the OGT in which the students at Firestone, our INLA group, and even Firestone teachers if they wanted to join.

In this format the students could address issues they are having with OGT problems and test preparation and either a fellow student, a college student, or even their teachers could help them with any issues that they have. Also anyone in the OGT facebook group could post websites or anything else that would be helpful in preparing for the OGT. Students could also help each other by providing information that helped them with the OGT so that all the students in the group could have it as a resource of their own.

Earlier in this blog, I mentioned music as a common interest that the students seemed to have at Firestone. Perhaps discussing music as a text would help students understand literary elements on the OGT. I also think that music videos can be used in the same way we used the Critical Literacy Discussion Prompts in class to discuss video clips. This is definitely something that I would like to try because I feel that it will help with the writing section of the OGT. I have always been very interested in music, and I would really like to find more ways in which music can be used both in the classroom and for the OGT because music seems to be a common interest amongst all students.

During my field experience last semester I observed a truly amazing English teacher. At the time, she was teaching works by Poe and discussing literary terms such as archetype with her students. I remember going to field experience on Halloween, and literally everyone (including the teachers) were dressed in costumes. Before the bell rang, I sat in class thinking how this teacher would keep her students attention with all of the festivities going on. During class she showed an episode of the Simpson's which was based on the poem The Raven. She also showed the music video Thriller by Michael Jackson and had the students point out different archetypes in the music video. I am honestly not sure if Poe would appear on the OGT; however, the different literary terms they discussed while watching these videos would definitely help in understanding the reading and writing portion of the OGT.

While observing this same teacher I watched her teach her class about fallacies. She came into class that day with several advertisements that she ripped out of magazines and received in the mail. She stood in front of the class and raised them up one by one for everyone to see. The whole class discussed each advertisement and came up with the fallacy that each advertisement used. (One example was a political advertisement in which the class labeled as propaganda). Again, I found that using literary terms to define a different kind of text could be very useful for both class lessons and if these terms showed up on the OGT.

My biggest pet peeve during my field experience and when I was in high school is when teachers tried to “teach the test” rather than incorporating what students had to know for the test in assignments and classroom activities completed everyday. I also feel that it is important to discuss how learning about literature is relevant to their lives and their education, and how items on the OGT are important in their academic futures. I cannot count how many times I observed teachers of my own and at Firestone say “this is something you need to know to pass the OGT.” I feel that actually discussing the OGT in terms of their futures would be more beneficial. To me it seemed like students viewed the test as something they had to pass. They need to understand that what the OGT tests for will appear again and again throughout their high school careers. They also need to know that they need to pass this test if they plan on going to college as well. Lastly, I think it is important that teachers tell students that they can re-take the portions of the OGT that they fail.

Overall, I feel that it is important for teachers to be upfront with students when discussing the OGT and to include information that they need to know for the OGT in assignments they need to complete for class. In this way students will not be shocked when teachers do discuss the OGT. I also feel that test preparation can be easily merged with multi-modal literacies based on what I have seen in the classroom and how I have helped my student prepare for the OGT. 

Kist- Film

Before this class, I honestly thought using film in the classroom was a waste of time because of how it was used when I was in high school. The only films that we watched were based on novels that we had just read. Don't get me wrong, I can see how this can be useful when students are reading difficult texts such as Shakespeare, but most of the time this became a little redundant.

While reading Great Films and How to Teach Them I felt that Costanzo brought up a good point pertaining to this topic: " A movie adaptation is not so much an illustrated copy of a book but a new rendering of the story, to be appreciated on its own terms (15)." 

On this topic, one of my classmates said that she used to compare and contrast books and movies and decided which one she liked better. I have to admit, I have done this before as well. Costanzo made me think of this habit of mine in a different light and brings up a valid point.

         By paying close attention to what is unique about each medium (What exactly do we get from a work of       literature or film? What is added or missing from the experience?), students become more aware of what it means to represent reality through fiction. By attending to the similarities between a movie and a book, they can come to recognize what is universal in all narratives, the motives and rewards of storytelling that transcend all media. If the movie makes them want to read the book, or vice versa, they may well conclude that one is better than the other. At least they will be in a better position to explain why (15).

Books and film are separate forms of text and should be viewed as such. However, if students do appreciate one of these forms of text over the other they should know why. In some cases students will favor the book but in others perhaps they will prefer the movie. I am currently in a fiction writing class, and while reading another student's story in workshop several of my classmates said that his story would make a really good movie. To this, my professor said simply that some stories make better movies and some make better books. Again, I think it is important to understand the reasons why a story would be better off if portrayed in a different form of text. 

Links
The video quality for these videos isn't the greatest but I think this teacher says a few things that are relevant to our conversation in class of how films can help students with imagery.

Using Film and Music in the Classroom (Part 1)
Using Film and Music in the Classroom (Part 2)

Pytash Ch.5

In class, we haven't talked a lot about poetry in the classroom so I learned a lot from this chapter. I like how she points out that students say they don't like poetry yet the listen to "song lyrics in search of language that reflects their feelings. Using music in an exercise to learn about poetry is a great idea, in this way students can see that they actually do appreciate poetry.

Making students list the literary terms that they know rather than telling them the terms is a great idea not only to see what they know but they can also see what they know and can write down new terms if they need to. To this the author states: The more students use these words in class, the more natural it becomes to employ them in writing...No need for nasty quizzes when students use the language of literature everyday.

Thinking Aloud is a great idea to show students how to figure out what a poem is about. By seeing the teacher solve a poem they too will be able to repeat the process.

A final point that I feel ties up this chapter well is when Jago states: " Often when students say they hate a poem they really mean that they don't understand it. Our job is to make more challenging poems similarly comprehensible,"

Pytash Ch.3

I like how Jago points out that the most important job that teachers have is picking out what books their students should read. I also think she brings up a good point when she provides that rationale in choosing a text for a class. This decision should not be made on a whim or just because a teacher likes a text but a teacher should develop multiple reasons in which reading this text is important to students.

I was surprised at the amount Jago's students had to read in a year but, she states that as teachers we can not work in the zone of minimal development and that her students live up to these expectations.

I liked that Jago allowed her students to choose from a list of texts at times rather than assigning every student the same book. I also think its great that she makes literature circles based on whichever books students choose to read. I feel that it would help students in understanding more difficult texts.

I think it is a great idea to have students begin a log of what books they read in high school so that they can look back at later. I would definitely use this in my class, so that students can always have to opportunity to look back at the texts they have read over the years.

Lastly, Jago's reading for empathy was really interesting to me because I feel like English can be in the shadow of math and science now a days. In this section Jago describes how medical schools allow their students to take literature classes so that they can learn how to emphathize with their patients and learn how to listen to their patients stories. This goes to show how very important literature is in all fields.

Pytash Ch.1

The author makes a good point when she states that common non reading activities should be used sparingly and should always be accompanied by a writing assignment. I remember reading difficult texts in high school but instead of completing writing assignments we often completed some of the non reading activities that Jago listed in the chapter. 

When talking to students in honors English classes they often read difficult texts and wrote several papers pertaining to the those texts. Thinking of this fact, I was surprised when Jago said, "Students who read below grade level and English language learners need to read more, not less, than their peers in honors classes." From reading this chapter, I can see how important it is for all students to read difficult texts, not just honors students.

Jago also brings up several good points in comparing pleasure reading and the study of literature. Most young adults can read YA lit on their own with little difficulty therefore, teachers should help them understand texts in which they have difficulty understanding on their own. This reminds me of  Ms.Hutchinson's videos in which students analyzed difficult texts through marking up the texts and actually thinking about the text while reading it. I feel that it is important for teachers to realize that reading should challenge students and make them think, it should be a difficult process, because this is the only way students will learn.