Fieldwork Day 3: The PEA Method

Today I'm going to talk about peas.  Peas are small, round, green vegetables... and that was also a pretty bad joke.  After all, this blog exists to share all I know about teaching English Language Arts,  all the aspects of the subject, and how to do so with minimal to no technology.  My last intention is to throw readers a crazy vegetable plot twist. 

The students in my fieldwork class are still working on their essays, and many of them were continually asking Mr. B and myself how to write their body paragraphs.  The PEA method is a cool way to help your students remember how to structure the body of their essays.

Fieldwork Day 2: Thesis Statements

The students in my fieldwork class are currently composing research essays, and the various topics they could choose to write about stem from Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations.   Writing is an art, and well-crafted papers don't happen in a day.  Thesis statements are the foundation of scholarly papers, and Mr. B's lesson was centered on what makes a good thesis statement.

Fieldwork Day 1

Hello Readers,
I want to start off by apologizing for my lack of posts recently.  The week prior to spring break came with essays to write and exams to cram for.  But, I'm back now with a decent amount of sleep and new material to cover.  I also recently began fieldwork for this semester.  Here's a look at my first day, and the observations I made of my cooperating teacher running his classroom without technology.

Jigsaw Sharing: Get Your Students Talking Productively

Teachers, have you ever had trouble with your students failing to complete longer reading assignments?  For example, let's say you assigned four articles  that discuss modern adaptations of Shakespeare's work, and the articles are a total of thirty pages.  Most teachers are probably well aware that not all students are going to read every article all the way through.  This is the perfect time for teachers to use jigsaw sharing. 

Jigsaw sharing splits large chunks of reading among students, giving small portions to a group of students.  In other words, not everyone is responsible for all of the assigned reading.  Each student groups masters their content, then teaches it to the rest of the class.  Here's how it works.

A Case Against E-readers

Some visitors to this blog could be sitting at their computer asking, "What's so bad about e-readers?  I own one and enjoy using it".  I'm not going to sit here, at my computer, and tell you that e-readers are terrible, because they're not.  I own a Kindle Paperwhite,  and I like to use it for leisure reading from time to time.  For educational purposes, however, I prefer hard copies over e-readers one hundred percent of the time.

In January 2015, Naomi S. Baron, Professor of linguistics at American University and author of Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World, wrote an article for The Washington Post titled The case against e-readers: why reading paper books is better for your mind.  Baron shares her own research and makes the case that reading books in print is better for concentration and memory.

Individual Reading Project Ideas: Discover the Novel's Relevance to You (3 of 3)

We have reached the end of the Individual Reading Project series!  The final project is called Discover the Novel's Relevance to You.  The only form of technology needed to complete the project is a computer with Microsoft Word software. As I have previously done, I will entail the directions for the project and discuss advantages and disadvantages.  To view all posts about individual reading projects, click here.

Individual Reading project Ideas: Writing an Alternative Ending (2 of 3)

The individual reading project idea for the second installment of this topic is called an alternative ending. Other than having students write their document on Microsoft Word, this project does not require the use of technology.  Here you'll get directions for the project, and I will share the advantages and disadvantages I believe it has.

Individual Reading Project Ideas: Movie Posters (1 of 3)

The individual reading project is an important assignment in the English classroom, especially Honors and Advanced Placement classes, where there is often not enough time allotted in the semester to read all required novels together as a class.  Individual reading projects serve as proof to teachers that their students actually read the required text.  This project is also a chance for students to personalize their learning, by getting to do something beyond the standard book report. 

Practices of personalization enable teachers to "meet learners where they are in terms of their capabilities, interests, attitudes, and other intrinsic motivational considerations" (Adelman).  Personalization offers students more choices for what they learn and how they learn it, and with it teachers can create meaningful links between students' interests and what they're learning in school.


In my next three posts, I want to talk about ideas for individual reading projects for English teachers to use in their classes which don't require much technology use.  There are many projects out there, that could be anywhere between a standard book report and original, creative art.  I did something similar to these projects at some time during my high school career, but I got the descriptions and directions for each project from www.brighthubeducation.com.  I will also share my views on the advantages and disadvantages for each project.  The first of three projects I'll talk about are movie posters.

Two Arguments Against Using Internet in the Classroom

The main argument for technology use in the classroom is that students should be able to apply classroom concepts to their daily lives, and they should know how to use technology because it a large part of the adult working world.  However, there are many arguments against technology use in the classroom; two arguments that I will discuss are issues with internet connection and distraction.

Welcome!

Hello Readers!

My name is Cassie. I'm a third year college student working towards a Bachelor's degree in English and a single subject teaching credential.  My dream is to have a classroom of my own in the near future.     My two passions are reading and helping others understand the value of literature.  When I become a teacher, I want my students to become as passionate for books as I am.

When it comes to literature, I think that technology can detract from a student's learning experience.  The purpose of this blog is to explore and discuss teaching strategies that don't involve technology. For any teacher who wants to give their students a full learning experience and simultaneously move away from digital platforms that schools nationwide are integrating into the classroom, and for teachers to be who are looking for ideas on how to run their future classroom, this blog is for you.

I look forward to interacting with you all!