Blog #3, Readers Response

The activities we did in class on Thursday were nice. I do believe that being able to do a craft after reading a story is a great way for the kids to make a connection to the story. Even doing a web to recapture the story would be terrific. Another way for students to make a personal connection to the story or a character is by letting them write in their personal journal. All these activities would help in making reading become more fun. They will also help in comprehension.

My favorite book that was read in class was The Elves and the Shoemaker. I loved the illustrations the book had to offer. They gave a good sense of what the words were saying. It would make a wonderful picture book to read to young children because they would be able to relate to the story better by the detailed illustrations. I feel that the book would also be a great way to teach students that when you give, you will receive in return.

My least favorite book was My Great Aunt Arizona. I found the book to be long and drawn out. During the reading I found my mind to be wondering throughout the book. I had to keep reminding myself to pay attention to the reader and what was being said. Since I had so much trouble staying focused on the book, I feel that young students will probably loose interest in the book as well.

5 Words that Describe Me!! / Blog Response #2

The 5 words that I feel that describe me are: loving, loyal, faithful, intense and active. It's hard for me to pick just one word and describe myself because I feel that all these words intertwine with my "whole" life. But, here it goes!!! INTENSE - I feel that I'm intense because when I believe in something I do it all heartedly and devote as much time and effort as needed into my family. Even when it comes to being on a committee at school such as PTO Board Member, Attendance Carnival, and Yearbook Advisor, I would always made sure that I gave 110%.

Here are my thoughts of what I learned about idea developement and how to generate those ideas. I used Dr. Harris idea of working on a project/paper for a while then putting it away and going back to it later. During the weekend I managed to put my crest together, hopefully I did it right. However, I worked on it Friday night, then Saturday afternoon, then late Saturday evening, and at last Sunday evening I added my finishing touches. At times throughout the weekend I worked on my song in the same manner. Thursday evening after my night class I had a second wind so I stayed up working on the song. I worked on it some Friday during the day and then a little more on Saturday trying to finish it up. However, I'm not as pleased with the song as I am with my crest. I have half a mind to change it but I keep coming up empty. Anyway brainstorming/webbing has definetly been a plus in my book. It really has helped my write my memoir.

What I've Learned

Wow!!! What a week this has been!!! I'm new at this blogging and I'm pretty fustrated. I tried posting to a couple of people, but I guess I didn't do it right because my post did not show up. Anyway, I'm finally under mine and honestly I cann't even tell you how I got here. Hopefully this works!!

This week with Dr. Harris I learned how important it is to incorporate the 6 Language Arts (listening, talking, reading, writing, viewing, and visually respresting) in the classroom. I hope that once I'm in the classroom that I will be able to incorporate all of them with ease. The 5 General Strategies (rehearsal, predicting, organizing, elaboration, monitoring) and the Reading Processes are also very important in the classroom. I am glad that we are working on the Writing Process in class. I did a long term subbing job last spring and the writing process was the hardest for me to teach. We as teachers will be playing a very important role in each and every student that walks into our classroom. A postitive attitude and kind words will be most effective in reaching our students and gaining their confidence. Postitive words can and will go a long way. Every child must be given the oppurtunity to succeed. There is so much for us, especially me, to learn as a future teacher.