I love writing!

In class today, we finally started to discuss the Vignette assignment.  I say "finally" not because I was in anticipation of and excited about the assignment, but because I have been concerned about doing the assignment since Day 1 (the first day of class when the syllabus was handed out and assignments briefly introduced).  I've desperately been waiting for explanations, examples, a "step by step" instructional sheet to tell me what my professors are looking for, what components of the vignette I need to satisfy, a rubric.  Our cohort has so many assignments and projects to keep track of, and it is vital that I organize everything that I can possibly organize.

Then we began listening to example vignettes from past students.  What a picture they painted using only their words!  When we were asked to take a moment to brainstorm ideas, I was surprised at how fast my pen was moving!  I could see myself smiling inside my body.  I had forgotten how much I loved writing stories!  I used to write stories all the time throughout high school.  In my undergraduate studies, I majored in Comparative Literature, so I became comfortable with writing essays.  It's how we were assessed.  I suppose, along the way, the creative writer in me went away.  I honestly don't remember the last time, before college, I wrote an actual story for someone.  I've written in journals for myself every now and then, but since it's for me I don't use detail, specific descriptions, and imagery.  Other than myself, I never had a worthy audience member to write for.

Because I am adult and have experienced being a student in elementary school, I know that the act of writing is the actual reward.  Kids are so concerned with logistics and get stuck on grades, correct spelling, correct grammar, forcefully supplying details, and other "requirements."  In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott says "it's like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony."  I haven't started writing my draft for the vignettes yet, but I am really looking forward to starting it later tonight.  All the worry about organizing my projects, thoughts, and time have seemed to take a back seat...for the time being (or at least until tomorrow morning!).  

When I become a teacher, I hope my students will come to know this rewarding feeling of being a writer.

Thoughts about ELP with Kinder Buddy

My kindergarten buddy is a wonderful reader.  He reads better than most of my 2nd and 3rd graders from my main placement.  Before administering the ELP, my partner told me to check off items on the record sheet because she was sure he would "pass" with flying colors.

Even though I agree he is an excellent reader, I've only worked with him once before for 30 minutes.  I wouldn't ever assume his skill level, or any other student's, based on once sit-down.  I found this to be a great learning moment for me.

It is so easy to make assumptions.

This child, a week before, proved to be an eager reader.  I presented a book that I wanted to read to him, and he immediately grabbed it from me and asked if he could read it to us instead.  Blown away by his suggestion, I said yes just as quickly as he had grabbed the book from my hands.  He read that book easily and effortlessly ("How Do Dinosaurs Go To School?" by Jane Yolen).  However, I could not be sure he understood everything he read.  Sometimes I would stop him in the story and ask about certain characters:  what they were feeling, what he thought about a character's role.  Sometimes he could answer me, but sometimes he would tell me something else that was completely unrelated to my question.

The last time we met with our buddy for the ELP, I did not want to flood my open mind with opinions, based on the one story he read to us previously.  I try really hard to keep unbiased.  It really has to be a conscious effort to be an unbiased educator.  My partner was administering the ELP, while I recorded and took notes.  When we came to the "sliding doors" part of the assessment, my buddy did not know where to locate a "group of words."  My partner had to define what a sentence was first before he could nod "yes" to her that he really did  know what a sentence was.

Though he is a skillful reader, I cannot assume that he knows what a sentence is.  He may know what consists of a sentence, and he may simply not know, concretely, the word "sentence."  Another possibility could be that the explanation of "group of words" was not worded correctly for his age level.  I feel it is important to be thinking about possible factors, as well as one-on-one conferences with him, to really get to know him as a reader.

First Read Aloud!

My first Read Aloud with my kindergarten class went really well!  At least, in my head I think it went well.  I read "Sheila Rae, The Brave" by Kevin Henkes, and it's about a little girl who thinks she's brave and gets lost, taking a long route home.  My co-teacher gave it to me, and it was the first time I'd ever heard of the book.  So I quickly scanned through the book, and thought the story was very cute and that many kids would be able to comprehend the story.  I also felt confident enough to lead an introduction with "who knows what it means to be brave?"  I think it was a good lead-in because the kids responded well.  At least half of the kids raised their hands to give examples of someone they knew who was brave.

I also feel good about reading the story with "silly" character voices and other varying voices to make the story livelier.  I'm slowly letting myself be silly, and I can see that the kids respond better when I am silly and energetic.

So.  There are also areas that I need to work on for next time.  One big mistake I made was that I didn't thoroughly read the book.  I didn't even notice that Sheila Rae's little sister was hiding and following her on the way home.  A couple of kids yelled out, "I see a tail!"  I had no idea why they said that!  Turns out, it was the sister's tail and she was hiding.  I also feel like I could have asked more questions to assess their understanding, like ask for predictions and if they understood vocabulary.

Overall, I am glad with the experience, and I am looking forward to my next Read Aloud.

My Own Literacy Experiences/Observations

As I have mentioned before, I was not really a "book work" type of person. I would most likely be found climbing the tree in the backyard, watching movies or TV, or singing and dancing with my sister. Did my parents read to me? No, not really. There is one book, though, that my parents and I will agree I read over and over again. It was a nursery rhyme picture book, and I loved it because my parents would sing the stories to me. It seems as though we were a very musical family.

Then something from our readings turned these observations into light bulb moments! Before I even started kindergarten, I was taking piano lessons. I learned how to play the piano because I was being taught how to read music.  I picked up on symbols, letters, how to read music from left to right, and what it looks like when a phrase begins and ends.  As Teale and Sulzby describe (pg 3), young literacy learners begin at a very early age within a literate society.  The society I found myself in incorporated music and singing, and I made an emotional connection to those words, symbols, and letters.

My goal with my students will be to create or find an emotional connection to the stories they read.

Digital Age: Initial Thoughts

I actually remember when something called "email" became part of my life.  I was in junior high school, and the look of it looked no where as cute as my current Gmail "cold shower" theme.  None of my friends had email addresses yet, so it wasn't very useful.  Plus, it took FOREVER to get online.  Loud, too.  It sounded like my computer was violently dying, screaming at me to put it out of its misery.  Once I did get online, no one could call the house until I logged off.  That did not please my parents.

When I was in Kindergarten, I recall shocking my aunt when I helped her to turn on our TV and Betamax.  I was a "techie" back in the day!  Now look where we are!  It completely shocked me when a Kindergarten girl told me she had two different email accounts, and wanted my email so we could write to each other.  Kindergarten!  Our technology is so important to our daily lives.  You don't know how lost you are until you've lost your phone, lose internet connection, and spill coffee on your laptop.

On the other hand, there are undeniably downsides.  Look around and you'll see people texting in the car, texting at the dinner table, sexting, loss of privacy, and lack of face-to-face interactions.

I do believe, though, that there are more upsides.  For example, my aunt in San Diego threw my now husband and I a shower while we were in Washington State via Skype.  Though a little strange and unnatural (my aunt walked around the house carrying the laptop during the party so the guests could say hello to us), I knew that this would never have happened 5 years ago.  At least for my family, who can't even turn on a TV and DVD player.  I am very excited about our current digital age, and hopeful to see how we will surely progress in the very near future.  When I saw this video, I feel this summed up my shock and awe about the things we are able to do because of machines and technology.

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.