Reading For 10/21/2008

Graphic Organizers are a great way to organize thoughts and ideas. I love them because they are to the point and usually easy to follow. Graphic organizers are also very good for visual learners because they get to see how the ideas work instead of just reading or hearing about them. I think that the conversational round table is such a fun idea to do for reading assignments. I have never done one before but i think it would be a fun activity to go along with any reading and to get students to think in a different perspective than they usually do. Interactive notes are a good way to teach students how to take notes. So many people, even college students do not know how to take good notes so all of these methods are a great thing to teach students at a young age so they can use what works best for them. I would use the evaluations checklist if i was having a student in my class that was difficult or giving me a little bit of trouble with their behavior. Creating learning goals and making sure they are clear is very important for both teachers and students. Teachers must know what they want their students to learn from the lesson they are teaching and have to have steps to help them get there. I loved the chart on page 125 and 126 this is a great way to easily start a unit idea on and know what you want from the unit and what to expect from your students after the unit and during it. Learning menus are so fun! I love the idea of letting your students choose from a list of things to do and no matter which one they choose they will still be learning the same concept as the other students. This is a great way for students to feel like they have a say in their learning and have a choice in what they do. For me it makes me feel like I am having more fun with my assignment because I chose what I was going to do and I wasn't told what to do. The main menu and side dish ideas are so great. I wish my teachers would have used this when i was in school it seems like it makes the ideas of assignments so much more fun.

Complex instruction reminds me of investigation teaching. Students seem to not like this because they don't know exactly what is being asked of them and how to get to the end result, but I also think that these types of activities are the ones that students learn the most from. Students can learn so much from one another that it is important to have them work together often so that they get that experience. Task Specific general Rubrics make assignments easier because the student knows exactly what is expected of them so they know if they do not get a good grade it is their fault and the teacher can use the rubric to expain the students grade to them. I really like the ideas in this reading. There are so many different ideas that can be used in teaching. It really scares me sometimes because I feel like their is so much to learn about how to be a good teacher and so many ideas to try, but not enough time to learn it all and try it. At the same time I get more excited when I learn new ideas because I want to try it out in my classroom.