Quick Write

There are many ways to use writing in a classroom. I believe the most important aspect of writing is the teacher must always model. Every strategy we discussed modeling was always mentioned. Writing can be used in all subject areas. You may begin with a science lesson but during the lesson have the student write down what it is that happened. It is important to give the students a subject to discuss but also an audience to have in mind. There are many different techniques that can be used to teach writing but it is important to include many different styles so each student can be successful.

What I learned this week

This week during class we discussed how to be an effective literacy teacher.  There are many aspects that an effective literacy teacher should express.  The teacher should understand how children learn, which is not only important in literacy but in all subject areas.  If a teacher doesn’t know how their students learn the student will never be able to grow as an individual.  A literacy teacher should understand listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  I feel that now that I am in college there is more of an effort to focus on speaking but I do not recall my elementary teachers ever emphasizing how clearly I spoke.  I wish that I could go back to elementary school and learn how to speak clearly and annunciate my words.  I always catch myself mumbling and wish that I grew up learning how to speak well and correctly.  An effective literacy teacher must understand listening as well.  I never was taught how to listen and wish I had a brief lesson on how to listen.  I find myself always drifting off or getting distracted by other things.  From this week alone I realized that there are many minor details that I am going to need to learn to become a better teacher then my teachers were for me. 

What does a 21st century classroom look like?

A twenty first century classroom looks a lot different than it did twenty years ago.  While I was going through school the focus was on the information provided from the textbooks.  Each grade there was a required book to be read which never seemed to change.  Classrooms today are moving towards the technology that is available.  Through the internet alone there are many different sources available to support lessons taught in the classroom.  The movement towards using technology is fun for children because they are “playing” with tools they are familiar with and enjoy using.  One school has already gotten rid of textbooks and provided every student with an ipad.  This school is making the move away from the traditional classroom and upgrading to the new way of learning. 

Classrooms in the twenty first century include a high involvement of computer use.  Computers are used to surf the web to support papers, projects, and other research that is needed.  Teachers now use devices such as “elmos” to provide overhead projections of information to the whole class.  The twenty first century classroom is all about using technology which students are familiar with to make learning more fun.