Module 4

Literacy Across the Curriculum

I think it is important to integrate literacy across the curriculum.  Literacy is more than just reading, but it has to do with speaking, listening, thinking, and writing skills.  I feel that students take more of an interest in learning when it is all related and there is a cumulative theme.  In my grade level, we collaborate and use unit themes that last for 2 weeks and all the activities are related to that certain topic.  I have found that the students become really involved in the learning and approach me asking questions in order to discover more information.  Sometimes the unit is even extended if the students find it highly engaging.  When planning for an integrated unit, it may be difficult think of activities that fit the topic especially if they are not obviously related.  However, integrating allows more time to fit in all subjects and reach the standards throughout the busy school day.  My students would love to have a pirate unit that was shown on the module, especially the boys.  They would particularly like the myth-busters part on why pirates wear eye-patches.   

RTI

This module went into detail to explain the RTI process.  RTI stands for Response to Intervention.  It is a program put into place that helps students increase their reach their potential and help decrease the chance that they enter into special education.  RTI has 4 different tiers, all students begin in tier 1.  The teacher will perform assessments in order to monitor the progress.  If a student is not achieving reading goals and standards, he/she will be brought into tier 2.  This involves an intervention of individualized instruction, much of it happens in a small group setting within the classroom.  It could also involve something like peer tutoring to help increase the student’s fluency.  If the student still shows difficulty, he/she will go into tier 3.  In this phase the student will receive monitoring by the SST (Student Support Team).  They will offer special strategies and modifications in order to help the student advance.   In tier 4, the student will receive specialized instruction and adapted content in order to help the student reach the standards through a special education program.  RTI is designed in a pyramid shape, with tier 1 at the base and tier 4 at the very top, representing that the majority of the students are in tier 1 and the least amount of student are in the top tier 4.  I feel that this program not only benefits a student’s academically, but also socially.  This program can help diagnose a student with a learning disability, help a teacher implement new strategies, as well as help close the learning gap.

Writing Express with First Graders- Video

I think this is an excellent brainstorming activity that will get the students thinking about parts of a sentence.  I liked how the teacher said first you need to name something and then tell what it does.  The students were inadvertently naming parts of a sentence, without really knowing the technical names.  I liked how the teacher didn’t write the sentences down, which kept the lesson moving, he just pulled the students to the front of the class to represent their part of the sentence.  That works great for those students that need to get up and move around a bit when learning.  I feel that I could use this activity in my own classroom as my students are learning more about literacy and how to speak and write in complete sentences.

Powerpoint Presentations

I thought that the powerpoints were very informative and I particularly liked the one about the Strategic Reading Instruction because it mainly focused on the age group of the children that I teach.  It reviewed how scaffolding and using content areas can help children learn.  I also think the presentation called Reading Strategies-Extending the Learning is a wonderful resource that I can refer back to in order to get more ideas on literacy instruction.  One of the strategies I currently use in my classroom is the word wall and my class is constantly referring to it for ideas and spelling.  Students even what to add their own words to it.  One game I would like to implement is the Guess the Word Game, where the students are given 5 clues to try and guess the word from the word wall.

Webquests

I have always liked webquests.  I think they are an excellent way for students to learn more information on their own.  The “mystery” webquests are my favorite, where you are given clues to figure out and solve the problem/question.  While I have never created one on my own, I think that webquests are most popular with the subject of social studies.  Students are always so excited to use technology as it is part of their day to day life.  I feel that they use technology they are more engaged in their learning and problem solving.