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Today was the day that we presented our findings on the book Write Like This.   I feel that our presentation went alright.   There were a few improvements that I think we could have made.  First off we should have had three people do the ignite talk and four people do the activity.  Second off we should have practiced our activity a few more times.  However with peoples different schedules this was not  possible.  I had a hard time working in a group of 7 people.  For me this was too many people.
The second group presented the book Non-Fiction Matters.   They did a great job with the ignite talk,  as they were successful with the 15 second time interval.  For their activity they did KWL charts which stands for know, want to know, and learned.  This is a very good technique for introducing a subject to students.  It helps students to identify what is already known while helping them to explore the unknown.

The first group that presented had read Wondrous Words.  They talked about prescriptive and descriptive writing.   They really emphasized that reading aloud is important and is actually the single most important structure in a classroom.   For their activity this group did something called coral reading.   It is where you take text out of a previous reading from the class.  You want the sentence to be a really good one though.  After choosing your sentence with groups you combine each others sentences to create a poem.
The second group that presented read Ladybugs and Swirling Galaxies.   This group emphasized the importance of giving the students somewhere comfortable to read.   Also they encouraged hanging students work around the classroom.    This groups activity was a lot of fun.   They had us get in groups of 4 or 5 and write a story together.   Each group got a different location that they had to base their story on (ex.  Outer Space, Somewhere hot).  Also they had 8 questions that we were to answer that helped guide our brainstorming.   My group got outer space and our story took place on the dark side of the moon.

The first group that presented talked about poetry.   They started off by talking about what poetry is and what it uses are.   They claimed that poetry jogs memory, demands for keen observation, requires precise language, and encourages reading fluency.  To teach poetry you want to start by having a safe place to share.  After this it is good to use imaginative situations, lists of related words, and familiar school procedure.   Also we should be collaborating and participating with the students.   A last note they made was that you can teach other subjects with poetry.
I went to the store
On the way I sand
I want some snacks
"stores closed" dang
The second group that presented had read the book Don't Forget to Write.   This book talked about how to make writing interesting and personal for students.  One example is having students write about their favorite films.   Another is to follow the science of making ice cream.   I also liked the idea of having them write comics.   Lastly this group said it is beneficial to make something that the students leave with in their hands.

In the article "The Popularity of Formulaic Writing" written by Mark Wiley the benefits and downfalls of using formulaic writing is discussed.  Schaffer argues in favor of using formulaic writing.  Formulaic writing is used for writing multiparagraph essays by using a thesis, concrete detail, commentary, introductions, conclusions, and body paragraph.   In Schaffers' format there is "a ratio of a 1 CD to 2 CMs must always be maintained in the writing  students produce so that they internalize this basic pattern."  Using this format can help students with there writing by giving them a format to use.   The only problem with the students internalizing this format is it could be hard for them to break away from it when they get further into there writing careers. 
 There are a few reasons why formulaic writing can be helpful.   One reason is that students can "learn how to separate fact from opinion."  By having the concrete detail and then the commentary it makes it easy for students to set up a paper.   They know they need to find some concrete details that they will then comment on using their opinions.   Schaffer feels that there is no concern for problems with formulaic writing because "because students may leave it once they understand it.  Some students leave the format early in the process; others choose not to leave it at all because they like the structure and say it helps them know what to do with a blank page."  Either students will keep using this technique or they grow and develop a new form that works for them.  It seems that to Schaffer if students don't move beyond the style of formulaic writing this is not a problem.
There are some criticisms of formulaic writing.   One of the criticisms is that students don't get beyond the formula and become reliant on it.  I think that using the formula can be helpful to struggling writers but can hinder them later on.   Its kind of like training wheels.   Your not supposed to use them forever and the concern is that some people get comfortable with what is safe for them.   To become really proficient writers people need to be able to move beyond the formulaic style of writing.

I chose this picture to represent how in Larson/Maiers article it talks about having a large variety of text for the students to read.  It says it should include "students’ and teacher’s oral and

written texts, novels, children’s literature, textbooks, leveled books, music, video, and computer texts."   By having different types of literature there is more for the students to explore.   There is more of a chance of having a something that will peak a students interest. 

 

 

I chose this picture because the students writing projects are posted in the classroom.  In the article it says there should be " publication of students’ texts (personal narratives, chapter books, poems, memoirs, songs)"   By posting the students works it makes it more personal for the student.  It also creates a sense of community in the classroom.   The students can see what the other students have created as well as get to share there findings.

 

 

 

In this article "co-participation in composing both teacher and student texts in whole class, teacher-student, and peer conferences"  can be seen.   While the teacher is working individually with one of her students the rest of the class is working with a partner or on there own writing.   By doing this the teacher as well as other students are able to give feedback on each others writing.

 

 

 

I found it interesting how many different types of roles that teachers can take on.  In Williams article it explains some of the different identities that teachers have.  There are up to “70 different identities” some examples being a coach, role-model, waiter, and bartenders.   When I think of my schooling I did not encounter all of the different identities but I did have some.   The identities that I saw the most of are coach, role model, and waiter.   The majority of my teachers took on the identity of a waiter.   They were there too help if I asked for it and made sure that class went smooth.  The teachers that I really connected with were the ones that took on the role of coaches and/or role models. This is most likely because I have always loved sports.  My most memorable teacher I had was Mr. Pawatki.  He was my elementary school P.E teacher.  We learned everything including how to unicycle, juggle, climb and much more.  He was definitely a role-model as well as a coach to me.   He always pushed me to improve skills and be the best I could be.   He also took some other roles such as a waiter.  Mr. Pawatki actually took on many different identities at the same time.  I feel that the more roles that teachers have the better. This way they may have more approaches to different situations.  I cant think of any pitfalls to identities.

The book I choose for book club is Write Like This.  This was my second choice because my first choice already had seven members in it.  I chose the book Write Like This because it is based on a pretty simple idea.   The idea is that if we want students to become good reader and writers then they need to studey good writing, and, most of all they need to imitate good writers.  In the book description it compares this proccess to learning how to play basketball.   It says you begin by first carefully observing a person who already knows how too shoot a basketball.  The better the basketball players form is, the the more the person who is observing can take from the experience.   It is the same with reading and writing.  If students have a good writer to emulate then they can became more proficient writers.

 

Rodriguez described his experience in great detail.   He described himself as a good student.  He was eager to learn and was very successful in completing his work.  However he described himself as a very anxious student.   When it comes to reading he described himself as bookish.   He would have stacks of books from the library and he would be found reading them everywhere.  His father even found him reading in a closet one day.  He describes school as something that distanced him from his family which  was sad.  He even said “he takes his first step toward academic success, away from his family.”  Part of his success I believe came with his attitude toward his schooling.  When he was told to read something he would read it.   He also found himself participating in the classroom.

Neither of his parents had very much schooling.  He describes how he got frustrated with his father when he tried to help with his arithmetic homework.  Schooling must have been very difficult with having limited access to help.  He did have siblings that went to school that could have helped him but they seemed to just make fun of Rodriguez calling him four eyes.  His journey to becoming literate was much different than mine.   When I needed help figuring something out I could just ask my mom.  He did not have access to the same helpful resources that I had.

He uses a large range of vocabulary in his article.   Also his style of writing is easy/interesting to read.   Its not quite like the scholarly article that we read for last class.  

           He speaks Spanish as well as English.  His first language that he learned was Spanish and through schooling he was able to improve his English.  He was proud when one of his teachers told him that he had almost lost all traces of his Spanish accent.

In the article Szwed attempts to define reading and writing.  He talks about the importance of reading and writing as well as the many different forms that it can take. According to Szwed there are many purposes for reading and writing.  Szwed even says that illiteracy has a direct correlation to poverty.  

            Reading and writing do many things for me.  Without them I would only be able to get so far in school.  Also they help me in my day to day life such as reading a traffic sign.  Without reading and writing it would be hard to get by in this world.  

What I took away from reading Szwed is that reading and writing have many factors that affect them which is what makes them so complicated to study.  In the article is was said that “Reading and writing are affected by family life, work pattern, economic patterns, patterns of leisure, and a complex of other factors.”  This is so many factors that affect reading and writing.   Some students may be better at reading different things because of all of these factors.   Another thing I took from Szweds article is that there are 5 elements of literacy.  These 5 elements are text, context, function, participants and motivation.

             What I found interesting was when Szwed asked in his article if there is a proper way to test reading and writing.    I didn't know the answer to this question and would like to know more.  I would imagine it would be hard to test them accurately since there are so many factors that affect them.

            My literate life is composed of many different pieces.   I read many things such as emails, Facebook posts, and random articles that I find interesting.   Also I read books if I have time to do so.   While I was at Catalina Island Camps for the summer I did a lot of reading.   I read the books Holes, Wayside School stories, and two of the Harry Potter books.  Now that school has started I am reading my textbooks as well as material on Blackboard.   I write for many reasons such as to keep in contact with my buddies and to respond to emails I receive.  I also write in a journal almost daily to keep track of progress I have been making or not making.   I go back and read these journals frequently.
            Lunsford's article showed me that making mistakes in reading and writing is totally normal.   As a future teacher I need to understand that students will be making mistakes.   I need to keep up with the technology so I can understand why some mistakes are repeated.   Such as knowing that students may use the wrong form of a word. (ex. to, two, too).  This is a common mistake because spell check doesn't catch this.