Thursday, March 21, 2013
EDRD 7718 Module 5
There were a lot of things from this module that really interested me. As a first year teacher, I have never actually seen or experienced effective literacy centers, therefore any little bit I learn about them is so helpful. With literacy centers it is important that the students are working on curriculum based activities and not busy work. Whether the students are working individually or with a partner, it is also important that after they are finished with their activity they have something to show for it such as a little assessment such as a ticket out the door to show where they may be in their level of understanding. However, it is not only to show their understanding, but also to keep the students accountable for their learning. The things I learned from these few videos show that I am on the right track, but there are still some things I need to work on with a balanced literacy program. I am actually in the process of getting help from my school's EIP teacher. She is going to start coming into my room and assisting me with the proper process when planning for literacy centers.
The other topic that was discussed briefly was the classroom environment. I love seeing other people's classroom and getting new ideas on how to appropriately organize my room in order to meet my students needs. The book entitled Spaces and Places seems like a great book and actually one I may go out and purchase. She gave a brief overview of her book, but the chapter titles drew me in enough. She discussed how to plan the space in your classroom, arranging the furniture, using wall space and organizing the clutter in your classroom. The students need structure and the way the classroom is set up and organized as an effect on them.
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Krista,
ReplyDeleteI too found this module interesting and informative. Literacy centers can be such an effective learning tools for students, but as beginning teachers, they can be definitely be daunting to begin. I like having the opportunity to see how teachers use them effectively in their classrooms. I am excited for you that another teacher will be coming in to your classroom to help you get them started. It is so important that as new teachers we take advantage of the great teachers in our schools as resources to help us in our classrooms.
Krista – I agree this module was full of information! Literacy centers are a great way to incorporate a lot of the standards and activities into one reading session – but be careful you do not create busy work for your students. You also have to great classroom management so you know what each student is doing during this time. I feel that literacy centers work the best with younger grades but I am starting to try it out with my fourth graders with more of strategy centers based on their needs. I find it difficult because I do not want to create worksheets and I want to make it fun. Getting support from other teachers in your first year is always a great start – I still use other co-workers’ help in my third year of teaching. Teaching should be sharing ideas and conversation! Why reinvent the wheel and shouldn’t we practice what we teach, work smarter, not harder? Best of luck and you are almost done with your first year!
ReplyDeleteKrista,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in that it is very important to have effective literacy centers where students are not completing busy work. I feel as though it is very important for students to have the opportunity to work together throughout the different literacy centers. I love the idea of having a ticket out the door in order to determine whether or not your students are grasping the material. I too loved having the resource of how to organize your classroom in order to best meet the needs of your students! Thanks for the insight!
Taylor