SmithPaige-M-430-F12-AP-Review-1

Paige Smith 9/27/12 ECI 430 Action Portfolio Review
 * __Strongest Response Work – September 13, 2012 “Teaching Grammar Reflection” __

Teaching Grammar Reflection

The first time I remember anything about grammar was in fifth grade. My teacher gave us homework every night out of a grammar book and we were to turn it in the next day. As a class we would go over it together. I do not remember this being very helpful because we would just change the answer as she went along in the lesson. After fifth grade I don’t remember going back over grammar until I was in eleventh grade. I know this is sad, but it is true. I believe we went over grammar every day in Ms. Dunn’s class. She would give us worksheets to take home and then the next day in class we would spend the whole ninety minutes arguing what was right and what was wrong. This is something I do not want my students to have to go through when I teach them grammar. I feel like grammar is important to all students at any age. Beginning with first graders would not be a bad idea. I think every year they should be introduced to something new in grammar, that way when they get to high school and college they can use it properly. Have good grammar can make a person look intelligent and credible. I know if I were to read something from someone that contains bad grammar, I would not think they were well educated. I know that I did not have a great grammar experience and that is not fair. We write and speak everyday so I do not see why grammar is not incorporated more than it is. I did not know a lot of things about grammar until college when I took Dr. Reaser’s class. He introduced me to many different things such as the differences between nor and or, further and farther and comma use. Little things like this are things that students should be taught before they reach the real world.

After reading Peterson’s article, I had more insight into language use. I really liked how Peterson included Ryan’s Story because it gave me a chance to see an example of a student who did not enjoy the writing process. I agree completely that students learn better when their personal lives are included in their writing. May they know it or not, they are learning the process and enjoying it at the same time. I loved the idea that Peterson gave about using the Titanic activity. Having students become part of the Titanic by being a passenger helps to think they were actually there. Teachers have to create lesson plans around their student’s interests and the knowledge that they need to learn about language. Peterson says that teaching students writing out of a textbook can be a negative. Taking the time to create a lesson plan on your own can have a greater effect on the student’s learning. As Peterson says we have to teach our students not to be afraid of a “blank page.”

Weaver’s article was also interesting to me. I liked how he said that some grammar does not help students speak and write. As teachers we have to decide whether or not we should teach grammar separately or together with writing. According to Martha Kolln, she suggests that we teach grammar with the writing process. She believes that teaching grammar as its own subject is not effect. I am not sure where I fall on this suggestion. I think grammar should be taught, but teaching it within writing may be too much for students. Then again teaching it as its own subject can be boring and less interesting for students. Peterson says that teaching grammar in context of writing will not work as soon as you teach it. You will have to teach it over again and they need practice. If students make errors while they are practicing, it is our job to coach them and help them make corrections.

I think by reading these two articles, “in context” means that we have to teach our students in our style that best fits them. We need to design our own lessons and teach grammar and writing together. Using language and grammar “in context” allows students to practice while writing. It is like killing two birds with one stone.


 * __Most Challenging Response – September 6, 2012 “Surname Inquiry” __

Name Inquiry

1.What did you know about your surname? Where did your name come from? Who gave it to you? What does it mean?

 I did know a little about my name because I did a research paper when I was in the 11th grade. I’m not so sure what Paige means, but I do remember that Megan means “pearl.” I also cannot remember much about the last name Smith, but I am sure that there is a lot of information about the name since it is very common. My mother named me Megan and my father picked the name Paige. My mom wanted to name me Lauren, but my dad wanted my name to start with the letter “P” since his did. Both of names did not come from another family member or anything. They were just names that my parents thought to attractive.

According to babynamesworld.com, Megan is a Greek word that means Pearl and that it are also derived from the Welsh name Margaret. Using the same website, I looked up my middle name, Paige. Paige is an English name and it was known to be used for people who held the position of a page in a noble household. Smith is also an English name and was common in the 1800’s.  http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/
 * 1) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">More information on my name.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">I wanted to look further into my last name. I went to ancestory.com and looked up information. I found that Smith was a name given to a person who worked with metal and it meant “to strike a hammer.” This name was spread throughout Europe and the occupation was also very popular. The last name, Smith, is the most used surname in America. Most people lived in England and Ireland that had this last name. Fewer people lived in Germany and Sweden. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=smith

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">I found another website relating to my last name. I found that Smith means the same, which is “one who works with metal” and “strike.” On geni.com, there are different ways people spelled the last name Smith. Some spellings were Smithe and Smythe. In the Medieval Times, people who worked in metal made things such as swords and horseshoes. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">http://www.geni.com/surnames/smith

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">I then wanted to find out more about my other two names. I went on nameberry.com. The name Megan is a diminutive of the name Marged and is a Welsh variation of Margaret. Megan was one of the most popular names in the US in 1990. It was rated number 10. There are also other variations to the spelling of Megan. Other spellings are Meagan, Maygan and Mahgan. I also looked up Paige, but could not find that much information. I found that Paige has become very popular over the last couple of years and people do use it as a boy name. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">http://nameberry.com/search/?q=megan

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">1.How could you create an activity for your students using their names? <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">I feel like this would be great to use in your Language Arts and Social Studies classes. When I was in high school, one of my teachers used the theme of our names for a research paper. I would not go this far into the students' names; I would use it for an introduction activity at the beginning of the school year. You could also use this in a history of social studies class if you were discussing family backgrounds or where immigrants and slaves got their last names.


 * __<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">Feedback Response – September 9, 2012 “Andrew’s Language Exploration ” __

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">Andrew’s Chapter 6 <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;"> “When Some of Them Don’t Speak English" <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;"> 1. I chose this chapter because it is about how to teach students that do not know how to speak English well. There will be times when I students in my class that have trouble speaking English and I wanted to learn how I can help them without a struggle. According to Andrew’s, the number of students who cannot speak English proficiently is growing. So the chance of me getting a student like that cannot speak English well is high. He also says that because we do not communicate frequently with other language speakers, that we can be lazy to want to teach those who do not speak English. This should not be the way our schools should be. We should take into interest the knowledge our students should learn. These students want to be there in school and it is our job to make them feel welcome. So my question is what can we teach ELL students? He tells us that that ELL students need to be placed with English speaking students of the same age. They are a person just like anyone else and excluding them can cause them to be embarrassed or anxious. It is important that teach ELL students what they need to learn for the day and not for the future. We cannot assign them worksheets because this will waste their time. They are learning by hearing “chunks” of words. As teachers, we need to allow them to engage with other students and writing activities with people their age. I really loved this chapter and will use it as a resource as I teach. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">2.EXPLORATION: Saying What’s On Your Mind1.He is acting funny. – He is not acting right or different. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">2.It beats me. – I have no clue to what is being said. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">3.It costs and arm and a leg. – That is expensive or it costs a lot of money. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">4.Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. - Do not jump to conclusions. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">5.Go with the flow. – Take whatever you are doing easy. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">6.Time to hit the sack. – It is time to go to sleep. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">7.Don’t pull my leg. – Do not play jokes on me. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">8.Try not to jump the gun. – Do not start before you are told to.

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">3.I believe expressions like these are harder for ELL because they were created by English speaking people and they are the ones who understand them. We created these expression based off of our language. If an ELL student were to hear this, they would not know the exact meaning. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">4.I am not sure why people do not say what the mean directly. Our language has evolved and still is and people will create expressions as they need to. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">5.These expressions are used so widely because they have become popular over time. I’m sure these expressions have been around for many years and the more people hear them, the more they will use them, even if they are not sure of the meanings.