Reading+Log+(6414)

Erin Loudy Dr. Carol Harrell ENGL 6414 =**Reading Log**=


 * Reading Log Audit**
 * The purpose of this reading log was for me to record my thoughts and reflections about the required readings for this course. In doing so I focused on the ideas in the readings that were most meaningful and important to me or seemed to have a connection to topics discussed in the course of this class. The reading log was also a place for me to review my ideas about the readings at a later date in order to refresh my memory on the content of the article and see how my thoughts on the topics changed. The reading log includes seventeen total entries: three entries on sections from Ravitch's //The Death and Life of the Great American School System//, nine entries on chapters from Burke's //The English Teachers Companion//, and five entries on additional articles.
 * I created an entry for each reading that we were assigned. Some readings provided me with plenty to think about and discuss in my log while others, due to their brevity on the topic or lack of relevance to my own ideas, left me searching for a connection. There was so much material and information to cover in each entry for the Ravitch book that it was easy to find plenty to write about but harder to select essential parts to highlight. At times I used my entries to review what I read either because the reading covered so much material or because I did not write the entry immediately after reading and need to refresh my mind. I tried to stay away from simply summarizing the reading selection by pointing out things they author said that I felt were useful or insightful and finding connections to my experience and philosophy. However, I found that reading my summaries helps me review my ideas and the authors without having to reread. In my entries for Ravitch's book on chapters 6-8 and Burke's book on chapter 2, I took a different approach to organizing my thoughts by using bullet points and section headers to highlight what I took away from the readings. My better quality entries are the ones in which I responded with personal connections and used specific quotes from the text to support my statements.
 * The readings for this class covered a variety of topics from school reform to teaching strategies and theories on learning. They covered all aspects of the English curriculum: reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, thinking, learning. From every chapter and article I read, I tried to find something applicable and useful for myself as a pre-service teacher and example I could relate to from my experience in the classroom. Other than the connections I made to my experience and the ways I could use the strategies presented, my entries did not have many commonalities. The Ravitch book gave me insight into American school reform and No Child Left Behind which helped to confirm and shape my beliefs about "what is wrong with schools" and how to "fix" them.
 * The chapters I read in //The English Teacher’s Companion// were helpful in developing my semester plan. Burke covers so many essential topics and provides sample graphic organizers, approaches and strategies to teaching different types of reading and writing. His ideas for teaching reading and writing gave me direction while I worked on my semester plan. I took some of his ideas for teaching //Lord of the Flies// and adapted them for my unit on that novel and others. Often our conversations or activities in class coincided with and supplemented the readings such as our discussion of vocabulary building and reading strategies.
 * This assignment was helpful in allowing me to summarize what I read and reflect and connect my thoughts on the reading to my experiences. The log provided a way to hold me accountable for the reading component of this course while doing so on a flexible time frame. However, the reading log format does not provide the feedback from classmates that a discussion forum provides. While I learn from writing and rereading my own thoughts, I think I would also benefit from sharing these ideas with an audience to generate a wider discussion. The thing I dislike about threaded discussions is that usually you are required to post by a certain date and are graded on timeliness. I like the idea of using the reading log and sharing self-selected entries with classmates for further discussion and feedback, or perhaps taking time in class to utilize the reading logs to facilitate discussion as a class or in smaller groups or pairs.

Chapters 1-5
This book begins by discussing the problems of school reform. I really like the quote on page three in which Ravitch states that "in education, there are no shortcuts, no utopias, and no silver bullets." She makes the point that there is no easy solution to solve all educational problems, but that seems to be what everyone is looking for from standards and testing. Ravitch brings up many controversial issues about education like merit pay, accountability, and choice of school. I like how she attacks the "corporate reformers" by saying that they are drawing false analogies between business and education. The organization that works for a company is not necessarily the best way to to structure a school system. They have different purposes. If they were the same then it would stand true that educational policy makers do not need to know anything about education or children; they simply need to be good efficient business men or women. I noticed that Ravitch also emphasizes the need for liberal arts courses (especially history).

In chapter two, Ravitch focuses on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and how it made standardized test scores the primary measure of school quality. It was about accountability and data not the curriculum. Then Ravitch criticizes the standards which each state was responsible for creating and therefore made either too broad or too narrow to be helpful in guiding curriculum and instruction. She says, "without specificity and clarity, standards are nothing more than vacuous verbiage" and she critiques that few states reference a significant work of literature. According to Ravitch the standards movement died with Bush's NCLB.

Ravitch takes time to explain education reform in the 60s and 70s which involved experimentations with less rules and lower SAT scores. In 1983, A Nation at Risk (ANAR) brought some alarming conclusions to Americans attention. The report recommended stronger graduation requirements, higher standards for student performance and conduct, more time devoted to instruction and homework, high standards for entering the teaching profession and higher teacher salaries. Ravitch states the the information in this report was nothing revolutionary just a call for schools to fulfill their purpose of preparing students for life after high school. The report assumed that the educational problems laid in the high school and not at the elementary or middle school level. Schools were free to choose whether to take ANAR's suggestions, but they were forced to follow the NCLB law. Ravitch maintains that ANAR's recommendations were sound both then and now.

Ravitch asserts that the systemic approach to school reform makes sense because is begins with determining what children should know and be able to do (curriculum). The next three chapters discuss the effect of implementing a Balanced Literacy approach in several school districts including District 2 in NYC and in San Diego. Overall my impression from Ravitch is that though this approach seemed to improve test scores and was viewed as a success, the truth is that it was deceiving. The situation in San Diego was particularly dirty in the way the implementors treated the teachers/educators they operated with fear. The three reform situations all took the wrong path and ended up with a dictatorship in the education world.

On a side note, I found that in the first five chapters there were several words whose meanings I was unfamiliar with. I always like noticing when my vocabulary is expanding or being tested. It reminds me that the simple act of reading a wide variety of texts is an easy way to improve vocabulary. Rather than drilling on weekly lists of words, it makes more sense to me to use the vocabulary in the texts we use in class. Doing that makes vocabulary more meaningful. If you prepare in advance you can select words from the text that students are likely not to know.

Chapters 6-8
These three chapters each had a specific focus: NCLB, Choice, and Accountability. Ravitch pointed out the background/history of each and pointed out the misguided thinking that led to each of these reform ideas not working. Rather than discussing the chapters individually or the section as a whole, I would rather point out specific statements or ideas that stood out to me.
 * "At the time, few realized that the quality of the tests was crucial. They assumed "a test is a test" (95). I was surprised by this assertion that policy makers and elected officials would not think to question the validity and reliability of the tests used to impose such severe consequences.
 * NCLB required/allowed states to set their own standards, create their own tests, define what proficiency meant, and grade themselves. To me that just spelled disaster.
 * The magical date of 2014 for the US to achieve 100% proficiency is ridiculous.
 * "Children were being trained, not educated" (109). That is so true when the focus is on test prep skills and not critical thinking and content knowledge that can be applied. I also agree with the earlier statement on 108 that said students could not express themselves when a question required them to THINK about and EXPLAIN what they read. In our testing world we teach kids how to do well on a multiple choice test whether its by guessing well or actually knowing the answer.
 * NCLB was based on the (erroneous) assumption that students are not doing well on tests because teachers and principals are lazy and not doing their jobs. All of the burden for student achievement in NCLB is put on the teachers and administrators not on the students and their parents. That to me is one of the biggest flaws in the whole reform plan.
 * I was very interested to learn that school choice was initially associated with desegregation beginning in the 50s as a way to keep white students from having to attend an integrated school.
 * I felt the section on charter schools was very repetitive and more than amply drove home the point that there is no strong evidence that charter school are better than regular public schools. However, I liked the point she made that the dilemma of public schools is that they don't have a choice of who to educate the way private and charter schools do and therefore are at a disadvantage because they have to educate even the students who don't want to be there.
 * On page 144, Ravitch talks about motivated students and I think she makes some very astute points. "Charter schools are havens for more motivated students" (145). "Public schools will have disproportionate numbers of less motivated parents and needier students" (145).
 * The accountability chapter focused on the ways states/districts "gamed the system" or cheated to "raise" test scores and meet AYP. Also, I thought it was interesting that Atlanta was given as an example of positive accountability (at the time this book was written) given the recent APS cheating scandal.
 * My favorite part of this entire section came on pages 162 and 163. Ravtich states that "One [problem with test-based accountability as currently defined and used, is that it removes all responsibility from students and their families for the students' academic performance. NCLB neglected to acknowledge that students share in the responsibility for their academic performance and that they are not merely passive recipients of their teachers' influence. Nowhere in the federal accountability scheme are there measures or indicators of students' diligence, effort, and motivation....These factors affect their school performance as much as or more than their teachers' skill." NCLB blames students' successes and failures on teachers. If students don't perform well teachers and schools get sanctions, but if the succeed the district and higher-ups take the credit. It seems to me that NCLB assumes that all students are hard working and motivated to learn and that the schools and their teachers are standing in the way. However, as teachers we know that we see plenty of unmotivated students and that to try to engage them and encourage them can be the hardest part of our job and also the factor that determines their success.

Chapters 9-11
I thought it was interesting to hear about the origins of teachers' unions -- how in the early twentieth century most teachers were women and their supervisors were men who would fire them for getting married and/or pregnant. I didn't realize that women joined unions to fight for those rights as well as equal pay, higher salaries, and better working conditions. I thought Ravitch made a good point in refuting the argument that unions prevented bad teachers from being fired by stating that it is not in teachers' best interest to have incompetent teachers in their midst therefore the unions purpose is not to protect bad teachers. There were some other interesting tidbits of information in the first chapter such as the fact that "40 to 50 percent of new teachers do not survive the first five years" because the job is so demanding (177). I appreciated that Ravitch said that "being an effective teacher is not necessarily a permanent, unchanging quality" (186). What does effective mean? Is it measured by student achievement? How can we be sure that achievement is directly related to teacher influence? Perhaps sometimes a teacher can be more effective with one group of students than another. Its not exactly comforting to know, however, that in the first two years I will probably be an ineffective teacher due to lack of experience, at least according to most studies. On 191, Ravitch makes some logical points about teachers needing solid knowledge in their content area as well as pedagogy and that to entice people to enter the profession we should offer good salaries and good working conditions.

In the Billionaire Boys' Club chapter it was enlightening to hear about the way these rich foundations are influencing our school system and what the driving beliefs are behind the grants and money being put towards education. I think prior to reading this chapter I just thought of the money going toward new technology and research, but now I realize that these foundations are powerful and influential and unquestioned and unaccountable which could be a very dangerous thing. I find it interesting that Gates believed that ALL students should go to college and I dislike the emphasis they all place on structuring schools like businesses.

The last chapter may have been my favorite chapter. I thought the list of "essential ingredients of a successful education system: a strong curriculum, experienced teachers, effective instruction, willing students, adequate resources, and a community that values education" were right on target (224). However, I'm not sure that I agree that "effective education always requires enormous effort" (225). Perhaps school work requires hard work and effort and planning an education system would as well, but actual learning may not always require "enormous effort." Ravitch states that countries such as Japan and Finland have strong curricula. Why then do we not look to them and adopt their ideas? She does not elaborate on this to explain why that might be difficult in our diverse nation and state-controlled educational environment. I appreciate the goals Ravitch lists for our students on page 230: to "think for themselves," "have good character," "make sound decisions," "be active, responsible citizens," "to listen to differing views" and make rational decisions, and to understand and solve problems. I liked how she put emphasis on the important role families have in students' education. I agree that parents should be involved by encouraging and monitoring them. They are the ones who impart attitudes and values about learning, motivation, self-discipline and manners (240).

From this book I take away a strong link between money and education. Affluent people can afford a better education and affluent parents are often educated and can offer their children more opportunities and more enriched and educationally supportive childhood experiences. The difference in wealth or socioeconomic status seems to be the biggest indicator of students' low performance in school. We are trying to remedy in schools that fact that students do not come from the same background and don't have the same opportunities. When we say we want to close the achievement gap and have all students at a proficient level we are fighting a losing battle because many students (especially at public schools) have academically unsupportive families.

Chapter 10 - Composing a Curriculum
Planning to me is the hardest aspect of teaching, closely followed by tricky classroom management situations. I feel more confident in handling most situations in the classroom than I do in creating an entire year's worth of interconnected lessons. In this chapter, Burke shows that it makes sense to plan "backwards" by deciding first what your goals are in teaching. What should students learn? What should they take away from class and be able to do? These are important questions. They are questions that I ask myself and that I feel perplexed about even with standards to guide me. Planning seems like such an overwhelming task because it is the part of teaching that goes unseen. As students we experience the results of planning (or lack of) on a day by day revelation. Some times at the end of a unit or semester or year we can see the thread that connected every day and every lesson, but often that thread goes un-noticed.

There were a couple of things that Burke mentioned in this chapter that stuck out as particularly good advice. The first was that when planning you should "consider the seasons of the school year." For example, tougher material may be better to tackle earlier on in the school year while students are still putting forth effort and not distractedly longing for winter break. To me this also suggests that we need to be considerate of breaks and other interruptions in our schedule when we plan which can be rather tricky. I also have trouble estimating how long any lesson or unit will take. I found in my student teaching that I often underestimated the amount of time students would need. While I think it is helpful to "over-plan," over-planning makes it harder to stay on track or on pace during the year. Burke's other piece of advice which he borrowed from Hemingway was that you should "always stop when you know what to write next." This advice for stopping in the middle would help keep the momentum of the planning process from stalling out. I think I often fall into that trap by working on something until I can't work anymore, and then it is so much harder to return to my work because I don't know where to begin.

Chapter 2 - Thinking About Teaching and Learning
__The 4 Components of Good Teaching:__ //Construction// - We have to be active and apply/use what we learn. I liked the quote: "The government makes us come to school but it's the teacher who makes us want to learn." I agree to some extent, but I think it is not entirely up to the teacher. The student has to want to learn or be receptive to some extent. Construction is the component that makes the knowledge or skills being taught meaningful. If students can't see the way they might use this skill or knowledge later on then they wont see the point in learning it (except for passing a test).

//Occupation// - This component is similar to the previous one in that it involves action and application. Occupation asks students to take on different roles and contemplate the skill and knowledge they will need in the future to be successful. This component like construction can have an authentic and outside the classroom connection. I liked the idea for letter writing and advice giving activities in this section.

//Negotiation// - This component involves things like giving students choice in their school work such as requirements for what they must do and how they must do it. It can involve classroom discussions in which various topics and debated and opinions are negotiated. It can also effect student motivation, achievement, and the classroom environment.

//Conversation// - This component is similar to negotiation, but is more concerned with teachers getting to know their students through meaningful conversations which can help them improve achievement. It also is important to developing students' communication skills in speaking, writing, and listening.

__6 Features of Effective Literacy Instruction:__ -Use multiple lesson types (target different learning styles and interests as well as providing review and extension) -Integrate test prep into instruction (fact of today's schools: students need to know stuff and how to take a test to show it) -Make connections (to other subjects, to life...) -Teach students strategies (help them learn to learn) -Encourage students to be generative thinkers (problem solvers not regurgitators of info) -Foster a community of collaboration (students and teachers work together to develop knowledge)

I like the quote from the case study: "Shakespeare is a 'gatekeeper' author, and not knowing Shakespeare can keep students from continuing on to college." Shakespeare is tricky for students to understand let alone enjoy. But if teachers can find a way to help students not be intimidated by "the bard" it will help them succeed academically. I agree that he is a gatekeeper and if we avoid teaching Shakespeare because its hard then we are doing students a disservice.

Chapter 3 - Profile of Adult Literacy
The profile given in this brief chapter does illustrate the way an adult needs to be literate to operate in their every day life in today's society. The example given highlights the usefulness of the literacy skills we teach in real life after high school. Our students we need to be able to read, write, speak, and listen that is true, but they will have to do these things to achieve many purposes and for many audiences. The example showed how the adult needed to be literate for both personal reasons (reading to his daughter) and professional reasons (making a presentations to clients, doing research, creating a website). Students need to see this application of the things we teach them/tell them it is important for them to learn. They need to be prepared to interact with the world outside of school and the best way for teachers to prepare them is to give them experience with a variety of real texts in reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Chapter 11 - Measuring Student Progress
This chapter is all about assessment, evaluation, and grading. Grading can be time consuming and tricky. Burke outlines a variety of options to use in assessing students progress and evaluating their work. I liked his generic homework rubric. I think it could work for many different assignments, though I think I would tweak it so the components were weighted based on importance because I feel that content/idea development should be more important to the grade than neatness. There is some emphasis on rubrics and Burke states that students appreciate rubrics for assignments because they act as road maps or to-do lists which help them know what is expected. I think exemplars do this as well. I think students produce more quality work when they are clear on expectations and know what good work looks like. I think portfolios are a great way for students to reflect on their progress and a way for teachers to evaluate themselves. I think students should be required to keep a collection of their work over the semester because I have seen many assignments in the trash or the ground after being handed back. Too often students stop caring after the grade is given and a portfolio could help them return to their ideas throughout the semester/year. I liked the idea that a portfolio should include not only major writing assignments but also daily writing and a log of what was read. I also appreciated Burke's Outside Reading writing prompts; they were open enough that I could use them for any reading/writing assignment. I think using students input into creating assessments, rubrics, and peer evaluation is important because it gives them a way to become invested in and in control of their work/grade. One of the most undervalued assessments mentioned is the students' self-assessment and critical reflection because they are more helpful than we give them credit for being. They ask students to think and evaluate themselves when often they simply look for the teacher to be the judge of their work.

Chapter 9 - Teaching Thinking in the English Class
Getting students to think can be a challenge. I have been in many classrooms in which the students want you to just give them the answer so they don't have to put forth the effort of thinking for themselves. Sometimes though it is not a matter of not wanting to think, but a lack of knowing how to get started. This chapter had some good ideas to spark the brain into thinking through talking, writing, drawing, and reading. Its very true that we often use discussion and conversations to sort our thoughts by bouncing ideas off others and listening to other opinions. We also use writing as a way to examine our thoughts. You can't write without thinking, and sometimes you don't know what you think until you are forced to put pen to paper. Writing can not only help you figure out what to say but how to say it. Drawing was the strategy Burke elaborated on the most. Teachers often feel that drawing is for younger students, but drawing can allow students to think about texts or topics in a visual way. Drawing strategies may involve making symbolic representations or they could utilize graphic organizers. I like the idea of creating a map or timeline as a basis for understanding a story or for brainstorming ideas to write about. I think high school students really enjoy drawing activities because they can often involve collaboration and it doesn't feel as stressful and difficult as most assignments. Sometimes non-skilled artists will complain that they can't draw, but for them the emphasis needs to be put on the thinking and the meaning rather than the artistic output. I also really appreciated the note about having a written explanation component with some of the drawing tasks Burke suggests. Reading is another great way to jump start a brain. Seeing other people's thoughts can open your mind to possibilities and your ideas can build off of theirs.

Chapter 4 - Teaching Reading in High School
This was a massive chapter which is reasonable since reading is a huge focus of the English/Language Arts classroom, but it was a lot to take in and reflect on. Burke covered strategies for reading novels, poetry, and dramatic literature. He states that "most students are not critical viewers" which means that we need to teach them the skills to critically view all texts so that they can "think and reason like a literate person" (33). Burke stresses the importance of "textual intelligence" meaning knowledge about how texts are made, how they work to create meaning. To develop this textual intelligence students "need to read and write different kinds of texts...for different purposes and audiences" (37). I agree with him that students need to read for appreciation and that we need to develop both that ability to appreciate along with the ability to critique; its important that we take the time to build the skills needed to complete the assignments successfully so that they gain confidence in their reading ability. I very much believe in having a classroom library to create an environment conducive to reading and talking about reading. I think one of the most important things Burke suggests is that you need to have a purpose or reason for reading any text you select and that purpose should be clear to the students. Burke shares many graphic organizers that are helpful in guiding students to think critically about a text and make connections that they might not make on their own. I also like that most reading activities include a writing component.

Chapter 5 - The Place and Purpose of Vocabulary Instruction
Vocabulary is probably one of my lowest instructional priorities as an English teacher. As Burke (and others) points out, much vocabulary is learned through reading, so if I am getting my students to read extensively through the year, challenging them with texts that extend their vocabularies then the vocabulary building should be happening naturally with some reinforcement or guidance. I do appreciate the strategies presented in this chapter especially since vocabulary is "one of the most significant predictors of success on the SAT or ACT" and part of my job as an English teacher is to prepare them to do well on those tests which open doors to colleges. I don't think that random weekly vocab lists really help students retain the words they learn. Even using stems to categorize words is not wholly effective if students do not interact and think about the words regularly/daily. I like the idea of drawing the vocab words to make the meaning more concrete and visual (& easier to remember). I've seen "dead word" lists in classrooms and I like the idea, but I think students need to understand that the words on those list should be used sparingly not never. Also, the activities that ask students to brainstorm about words (ie. word clusters & generating words for writing) seem like more effective methods. Vocabulary words should be related to the unit of study and to the students lives in order for students to see value in learning them. I like unknown using words from novels to study, but I think students need to select words that they need to know.

Chapter 7 - Teaching Writing
When I decided to become an English teacher it was because of my love of reading others' writing not creating my own. I was hesitant about teaching writing because I doubted my ability to write well and therefore to instruct students to write well. The MAT program has stressed the importance of writing with your students and to approach writing instruction from a writer's point of view. I have had opportunities to write and grow as a writer. My confidence in my writing has gone up and down depending on the assignment and the feedback and grades I got.

In this chapter Burke discusses many approaches to creating an effective writing program in your classroom. He made several points that got me thinking. This was a long chapter jam-packed with useful information so it is hard for me to sift back through it all for the best parts. However, one of the things that stuck with me is that writing is a process that is recursive. Not only do we as teachers need to teach students how to follow the "writing process," but we also need to show them that writing is not done after it is turned in to the teacher on the due date. Most students move on and forget about a writing assignment after they have turned it in, only to give it attention when the grade is assigned. I do not see many teachers utilizing the recursive editing process--giving assignments back to be redone and improved before a final grade is attached. Peer editing is popular because it lets the teacher off the hook from conferencing with each individual student. That is not to say that peer editing is bad. If peer editing is structured and students are given proper guidance the activity can work well. But Burke emphasizes that conferences with the teacher are the best way to give individual attention to students' writing. They allow for direct instruction and differentiation. Limited time makes teachers feel the need to hurry through a writing assignment so they can cover more material, finish a unit, get grades in, etc. However, students' writing would improve more if they are asked to rewrite/rethink the same paper after getting feedback. The big problem I see with one-on-one conferences is how to keep other students engaged and on task while the teacher is addressing one student's needs.

When Burke mentioned college application essays (p.162), I thought about how true it was that students truly care about that writing because it is read by a "real" audience outside the classroom with real, personal consequences. It is interesting to me that we do not practice writing college essays until senior year (though good writing instruction with other purposes will still help prepare students to write a good college essay). I think maybe we should try, with other writing assignments, to tap into this motivation by selecting audiences and projects with real consequences.

Burke addressed the journal liability issue in this section by advocating that teachers don't tell students not to write personal things or to not take risks in their journals, but that they are clear about the purpose of the journal and the legal requirements a teacher has to report anything written that indicates a student being harmed or harming others.

Another helpful point that Burke makes is that students often need direction and help thinking. They don't always know what to write; sometimes their "well runs dry" and we need to help refill it. A journal can be a useful place for students to keep an interesting topics list for times when they are at a lost for ideas. Giving students introductory phrase prompts, asking them questions or having them ask questions, or having them to draw can help them get started writing. I appreciated Burke's suggestions for interactive writing where students communicate in writing with a classmate or parent. I think those approaches help students by giving them a clearer purpose and audience; letting them communicate through journals, discussion boards, letters, emails, and notes; and offering them support through feedback so as a pair they push each other to think deeper about the topic.

I thought it was interesting that Burke took the time to address the paper load of English teachers. I have seen and heard about how much time is spent grading papers and I appreciate that he gives tips for reducing that work load. I think the most important thing he mentions to consider when it comes to grading is, "Why am I reading this?" Not every written assignment has to be read and analyzed. Sometimes you can simply look for one aspect or concept. I like using the check system for completion grading. One of my favorite things he said was that in responding to student writing you should give no more than three items to focus on. Limiting the focus to only three concepts lets the teacher spotlight the topics that are being taught in class and helps students not feel overwhelmed with corrections.

Chapter 6 - Putting Grammar in Its Place
This chapter was very concise about grammar which may have been purposeful--the title suggests that grammar does have a place in the classroom but the length of the chapter suggests it should not dominate the curriculum. While I found several of the suggested grammar activities useful or interesting, I think the most interesting part was that Burke included Daily Language Workouts as being a viable option to teaching grammar. This approach essentially recommended the use of worksheets or grammar drill exercises as grammar "puzzles" for students to figure out. His reasoning for suggesting this "no-no strategy" seems to be that standardized tests demand students "do grammar" in this way so this is a way to prepare students for those tests without taking too much time to drill and practice in isolation. I guess maybe this is Burke's way of acknowledging that DGP/DOL can exist in the classroom without being wasteful.

Learning & Forgetting / Learning & Forgetting part 2
This reading had an interesting take on learning (and more specifically on learning language and reading). The first part defined two different views on how learning occurs. One, the classic view, states that learning occurs naturally, vicariously, effortlessly, and what is learned this way is never forgotten. The other, the official theory of leaning and forgetting, is based on the idea that learning is hard work and requires immense effort, coercion, and repetition. The author blatantly states that this second theory is "preeminent, coercive, manipulative, discriminatory--and wrong." In support of the classic view the author states that learning is tied to identity. The natural way we learn from infancy onward is a part of how we create and understand our identity. It comes from the people we surround ourselves with. We grow to be like our parents, siblings, friends, or whoever we identify with. Much of this learning is not consciously done. It is done vicariously through watching others and then imitating. The second part of this reading spoke more specifically about learning to read and language acquisition. The author states that we develop our vocabulary vicariously. We have a tremendous capacity to learn new words. We learn to speak by listening to and watching other people speak. This way we not only learn to speak the language of the people around us, but the specific dialect too. The author argues that, in this same manner, we learn to read. We learn from parents or capable readers reading to us, then by capable readers reading with us, and then finally once we have figured it out and lose patience with someone else doing it for us, we start reading on our own.

While I can see the logic behind this argument, it makes me wonder about the need for reading teachers and reading strategies if children learn all this naturally and are being taught by the authors. Do we need English teachers to assist in comprehension of texts or to assist in critically thinking about the text? Are English teachers needed to help interpret or connect the information being read or can students do all this naturally as the pupil of the author? Or maybe the point the author is trying to make is that the teacher's role is to simply model good reading for students until they can figure it out vicariously. What is the point in my learning strategies to help struggling readers if, according to this author, all they really need is for me to read to them until they learn how to do it themselves?

Methods that Matter
I loved the example given at the end of this reading about the floating classroom aka the SS Best Practice. It was a great way to synthesize the parts that make up "best practice." I think it illustrates the point that people learn by doing and it makes an argument for active learning. Students will remember better the things they do and apply. The opportunity to connect and reflect on their experiences on the boat made the learning more interesting and meaningful. Students need authentic experiences; they need "integrated units" to connect the various things they learn in class. The need to see real examples and work together in small groups and workshop settings to actually discuss and practice the skills and knowledge they are learning. I think that the ideas about best practice in this article are spoke about in theory and ideal situations and I wish perhaps there was more of a feel of how to integrate these strategies in a real classroom in which students come in tired or hyper, apathetic or overzealous, disruptive, disrespectful, and disinterested. I support using these methods in the classroom, and I think that giving students choice and accountability are important. I just think that many teachers have trouble in implementing them regularly because of time constraints or because they are required to use teacher-centered approaches. From my experience, some students and classes can easily handle more freedom and a more active environment while others struggle to control behavior to let active learning happen.

What Really Matters in Learning
This reading explains how to use the UBD template to plan units. When I first encountered UBD and the template I was really confused and stressed out about what goes in the boxes and how they all connect. The more I read about it and work with it the more I understand it. I like the advice of using the nouns and verbs of the content standards to determine the big ideas and assessments. UBD is a very logical way to map out the objectives of a unit by using the end goal to guide the assessments and learning experiences that help students achieve and accomplish those goals. I think the challenging part of planning is to balance the fun activities with covering the content as well as determining which material and content to address and how in depth to go.

Caplan - Writers in Training
Caplan's program for teaching writing really appealed to me. I have jumped onboard with the idea of students getting daily practice with showing and not telling (or generalizing/summarizing) in their writing. Writing regularly to discover, practice, and internalize better writing techniques seems like the most logical and effective strategy. I liked how she suggests that students learn from hearing each others writing. I like that time is spent developing ideas and content and not worrying about mechanics. One of my favorite aspects of her program is that students get nearly immediate feedback while writing assignments are still fresh in their mind. I think her idea of having students lead the feedback/critique (with guidance from her when needed) is important because it helps them support each other in the writing process and it helps them learn how to think and speak about evaluating writing that works and writing that doesn't. I think I may adopt some form of her charades-like homework assignment because I think the approach would work by giving students a narrow topic sentence or statement which they must convince their reader of through details. However, I don't think I will give them six weeks of practice without instruction or mini-lessons; I think three or four is more acceptable to me.

On a side note--I didn't really like her analogy between a dancer and a writer because at the far right end of the continuum the developing writer's goal is to become a professional writer or teacher. The problem I have with the analogy is that all students need to develop their writing skills regardless of whether they desire to become a writer or teacher and Caplan doesn't present any alternatives on the continuum which students can achieve through writing practice.

Zinsser - On Writing Well
While I like the idea of teaching students the practice of writing concisely and deleting any extraneous words from their writing, I felt this approach was somewhat contrary to other articles or chapters we have read on improving student writing. I think its valuable that students learn to write precisely and this approach to writing and revision by simplifying and decluttering seemed to advocate using less precise language to get the point across. Zinsser says to use "help" instead of "assistance," "many" instead of "numerous," and "try" instead of "attempt." If we teach students not to vary their word choice, their writing wont be very interesting to read and they wont be pushed to be more accurate when describing something. I think the ideas behind this approach would be helpful if students are misusing words that are not in their vocabulary because they are trying to sound smarter or get a better grade. It also could help the student who is using extra words in a redundant manner to beef up his writing to make the essay longer. I think that students who are naturally long-winded and wordy could benefit from Zinsser's bracketed approach to editing for simplicity, but this approach is not necessarily best for everyone.