Textbooks For Reference

     This week we had a lot of important readings, but one of the most important facts that stood out to me was that textbooks are created to be reference books.  Would we ever have students read the dictionary or an encyclopedia from cover to cover?  (I know teachers that used this as punishment!)  The answer should be "no!", so why do we see teachers repeatedly forcing students to read every chapter in a textbook?  As teachers, it is our responsibility to teach students how to read/use the textbooks. 

    "Textbooks are designed to inventory huge amounts of information that can be looked up when needed"(40)

       Our book explains that there is too much information for students to digest at once.  We need to show our students how to look up the information they need, and when they can simply skim a section or chapter. Not every picture or figure is necessary to every topic, and sometimes students are forced into information overload. Follow this link to see some textbook strategies directed toward college students.  The method of looking at headings, subheadings and pictures before you start reading the chapter is a great way to break information up into sections or topics.  

     "Central topics are not covered in enough depth to give student a chance to truly understand them" (39). 

     In this case, we (the teacher) need to provide additional resources and information about certain topics.  If the textbook grazes over a large topic,event or person we need to open up the topic and provide extra sources.  At the same time, we can use textbooks to provide background information or to show the connections between topics.  The textbooks provide a skeleton or outline of what we can cover as teachers, but we need to "open" certain topics and bring the information to life.

     This chapter helped me to understand that sometimes textbooks are necessary (especially if they are required by law) and we need to make the best use of the mass of information.  Should students read textbooks straight through and constantly answer the end of the section questions? Definitely not!  But they should learn the skills to navigate through reference books and how to use primary sources to fill in the gaps!

Is It Necessary to Use Textbooks?

     After reading this chapter, I started to question the use of textbooks in class.  The author's suggest that textbooks should be used in conjunction with other materials, but I am thinking about completely removing textbooks all together!  
      
     My main reason for removing text books is because they produce lazy work.  Everyone knows that its not difficult for a teacher to say "read chapter one in class and complete the discussion questions at the end of the section for homework", but it is not teaching students how to read and analyze, it is teaching them how to skim and copy answers word-for-word.  I recall the many times that a teacher had me work or read from a textbook and I found it very easy and "safe".  I knew that I would finish before my classmates and I would be able to do other work or read to pass the rest of the class time.  Even copying definitions from the glossary was a joke, because so many of my classmates would copy the entire paragraph word-for-word without understanding the meaning.  They would endlessly copy the examples and other definitions of the word, without looking at the context of the word and determining the correct definition.  This is NOT learning.  Textbooks are the easy way out for students and teachers when it comes to lessons.  

   Another reason that I am against textbooks, is because they are almost always BORING.  There, I said it.  When I heard about the policy that all students would have to read mostly non-fiction, my heart dropped because it sounds so dreadful.  Then I realized... non-fiction isn't always boring!  As long as something is written well, students will enjoy it.  I have read numerous forms of non-fiction literature and I didn't even realize that it was non-fiction.  There are interesting stories to be told and the best way to share them is through personal accounts, diaries and articles.  Our students need to learn how to read and analyze in the real world!  

     Textbooks almost always present one side or one aspect of what they are teaching.  This is most obvious in my experience through history textbooks.  I know I already brought up this point but, history is written by the winners.  (In reality, there are accounts of both sides, but the winner's story is the one most widely taught.)  This can apply to my major (English)
 as well.  Last semester my professor had us read historical accounts about Othello and Julius Caesar after we started reading Shakespeare's plays.  (WAIT! You mean the plays are reflective of real historical events?!?! - me last semester).  We were able to look at the ways Shakespeare changed the details of the the stories to make them more dramatic, and I learned a lot about Shakespeare in that class than any other class on Shakespeare combined.  Who said that non-fiction had to be boring?

     I'm gonna leave you with two challenges:
          1.) Stop using that dreaded textbook! (Nobody likes it!)
          2.) Look for exciting/interesting non-fiction works for your students to read! 

 

Central Falls Scavenger Hunt

Central Falls Scavenger Hunt Results
   

     In this sacred space, the famous and infamous are side by side.  But in one part you can see the bullet holes left by a battle that took place between strikers and the National Guard

          One of the most interesting questions on our list was about the Saylesville Massacre, which took place during the Great Textile Strike of 1934. According to rifuture.org, a strike started on Labor Day in 1934 because workers wanted higher wages and better working conditions.  When a local factory called for protection, bullets were fired and hundreds of protesters were severely injured. I also found this video footage of the massacre.

When people dine out, what types of restaurants are most popular? 

   I found this question to be one of the hardest to answer because it is hard to tell which restaurants are popular just by looking at online data and seeing the restaurants.  I did, however, find this picture from an event called "dine Central Falls". This shows some popular restaurants and what type of food they serve.  In a quote from the online article, "it may be the smallest city in the smallest state, but Central Falls is home to more than 30 unique restaurants, many serving authentic ethnic cuisine from eight different nations". 

 I also looked at information on UrbanSpoon which suggested that the most popular restaurants are: Aui's Paisa Restaurant, Beirano, and La Sopresa Bakery.   

 Becoming wealthy during the Gold Rush of 1849, she remembered her hometown and donated $50,000 to build the most recognizable feature of the city.  Everyone knows who she is and can see her donation... time after time.

I can't help but laugh at myself for not realizing the "time after time" pun!  This is of course a reference to Caroline Cogswell who donated Cogswell Tower.  Accodring to Cenrtalfallsri.com, "A bequest by Caroline Cogswell led to construction in 1904 of the eppnymously-named tower, whose four clock faces provide unparalleled views of the city in all four directions".
  




Visit the Central Falls library.  What events and resources are available?

Online, I was able to look at the library's calendar.  I found out that every Thursday at 11am, there is "Story Time" for children ages 0-5 and at 3pm there is an all-ages "Movie Time".  On Tuesdays at 3pm, there is a meeting for the Manga/Anime Club which is geared towards teens.  I was very happy to see that the library offers free activities for children and families!




     Overall, this scavenger hunt was a great experience!  I loved trying to figure out the answers to the clues and it was great to learn about a place that I honestly knew little about.  I always knew that there was a ton of history in Rhode Island, but I never knew how much history happened just 20 minutes away from my house!  This activity seems imperative for a teacher when they are moving or teaching in a new area.  Knowing the facts that I just learned, I would try to form cool lessons where the students could see the history where they live and make real-life connections.  Looking into restaurants, parks and churches also helped me to get a better feel for the type of things my students might be interested outside of school.  I can't wait to discover more information about Central Falls and other areas in Rhode Island!  

Understanding By Design

     

     One of the biggest ideas in this week’s reading assignment was essential questions. Until now, I never really thought about them as important, but I have definitely been converted!  Students should always question what they are being taught, because there is always a bias present.  Questions like, “from whose viewpoint are we seeing or reading?” and “what’s the evidence, and how reliable is it?” should be asked regularly by every person, especially students!  How many people studied the Holocaust from Germany’s point of view? My guess is not many.  Every historical war or event is told/taught by one side but there is always another perspective.  Students need to learn to be critical about the information they receive, and this is a skill that will help them throughout life. 

     To take the idea of essential questions a little further, I think teaching students to question everything will help them gain a critical lens, but it will also make critical writing more accessible.  Many students have trouble coming up with the abstract idea of a thesis or essential question for research papers, but if we teachers make it second nature to spark questions and challenge ideas, critical writing may become easier for students.  It is one thing to have an opinion, but another thing entirely to be able to formally produce a thesis-driven paper with evidence to support your opinion.  An assessment for essential question – related themes could be a culminating debate, discussion or essay where students can look at all the research they have collected, choose a stance, and present their ideas to the class.

     As teachers, we are NOT looking for a regurgitation of our own thoughts, but a well-developed idea formed by our students on their own.  Like we discussed last class, its about teaching the skills more than the content.  Our students need to be able to write, argue and debate using support from a variety of sources both in and out of school.        

Here is an interesting video that I found about essential questions in the classroom its only about 2 minutes long, but it solidifies the idea of essential questions and why they are important in the classroom!

Follow this link to the video :) 

Let me know what you think!

        

Ch.1/2

          In many of my English classes (since Middle School and all the way to College) I have taken reading comprehension quizzes after reading assignments.  At the same time, I have constantly struggled with them, because I felt like it was impossible to remember every detail of the 8-10 chapters that I had to  read, on top of other homework and out of school activities.  There were reading quizzes that I failed strictly because I didn't really read the chapters, but there were others that I had prepared for and still got low grades.  

          After reading Chapter 2, I realized that most of the problem lies with the questions on the quiz.  In college I had a professor that would quiz us on minor details that he felt we should know after reading every piece.  For example, how old is the main character and what was the narrator holding in his hands?.  Seriously?  I would literally read the entire work but I would still get answers wrong.  None of the questions asked about major plot points or required a summary, so it became a game called "guess what the teacher will want to know".  That is not reading for me.  This quiz designed to prove who was doing the homework simply showed that reading doesn't matter, as long as you can guess the answers correctly. 

          The example on pg. 22 really stood out to me, because it served as a wake-up call.  Why do teachers ask these ridiculous questions that don't prove anything?  Even the quiz by our authors had the answer to question 1 hidden in question 5.  Students should never get a throw-away question.  Its not about students passing or getting an A, its about students learning to read, comprehend, analyze and repeat.  These reading quizzes should have short answer questions that are based on the plot, or it could take the form  of a short essay, blog post, or free write about what happened so far in the book.  As Chapter 2 explained, we need to teach our students how to comprehend, and our assessments must match our goal.

Have you had any experiences with reading quizzes? 
What method could we us to see whether or not students have read their assignment?  

Literacy

My name is Jessica Souza and I am literate in the sport of competitive running.  It sounds funny, but I promise that it is more challenging than you would guess.  In fact, it was much more challenging than I would have guessed when I signed up for my middle school’s cross country team in 8th grade.  My mom insisted that I find an extra-curricular activity and assured me that cross country would simply be running.  I was told that students wouldn’t have to try out and that there would be no “cuts, so I hesitantly joined.  Now, I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t the greatest person on the team, but I realized that running took a lot of hard work and dedication, but it was also very rewarding.

          

I eagerly attended the meeting for cross country runners in the fall of my freshman year of high school.  I could tell that this year was going to be different.  Our coach was already mapping out our training schedule, and there was a legacy to live up to.  A few years before I started high school there was a female cross country star whose picture was in our hall of fame.  The second I saw her picture, the goal started to form in my mind.  She was the role model that I had never met.  Practices grew longer and I could feel my body getting into shape.  This was when I started to become literate in running. 

           There are two elements to running; mental and physical.  Mentally, you are racing yourself, your past times and trying to prove to yourself that you can work harder.  When the gun goes off, you have to think strategically about the run.  You have to run out fast enough to get a good place (too close and you’ll die out, too far and you won’t have much of a chance to move up) but you have to know when to settle in and start pacing yourself too.  The hardest part is deciding when to kick!  This is different for every person, because it depends on how long you can sprint.  I’ve seen people start before they can see the finish line and they pick off every person in their path.  At the same time, I’ve seen people so out of breath that they had no energy to kick at the end.  For me, I knew my kick was short, but if there was someone within distance to challenge me, I could pass them in a flash.  The other mental component was when you started to feel pain or discomfort.  Like when you start to get anxious and your stomach is filled with butterflies and cramps and your mind begs you to stop.  Or with a mile to go, your legs are burning and you know that you have the opportunity to stop and walk, but do you decide to take it?  Your mind is flooded with different thoughts, but can your body handle all of these emotions along with the physical labor?

           This brings me to the physical element of running.  Something that every runner has to become literate in, is their training schedule.  We would run a long distance super slow on a Monday to stretch our muscles, then Tuesday’s practice would be an average length at race-pace.  On Wednesday’s we would do hill workouts and timed laps to improve our speed, and Thursday’s we would have another race-pace run.  On Friday’s we would either run an easy work out (if there was a meet that weekend) or run another slow but long distance.  The most important thing to know about training is that the more miles you are used to running, the easier your short race distance will feel. 

           Throughout my years as a runner I became more and more literate through practice and my relationships with various coaches.  There was my coach from middle school, three different coaches from high school and off-season I practiced with a local team which had the most impact on me and my training.  Here I learned about specific stretches and how they would help me prepare for practice or a race.  We also talked about race strategies and that it is helpful to run with a partner and talk during practice, because it will help regular your breathing.  This led me to become the fastest girl on my high school team during my senior year.

My entire experience of running cross country has impacted my life in many ways.  I have learned to respect the amount of work that people put into anything they are passionate about (who knew that running would be so hard?!) and that hard work always pay off in the end.  I knew when I put 100% into my workouts and those were the races where I broke my personal records.  At the same time, I knew when I was cheating myself out of a good workout and it showed at that race.  I would love to use the idea of setting a goal and working towards it in the classroom.  I want students to beat their personal records (grades, writing ability...etc) and strive to achieve the best quality of work they can!  Running is also a great stress reliever and I would encourage anyone to try it out (it doesn’t have to be competitively).  Cross country taught me about friendships, coaching and it helped me to understand myself better.  I would have never imagined that I would belong to a junior olympic team, or that I my team would make it the nationals (twice!).  Running taught me a lot about the sport, but even more about myself.            

My Former Teacher Posted This Link

 One of my past teachers posted this link and I was amazed at how closely this article fit with our in class discussion today!
 
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/lori-gard/students_b_4422603.html  

While I encourage you to skim and read it for yourself, I will tell you that the gist of it revolves around teacher and student interactions.  

This quote captures the main idea of the author:  

"And as I looked at you there wearing all that worry under all that strain, I said it's about being there for your kids. Because at the end of the day, most students won't remember what amazing lesson plans you've created. They won't remember how organized your bulletin boards are. How straight and neat are the desk rows. No, they'll not remember that amazing decor you've designed. But they will remember you" 

I found this article interesting and I hope that you do too!  
Feel free to comment and raise any questions, concerns or different opinions!