The part in chapter seven that I really enjoyed was her way of teaching Julius Caesar. She has her students decide who they think would make the best president and then use examples/quotes from the text to support their opinions. This reminds me of what we did in class for The Great Gatsby when we took either Daisy or Myrtle's side and rallied for who we thought was in "the right" with Tom. I think it's a really great way to get students to think about the characters viewpoints, as well as the plot in general, from different point-of-views that may not be the straightforward intention of the author.
My favorite quote was from the end of the chapter when Jago writes, "In the brave new world that I envision, students will graduate from high school able to read and understand the best that literature has to offer...In the process students will discover the heroic dimension of their own lives." It is so important that we teach our students in high school to understand and, thus, appreciate literature's best. If we don't give them those tools as high school teachers, they will not go into college, or just the rest of their lives, being able to really "get" this old literature that sometimes seems so outdated. I know there are still things I read in college that I don't really "get" well enough to understand. I want to be able to teach my students to look deep enough to get meanings for everything they read for themselves.
This was my favorite textbook I have ever read, and actually one of the few I did not dread reading. Carol Jago has such wonderful ideas and opinions regarding the classroom. The lessons offered up as examples in her book for teaching great works such as The Odyssey and Julius Caesar are things I will remember going into my classroom.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Teaching Literature: Final Reflection
I have acquired so many valuable skills throughout this past year, and specifically, this past semester. At the beginning of this semester I was really feeling a little lost in terms of becoming a teacher and did not feel like I knew nearly enough to be given a class in the spring. However, I feel so much better prepared now. I have seriously made headway when it comes to how nervous I get speaking in front of the class. I used to get so anxious, but now it is totally manageable. Granted, it probably helps that I have had classes with 80% of the same people for at least the last year, but it's still something that really makes me feel a lot more at ease as I go into the next year.
The activities throughout this semester have been so helpful in teaching me how to construct a lesson. I particularly enjoyed the random Q&A sessions we would have in class where you would just answer all of our random questions that are not necessarily built into the course's curriculum, but are still so important to all of us. For example, when you explained how to field difficult questions or how to decide how to grade an assignment based on what your goal was for that assignment. It was especially great how you and Dr. Kist combined assignments and tried to intermix what you were teaching. We could always relate things in one class to the other and it just helped to really reinforce everything I learned.
The book we read this semester was also a great help. I always return my books because I'm a poor, struggling student, but I think I'm actually going to keep Classics in the Classroom. Her example lessons, like the one on how she teaches the Odyssey, were so great that I want to keep the text in order to model my own future lessons after them. The book was not only helpful, but easy to read because it was so interesting and applicable.
After this semester, I feel so much better equipped for this upcoming year. I really enjoyed having you as a teacher for the past two semesters and feel as if I have learned more that is relevant to my future career in the past semester than I have in the other three and a half years I have been at Kent State. It's been great having you as a teacher.
The activities throughout this semester have been so helpful in teaching me how to construct a lesson. I particularly enjoyed the random Q&A sessions we would have in class where you would just answer all of our random questions that are not necessarily built into the course's curriculum, but are still so important to all of us. For example, when you explained how to field difficult questions or how to decide how to grade an assignment based on what your goal was for that assignment. It was especially great how you and Dr. Kist combined assignments and tried to intermix what you were teaching. We could always relate things in one class to the other and it just helped to really reinforce everything I learned.
The book we read this semester was also a great help. I always return my books because I'm a poor, struggling student, but I think I'm actually going to keep Classics in the Classroom. Her example lessons, like the one on how she teaches the Odyssey, were so great that I want to keep the text in order to model my own future lessons after them. The book was not only helpful, but easy to read because it was so interesting and applicable.
After this semester, I feel so much better equipped for this upcoming year. I really enjoyed having you as a teacher for the past two semesters and feel as if I have learned more that is relevant to my future career in the past semester than I have in the other three and a half years I have been at Kent State. It's been great having you as a teacher.
Multi-Modal Literacies: Final Reflection
This class is hands down the most valuable class I've taken this semester. High school English class can be such a boring subject to learn about if the student has not already developed a love for reading on their own. I always knew I wanted to figure out ways to make class more interesting, fun, and exciting, but I was never entirely sure how to do that. This class has left me with endless ideas as to how to liven up the English classroom, specifically involving technology.
This facebook project, in particular, is a concept that really interests me. Additionally, in Dr. Pytash's class last week, we reviewed different lesson plans from Read Write Think for Shakespeare. One of them included a lot of different options for projects, one of which was creating a blog or facebook from the character's point-of-view. One of the potential arguments was that creating a facebook from a character's point-of-view could be a very easily blown-off assignment, but we discussed the option that they created facebooks/blogs as the characters and then interacted with each other as the read the book in class, commenting on the main events and sharing the character's inner thoughts. If facebook continues to become more popular in high school classrooms, I would also love to create a class facebook group for students to discuss assignments and deadlines, where they can help each other and I can help them. I think an online portfolio could also be a great way for student's to maintain their body of work from the semester, as well as easily look back over it.
Looking over all my journal entries from both Multi-Modal and Teaching Literature, I have learned so much this semester. I know so much better now how to construct lessons and lesson plans. Also, as I mentioned in one of my blog posts for Multi-Modal for blog check #2, I have really made some headway in terms of speaking in front of classes. I have much less anxiety over speaking to the class, and especially about leading a discussion.
This facebook project, in particular, is a concept that really interests me. Additionally, in Dr. Pytash's class last week, we reviewed different lesson plans from Read Write Think for Shakespeare. One of them included a lot of different options for projects, one of which was creating a blog or facebook from the character's point-of-view. One of the potential arguments was that creating a facebook from a character's point-of-view could be a very easily blown-off assignment, but we discussed the option that they created facebooks/blogs as the characters and then interacted with each other as the read the book in class, commenting on the main events and sharing the character's inner thoughts. If facebook continues to become more popular in high school classrooms, I would also love to create a class facebook group for students to discuss assignments and deadlines, where they can help each other and I can help them. I think an online portfolio could also be a great way for student's to maintain their body of work from the semester, as well as easily look back over it.
Looking over all my journal entries from both Multi-Modal and Teaching Literature, I have learned so much this semester. I know so much better now how to construct lessons and lesson plans. Also, as I mentioned in one of my blog posts for Multi-Modal for blog check #2, I have really made some headway in terms of speaking in front of classes. I have much less anxiety over speaking to the class, and especially about leading a discussion.
Multi-Modal: Autism
I really enjoyed the speaker that came in last week, Michelle Cahoon. She has a son with autism, among other learning disabilities, and has learned all that she needs to know about it on her own. She works with the Akron Rotary Camp in Akron. Her presentation inspired me to try and volunteer at the camp myself. I sent her an e-mail and and told her about my experience with learning disabled children/students, expressing my interest at volunteering. She forwarded my information to the camp's director, who called me back and let a voice mail. I called back, but have yet to hear back again. I think it would be a wonderful experience to volunteer with that camp. I could learn so much about working with children with autism and other learning disabilities.
My younger brother has ADHD. He was adopted from Albania when he was two-years-old, and had not learned any English or Albanian. Thus, he is socially and school-wise stunted two years. He has trouble with school, and also making friends. He does not always understand when kids are making fun of him or when they're goofing around. I have always tried to help him study for tests and do his homework, not always helping. He is part of the reason I'm entering the education field, I'm sure. After I have graduated and worked a year, hopefully then I will begin working toward another degree in Special Education, Speech Pathology. or School Counseling. Volunteering with the Akron Rotary Camp would help me to get more experience with special education children and decide whether or not that degree is something I would like.
My younger brother has ADHD. He was adopted from Albania when he was two-years-old, and had not learned any English or Albanian. Thus, he is socially and school-wise stunted two years. He has trouble with school, and also making friends. He does not always understand when kids are making fun of him or when they're goofing around. I have always tried to help him study for tests and do his homework, not always helping. He is part of the reason I'm entering the education field, I'm sure. After I have graduated and worked a year, hopefully then I will begin working toward another degree in Special Education, Speech Pathology. or School Counseling. Volunteering with the Akron Rotary Camp would help me to get more experience with special education children and decide whether or not that degree is something I would like.
Multi-Modal Literacies: Facebook
I am really enjoying the facebook project. The thing that has struck me the most about participating in these discussions is that the students are willing to voice their opinions, even when they disagree with what us college students are saying. I am afraid that when I was in high school, I was not sure enough about my skills analyzing literature to go against what a college student was saying. I would have seen their opinion as more valid and educated, and thus, just assumed they were right. The high school students are going to be way ahead of the game when they get to college because they are already learning the skills to debate points of literature in a mature way.
The prospect of helping present at the NCTE conference is really exciting, as well. It's amazing to me that you have provided us with the opportunity to present at the conference on such a great subject. What other teachers just beginning in the field are going to be able to say that they have already presented at a national conference. It will also be a great opportunity for us to hone our public speaking skills, in terms of large audiences.
The prospect of helping present at the NCTE conference is really exciting, as well. It's amazing to me that you have provided us with the opportunity to present at the conference on such a great subject. What other teachers just beginning in the field are going to be able to say that they have already presented at a national conference. It will also be a great opportunity for us to hone our public speaking skills, in terms of large audiences.
Multi-Modal Literacies: Compare and Contrast
When comparing and contrasting the two graphic novels, American Born Chinese and Naruto: Volume 1, I would have to say that I liked American Born Chinese better. However, even after having read more graphic novels (the only other one I have read was one about 9/11 in Pytash's class last semester), I still have to say that I really do not enjoy them very much. I will always prefer the old-fashioned text books.
American Born Chinese was easier for me to follow than Naruto: Volume 1. It's plot was easier for me to understand, and the organization of the book seemed better. The bubbles were not as confusing for me as they were in Naruto. Most importantly, though, American Born Chinese read from left to right like most books I read. It took a long time for me to get past reading a book that goes the entire opposite of everything I have always known and read.
American Born Chinese is a book I would consider teaching my own future students if I chose to do a graphic novel. Not only was the plot easier to understand, but also easier to relate to. It is set in high school, and revolves around issues that high school students face, such as feeling left out, wanting to fit in, etc. The story told about high school politics, as I like to refer to it, and that is something all students can relate to. Naruto on the other hand, was harder to follow. I always have difficulty when there are a lot of odd names involved, but the plot was also harder for me to follow.
Each graphic novel utilized gutters and black borders. For some reason, American Born Chinese's layout was easier for me to follow, possibly because of the illustrator's choices. It seemed to have more pictures of their faces close-up, and not just of everyone in the entire scene. Also, Naruto had a lot of fight scenes, so that may also be a reason the illustrations confused me so much. I really liked that American Born Chinese was illustrated in color, as well, because without the color, everything sort of just blurs together onto this giant newspaper-looking page that is much harder to focus on.
Naruto used much more exaggeration, for example, when it came to the sound effect choices in the novel. American Born Chinese was more of real-world issues so exaggeration was not as necessary. The mood of American Born Chinese was also more positive. From the get-go, looking at the cover, I had a better feeling about American Born Chinese. The main relationships in both graphic novels had to do with power, in some way, but in American Born Chinese, it was more of a power struggle that we all understand: the power of fitting in and being able to identify with those around us.
American Born Chinese was easier for me to follow than Naruto: Volume 1. It's plot was easier for me to understand, and the organization of the book seemed better. The bubbles were not as confusing for me as they were in Naruto. Most importantly, though, American Born Chinese read from left to right like most books I read. It took a long time for me to get past reading a book that goes the entire opposite of everything I have always known and read.
American Born Chinese is a book I would consider teaching my own future students if I chose to do a graphic novel. Not only was the plot easier to understand, but also easier to relate to. It is set in high school, and revolves around issues that high school students face, such as feeling left out, wanting to fit in, etc. The story told about high school politics, as I like to refer to it, and that is something all students can relate to. Naruto on the other hand, was harder to follow. I always have difficulty when there are a lot of odd names involved, but the plot was also harder for me to follow.
Each graphic novel utilized gutters and black borders. For some reason, American Born Chinese's layout was easier for me to follow, possibly because of the illustrator's choices. It seemed to have more pictures of their faces close-up, and not just of everyone in the entire scene. Also, Naruto had a lot of fight scenes, so that may also be a reason the illustrations confused me so much. I really liked that American Born Chinese was illustrated in color, as well, because without the color, everything sort of just blurs together onto this giant newspaper-looking page that is much harder to focus on.
Naruto used much more exaggeration, for example, when it came to the sound effect choices in the novel. American Born Chinese was more of real-world issues so exaggeration was not as necessary. The mood of American Born Chinese was also more positive. From the get-go, looking at the cover, I had a better feeling about American Born Chinese. The main relationships in both graphic novels had to do with power, in some way, but in American Born Chinese, it was more of a power struggle that we all understand: the power of fitting in and being able to identify with those around us.
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