SL Project Review 3

My last post is an overview of classroom behaviors. I don't want this to come off at all as judgmental or mean, this is just my opinion and observation. I noticed that the kids are pretty well-behaved, although I was a little surprised at the strictness of the teachers. I understand that you need to be firm with a large group of preschoolers, but I noticed that some kids were put in time out without a warning or a reason why. When the kids were asked if they knew what they did wrong, they said no, I personally feel that to remedy behavior, you need to give kids a warning about their naughty behavior to give them a chance to make it right on their own. Overall, the teachers and staff out there are wonderful, and the kids seem to have a great time when they are there. Being at the YWCA was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity to observe and interact with kids in my community.

SL Project Review 2

Today I did my "activity". It was not with the full 9 kids, however, I did have about 3 or 4 at any given time. We were painting pictures and we were given yellow, red, blue and purple paint. However, part way through painting the kids noticed that my picture had green on it and they wondered where I got green from. I then taught them how to mix primary colors to make different colors. I showed them that yellow and blue make green, they asked me a few times how to make green so I repeated it a few times then when they asked again, I asked them how they thought we made green and they told me add yellow and blue together. It was a great experience to see that I had actually taught them something they didn't know before. Before too long they were figuring out that all the colors together make black and just a little bit of each color makes brown. It was really neat to see.

SL Project Review 1

I ended up working in the preschool room. It was great! The kids are so much fun and they get so excited to see us when we come in and that makes being there more enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised to see how well-behaved the kids were! They take instructions very well for being 4 and 5 years old. I loved spending time with them and the two hours I was there flew by!

Response to S-L Project

Hannah Bontrager
Prof. Schurman
27 February 2012

I am really excited to start this project. Although timing will be tight with my demanding schedule, I am excited to observe and work with these kids. My initial reaction to our visit was what I expected, honestly. Being a teen mom I participated in classes at the Pregnancy Center in Kankakee, and now volunteering there, I have seen all different types of people with all different kinds of backgrounds. Also, being a teen mom I am on government aid- WIC- for my daughter so going to the Health Department I see people from all different walks of life come in there. So hearing what the YWCA does, as far as child care, I can't say I was altogether surprised at the "types" of kids that were there; kids from, typically, lower-income, possibly single parent (some high school moms) homes. Although I am a teen mom also, I was fortunate enough to have tons of amazing support from my family and church family, and a lot of teen moms, especially in the Kankakee area, don't have this help. I want to be able to observe their children and kind of see how, or if, they are different from my daughter in mannerisms and behavior. That being said, even though I am a Secondary Education major, I think it would be interesting to work with a child of a high school mother, maybe in the preschool area.

I hope this doesn't come off as sounding like "My situation is better than theirs, or that I am better than them" because I do not feel that way at all. My main goal as a secondary teacher is to provide hope for my students, especially those who may be pregnant, that there is life for them after high school. I want my students to be able to come to me with their problems or their questions and be able to see that I graduated college with having a baby young and so can they, all I want to do is help my students to not give up on themselves because I believe that they can do anything- even if I don't know who they are yet.

I think this would be a great opportunity for me to work with a child of a teen mother to maybe gain a perspective on what their lives are like, since, honestly, they probably are a little different from mine. Maybe gaining this perspective will allow me to maybe give suggestions to my students one day, or give them advice on how to maybe make their home life more conducive for education. Maybe I will be able to give them ways to create a schedule for them and their baby that allows the baby to get what they need, but also allows mom the time to do her school work and still have time for friends and herself. All I want is to be able to show my students that I care about them and believe in them, and that I haven't given up on them, so they shouldn't give up on themselves.

Chapter 5 Blog 10

Hannah Bontrager
Prof. Schurman
14 February 2012
Blog 10

While reading these pages I found myself thinking, I didn't know that there was so much work involved in creating a conversation! I knew teaching would be hard work, but I guess I didn't realize that I would have to prompt my students to participate in class discussion. Then again, I do see you having to prompt us sometimes. I like the idea of having students work in groups and ask each other questions to help prompt thoughts. I really like the idea of forced free writing. Having students just continue to write without stopping after reading them a piece of literature is an awesome way to spark thoughts that they may not have been thinking before. My brother is in a creative writing class in high school and they free write at the beginning of every class period. He has mentioned several times that he was just blabbering to keep his fingers moving but then thoughts came up with thoughts he never knew he had in his head to begin with. Creating conversations may be difficult at times, but conversation and language skills are some of the most basic skills that, no matter how much technology is invented, will always be needed, and they are worth teaching and learning.

Blog 9

Hannah Bontrager
Prof. Schurman
11 February 2012
Blog 9

You were right, these readings did take longer! I enjoyed them all the same, however. I was amazed at the stories where teachers allowed students to fail. How as an educator can you sit by and have 99% of your class succeed and allow one or two of your students to lag behind and fail? That will only make further learning harder and more frustrating for them! Not to mention that, most likely they will "hate" learning because of the poor foundation that was laid for them. Another astonishing fact that I read about was how students who are raised in low-income households are not really "learning" about reading and writing. Students in middle-class homes at lease come in with concepts and understandings about reading and writing whereas poor students do not. This was heartbreaking to me, just because of their social standing, students should not be deprived of learning. That should be a wake up call to teachers to make sure that ever student in their class is given the same opportunity, if not in the world, at least in your classroom to learn. No matter where a student comes from, they will thrive when pushed and be more excited to succeed when they think someone believes in them. And as their teacher, you may be the only person they have that truly cares and believes in them. That should be the reason you love what you do. You became a teacher for a reason, to help students, no matter what their background, to succeed and learn. So teach.

Chapter 14 Blog 8

Hannah Bontrager
Prof. Schurman
7 Febryary 2012
Blog 8

As I may have expressed in previous blogs, I'm a firm believer in technology in the classroom. I believe that using technology, especially in the English classroom, is a great way to keep students engaged and excited about what they are learning. I like the idea of using blogs, podcasts, book trailers and wikibooks, I think it will really keep the students engaged in what is going on in the classroom while allowing students to comment on each other's opinions and thoughts. Other ideas instead of just the internet or laptops, would be to inquire with a technology company such as Apple or Barnes & Noble and see about a possible grant or educational program that they take part in to grant your school with Kindles or Nooks to put books on. Using this more recent development in technology will really get the kids excited about reading. What kid wouldn't be more excited to read off of a kindle than a 300 page textbook? Using modern technology that is a part of our student's every day lives will keep students engaged and excited about reading and learning.

Cahpter 8 Blog 7

Hannah Bontrager
Prof. Schurman
4 February 2012
Blog 7

Reading a chapter dealing with English Language Learners (ELLs) was really beneficial for me. A possible dream that I've been considering is to work in a urban-like school district. I don't want to go into full inner-city schools, but all the same, being in a more culturally diverse school district I may come across students who don't speak English as a first language and I will need to learn to adapt to that. I like the point that Danling made about creating a language friendly environment. Students need "plenty of opportunities to use language through reading, discussing reading, writing and sharing writing" (Beers 107). These students that do not speak English as a first language will need extra help and attention during lessons to make sure they understand what is being taught and discussed. I like the editors Strategies for Scaffolding from One Language to the Next chart. Those ideas sound like a great way to get ELLs involved with reading, writing and speaking English. It also sounds like the editors favor more technology and group work with these students which I believe is an excellent way for them to interact and speak with students who speak English fluently. I agree when the editors say that you need to let ELLs go back to their native language when they need to. If they don't know how to say something in English, having them say it in their native language and then learn the English word for it will help them make connections with language, instead of throwing them headfirst into a very difficult and new language.

Chapter 7 Blog 6

Hannah Bontrager
Prof. Schurman
1 February 2012

Being an English major, I really enjoyed learning techniques for teaching vocabulary in a way that students will retain and understand what I am teaching. I really liked the concept of the Concept Circles, it is a great way to put words together that relate to each other in a way students can make connections between them. I feel that with the growing interest in technology words are being left behind. This is so sad to me because even though most communication can and is done between electronics, words are still very important to our societies communication. When in a business meeting or a professional setting "text lingo" will not be an acceptable form of communication. People will expect you to be fluent and meaningful with your words. It is, therefore, more important than ever for us as teachers to instill a love of words and concepts and ways for students to not only learn the words and definitions but ways of comprehending, remembering and using the words we teach them.

Chapter 4 Blog 5

Hannah Bontrager
Prof. Schurman
29 January 2012
Blog 5

I really liked how they tore apart the idea of understanding. I've never really thought about what it means to understand, and as I was reading I found that I myself participate in some of the steps they discussed. In my head, I ask different questions to solve things and I relate things by association to help remember them. I really liked that they suggested having students work in groups or to develop a creative way of portraying what is in their thoughts. I believe that if students are given different ways to express their learning then they will learn more readily. Different students learn differently, so when they are given an opportunity to learn in a way that relates to them better or in a way that they excel, then they will be more excited about learning and understanding what they are being taught.

Chapter 6 Blog 4

Hannah Bontrager
Prof. Schurman
24 January 2012
Blog 4

I really liked Burke's strategies for talking about literature. I agree that for students who don't like to read, it is important to explore why and ask them questions about it. I feel like if students understand the reason for reading and how it relates to everyday life and that they use reading skills everyday in conversation that they will be more apt to want to read. The whole time I was reading, however, I couldn't help but think that most of these strategies would be most effective in an elementary classroom. I know that there are a great deal of high schoolers who "hate to read" and that these tactics could work for them too, I guess I just feel like the strategies could be taken more in depth in an elementary question. So I guess my question is how can I as a secondary teacher bring these strategies into my classroom in a more mature way?

Chapters 3 & 16 Blog 3

Hannah Bontrager
Prof. Schurman
20 January 2012
Blog 3

I loved these chapters! You and I actually covered a few of these ideas when we talked after class that first day. The idea of how I want to use technology in my classroom related so well to chapter 3. We are raising up a generation who is targeted for all of the new technology. So why not encourage that? Or at least accept it? Use it in the classroom to keep the students engaged. Give them Kindles instead of textbooks or use blogs like these to post assignments instead of turning in papers. Going onto chapter 16, I love the idea of breaking past stereotypes. Wanting to work in an urban-type area myself, I love the idea of wanting to work with culturally and racially diverse students. I also agree with the thought that sometimes the textbooks expect to much out of the student, reading level wise. If the book is to hard to read and comprehend the students will be frustrated and discouraged. I am not saying that this is an excuse not to read, but maybe put the textbooks down and give different ways to explain the material, but still manage to broaden the students' vocabulary so that one day, maybe even by the end of your class, their reading levels go up and they will not have as hard a time reading more difficult material. Give them daily journals to read and analyze with words they maybe do not see every day. Being a teacher is all about being creative and finding different ways of making the students, with all different types of learning, understand the material. I, for one, cannot wait to start!

Chapter 10 Blog 2

Hannah Bontrager
Prof. Schurman
18 January 2012
Blog 2


I really enjoyed reading chapter 10. I like how if first addresses the different types of literacy skills, it really helped thinking about them when i had a more explained version to help develop my thoughts. It was also really interesting to see how many different types of literacy skills there were, I guess I really did not have an idea of how many different skills students could, or could not, possess. I was really interested in when Friedman had to say about what kind of people we will need in coming years, and how he goes on to give the different examples of what students will need to be great at, "collaborators and orchestrators, synthesizers, explainers, leveragers, adaptors, green people, personalizers and localizers" (Beers 152). The chapter then goes onto explain what all of these areas mean in terms of how they can be used. Then the author give several examples of how we, as teachers, can help our students to develope these skills in the classroom. Things such as using group work, having students re-do assignments using different methods to find different answers or having students change seats every few weeks so that they hear and learn from different students from different backgrounds. Overall, I really enjoyed this chapter, I especially liked how it gave examples I could use in my classroom to help my students grow, not only as individuals but, as members of society that are prepared for their future and for the world that awaits them.

Chapter 1 Blog 1

Hannah Bontrager

Prof. Schurman

15 January 2012

Blog 1

            When reading chapter 1 I couldn’t help but become a little frustrated with how our government feels education should be handled. At first No Child Left Behind (NCLB) sounded like a great idea to me, raising the academic standard and helping students to succeed seemed, to me, like how school should run. After reading this chapter, however, I began to like NCLB less and less. Hearing about Derek and his home life and how, even though he had made amazing improvement on the TAKS test, he was forced into a remedial literacy course because he didn’t meet the “standard score” infuriated me. I feel as teachers that we should, yes, hold our students to a high standard, because I believe that students will rise to the occasion if they are pushed and if they feel like their teacher believes in them. That being said, I think that teachers also need to take into account the student’s home life and circumstances, be willing to give extra help or arrange to stay after school with a student who otherwise couldn’t work on their homework adequately at home. This chapter really touched my heart because someday I hope to teach in a lower income or urban-like area. I want to be able to go where good teachers are needed the most. I want to be able to give hope to the students like Derek and tell them that somebody loves and believes in them.

Jeremiah 29:11
”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”