The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: The Writing Process
Title: “Writing Steps: A Recursive and Individual Experience.” Bonnie Mary Warne. English Journal (May 2008), 23 -27. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Summary: OK, we know that the writing process includes brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. But is that all there is to the writing process? This teacher used those terms as a general summary of the process, but she also encouraged students to formulate what really happened while they were engaging in those steps.
For example, one student spent considerable time thinking and composing after he had brainstormed but before writing. Students also recognized that the steps were not isolated, nor necessarily effective, in the order that they were listed. They kept returning to steps in the process, i.e., recursive. As a result, students understood better how they really went about writing successfully.
Comment: There’s the ideal world and the real world of writing. I’m reminded of a father who told me his son achieved B’s and C’s when he followed the steps in writing I had taught him, but when he dashed off an assignment on the morning it was due, he earned A’s. OUCH! Moral: encourage students to try to understand their real writing processes. RayS.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
English as a Second Language
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: A Teaching Problem
Title: “Creating International Communities to Support English Language Learners in the Classroom.” Judith Rance-Roney. English Journal (May 2008), 17-22. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
The Problem: “Earlier in my career, I taught in a large suburban district in New Jersey. In my junior class, side by side in the front row sat Tu and Phan, two Vietnamese brothers whom I estimated knew a few hundred words other than ‘Hello, how are you?’ I thumbed through my minutely planned unit on Beowulf and early English and I felt like crying. How would I teach Beowulf to these brothers who were struggling to learn the basics of English grammar and vocabulary? How could I teach the new language of early English to my ‘regular’ students while teaching ‘real’ English to these young men? I was an English teacher and I was stumped. I know that more and more teachers are facing these questions.” p. 17.
Summary: The author worked to bring the class together to help each other. She gives several techniques—the “jump-start” in which she gave the brothers preview material before teaching the unit [Not a bad idea for regulars students. RayS.] and a project in which the students shared cultural differences and similarities, but essentially it was the spirit of helpfulness on the part of everyone in the classroom that worked.
Comment: I remember working in a school that was emphasizing individualizing instruction. One of our teachers was making amazing progress in individualizing her instruction. When I asked her about the secret to her success, she said, "The more you try it, the more you find ways of doing it." RayS.
Topic: A Teaching Problem
Title: “Creating International Communities to Support English Language Learners in the Classroom.” Judith Rance-Roney. English Journal (May 2008), 17-22. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
The Problem: “Earlier in my career, I taught in a large suburban district in New Jersey. In my junior class, side by side in the front row sat Tu and Phan, two Vietnamese brothers whom I estimated knew a few hundred words other than ‘Hello, how are you?’ I thumbed through my minutely planned unit on Beowulf and early English and I felt like crying. How would I teach Beowulf to these brothers who were struggling to learn the basics of English grammar and vocabulary? How could I teach the new language of early English to my ‘regular’ students while teaching ‘real’ English to these young men? I was an English teacher and I was stumped. I know that more and more teachers are facing these questions.” p. 17.
Summary: The author worked to bring the class together to help each other. She gives several techniques—the “jump-start” in which she gave the brothers preview material before teaching the unit [Not a bad idea for regulars students. RayS.] and a project in which the students shared cultural differences and similarities, but essentially it was the spirit of helpfulness on the part of everyone in the classroom that worked.
Comment: I remember working in a school that was emphasizing individualizing instruction. One of our teachers was making amazing progress in individualizing her instruction. When I asked her about the secret to her success, she said, "The more you try it, the more you find ways of doing it." RayS.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Expectations
Title: “Making Conversation.” Robert Gardner. English Journal (May 2008), 15-16. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Summary: At a party, a college teacher bewails the quality of student writing he sees. High school teacher asks, “Did you tell them what you expect?” He replies, “Shouldn’t they know how to write?”
Comment: It’s hard not to laugh at that response. If students don’t know what is expected, how will they be able to produce what the teacher wants? Teachers, especially writing teachers, differ in what they expect and students are often caught in the middle.
Good to remind ourselves to explain what we expect to our students, especially in writing.
‘Nuff said. One of those forgotten pieces of common sense about teaching that causes problems for students. RayS.
Topic: Expectations
Title: “Making Conversation.” Robert Gardner. English Journal (May 2008), 15-16. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Summary: At a party, a college teacher bewails the quality of student writing he sees. High school teacher asks, “Did you tell them what you expect?” He replies, “Shouldn’t they know how to write?”
Comment: It’s hard not to laugh at that response. If students don’t know what is expected, how will they be able to produce what the teacher wants? Teachers, especially writing teachers, differ in what they expect and students are often caught in the middle.
Good to remind ourselves to explain what we expect to our students, especially in writing.
‘Nuff said. One of those forgotten pieces of common sense about teaching that causes problems for students. RayS.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
"Scaffolding"
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: “Scaffolding”
Title: “Using Scaffolding Techniques to Teach a Social Studies Lesson about Buddha to Sixth-Graders.” James Stephen Vacca. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (May 2008), 852-858. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Comment: For me, “scaffolding” in the classroom is a metaphor for what I used to call “preparation for learning.” The teacher prepares students for reading assignments by building background information on the topic of the assignment, by pre-teaching unfamiliar vocabulary from the assignment and by helping them establish a purpose for reading. In writing, the teacher pre-teaches the skill to be applied in the writing assignment. In a previous “Update,” I noted that the word “scaffolding” was being used to describe preparation for learning, had become the latest buzz-word in education and that nobody was defining it. The author of this article has defined the word and I share with my readers his definition. RayS.
Quote: “When a contractor is constructing a new building, scaffolding is placed on the outside to give the builder access to the emerging structure as it is being created. Once the building is able to support itself, the builder removes the scaffolding. [I think the author is confusing the first and second definitions of “scaffold,”(1) access to heights and (2)supporting structure. RayS.] In the same way that builders provide essential but temporary support, teachers need to provide temporary support that will help students to develop new understandings, new concepts, and new abilities. As students develop control of these abilities, teachers need to withdraw support and provide for further help only for extended or new tasks, understandings and concepts.”
Comment: I still think “preparation for learning” is a clearer way to describe what a teacher does when supporting students’ learning, as in the Directed Reading Assignment. I challenge the author or the editors of professional education journals to ask regular classroom teachers to explain the word “scaffolding” when referring to learning in the classroom. I hate jargon! RayS.
Topic: “Scaffolding”
Title: “Using Scaffolding Techniques to Teach a Social Studies Lesson about Buddha to Sixth-Graders.” James Stephen Vacca. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (May 2008), 852-858. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Comment: For me, “scaffolding” in the classroom is a metaphor for what I used to call “preparation for learning.” The teacher prepares students for reading assignments by building background information on the topic of the assignment, by pre-teaching unfamiliar vocabulary from the assignment and by helping them establish a purpose for reading. In writing, the teacher pre-teaches the skill to be applied in the writing assignment. In a previous “Update,” I noted that the word “scaffolding” was being used to describe preparation for learning, had become the latest buzz-word in education and that nobody was defining it. The author of this article has defined the word and I share with my readers his definition. RayS.
Quote: “When a contractor is constructing a new building, scaffolding is placed on the outside to give the builder access to the emerging structure as it is being created. Once the building is able to support itself, the builder removes the scaffolding. [I think the author is confusing the first and second definitions of “scaffold,”(1) access to heights and (2)supporting structure. RayS.] In the same way that builders provide essential but temporary support, teachers need to provide temporary support that will help students to develop new understandings, new concepts, and new abilities. As students develop control of these abilities, teachers need to withdraw support and provide for further help only for extended or new tasks, understandings and concepts.”
Comment: I still think “preparation for learning” is a clearer way to describe what a teacher does when supporting students’ learning, as in the Directed Reading Assignment. I challenge the author or the editors of professional education journals to ask regular classroom teachers to explain the word “scaffolding” when referring to learning in the classroom. I hate jargon! RayS.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Literacy
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Literacy Shortcomings
Title: “Targeting Adolescents’ Literacy Skills Using One-to-One Instruction with Research-Based Practices.” Timothy T. Houge, Constance Geier, and David Peyton. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (May 2008), p. 840-850. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary/Quote: “A sobering percentage of adolescents in the United States cannot successfully read grade-level text. In fact, the report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress…clearly outlined the literacy shortcomings of the nation’s 8th and 12th graders by reporting that roughly two-thirds of these adolescents read below the proficient level and one-quarter do not possess the literacy skills necessary to read at the basic level. In addition, traditional approaches to dealing with deficient literacy skills among adolescents, such as tracking, enrollment in courses with few or no literacy demands, and course retention, have not been very successful.” p. 840.
“Currently there exists a growing body of evidence that suggests adolescents’ literacy deficiencies can be remedied if these individuals receive extra support in the form of direct, explicit and systematic fluency, vocabulary and comprehension instruction.” p. 840.
Comment: Olive Niles, a nationally known reading expert, said decades ago that if every teacher in all the disciplines used the Directed Reading Assignment (DRA: build background information on the topic of the reading assignment, pre-teach unfamiliar vocabulary in the assignment, set purpose for reading in the form of questions to read to answer and apply the ideas gained in reading the assignment) there would be no reading problems in America. My experience has shown that this statement is true. [See my book, Teaching English, How To….] The one additional skill added to the DRA in this article is instruction in fluency. RayS.
Your thoughts?
Topic: Literacy Shortcomings
Title: “Targeting Adolescents’ Literacy Skills Using One-to-One Instruction with Research-Based Practices.” Timothy T. Houge, Constance Geier, and David Peyton. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (May 2008), p. 840-850. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary/Quote: “A sobering percentage of adolescents in the United States cannot successfully read grade-level text. In fact, the report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress…clearly outlined the literacy shortcomings of the nation’s 8th and 12th graders by reporting that roughly two-thirds of these adolescents read below the proficient level and one-quarter do not possess the literacy skills necessary to read at the basic level. In addition, traditional approaches to dealing with deficient literacy skills among adolescents, such as tracking, enrollment in courses with few or no literacy demands, and course retention, have not been very successful.” p. 840.
“Currently there exists a growing body of evidence that suggests adolescents’ literacy deficiencies can be remedied if these individuals receive extra support in the form of direct, explicit and systematic fluency, vocabulary and comprehension instruction.” p. 840.
Comment: Olive Niles, a nationally known reading expert, said decades ago that if every teacher in all the disciplines used the Directed Reading Assignment (DRA: build background information on the topic of the reading assignment, pre-teach unfamiliar vocabulary in the assignment, set purpose for reading in the form of questions to read to answer and apply the ideas gained in reading the assignment) there would be no reading problems in America. My experience has shown that this statement is true. [See my book, Teaching English, How To….] The one additional skill added to the DRA in this article is instruction in fluency. RayS.
Your thoughts?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Peer Review
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Peer Review (Secondary/College)
Title: “Whither ‘Peer Review’? Terminology Matters for the Writing Classroom.” Sonya L. Armstrong and Eric J. Paulson. Teaching English in the Two-Year College (May 2008), 398-407. A Publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: Makes the point that “peer review” means many different things to different teachers and students and urges the need to make terminology considerably more precise than it is.
Quote: “What instructors typically refer to as ‘Peer Review’ usually entails asking students to read and comment on their peers’ papers. That is about as common a description of the activity as is possible, though. In fact, what instructors have students do during peer review varies considerably….: pairs or small groups; structured or unstructured sessions; worksheet or discussion-based focus; emphasis on editing for surface-level errors or emphasis on larger, more holistic matters; and so forth. With so much variation in organization and approaches, it is clear that no community-wide understanding of what peer review is—or what it should be—currently exists.”
The authors go on to analyze what is known about various types of peer review: peer review; peer response; peer editing; peer evaluation; peer critique/peer criticism.
The authors conclude with these questions that need to be answered when defining peer review activities: “How do students understand these activities? Do particular activities benefit students’ writing or thinking more than others? In which classroom contexts is a particular activity most appropriate and why?”
Comment: The lack of clear definition of the terms related to peer review and the need to clarify terms related to writing—“editing,” “revision,” etc.—is one reason that I have looked skeptically at anything called “peer review.” This article is important. If we are going to use peer review how do we define it? Is it a worthwhile use of classroom time? Does it work? This article, in my opinion, is worth the cost of the journal. Go to ncte.org. RayS.
Topic: Peer Review (Secondary/College)
Title: “Whither ‘Peer Review’? Terminology Matters for the Writing Classroom.” Sonya L. Armstrong and Eric J. Paulson. Teaching English in the Two-Year College (May 2008), 398-407. A Publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: Makes the point that “peer review” means many different things to different teachers and students and urges the need to make terminology considerably more precise than it is.
Quote: “What instructors typically refer to as ‘Peer Review’ usually entails asking students to read and comment on their peers’ papers. That is about as common a description of the activity as is possible, though. In fact, what instructors have students do during peer review varies considerably….: pairs or small groups; structured or unstructured sessions; worksheet or discussion-based focus; emphasis on editing for surface-level errors or emphasis on larger, more holistic matters; and so forth. With so much variation in organization and approaches, it is clear that no community-wide understanding of what peer review is—or what it should be—currently exists.”
The authors go on to analyze what is known about various types of peer review: peer review; peer response; peer editing; peer evaluation; peer critique/peer criticism.
The authors conclude with these questions that need to be answered when defining peer review activities: “How do students understand these activities? Do particular activities benefit students’ writing or thinking more than others? In which classroom contexts is a particular activity most appropriate and why?”
Comment: The lack of clear definition of the terms related to peer review and the need to clarify terms related to writing—“editing,” “revision,” etc.—is one reason that I have looked skeptically at anything called “peer review.” This article is important. If we are going to use peer review how do we define it? Is it a worthwhile use of classroom time? Does it work? This article, in my opinion, is worth the cost of the journal. Go to ncte.org. RayS.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Students as Teachers
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Students as Teachers (College)
Title: “Crossing the Student/Teacher Divide at the Community College: The Student Tutor Education Program (STEP).” James V. Werner. Teaching English in the Two-Year College (May 2008), 363-371. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: Students at the community college who desire to explore the profession of teaching are trained to be tutors within classes and in writing centers, but also plan and teach units on topics like plagiarism.
Comment. Great idea. RayS.
Topic: Students as Teachers (College)
Title: “Crossing the Student/Teacher Divide at the Community College: The Student Tutor Education Program (STEP).” James V. Werner. Teaching English in the Two-Year College (May 2008), 363-371. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: Students at the community college who desire to explore the profession of teaching are trained to be tutors within classes and in writing centers, but also plan and teach units on topics like plagiarism.
Comment. Great idea. RayS.
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