My Future ELA Classroom

Student independence, ownership, and purpose are key to the classroom setting, and if combined with engaging lessons will result in my ideal ELA classroom. The only issue I see when teaching students reading, writing, and oracy in a fun engaging manner, is the amount of prep involved and the potential for it to go off topic. Topics need to be relevant for students, and if they are interested in what they are producing, they will naturally develop their skills. Professional athletes are a great example; they are where they are due to their passion and dedication to their sport. They constantly want to improve and always have a purpose for their practice. If I can get my students to feel the same about learning in school then I will feel as though I am a successful teacher. The difficulty for ELA teachers is to create that bond between literacy and student interest.

I have been provided with a large number of opinions and options throughout the semester, and this class has offered me multiple learning strategies. The Garden party, writing prompts, podcasts, I find are very effective for engaging students in writing about what they are interested in. I loved the story read in class, “Dear Mr. Blueberry”. The strategy of writing letters back and forth, was very appealing to me, and would use in my own class. It could be used in multiple subject areas too, writing to a famous historian, scientist, etc. I actually did one of my drama papers using that method and found writing from the two perspectives an interesting way to learn more about the topic. This type of lesson helps to develop creativity, research skills, oracy skills, and the ability to relate to others. The diversity this class has offered provides many learning opportunities for students of all interests and abilities. However, It will be an experiment in the beginning to see what captures student’s interests and what doesn’t.

There is a big movement of 21^st century learning, technology is changing the way we communicate and connect with each other. We need to modernize the way students are educated so they are prepared for the world. I think through the incorporation of podcasts, and social media websites help foster ones learning in reading, writing, and oracy. Instant messaging, skype, and even chatting on the phone all involve dialogue and story telling. Learning goes so beyond the classroom and I think as teachers giving students the freedom to write about what appeals to them would create a situation much like an athlete striving to better themselves at their sport. Graphic novels are one way I would prompt students to engage in writing. Graphic novels offer appealing stories and engaging visuals that reach out to reluctant readers, visual learners, and others who may shy away from traditional, print-heavy books. Websites like bitstrips allow students to create their own comic strips, and will introduce the use of technology into their learning. Incorporating drama is a very effective educational tool, and could strongly be used in a unit like this to further engage students. Role-play allows them to dive into the story and have a lived experience.

One important thing I’ll make sure to incorporate in my ELA class is the importance of using assessment for learning, as learning and of learning. It will account for all types of learning, and help students to take more ownership for their learning. Throughout the semester, and even during our group presentations, it was evident that a student led classroom was the most effective, and the teachers role is to be the guide.

Why I Write

Why I Write

The act of putting the pen to the paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium – Norbet Platt

Writing helps me make meaning of my experiences. Writing is how I represent and express myself. Making connections between my past, present, and future is the end result. Whether I am writing an essay, in my diary, texting a friend, or emailing my teachers, I am constantly developing my literacy skills. The various strategies I use stem from communication.  

When students are learning to express meaning using writing and representing tools, teachers scaffold writing development through a range of activities. Modeled writing, and interactive/shared writing are two examples we have done in class, that I have found very engaging. Giving the students the opportunity to engage in choice writing enhances their depth and diversity when expressing their ideas and expressions as, “the ultimate goal is for students to make the strategies their own, and [for them] to know how, when, and why to apply them” (IRP, 26). Getting students interested and engaged opens the door for an infinite number of possibilities. “With good teaching…kids who are going to become interested and excited become interested and excited” (Atwell, 83).

The article, Fostering Meaningful Middle School Literacy Learning: Investigating Beliefs and Practices, by Cynthia H. Brock and Fenice B. Boyd, discusses two teachers underlying beliefs about language, literacy, and learning. The teacher that immediately stood out to me was Mrs. Baird.  She loves to learn, and sees herself as a lifelong learner. There were many strong connections between this article and the IRP, especially on engagement of the student.

She knows that “literacy learning best occurs when students are engaged in meaningful activities that have authentic
purposes” (Beach et al.,
2010, p. 15). Mrs. Baird’s strategies through journaling, unsent letters, poetry and narratives I find extremely effective. I would even consider coupling them with more 21^st Century learning strategies such as comic strip creations or real time skype chats with students on the other side of the world. The IRPs support this development through the following PLO:

•  C1 write meaningful personal texts that explore ideas and information to experiment, express self, make connections, reflect and respond, remember and recall.

There are several more PLOs with the notion of creativity and exploration.

Mrs. Baird also has her students participate in a Book Club, which typically includes “whole-group community share; time for reading, writing, and discussing in small peer-led groups; and closing whole-group community share”, (Voices from the Middle, 2011,pg.14). This relates to the notion of guided writing; “a small group of students with a common need is brought together for a mini-lesson, and the students are supported as needed. They then practice the strategies in the group setting or independently”, (IRP,2006).

The other strategy used by Mrs. Baird is “Modelling, [which] is generally done with the whole class or a group. The teacher thinks aloud (writes aloud) while composing. As the teacher thinks aloud he/she is making the writing process more obvious to the students” (IRP, 2006). Mrs. Baird asks her young adolescents to write daily by implementing writing workshops in her classroom. “The major components of writing workshop in Mrs. Baird’s classroom include daily read-alouds (whereby Mrs. Baird reads literature to model the kinds of writing she is teaching her students), mini-lessons (either small- or whole-group—depending on her students’ writing needs—where she models writing skills and strategies her students can use in their own writing), daily individual writing time, and sharing time (Tompkins, 2008)”, (Voices from the Middle, 2011,pg.14).

Activities such as peer editing and proofreading have always helped me develop my writing, getting a new perspective from other students is a great support system. It is important to teach students the relevance writing and representing hold in their lives. “One-to-one and small-group conferences allow the teacher to monitor students’ levels of independence and provide intervention where needed”, (IRP,2006).

The teacher must set (often with the students) the expectations re: behaviors, work habits, etc. If the teacher sticks to the 'plan' and prepares lessons that are relevant and meaningful, with lots of student participation, the management challenges will be reduced, and often eliminated, making for a great learning and teaching environment. Mrs. Baird also believes
 that “students will be more
 motivated to learn when
 that which they are asked
 to learn has relevance to 
their lives”, (Voices from the Middle, 2011,pg.17). Writing and representing are significant components in the English IRP, 30-45% for the Middle Years grades. Allowing students to engage in choice writing is a strategy that I see as a very effective one that will help them move forward in their literacy development, communication, and greater understandings.

References:

Atwell, N. (1998). in the middle : New understandings about writing, reading, and learning. second edition. Portmouth, NH: Heinmann.

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2006). English Language arts K to 7: Integrated Resource Package. Victoria, BC.

URL: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/irp ela.htm

 Brock,C.H. and Boyd,F.B. "Fostering Meaningful Middle School Literacy Learning: Investigating Beliefs and Practices”. Voices from the Middle, Volume 19 Number 1, September 2011.

Podcasts in the Classroom

Online learning has become popular because of its potential for providing more flexible access to content, as well as providing instruction at any time from any place. As a teacher I would find podcast to be quite a useful tool. By increasing the learning availability, it will allow for me to connect with more students instead of just relying on face-to-face time with them. I really liked the ideas presented in class about using them as speakers corner, or as radio plays, time capsules would be a really cool thing to do with a class as well.

I came across a blog on podcasts that offered a lot of info on how useful podcasts can be in the classroom. It had examples for math, science, English and music teachers.

For example, “Some math teachers are using podcasting to demonstrate how to solve problems step-by-step using their students ideas and creativity. They then post the podcasts on the web and students could use them as an online tutor any time they need one”. Here is an example of a math podcast: Math Mutation Podcast

In a typical school system students receive the lecture content in class and then are given homework to practice at home with. Problems arise when the students have no one at home to help them out. This is when podcasts come in handy. They deliver content to students at their convenience. It is also helpful for helping students catch up on missed classes.

Podcasting is a great way for students to get extra practice too, but there is a downside to them as well. If students become too reliant on podcasts, they could place less and less value on the face-to-face time with their teachers, which could impact the effectiveness of the teaching strategy, which is why I would really stress the role of the podcast as a supplement to the classroom material.

From personal experience with podcasts; online classes, and personal development sessions with work at lululemon, I find them to be on par to that of face-to-face instruction. Obviously, they will never replace the value of a teacher in the classroom, but I do think they are a great follow up post lecture. It gives the students the opportunity to access parts of the lecture they may not have understood or had a chance to scribble down the notes on. As far as how I would incorporate them into my classroom I am undecided mainly because, I am very challenged when it comes to technology, but I am sure there is a podcast on how to make a podcast J.

The IRPs' Impact on a Beginner Teacher

The IRP and Me

As a beginner teacher when reading the English Integrated Resource Package (IRP), my thoughts shifted from viewing it as a hindrance to actually finding it quite helpful. It provides an overview of the key elements, and acts as a quick reference tool for curriculum information and resources. The best part is the opportunity new teachers have to use their own professional autonomy to meet the Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLO’S).

When I first began reading the IRP for Language Arts I was overwhelmed by all the information. I found it to be very broad, and could be taught in multiple ways. After going over the readings, and the class discussions on finding that “hook” to get students engaged I was quite excited to be given this independence. It will allow me to create a classroom that I am excited about, and as long as the expectations set out by the IRP are met, I would feel successful in teaching the curriculum.

Another reason I find the IRP to be beneficial has to do with the age group of students I would be teaching. Adolescence is a hard time for both students and teachers, and many challenges are brought into the classroom at that age. Nancy Atwell, author of In The Middle, brought up many crucial points when teaching the middle years students, one being the shift from “skill and drill based curriculum's to responsive teaching”, (Atwell, 1998). It touches on what I find to be the most relevant approaches to teaching in middle years. She states three principals that will make the most of middle years learning. One in particular being “that teachers accept the reality that middle school students are volatile and social.” She continues to say that teaching can take advantage of this by finding “meaningful ways to channel their energies and social needs instead of trying to legislate against them”, (Atwell, 1998).

I find this strongly relates to the section of the IRP called “Considerations for Program Delivery,” specifically the part on making meaning through the integration of  “writing and representing, speaking and listening, reading and viewing”, (IRP, 2006). A student can use their strength in one area to “facilitate and support learning” in the others. For example in fostering development teachers structure opportunities for students to talk about their reading, writing, and thinking, and involve them in challenging, open- ended tasks through which they create and demonstrate understanding. This is exactly what I would coin as “responsive teaching”, (Atwell, 1998), and what a middle years English Language Arts classroom should consist of.

            At first my impression of the IRP was that it was broad and overwhelming. The introduction where I was told that the “development of the IRP has been guided by the principles of learning, but It didn’t really say how these were taught. Further into the IRP I began to draw links to the teaching approaches we have been learning in class and the readings from Atwells’ text, and actually began to find it quite informative. It was a framework on what to do, what to look for and what to keep in mind when developing my lessons. The IRP doesn’t say exactly what to do, but as a new teacher it would definitely point me in the right direction. It allows me to be open minded with lessons, while keeping me on track.

References:

Atwell, N. (1998). in the middle : New understandings about writing, reading, and learning. second edition. Portmouth, NH: Heinmann.

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2006). English Language arts K to 7: Integrated Resource Package. Victoria, BC.

URL: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/irp ela.htm

Introduction and Expectations of English Language Arts in a Middle School classroom

My Name is  Riley McQueen, I was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta and moved to Victoria last fall for School and track. I did my undergrad in Communications and Culture with a minor in Sociology at the University of Calgary. I have always been interested in teaching, and have worked with kids for the past 5 years in kids camps as well as working in special needs classrooms as a Child Development Facilitator. I originally was wanting to pursue a career as an Elementary teacher, but changed my mind last year. I decided that Middle years is an age group I can relate to more strongly and for me was the time where I as a student needed the most guidance. I had a really special teacher; Mr. Brady who was one of the biggest influences in my life during those crucial teenage years and I want to play the same role for my future students. 

After reading over sections of the IRP I expect English in middle schools to be a lot more interactive. I see there being a major emphasis on the engagement of the students through storytelling, role playing, and discussion.  It was interesting the point made in class the other day in regards to how learning is done through reflecting. I see the classroom discussions on literature being discussed in a manner where the teacher takes on various roles to help the students be within the story and make sense of it through taking on and experiencing the different perspectives each character represents. I feel English Language Arts is about communicating and engaging with the students about how the roles various genres and styles of literature shape our understanding of the past, present and future. I expect to come out of this course with a strong and confident foundation to know what it takes to help engage students in the process of understanding and interpreting various pieces of literature and concepts in  the English Language Arts in the middle years curriculum.