Different Types of Classroom Talk

After reading this week’s articles, I was able to relate a lot of Langer’s different types of classroom talk to my placement classroom. Right now I’m placed at Midway Elementary School in a fourth grade classroom and this semester I’ve been given the responsibility and role of leading one of the five literature circle groups. My lit circle group is composed of five students all reading and writing at higher than average levels compared to their peers, and I was able to make several connections between the Langer article and what I’ve seen/heard so far within my lit group. One type of classroom talk that is discussed in the article is what Langer refers to as envisionment. This type of talk gages whether or not the reader fully understands the text and as the literature circle leader, it’s my responsible that the students are analyzing and decoding the text not just reading to read. Final envisionment is what the students get at the end of the reading and some ways to make sure they are gaining a deep understanding is asking them to infer and ask questions along the way. This past Monday when I met with my lit circle, I first read them the title and summary of the story which gave them a basic understanding of the text. We then took turns reading a page of the story and I explained confusing or advanced words to them as we read. After the story was finished, I asked them if they liked it and why or why not. I then gave them the task to re-read the story with a partner and to mark an “I” for inference, “?” for question, “S” for sympathy for a character(s), and “NS” for no sympathy. This journal entry helps the students build envisionment and by discussing their writing with their peers, it allows their envisionment to change overtime. By taking on the role of lit circle leader, I’m scaffolding the students and guiding response-centered talks. The learning resources available to the students that help promote these rich discussions, are the literature circle books that contain a variety of challenging short stories and their reading journals where they’re given the opportunity to reflect and relate to these stories.

Another type of classroom talk that Langer discusses in the article is the different “stances” that students can take. The first stance is Being Out and Stepping In which is the initial contact students have with the text using their prior knowledge and analyzing surface features. My lit group students are at this stage before we start reading the story and briefing go over the author, title, summary, and key terms. The next stance is Being In and Moving Through which is when students begin reading the story while using text and background knowledge to develop a deeper meaning and students reach this stage while they’re reading the story for the first time. The third stance is Being In and Stepping Out which is when students use what they’ve read to reflect on their own lives and students reach this type of talk when they’re reading the story for the second time either with a partner or individually. Finally, the last stance is Stepping Out and Objectifying the Experiences which is when you objectify, judge, and relate the text to experiences of yourself and others. My lit group students are at this stage when we meet together a week later after reading the story to go over what they’ve written in their writing journals. By sharing their thoughts, ideas, questions, etc. with the group, they are able to learn and build off of each other.

Literacy Curriculum

Right now in my placement literacy is being integrated into many different parts of the curriculum because of the fact that the students are in the process of learning to read for information. During the day it is very easy to see all of the areas that literacy is being used. Every morning the students are given a worksheet or short book to read and answer questions about, during social studies they have to read their book either silently or as a group, they have silent reading after recess, and they are always working on some sort of report where they are required to look for information and then right a paper about their topic.

Although I think it is great that there is this much literacy being used throughout the day, after reading the articles for this week, I find some of these things problematic. For example, the Langer article describes how students only being asked to look for the right answer after reading can limit their thought process and not allow them to think deeper about the concepts. This is something that happens a lot in my placement. The students read and then they have to answer questions that either have a right or wrong answer, they are never given the chance to think deeper about what they just read. The Leland article described how when students are given easy books with no deeper meaning they then develop a dysfunctional view of what literacy is for and what it can do. Children should been given books that have controversial topics and questions that allow and encourage them to think outside of the box.

In order to keep literacy integrated into all of the subjects like my CT is doing, but to also allow for them to gain a deeper understanding about what they are reading there a few easy things that I could think to change. One thing relates to an issue the students were learning about during social students. While learning about the regions one of the topics was on oil and whether or not is is safe to drill in certain places. The students read in their book about the pros and cons and there was also a section about sending a letter to a member of congress stating your opinion. The students read this section of the book, answered a few questions and were done. What I would have had the students do instead would have been to discuss these pros and cons, come up with a stance (individually or as a group) have them go on the computers and look up members of congress, show them example of letters they could right, and then actually have them write a letter themselves. This way they are taking a controversial topic, getting a deeper meaning of it, and doing something about it while using all different modes of literacy.

Semester Learning Goals- Courtney Yee

This semester I am excited to start learning about new methods and strategies to help my students understand mathematics better. Math has never been my favorite subject, but I have enjoyed it more when I have a teacher who is patient and always willing to help. For my students I dont want to have to push them to like math but rather start off enjoying math. I dont remember learning much math in elementary but I do remember teachers in middle school approaching different strategies in algebra and geometry to help us gain a better understanding.

Although we've all taken math 201 & 202 I feel as if it only helped us learn about different strategies for math. On top of this, I want to learn about new ways to approach math at every grade level, and I also want to learn about how to make math fun and more interesting. Elementary kids enjoy using number lines and small math cubes to help them solve problems but as we get older we dont get to use those anymore. After beginner level math, students are left staring at worksheets to fill out, which might add to the 'boredom' and/or 'annoyance' of math.

Also, I feel as if math classes contain students at every different level. It is going to be hard to accomodate all students who might have trouble adding to the students who are already dividing. This semester I would like to learn about what to do in times like these. In some classes there will be the logical or intelligent students who enjoy the difficulty of math and I would like to learn about ways to deal with these students compared to the students who are left staring at their worksheet.

Language arts was one of my favorite subjects in elementary because I enjoyed anything that had to do with reading and writing. My mom would always get frustrated because I would finish the book that she bought me that very same day, and then I would want another one. I want to pass on this passion for reading to my students. Placements have reminded me that boys are not too fond of reading and writing, so I want to prove to them that this can be fun and interesting. I want to introduce my students to different genres so they know that they can read about practically anything, fiction or nonfiction.

Theres many ways to approach reading and writing at the elementary level but like math, im hoping to be introduced to new methods and strategies. Because reading and writing are required for almost everything, I believe it is crucial for all students to master these, and I would like to learn of ways to push students to make them all advanced readers and writers. In a classroom full of 25 students its going to be hard to concentrate on each individual student, so Id like to learn about different individual assignments and group assignments in these two areas that will help children out.