I read Chapter 3 in Best Practices this week, and I found the concrete, step-by-step approach to teaching narrative writing to be very helpful. There were a few areas of confusion for me though. First was the rubric on page 60. I didn’t quite grasp how this was supposed to be used.
I also fell off a bit of a cliff on page 66 when the authors discussed the phenomena of students falling back in competency as they began to incorporate more complexity into their writing. It’s not that I didn’t understand the concept. It’s just that I didn’t quite get what a teacher’s strategy should be for this. Should we circle back and review concepts already covered or press on? Still, it’s very enlightening to know that this is a normal part of the process.
I found the storyboards a wonderful way to help students visualize the progression of a narrative. Also, the story plot planning sheet and the cartoon exercise are other great ideas for helping kids visualize., which I’m sure is a necessary element for many kids to be able to wrap their heads around the concepts.
One other part I didn’t quite understand was at the very end. The authors discuss the fact that their students performed better than other classes using different techniques. “The two instructional approaches differed as follows: focus on plot tension versus temporal event sequence, story character versus story problem, characters’ inner mental worlds versus outer physical worlds.” I’m not sure I even know exactly which is which. It would be nice to know how less successful techniques differ from these techniques.
I guess my other big question about all these readings is that the majority of them seem to be geared toward elementary school students. I wonder how these techniques would work in a high school classroom. At this point, and given my recent experience with field work in high school, I have no idea what high school students are meant to be learning. Should they already be proficient writers? What percentage of high school students are actually where they should be in writing skills? Certainly the students I’m seeing in Bridgeport aren’t there, but who is? And how do we handle older students who are significantly behind in writing skills? Seems like in Bridgeport they are closing their eyes and pushing the kids out into community college to hopefully learn the skills they need there. That’s just my first impression so it may be an unfair characterization, but my question remains. How does most of this relate to the high school level?
I also read “Multiple Literacies in the Content Classroom: High School Students’ Connections to U.S. History” by Jane Hansen. I guess my biggest impression about this is why is this so unique in our classrooms? It seems so obvious that kids will not be motivated by dry, boring textbooks that they know are only telling them half the story. Tell them the truth and they’ll be compelled by it. My daughter is three and she already knows when I’m lying to her. You don’t get anywhere with young people by underestimating their ability to handle complexity. In fact, all they do is shut down because they know you’re patronizing them. I remember that vividly when I was young. There was nothing more frustrating than knowing your parents were keeping you in the dark about something.
Erika Pierce’s (or Price?) methods clearly work since all but one of her students passed the state test. Since what we care about today is passing tests, why don’t we just get over our own discomfort and let kids read the truth. It seems to work.
Wow, marvelous blog format! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging glance easy. The total glance of your web site is wonderful, let alonesmartly as the content!
Excellent post. I definitely love this website. Continue the good work!
First off I want to say fantastic blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts before writing. I have had trouble clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Thank you!
I blog quite often and I truly appreciate your content. This great article has really peaked my interest. I will book mark your website and keep checking for new information about once a week. I subscribed to your RSS feed as well.
It’s impressive that you are getting ideas from this article as well as from our argument made here.
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my website so i came to return the favor.I am trying to find things to improve my website!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!
Hi there would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with? I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a difficult time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
Hey very interesting blog!
At this moment I am going to do my breakfast, later than having my breakfast coming again to read additional news.
Thanks to my father who shared with me about this webpage, this blog is in fact awesome.
Currently it seems like BlogEngine is the top blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Ahaa, its pleasant conversation concerning this article here at this weblog, I have read all that, so now me also commenting here.
First off I want to say awesome blog! I had a quick question in which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts before writing. I have had a hard time clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Thanks!
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this brilliant blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about this blog with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
I needed to thank you for this fantastic read!! I certainly enjoyed every little bit of it. I have you book marked to check out new stuff you post
It’s remarkable designed for me to have a website, which is helpful for my experience. thanks admin
Saved as a favorite, I like your site!
Spot on with this write-up, I honestly feel this website needs a lot more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read more, thanks for the information!
Hi there to every one, it’s actually a pleasant for me to go to see this website, it consists of important Information.
This design is spectacular! You most certainly know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on several websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard fantastic things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
Actually no matter if someone doesn’t understand after that its up to other users that they will help, so here it happens.
The other day, while I was at work, my sister stole my iphone and tested to see if it can survive a twenty five foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she has 83 views. I know this is entirely off topic but I had to share it with someone!
An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a friend who had been doing a little research on this. And he in fact bought me lunch simply because I discovered it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this issue here on your web site.
Really no matter if someone doesn’t know then its up to other users that they will help, so here it occurs.
Tremendous things here. I’m very glad to see your article. Thank you so much and I’m taking a look forward to touch you. Will you please drop me a mail?
I think what you postedwrotesaidthink what you postedtypedsaidbelieve what you postedtypedbelieve what you postedtypedsaidWhat you postedtypedsaid was very logicala ton of sense. But, what about this?consider this, what if you were to write a killer headlinetitle?content?wrote a catchier title? I ain’t saying your content isn’t good.ain’t saying your content isn’t gooddon’t want to tell you how to run your blog, but what if you added a titlesomethingheadlinetitle that grabbed people’s attention?maybe get people’s attention?want more? I mean %BLOG_TITLE% is a little plain. You could look at Yahoo’s home page and watch how they createwrite post headlines to get viewers interested. You might add a related video or a related picture or two to get readers interested about what you’ve written. Just my opinion, it could bring your postsblog a little livelier.
I like the valuable information you supply on your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and check again here frequently. I am moderately certain I will be informed many new stuff right here! Good luck for the following!
Heya this is kinda of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding know-how so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
ys4ioc
I was able to find good information from your blog posts.
First off I want to say awesome blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts before writing. I have had a hard time clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Cheers!
Hi there, after reading this awesome post i am too glad to share my knowledge here with friends.
buy atorvastatin generic brand atorvastatin order atorvastatin 20mg online
Thanks for finally writing about > %blog_title% < Liked it!
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Excellent work!
I like the valuable information you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and check again here frequently. I am quite certain I will learn plenty of new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!
Im not that much of a online reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back down the road. All the best
Hi there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m definitely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.
Howdy very nice blog!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your website and take the feeds also? I am glad to find so many useful information here in the publish, we need develop more strategies in this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .
Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any recommendations?
Nice replies in return of this issue with firm arguments and explaining all about that.
whoah this blog is magnificent i really like reading your articles. Stay up the good work! You realize, a lot of people are searching around for this info, you can help them greatly.
Wonderful blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally confused .. Any suggestions? Appreciate it!
If some one desires expert view about blogging and site-building then i suggest him/her to visit this website, Keep up the pleasant job.
No matter if some one searches for his required thing, so he/she wants to be available that in detail, thus that thing is maintained over here.
I think this is one of the most significant information for me. And i’m glad reading your article. But wanna remark on few general things, The website style is great, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers
If some one wants expert view regarding blogging then i propose him/her to visit this webpage, Keep up the pleasant job.
It’s an remarkable article for all the internet viewers; they will get benefit from it I am sure.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?