This chapter was like a refresher chapter for me. I have been teaching the core subjects of Science and Math for the past 2 years and will be teaching all subjects next year. The chapter had a lot of refreshers for me that I think will help make my teaching more explicit and meaningful. I LOVE the reinforcement of the whole part whole teaching and staying away from teaching things in isolation. This sometimes to me can seem harder to do but the whole part whole is most beneficial for students and makes learning more meaningful.
I liked the idea of begin reminded to set a relevant purpose the "why" we are doing what we are doing. This always seems to engage my students more and gives them ownership in their learning when they see the importance. I just have to make sure that I am explicit in sharing/creating the why with my students.
The idea of incorporating the following questions as Regie mentioned " What's most important to teach now? What do they know and need to know now?" , will help conserve time and make my teaching more explicit. This also goes along with Regie's idea of being able to teach more in less time, which literally jumped out at me as I read it. I know this upcoming year, I will try harder to teach multiple skills simultaneously, as she mentioned, to better benefit my students and keep those key questions in mind as as I plan for instruction.
"Start with the student and not the standards" spoke to me. I really feel like sometimes we are so standard and test driven that we sometimes, as Regie says, need to remember to " think globally and focus on embedding the skills and standards in meaning." I definitely like the end part of that quote, "in meaning". This statement as a whole will definitely help me as I plan for next year. The idea of making the curriculum challenging by keeping Regie's questions in mind, " What can they do? What do they know" and then go from there, I think can only enhance my instruction and make sure I meet the needs of ALL of my students.
I also liked the idea of teach first and then label. This is something which I admit I have trouble doing. I always like to label first. Regie's thoughts on this really made sense to me and is something I would definitely like to change for next year.
Over all, this chapter had A LOT of key points. I have only touch on a few of them. What were some points that stuck out to you?
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Hi Wendy, Yes! I agree with you...
ReplyDeletesee my comments on krysten's "I Can Do It" comment...I couldn't figure out how to start a new comment so I replied to hers. :)
Wendy, I too appreciated the section Teach First, Then Label. It makes so much sense to show them how readers and writers use strategies and skills naturally, but we have this strong feeling that we must always tell them what we are doing before we do it. I was amazed at the list that the observing teachers generated of skills they noticed Regie teaching within one lesson in a first grade classroom without actually intending to teach them. So often, we overwork ourselves by trying to "cover" the standards when we could save ourselves so much effort by letting the students "uncover" their learning. It will be so much more meaningful for them and result in better transfer if that is the way we structure our lessons.
ReplyDeleteWendy, I agree with you about teaching first, labeling later. I have a hard time with this too. I am going to give it my best shot next year to teach and then label. Also, I always find myself teaching WAY TOO MANY things at one time. I really go overboard, especially when I am doing guided reading. Some books lend themselves to so many teachable moments. I need to focus on one or two things and teach them well instead of finding something on each page to show the students.
ReplyDeleteI too love the passion that Regie has for literacy and children. I also want to set high expectations and adequately prepare my students to be more independent thinkers and learners. My students have specific language impairment and deviant development of comprehension impacting their academic success. They struggle to communicate so learning to communicate is vital for my students. Next year as I teach language skills I will also be demonstrating the writing process.
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