Entry 13: Meeting Learning Outcomes with Blogs

 How Did These Blogs Meet My Learning Outcomes For Class?

There are many reasons that the blogs I made this semester supported my learning and helped to achieve the learning outcomes on page 1 of the syllabus. Keeping a blog helped me to meet the first learning outcome because I wrote about a variety of genres in my blogs and this blog is an example of another format for reading and writing through. Keeping a blog also supported my learning of how important purpose and audience are, as stated in learning outcome 2. I had a specific purpose for each blog entry and my audience was meaningful because it was my classmates and my professor. This blog also supported my learning of the relationship between the reading and writing process, from learning outcome 4. I was given the opportunity to read and respond to classmate's blogs throughout the semester and this is one way that I noticed how important the relationship between reading ad writing is. This blog also supported the opportunity to talk about the relationships between reading and writing. 

I also was given the opportunity to learn a different type of assessment for writing, a blog, which is learning outcome 6. This has given me the chance to learn how students need to use all of the steps of the writing process to write their blog posts. This opportunity taught me that writing blogs can be an alternative assessment to writing and the writing process. I also feel that I fulfilled the learning outcome of cognitive processes and strategies of reading and writing, which was learning outcome 3. I was able to use the steps of the writing process, metacognitive strategies and other cognitive strategies while writing my blog posts. 

I also learned to appreciate many modes and formats for reading and writing besides on traditional paper. I learned that students can write online in a format similar to a blog while still achieving learning goals. I also learned what other classmates are doing in their classrooms or in their future classrooms. I was given the opportunity to read about strategies or lessons that I might not have known about without the blogs. I appreciate the opportunity to not only write about my own ideas but to read other classmates ideas. I also learned to hold my work to higher standards because of the authentic audiences. I not only was given the opportunity to question and wonder about our readings but I was also given a place to write all of my ideas into one consolidated blog. I have appreciated the opportunity to ask questions, answer questions, gain new ideas, and comment on one another's work.           

Entry 12: Reflecting on the Genres Explored this Semester

Impact of Genres Explored This Semester

    This semester I explored the Narrative, Biography, Poetry, Personal Writing (Letters and Journals), Descriptive, and Persuasive genres of reading and writing. At the beginning of the semester, I thought that I knew the Narrative, Descriptive, and Persuasive genres. I now know that I have a richer and deeper understanding of these genres for my current and future teaching. I have more understanding of the descriptive genre because this was my genre expert presentation and I did lots of research to become the expert of this genre. Through my reading, looking for sources, researching learning activities, and completing the genre presentation, I feel like I really understand the descriptive genre at its core. I also appreciated the activity of presenting on one topic, it made me understand my topic more but it also made me realize how good of an audience I should be for others. I realized that I should be prepared for class, answering questions, completing the activities that the group asked of me and just simply be engaged in their presentation. 

    Before the narrative presentation and reading, I thought setting was just location. Now I have a broader and deeper understanding that setting is location but it is also weather, time, and time period. This was made clear to me because of the mentor text analysis activity that the group had me complete.  I was able to identify the many elements of setting, characters, and point of view in "Henry's Freedom Box." I did not realize the many elements of setting, character and point of view before the reading and the groups presentation. Before the persuasive reading and presentation, I was unaware of the many layers of persuasive reading and writing. I thought that you were just simply trying to get someone to do something with your writing. Now I realize that it is more than that, it is persuading someone through logos, ethos, or pathos or a combination of them. I learned that through your writing, you can persuade someone through their emotions, their need for something or that it is logical to get it or that someone's qualified and therefore you should believe them. I appreciated the advertisement activity that this group engaged us in as well as figuring out what type of persuading our mentor texts were. 

    Examining mentor texts for each of the genres solidified my knowledge and understanding of each of the genres. I was able to make connections, find examples, find evidence of my understanding, and add to my collection of texts for each of the genres. Examining mentor texts was the best part of learning about each genre, as well as learning how each group used the mentor texts to teach us about the specific genre of interest. I think finding mentor texts was a good part because you had to identify first what makes a text the specific genre and then find one that meets the criteria. Then, using the mentor text in class was a great part because you identified specific elements of the genre in the mentor text and it gave you examples of lessons and ways to teach the genre.     

Extra Entry: Expanding On Poetry In My Classroom

 

A Low Amount of Poetry In My Classroom and What To Do About It

    As a first year teacher in a grade level that I have never taught, observed or substitute taught in, I was very overwhelmed at the beginning of this school year. I was simultaneously learning what students at this grade were taught, how the school functioned, information about 4th grade state tests, what this age group did and didn't like and I was learning about my students and who they were as people. Let's just say that poetry was not a main focus of mine curriculum wise and I do feel sad about this. Now that I have a good understanding of many facets of fourth grade, the school, and my own teaching style, I feel as if I can start planning for the end of this school year and next year with more genres in mind, especially poetry. After reading the Tompkins chapter on poetry and being apart of the poetry genre expert presentation, I feel very excited to implement more poetry into my classroom. 

    To start, I was so thrilled with the poetry genre group's use of a poetry coffee house. I walked into the room and I felt relaxed, comfortable, and excited to sit in the author's chair. I loved the hanging lights, food, chairs in a circle, low lights, the signs, the microphone and the author's chair. This was immediately something that I thought I would love to include in my classroom. I thought about having one of these every two weeks and each time it would be slightly different of a title based on the genre we were studying in our writing workshop. I also loved the "I am" poems in the Tompkins chapter, I am planning on doing that at the start of every school year to learn about one another. I am also planning on doing this at the start of my guided reading groups to once again learn about one another. I included a picture of a template that I plan on using for the I am poems above. Another lesson I plan to implement is going outside and collecting objects and then crafting a poem about the objects. I was thinking that maybe the poem could be the 5 senses, a free verse poem, "If I were...." poems, or "I wish" poems. I was thinking that we could do multiple poems about the objects possibly and that students would be really engaged for this.

     I also appreciated the poetry genre group for showing us a poetry generator that could be used to virtually create poems. I was thinking of making this a choice for after students finish their must do's during ELA or guided reading. I will also be doing a poetry unit, adding poetry to our writing workshop, reading poems for ELA, and reading poems for read aloud's. I think that poetry can intimidate many students, therefore starting the school year with simple poems about themselves and immersing them into poems in many ways, students will see that they don't have to feel intimidated. I am hoping that all of these ideas will show students how fun poetry can be and they will have meaningful experiences with it.    

Entry 11: Using the Biographical Genre in my Classroom

 How Can I Use the Biographical Genre in my Classroom?

    After reading about the biographical genre in Tompkins (2012) and participating in the biographical genre presentation I was left wondering how I might personally use this genre in my own classroom. I know that the biographical genre is important to learn and know about and I also know that it can be very engaging to write about yourself or step into someone else's footsteps. I feel as though I did not do enough explicit teaching or exploring of this genre with my students this year. I want to change this for the end of this school year and for future years. One strategy for bringing this genre into the classroom that the presentation used was the "Me Quilt." I particularly enjoyed engaging in this with the mentor text that I brought to class. I believe that this is something that I will have my students do based on themselves and I thought since they will already know how to do it, that they could do a person we learn about as well. we learn about Native Americans, Colonists, and the American Revolution which all involve people that they could make a quilt about. 

    I was also thinking that during writing workshop I could have students write a personal narrative or an autobiography about themselves or their family. I think it would be important to explain the differences between a personal narrative and an autobiography. I would explain that a personal narrative is one experience and it explains how that event affected the writer. I would also tell my students that an autobiography spans a writers life usually and tells about the important events in their lives. I also like the idea of making a biography poster, and teaching students about what a biography is. I think it is important to teach them the difference between autobiography and biography because many students get the two confused. I would explain that a biography is about one person but written by someone else. I think the activities that I plan to use will help to facilitate the learning of these types of biographical writing. At the end of the school year, we do a poetry unit and I could see myself using the bio-poems to teach poetry and the biographical genre. 

    Lastly, I think that I could incorporate the biographical genre into my read aloud selections and mentor texts. I think it is important for my students to hear me talk about the genre through reading aloud and providing examples through mentor texts. While thinking about good mentor texts and books to read aloud, I think my mind is still thinking about the end of the presentation that focused on critical literacy. I liked how this part of the presentation made us question what biographical texts that we provide students with and what this teaches them. I think it is important to make sure that through our text selection that every voice is heard, diversity is present, and not every story is someone overcoming obstacles and succeeding. Students deserve to see ordinary biographies and autobiographies as well as people that did not overcome their obstacles or didn't have any obstacles. This is something that I will consider as I select texts for my classroom and I am appreciative that this was included in the presentation.         

Entry 10: Bless, Address, or Press: Taylor W.

 

Bless, Address, or Press: Taylor W.

This week I am taking the time to speak about Taylor's ability to bring together Tompkins (2012) and the research she completed for her Genre Presentation. I was in awe of the way Taylor organized all that she learned about the persuasive genre and how she included new strategies in her post that added to my knowledge of the persuasive genre. I am always searching for new ways to teach and foster the topic that I am introducing students to, especially through technology. Taylor wonderfully laid out options to incorporate technology into the persuasive genre and your classroom. Taylor wrote about how her article she read for her genre presentation included strategies for persuasive writing like creating websites, blogs, or writing persuasive scripts for podcasts (Taylor W. Blog 9). These are all great tools to foster the importance of persuasive writing and reading while also highlighting how the persuasive genre is all around us. The image below really encompasses how I think about persuasion being all around us, especially in our technology heavy time. 

My favorite part of Taylor's blog was the incorporation of the part about using online advertisements as a strategy to teach about persuasive writing and reading. I personally loved the activity that the group who presented on the persuasive genre (Taylor was one of them) included in their presentation. Therefore, Taylor's incorporation of this in her blog gained my attention and after reading it, I feel that this is a strategy that I hope to use in my classroom. I liked how Taylor included all of the 3 types of persuasion, audience, purpose, and websites to create the advertisements that students make. This lesson that Taylor outlined in her blog makes me envision myself completing something similar. One thing that I would consider doing a little bit differently, is talking about propaganda and its affect on c consumers. I would also consider starting this exploration of advertisements with printed ones first and then work up to online advertisements. I would also personally give my students the choice of making their own advertisement on a website like google slides, Canva or Jamboard and also giving them the choice to make it on construction paper. Lastly, I liked how the students in her activity would look at googles terms and conditions of advertising and talk about persuading through this. I would also have printed advertisements and we would watch commercials and through all three sources, we would create a list of the items that make good advertisements because of the 3 types of persuasion. Overall, Taylor did a fantastic job with not just this post, but all of her posts. I really liked how I could read her posts and then think about how I might use elements of what she talked about in my own classroom. Thank you Taylor!

      

Entry 9: Propaganda Vs. Persuasion

 

    What is the difference between propaganda and persuasion?

    After reading Chapter 11 on Persuasive Writing, I am still left with a question. Tomkins (2012) wrote that "propaganda isn't the same as persuasion; the word propaganda suggests something shady or underhanded" (p. 253). I am still confused about what the difference is between propaganda and persuasion. I am not sure how I would explain this to my students and I don't know how to explain it to myself. I feel like I can notice that they are different but I can't put into words how the two are different. I decided that after reading about this topic in Tompkins (2012), I needed to do some additional research. In my research on the difference between propaganda and persuasion, I came across a website that a psychologist made that really supported my understanding. In the article that author wrote that "propaganda is a form of careful, organized communication with the intent of the communicator, called a propagandist, to influence a person or group of persons to think or behave differently or to reinforce pre-existing thoughts or behaviors" (Brown, 2020). The author also explained persuasion well when she wrote "persuasion is a form of communication also meant to influence a person or group to change their minds, behaviors or attitudes, or just to consider a different view point" (Brown, 2020). I think this article really helped me understand that most of the time with propaganda, the propagandist is the one that benefits and only sometimes does the consumer. I see how propaganda is more negative and persuasion is usually not as negative. I also liked learning about how in propaganda information is controlled by the propagandist and in persuasion it flows freely between the persuader and the persuade. 

I also learned about the three types of propaganda (black, gray, and white) and reinforced my knowledge of the 3 types of persuasion (ethos, pathos and logos). With propaganda there is often concealing of information, not including information, or the information is fabricated (Brown, 2020). This makes me understand why Tompkins (2012) wrote that "propagandists often use underhanded techniques to distort, conceal, and exaggerate the facts" (p. 253). I now have more background knowledge about this topic so when reading Tompkins I can see the connections and I understand the material more clearly. The examples, images and the chart below really helped to aid my understanding of these two concepts. Based on my reading in Tompkins and of Brown's article, I see why this topic is important to teach to students. I see how students need to be informed of the similarities and differences between propaganda and persuasion. I see how students need to be shown examples of each, how certain words are used in propaganda to trick you and how information can be kept from consumers.         

Brown, g. (2020, July 14). Difference Between Propaganda and                 Persuasion. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects.     http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-propaganda-    and-persuasion/.

Tompkins, G. E.  (2012).  Teaching writing:  Balancing process and product (6^th ed.).  Upper

Saddle River, NJ:  Merrill.

Entry 8: "Bless, Address, or Press"

 

    

    This week I would like to highlight my classmate Maddison Moore's blog. In Madison's Blog 5, she was posing questions related to the writing process and the finished product in the publish phase. Maddie wrote that "sometimes I forget that writing is a process and a piece does not have to be completely perfect on the first try" (Maddison, Blog 5). I appreciate how sincere and open she was about this because I also find myself trying to make it perfect right from the beginning. Maddie then went on to pose a fantastic question that has left me pondering for awhile now. She wrote "is there such thing as a perfect writing piece? Isn't there always room to improve?" (Maddison, Blog 5). I think that students often become frustrated by writing due to this element of "perfection" and the process is not one piece and done like many students would like. I like that Maddison is focused on the process more than the product just like this class has taught us. I would answer Maddison's question about a piece ever being perfect with no. I personally think that writing can always be improved and revised or edited and there is always more to say about a topic. I would also like to say that Kucer (2014) would most likely agree with me because he states that "readers and writers act as scientists and construction workers as they build an ever evolving understanding of literacies. Becoming literate rather than being literate more accurately describes our ongoing relationship with written language" (p. 7).  

    "Personally, I think educators (myself included) should go beyond an aware winning 'stamp of approval' and think critically about the texts we choose as mentor texts" (Maddison, Blog 7). This line made me reconsider my selection choice of mentor texts for the future. I have always looked for the award winning stamp and picked the book off of the shelf. I know realize that I should be more critical of the book, the author, the message, and what I am teaching before selecting a mentor text. I appreciate Maddison for writing this line and allowing me to take a step back and consider my own mentor text selection process. I really appreciate Maddie for questioning if a text is an award winner does it mean it is still best for all students? I would like to consider this question myself and maybe I don't have all of the answers but I think it is an important question to consider. I would say that as an educator you should know your students, your content and use that information when selecting a mentor text. I would say that not every book that has an award winning stamp should be the perfect mentor text for you and your class. I think many books are great mentor texts if they are used in a way that supports students and pushes their knowledge of the content and society. 

Thank you Maddie for posing these questions and for having very detailed and elaborate blog posts. If anyone wants to look for more great information, here is her two blog posts that stood out the most to me: Blog 5 and Blog 7. 

Kucer, S. B.  (2014).  Dimensions of literacy:  A conceptual base for teaching reading and writing in

school settings (4^th ed.).  Mahwah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.