Before We Start
8/30: Code-Switching
My initial reaction to this paragraph on code-switching was interesting. When I think of code-switching I think of switching between multiple languages. However, I also understand that code switching could be informal speech and formal speech, like chatting with someone in a professional setting in a more casual language. I had heard this term before and was familiar with the concept of switching. I think it's important to remember that code-switching is an okay thing. It's important to not paint code-switching in a bad light and I sort of think that if the terms formal and informal are placed with these concepts, it may lead students to think terms like good and better. It's important to know when we need to push students to use primarily English or when we are looking for understanding and other languages could be used.
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For example, in my roundtable, we are reading a novel in English. Many of our bilingual students are reading the text in English, analyzing the questions in English, and then writing their responses in Spanish. The Spanish answers are encouraged, so that students can comfortably share their full ideas to show that they are comprehending the story.
9/6: Grit
As I was reading this worksheet, I thought that teachers could use this when introducing the idea of grit. I think this assignment is pretty wordy which might deter students from working through the assignment and reading the information. I think students benefit well from examples and seeing how "grit" is in action.
When thinking about Teachers Pay Teachers as a whole. I do think there are good resources for teachers and I feel like this is a good resource for teachers to broadcast the work they are doing.
However, I do think that often teachers spend a lot of time focused on the aesthetic of their assignments, rather than the material in the assignment.
I have had teachers in the past who have structured their entire classes around Teacher Pay Teacher assignments. This is extremely difficult to create a curriculum and also there is not a lot of teacher freedom when using Teacher Pay Teacher assignments.
I feel like grit could be introduced in a different way for students, something that might appeal to them more. This paper makes grit seem like it's something hard to achieve.
9/18: Third Space
Strategies that I use:
As I was reading this article, I was using prior knowledge that I have to help understand the concepts. I also was using my decoding and literary skills to help understand and comprehend the text. When I am reading, my style and practice changes based on the material I am reading. If I am reading more academic work, I focus on the vocabulary and really try to understand all parts of the text. However, when I am reading for fun, I focus more on the overall idea and can usually read these pieces faster because I am more familiar with the text.
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I also pay attention to the section headings as I am reading to help me summarize the material that will be in each section. With a bigger reading like this one, I like to read information prior to jumping straight into the text, so that I have some understanding of what I will be reading.
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Discourse plays a role in my understanding of the text because my reaction and connection with words changes how I understand this text.
Vocabulary plays a role in my reading because I have to have a background to understand the text and what is being discussed in order to fully understand the article. There was vocabulary that I don't often use, but I was able to utilize my literacy skills to fully identify the meaning of the words.
Syntax here was interesting. The way the article was constructed made it difficult to read for me. The columns and random graphics that were dispersed throughout the reading made it difficult to follow.
10/4: Empathy, Power, & Visual Literacy
Something that I noticed from the ELL side of things is the lack of supports to assist ELL students in understanding this material. Though the questions are the same for each picture, there is no translation offered. It would definitely depend on the ability of the student, but some translation would be beneficial. Along with this, sentence starters would also benefit the students. Often it is difficult to come up with an idea for topics, so providing students with sentence starters or one example response would be beneficial.
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Looking at the photos provided here, these seem like some of the most extreme cases. I think it is important to show students that poverty occurs everywhere. It's not just in other countries, but it's in our country, our community, and often times our school as well.
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Poverty may be something our students are even facing themselves, so showing that these cases and pictures are what poverty is might confuse students.
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Another thing to point out is that most of these photos are people of color, which again does not fully represent every individual who experiences poverty. Though these pictures do portray poverty and the individuals in these photos are just as important as any other individual. I think it's beneficial to show students ALL types of poverty.
10/18: Quizzizz
I have had some experience with Quizzizz in the past. I had a teacher that used to do all of her final exams on quizzizz. This was a Spanish class and it made it very difficult to complete the assessment.
As a teacher, I think Quizzizz is a great STUDY tool. It allows students to complete a practice at their own pace. This means that a group of students could be completing a Quizzizz, but be on different questions at different times. Unlike other study practice softwares, this ensures that each student sees all the questions that you created for that student.
As I remember back to my own time as a student and as I reflect on how I think my current students would respond to this software, it is overwhelming because you get your score right there and then. If students are trying to study using this software, they may become discouraged by the constant red "Wrong" that flashes on the screen. Also there is no way to go back on Quizzizz, which may be difficult for some students.
On the teacher side of things, it is nice to be able to view what bulk of question were missed by students. This could be great as a formative assessment tool to understand where students are at with information.
This would also be a great assignment for homework to check for understanding. I would think about using this in a math classroom for more practice for students.
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