Schemas- October 28th

One of the readings this week by Gregory and Cahill was really easy for me to relate to. When I first started reading this article, I really didn't understand what schemas were and I didn't know how a kindergartner could possibly understand it either. However, as I read and reached the visualization paragraph I realized that my third grade English teacher used the same exercises with my class. We were required every morning when we came into class to jot down a poem into our journal and then draw a picture to go with the poem. I firmly believe that lesson made me appreciate and read poetry so much easier from then on. Gregory and Cahill discuss the children reading and writing poems for half a page and drawing what they thought it meant on the second half of the page. This was one of my favorite lessons my teacher did with me in school, and a lesson I definitely want to incorporate into my teaching one day. However, on the subject of schemas, how does the teacher explain schemas to kindergartners along with the three categories so it doesn't confuse them? Does the teacher use simpler terms or create easy words that mean the same thing as connecter, visualization, and constructing meaning?

Sources:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/12807180162980024/
Gregory. Cahill. Kindergartners Can Do It, Too! Comprehension Strategies for Early Readers. 
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/221169031670093844/

Fluency October 21st

Chapter Four of Classrooms That Work was extremely helpful because I have never really understood what fluency means. I had a general idea, but by forcing me to decipher the paragraph at the beginning of the chapter I now under the frustration of students who struggle with fluency. Being a theatre geek, I loved the idea of choosing simple or easy plays for the students to act out such as Robin Hood, this is a great way to teach teamwork as well as mixing students with higher levels of frequency with students who are struggling. I also loved the idea of echo reading since this is a very active and hands on approach to teaching. This encourages children to explore different methods of learning while also providing them with the opportunity to hear themselves as they read and speak. However, in respect to all of the children reading one universal book that is easy, how does the teacher go about picking a book that interests instead of frustrates every child? Also, how do you make sure the book isn't so easy it bores some students into not paying attention?

Here's a fun game to play in the classroom!:
Links:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/100557004152564858/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/204210164325290779/

Making Words: October 7th

I loved the idea of giving children letters and then standing at the front of the classroom and asking them to hold up the letters to make words such as "CAT". I could see this working very well in a first grade classroom or with a struggling second grade reader. This teaching method of making words encourages children to become active and it provides a hands on activity that allows them to interact within the classroom. Also, allowing the whole classroom to participate at once encourages children to interact with each other. The children who may excel at reading and inventing words could help the students who struggle to spell simple words. The great thing about this lesson is that you can make it as simplistic or challenging as you want, depending on the development of your classroom's reading skills. It is also possible to break off into groups based on the reading and spelling level of the children in the classroom. However, is there a way to encourage inventing words while also encouraging students to use practical means to come up with the spelling of words?

Sources:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/104286547593635430/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/25543922857160816/

Below is a video of a teacher using this lesson with her classroom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nxljktf-Hw