Final Synthesis Blog

At the beginning of the semester, I was unsure of how literacy could be applied and taught across all content areas. I struggled to see how we would apply literacy to non-content literacy classrooms, specifically math. However, throughout this semester, I have learned the importance of how literacy must be applied in all content areas. As I reflect on this course, I can identify various tools, strategies, and lessons that I was able to learn from and hope to apply to my own classroom one day.

First, I think a key takeaway was through book club. I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment, as I explored the book, Prisoner B-3087, outside of my content area. Through book club, I was able to learn about roles within a group and see how they can be applied in the classroom. Our course book, Subject Matters, provided guidelines for assigning specific roles, ensuring that all group members are involved. Often times, book clubs or group activities can be found with one person doing all the work and others sitting back letting one person lead. Therefore, the designated roles was extremely beneficial. I found these roles to be helpful, as they guided our group discussions. While this was specifically done in book club, I can see how defining roles for group worthy activities can benefit the group norms and participation. Also, I noticed how book club could be used in all content areas, even math. But, that is not to say that creating book club will not present a challenge for a math classroom. However, I am able to see the benefit of allowing students to step away from the typical norms of a mathematics classroom, while viewing mathematics with a literacy mindset.

Additionally, I enjoyed the reading strategies we learned and applied throughout various assignments this semester. Through text sets, in class readings, lesson plans, and journal articles I was able to see how beneficial and practical these strategies are for a reader. Personally, I found myself more engaged and attentive with the reading. I think these strategies are excellent tools for students to use across all content areas. These strategies from chapter 2 of Subject Matters included setting purpose, using prior knowledge, asking questions, evaluation, and discussion; to name a few. For example, I was able to apply these strategies to text sets for math and science, while also using the strategies for the group lesson plan where my group was able to annotate a mathematics text. I now can see how reading strategies before, during, and after reading can guide and benefit students. It allows students to understand their goals and purpose while reading to keep their focus on what they are reading and its application. Chapter 6, How to Use a Textbook in Subject Matters, reminded me of the importance of being mindful of what texts we are assigning to students. Textbooks and other texts are great resources to help students learn; however, teachers must be mindful of what matters and the levels of importance. Therefore, when students read selective textbooks and other texts, they are able to pay more attention using the reading strategies to help them learn and better understand the material. As a future educator, I plan to use these strategies in my classroom, as students will have a better awareness and understanding for what they are reading, the goals and purpose in reading it, and how to apply what they read to what we are learning.

Overall, I gained a new outlook and perspective on literacy across non language arts content areas. This course challenged me to remove preconceived ideas and practices towards literacy, seeing how they can be used in mathematics. I want to use what I have learned to help students bridge the gap between all content areas, as they are all related to one another. I feel more prepared to creatively plan for lesson plans through the synthesis and resource blogs that provide a plethora of resources to use that specifically relate to literacy and mathematics. Also, our book Subjects Matters, provides a resource to continue to use throughout my time as a preservice teacher in order to help me as a begin to teach and lead my own classroom. A key idea from our book is a quote from chapter 2 that states, "If we understand that reading is not just 'receiving a message,' but actively building meaning upon prior knowledge, using staged, strategic thinking, then we will teach differently (pg. 41)." I feel that this summarizes how literacy should be used in all content ares because it is a foundation on how we think and teach.

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Single Member Journal Club in Focal Area Math

Journal Article Link- http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=fd263553-9a9e-46d7-9953-20c345e29293%40pdc-v-sessmgr01

Journal Article: Working memory, negative affect and personal assets: how do they relate to mathematics and reading literacy?

Summarize the Article: The article provided a framework around the impact of working memory, negative affect, and personal assets and the ways in which they impact students' success and challenges specifically in mathematics and literacy. The article provides the ways that students are struggling with their academics, due to what's happening in and around their lives. 

Make Connections: I was able to make many connections throughout this article, as I thought back to my experiences in middle school and also considered my interactions with middle schoolers. One idea that was discussed was the increased anxiety around mathematics. I connected this to my experiences in school. I have always enjoyed math and did not fully experience math anxiety until higher level math in high school; however, I saw this in my friends and classmates. Many people believe they either are or are not a math person; therefore, it math becomes a place of anxiety due to the idea of not being a math person. As a result, students struggle with math because they likely do not feel support around their mathematic aspects of life. Teachers can often look over their students needs if they are not mastering a subject and then students lack support at home leading to anxiety in their life and academic success. The article also discussed how personal assets impact school performance, specifically discussing the support of academics within a household. I was fortunate to receive support with my academics, but in working closely with other middle school students, I know that this support is not experienced for all. I can think of many students who are dependent on a teacher to encourage and support their academic achievements. 

Critique: This research is relatively new; therefore, there is little research of various measures that have been conducted. While they have a great standing for the research provided, it would be beneficial to test students around the United States and other countries to be able to see any correlations between students of middle school age in various locations around the world. There were also greater findings related to mathematics than reading literacy. I found the mathematics sections to be interesting, due to my focal area in math; but could see where greater research in other subject areas would be beneficial. 

The Importance of this Article: This article was extremely beneficial and a good reminder for me, as a future educator. I think as a teacher, it can be easy to get in the mindset of getting everything done in order to prepare students for standardized testing and meeting school standards that we can forget that our students are dealing with a lot. This article made great points reminding me of the importance of checking in on students and realizing that there is a lot going on in each of their lives. The article was focused on middle school, making it extremely relevant to my future as a teacher. It spoke of the changes that come with adolescents which creates an increase in anxiety and depression, to name a few. Therefore, as an educator, I must be willing to know and invest in my students in order to help them achieve their own success both in and out of the classroom. They need support during these years of their life and studies are beginning to show their non-academic lives impacting their academic lives. 

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Podcast

Attaching our Podcast Assignment-

Prisoner B-3087
Group: Dennis, Katie, Shelby, Corben, Sarah Ellen

Link- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WS-UJYJqO2QpDM0N5Xlg6zQkvkeUY5g8/view?usp=sharing

Strategy Lesson Plan Reflection

Overall, I think that our lesson plan went well. When we began the assignment, we struggled to figure out how to annotate for math, but then decided to present a word problem. We felt that a word problem was most effective for this strategy. As we presented the assignment, I felt that it was effective, but also could have been improved. First, there were a few class periods that have passed between our submission of the assignment and our presentation. We knew what we were presenting, but I felt that we could have prepared a little more for the presentation in order to know who was explaining and teaching which parts of the lesson. However, it was still executed well and effective in teaching the class. Also, the handout we provided to the class could have been written differently in order to provide more space for annotating and working through the problem. Additionally, we could have better explained the process of annotation and what an inequality is. However, I felt that our group was prepared in using different highlighters to annotate the problem and we were prepared with our materials. I think it was helpful to ask the class how they arrived at an answer and also to answer their questions throughout the presentation.
I think it was beneficial for us to do a problem first, then allow the class to lead us through the problem, in order for the class to then complete the assignment on their own. In summary, I think our group did a great job teaching the lesson and everyone enjoyed learning how to annotate a math problem.

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Resource Blog 5

https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/mathcore/#.Xa0YKC2ZN0s

I have really enjoyed finding math resources to use in future planning and teaching and was excited to find another great one! PBS Learning Media gives lesson plans, videos, and interactive thinking and teaching for parents, students, and teachers to access for free. This resource is specifically for 5th-8th grade. It gives excellent resources to help parents better understand what is being taught, allows students to interact with games, quizzes, and more to help grasp and master a concept, and gives teachers a resource to reference for lesson plans. I think teachers could also assign various interactive assessments to add variety to a student's homework. The website is divided up by topic and grade making it easy to navigate and distinguish between topics. The topics are based upon the common core curriculum ensuring that students are learning and developing skills that complement the concepts that are discussed in the classroom. Additionally, each of the concepts provide support materials and list the various standards that are met throughout the lessons and videos.

While this website and resource is specific to math, the PBS Learning Media website covers all subject areas and also includes arts, physical education, world languages, and professional development. I think this is an excellent resource that we can all access and use within our classrooms and lesson plans. Each of the content areas have multiple sub topics to choose from and are each framed around specific grades, including the middle grades. This is a resource that can be used for all content area teachers, a tool for a parents, and another resource for students!

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Synthesis Blog 5- Differentiation and Book Clubs

Classroom teaching and learning must constantly evolve and look different. In order to do that, teachers must differentiate materials assigned and given based upon the classroom environment, size, and skillset of learning needs. Throughout Subject Matters, we have learned ways to challenge and grow our students through various literacy approaches, one specific example being book clubs. Book clubs can be used in all content areas, as we encourage our students to pick up a book pertaining to a specific topic or content area. Book clubs allow students to work together in order to unpack, understand, and learn about a given moment in history, concept, or character's story. It gives a deeper understanding or new approach to a given topic. It challenges the student to ask questions, share ideas, and work together to better understand the book.

Book clubs seem great and extremely beneficial when they are managed well. However, it is easy to identify the ways that a book club might go wrong or even how it might not fit a specific subject. But the book provides an outline to help teachers prepare to lead a classroom and facilitate book clubs and book club discussions. I really liked the practical steps given in the book, in order to create and use a book club in any classroom. I feel that it is crucial for steps, tasks, and jobs/roles to be given to each person within the group, so that one or two people are not pulling the weight for the entire group. I have enjoyed discovering and removing the previous idea that book clubs are typically only used in language arts classes; however, now I can identify the benefits within all subject areas.

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Resource Blog 4

https://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-math-help/76317-math-projects-for-middle-school/

As teachers, we must create opportunities for our students to be creative and engaged in materials, rather than just learning through lecture, worksheets, readings, etc. This resource provides multiple in class and out of class projects that students can create in order to display their understanding and knowledge of a material. These projects are specific to math and include ideas such as survey projects, building a classroom to scale, and pre-algebra board games.

Each of these projects give a brief explanation and guideline on how to share the project with students. It also allows the teacher freedom to make their own decisions toward their purpose and expectation for the project. I personally made a board game in my sixth grade math class and loved getting to create my own game. Then, we were able to spend a class period playing other games while practicing and preparing for our summative assignment. Many of these projects include both math and writing, allowing students to use cross circular schema to conduct their project. This can be extremely beneficial, as it encourages students to consider multiple subjects while creating their own project.

While this website is specific to math, I am sure that there are other similar resources available for other content ares. Projects are a great way for students to break out of the traditional classroom norms and teaching, giving students the opportunity to express their understanding and knowledge while having fun with the materials at hand.

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Synthesis Blog 4- Tearing Down the Wall: Literature and Science

Summarize the Article: I explored the importance of literacy in science through the article assigned during class. Science can be better understood and explained with a parallel connection to literature. Students can break down the wall of subjects being focused on one specific area and instead see how each subject is intertwined.

Make Connections: This article made excellent points that better explained and discussed how we can make connections for students between science and literacy. I lacked teachers who made these connections, but loved seeing how others have linked science to poetry, novels, and other literature. However, I was able to see the connection between literacy and science through people like Stephen Hawking, as my teachers would use him as a resource in their classes.

Critique: I think it is important to note that students are going to enjoy or understand some subjects over other subjects, so we must find ways to help students engage with all materials. Science can be confusing and adding in literature to the subject, may be difficult for some students through reading comprehension and understanding. Overall, I feel that the article explained the benefits of building connections and teaching literacy in science.

The Importance of this Article: It is important for students to bridge the gap between science and literacy. One example shared in the article was through various books students might read. A teacher can then discuss the novel with their students to determine what are fiction and non-fiction, as it relates to science. When students are able to make multiple connections to a concept or terminology, they have better retention and understanding of the material being taught. Students will experience a better understanding throughout multiple subjects, when they can see connections within each subject.

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Resource Blog 3

Resource: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtBtcQJ8_jsrjPzb8i1tOsA/playlists

Math can be a difficult concept for students to learn and understand, especially because math becomes more challenging in the middle grades. Therefore, it can be hard to meet each student's needs in class to ensure that they are prepared for assessments and homework problems. As teachers, we must find resources that we can use to assist what we teach in class. I found this YouTube channel called MashUp Math. It is a free resource that can be accessed using YouTube. The channel has created hundreds of math videos, covering many topics that we will teach. On their page, you can click playlist to see the videos organized based upon topic or grade level. There are many playlist created for the middle grades, while also showing the basic concepts taught throughout all math levels. This resource could be extremely beneficial for teachers, students, and parents. Teachers can use this resource to assist their classroom teaching and materials, while students and parents can access the information at home to see the step by step process of solving problems and equations.

While this resource is specific to math, I was able to quickly find channels that are very similar to MashUp Math for other content areas. These resources can help us to better engage our students and provide them with additional tools outside of the classroom. It is important that we do not depend on these videos to do the teaching for us, but rather they are tool to assist us. Videos like this can help students be prepared for homework and assessments allowing students to see different aspects and ways to approach a math problem.

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Synthesis Blog 3: How to Best Use a Textbook

Textbooks are a crucial part of academics in all content areas. However, students and teachers can get bogged down by textbooks. Previously and from my personal experiences, teachers would base their lessons only on the textbook each day, insisting that everything must be taught. But, it is important to see that we can be successful teachers and have successful students without strictly following the textbook. From a teacher's perspective, it can be difficult to sort through the textbook and try to gather the right information without forgetting something or spending too much time on one topic. Meanwhile, students can be overwhelmed by a textbook and neglect learning from the textbook. Therefore, teachers must learn how to best use a textbook.

This chapter gives teachers tools to help sort, read, and learn from a textbook. As a future math teacher, I feel challenged by textbooks, simply because I want to know how to best use them within my classroom. But, I really enjoyed reading about the importance of math textbooks, but also relating to the struggles found within the textbooks. It was helpful to see how some textbooks include interactive programs online that assist the textbook. I think this feature could be extremely beneficial within math, but also used in other content areas through additional online information. I think we must remember to encourage our students to use their textbooks for additional resources, but also to remind them that they do not need to have the entire book read or mastered.

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Resource Blog 2- Textbooks Aren't Enough

https://www.edutopia.org/article/game-changing-practice-fuses-math-and-literacy

It's easy to think, why is literacy important in math. But, if we think about, literacy is the foundation of our schooling practices in all content areas. However, you can immediately jump to the idea that literacy in math is the math textbook with definitions, explanations, and problems. But, there is more to math literacy than just the textbook. 

Many students fear math because of the challenges it might present, especially when it comes to word problems and letter variables. Often times, students struggle with other subjects because their reading comprehension is so low. As a result, all subject areas are impacted. But, this teacher found an approach to assist her students in approaching math problems. She encourages her students to approach a problem, as we have modeled through a think aloud. First, the students listen to the problem without any numerical values. Then, the students break down the problem into smaller pieces to figure out what the problem is asking them to achieve. The students annotate the word problem identifying the information that is important. Finally, the students arrive to an answer and are able to fully comprehend the mathematical solution and literacy associated with the word problem. 

Math classes can benefit from this practice to allow students to process and better explain mathematical terms and concepts. Additionally, I think this approach can be used throughout all content areas, as we encourage students to take a whole problem or text and break it down through annotation to better understand the information being presented. This resource allows students to show what they know through words, sharing with others, and writing. 

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Synthesis Blog 2- "Help for Struggling Readers"

Reading was never a strong suit of mine in school. I was able to understand books that I chose to read; however, school assignments centered around reading were extremely difficult. As a result, I struggled with reading comprehension and showing what I learned and understood from the text. This chapter shared a lot of these similar ideas that many students face. However, the approach throughout the article was how teachers can impact students and shift their mindset. As future teachers, we can see that studies show, "to help our students understand and learn from the tasks we assign them, we must work with their reading process" (278-279, SM). While we are continuing to teach an entire class, we must recognize that we need to alter and shift the assignments and reading based upon each individual student. 

I was encouraged and challenged by the idea that we must build trust with our students in their learning. A student will be more engaged and have a greater desire to learn and grow when they know that we believe in them, as their teacher. I want to promote this environment in my classroom, so that students feel the freedom to express their ideas and thoughts whether they are right or wrong. As a result, students can see that they are not trying to find the solution or arrive to an answer alone but are able to process it with other students or the teacher. For many students, all it takes is for one person to show that they believe in them. I think that we each have the potential to instill confidence in each of our students, regardless of their academic struggles or rigor.

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Resource Blog 1- Literacy in Math

http://www.wismath.org/Resources/Documents/Annual%20Conference/322EHoyer-Connecting%20Math%20to%20Literacy%20PP.pdf

Before this course, I recognized that it was important to combine literacy into content areas other than language arts; however, I did not understand how to do this well. The resource I found is a PowerPoint created by two individuals explaining how to use literacy skills to test the mathematic understanding of students. The PowerPoint provides practical ways to connect literacy and math while explaining the importance of both subjects. The content areas seem as though they are opposites, but the two are connected to help students fully grasp and understand the information. Some examples provided in the resource included math journals, writing out processes for math projects, and creating math portfolios. Math connects to literacy, as students unpack word problems and problem-solving to arrive at a solution. These examples provide illustrations and ideas to incorporate writing into mathematics. I think these tools could be an excellent way to check-in with students to see their understanding and ability to explain mathematical concepts. The resource provides two student writing samples about the importance of writing in math. Both students explain that writing and literacy in mathematics allow them to better explain concepts and encourages the student to learn the information.

While this resource is specific to math, I think that it could be applied in various content areas because it provides a framework on how to incorporate new thoughts and ideas into a given subject. The PowerPoint teaches how to create efficient and organized discussion throughout a class, projects, and activities to implement in the classroom, and ways to better lead your classroom as a teacher. Literacy in non-content language arts classes can ensure that students are explaining what they are learning and provide a way for teachers to see their student's thought process.

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Synthesis Blog 1- "How Smart Readers Think"

Throughout the chapter, I read different paragraphs about topics like cricket and science. Each paragraph made me think about what I was reading and the ways that I needed to try to comprehend the material. I struggled when reading the cricket paragraph because I am not familiar with the game of cricket; therefore, I had no context of what I was reading. As a result, I struggled to comprehend the information. As I continued reading the chapter, I was challenged by the idea that as a reader, we must form ideas about what we are reading to then come up with a strategy to comprehend the reading (Subject Matters, 30). I thought that the information provided from the list of thinking strategies of effective readers was extremely beneficial (Subject Matters, 30). At a young age, I always struggled with reading comprehension and could not come up with main ideas and key takeaways from books or passages I read.

However, as time progressed, I began to pick up on strategies and tools to help me better comprehend what I was reading. Therefore, I think it is important that we keep reading comprehension in mind when teaching students. Often times, students do not have an understanding about reading comprehension and the purpose of reading comprehension. I feel that we, as future teachers, need to teach or remind students how to effectively read about a topic as it pertains to a specific subject. Reading is a necessity in all subjects. As a teacher, I want to promote and encourage students to ask questions when they do not understand, in order to assist in reading comprehension. When students learn strategies for effective reading, they begin to better understand what they are reading and will typically take greater interest in the material as a result.


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Reading a Children's Book

Hey everyone! This is a video of me reading the book, "Peter Pan- An Adventure Primer". The book introduces Peter Pan and his friends and what they are doing around the island. For example, the lost boys are climbing around in trees. I enjoyed reading this book because I used to read books about Tinker Bell and Peter Pan when I was younger.

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