Week 4 Reflection

September 14th - 18th, 2009

Because high school is shortly approaching for our 8th graders, Mrs. Chico and I have been trying to model and emphasize the importance of organization. For starters, each student is required to keep a binder with tab dividers to organize their handouts, notes, assignments, etc. Also, we introduced effective note-taking with a storytelling unit. Students used highlighters and bullets to outline headings, subheadings, and details in their notes.

I have noticed that when middle school students do follow directions, most follow them exactly as they think we expect of them. Teachers should obviously encourage their students to follow directions, but it becomes a problem when they take it too literally. For example, while they were taking notes on the different types of folk tales, the students would write down everything on each PowerPoint slide. We had to keep reminding students to paraphrase and summarize. This skill is beneficial in many ways: shortening notes makes it easier to reread and study, it isn't as exhausting, and students will be more likely to revisit these notes if they are short bulleted lists and phrases, not prose. And let's not forget that it's quicker to take notes this way, which is an advantage to both students and the teacher. While we explained this to the students, it still took longer than I had expected for them to take notes during the PowerPoint. Most high school classes demand this skill, so it's something we really need to work on with these 8th graders.

Along with note-taking, we also had the students read an example of each type of folk tale. My mentor teacher is an amazing storyteller- she is loud, clear, energetic, and can mimick a variety of voices and sounds when she reads. It was interesting to observe the students while she read- their eyes were wide and they followed along or just simply listened to her. It takes a lot of energy for middle schoolers to be attentive, especially when something is read to them. I know that I have always been more of a visual learner than an oral one, so listening to stories during classes was not always the best approach for me when I was in grade school, either. But Mrs. Chico really grabs their attention with her voice and acting, no matter how interesting the story may be.

Several times this week, she taught the first half of the day and I taught the last few periods. My first few tries reading aloud weren't very impressive. I don't feel that I struggle with clarity or volume when I speak, but I have trouble being an 'actress' or 'entertainer' in front of my students. However, after a few trial runs, I became more confident with making voices, changing my intonation and tone, and reading the stories as if I were on a stage. I never knew how much skill is required to simply read aloud and grab an audience's attention. My teacher said I improved, and I hope I continue to work on this skill.