SED 445 Cheryl's Writing Space

After reading Turner and Hicks, I wanted to go back and reteach my argument unit.  Although I found Chapter 1 to be very dense in content, it was necessary to lay the groundwork for the rest of the book.  Chapters 2 and 3 provided so many activities that I could use in my classroom.  From my earliest education courses, professors have discussed ways to make learning meaningful.  Students need to connect to the content in a personal way in order to be vested and engaged.  A professor at CCRI used to say, "Kids need something to hang their hat on."  The activities that used Yelp and Amazon were excellent examples of how to engage students in digital writing by using content relevant to them.  Additionally, students had the opportunity to have real world experience in crafting rebuttals from the actual comments posted on their reviews.  Turner and Hicks state, "Careful reading of arguments in social media shows the ability to respond to counterclaims...

In reading the article, "No Longer a Luxury:  Digital Literacy Can't Wait," I found myself nodding to the five practices that destroy digital literacy.  I was not nodding in agreement, but acknowledging that I am guilty of doing each and every one in my classroom at one time or another.  This is truly an area that we, as educators, need to address.  The question is how to do this with educators who have been teaching for years?  Excellent teachers who may be intimidated to admit that something is new and unfamiliar.  In my building, we are fortunate to have great resources within our faculty.  Administration recognizes this and offers professional development sessions given by our faculty members.  In an effort to offer opportunities to teachers, information about software programs and Google apps/extensions is often relayed through an email.  Having a faculty member give a demonstration is far less intimidating for some as opposed to watchin...

Ms. Crenshaw's Ted Talk was one of the most powerful pieces of video that I have viewed in quite awhile.  As she read the list of names in the opening, I was curious to see who would remain standing and what they had in common.  Ms. Crenshaw stated, "If we can't see a problem, we can't fix a problem!"  Just as she shared how Emma struggled with multiple injustices, so do many of our students.  We have shared in class the many challenges that students bring into the classroom on a daily basis.  However, some students deal with one challenge, while others deal with many.  When these challenges intersect, how do we best serve the student?  Which challenge poses the greatest obstacles or is it a combination of them all?  Do these combinations change daily?  I'm willing to say they do, as they do for us as well.  The term intersectionality reminds us, as educators, to acknowledge the many challenges that some of our students face.  I wa...

Blog #2 In writing this post, I hope that I do not "water down" Thomas' opinions or the greater picture.  It is so true that simply telling students to work harder is not going to instill "grit."  It is also true that students bring emotional baggage to school everyday and at times you will wonder how some children make it to school in the morning.  Home life and economics play huge roles in the lives of our students.  It would be incredible if we could wave a wand and make poverty disappear.  Since we cannot do that, we as educators do the best that we can when the students are with us in class.  Offering free and reduced breakfast and second chance breakfast is a temporary fix to a huge problem.  Check-ins with students during advisory help to identify students who may need additional support, such as guidance counselling or peer mediation.  Now, we have the task of educating all students, setting high expectations for all and doing what is ne...

In reading each of the pieces, I found myself nodding and making notes in the margins. Nodding in validation of practices in my own classroom and making notes on things to add. The NCTE reading provided a mine of golden nuggets. The article states that, “Teachers need to support students in the development of writing lives, habits, and preferences for life outside school.” From the beginning of my career teaching first grade to currently teaching sixth grade, I have always approached reading from a position of cultivating “a love of reading” and being a lifelong reader. I would instruct my students to read whatever they want at home and during reading time in class. Using myself as an example, I shared with them my love of cooking and how I enjoy reading cookbooks and cooking magazines. Why not have this same approach with writing? The article brings into light the concept that students need to write for many different genres and need to recognize the writing they do in their ...