ELANate


 * Textbook Survey—English Language Arts **

As you peruse your content area textbook, please complete the following activities and/or questions. You may place your responses on this page.

1. Write a bibliographical entry for the book using APA format. Burke, J. (2008). //The English teacher’s companion: A complete guide to classroom, curriculum, and the profession 3rd edition.// Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

2. What is the author’s background in education? Jim Burke has been an English teacher for sixteen years at Burlingame High School. Prior to teaching English, he taught special education at private schools and spent time in the Peace Corps in North Africa.

3. Skim through the Introduction: Teaching English in the Twenty-First Century. What are 2 key insights that you gained? 1) English teachers need to teach students how to examine websites, blogs, and other new multimedia to gather information, research, and be able to use it to defend their own viewpoints. 2) English teachers need to be able to adapt to technology and embrace it in the 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 - Inevitabilities 4.From Becoming to Being an English Teacher

5. Which chapter should you definitely read before you begin the unit project? Chapter 10: Composing a Curriculum: How to Plan a Unit of Study

6. Which chapter will be particularly helpful with planning assessments? Chapter 11: Measuring Student Progress

7. Look through the Appendices. Which 2 appendices do you think you will find most helpful during student teaching? Why? New Teacher Checklist 103 Things to Do Before/During/After reading.

This list will help me prepare my classroom so that it will be in proper, running order. It provides a list of physical items you need as well as help to create a procedural protocol. The 103 Things to Do Before/During/After Reading will be a good resource to look at and share with students before reading.

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

1. Construction: (Making things.) An example would assembling an anthology of writings from different authors. 2. Occupation (Engaging students.) An example would be having students act while reading a play. 3.Negotiation (Giving options.) An example would be allowing students to “own” their learning by allowing them how to demonstrate their knowledge through choice of assignments. 4. Conversation (Interaction and discussion.) An example might be using a fishbowl activity to discuss a novel.

9. Of all the chapters in the book, which one interests you the most? Why? Chapter 22: Dear New Teacher because it will help me deal with issues that will arise not only through the first year of teaching but also my student teaching.

10. Of all the chapters in the book, which one will you probably not read during this course? Why? Chapter 27: Joining the Professional Conversation. Although this is important chapter, the other chapters seem more relevant at this point.

11. What is one section in particular that you would like to discuss further with your content advisor? Chapter 18: Thoughts about Culture, Race, and Language because it might help me write my research paper.

= Content Advisor Meeting - Three Trends/Issues =

In our content advisor meeting, we talked about many issues and trends facing the English content area. In fact, she provided a list of twenty-five different possible research topics that all involved issues and trends in the English language arts. We discussed in-depth the issues that revolved around our group’s articles. For instance, we talked about multimodal learning because one group member provided an article about it. Her article discussed how to use film/tv/other media to help teach literature and whether this is beneficial or not. Another rather large topic we talked about was the use of rubrics because our content area advisor actually wrote her dissertation about the use of rubrics. She proceeded by providing examples of rubrics she uses in her school. Another trend we talked about was young adult literature in the classroom and how it can be used as an effective tool to engage readers, especially those that are not proficient readers.

**“Persistence of the Five-Paragraph Essay” Discussion**
In her article “Persistence of the Five-Paragraph Essay,” Jeanetta Miller argues that the five-paragraph essay is predictable and safe, sparing students the decision of form and organization. She further explains that not only does the five-paragraph essay make decisions easy for students but the teacher as well; teachers merely need to look for the thesis statement, topic sentences, transitions, examples, and conclusion.

Miller explains that often the five-paragraph essay is used because teachers have too many students, and it makes it easier to handle a teaching load of more than 80 students. However, by solely focusing on the five-paragraph essay, we are cheating our students of a genuine learning experience by interacting with a text in a natural, fluid style, and we are cheating them of developing a way to communicate effectively and authentically in the classroom. To teach students to interact with a text in an authentic way, miller advocates using more 21st century skills, creative writing assignments, and collaboration.

All in all, I think Miller does a good job of persuading her audience that the five-paragraph essay is not the only answer to teaching students literature or writing. While I do not think she is saying there is no place for the five-paragraph essay, I would agree that there is an overemphasis on it. When teachers or students become overly concerned with form, we miss the point of making connections with the literature. We also lose our own voice in such a confining structure. It really becomes a question of form versus function.

In my classroom, the five-paragraph essay will be taught to the younger grades because it is a good way to initially teach students structure and organization. However, after mastering this writing, I think it is important for students to master writing in their own way, meaning that they need to choose the appropriate structure and organization suited to their writing style and task. Additionally, it is also important to incorporate informal writing in the classroom because students can focus on what they learned without having to worry about the format.

** Advanced Curriculum Planning in Specific Content Areas ** ** Outline Overview for Research Paper **

I. Introduction A. Cite //English Journal// study about ELA classrooms using the same texts since 1928 B. Thesis statement (final sentence of the paragraph) II. Student Choice in Literature A. Define “student choice “in the classroom 1. Statistics about declining adolescent reading 2. Provides empowerment and motivation for reading 3. Allows students to personally connect with literature 4. Develop student’s idea of criteria to evaluate literary merit and explain critical opinions about a text. III. Multicultural Literature A. Define multicultural literature. 1. Provides students with larger world view of literature 2. Greater way to engage minority students in literature classes 3. Provides students a framework to talk about diversity and identity IV. Young Adult Literature A. Define young adult literature 1. Helps students connect with literature rather than just learn about literature 2. Provides a framework to talk about current issues that adolescents deal with 3. Provides a greater skill level spectrum of reading V. Conclusion 1. Summary 2. Restatement of thesis

Content Meeting #2

In our second content meeting, we discussed many things dealing with grading. Two of the most important issues we talked about was grading late work and having a grading plan. Tracy, our content adviser, allows late work and redoing papers, which is important because teachers should be concerned with students constantly learning and improving their work. One exception to accepting late work might be a process portfolio in which their are deadlines to each part of the paper. Another important issue, we talked about was having a grading plan. For example, how much homework is worth compared to tests or papers? Or do you use rubrics or checklists? Do students earn a 4 through 1 or do you use a 100-0 grading scale? Lastly, no matter how you grade, a teacher must be able to defend his or her system.

Thoughts on the late work policy discussion:

In my classroom, I would accept late work for most work but at a penalty. I would take off 10% a day up to the 5th day. After the 5th day, 50% would be the maximal grade possible. I would not keep taking 10% a day after the 5th day because I believe, as a teacher, I need to provide students with a possibility to pass the class. Also, I do not believe in absolutes and there are exceptions to every rule. Obviously, if a student communicates to me in advance that they will not be able to complete an assignment on time, I would allow them extra time. The only time I may not accept late work is for final projects or during a process portfolio where there are deadlines for specific parts of the assignment.

Unit topic: Nonfiction: Form and Style

Unit Objectives: Students will:
 * Understand and analyze forms of nonfiction such as autobiography, personal essay, and an informational text.
 * Evaluate how elements of style, including diction, sentence structure, imagery, figurative language, tone, and mood contribute to a reader’s enjoyment and interpretation of a text.
 * Analyze an author’s purpose in order to obtain a greater understanding of a text.

Reflection Activity:

I think the easiest scenario to adapt to would be the student that has broken his or her wrist. As a teacher, I would find a volunteer who I know is responsible copy his or her notes for the student. Assessments could be done verbally or typed by another person, depending on which situation was more suitable for the student, teacher, and format of the assignment.

I think the hardest scenario to adapt to is the disruptive class with 30 students because you need to refocus 30 individuals and that class is going to be behind your other classes within the same grade/content area. The best way to adapt to this scenario is to provide more structure through the use of goal setting, engagement strategies, and closure activities. Any group work should be contained to small groups that involve community building as well as content learning.

Grading - Final Reflection

One area of confidence I have in my grading policy is that of late-work. I will take off 10% a day up until Day 5. After that, a 50% is the highest grade available to a student because it allows a student to still pass the class. I am not too worried about receiving late-work the day before grades are due because chances are that if students do not turn an assignment in a week late then they will not turn it in at all.

One area I need to develop is writing rubrics because I think they are deceivingly hard to write well.