Before we start #1: Code Switching
Code-switching:
After reading the excerpt and looking at the t-charts, I quickly realized I had a class that discussed just this, not only informal or formal language but the way we dress and act around certain people. For example, the way I dress and communicate around my friends(informal) isn’t the way I would dress and act around my students (formal). Growing up I felt like this was never discussed in my classroom and today I recognized just how important code-switching is to teach students, from a young age even. After looking at the t-charts it allowed me to recognize just how important is for students to recognize how not only code-switching works but how they act and speak around people they interact with. If I were to teach code-switching in my classroom the first thing I would bring up as an example, so they can grasp a better understanding is asking students to make a T-chart of how they talk to their peers versus their teachers and how they dress in school versus outside of school. IO feels like that would be the first proper step to take so then we can begin bridging over to other scenarios that were also represented in the t-charts.
Before we start #2: Grit
As I looked over the “what is grit?” worksheets some teachers have used, my initial thoughts were “wait… I need to save this so I can use it in my classroom!” I feel like this worksheet is something that allows us as educators to get insight on how our student's internal thoughts work and is something I would want my students complete in one of the first few weeks of school before we enter in content and lessons. As from a student’s viewpoint, i believe this grit worksheet is something they can keep in their back pocket as a reminder that working hard, and perseverance are what they need to strive for to be successful. I feel these conversations in the classroom aren’t always talked about enough and this is a great way to start that conversation with students. Without saying it, I feel this worksheet helps students recognize not everything comes easy and if we want something we have to work for it. I love that this worksheet teaches not only students but us as educators to that whatever we put our minds to and work for we can achieve, it won’t always be easy but that’s all apart of trial and tributes!
Before we start #3:
The facets of reading
During this reading I found myself having trouble understanding the concepts within the readings. Therefore, a strategy I had to resort to was going back and rereading to make sure I understood it. This is a strategy I have always had to apply to my reading because my ADHD makes reading academic texts confusing the first time around. When it came to my “attitude” towards reading this text I noticed myself applying these concepts to my future teaching and noticing that the vocabulary through this reading was very familiar. This is because the vocabulary in this text relates to the ESL content I have already learned because a lot of the curriculum is centered around student backgrounds and cultures due to a language barrier.
Before we start #4:
Empathy, Poverty, & Visual Lit.
After viewing the website and viewing the visual literacy activity, I was so happy to see that this is something ESL teachers are resorting to as a learning technique to introduce new words and meanings of things. As a future ESL teacher, I know that my bilingual students can and will struggle with learning new words and their definitions of them. Therefore, this activity is something I will use. Being able to visualize and see what a word means makes it that much easier to learn. Most of the time telling someone the meaning/definition of something isn’t the best route to go because oftentimes we don’t remember that. An interactive learning technique like this one makes it memorable and easier to learn and remember. Not only was that great aspect, but I went back to the days I learned new things, specifically words in middle school, and I was a visual learner, and most of the time that wasn’t an option for me because my teachers never used visuals in the classroom. My teacher always resorted to notecards and memorizing definitions which were never effective.
Before we start #5:
Quizzing Platforms
Quizzes and Quizlet is a resource I have resorted to probably since my early high school years. I am a person that has a really hard time studying and always have so having these two resources to study the way that is most beneficial for me has always been great. These two studying sites let you use multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, and short answers. It even allows you to include visuals, which was always helpful for me as I am a visual learner. As a teacher, it honestly would be something I would recommend to my students because it’s a great study tool, and as a college student now, I still use it. As far as the Quizzes example provided, I really like it because it’s a mixture of different types of test-taking. It included multiple choice and pictures with facts, which again is great for a visual learner. Lastly, I like that quizzes are already provided and set up because one of the parts about studying most people dislike is setting it up, so the fact it's already prepared already puts students ahead of the game.
Before we start #6:
Exploring race in Lit.
Texts like Huckleberry Fin and To Kill a Mockingbird aren't books I would integrate into my classroom because they truly only degrade black culture even though it is presented and represents black culture. Books like these have truly only done more damage than good. Books like this one don't represent black culture in a positive way when all we really needed right now is positive representation. For years texts have talked about black history and slavery but the hero was always white, therefore, the representation that was meant to be there, never really was. However, after looking at this lesson plan I do think if I did have to teach this book to students, this lesson is something I would include with it. I really admired how this planned book around societal issues and how it forms us into the people we are and the things we believe. This lesson also teaches students that they can have a right o their own feelings and opinions which is also an important lesson to teach YA since at this age they are discovering and creating their own identities.
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Before we start #7:
Media Messages
I felt like as a woman there were a lot of things I could have connected to as far as girls always being rescued by men in movies and the idea that women need to be saved by a man. While I was watching this, I didn’t really truly understand how harsh that could be on younger girls. Not only this, but villain characters are most of the time female and are also never given the opportunity to be heroic, so what message is that also giving off to young girls? What I didn’t notice until watching this ted talk was that men or younger boys specifically can pick up in movies that they are courageous, strong, and heroic so that sends a message to everyone that men are above women in a sense. On the other hand, the movie Dorothy allows girls to see that Dorothy was making friends with everyone and was heroic and brave. We need more movies like this so it can show young girls they are capable of things like this. Thinking about movies I watched when I was younger, the princess always needed saving by the prince, they had to depend on a man to be saved. This is essentially a “culture shock” type thing to young girls because in the real world it really isn’t like that even though that is what young girls are made to believe. However, in today’s generation more movies are coming out and the women in movies are becoming the heroes and are strong, that’s the kind of story we need to be sending out to the younger generation. The reward for men in movies is to defeat the villain, collect an award, and get their prize which is essentially a woman who "needs" the man. This sends out negative messages to both males and females. I never truly understood the impact movies had on someone until today. Specifically, showing the younger generation not only movies but modeling for them that this isn't realistic or overall truthful.