Teaching vocabulary to my students is one of my weakest subjects, so I'm experimenting by teaching myself to expand my own vocabulary in my 2nd language I started learning in college, German. Here is the link to my blog on that:
German Word Wall - Vocabulary
I feel that through this I can not only help my students generally with vocabulary learning, but I can also help my English Language Learners with their own language acquisition, because of the experience I have created for myself in doing the same type of language learning.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Teachers should be ever learning
One of the things I've known for quite some time is that the best teachers are, themselves, always seeking knowledge. Once a teacher stops learning their ability to teach others decreases. The only research I have to back this up is my own experience.
Before I became a certified teacher I taught swimming lessons. It took me a while to get through college, because I had to pay for my own education by working. So, while I was trying to decide on a major I became very familiar with the Red Cross' Learn to Swim curriculum. I got my WSI when I was 18, with minimal skills in the more complex strokes. I couldn't do the butterfly very well. It was adequate enough to get my certification. My first year of teaching swimming lesson, I felt like I was the worst teacher in the world, and thus ended my early desire to ever pursuit it as a life long career.
During college and taking a sabbatical for a year and a half to serve a religious mission for my church, I went through the search for a field of study I would enjoy, which was coupled with my continuation of keeping my job as a swimming instructor. I worked in my field of study and on my craft of teaching swimming lessons. I taught every level in the learn to swim program. I saw what did and didn't work when teaching the skill of swimming. I also perfected my own ability to do the butterfly. When I finally graduated from college and started entry level/unpaid positions in my field, while still teaching swimming lessons on a regular basis, I realized my talent for teaching far surpassed what I had done through getting my Bachelor's degree.
I went back and got my teaching license in Special Education, and though I learned what I needed for my license through the formal education that enables me to teach, no amount of college gave me what I learned through self motivated exploration and experimentation.
I still practice that notion, as I look to improve my ability to teach math, reading, and writing to students with learning disabilities. Taking math courses, setting goals to read books I've never attempted reading before, exploring new languages, and writing for genres I'm not familiar with or good at all help me to see where my students are coming from. It allows me to feel the same discomfort that exists when a student tries something new and unfamiliar. That is where learning occurs...is in the uncomfortable and awkward moments of doing something that we are not good at or that we feel inadequate doing. It magnifies the importance of diligent practice, working through errors, and eventually becoming fluent and good at that thing.
Learning is never ending, and the teacher that embraces that and continues to find something new to learn will become the teacher that every student will want to have.
Before I became a certified teacher I taught swimming lessons. It took me a while to get through college, because I had to pay for my own education by working. So, while I was trying to decide on a major I became very familiar with the Red Cross' Learn to Swim curriculum. I got my WSI when I was 18, with minimal skills in the more complex strokes. I couldn't do the butterfly very well. It was adequate enough to get my certification. My first year of teaching swimming lesson, I felt like I was the worst teacher in the world, and thus ended my early desire to ever pursuit it as a life long career.
During college and taking a sabbatical for a year and a half to serve a religious mission for my church, I went through the search for a field of study I would enjoy, which was coupled with my continuation of keeping my job as a swimming instructor. I worked in my field of study and on my craft of teaching swimming lessons. I taught every level in the learn to swim program. I saw what did and didn't work when teaching the skill of swimming. I also perfected my own ability to do the butterfly. When I finally graduated from college and started entry level/unpaid positions in my field, while still teaching swimming lessons on a regular basis, I realized my talent for teaching far surpassed what I had done through getting my Bachelor's degree.
I went back and got my teaching license in Special Education, and though I learned what I needed for my license through the formal education that enables me to teach, no amount of college gave me what I learned through self motivated exploration and experimentation.
I still practice that notion, as I look to improve my ability to teach math, reading, and writing to students with learning disabilities. Taking math courses, setting goals to read books I've never attempted reading before, exploring new languages, and writing for genres I'm not familiar with or good at all help me to see where my students are coming from. It allows me to feel the same discomfort that exists when a student tries something new and unfamiliar. That is where learning occurs...is in the uncomfortable and awkward moments of doing something that we are not good at or that we feel inadequate doing. It magnifies the importance of diligent practice, working through errors, and eventually becoming fluent and good at that thing.
Learning is never ending, and the teacher that embraces that and continues to find something new to learn will become the teacher that every student will want to have.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Number Island and Place Value
One of my math lessons for place value involves what I've termed 'number island'. The idea is that numbers are like islands...all different sizes and values. I use Snopes' "Birth of an Island" as an attention getting device.
Then we talk about place value, ones, tens, hundreds, etc. Zeros as place holders are rocks to cover sink holes enabling the island to keep its "size/value". Zeros at the two ends of a number (the largest edge or the beach area) fall off/roll down into the ocean.
Whole numbers have no beach. They just plunge into the ocean. Decimals are the beach as part of the whole island, only more precisely valued as tenths, hundredths, etc. Negative numbers could also be brought into this lesson, but I have not developed that portion yet. It wouldn't be hard for the idea that below sea level is where the negative numbers reside. I have no poster for that, but here is the poster for the lesson mentioned above:
Monday, August 22, 2011
2 Phonics Posters
I made 2 phonics posters:
One is low readability and the other is high leveled readability.
One is low readability and the other is high leveled readability.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Phonemic Awareness Poster
clip art was obtained from:
Friday, June 3, 2011
Adult Literacy - Phonemic Awareness
"Phonemic awareness is the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. Before [people] learn to read print, they need to become aware of how the sounds in words work." Put Reading First, p. 1
Before anyone can read, they must first learn to speak. Once speech is achieved manipulation of the sounds in words is a precursor to the initial stages of reading. You will hear the word phoneme (pronounced fone - eem). This is the smallest part of sound in a spoken word. Changing just one sound can change the entire meaning of a word and therefore change the entire meaning of a set of words and how they work together to convey meaning. For example: changing the h sound in hot to a p sound, thus changing the word. Another example where meaning is altered in a very drastic way is in using the word or omitting the word "no". Just 2 little phonemes change a sentence drastically. "Phonemic awareness instruction aids reading comprehension
primarily through its influence on word reading." PRF, p.5
Practicing phonemic awareness can be done in many ways. I only like to have my students practice 2 different ways with me. The reason for this is, "Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when it focuses on only one or two types of phoneme manipulation, rather than several types" PRF, p.6, and the only 2 I focus on are segmenting and blending, because "You can use a variety of teaching methods that contribute to [a person's] success in learning to read. However, teaching one or two types of phoneme manipulation—specifically blending and segmenting phonemes in words—is likely to produce greater benefits to your students’ reading than teaching several types of manipulation." The other types of phonemic awareness skills are still valuable to know how to do, but segmenting and blending will produces the greatest benefits. "Clearly, however, you should provide your students with
instruction that is appropriate for their level of literacy development. If you teach younger children or less able, older readers, your instruction should begin with easier activities, such as having [them] identify and categorize the first phonemes in words." PRF, p.7
So, what is segmenting, and what is blending. Quite simply, segmenting is being able to say all of the sounds in words by them selves. It's easier to start with simple words, like being able to say all of the sounds in cat with a pause between each sound. Blending is being able to put all of those sounds back together without a pause between the sounds. It would do you well to practice this with any word you want to read - to be able to say all the sounds without even seeing the word must be something that you can do before you try and read it. It's important to note that single syllable words are much easier to segment and blend than words with 2 or more syllables. That is because there are more parts to have to segment and blend. It's like have a lot of little words put together to make one larger word. That is the reason why longer, multisyllabic words are much harder to read and to spell. It's best not to frustrate yourself by practicing these harder types of words first. It's best to start with what is easier and then try segmenting and blending these more difficult words.
Remember we are not talking about reading these words yet - remember phonemic awareness is NOT phonics, just manipulating their sounds; however, research says:
"Phonemic awareness instruction makes a stronger contribution to the improvement of reading and spelling when [people] are taught to use letters as they manipulate phonemes than when instruction is limited to phonemes alone. Teaching sounds along with the letters of the alphabet is important because it helps [people]to see how phonemic awareness relates to their reading and writing."
So phonics should eventually be practiced at the same time as phonemic awareness. I believe after one is "Fluent" in segmenting and blending phonemes in isolation. You have another component working its way into the practice of our first 2 reading components: Fluency. Being fluent in phonemic awareness leads to being fluent in phonics, which in turn leads to being fluent in word reading, and then fluency is built in reading phrases, then sentences, and paragraphs with the end result understanding what you are reading. (There are other components that contribute to understanding what is being read - but if you are in the beginning stages of reading we are just trying to manipulate our sounds in speech...or... practicing phonemic awareness.
Before anyone can read, they must first learn to speak. Once speech is achieved manipulation of the sounds in words is a precursor to the initial stages of reading. You will hear the word phoneme (pronounced fone - eem). This is the smallest part of sound in a spoken word. Changing just one sound can change the entire meaning of a word and therefore change the entire meaning of a set of words and how they work together to convey meaning. For example: changing the h sound in hot to a p sound, thus changing the word. Another example where meaning is altered in a very drastic way is in using the word or omitting the word "no". Just 2 little phonemes change a sentence drastically. "Phonemic awareness instruction aids reading comprehension
primarily through its influence on word reading." PRF, p.5
Practicing phonemic awareness can be done in many ways. I only like to have my students practice 2 different ways with me. The reason for this is, "Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when it focuses on only one or two types of phoneme manipulation, rather than several types" PRF, p.6, and the only 2 I focus on are segmenting and blending, because "You can use a variety of teaching methods that contribute to [a person's] success in learning to read. However, teaching one or two types of phoneme manipulation—specifically blending and segmenting phonemes in words—is likely to produce greater benefits to your students’ reading than teaching several types of manipulation." The other types of phonemic awareness skills are still valuable to know how to do, but segmenting and blending will produces the greatest benefits. "Clearly, however, you should provide your students with
instruction that is appropriate for their level of literacy development. If you teach younger children or less able, older readers, your instruction should begin with easier activities, such as having [them] identify and categorize the first phonemes in words." PRF, p.7
So, what is segmenting, and what is blending. Quite simply, segmenting is being able to say all of the sounds in words by them selves. It's easier to start with simple words, like being able to say all of the sounds in cat with a pause between each sound. Blending is being able to put all of those sounds back together without a pause between the sounds. It would do you well to practice this with any word you want to read - to be able to say all the sounds without even seeing the word must be something that you can do before you try and read it. It's important to note that single syllable words are much easier to segment and blend than words with 2 or more syllables. That is because there are more parts to have to segment and blend. It's like have a lot of little words put together to make one larger word. That is the reason why longer, multisyllabic words are much harder to read and to spell. It's best not to frustrate yourself by practicing these harder types of words first. It's best to start with what is easier and then try segmenting and blending these more difficult words.
Remember we are not talking about reading these words yet - remember phonemic awareness is NOT phonics, just manipulating their sounds; however, research says:
"Phonemic awareness instruction makes a stronger contribution to the improvement of reading and spelling when [people] are taught to use letters as they manipulate phonemes than when instruction is limited to phonemes alone. Teaching sounds along with the letters of the alphabet is important because it helps [people]to see how phonemic awareness relates to their reading and writing."
So phonics should eventually be practiced at the same time as phonemic awareness. I believe after one is "Fluent" in segmenting and blending phonemes in isolation. You have another component working its way into the practice of our first 2 reading components: Fluency. Being fluent in phonemic awareness leads to being fluent in phonics, which in turn leads to being fluent in word reading, and then fluency is built in reading phrases, then sentences, and paragraphs with the end result understanding what you are reading. (There are other components that contribute to understanding what is being read - but if you are in the beginning stages of reading we are just trying to manipulate our sounds in speech...or... practicing phonemic awareness.
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