I have used several websites and resources that I think will be useful when I am teaching.  As a special education teacher, I looked for strategies that I felt would be useful in an inclusive setting, like the reading strategies that I reviewed. 

Some of my favor websites that I used this semester were google (of course), Read Write Think, and EDSITEment.  I liked google because it offers a wide range of websites or resources and it is very simple to use.  Read Write Think is a good website because it ties every thing together with and reading and writing assignment or strategy, and it also provides links to other resources that teachers might find useful.  EDSITEment is a neat website because it provides lesson ideas and resources for more than one subject.  This can be useful when attempting to use a concept across part or all of a grade level curriculum.  I think that I will continue to find different resources through out my career, but for now I feel that these three will start me off in the right direction.

I have liked how this course utilized this blog.  I feel that it can useful not only as a way to discuss different strategies, but it can also be used to let my students post their work and talk about what they have learned.  It has definitely been interesting posting and getting feedback this semester.

This lesson plan allows for a variety of approaches.  It can also be adapted into a lesson for one day or for a whole grading period (9 weeks).  This plan has ideas for different types of projects and assignments the students could do.  Such as writing a story, cooking food, making art projects, and illustrating stories.  This allows for students to learn in a “multigenre” fashion.

I would start first off by explaining the different Native Americans that have had an influence on American history, then discuss their tribes.  After that I would have the students focus on the Native American tribes of their state, and the prominent people from those tribes.  I would then base the lesson around the local tribes. 

This lesson meets the following criteria of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Fourth grade Social Studies:

2.01 Locate and describe American Indians in North Carolina, past and present.

This lesson is a good lesson to do at the beginning of the school year.  It allows for the students to become familiar with each other, as well as learn where everybody lives.  It also has the students become familiar with their own cultural history and heritage. 

I feel that this lesson would be a great spring board into other lessons that involve different cultures and religions.  I also think that it is useful because it allows for the students to become oriented with where they live in the world, the United State, their state, and their city or town.

This lesson meets the following criteria of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Fourth grade Social Studies:

1.05 Assess human movement as it relates to the physical environment.

2.02 Trace the growth and development of immigration to North Carolina, over time from Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Overall, I liked the main idea that this article presented.  The students get actively involved in determining the most suitable definition, and then learning the history of the terms along with any other relevant information (Synonyms, antonyms, part of speech, etc.).  This gives students the opportunity to learn the vocabulary for a certain subject in a way that involves more than just rewriting definitions.

The description of how the four teachers utilized these two strategies, Literature circles and Multigenre reading and writing, was very interesting.  It not only explain the way the teacher used their strategy, but it also gave samples of student work.  Too often do articles tell you about a strategy or concept without providing examples.

I feel that instructional strategies like these help students relate what they are learning to “real-life” knowledge, or knowledge that is relevant outside of the classroom.  It also allows for two or more subjects to be tied together.  For example, vocabulary words taught in science or social studies can be used in English or language arts.

This article opens with an explanation of how students and teachers resent traditional research papers. 

It then goes on to list different alternatives to the traditional research paper, as well as explain the concept behind the multigenre paper.  A multigenre paper is a research paper that includes a variety of writing genres such as; newspaper articles, poems, personal letter, journal entry, etc. 

Then in the next section of the article; the author (Margaret Moulton) describes her first experience with a multigenre paper.  She used an instructional writing class of undergraduate English education majors to help her determine the aspects of this type of paper as they wrote one themselves, she basically used them as her guinea pig.

The next section describes who the students did their multigenre papers on and what genres they used.  These genres ranged from newspaper articles (obituaries, movie reviews, news story) to journal entries to greeting cards.  It then goes into detail about the use of endnotes as a means of manifesting research and backing up the information in their paper.  The students used the endnotes to explain why they wrote the information in a certain genre as well as include any information they considered relevant.

The next section describes the students’ opinion on this assignment.  Overall, this assignment was liked and highly praised by the students in Moulton’s English class.  The students enjoyed writing this paper, and some even informed other teachers about it and used in as a part of their student teaching.

I think that multigenre papers (along with any alternative to a traditional research paper) are great.  The strategy behind this type of paper gets the students actively involved in their research, not simply just regurgitating information.   This type of paper makes writing fun, and when writing is fun students will want to write.

Three questions in regards to this article:

1) What else, other than authors and other persons, can be the subject of a multigenre paper?

2) What other grades can this assignment be adapted for?

3) What are other alternatives to the traditional research paper?  What do these alternatives involve?

“I” Poems can serve as a strategy not only for reading but for writing as well. Writing this type of poem allows for a student to gain a deeper understanding of a text, as well as expose them to poetry. This can also be used as a means to ensure reading comprehension, as well as allow the students to understand the mood and feelings of the characters. “I” poems can be used as a way of establishing prior knowledge or it can be used to allow students to reflect on a piece of literature. “I” poems can also be used with students of all grade levels, from college level novels to books that are read aloud to a first grade class.

I think that “I” Poems are a great idea. This type of poem can serve not only as a way to get a student involved with a story, but also can be used as a means of learning about poetry. I have written “I” poems before, not only in my coursework at ASU, but also as a elementary and middle school student.

Three Questions in regards to this article:

1) In what ways can “I” poems be adapted for students with intellectual, cognitive, or behavioral disabilities?

2) What genres, other than novels or narratives, can “I” poems be used with?

3) Are there other ways to use “I” poems?

Your Name: Glenn Alford

Name of Strategy: “Whip”

Source (Where did this come from?): Pennsylvania Department of Education – Before During After (BDA) Reading Strategy 

Link to the Strategy: http://www.pde.state.pa.us/reading_writing/cwp/view.asp?a=196&q=98206

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

 Whip is a clasroom activity that involves answering an open-ended, opinion based question.  This strategy is a post-reading exercise that ensures all the students in the class fully understand the text.  The teacher asks every student a question, which is open-ended and there is no wrong answer.  For example, “Read aloud the phrase that stood out in your mind” or “Which paragraph best visual description of …”.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

 2.02 Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, and viewing by:

• making predictions.
• formulating questions.
• supporting answers from textual information, previous experience, and/or other sources.
• drawing on personal, literary, and cultural understandings.
• seeking additional information.
• making connections with previous experiences, information, and ideas.

2.05 Evaluate inferences, conclusions, and generalizations and provide evidence by referencing the text(s).

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

 I like this strategy because it allows for students to review, yet there is also no wrong answer if the questions are made to be open-ended and allow for the student to answer the question with their opinion.  This type of strategy can facilitate even more class discussion and involvement in the future. 

Your Name: Glenn Alford

Name of Strategy: “Lit” Circles

Source (Where did this come from?): Pennsylvania Department of Education – Before During After (BDA) Reading Strategy 

Link to the Strategy: http://www.pde.state.pa.us/reading_writing/cwp/view.asp?a=196&q=98185

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

 A Lit Circle, or Literature Circle, is a student centered reading activity designed for groups of four to six.  Each group member is assigned a role within that group, and they must all facilitate a discussion on the literature they have read.  These groups are determined based on the book chosen by or assigned to the students.  The main four roles in a group are discussion director, connector, vocabulary enricher, and summarizer.  More roles can be added, depending on the number of students in a group.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

 The following goals of fifth grade language arts listed in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study can be met by using this strategy:

1.02 Select key vocabulary critical to the text and apply appropriate meanings as necessary for comprehension.

3.02 Make connections within and between texts by recognizing similarities and differences based on a common lesson, theme, or message.

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

I feel that this strategy is effective because it allows students to work together, while still having each student contribute equally.  Each group member has a defined role and has certain tasks they must complete. I also like how it facilitates a form of small group discussion.

Your Name: Glenn Alford

Name of Strategy: Sticky Notes

Source (Where did this come from?): Pennsylvania Department of Education – Before During After (BDA) Reading Strategy 

Link to the Strategy: http://www.pde.state.pa.us/reading_writing/cwp/view.asp?a=196&q=98157

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

 Students use “post-it”, or sticky notes, to use in order to write down information they come across while reading.  This is particularly useful when the students are reading books that they are not allowed to write or mark in.   This lets the students write down any questions, comments, main ideas, vocabulary, or anything else they deem necessary and keep them in the book.  Then later the sticky notes can be moved to a notebook or portfolio in order to keep them for later use.

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

 The following goals of fifth grade language arts listed in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study can be met by using this strategy:

1.02 Select key vocabulary critical to the text and apply appropriate meanings as necessary for comprehension

2.05 Evaluate inferences, conclusions, and generalizations and provide evidence by referencing the text

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

I think this strategy not only allows for students to write down information and highlight key points, but it also allows for them to organize the information or plot of what they are reading.  This would be useful when a student is refering back to the text.  They would not have to re-read, just simply find what they are looking for on a certain sticky note.

Your Name: Glenn Alford

Name of Strategy: Chunking

Source (Where did this come from?): Pennsylvania Department of Education – Before During After (BDA) Reading Strategy 

Link to the Strategy: http://www.pde.state.pa.us/reading_writing/cwp/view.asp?a=196&q=98178

Give a thorough description of the strategy and how it will be implemented. This should be a summary of the strategy according to the original source:

Chunking is a strategy that involves the breaking down of a text into segments that are any where from one to three paragraphs long.  The “chunks” are then read, and after that the main idea of the “chunk” is discussed as a class. 

Explain what part of the standard course of study is addressed by this activity.

The following goals of fifth grade language arts listed in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study can be met by using this strategy:

2.07 Evaluate the usefulness and quality of information and ideas based on purpose, experiences, text(s), and graphics

2.01 Use metacognitive strategies independently and flexibly to monitor comprehension and extend vocabulary

Explain why you think this strategy will work. How does the strategy help your students learn?

I feel that this strategy is useful because it allows for students to read a few paragraphs, then disgest the information.  This would be very helpful for students that struggle with reading comprehension, an could also be used to facilitate an assignment or class discussion.  The trick with using this strategy is to ensure that each chunk contains a complete thought or line of information.