Image Grammar Ch. 1

• · Noden states that “writing is not constructed merely from experiences, information, characters or plots, but from fundamental artistic elements of grammar.” I have been wondering for a while when we were going to really dive into this element, rather than focusing on generating writing and creativity. Noden says that students can employ the five basic brush strokes (1. The participle 2. The absolute 3. The appositive 4. Adjectives shifted out of order 5. Action verbs) to learn “the art of image grammar.” My cooperating teacher really works on adjectives and action verbs with our students. We play “verb charades” and write descriptive paragraphs that elaborate on a simple sentence, such as: “The kitchen was dirty.” Mrs. Sukie always welcomes my ideas, because she wants to make grammar as interactive as she can. This book and its strategies will be a great help to me!
• · Strategy 2: Explore Images from Films of Best-Selling Novels is such a fun activity. I’ve found that students really get excited when you incorporate movies, internet, or gaming. I used a Youtube clip and did a project using Facebook in my class, which really excited them. I loved seeing my students that energized and eager to learn. I liked the example using Jack London’s “Call of the Wild,” because it is something I’ve read! Since my students will be reading Rick Riordan’s “Lightning Thief,” it would be really fun to use the new movie, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.” I’m sad to see that it won’t be released until the summer, but I can always find a great clip from the theatrical trailer!

Hungry Minds

• v This article shocked me when it stated that 1 in every 6 are hungry. How sad! One day when I was in second grade, my teacher asked me why I looked so sad and couldn’t do my work. I told her because I was “starving.” Honestly, there’s no way I was starving. My mother would never have sent me to school without feeding me. However, I remember the feeling! I had a headache because I was so hungry and all I could do was stare at the clock and wait for it to be lunch time. Mrs. Bosko didn’t allow that. She sent me down to the cafeteria with $.75 and told me to buy a cookie and some milk. Now that I am teaching, I think about Mrs. Bosko very often. I need to try to be that attentive to my students and know that they may be too hungry to sit in class. Perhaps it is just because they were super active the day before, or maybe they are in need like the people who went to the soup kitchen. I know many schools provide breakfast for this purpose, but the school I am placed in currently does not. If I do notice a student who cannot focus or tells me he is hungry, I can always give them a “Chewy” bar! They’re yummy, have nutritional value and are inexpensive!
• v I was interested in the proven topics that they wrote about in the workshops. I would have liked to see more of those.
• v I think that writing can be very therapeutic. I think that by using writing as a way to let my students relieve feelings, I will be better able to know them and meet their needs more efficiently.
• v Finally, I loved how they use a writing workshop to “kindly criticize” one another’s writing. That’s truly how you improve and build your writing. Also, a class anthology of students’ work is a great idea. Students can keep it to remember their own work, read the final works of their peers, and I could use it as modeling in the following years.

My Unit :)

I just wanted to share with everyone how much I LOVE TEACHING LANGUAGE ARTS! The most rewarding moments are when I see my students enjoying my lessons, or hear them in the hallways STILL actively discussing Greek Mythology. I am blown away when I ask students to summarize what we did the previous day, and they can do it. Not only that, but they are asking me questions and begging me to extend on Greek gods.

At this point, I am very comfortable teaching. My students are now comfortable with me, too. They freely ask me questions during work time and are eager to talk to me in the halls in between classes.

I encountered several problems in my lesson yesterday, all of which I worked through. I realize that this is going to happen while I'm just starting out, but unfortunately, they occurred during my first observation! Mrs. Stroh was understanding. She assured me that this unit is meant to be a learning experience and that I was being very hard on myself. However, I wish she could have seen today's lesson. It went SO well. I had timed everything perfectly and the students were fully engaged for the entire period.

I still have seven more days left, but I cannot wait until I am at Erwine every day next semester!

I finally feel like a teacher...

As I have mentioned before, I am so lucky to be at Erwine Middle School. The staff truly treats me like a I am a professional. I never feel like a student, except for when I am learning from them. Particularly my co-operating teacher, Mrs. Sukie.

Mrs. Sukie is wonderful. Every strategy that we are instructed to teach, she manages to incorporate into every lesson at all times. I was extremely flattered when Mrs. Sukie offered to let me teach some days prior to my unit in order to get acquainted with teaching the students. I was honored when she told me that she trusted me to teach her class far more than a substitute. Because of the grant Erwine received, Mrs. Sukie has had to be out several times. I have taken those opportunities to teach on my own! I have loved it.

I now know the students much better than I would have from just observing and I am familiar with their learning styles. Even though Mrs. Sukie has left me lesson plans, she has given me so much freedom to adapt anything. Because of this opportunity, I am comfortable and ready to start teaching my own lessons!

Koch- Chapter 1: "Beginnings"

• Two sentences in the introductory paragraph resonated with me most out of this entire book: "You've already got in mind some human situation that matters to you. You need nothing more," (3). In my Introduction to Creative Writing class last semester, my instructor used several prompts and exercises to help us find something to write about. I want to dot his, but focus on finding issues that students care about and want to write more about.
• Koch says to use a notebook "as a seedbed," (10). I would like students to have notebooks in class that students can use to produce informal writing, such as journals and responses to the prompts. However, I have talked about this with my mom, who was a high school English teacher prior to getting her Master's degree in Special Education. She said sometimes students would shock her with what they wrote in their journals, so it may be best to stick with prompts.
• Koch inspired me to think about my own childhood and what stories I can create from my childhood memories, since he says: "Childhood is, in every sense, the cradle of narrative." I can think of several moments in my childhood that have defined me, bothered me, inspired me, or just became a lasting memory. This is also a great place to begin with students in order to inspire some creative writing.
• Creating characters is something that can be very fun. Koch inspired me to think of some activities that my class can do with creating characters, such as: the entire class creating a character with a character web. The most important part would be to follow Kurt Vonnegut's advice about giving characters some sort of motivation, even if it's just the character wanting a glass of water.