A Unit of My Own

A couple of weeks ago I finally taught my own unit. My CT is awesome and extremely easy to work with, so when I approached him about a possible unit topic he basically let me pick whatever I thought sounded best.

Over the past couple of years I have come to absolutely love poetry, which surprises me because I thought I despised poetry in high school. Analyzing every line for symbolism, meter, rhyme, and the many other poetic devices left me weary, and instead of appreciating the poems we read, I hated them for being so confusing! I recently read an article by C. K. Williams who said, "When I was in school, we began our study of poetry with boring technical matters, then read a few mostly unfathomable poems. Poetry was presented as an artifact from the distant past, and by the time I graduated, I, like everyone I knew, despised it. I didn't start writing poems until I'd finished my last required English course in college."1 Yea, I can definitely relate to that.

While I do believe that students do need to learn about the poetic elements, as they are important, I don't think that poetry units should become so focused on analyzing for important devices. Instead, I think students need to be introduced to the beauty of poetry, and shown a wide variety of styles. We so often see Shakespeare's Sonnets and other classic poems presented in the classroom, but there are thousands of great modern poems out there that speak to the human experience. Students should also have the chance to practice creating poetry on their own, as writing poetry can be an excellent form of self-expression. Writing poetry allows students to practice writing in other genres, instead of constantly writing essays.

I explain my feelings about poetry because it is something I am passionate about, which is exactly why I decided to take on a poetry unit. As I designed the unit I knew I wanted the students to do a lot of writing, so I decided to center many lessons on student creation. There were a couple days that I showed PowerPoints explaining poetic elements, and we identified the use of these elements in a few different poems. However, the majority of the unit was spent writing. I had students write poems following several guides, and I wrote each type of poem as well. This way, I was able to explain my thought process as I wrote. At the end of the unit, we had a "Poetry Cafe" in the library, where the students got to have snacks and present their poetry.

My teacher, Dr. Mason, attended the Poetry Cafe for my unit observation, so I was definitely a little nervous about how everything would go. However, I have a class full of wonderful students, and I was mainly just excited to hear what they had written. Things started off a little slowly, as no one ever wants to be the first to volunteer, but as more people presented the level of anxiety seemed to decrease a little. Students were reluctant to be chosen to present during the required portion, which is funny because when told them anyone who wanted to could share another poem, they all started volunteering to read again. High-schoolers are awesome.

The poems my students created were fantastic, and I was more than pleased with the way everything turned out. We had a great time at our Poetry Cafe, and I think the students really enjoyed the opportunity to listen to the poems their peers had written. I know I did!



1 www.edutopia.org/redemption

Reflecting on the KATE Conference

Attending the KATE Conference this week definitely increased my desire to become a teacher. Seeing so many people who share my same passion for teaching English in the same place was inspiring, and I loved the opportunity to meet new people and share ideas. Luckily, I was able to attend the entire conference, so I had the chance to listen to an excellent variety of presentations and listen to the keynote speeches. 

I absolutely loved the first Keynote address by Brent Crawford, who wrote Carter Finally Gets It, as well as other books. His speech was hilarious, and the way he told stories had me laughing the entire time. However, Crawford’s speech wasn’t just funny, it contained a good message as well. I loved the fact that he wanted to write books that would get boys interested in reading, since many books about high school seem to be aimed towards girls. The excerpts he read were engaging, and they were definitely books high school students would want to read. I know I wanted to read the books after he was done presenting. 

The second keynote address by Rachel Hawkins, author of Hex Hall, was inspiring as well. The background she gave in her story about how she became a writer was extremely interesting. I thought the way Rachel just went with anything that was offered to her was inspiring. She didn’t hesitate to take chances. The stories she shared about her time teaching in high school were entertaining as well. Her high school sounded very interesting, and I was glad I got the chance to hear her stories. I occasionally think about seriously writing, and Rachel’s speech inspired me to consider doing so! 

The breakout sessions I attended were quite informative as well. These sessions were great opportunities to hear presentations about ideas for the classroom, and share with other teachers as well. I was given tons of great examples of lesson ideas, management plans, first year teaching tips, and exciting programs. My attendance at this conference will definitely help me become a better first year teacher, because I got to learn from those who had already been through it all!

The Reasons Why (Genre Reflection One)

The Reasons Why

I don’t want to do this!

My students complain 

And ask,

Why should we anyway?

Often I respond

“For the points

Of course.

This is a big part of your grade.

You want to pass,

Don’t you?”

Because it’s all about the grade you get

The points you earn

The quality of your work.

You don’t really need to know

What the characters are like,

Or what themes are in the novels we read.

You can survive without it.

But as teachers we ask you to anyway.

I say, “You need the points!”

I say, “You have to pass!”

I say, “You need to work.”

But what I should be saying is what I truly feel.

Why should you read all of these books, you ask?

You should read them because they will

Change

Your life.

These books can open your mind to completely new worlds

They can take you to places you’ve never been

They can comfort you, scare you,

Make you laugh and make you cry.

When you learn to love reading and writing

like I so desperately want you to

You will see.

When you find those books that resonate within your soul

You will know.

Words will always be there for you,

Whether they come from someone else’s mind

Or your own.

When you feel so angry you could cry

Or so sad that you could die

You can transfer your feelings onto paper

Push them away from you

Find relief

You can write.

So why do I want you to read and write in my class?

Why should you do this?

Does any of it really matter anyway?

Well, it matters.

I want you to read and write

Because I don’t want you to just graduate,

Or survive,

Or get a good grade.

What I want for you is an experience.

I want you to learn how to truly live.

This is why.

Learning how to respond to students' writing

This week my students turned in their very first piece of writing. My cooperating teacher had warned me that many of the students had never written before, but I was still excited to see what they could do. The students had the option to respond to one of three prompts that correlated with the story we had read as a class. When I began grading my students' work I was definitely surprised by the papers I received. Many students had obviously never written before, and seemed to want to summarize the story instead of responding to the prompt. The effect of texting on writing was also evident, as a lot of my students chose to abbreviate words and forgot to use punctuation. However, in spite of this I was still very pleased with what I received. I had to keep in mind that my students really had not had a chance to write before entering my class, and they all put forth their best effort. We had gone over the important parts of an introduction previously that week, and I was very excited to see that almost every student formulated their introduction correctly. In addition to this, I loved being able to read the students' thoughts about the various topics. Every student had something great to say, and their essays were fun to read.

When I began grading the papers, I didn't want to be too critical. No one likes getting back a paper that is covered in red marks, and as this was basically my students’ first attempt at writing, I didn’t want to undermine their efforts. My CT and I agreed that it was best to focus on the positives for this first paper, instead of correcting every single mistake. This paper will serve as a learning process, a baseline we can use to decide what elements of an essay we need to focus on.
As I was writing this post I came across an article by Brian Slusher that addressed the exact problem I was facing. I didn’t want to be too critical, but I also wanted to make sure my students knew what they needed to improve. His article, titled “Praising, Questioning, Wishing: An Approach to Responding to Writing,” gave me a lot of great tips for responding to student writing. As evident by the article's title, Slusher encourages readers to use the Praise, Question, Wish model of response to help writers. He states, “Praise, Question, and Wish solves these dilemmas of tone by adopting positive language that strengthens the writer's confidence, while empowering him to take control of his piece.”

Through this model of response, writers are able to see what you appreciated about their writing, which generally motivates them to want to continue to write. This model also works for teachers, because it allows for the ability to give constructive feedback that can help students continue to improve, without returning a paper full of red marks. I really liked the wish part of this model, because, as Slusher states, “Since many writers are sensitive about receiving advice, it is a good idea to avoid sounding like you are directing their piece. The word wish has a positive connotation, so starting your advice with I wish avoids the tone of a command. For example, ‘I wish you would tell more about the horse.’” This allows the response to seem more like a conversation than an order.
I’m hoping that as I continue to teach my students how to format an essay, the papers I get will only continue to improve. I have a very intelligent, hardworking class, so I know this will be the case. I can’t wait to read more papers! I told a student this and he looked at me like I was crazy, and then said, “If I had to read that many papers I’d probably fall asleep.” Funny kid.

I love my students and I love my school. This year just keeps getting better!

We Don't Want to Work!

One of my biggest worries about teaching is that I will not be able to get my students motivated to learn. While I have ideas that I think will help student motivation, they are only ideas, and what works with one student may not work with another.

In my pre-student teaching placement, I have already observed how this problem can affect a classroom. My CT does an awesome job of bringing in fun activities and making the material relevant, but even this is not enough to get every single student involved. From what I've observed, some students simply do not want to work, no matter how you present the material.

I think that a lot of students feel that blowing off schoolwork is cool. In my class, I've noticed that the few students who repeatedly choose not to turn anything in spend the majority of their time talking to those around them. When they are asked to work, they refuse, or make some excuse for why they have not started, and then look at their fellow students and smile. What's most frustrating about this is that their classmates then laugh, encouraging the behavior.

I'm a firm believer that all kids are good kids, and that all of my students can produce excellent work. It is simply a matter of finding ways to reach out and connect the material to the student. As I have had to work one on one with some reluctant students in the hallway already, I want to figure out how I can make this happen in my pre-student teaching classroom.

In order to attempt to improve student motivation in my classroom, I began looking for ideas on educational websites. During my search I came across an article by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi titled "Motivating People to Learn" (http://www.edutopia.org/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-motivating-people-learn). He expresses some great ideas for getting students motivated, and focuses on "the flow experience." According to Csikszentmihalyi,  "The flow experience is when a person is completely involved in what he or she is doing, when the concentration is very high." The article explains that kids generally experience the most "flow" in their extracurriculars, the activities they were able to pick based on their interests.

However, academic classes can increase motivation by working on projects in groups or even working on individual projects. This allows students to use their creativity, which makes them want to participate. Lectures and worksheets tend to cause students to shut down, as they are not fully involved in the process.

I thought this article had a lot of good information and ideas. I'm definitely for project based instruction, and I always like to see what kids can create. I plan to keep working on ideas to help increase students' motivation to work, and hopefully these ideas will pay off in the classroom!

If any of you have ideas or experiences with this that you wouldn't mind sharing, please let me know!

My hopes for pre-student teaching

Today marks the completion of my first week in the classroom, and I have to say that I am more convinced than ever that teaching is the right profession for me. I am absolutely in love with my school, the students, and pretty much everything else I've encountered in my short time as a "pre-student teacher." I already feel comfortable in my new position, and everyone I have met so far has been very encouraging and welcoming.

Currently, I'm working on learning students' names, which is very important to me. While this may seem like a simple goal, I have been in a lot of classes where the teachers still struggle with the names of certain students. I think that knowing every student by name is of extreme importance, because it shows the students that you care enough to at least know their names, and allows you to interact with the students on a more personal level. I know that I would consider it disrespectful if someone I saw on a daily basis did not know my name, and I think showing students that I think they are important as people lays a good groundwork for a mutual respect.

Developing a solid basis for the teacher I want to become is another goal I have for this semester. While the past three years of classes and involvement in WSU's teaching program has helped me gather a wide variety of ideas about teaching, I hope that the amount of time I spend in the class room this year will help me cultivate a strong sense of who I am as a teacher. I already have a ton of ideas for things I would like to do, but this year I hope to really settle into a teaching style, and begin setting up a solid plan for how I want my classroom to run. I know that working with an experienced teacher will help me do this, and I plan to have my CT help me as much as he can!

Above anything, my main goal is to find exciting ways to share my love of English with my students. I know that not all of my students will come into the classroom with my same feelings about English, but I hope to find ways to show students that reading and writing can be fun and beneficial. I know that working in an English classroom will help me find ways to do this, and I look forward to learning all that I can!

Back to School!

Today marks my first day as a pre-student teacher, and let me tell you, I'm feeling pretty official. Knowing that this is my last year before I finally graduate and start teaching is extremely exciting, but if I'm being honest, it's a little frightening too! People are right when they tell you college goes by quickly. I can't believe I'm already almost finished, and that I'll soon be returning to high school as a teacher instead of a student.

I think other people find it hard to believe too, because I'm constantly getting stopped in the hallways by teachers trying to help me find my way to class, assuming that I'm a student. One woman today suggested I draw crows feet around my eyes to help me look older! Luckily, I was given my official school badge today, and I always dress professionally, so I'm sure that will help.

Meeting the staff at my school, my cooperating teacher (CT), and the students I will be working with has convinced me that this year will be absolutely fabulous. Everyone is so welcoming, and I can tell that my students are going to be a hilarious and delightful bunch. I can't wait to get started!