Click the link to view my multi-text study about Judy Moody Saves the World!
This MTS deals with being a good citizen, recycling, endangered species, and the rain forest!
I poem…final October 20, 2009
I am Blackbeard
I am feared and fearless
I wonder what ship I will ambush next
I hear waves crashing along the North Carolina shore
I see water for miles and miles from Queen Anne’s Revenge
I want treasure, pieces of eight, emeralds, and a chest of medicine from the Governor of Charleston
I am feared and fearless
I pretend to be nice to other ships in order to capture them
I feel powerful when I look so mean that others run in fear
I touch my pistol and cutlass as I prepare for an ambush
I worry about nothing
I no longer go by Edward Teach, for that name is not scary enough
I am feared and fearless
I understand how ships work for I stole my first one
I say “nobody but the Devil and I know where my treasure is and the longest liver shall take it”
I dream of obtaining all the treasure along the Atlantic coast
I try to become the most feared and dreaded pirate of all time
I know my legend will live on forever since Lt. Maynard kept my head suspended from his sloop as a warning to other pirates
I am feared and fearless
I AM BLACKBEARD
I Poem…Blackbeard (draft) September 30, 2009
I am Blackbeard
I am feared and fearless
I wonder what ship I will ambush next
I hear waves crashing
I see water for miles and miles
I want treasure, treasure, and more treasure
I am feared and fearless
I pretend to be nice to other ships in order to capture them
I feel powerful when I take over another ship
I touch my pistol and cutlass as I prepare for an ambush
I worry about nothing
I cry over lost treasure
I am feared and fearless
I understand how ships work
I say “nobody but the Devil and I know where my treasure is and the longest liver shall take it”
I dream of obtaining all the treasure along the Atlantic coast
I try to become the most feared and dreaded pirate of all time
I hope my legend will live on forever
I am feared and fearless
Shared Readings September 30, 2009
This is a helpful and informational article. I had learned that modeling is a great way to get kids to understand reading, but I have no idea it did so many things for students. I also didn’t know that you could use different activities to achieve different goals or components of shared reading or modeling. I really like the text structures and how it gets students to predict the flow of information. I liked the fifth grade teacher’s example of circulating blood and relating it to the water cycle. I also liked how when the teachers were promoting vocabulary they didn’t just tell the student to look up the word. They modeled ways to get students to figure out words like using context clues and word parts. It is important that students are shown how to look for context clues and to know how to break down words into separate parts. Those two strategies will definitely increase word knowledge and understanding. Overall, I enjoyed this article. It is very informative and I will keep it as a resource for future use. I plan to model reading for my students and I will use the ideas I learned from this article to increase the effectiveness of my modeling.
Pirate Diary September 30, 2009
This is a very useful resource. The double entry diary would be a wonderful activity to do with your students. It incorporates so many ideas. It would get them thinking about the reading. Instead of reading just to answer questions, they would have to read for understanding. It also makes the students pull out the vocabulary that they may not be familiar with and find the definition. All the other activities would also be fun for the students to complete. I really liked doing things that didn’t seem like work in school and some of the activities like creating a flag and electing a crew and naming a ship seem like a lot of fun! At first it may seem like a lot for students to complete but once they look at it and understand the directions it will seem just fine. I wish teachers would have used activities like this one when I was in school. I feel like I would have learned a lot more about the things I was required to read.
Instructional-level Social Studies Trade Books September 28, 2009
This article was interesting and informative. I have seen similar situations in which a text is used that some if not most students cannot follow because it is too hard for them. I think it is very important for teachers to understand and realize there are different levels of readers in their classroom. One text will probably never work for an entire class of twenty or more students. Also, the article touches on how reading text that students don’t understand will also teach them to dislike reading in general. This article is a great resource for helping teachers learn how to locate resources for struggling readers. Also, the tables at the end give awesome examples of children’s literature that can be used and they also give the topic that the book could be used for in the classroom. That is an amazing resource to have since teachers know they will be dealing with different level students. Overall, I think this article is amazing. It is very informative and gives wonderful examples. It also opens teacher’s eyes that they will be dealing with students of all kinds of levels and that sometimes you have to branch out from the standard text to get all your students interested. Reading is important and if students don’t know how to read what they are given, then they will learn to dislike reading.
Judy Brown Article September 28, 2009
This article was very informative. I especially liked the use of tables and examples. I am also another future teacher that has fears of teaching spelling and reading. I was never the best speller, but I love to read. The article talks about how spelling is the underlying key for better reading and writing development. That makes sense to me because I was a terrible speller and a terrible writer. I would always pass the state writing test, but with the minimum score. I know it is for the lack of emphasis on spelling and writing from my early elementary school teachers. My mom was the influence behind my reading and I loved to read. From what I can recall my teachers always gave whole class spelling tests with no accommodations for lower level spellers. In the article Judy Brown talks about how she used Schalgal’s spelling assessment at the beginning of school to see what level her students were at for spelling instruction. She then divided her students into three different groups and began her instruction from there. The article continues to tell her she then broke down the week for spelling and activities she did with her students to prepare them for spelling tests. Her main goal was to see progress in the students and for them to become better spellers. Her goal was achieved and you know because of the posttest she gave of Schalgal’s inventory in which the students had great improvement. Overall, I think this a wonderful resource for any future teacher to have if they are sketchy about teaching spelling, writing, or reading.
Internet Workshop September 17, 2009
This article is very informative. I liked the way it gave step-by-step directions. It was a good idea to give each section a different topic instead of combining everything into one section. The article is a nice resource to have because it provides internet resources and information about blogs. Also, the figures that accompanied the text were great examples to have in front of you as you go through the article. I am the type of person that thinks the internet and technology must be used in the classroom therefore this internet workshop article is a great resource for me!
A Twin-Text Unit of Study and Pullout September 17, 2009
This article is very helpful for showing teachers how to introduce a pirate unit. The entire time I was reading it I kept thinking how I would love to do this is my future classroom! I never realized you could incorporate pirates into so many different areas. The pullout is an amazing tool to have for my future classroom because of all the wonderful ideas it provides. I really liked how it took the activities and gave a whole page about what it should look like and ideas for students to do with them (ex. questions that could be answered in the double entry diaries). The resources for students page is also a great tool to have for my futue classroom. I look forward to our pirate unit!
So Much Depends Upon… September 14, 2009
So much depends upon
the overly large Honda key
that starts the atomic blue car
to get me from the beautiful mountains
to the rolling hills of the Piedmont.
So much depends upon
the midnight black phone
protected by a tough, plastic cover
to keep my communication
with family and friends
as for I am far, far, far away.
