I think I went off on a tangent...

The revising and editing process has been interesting for me. On one hand, I like to watch the reactions of my peers as they read my story. I even enjoy (yes, enjoy) listening to their comments afterward. It was very helpful for me to hear that my shifts from past to present were slightly confusing and needed to be fixed in some creative way. And, of course, it's always helpful to have my type-o's and grammatical errors pointed out to me. It was also a relief to hear that my story was well liked and had the effect I had hoped it would on the reader.

On the other hand, it is difficult to place my hard work into someone else's hands. It's hard for me to come to terms with the fact that this person who knows nothing about my life or the story that I am telling is going to tell me how to fix it. It makes me fairly nervous to be honest.

Yet, this is very common practice for me. I don't typically trust myself, and I really do like to hear other people comment on my work. I have a favorite "editor" who typically reads my stuff and is honest (like the time he asked me if I was asleep while writing my ENG 111 research paper).

I think this is absolutely essential in the classroom. Students are able to practice many different skills. Of course, there are the obvious language arts skills (reading, writing, grammar, etc), but students also practice social and emotional skills as they bravely hand their hard work over to another peer. For this reason, I think it would be best to either keep the same partner for at least half of the year, or to let the students chose their own partners when peer conferencing.

Who would think that language arts would be so emotional...maybe I made it too emotional.

Hmmm...

I'm known in my family for having a freakishly detailed memory. I remember random things from long ago with detail, when my family either doesn't remember or has some vague memory of what I am talking about. For this reason, I have felt awful every time I've posted a blog and not remembered my school days in detail. I just thought I would throw that out there and apologize for my lack of memory - hopefully as I write this, it will all come back to me.

I do remember participating in a literature circle for EDU 255 last semester. I loved the book I read (The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages), and I had an excellent group to read with. I thin literature circles do a great job of teaching responsibility and independence to younger children. I also believe that the independence of a literature circle is what makes it so exciting to students. Okay, I don't have personal experience with this, but I believe that when you give a child an important job, such as the many jobs/responsibilities in a literature circle, he feels important and will work to fulfill his duty. So, of course, these would be some definite pros to literature circles - supporting the development of independence and excitement about reading!

Currently, I observe writer's workshop in a first grade classroom twice a week. I like that the students are able to take time to write on their own. I am a big fan of writing - so I love watching everyone focused on their paper. I think the repetition of writer's workshop throughout the week really helps the students to better understand the process of writing, and it allows them to greatly develop their writing skills.

I think I remember doing a literature focus unit in the 5th grade. I remember reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. I also remember learning more about the Holocaust, watching my teacher cry when she talked about seeing the children's shoes in the Holocaust Museum, and creating a board game at the closing of our unit. Unfortunately, I don't remember many details about the experience; however, I can say that I like the overall idea. Personally, I like to have some time to take in the contents of anything I read (okay, anything important that I read), and I believe this allows the students to do so. The only thing I fear is picking a book that bores students.

I am so very sure that I have experienced many thematic units and reader's workshops throughout my educational career, and yet, I remember nothing. Of course, thematic units are a great way to pull students in and help them to really understand a certain subject. Reader's workshop allows students to get quality reading practice that leads to further development.

I'm sorry - I didn't add many dislikes or cons in this discussion. I'm sure they're out there, but I think they mostly involve teaching style and the students in the classroom.

Whew, my brain hurts from all this remembering.

I actually "broke" this book because I opened it so many times...

I think a great book to use in my future classroom would be Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. I haven't read it in a while, but I still remember that it's about a young boy living on his own who goes on a search to find his father. I remember how he holds all his special things in a suitcase, and how he rides a train all by himself. Oh and I'm pretty sure that while Bud is in the orphanage some boy shoves a pencil up another boy's nose and some boys poor water over a boy so that he will wet the bed. In any case, I loved reading that book, and I feel that my upper elementary students would love it as well, and they can also gain a lot from the story.

I think the theme of the book is all about survival and courage. The story is set in the Great Depression - a time of great struggle for everyone, but especially for a 10 year old boy living on his own. Teaching this book could involve having the children work out strategies to make it through their own struggles, and teaching about the difficulties and social issues of living during the Great Depression.

It's tough for me to pick out one story element. Bud's character, obviously, is essential to the story, but I believe that overall the setting may be the strongest element in the story. It is very apparent that Bud's journey would have gone much differently if it occurred today or in any other time period.

I see many potential lesson plans using this book. Bud is a fairly rebellious child, so I think it would be great if the students could compare and contrast his appropriate survival strategies and his inappropriate survival strategies. This could lead into a writing activity, and could be applied to the children's lives as they brainstorm ways to appropriately solve their own life difficulties. Of course it is also good for social studies as a teach about the Great Depression, and it could also be great for math - maybe we could track the miles that Bud travels on his journey.

I'm liking this idea more and more...now I wish I hadn't left that book at home.

I think I start every post with a memory...

In my 10th and 11th grade English classes (I had the same teacher both years...but that's an entirely different story) I (I meaning the entire class) was asked to keep a journal. Every morning my teacher would have a prompt written on the board, typically dealing with what we had been reading or learning in class. My favorite days were always Fridays - Fridays were ALWAYS "Free Write Friday!" Anyway, journal time was usually my favorite part of the class because I was allowed to write as much as I wanted, and I knew that my thoughts would almost always be heard. I was one of those nerds who LOVED to get her journal back and see the teacher's comments.

That journal experience was much like this one. Evey week I see a topic on the discussion board and write my thoughts. I am allowed to somewhat informally express my thoughts, and I love it. I think I like blogging better because I type a lot faster than I write, and it hurts my hands less. I also know that it is available to more people than my classroom journal. While I'm not sure how many people outside of the classroom would really wish to read this blog, I know that the option is out there.

Another thing I like about this blog is that it gives me another option. Ever since that 10th grade I've told myself that my future students would have a daily journal to write in just as I had done. However, maybe the students could start a classroom blog as well. It opens up some interesting options in the classroom. It might not be that each individual child would have a blog, but maybe I could designate one blogger of the day to write on a classroom blog instead of in his/her journal. I think that would be really interesting for the students, parents, and other teachers to read. Hey, I kind of like that idea.

So it's been a good experience. I do have to say that I've never been a big fan of writing to a prompt (who doesn't like free write Friday), but I'm pretty sure that is just part of school in general. So far this has been a positive experience and I look forward to continuing to share my ever so fantastic (at least I like to think so) thoughts.