Chapter 5b
This section talked a lot about textbooks and stressing to
students the importance of respecting the materials they are given. Teachers
can help guide this by requiring or better yet, showing students how to
properly cover their textbooks. I believe that stressing the importance of
respecting classroom materials will help students respect each other as well.
Another note on textbooks was how to use them in the classroom. Being a good
teacher does not necessarily mean one should require students to read their textbook
from front to back. If a teacher chooses to do this, students will get very
bored with the material and lose interest in learning. Once this happens, it is
very difficult to motivate students. When I am a teacher I plan to take the
important information (such as the material that covers state standards) and
use the textbook to guide learning with also adding hands on activities. This
way students are learning but not just reading out of a textbook. One thing I
really found helpful was when students do need to read out of the textbook
(because there will be times when this is important) encourage students to be
alert for errors in the textbook and offer some type of reward if they find
one. This not only helps the students with literacy but it keeps them engaged
in the reading.
As a teacher there will come a time when there is
controversy in the classroom. I feel that it is extremely important for
students to learn about controversial topics. With this, there will be a
variety of opinions. Teachers should stress to students that they need to look
at the issue from multiple perspectives. The teacher should also ensure that
there is guidelines set so discussions do not get out of hand. If at any point
a student gets uncomfortable it is okay for them to leave the discussion.
Chapter 5c
Chapter 5c spoke a lot about curriculum integration. With
this it covered different levels of curriculum integration. As a future teacher
I hope to at some point to use all levels of curriculum integration. Although
level one is the most common (because it is not as time consuming) I feel that
there are times when teachers can incorporate level five-curriculum
integration. Level five curriculum is where teachers across multiple grades
establish a curriculum around a common theme and work together with students to
determine discipline boundaries and so on. The chapter also talked about using
a syllabus. I feel that I will emphasize using a syllabus when I have my own
classroom because it clarifies expectations for the entire class. A syllabus can
be referred to for many questions and provides all of the materials and skills
the students will need to complete the course. I also like that it allows
students to look ahead and see what types of things they will be learning in
the class.
Your idea of using the basic information from the textbook to guide hands-on learning activities is great! Another way to engage students in other literature than just the textbook is to bring in multiple texts, meaning that you could include research articles, young adult literature novels, and other works of literature that you feel would help your students learn best while also helping them improve their reading skills. I like what you said, too, about the importance of monitoring discussions about controversial topics. Students should be able to participate respectfully in debates, so it is necessary to teach them proper etiquette for sharing their own ideas and appreciating other perspectives from classmates.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI also believe the syllabus can be used for classroom expectations and procedures, especially with the parents support!!
Please share your thoughts in class this evening! (:
Thank you, Michelle:)
ReplyDelete