My Writing Process

I have never really thought about my writing process and how I get my thoughts onto print. Many times I find it difficult to put my thoughts into words and I find it easier to explain by talking than writing it all out. 

I have said it many times before and I'll probably continue to say it but writing stresses me out. I has never come easily to me but I have accepted it as part of life so I try to continue to work on it. 

My writing process has changed throughout my years in school. Since I went to different types of schools throughout elementary school, I didn't build a strong foundation or strategy for writing until 8th grade. My 8th grade teacher really made me appreciate writing but it only lasted the year I had him. He taught me how to make rough drafts and revise and revise and revise.

Today, my strategy for writing doesn't include much of a pre-writing process. I don't hand write anything out anymore unless I don't have a computer with me and I usually only provide rough drafts if my professors ask for them. I do not procrastinate at all, that is one thing that I have learned not to do. Because writing makes me so nervous I try to do as soon as it is assigned to get it out of the way. 

I usually always reread my papers to check for mistakes or better organize my paper or to see if I should add/ take anything out. 

I know a lot of people have very elaborate writing processes but mine is mostly whatever I think, gets typed onto Microsoft word. Is this a bad thing? 

Free write: Should the school day be longer or shorter?

I remember hearing about my high school adding on a few minutes each year to the end of the day and it was so little that I never really payed much attention to it until now. 

Many schools have debated making the school day longer so students have a higher chance of achieving because they are there, taking in information for a longer time.

The National Education Association made some really great points on why we should or shouldn't extend the day. One big con against it was the cost and how much they would have to pay to extend the school day. The rest were mostly pros for extending the day such as teachers feeling less rushed and children have more time to learn. 

Unfortunately, we usually don't hear as much about shortening the school day. I personally am conflicted on the issue because I see it from the eyes of a student with special needs who would suffer tremendously if the day were longer. I also see it through the eyes of a care taker who's life would be easier if the bus came a little later in the day. 

I think it is important to think about how the students will react to a longer school day and maybe consider breaking it up a bit more, especially for students with special needs. A lot of times we over look the fact that they have to work so much harder in some academic areas (depending on their disability) than their peers. 

What's your opinion?

Book Meeting 4

This was a great book meeting because Samantha had finished the book and we were able to go into a lot of depth about the book. We shared lots of feelings towards the characters and we have some similar and some different opinions.

Sam likes Piper because she thinks that she helped Moose get in touch with Al Capone but I still have negative feelings for her because of the way she treats Nat.

I don't see in as much detail as she does about Moose's mom having a disability but I can see how she came off emotionally disturbed and neglected Moose's feelings in a way.

We both really loved Moose's dad. I was so happy to see him advocate for Moose throughout the book. We talked about the emotional parts of the book between the family. One part that really stood out to us was when Moose brought up the fact that Natalie wasn't 10 anymore and the mom had a mental break down but Mr. Flannigan was there to support and stand by Moose's side.

Another part that was very touching was when Moose's father said that his mom cares about everything more than him, except Moose. He care more about Moose than Mrs. Flannigan does.

We both really loved the book and read the first couple chapters of the next one, that were included at the end of the book. We are beginning to make predictions on what we think will happen next and we both would like to read it when we have some down time.

Writing about writing

Writing is an inevitable part of life. Some people love it some people hate it and our views and feelings on writing all lead back to our experiences and strengths with it. I have never been very good at writing so I find it difficult and overwhelming sometimes.
As the world around us is changing I see how differently we write. Our writing is now divided into what form of writing we will be doing. For example, the writing we do over text messages and emails are very different and informal. From that, our writing changes depending on who we are writing to. If we are texting or e-mailing a friend then it's very informal and we include smiley faces, emoji's, improper grammar, spelling mistakes and abbreviations such as the letter 'u' instead of the word you, the list goes on and on.
When we are emailing a professor or writing a paper we make sure to use proper spelling and grammar and we read over things and prof read to make sure there are no errors.
It is interesting to see how writing has changed through different generations also. I know that it took years after texting and iPhones came out for my parents to adapt and get it and I know this is true for many other families but it seems inevitable that they got them.
I think almost all professions require individuals to have some level to writing skills so we shouldn't get carried away with our adaptation to the way we talk to people over text. It is important to continue to build and support good writing habits.

Book Discussion 3

Samantha and I briefly discussed the section of the book she had read that week. She is making predictions on what will happen next in the book since Nat got sent away to the facility. The predictions I am making have to do with the next book.
I am reflecting on the book a lot and I am thinking about the author's perspective of the book. In her biography section of the book she said that she has a sister with special needs and she didn't intend on Nat having Autism but that she gave Nat a lot of the characteristics her sister had. I think this is very touching and I am wondering if she was telling the reading how she felt growing up with a sister with special needs through Moose.
I am also wondering if there are any other books like this one because I felt that I really connected to Moose in a lot of ways throughout the book. I was 10 when my first brother (the one with special needs) was born and 14 when the other one was born so I had to help out a lot at home like Moose. I sometimes felt it wasn't fair that I had so many responsibilities at a young age. When I look back today I am very glad I did.
I also felt I could relate to Moose with the way he was so protective over Nat. I am very protective of my brothers, especially my brother with special needs. I was never embarrassed of him but I was worried, and still am sometimes, of if people with judge him because he takes things very personally.

Should we level books?

The debate over whether or not we should be labeling books is a difficult for me to decide on. I think that there are pros and cons for both sides but I am leaning more towards labeling them. By leveling books it gives teachers a baseline to build upon and allows them to try to gauge what content might be too difficult or too easy, depending on the child. Levels helps us organize books by difficulty, so we know if the book is appropriate for a student prior to giving it to them. I have seen it be beneficial in a class where the students in the second grade were given three different books, one below their level, one on their level and one slightly above their level and they chose which one they wanted to read during their indented reading time. I hadn't seen anything like this before my observation hours.
By books leveled it helps teacher differentiate and assess each student based on their needs. Teachers can see after assessing a student that they may be a couple grade levels behind their peers and offer them books that are more realistic and manageable for the student.
The only con I could think of for leveling books would have been so students can't tell who's behind or who is ahead of the class.

Does collaborative learning support literacy?

I think that collaborative learning is a great strategy for teachers to use throughout the school year. It supports literacy in many different, yet engaging ways. Students work together and feed off each other's learning experiences and this can give them the opportunity to feel confident about what they're learning as well as themselves as a learner.
At first I was a little uncertain on what collaborative learning was but I came across this website that I found very resourceful: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-collaborative-learning. I think collaborative learning supports literacy because when used in small reading groups it can give kids the chance to share their thoughts and ideas about the book. Students are more likely to listen to their friends over a teacher, especially at a younger age when it comes to schoolwork and reading. The behavior that is desired from the students can be demonstrated by reciprocal teaching. The teacher can model what kinds of questions and the types of conversations he or she wants their students to be having. These are great techniques to use in the classroom but I don't think it would be great to do them in the beginning of the year. I would wait to get a better idea of the kinds of learners and the interests of my students before I began implementing this in my class.

Al Capone Does My Shirts Group Meeting 2

Today, a new member, Jessica joined out group and is beginning to read Al Capone Does My Shirts. The three of us are all at different places in the book, Jessica is at the beginning, Samantha is in the middle and I have finished the book. Because we are all at different places in the book we talked about what themes we saw in the book and predictions they had.

Samantha brought up some interesting points that I hadn't thought of while reading the book which was that she thinks that Moose's mother might have a disability of her own, possibly emotional, and might have given it to Nat. I think this is possible but I also think that the reason Mrs. Flannagan is this way is because she wants to advocate as much as possible for her daughter.

Jessica thinks that the main character might be an even worse 'bad guy' because of the title. She said that "if Al Capone is making his shirts he has to be really bad. "

Samantha and I brought up the part of the book where Moose and his mom get in a fight and he feels like he has too much responsibility at home were discussing our personal experiences with this.

As for the overarching theme in the book, Samantha and I decided acceptance because of Nat. She thought acceptance on Alcatraz but I was thinking about that as well as with 105 and the school.

I really enjoyed the book and I will definitely be reading the second one.

Book Group Meeting 1

Samantha and I have been reading Al Capone Does My Shirts and we have made some predictions so far. I have read a bit farther than her so I know the answers to her questions and predictions but I haven't given anything away. There were a few pages in the beginning of the book that I felt that I could relate to Moose more than I have ever related to a character. From pages 83-84 Moose was arguing with his mom about babysitting Nat when he just wants to have a regular childhood and I feel like I have felt like this at times with my brothers. I am always happy to watch them, I don't get as angry all the time as Moose but I know what it's like having to give up so much time to take on such a big responsibility. One of my brothers has special needs, although he is very high functioning, I know how challenging his situation can be.

Attached are a couple pictures of our thought and predictions of the story so far.

How I envision reader’s workshop

Reader's workshop is difficult for me to relate to in terms of using it in my classroom because I am a special education comprehensive major. I can see myself using reader's workshop to divide my small group of kids in groups of two's or three's and using some of reader's workshop strategies to teach kids my reading lessons of the day. The part that I would be implementing the most would probably have to be conferencing. I would be working with students as close to one-on-one as possible after doing a brief lesson on what we will be working on that day. I also might use some share time so students can try to explain things to their friends who also need help. I believe this would be a good way to tell if a students understand the information and the reading they have done. 
As far as mini-lessons are concerned I think that the majority of the lessons I will be doing in special education will be short lessons that incorporate modeled learning and guided practice. Once I cover my mini lesson I will give students work to complete with support which can be a modified version of independent practice because I will be there the whole time to support their individual needs.