Mini Lesson Response

1.   What surprised you about your mini-lesson and what happened as your plans were enacted with your students?

I was surprised about the level of excitement the students had from our mini lesson. When creating the lesson our group wanted to make it as relevant as we could for them. The students were so engaged in this assignment and they actually had the opportunity to work together. Our students usually work on their assignments individually or on the computer, and for our assignment they had to collaborate with their classmates.

2.   What is the piece of feedback you gave to a student (or to the class) amidst this minilesson that has stayed with you - or which you believe will be most impactful?

The piece of feedback that stood out to me the most is that in order to argue a point you must base your reasoning behind facts and not emotion. The students were getting very involved into the topics, and they started to fight with one another.

3.   Is there anything you'd want to re-do?  Why?

I would like to re-do the way that we delivered our instructions for the assignment. I think we could have been a little more detailed, because I could tell most of our classroom disruption was caused by that. The students were a little confused by what we expected of them and they got off topic.

4.   What did you learn about yourself as a teacher (keeping in mind that this was a small activity with unusual constraints)?

From this assignment I learned that I am a great collaborator with my co-teachers. We operated very smoothly together, and for the most part it went pretty smoothly. I have also learned that I need to work on speaking louder. I tend to speak quietly and the students could brush me up easier because of that. I also learned that I need to be careful about the ways that I ask questions and be aware of the students response before I ask it.

Week 11 Challenges

    Task 1 Revise a past piece:  Hello, it’s me letter from week 7

Original: Hello Ms. Michaels, it’s me.

I am writing this letter to you, because you were influential in my life. You were hands down the best teacher that I had in high school. I was very lucky to be able to experience a teaching class in high school and to have you as a teacher. You encouraged me and believed in me as a future teacher even before I began my journey in college. I will never forget the day that I received my college acceptance letters you hung them up in your classroom wall. You are the kind of teacher that I hope to be, a teacher that invests in their students.

Edited Version: 

Hello Ms. Michaels, it's me.

Do you remember me? Maybe not, and that's okay. I am a past student of yours that is following in the same footsteps as you. I am writing this letter to you because you were influential in my life, and you deserve to know why. You were able to create a classroom that I was truly excited to come to almost everyday. I say almost, because I was a moody teenager and sometimes I was so not feeling school. You created a classroom that was structured yet open to change, and you demonstrated adaptability on many occasions. You challenged us all the while making the classroom a low risk place to be challenged. You encouraged me and believed in me as a future teacher well before I began my journey in college. You invested in your students, and demonstrated this by hanging up college acceptance letters on your classroom wall. As the years fly by just as you said they would I am reminded of the qualities that you had, and I hope to carry them into my own teaching. 

Sincerely,

MeKay

Task Two: 

write about the influence that Kittle, Anderson, Gallagher, Crovitz, Rief, Bomer, Kirby or Murray (or all) are having on your thinking about the teaching of writing.  What are your biggest takeaways - and whose work do you think you'll return to? 

          From this week's readings I have taken away a better understanding of how to teach the mechanics of writing in a practical and effective way. Up to this point the idea of teaching grammar was a bit overwhelming to say the least, and while the readings have not completely taken that feeling away it has alleviated some fear of the unknown. I struggle with grammar quite a lot in my own writing, but as a future teacher this is an aspect that I will have to utilize in the classroom. Anderson,Crovitz, and Devereaux highlight the fact that grammar and the mechanics of writing cannot be taught as a stand alone lesson, as it has been proven to be ineffective. These authors also appealed to me in a way that Kittle did not, because they are more relevant to the classroom settings that we will most likely experience in a public school. 

           One way that Anderson was different from Kittle was that he explicitly calls out the fact that as teachers we have 150 students and only 50 minutes to teach them as much as possible. The way that he copes with this is by teaching "pseudo concepts as a way of developing a concept" (Anderson, 2005, p. 4). He intertwines grammar as a way of highlighting the craft of a mentor text. This stood out to me, because it elevated the importance of mentor texts in a way that I had not thought of before. Anderson states, "I know kids need to hear the flow of language, its patterns its cadence its surprises its syntax, and students who have limited experience with English need this even more" (Anderson, 2005, p. 2). Simply by reading and analyzing mentor texts students can understand the power of punctuation, and that their can be purpose in either following or breaking grammar rules. I also really appreciated the examples that he included in these chapters in the ways that he uses mentor texts in the classroom to teach grammar. 

           Another take away that came from the readings of this week is that thematic teaching can be helpful in planning ways to intertwine grammar within a curriculum. Crovitz and Devereaux emphasize that thematic teaching is a way of making grammar and mechanics relevant to the students. He includes ways of doing this all the while acknowledging that teachers stray away from this idea of teaching, because sometimes it means your students will react in a way that you do not plan for them to. I think that this method of teaching could be useful in my own classroom simply because it allows flexibility while still covering a wide range of content. He outlines lessons that he uses, and I found them to be very helpful in understanding the grammar that can be associated with themes. For example, he outlined a unit on authority and addressed that passive and active voices can be taught throughout that unit (Crovitz,Devereaux,2017, P. 30). This is a very practical way of teaching that I could see myself utilizing in the classroom while still being able to adapt to the students needs. 

            Even though the standards and content required of me as a teacher of writing is intimidating the readings from this week have encouraged me to think about the ways that teaching can be fluid. Prior to this class I really did think that grammar was going to be taught as an isolated lesson, because honestly that is how my teachers have taught me in the past. That is most likely the reason that I have had a mental block with it throughout my own experience. The overall tone of these chapter along with the examples of how to put these methods into place in the classroom has given me a sense of clarity, and I definitely would return to both of these articles in the future. 

References

Anderson, J. (2005). Mechanically Inclined: Building grammar, usage, and style into writers workshop. Portland,    ME: Stenhouse.

Crovitz, D., & Devereaux, M. D. (2017). Grammar to get things done: A practical guide for teachers anchored in real-world usage. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Week 10 Challenges

Thank You Notes

1. Thank you, Other UGA students for reminding me that Spring break, for not really being a break  for me at all.
2. Thank you, to my aunt who invites me to Tupperware parties even though I don't have a kitchen.
3. Thank you, Taco Bell for reminding me that I can't eat your Dorito tacos on my diet.


Writing Territory: 50 Things List (At a grocery store)

1. People are walking in and out of the wrong entrance and exits
2. The redbox machine is not working today
3. Large line at the other machine available
4. some people have like 4 movies
5. I could never rent that many movies I always forget to bring them back
6. People wash down their carts after they have already touched them
7. I got a shopping cart with a squeaky wheel on the front right
8. The greeter didn't greet me
9. Lady with a green hat on
10. Running shorts and bathing suits are already on sale
11. The cozy sweaters are in clearance
12. Not many people are here
13. Its 1:00 on a school day
14. It took me a while to find eggs that were to my liking
15. I always feel judged while at the alcohol section of Walmart
16. A lady looks at me as if I am not old enough and I am!
17. The Red's beer is cheaper than Mikes Hard Lemonade
18. On another isle I see a cousin in her scooter and I avoid her
19. My cousin  talks ALOT
20. I walked down the breakfast isle
21. There is every flavor of Pop tarts imaginable
22. Rootbeer flavored Pop tart YUCK!
23. The cereal I want is $5.00 (Reese's cereal)
24. There is a mom with her two kids in the cereal isle
25. The little boy is crying because he wants cocoa puffs and the mom says no
26. The little boy is now on the floor screaming
27. The mom looks frustrated
28. The other little girl doesn't seem to be phased
29. I see several clearance racks which are my favorite!
30. Sunflower seeds for .99 cents
31. Frosted flakes for $2.00
32. I put my other cereal back and picked up the cheaper instead.
33. Bakery Items for less than $3.00
34. I was tempted to buy them all
35. Why are there so many cheese options
36. There has to be at least 50 sandwich cheese options here
37. I choose the Velveeta brand they are the best
38. I see an old friend and greet them
39. He has changed a lot, but so have I
40. He actually did not recognize me at first he kept saying to his friend she looks so familiar
41. The produce section always makes me happy
42. Sometimes its crowded but not today
43. Organic food is so pricy
44. I see the mom and her two kids again and the boy is still pouting
45. There are only 2 registers open today
46. I get behind a lady that had 30 or less items
47. Turns out she's a coupon user
48. I looked at the candy and other stuff waiting for her to finish
49. she takes so long that I end up getting a pack of gum and an energy drink
50. The cashiers name was Brenda

Mentor Analysis Task: The Book That I Haven’t Started Writing Yet by Annabelle Gurwitch

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/the-book-that-i-havent-started-writing-yet-will-be-the-best-book-ever 

            I came across a mentor text in The New Yorker magazine that I would use in my classroom to support their writing. The mentor text is called The Book That I Haven’t Started Writing Yet Will Be The Best Book Ever, and it is written by Annabelle Gurwitch. This mentor text is fun and is relevant for every student. This article is relevant to every student because it allows the students choice and a chance to demonstrate their voice through writing. This mentor text is not specific to any particular topic and allows room for students to choose to write about themselves or about something fictional. The author has a specific voice and tone to the article, and this could be discussed with the class while reading it. My idea would be to have the students read this article, and then write their own piece about the book that they haven’t started yet.

            According to Marchetti and O’Dell a mentor text should have certain requirements, and the mentor text I have chosen is a great fit. As the book states, “Sentence study takes the pressure off students to produce a sustained piece of writing and instead invites them to do something more manageable: write a sentence using the craft they noticed a mentor using” (Marchetti, O’Dell, 2015, 89). As a class the sentence structures, craft moves, and vocabulary could be discussed together. The writer of the mentor text uses words such as “copious” and “uncompromising” and these words could be defined as a class (Gurwitch 2018). It would be important to also talk about why the author is using these words and the effect that this craft has in the writing. This mentor text uses challenging vocabulary as a way of demonstrating craft in the article. My students could use the vocabulary that we are working on in the classroom to create their own article in a similar craft that the mentor uses.

            This mentor text is short and allows for time during the class period to read, discuss, and write. The students would be able to easily identify craft moves, and they would be able to create their sentences based off of the mentor text. One example of this in the mentor text states, “The photo on the back flap of my unwritten book will be black and white. I will be gazing off into the distance with an insouciant smile” (Gurwitch 2018). The students would be able to recognize that they are describing their fictional book and author picture with adjectives. This mentor text allows for flexibility as well, and I could see myself using either the whole article or just excerpts like the one above.

            While this mentor text would take a moderate amount of scaffolding because it does include complex vocabulary it is a fun and engaging mentor text. I could see myself using this mentor text in my classroom as a quick write for students or as a lesson in writing workshop. As the book states, “What is key is to select mentor texts that are based on your student’s current hobbies and interests” (Marchetti, O’Dell, 2015, 25). This mentor text is a great fit for all students, because it allows them to fit it to their current interests. I look forward to using this mentor text in my own classroom and experiencing the benefits of mentor texts.

References

Gurwitch, Annabelle. “The Book That I Haven't Started Writing Yet Will Be the Best Book Ever.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2018

Marchetti, Allison, and Rebekah O'Dell. Writing with Mentors: How to Reach Every Writer in the Room Using Current, Engaging Mentor Texts. Heinemann, 2015.