Final Spelling Assessment

I administered the Gentry Spelling Assessment to Leo once more - it's only been one month since the first time he'd done it. However, I was astounded by the progress he has made.

1. Monster = mostr (phonetic)
2. United = ynited (phonetic)
3. Dress = jes (phonetic)
4. Bottom = botum (phonetic)
5. Human = h_____m (semiphonetic) Leo knew other letters were in this word, but he didn't know what they were so he spaced the letters out to signal something else went between them.
6. Eagle = Egul (transitional)
7. Closed = klosed (phonetic)
8. Bumped = bmt (phonetic)
9. Type = tip (phonetic)

Leo's spelling on the last lesson was almost entirely semiphonetic (one level down from phonetic), with one precommunicative (two levels down). But this time, they were phonetic, except for one semiphonetic and even a transitional spelling, which is a level UP from phonetic. This means Leo has moved up an entire level in just one month. He is beginning to hear vowel sounds, even the correct vowel sounds in many cases, and always hears beginning and ending sounds in words. The amazing thing is that no one is teaching him these spellings explicitly. He's simply noticing and absorbing information from all around him - in the classroom and in the world around him. This is why it's so important to have an enriching environment not only in school but in a child's home - because they learn all the time, not just at school.

Writing Conference 3

Kindergarteners' learning is not usually gradual, but often happens in leaps and bounds. Just a few weeks ago, I saw them labeling single letters on their pictures. But today, they were writing words, some even sentences! We took them outside to draw some observations of the schoolyard, street, and surrounding area, and the results were amazing. I saw long strings of letters, and kids stretching out words fearlessly. I only got a few "is this right??" questions - most of the students were confident with their writing, as they should be.

I was especially pleased with Leo's work. He (morbidly) decided to draw the cemetery next to the school. I sat down with him, and reminded him that he needed to start writing words instead of single letters. As usual, he tried to tell me he only knew labels, but I told him I'd seen him write words before and that I knew he could do it. Then, instead of staying with him to make sure he was writing, I decided to leave him alone to see what he could do on his own. I'm so glad I did, because when I returned, he'd spelled "sun" and "graveyard" in the picture below. Graveyard is the word on the right - it's missing the "g," but if you read it bottom to top, he wrote a fair number of sounds - even a vowel! He read his writing back to me with pride in his voice, explaining that he'd add more words later, once he could think of other things to add to his picture.

Another thing: In morning meeting, as soon as I walked in, Leo turned around and whispered conspiratorially across the room: "I went to the library and got the cat book!" This was easily the best part of my day. I'd like to read more books with him that pique his interest, so that he learns that books can be rewarding and fun. I hope that with this book, he'll be able to foster a greater love of reading - and I really think he will.

Reflection

As I learn more about different styles and philosophies of teaching, it becomes increasingly apparent that I am not in a classroom that teaches the way I would if it were mine. When I first entered the class, I was enchanted by how adorable the children were, how kind and welcoming the teacher was, and the fact that finally, I was in a classroom, and I got to TEACH. But once the initial excitement wore off, I started to realize that I did not enjoy many of the worksheets the children did, copying the same letter over and over again. And a few weeks ago, my host teacher excitedly told me that they were now writing words instead of letters on these worksheets. I couldn't help thinking: what's the difference? These aren't their own words, or even their own letters. They're copying. I don't mean to say that they're not learning valuable skills - many of us were taught like this and obviously turned out fine. But I wonder if there is a way that they could learn the same things in a more interesting and creative way. Unfortunately, I have to write a lesson plan that goes along with this method. It's not at all what I would like a guided writing lesson to be.

However, I'm struggling with whether or not my own ideal is really possible in a Kindergarten classroom. Most every example we've read about, seen in class, or watched on a video has been from at least first grade. The students can draw independently, and write some letters. But many cannot. In my classroom, there are several students who don't know all their letters and have fairly poor fine motor control. While I know that in my own class, I would give all the students more freedom to write independently, it's possible that I would have issues justifying my method to other teachers and faculty, as well as how it meets up with standards. I can just hear them telling me, "They're just drawing!" As a result, I'm interested to see how an older classroom operates and if it would be easier there to implement a more holistic writing curriculum.

After reading a chapter in Kidwatching: Documenting Children's Literacy Development, by Gretchen Owocki and Yetta Goodman, I got a better idea of the kind of classroom I want to have, and it gave me faith that it's really possible. The authors belief that learning in school should be purposeful and meaningful. This is achieved when "children find the curriculum relevant to their personal and social words; own their learning activities; and make choices about what and how they will learn." (Owocki and Goodman, 22) They believe that instructors should let students questions, interests, and ideas drive the curriculum. I wholeheartedly agree with this idea. In my classroom, I want students to feel like there is a reason for their learning above all things. If they have a reason, they will have motivation to learn.

Writing Conference 2

Today, I managed to steal Leo away between the fire drills and other classroom interruptions to have a quick discussion of his work. The students had all completed K/W/L charts (something I've done myself this semester!) about turkeys. I was pleasantly surprised upon examining Leo's to see an apparent random string of letters - he was generating his own text! Once I asked Leo what he'd been writing, the words made perfect sense - in the first column, he'd written "they lay eggs," and in the second, "Do they scratch?" Leo got the majority of the sounds in the words, and even spelled "scratch" correctly.
I reiterated my previous teaching point, which was that I'd wanted him to try and write words himself, and he had gone above and beyond my expectations. I will continue to check his writing for evidence that he's writing, and next conference I think I will work on reading with him.

Kidwatching: November

November 8th
The kids have all gone outside to observe trees with their 5th grade buddies. It's so much fun to watch them interacting, working, and learning together, despite their age differences. They have a lot to learn from each other. On the way back, Leo asked me, "Did you bring the cat book? Can we read it??" I replied that I did, and we could read it at "Read to Self" time.

When the time came, we curled up in the book nook to read "There Are Cats in This Book." We read the whole thing, and Leo was completely immersed. He asked me what each and every speech bubble said, and started to reply to the cat's questions. After the story, he took the book and put in his book box. I was worried I would have to take it away from him, especially when he said jokingly, "hey, so I have this new cat book..." However, I explained that it was from the library, and that I would give him the name and the author so he and his mom could find it there. Once I said that, he took it out and gave it back to me. But if that had been my own book, I'd have given it to him in a heartbeat.

Reflection

On our first meeting before we started fieldwork, our professor Anne Denney gave us this advice, which she said was “the most important thing you need to know when you’re in the classroom.” She said we needed two things in order to set the stage for effective teaching. The first thing to build relationships. You need to show children you care about them, not tell them about it. The way you act towards them each day and the way you listen and ask questions will show them that you care about them. The second thing we need to do is establish mutual trust. This begins on the teacher’s end, and takes time. We need to initiate this trust, and build it by treating children as if what they are saying is important (because it is!) We need to trust them to make decisions about their learning, and give them the time to do this. 

Thinking back to this conversation, I realize that any success I've had with Leo would not have happened without the relationship we'd built. He is very slow to warm up to new people (the first day I worked with him, he told me to "go away and never come back." But today, he gave me a hug when I left. As a teacher, I am going to make my relationship with my students first priority. How can they learn from you when they don't know you or trust you? It seems like second nature to those of us who love kids, but I have seen teacher forget about their love of children because they're so stressed about teaching for standardized tests, or making sure their students are learning all the phonics rules and sitting still on the carpet during long, boring lessons. I am going to try extremely hard to avoid this by taking time each day to enjoy the children and the marvelous things they say and do. 

There are Cats in This Book

This week was fairly unproductive, in terms of my conferences with Leo. The class had a field trip on Tuesday and Thursday was fairly rough, being the day after Halloween. The kids were somehow both rowdy and tired at the same time... Too much candy + not enough sleep = disaster. They didn't do any independent writing, either, so I was unable to talk to him about it. However, I managed to pull Leo aside for a minute and read to him. I could tell from the smile on his face and how he eagerly turned each page himself as I read that he was enjoying it immensely, and about halfway through he started asking me what the text in the speech-bubbles said. At the end, he looked up at me and said, "I liked that book!" I told him that I would bring it back so we could read it again next time, and I'd also bring another one I thought he'd like.

If he likes books like this, I am going to see if I can get him some more picture books in a comic-book format, with features that engage the reader like pop-ups and commands to "turn the page!" etc. Even though we were supposed to be conferencing, I feel like reading to him is just as beneficial. Reading books he likes will build his trust, and show him that books CAN be fun.