new literacy

I just read a really great post on REMOTE ACCESS on blogging and how that could change how we teach....maybe we should teach students how to read and use blogs as a resource.

I'm thinking that by doing this and teaching them to do this through an aggregator...we can teach them to think.

They would have to look at a subject from multiple blogs or perspectives and create their own ideas and thoughts...

Teach them to navigate blogs and we teach them to synthesize and make connections to what they read....

In essence we teach them to read and write for a variety of purposes....

This should be the new literacy...and I think by teaching literacy this way, we could enhance the "old" literacy of textbooks and novels

(please don't misunderstand me. I love textbooks and novels....but imagine how they could be enhanced by reading and navigating blogs about the same topics....)

Reflection Day 5 --- Kill 'em with kindness

Old technology was my foe today! It took half of the period for my students to access their work on the network. For a split second I imagined how quiet my class would be if I just had them copying out of their textbooks! But, things finally were resolved and for fifteen minutes high schoolers worked in peace with a partner creating a newspaper that cited the causes of the American Civil War.

Poor kids I separated them....they had segregated themselves....language learners and native speakers. So, those language learners who could manage were paired with native speakers. I hope everyone learned a lot more than history!

I had a language learner breakthrough...I was catching myself saying small phrases or words in Spanish to give my students directions. I don't know if I was practicing my own Spanish, or if I wanted them to know I knew (somewhat) how to speak their language. However, I realized that these short conversations would help them in the long-run if I spoke to them in English. They are in mainstream classes the rest of the day, so they need to pick these small things up.

My literacy classes created captions for Civil Rights pictures based on what they were reading. I put the slide show together on Rockyou.com and then had them work on the captions. I typed them in during class....very quickly, I just found mistakes....this allowed them to read, write, speak and listen... It was a short activity, but I think it was very meaningful. Then, I had them comment on it in their blog. their comments were short, but had a lot more heart than they have previously had.

I am totally frustrated with a student that I have in literacy. This is my second year with him-sort of. He has major attendance issues, so much so that if I am late with attendance an attendance liason is calling 20 minutes into class. The worst part is, he has missed so much school he really doesn't know how to do school. So, he comes in and just sits there. I ask him to go ahead and open a book and he doesn't really realize he's supposed to read it. He just sits there until another student lets him copy. when the para asks if he needs help he says: "no 'cause she'll think I'm copying." It makes me want to scream I'm like "'c'mon M prove to me you're not lazy and you can do it." Praise doesn't work, sarcasm doesn't work. AGHHH I want him to get it and be successful but I don't know how between the attendance liason calling me twice a day to check attendance and this kids swaggering in late I've had it....for a teacher I have a short-fuse and this kid's shenanigans have got me going! What to do??? On a positive note, this year he brings paper to class....no pencil....but he has paper.

I read something somewhere that said, "you can't like every kid, so sometimes you just have to focus on the color of their socks! 'hey those are great socks!'" I guess that I'm gonna have to pull a Dottie on him and like him so much ..... he'll want to work....

**Dottie is my mom. She used to manage the DQ in Commerce City and now she decorates cakes at the King Soopers. People lover her caring disposition so much, they show up at King Soopers just to visit with her! When I meet people they say: "your mom is the dairy queen lady, she's amazing!" Its probably from putting up with alcoholic parents, and my work-aholic dad her whole life.....maybe one day I'll truly learn how to "kill 'em with kindness" as she puts it. But, for now I'm gonna have to pay really close attention to their socks.

Action Research

To complete my MAE I have to undergo a year-long research project. I love research. I'm a bit of a nerd I guess, but I love looking at what works, with which kids, and why. I'm particularly interested in the why! There is no magic formula in education to make all kids love learning and learn every day...but if we look at why we uncover a whole bunch of truths. Why brings us as close to that magic formula as we will ever get...for our own kids any way!
I need to pick a topic for my action research project. I've thought of a few topics:

• the use of blogs to increase achievement for low-language students
• phonemic awareness for adolescents
• improving literacy for adolescent language learners
• balancing a secondary classroom with both language learners and low language students
• countering "mochismo" to create a learning environmet

My assignment requires me to journal for the next week and look for patterns in what I am noticing and annoyed by in my classroom. My subject can be either me or my classes. So, for the next two weeks I will blog ...of course...to come up with the focus of my research.

So, please if you are reading this and you notice patterns or have ideas please leave me comments. I really want to do something that will be worthwhile for me, my students and my school. Hopefully, this can be something I use later on down the line when I go on for my doctorate degree.