Prep+for+Class+2+MLP

I really liked the ideas in the Tchudi & Mitchell Ch 5. There were a lot of great ideas on ways to help get to know the students (to know how to teach them better) AND have the students get to know each other. There were great questions and activites (the silhouette and interview) that I can see myself using. Part of making a Language Arts class is creating a safe space where students can share. I really liked the activity where students write a fictional news article and then share this with the class. This shows me how the students write with a non-threatening assignment. It can also be really fun for the students! The first 45 minutes with my students, I want to welcome them into my class and give them some information about me. I will probably share my love for reading/writing and history along with how excited I am to meet them. I will have to call roll and have students tell me their preferred names. After that, I want to get the students up and out of their seats. This would be a good time to pair students off (with someone they don't know) and either do the interview or the silhouette activity. After gathering information about one another, I would have each pair introduce each other to the class. The first 45 minutes is really about bonding as a classroom environment and creating a safe, respectful space.
 * 2. Class Follow-Up - Getting Started**

a. __Quality__ of education is more important than quantity of things memorized. b. This chapter is really getting at the importance of what we teach our students. Quality learnign is always better than a list of rote memorization. We need to teach our students how to gather information, problem-solve, analyze, and communicate effectively. Students of all ages and ability levels can be pushed beyond with effection teachin. There is a point where the teacher goes beyond the curriculum and teaches the students something that will stick with them and help them in the rest of their lives. That is definitely something worth learning. c. How do I deal with a county-enforced pacing guide? How do we help struggling students get meaningful experiences without feeling overwhelmed? How can we push for more effective curriculum? (so that learning can be more standardized, or should we even be pushing towards that?) d. Go beyond the curriculum! Make connections to the students' lives and the real word. Make it meaningful. Don't waste time on busywork or meaningless tasks. e. Why is English important? How do we communication with people? How does this change? How do you express yourself? How do we share experiences? What is good writing?
 * 3. Reading** "What's Worth Knowing?"

a. These standards are very genearl about ELA. Most focus on using a wide range or variety of skills, options, genres, etc. The focus seems to be on exposing students to lots of different readings, writings, and technologies without real emphasis on one area. This helps to create a well-round ELA classroom, in theory. b. I like that the Common Core ELA standards build, especially throughout middle school. There's a focus on exposing students to the wide array of ELA topics and then honing those skills as the students age, mature and develop. There is a lot of freedom for the teacher to use lots of different strategies, materials, readings, etc. in order to teach. c. These standards want to put a focus on students learning how to read, understand, analyze, and respond to literature. I think there also needs to be a more real world focus. While students come to us with lots of experience communicating with friends and family, we have to show them where different communications are appropriate.
 * 4. ELA Standards**