(3/31) Erin - Reflection on Literacies Project

Throughout this project, my definition of literacy has definitely expanded. Before, when thinking about literacy, I immediately thought of reading and writing. In my teacher education classes so much focus has been on the “reading and writing” aspect of literacy. Throughout my education at MSU, I have learned that “reading and writing literacy” can encompass many things and be found almost everywhere (ex. menus at a restaurant, seeing labels of food at a store). However, I never realized that there were so many different literacies as there are. It was very interesting to see my peers’ projects about other literacies other the one I chose. Being able to view their projects allowed me to broaden my definition of such literacies. For example, when I chose emotional literacy, I thought it only dealt with being more aware of your emotions. However, I learned that it’s much more extensive … it’s the ability to “recognize, understand, and appropriately express our emotions” (feel.org). Also, when thinking about environmental literacy, I simply thought it only dealt with protecting the environment. However, I learned that it also deals with knowledge of environmental systems and processes, developing skills for understanding such processes, and feeling a personal and civic understanding to such issues. In a way, I relate multiple literacies to Gardner’s multiple intelligences. Just as there are many types of literacies, there are many types of intelligences. People are prone to be more literate and intelligent in some areas compared to others.

Not only did I learn a lot about my literacy, I learned a lot about my technology as well. I chose digital storytelling for my technology. I had never worked with a digital storytelling program before. It took a lot more time figuring out the program and getting used to it than I thought it would. I was definitely a “digital immigrant” when it came to digital storytelling. I felt I put a lot of time into a project that was not that advanced in presentation. However, I ended up learning a lot about this technology. It was especially interesting to me to see how other people used the same technology. I used a voice over aspect with pictures so it would actually be like I was telling a story (except digitally). A lot of people did not use voice overs, but put words on the screen instead (like in a real story). It was interesting to see how different people created different projects using the same technology. Incorporating this technology in my classroom will be very beneficial. Just as we made alphabet books in class on a topic (ex. sharks, baseball) digital storytelling could be used as well. Students could record their voices, create text, and include pictures in their presentations. Learning about this technology has made me more interested in learning about other technologies!

Noteblog 3/26 - Kelly Briggs

From exploring everyone's new literacy projects and from being in this class for the past few months, my understanding of literacy has changed and grown. Before this semester I thought that literacy was just reading, writing and knowing how to do the two. I did not ever really think about the deeper side of literacy and all that it has to offer. I now am full of information about literacy that I can apply towards my own classroom and my own lesson plans. I now have multiple ways to teach about literacy from all of the new lit projects that I viewed. I feel like I can look back at all of these projects and have tons of ideas for lesson plans. These lesson plans will be much more exciting and interactive than they would have been before doing to project.

I know that I will encounter many diverse students and schools in my future, and I feel better prepared for this now. By knowing all of these different ways to teach literacy to students I feel like I can reach out and teach any student. By knowing all of these diverse literacies all of my future students will have a better chance of enjoying literacy because I know so many ways to help them and encourage them. With so many choices you are bound to find something that will work. I think that any of these technologies and literacies can be used in any grade with all students. I am in a kindergarten classroom and I know that they would be very entertained by many of these projects. Anything that involves music and pictures gets them excited and motivated.

My project was on social literacy using digital storytelling. This technology was new to me because I had never made a moving, talking, show before. It was really interesting to work with the digital storytelling program and make lots of different changes and alterations before I submitted my final project. The literacy that I focused on was also new for me. It was exciting to learn about students sharing their knowledge with other students around the world. It was also really cool to learn about all of the different ways in which they do this. I would be impressed by any student who could use any of those technologies. I struggled with making my project and I am an adult. It took a lot of time and effort and I had to have previous knowledge of uploading photos and adding music, etc. I think that all students should have the opportunity to work with technology like this. It would require a lot from the students, but the types of projects and presentations that they could come up with would be amazing. I know that students today are becoming more and more technology based, and I think that it is my responsibility as a teacher to stay on top on that. I want to be able to keep my students attention and once in a while maybe even “wow” them. I definitely think that all of these technologies and literacies can and should be used in the classrooms because they are important for students to use and important for everyones learning.

Andy's New Literacies Reflection- Visual Literacy

New Literacies Reflection- Visual Literacy

Learning about visual literacy actually taught me a lot about myself as a teacher and a learner. I realize now for example why I like using different type of visual in my lesson plans so much. By seeing how I comprehended meaning much better from visuals and text than I would have with just text alone shows me how much of a visual learner that I am. I believe that having an image to back up texts makes an incredible difference in the meaning that I take away from any type of text. Visual literacy is excellent for ESL learners as well because it helps break the language barrier between teacher and student. ESL students are able to interpret meaning and build on different types of literacy skills while becoming familiar with the English language at the same time. I don’t believe that there is any doubt that the forms of media that I worked with when learning about visual literacy can’t be called a form of literacy and apart of Language Arts curriculum. Using different types of visual literacy’s in your classroom can help build up language art skills as well as help facilitate their comprehension and ability to use the skills they already possess. I could easily see how I could have incorporated more types of visual literacy into the lesson that I already gave to my third grade class. Using a voicethread or a google map would have helped me illustrate the theme of my lesson as well as build upon the lesson objectives that I had planned for the lesson which were:

Reading
Students will…
R.CM.03.01- connect personal knowledge, experiences, and understanding of the world to themes and perspectives in text through oral and written responses.

Listening/Viewing (response)
Students will..
L.RP.03.03- respond to multiple text types listened to or viewed knowledgeably, by discussing, illustrating, and/or writing in order to reflect, make connections, take a position, and/or show understanding.

Voicethreads and google maps use visuals which students can relate with their own lives, prior experiences, and understandings of the world while learning new information. Both of the examples also use multiple types of texts which they listen to, view, discuss and reflect on, make connections with, take positions, and even show their own understandings. For example students could listen/watch a voicethread about World War 2 which addresses information that they just learned in the lesson you are working on to help make more connections. Or you could assign your students to make their own voicethreads to present to the class which showcases their understandings of a topic that they are working on in your class. These understanding among others have really helped me adjust my understanding of what literacy is as well as how beneficial incorporating visual literacy in you classroom can be both for both teachers and as a students. As a teacher it allows you to vary away from the traditional Language Arts lesson while still at the same time teaching multiple skills and understandings to your students which creates a more effective literacy instruction overall. As a student, it allows them to make more connections to what they are learning and facilitates to all kids but especially students who are ESL or visual learners.

Coming into this year I thought that literacy only involved reading and writing. I associated literacy with reading books and writing papers primarily because that was what I was accustomed to working with in Language Arts before college. I now realize that literacy can be much more than just reading and writing and that it can include multiple types of media such as pictures, videos, maps, and much more. While researching and making my project I began to realize how information and ideas could be extracted from images which don’t even have any type of text on them. For example, I looked at multiple voicethreads that teachers made to make Venn diagraphs, stories, and literacy projects. I realized after watching a few of the examples that I was definitely learning something from the thread and that it was definitely more interested than just reading about it. I also realized that mashing visuals and texts with one another could further increase the amount and the authenticity of what is being learned. Having both visuals and text allow students to make multiple connections with what is being presented to them. This can help students make connections to their own background knowledge, interpret the meaning through multiple sources, and facilitate multiple types of learning styles. They also call upon using more skills and being more engaged in what you are learning as well. I learned for instance that by creating your own mini lesson through a movie maker or using videos on YouTube, you can teach a mini lesson or incorporate them into a lesson you are already teaching (such as fractions). From this project I learned that literacy involves much more than simply reading and writing, it involves listening, visualizing, and interpreting with different types of media to convey meaning.

(3/19) Erin - Vocab Mini-lessons (Mississippi River)

• For words that cannot be found in the dictionary, I would have students use a “context clues checklist”
• “There was a low fog and I seen them step out of it on a sudden, almost like haints in the night.” – p. 9
• Students would then fill out the following checklist:

Clue	Description	Yes/No - Answer
Definition	Try using the definition in the sentence to understand the unknown word.	Yes – something flying in the night
Example-Illustrations	Can you use an example or an illustration to understand the unknown word?	No – no illustration with text
Contrast	Is the word compared or contrasted with another word in the sentence?	Yes – compared to the word sudden … and also somehow related to fog
Logic	How does the rest of the sentence help you understand the unknown word?	Key context clues – low fog, sudden, night
Root Word and Affixes	Does the word have any root words or affixes that can help you understand its meaning?	No
Grammar	Can you tell what the function of the word is? What about its figure or speech?	Yes - noun

• Having a word wall for words only found in Mississippi Bridge would be very helpful!
• It would be important to choose important or interesting words
• Segregated
• It is easier for students to learn a cluster of words vs. isolated words
• Can teach mini-lessons with some of the words
• Ex. sharecropping à tenants, acres
• Can have a word study activity (example – posters, maps, etc.)
• Creek (can draw picture of creek in story)
• Students can use tools to help define the word such as dictionaries or thesauruses
• Satchel
• Threatening

• WORD WALL (words can be organized alphabetically, by parts of speech, in sequential order to how the word is found, etc.)

Womenfolks (7)	Creek (9)	Exchange (10)	Widow (11)	Mite (12)
Admiring (13)	Sharecropping (16)	Backlip’ (22)	Acres (24)	Tenants (24)
Satchel (29)	Burlap (29)	Threatening (33)	Sorrowful (33)	Prideful (37)
Creaking (39)	Ruckus (44)	Sprawling (47)	Snivelin’ (50)	Segregated (51)

Notebook 3/19 Andy Schiller

Vocabulary Mini Lesson

Topic: Learning Vocabulary through Word Posters
Grade: Third Grade
Time: 30 minutes

1. Introduce the Topic- The teacher will ask the kids if they ever heard or read a word before that sounds exactly like another word that you know but that it means something completely different?

2. Share Examples- The teacher will then write words on the board which sound alike but which have different meanings. The teacher will first want to show the class how the two words are pronounced the same by reading both of them aloud to the class. The teacher will then ask the class if they sound any different from one another. Once the class has agreed that it does, then ask them if anything is different between the two words. If the students don’t reply correctly, than the teacher should point out how the spelling and definitions of the two words difference even though they are pronounced the same way.

a. Examples of words to use: see-sea, days-daze, I-eye, right-write, threw-through

3. Provide Information- The teacher will then explain how two words that sound exactly the same but mean something completely different are called homophones or homonyms. The teacher will explain how these words can easily confuse readers when they are trying to interpret text or speech, but that they especially confuse people when they try to write the words down. The teacher will then tell the class that a poster of homophone words will be hung on the wall for the class to view whenever they are reading, writing, or whenever they want.

4. Guide Practice- The teacher will then explain to the kids that each of them will be asked to pick one homophone each that they would like to learn more about from the chart. The teacher will then explain the activity by telling the class that they will each be making posters to conceptualize the difference between their homophones. The teacher will explain that every poster must include the correct spelling of the two words, a picture that articulates each word, and a sentence that uses each word in the correct context.

5. Assess Learning- The teacher will assess the learning of the class by observing the posters the class made during the minilesson. The teacher will look to make sure if the students correctly answered the three tasks that were assigned to them to complete for the poster. The students should have written each word correctly, they should also have two pictures and sentences that articulate the meaning of the two different words correctly. If the student has met all three of these tasks, than they should have learned the objective.

Noteblog 3/19 - Kelly Briggs

Notebook: Vocabulary Lesson

This vocabulary lesson would work for grades K-2. The lesson would revolve around the letters in the alphabet and words from the text that match up with those letters.

• Have the students find a word in the text that starts with five different letters of the alphabet.

• Each student can pick their own five letters. Or assign one letter to each student so that each letter of the alphabet is covered.

• Have the students either find, look up, ask a friend, ask the teacher, or just know what the word means.

• Then make a class list.

• For higher grades, you could decide what type of word each student came up with. For example, a noun, a verb, an adjective, etc.