Learning Letter...

• 1.Reflect on the work you've completed in the course (book talks, mini-lessons, unit plans)
• 1. Of all the work I have completed this quarter, I appreciated the unit plan the most. I think that I also spent the most time on the unit plan as well. Time not just referring to actually completing the project but time as in researching and applying and making it meaningful to myself. I felt like completing that project I finally had learned something extremely useful in my college career. Up until this point, finals and school in general has been remotely easy, boring, and monotonous. I would complete assignments just to get them done so that I could have more time in the classroom or in the art studio producing something or being actively engaged in the career path or general “life-direction” I was pursuing. The mini-lesson and book talk were useful projects to have completed and I definitely learned more about myself as a teacher completing these assignments. I found that with the mini-lesson and book talk, I was much less concerned about the content of information that I was engaged in but the application and outcome of each. The reflection process involved with these two assignments was very useful to me because it allowed me to see how certain materials should or shouldn't be taught and how to manage the assignment(s) as I taught them. Time management while teaching is always an issue for me in the classroom. The time always seems to literally fly by. The mini-lesson was an extreme challenge for me because I am so used to writing full 50-60 minute lessons and to condense that into 20 minutes was intensely frustrating for me. I get these great ideas and have a hard time condensing them into an allotted time frame. Limits have always been an issue for me whether it be writing, teaching, size, color, etc. The blog posts allowed me to write as much as I felt I needed to without being essentially “punished” for it. In my EDUC series the last two quarters, I have kind of been the seed of a page limit joke. I would write too long of responses or essays and go into too much detail, or engage myself “too much” into the topic and OVERWRITE. I didn't know that was a real thing. The blogs were a great way to write what I was feeling and thinking without being limited on content or length and it made processing materials much easier.

• 2.     Reflect on the theories and concepts  we explored in readings and discussions
• 1.    There is one particular reference my brain goes to when I see the word theory and it isn't a very positive reference but it impacted me greatly after reading, responding, and discussing it. P. Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed is specifically what I am talking about. Reading this theory and the way students, teachers, and essentially learners were talked about, royally pissed me off. It is hard for me to really think about any other theories other this Freire’s simply because it was the one that I not only disagreed with the most, but the one that I became so emotionally involved in. I think that for the majority of the readings and reviews we blogged on, I found then useful and pulled ideas from them or simply agreed to an extent. I always tried to do three things as I read the reading. First I would look for main ideas and strategies that I would consider adding to my teaching armory. Next, I would look at my main content area, Art, and try to place theories and ideas or scenarios into an art lesson or class. And third, I would look at all the things I didn't like or found flaw, objection, or question in. This helped me to not only engage myself in the readings but to also really take different perspectives to evaluate the readings and form an educated opinion. I think the most useful discussion and blog assignment we did involved Katie Brown. I really enjoyed hearing her strategies, ideas, philosophies, and content idea exercises. I found the exercises she gave us to do with students really useful and have used several of her matching and identification strategies in different classroom activities and in EDUC 341 project.

• 3.     Reflect on how you think your participation in this course has influenced your thinking about yourself as a teacher
• 1.    I have never enjoyed listening to myself talk or talking to a class unless it is an art class really. This made the discussion part of class harder for me. I feel like I have decent ideas and process of thought but I don’t feel it is necessarily important nor do I want people to have to listen to me talk about how I think or feel regarding an issue. I think everyone has an opinion or statement to always make and early on in school I was told that people didn't come to class to listen to me talk about how I interpreted something. This being said, I see that this was wrong. There is a time and place for discussion and sharing and it holds an important purpose for the learning or not only myself but others as well. Some of my better ideas and thoughts were had after I had spent time listening to other people’s reasoning for interpreting content a certain way. Taking their thinking and adding it to my thinking helped me to analyze text, ideas, theories, and other topics on a level that was much deeper than I would have anticipated it reaching. I think after participating in discussions and learning to listen to others during these discussions taught me the importance of using discussion to teach. This, but also the importance of learning to speak, share, articulate thoughts and ideas in addition to the importance of learning to listen. Essentially, discussion has made me a more conatively aware student, teacher, and person.

MINI LESSON: REFLECTIVE ESSAY

"THE RAVEN"

PARODY AND VOCABULARY

 

What was successful about the lesson and teaching?

• use of differentiated instruction
• the video parody/ visual
• divided up the vocabulary words, less overwhelming
• room circulation during lesson
• double/triple check for understanding (objectives)
• provided word and stanza location within text
• communicated purpose of lesson
• anticipation of text

During the lesson I felt like I combined and merged the video, the vocabulary, and touched on popular culture in an organized and interesting way. I didn’t to leave the lesson at a low depth of knowledge level or at a single DOK level which was why I tried to combine the vocabulary (DOK 1-2) with the writing assignment and questions to consider assignment (DOK 3+). Using the video to start was a simple and engaging activity. The video occupied the student’s visual and auditory skills. They applied what they heard and saw by connecting it with what they had read (The Raven). The students then analyzed the use of vocabulary and engaged themselves with the text even more to help comprehend what Poe was saying. Everything we did was connected or was purposed to aid another activity or task involving the text.

Whenever I teacher I try to explain to the students the purpose beyond the lesson’s objectives. Why the lesson is necessary for things outside of the day’s tasks. With this lesson I tried to explain to students the importance of knowing the vocabulary used within the text is crucial to fully understanding the parody when it was watched. The students also were able to see how change has occurred linguistically within our syntax as humans between 1844 and now. I always wanted to know why we had to do lessons and demonstrate mastery of concepts when I was in school and was rarely provided with meaningful answers. Because of this, I always try and explain why we are doing what we are doing and why it is important to know and understand the concepts we are learning.

I thought that the general IDEA for the lesson was really successful. I am looking forward to being able to use this actual lesson and see how it works with a longer time frame. I think that the sequence of engagement or activities worked well to draw students in and then apply and connect tasks and topics with something, well, “more fun” like watching The Simpsons. I can usually find a visual video aid to pair with different materials or texts and therefore could just replace like-for-like if I need or want to use this same general format but applying it to a different piece of literature.

What would I do differently next time?

The mini-lesson and formatted plan that I had set up would have really worked well with more time. If I ever am to teach this lesson with a 20 minutes time allotment, there are several things that I would alter. The first would be to slim down the amount of vocabulary words I gave the students. Having 45 words to define given the time limit was really a terrible idea. I should have shorted it all up so that each group of students only had at maximum 2 or 3 words, if that. This would have given us more time as a class to discuss the words and allow students to fill in their vocabulary sheet more completely to help demonstrate the process of the lesson.

I would also change the way I communicated the lesson objectives to the students. On my TPA the objectives are lengthy and in the given, will, by format which, I have found can be confusing to everyone involved in reading the objectives, including myself. I would have liked to condense them into smaller I CAN statements and had them written on the board in place of the TPA objectives.

I also would liked to have been able to separate and move the students around more than they already were. This would have made it easier to separate the students into groups of 2 and cover more vocabulary words in less time.

I also noticed that I had written side notes on my TPA copy that suggested more direction and guidance through the lesson and when I felt crunched for time, those supplemental directions and reminders kind of went out the door. For example, I had written down to ask students to take notes while they watched the video for the sole purpose of listening and writing down words that they were unfamiliar with. I think this is a very important part of the lesson and necessary for keeping students attention on the film. I simply overlooked and forgot about it because I was rushing myself.

My biggest criticism of myself for this lesson was my management of time. I am so stuck in the habit of teaching 55 minutes versus 20 minutes that I placed myself to that format. Clearly this did not play out in my favor. I can see ways that I could have made this lesson work with the time constraints though. The adjustments really seem minor and easy to make.

Issues brought up during the feedback session?

• time management
• objective length of objective #2
• resource availability (dictionary/computer)
• shorten video
• explain material uses (high-lighter)

These were all issues brought up during the feedback session. I agree with the majority if not all of the feedback I received. Much of what was brought to my attention had to do with the time limit and lack of resources available at the time. With reference to the material use--- this comment is in direct relation to the issue I mentioned above about leaving out important instruction to engage students in during the video and throughout the class itself.

I had instructed the students to take a out a highlighter but never managed to tell them why or for what they needed the highlighter.

The length of the objectives in any lesson or TPA is something I continue to struggle with. It is being drilled into our heads that we need to have thorough and complete objectives with as much detail as we can seem to include. This being the case, objectives tend to be very long and detailed. I could have and should have prepared a shortened version of the objectives for the class that restated the TPA objectives in a simplified form.

Mini-Lesson "The Raven" Edgar Allen Poe

Mini-Lesson "The Raven" 

Edgar Allen Poe

The Simpsons Parody: "The Raven"

http://vimeo.com/29733360

Vocabulary Terms and Stanzas:

1 pondered, lore, quaint

2 ember, wrought, surcease

3 entreating

4 implore

6 lattice

7 obeisance, mien, Pallas

8 beguiling, decorum, countenance, shorn, craven, ghastly, Plutonian

9 ungainly, fowl, discourse

10 placid

11 aptly, dirges, melancholy

12 ungainly

13 divining, gloating

14 censer, Seraphim, wretch, respite, nepenthe, quaff

15 tempest, “is there balm in Gilead?”

16 Aidenn, radiant

17 fiend, plume

18 pallid

Questions to Consider:

1. How does vocabulary from different cultures and era's affect the interpretation and understanding of literature when read today?

2. When reading literature like "The Raven", how can we understand terminology that we do not know or use today?

3. Why do you think the syntax or word choice that is found in "The Raven" from the year 1844 is so different from that which we use and read in today's literature (2014)?

4. How might the use of unknown or unfamiliar vocabulary affect a viewer's understanding of a parody like The Simpsons? 

5.Does the lack of understanding reduce the meaning and importance of what we are watching and interpreting? 

RUBRIC FOR THIS LESSON:

___/15

Vocabulary worksheet: Completed with definitions and synonyms. Definitions are thorough and may include sketches, quotes, or other helpful information to help explain each terms meaning according to the text.

___/5

“The Raven” text was read and student has knowledge of the text and it’s content. Student can contribute to discussion regarding response questions and text references can be made.

___/10

Response Questions: Response questions are read through and discussed within the group. Two of the questions have been chosen and independently responded to with a well written and supported response no shorter than one paragraph in length or 5 sentences MINIMUM.

TOTAL: ____/30

TPA Lesson Plan #1

Course: 493 mini-lesson

1. Teacher Candidate	Colleen Bowerman	Date Taught	11/19/14
Cooperating Teacher	*************************	School/District	*************************
2. Subject	English Language Arts	Field Supervisor	*************************
3. Lesson Title/Focus	Mini-Lesson: Vocabulary and Video	5. Length of Lesson	(20 minutes condensed) 50 minute
4. Grade Level	11/12

6. Academic & Content Standards (Common Core/National)	CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.11-12.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 11-12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.11-12.4.A Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.11-12.6 Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
7. Learning Objective(s)	1. Given Edgar Allen Poe’s poem and The Simpson’s video parody to, “The Raven”, students will identify and define difficult vocabulary words used within the poem using context clues in both the video and text define specific vocabulary words. 2. Given the text “The Raven”  and The Simpson’s parody, students will explain how the vocabulary Poe used in 1844 could make the 1990 parody difficult for today’s culture to comprehend by discussing and stating possible problems for interpreting “The Raven” while watching the television show and why knowledge of this vocabulary is important to understand the video.
8. Academic Language demands (vocabulary, function, syntax, discourse)	Key Terms from “The Raven”: listed on worksheet***(see attached document) 42 total terms or phrases to identify and define. Instructional Vocabulary: parody, identify, define, vocabulary, poem, context clues, explain, discuss, state, comprehend, interpreting.

9. Assessment

Vocabulary Worksheet, Question Worksheet, Rubric for the lesson and objectives FORMATIVE: After I read the objectives for the lesson I will ask that students turn to their elbow partner and give their partner a personal summary or understanding of what we are going today. Once this is complete, students will respond their comprehension of the lesson’s objectives and purpose by responding with a thumbs up or down for me to them assess whether or not we can begin the lesson. SUMMATIVE: After each group has finished defining their given terms from the text, we will return to a group setting and as a class share our findings and understandings of the vocabulary words and usage. Students will turn in the vocabulary worksheets the following day in class in anticipation of a vocabulary test at the end of “The Raven” lessons.The test over the vocabulary words we have worked to define will be the summative assessment.

10. Lesson Connections

We will be studying and reading texts by Edgar Allen Poe, specifically “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”. This lesson will connect to Poe’s vocabulary and syntax in general using “The Raven” and the difficult vocabulary within the text. Poe uses a lot of very advanced and somewhat rare vocabulary in terms of today’s cultural syntax and word construction. This lesson will specifically use a specific text by Poe and evaluate, discuss, and explain  what these difficult terms mean in addition to how vocabulary and language context differs as times and cultures have progressed. The vocabulary being defined and identified in this lesson will later on be summatively assessed with a test over the terms and phrases. This test will consist of matching, fill in the blank, and multiple choice questions that address and measure comprehension of the terms we work with from the text, “The Raven”.

11. Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning
Learning Tasks and Strategies	Sequenced Instruction
Teacher’s Role Welcome class and begin with lesson objectives and the purpose of the lesson. This will also include direction for what materials we will be needing today. After addressing the objectives, I will ask that students turn to their “elbow partner” and in their own words share their understanding of the lesson’s objectives and tasks to be completed. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: objective understanding, thumbs up/down. We will then begin our lesson by watching a parody of “The Raven” done by The Simpsons on the projector screen. I will ask that students listen for words that they are unfamiliar with and write these down as they watch and listen. I will hand out the vocabulary worksheet and rubric during this time. Students will then be divide themselves into 6 groups and be given specific words (on a list I will distribute) to identify and define within the text using context clues and if need be, dictionaries or technological support. Once students have finished defining their terms, the class will share their findings and add the definitions to their vocabulary worksheet as best supports their understanding of the term or phrase. I will then review the closure questions merging the video and vocabulary lesson together and direct students to return to their group to answer the closure questions for the end of the lesson. Students will discuss the questions as a group and independently answer the questions on the worksheet in anticipation of a class discussion the following class period. I will communicate with students that the terms or questions left unanswered today are homework and that the (SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT PLAN) vocabulary terms will be tested over at the end of week/lesson work with “The Raven”. I will answer any remaining questions and dismiss students.	Students’ Role Restate lesson objectives to an elbow partner and prepare materials for the lesson. Students will provide a thumbs up/down to measure their understanding and ask for any clarification of the objectives at this time. Students will observe The Simpsons parody of “The Raven” and document any words that they do not know or are unsure of their meaning as they watch. Students will divide into 6 groups total (groups of 2 or 3) and be assigned specific vocabulary terms to identify and define within the text using context clues and if need be, dictionaries or technological support. Students will share their findings and add the definitions to their vocabulary worksheet as best supports their understanding of the term or phrase. Students will discuss the questions as a group and independently answer the questions on the worksheet in anticipation of a class discussion the following class period. Students will ask any remaining questions regarding the vocabulary test, objectives, homework, or lesson. Student dismissal.
Student Voice to Gather Students will be using their own words and understanding at the beginning of the lesson to communicate their understanding of the lesson’s purpose and objectives to a classmate. While defining the term within the text students will gather context clues and/or rephrase definitions for each given term within their group before sharing it with the class. The students will be able to document and define each term’s definition in their own words to best supplement their learning and comprehension of the words we are identifying within the text. This will include pairing words with sketches or helpful hints that may assist students in remembering what each term means. Students will also be given the opportunity through the follow-up/closure lesson questions to voice their opinion on the effect of Poe’s vocabulary and the understanding of the poem put into contexts like that of The Simpson’s and other references the text and vocabulary have on media and other popular culture it is referenced or used in today.

12. Differentiated Instruction

Plan Multiple Intelligence: With this lesson I am teaching to meet the needs of visual, verbal, auditory, and logical learners. In this lesson we are first watching a visual parody of “The Raven” that also voices and narrates the poem. After watching the video we are going back into the text and identifying key terms and defining these terms using context clues and other tools to define these words. Students may refer to dictionaries or dictionary applications using their phones or other technological devices. This will help incorporate the use of technology into the lessons. Any students needing other accommodations that are specific to their learning needs will be altered as needed to support their difficulty. Students aids will assist as needed for students that require aid assistance for reading, speaking, physical limitations and writing. This includes all 509, ELL, and other SPED students in particular.

13. Resources and Materials

Plan Vocabulary Worksheet Group vocabulary lists (6 total on printed note cards. 7-8 terms per group Rubric Handout Classroom Blog dictionaries Technological Resources: computers, ipads, cell phones. Multiple Intelligence: With this lesson I am teaching to meet the needs of visual, verbal, auditory, and logical learners. In this lesson we are first watching a visual parody of “The Raven” that also voices and narrates the poem. After watching the video we are going back into the text and identifying key terms and defining these terms using context clues and other tools to define these words. Students may refer to dictionaries or dictionary applications using their phones or other technological devices. This will help incorporate the use of technology into the lessons. TeachersFirst.com. Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers. 1998-2014 by The Source for Learning, Inc. http://teachersfirst.com/lessons/raven/st1.cfm The Simpson’s “The Raven: Parody” episode:  http://vimeo.com/29733360

14. Management and Safety Issues

Plan Using The Simpsons clip of “The Raven” might concern some parents or students due to the show’s occasional inappropriate episodes. The episode being viewed has been reviewed and edited to ensure only “The Raven” material is being viewed. I will communicate this information as well as the objectives and lesson material on the class blog to provide access to the viewing material and remaining lesson materials to both the students, parents, community, and administration.

15. Parent & Community Connections

Plan I will post “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe and The Simpsons parody both on the class blog for students and parents to refer to or watch and have access to. Students can then refer and share this will their parents and look for other words that Edgar Allen Poe uses within the text that we don’t commonly use or understand in today’s common language and culture. Students and parents can also use this format to discuss other words that were used in previous generations and eras that are rarely seen or used in conversation or text today.

TEACHER VOCABULARY WORD KEY

1

pondered: mulled over, contemplated

lore: traditional knowledge

quaint: odd, singular, old fashioned

2

ember: smoldering wood

wrought: caused to happen

surcease: pause, delay

3

entreating: seeking

4

implore: ask for

6

lattice: framing, window pane

7

obeisance: borrowing as a sign of reverence

mien: manner or attitude

Pallas: Greek goddess of wisdom

8

beguiling: charming, bewitching

decorum: formality

countenance: face

shorn: cut

craven: coward

ghastly: horrible

Plutonian: classical Underworld

9

ungainly: awkward

fowl: bird

discourse: conversation

10

placid: calm

11

aptly: competently

dirges: funeral songs

melancholy: sad, gloomy

12

ungainly: clumsy

13

divining: speculating, guessing, conjecturing

gloating: exulting, celebrating

14

censer: container for burning incense

Seraphim: angels

wretch: scoundrel, miscreant

respite: repose and rest

nepenthe: drink one makes to forget sorrow

quaff: drink

15

tempest: storm

“is there balm in Gilead?”: biblical allusion, “is there anything to ease my sadness?”

16

Aidenn: the garden of Eden

radiant: bright

17

fiend: demon

plume: feather tuft

18

pallid: pale