ELAJordan

1. Write a bibliographical entry for the book using APA format. Burke, J. (2008). //The english teacher's companion//. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

2. What is the author’s background in education? He teaches high school English and has authored numerous books.

3. Skim through the Introduction: Teaching English in the Twenty-First Century. What are 2 key insights that you gained?

- Media is very important in teaching and communicating in a 21rst century classroom -

4. Looking at the Table of Contents, what are the 4 main sections of the book? 1. Foundations 2. New directions in teaching English: Implications 3. Issues in teaching English 4. From becoming to being an English teacher

5. Which chapter should you definitely read before you begin the unit project? Chapter Ten

6. Which chapter will be particularly helpful with planning assessments?

Chapter 11 7. Look through the Appendices. Which 2 appendices do you think you will find most helpful during student teaching? Why?

New Teacher checklist – because we’ve never taught a class before and sometimes it’s scary going into a new environment without a plan

Classroom self-evaluation checklist – reflection is important as a teacher. Modifying what isn’t working in the classroom and noting what is working.

8. In Chapter 2, Four Components of Effective Teaching are explained. What are they? Give an example of each.

1. Construction – understanding root words and the meanings of suffixes and prefixes

2. Occupation – explaining to students the relevancy of the material and how it relates to real life. Writing for professionals or understanding plot elements in order to develop a screen play.

3. Negotiation – allowing students to create their classroom norms or to give them choice in a variety of assignments. Building community in your classroom.

4. Conversation – circle at the beginning of class in order to provide an environment for students and teacher to get to know one another.

9. Of all the chapters in the book, which one interests you the most? Why?

- Ann – Dear New Teacher - Jordan – Ch 14, Integrating English projects and exhibitions into the curriculum

10. Of all the chapters in the book, which one will you probably not read during this course? Why?

Jordan and Ann – A modern profile of adult literacy (we’re adults and we know how to read)

11. What is one section in particular that you would like to discuss further with your content advisor? Ann – measuring student progress Jordan – Getting a job teaching english

Session 3 I plan on writing my essay with a focus on mulitmodal learning and what it means to be a 21st century learner. My paper will be heavily focused on media and media literacy within the classroom. I have a good foundation of articles for the paper and feel comfortable with the whole process.

Session 5 "Online Writing Instruction: No Longer a Novelty"
 * What are the author’s main arguments or points?
 * The author introduces the issue of OWI (Online Writing Instruction) where writing is taught completely through online communication. The idea is that if students are only allowed to communicate through writing then their writing abilities will improve with continued practice. There are also hybrid courses which use face-to-face meetings as well as online ones. One of the examples the author mentions a few times is teaching the students proper online etiquette and properly titling their emails. The focus of the article isn't to move to an entirely online environment but to look at the advantages of using the technology and implementing online elements into traditional classrooms.
 * Does he/she support those arguments or points convincingly? Explain
 * This is tough to answer. I think that the author's claims and arguments are supported well, however, I've also been a part of five online classes and there is a degree of difficulty associated with them. The author does note some drawbacks of using OWI when you have students who aren't strong readers but counters with advantages for the aurally challenged and those too shy to speak up in traditional classes. There is an example in the reading of a student who has posted over 18,000 words between message board posts and her online journal over the course. Clearly, some students respond very well to this method of instruction.
 * How does the information in this reading support what you will do or do in your classroom? Site some specific examples.
 * I think that this type of course works for moderate to advanced college students. I don't know that it has a place in high school if large quantities of information are being disseminated. I do see the value in what amounts to forcing students to write their thoughts and to allow them to experience the ever increasing likelihood that their futures will be behind a desk only communicating over email. Writing for the sake of writing produces boring crappy writing. You need to write about something, and in order to have something to write about you need good discussion to get ideas flowing. In my own experience, the online courses I've taken have been best for me when the discussion boards have been informal. I wrote more and thought more about the content of what I was writing rather than if everything was overly formal and I was worrying if I was100% sure I used that semicolon correctly (I rarely do) and whether or not I cite all of the authors or the publisher when quoting an anthology. Writing is a process and one that indeed needs practice, but it also needs failure and attempts and an abandon of reason. When I think of teaching writing in my classroom, I think of having to shake off all of the little particle ideas that float around and clutter things up. Twenty people posting on a discussion board gets cluttered, convoluted and overwhelming. Perhaps my resistance to using OWI in my classroom stems from my own beliefs that I don't think writing should be taught as a separate entity, rather it should be an ongoing process of discourse between writer and text. You cannot teach writing without something to write about. The technical merits will evolve naturally though trial and error and practice. I do like the use of technology in the classroom as well as giving students a chance to have their voice heard. Here is what I would do:
 * Class discussion board to be used as an opportunity for students to have a discourse outside of the classroom, allow shier students to participate, give them practice writing
 * required 5 posts per unit/quarter
 * counts for participation
 * no text speak, no slang, no swearing - write as if you were writing to my grandma.
 * Discussion boards as characters from a novel
 * split students into groups and assign parts so that each group encompasses the principle characters
 * x number of postings per week
 * each "character" must initiate a post at one time over the course of the novel
 * every character must comment on/react to every initial post


 * Session 8 - Late Work Response**

This is what my original feeling about late work was: I do like the idea of alternate assignments for students who have an extended absences. I feel that when I assign something, I'd like it to be meaningful and thoughtful which would imply that it's important and worth taking time to do. It's not just a worksheet, I want it to mean something and therefore won't allow it to be a throw-away.
 * Late work is generally not accepted. However, I encourage the use of the honesty policy. Sometimes, we all get overwhelmed with our daily lives. If you are unable to complete the assignment for a personal reason or simple forgetfulness, please tell me so. I reserve the option to drop the lowest homework grade in calculating the student’s final grade. Abuse of this policy will result in its revocation. This policy does not apply to tests, projects or papers with a requirement of more than one page.


 * Session Reflection - Unit plan problems**

I think the easiest to adapt is having one student miss out for illness or funeral. A lot of my lessons are internet based and collaborative so it will be easy for a student who missed to catch up. The most difficult for me is the lack of internet resources. My lesson relies heavily on computer and internet research so not having access basically requires me to rewrite the lessons and assign students analog versions of weeblys and glogs.


 * Session Reflection - Grading**

I think I'm most confident in what I'm looking for from my students. I think knowing where I want them to be is the most critical aspect that goes into creating the rubric. I like the assignments and the justifications of why I'm having them do what I request. Where I think I will struggle is creating a rubric that balances creativity and free expression while still meeting my expectations of the assignments. I want my students to do work that I would want to read. Maybe I'm just selfish or maybe I'm awesome, that remains to be seen, but I don't want them to produce work they don't like or grade work I don't like.