Andy Schiller 1/30/08 Group 6

In class on January 22, we worked in groups and discussed choral reading. The group that I was in was working with the book Chica Chica Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. The book is targeted at helping kids learn the alphabet. On each page new letters were introduced with a catchy verse that rhymed with one another. In class our group were suppose to work with one another and discuss how we should read the story out loud to the class while focusing on the tempo, rhythm, pitch, and juncture. This task was in coordination with the eighth grade level expectations of speaking discourse. For the activity we had to work with each other to decide the best method in reading and presenting the book we choose. The grade content expectation that this activity addressed is described as:

Speaking (Discourse)
Students will…
Engage in interactive, extended discourse to socially construct meaning
Plan and deliver an informal presentation

This activity required us to decide as a group how we wanted to emphasize and enunciate our story when we read it out loud to the class. My group worked together and everyone contributed their own ideas. As a group we decided that we should use the approach of Cumulative Reading. Cumulative Reading is when one person starts reading the first line of the reading and then one the next line another student starts reading along with the first person, and on and on.


The activity also required my group to decide how we were going to read the story out loud to our class. As a group we had to decide how we were going to read each page by focusing on how we use tempo, rhythm, pitch, and juncture while we read. This part of the activity required us to decide how we could make the reading of our book more authentic by either emphasizing and enunciating a particular word or phrase or not enunciating or emphasizing it. As a group we had to discuss and develop strategies which we believed would enhance meaning by emphasizing parts of the book that would increase the greatest to the overall interpretation of that we were trying to convey. This also goes along with the eighth grade content expectations for speaking conventions, which is described as:

Speaking (Conventions)
Students will…
Use enunciation and stress to emphasize key ideas and concepts when presenting
Use tone of voice and pace of speaking to enhance meaning and influence interpretation when presenting


When working in my group, all of my group members were very respectful. They listened when I had to say something and were respectful to and of the ideas I suggested. They actually went along with me when I was joking about enunciating the chica chica boom boom in the book with a silly voice. This really helped with the learning community in the classroom because I felt safe with offering my own suggestions and participating in the activity. Everyone in the classroom was very respectful when other groups were reading their books and when we were working in our groups.

This activity helped me understand myself more as a future teacher. It also helped me understand how book talks can be used to enhance a student’s understanding and motivation like the article that I read by Triplett. First, letting my students work with one another to decide how to present a book to their class helps both the students who are reading the book, and the classmates they are reading to the book to as well. The activity helps the students performing the activity to give meaning to the reading that they have worked with. This makes the learning more personal because it puts the learning and the instruction in the student’s hand. This activity also helps the other students in the class because they are hopefully able to interpret the book better, and enhance the message the book and the group is trying to convey.

As a teacher this activity has helped me understand my role in a Language Arts classroom. I first learned that the students in my classroom need to be in charge of their learning in the classroom. I also learned that my student’s interpretation and understanding of the material I am reading is greatly influenced by how I choose to read it. By changing the way I use the tempo, rhythm, pitch, and juncture when I present the material can have an influence on what they get out of the information I am reading. This activity also reinforced the importance of group work and student to student interaction in my future classroom. I think it is important to understand that adults don’t think like children, and so I don’t think a class should be dominated by a teacher lecturing the class. It is important for students to work with their classmates because kids think like and relate to other kids. As a teacher by stepping back and allowing group work, you are allowing your students to increase their level of understanding, help promote a classroom community, and preparing them with the appropriate social skills that they will need in life.

Noteblog (1/30) - Kelly Briggs

The choral reading activity I am going to write about is planning and performing my own choral reading. My group used small-group reading while working with Run Dog Run by Dr. Seuss. Specific grade level content expectations that this activity required me to use were:

Students will...

Speaking (Conventions)

• Use enunciation and stress to emphasize key ideas and concepts when presenting.

• Use tone of voice and pace of speaking to enhance meaning and influence interpretation when presenting.

Speaking (Discourse)

• Engage in interactive, extended discourse to socially construct meaning.

• Plan and deliver an informal presentation.

During our group reading we put stress on the rhyming words partially because it is easiest to pick out the rhyming words and partially because that is where the flow puts the emphasis. The rhyming words are the part of the book that are meant to have the focus on and so putting the stress on those words is natural. The tempo that we used was fast. When words were repeating or rhyming it forced the reader to speed up the words. It made the reading sound better and more exciting when the tempo was faster. While planning our reading, our group had to consider many aspects, such as tempo, pitch, juncture, etc, when deciding how we wanted our reading to sound. This included having really interactive discussions to decide how our reading would be received.

After reading the Triplett and Buchanan article about book talk discussions, I can see how that was applied to the choral reading activity. We as a group really worked together to have a successful book talk. We each put in our own ideas, listened carefully to each other and decided together how we wanted to present our book to the class. Our little learning community was very supportive of each other while working towards our finished product and towards the expectations.

I think that after doing this choral reading activity my role as a teacher has become clearer to me. I think that I will be a great listener as a teacher and will help to keep the discussions on topic and help to involve everyone in the group/class. The ideas will not always come from me, but I will help to draw the ideas out of everyone else involved. As I plan my language arts lesson I will have to remember to listen to my students and encourage participation. I will definitely use choral readings in my lesson. I enjoyed the activity and I think that everyone can benefit from an activity of this type.

(1/30) Erin "Choral Reading"

Although I wasn’t in class during the discussion on choral reading, I did some of my own research online about the topic. I found that choral reading is when a group of students read something together aloud in unison. Choral reading is most often done with short stories and poems. A website I found gives four recommendations when choosing short stories or poems to use. First, the selection should be short. It shouldn’t so long that students are unable to pay attention or remain focused. Second, the material selected should be simple enough for students to read. From what I gather, the focus seems to be more on attending to the dramatics aspect of the reading selection. Third, try finding something with a catchy title. That will draw students in and get their imaginations going. Finally, the website recommended to select a piece of literature that will “come alive” when read aloud. The selection should foster different dramatic elements of choral reading. (Choral Reading Method)

A second website I found listed several benefits of choral reading. They are the following: improved sight vocabulary, development of effective read aloud skills and development in ability to sight read aloud (Choral Reading). From researching a little, I feel like I’ve learned other benefits from choral reading as well. Students may be excited to play with the dramatics aspect of choral reading. If students are interested, then they’re more engaged which ultimately means that the reading taking place is more meaningful to them. This is very beneficial to learning!

When I was in elementary I remember doing choral reading for our poetry unit in third grade. We each made poetry books, and our teacher would hand out several poems by various children’s authors. We were then assigned a ‘chunk’ of the poem to read which we would highlight. Usually about three or four students were assigned to each ‘chunk.’ I remember practicing and practicing thinking of different unique and fun ways to read aloud the selection.

If there is anything you would like to comment on, or if you think I missed any key points about choral reading, please let me know :) I was absent for class the day we discussed this topic, and am interested to hear what I missed!

Works Referenced

“Choral Reading Method” - http://www.d21.k12.il.us/dept_instr/langarts/parentinfo/choral_rdg.html

“Choral Reading” - http://www.rocksforkids.com/FabFours/choral_reading.html

(1/23) - Erin "Discussion in the Classroom"

I focused on the article “A New View of Discussion” by Janice F. Almasi. I thought this article was very interesting. I never thought about the differences between discussion and recitation. I sort of thought they were one in the same. When I thought of the word discussion, I correlated it with the I-R-E approach that was mentioned in the text. I-R-E (Initiate-Respond-Evaluate) falls under the category of recitation mainly because it does not elicit any meaning. The teacher asks students summary questions, the students respond, and the teacher evaluates their answers. I feel this sort of approach is found in most classrooms. However, I feel it’s found in most classrooms because it is found on most standardized tests as well.

A new definition of discussion is given in this article. The author defines it as a “collaborative attempt to construct meaning” (Almasi 4). Students take on certain roles such as inquisitor, facilitator, respondent, and evaluator which allow them to take responsibility for their own learning. Students are more engaged because as a collaborative whole they assign different meanings to the text. Students take on more of an active role because they are learning from each other. The article discusses the cognitive, social, emotional, and affective growth that takes place during appropriate discussions.

In terms of discussion, one of the most important roles to recognize, however, is the teacher’s role. As we have learned throughout our teacher education courses, the teacher’s role is the facilitator. The teacher only asks groups minimal questions, just to keep them on track if necessary. They should encourage interaction amongst students; they should not be the center of interaction which is what takes place in recitation. While reading this, I thought the only problem found with this new definition of “discussion” would be assessment. I was confused as to how a teacher would assess small groups of students informally discussing text. After further reading, the author listed many ways to assess if students accurately displayed knowledge of the text. For example, knowledge can be displayed in students’ abilities to communicate ideas, initiate questions, challenge their peers, question their own way of thinking, respond to others, ability to make text to text connections, or connect events, characters, problems to those of their own lives. Overall I really liked this new view of “discussion” and feel it would be extremely beneficial to a classroom.

Noteblog (1/23) Andy Schiller

For class this week I read the Article, Book Talk: Continuing to Rouse Minds and Hearts to Life by Triplett and Buchanan. The book talks about the importance of book discussions in today’s classrooms. The authors claimed that there was a direct correlation to a struggling readers motivation and comprehension and the amount of cognitive activities. To think about the article on a personal measure, I first thought about the type of talk that occurs in my classroom.

There is an abundant amount of interaction in my classroom. The classroom seems to transform from a classroom into a theater throughout the day. The teacher has a very bright and outgoing personality and he encourages discussion in his classroom throughout the day. He also allows every student to give their input into the discussion. No matter how long the student speaks, or how many times he or she raises their hand, he will continue to call and listen to them. I also have noticed that he comments on every thought and perspective, even the ones that may be totally incorrect. Another thing that I think he does well is scaffolding the students to expand their thinking. If the students need help expanding their thoughts then he scaffolds them by giving the students ideas to guide them along or by giving them motivation that they can find the answer if they keep on trying. There are some students in my class who need more scaffolding then others. Some of these kids do not speak English very well, have attention problems, or tend to get off topic every time they talk. To scaffold these kids the teacher will guide them along with their thinking, or pick times which may be appropriate or fitting for their comments. There is no negativity in his classroom by him or the other students. I have never witnessed my teacher put down a kid for raising their hand or participating in an activity. This type of interaction between the students and the teacher has really created an environment where the kids feel safe. Students listen and comment to one another and all of their hands dart up towards the sky as soon as he asks a question. However, after reading the article this week I now realize it is much more than just scaffolding. The type of activities he does as well as the scaffolding really creates this feel-free environment.

There have been plenty of cognitive activities in my third grade classroom this year that I think have helped the students. I know that there are a few students who got in trouble and who tested below grade level the previous year who have since moved to the top of their class academically. According to our reading this may be credited to these types of cognitive activities that they now do in the third grade. The book says that, “Students reported book talks were the most important part of their motivation and comprehension.” The book also says that children who may be testing low may fully comprehend what they are reading, but if they are not allowed to work cognitively with it then they don’t understand it. These children are also the students who participate the most in class now. The fact that they may not have had as much cognitive activities in the previous classroom may be the reason for their low test scores. Now with cognitive activities apart of the everyday classroom, they have raised the academic standing.

The article really showed me how important cognitive activities are to the entire classroom, as well as individual students. Being a learner who learns cognitively it wasn’t a surprise that children learn better that way to me. However, it was surprising to see the other ways in which the authors described it being beneficial to a classroom. In the book they say that cognitive activities like book discussions can, “help lead to meaningful discussions about social issues, increase the amount of motivation and interest students have in the lesson, and can promote critical thinking when topics are related to children developing identities of race, gender, and class.” Cognitive activities are a valuable source that every classroom needs to practice. There are no excuses for teachers; these activities can be blended in with their curricular already. They will actually save time by increasing the level of understanding and thinking in their classroom.

Noteblog (1/23) - Kelly Briggs

The article that I focused on for this week's readings was Book Talk: Continuing to Rouse Minds and Hearts to Life by Triplett and Buchanan. I really enjoyed this article and I think that it made a lot of good points. I have always felt that knowing how the book makes you feel and how you relate to the story is more important than knowing exactly what character said what and did what. I understand that knowing the specific details of a book is an important factor of having the comprehension of the book, but you need to know how you personally feel about the book before you try to answer specific questions about the text. This is where the scaffolding comes into play. Students have to have ideas and feelings about what they are reading in order to grasp more advance ideas like comprehension and answering questions at the end of the book.

When I was in school I remember having a lot of ideas about books and loving to talk to my mom about the stories we read in school or at home, but I also remember being in class and not feeling like it was ok to talk about the ideas I personally had about the book. I knew that I was expected to know the characters names and some information about the plot of the story, but not about how the story made me feel, etc. In the kindergarten classroom that I am in right now, the teacher tries as much as she can to allow for my discussions about the books they read, but she also has to try and fit in the standards and rules that are set by the district. I know that my CT would enjoy book talks if she had the time to do them.

According to the Triplett and Buchanan article, “...discovered that book discussions can promote critical thinking when topics are related to children's developing identities, including race, gender, and class” (p. 65). I think that this is saying that when a child can relate a story they read to something that really happened to them, they are going to be more likely to remember that text and have stronger feelings for that text. Also according to the article, having book talks and allowing the students to express their ideas and feelings helped to get all students involved and participate in a situation where they normally would not have.

It is possible that because I did not read the other articles that were assigned to other groups that I have a biased look on this subject, but I think that the Triplett and Buchanan article did a really great job. Individual student accounts were used to prove that all students can benefit from book talks. By allowing each student to express their own ideas, teachers are helping students to build up their knowledge and help them to enjoy reading.

(1/16) Erin "Personal Learning Goals"

After reading the syllabus, I have begun to develop certain learning goals that I have for myself this semester. First off, I hope to learn how to establish a learning community in the classroom. Learning teaching strategies and behavioral management techniques will help me create a positive learning environment. From there, I hope to learn techniques that would help establish a collaborative community of language arts learners. I want students to be able to take responsibility and place value to their own learning.

I also hope to become more familiar with technology in the classroom. Technology can be such a vital resource to me as a future teacher. I can use it as a resource for information or as a tool to present information to my students. Learning how to integrate technology in the classroom will be extremely beneficial to them as well. Technology, especially this day of age, is an imperative resource of information for students. It also can allow them to use more create techniques to present and express what they have learned, making their learning more meaningful.

Lastly, I want to learn how to better acknowledge diversity and multiculturalism in the classroom. As a future teacher, I will respect my students as a group of diverse learners and hopefully learn how to better meet everyone’s needs. I hope to learn new teaching strategies that will be conducive to a diverse classroom culture.

Noteblog (1/16) - Kelly Briggs

After reading the syllabus carefully, I have decided on a few goals for my learning in this course. One of my goals is to understand myself as a learner and as a teacher. I know myself fairly well, but because I am not yet a "real" teacher, I do not know exactly how I will act as the leader of the classroom. I know that I like things to be controlled and organized, so I know that I will try to keep my classroom that way, but I also know that when it comes to working with children, organization can sometimes go out the window. I loved a lot of my teachers in elementary school, and so I wonder if I will be a teacher that is loved. I think that if I know what kind of learner I am, it will help me to see what kind of teacher I will be. I believe that the way you learn will be similar to the way you teach.

Another one of my goals for this semester is to learn how to get my future students to love literacy as much as I do. I have always loved to read and I know that reading will play a big part in my classroom. I want my students to enjoy reading aloud and also silently. I hope to have lots of different types of books in my future classroom. From this class I hope to learn and explore many different ways in which I can engage my students in literacy. I believe that reading and writing are very important building blocks necessary for all of subject areas. Knowing how to read and write will help you and be a part of you no matter where you go or what you do.

Another goal that I have is to actually practice teaching literacy in my field placement. Last semester I did not get very many chances to teach in my classroom. I am hoping that I will be able to teach multiple lessons to the students. I want to be able to do this mostly for the experience and practice of being in front of a class and having to prepare a lesson or unit that I actually use. I am in a kindergarten classroom and literacy is a big part of everything that they do, so I am hoping that there will be more chances for me to teach.

Week 1- Andy Schiller

My Main Goals


My main goal for this class is to learn how to better support literacy in my future classroom by gaining a better appreciation for the subject. Literacy is not, and never has been, one of my favorite subjects in school. To gain a better appreciation for literacy in this class I will learn to find new methods to use in my future classroom which will make my lesson more exciting by observing literacy in my field placement and I will also start to build up a classroom library by finding pieces of literature that I find interesting. By the end of this semester I hope to be more excited about literacy, because if I am not excited about literacy then how can my students?

Another one of my goals for this semester is to learn ways which will help me develop my ideal classroom community in my classroom someday. To do this I want to learn how to extend the learning they do in the classroom to their parents and their environment and to also develop an environment inside my classroom which is encouraging and supportive. I would like to learn how to make my classroom a place where my future students look forward to coming to. This means that learning in the class can and should be fun, and that each student are not afraid of offering their opinions, participating in class, or working with their other classmates.

Another one of my goals is to find out the type of teaching philosophy I want to have in my classroom. I want to make my teaching real to my kids. By this I mean that I want to use what my student already know or what they can relate with into what I am teaching. By using or relating what they already know to class material will help the students understand why they are leaning what they are, why it is important, and show them as a teacher that the material is both fascinating and important. I also want to be a very diverse teacher as far as the way I teach. I would like to develop strategies and advice on how to meet with every students learning style the best I can. This means having visual learning, group work, class work, kinesthetic work, etc… all incorporated into my lessons.

My last goals for this semester is to become a more professional and organized person. I am becoming a teacher because I love the energy and curiosity of children. However, I have to make the transition of being a ‘friend’ to being a teacher. I have to become more professional and make the transition from being Andy to Mr. Schiller. This means becoming more organized for this class, my other classes, and my classroom. It has been a fun ride while it lasted, but I think it is time I make the transition into who and what I thought I may be like as a future teacher, to actually becoming that teacher. That means for this class in particular meeting and exceeding the expectations of my teachers, my classmates, and my students to the best of my ability.