Explorations in Literacy

The Content Literacy Explorations in Literacy Class has shifted my way of viewing myself as a teacher in the growing age of the 21st century. First, I have had to push myself to learn and use different technological tools that I wasn’t familiar with beforehand. Second, my instructional practices have changed to use graphic novels … More Shifting Thinking as a Reading Teacher

Our students are learning from the way we teach as much as what we teach them. The factors of fairness, injustice, cultural differences, morals, and perspectives effect the way we teach and how our students learn. Peter Johnson pushes me to continue to view how I frame the way in which I teach my students. Johnson states, “the … More Engaging Students: Opening Minds Chapters 7-9

After reading chapters five and six, I began to reflect on how I work with and help my students in both inclusion and resource classes. I understand now how many of my students may come into the classroom with an idea of “silence” being a good way for them to concentrate although, there is time … More Inquiry, Dialogue, and Social Imagination: Chapters 5 and 6 of “Opening Minds”

Reading the first two chapters of “Opening Minds” by Peter Johnson has once again has helped me reflect on my language and thinking within my classroom. Within the first chapter, I noticed that two areas stuck out to me being how to use productive talk and how to promote the love for learning in our classrooms. … More Choosing Words for Dynamic-Learning Change in the Classroom: Chapters 1-4 of “Opening Minds”

After reading Chapters 7 and 8 of Choice Words, I began to wonder about how my language and classroom communities been shaped since the beginning of the school year. My students and I have “grown into the intellectual life around them” for mostly the better (p.65)  I’m still continuing to analyze and reflect on my own thoughts, actions, … More Creating a Democratic Learning Community: Chapters 7-8 of “Choice Words”

After reading chapters five and six of “Choice Words” by Peter Johnson, I have already been reflecting about how my current teaching process has taken a major shift since my first year as a teacher. I remember how it the beginning I felt like I need to make sure to guide the students through each … More Helping our students transfer and know knowledge for themselves.

Working in a middle school, I see my students on a daily basis searching for their identity. At this age, I understand how crucial my students sense of “identity” is developing their experiences being peers or influences around them. Their identity may be found in certain trends, through friends, or their actions or reactions to different issues.  It … More Helping students find a healthy sense of identity and agency within the influence and choice of words

“How valuable and power language can be– valuable enough to play with, powerful enough to change behavior without force” (Johnson, p. 1). After reading this quote on the first page of the book, Choice Words, by Peter Johnson, I knew that this reading would greatly impact my teaching. Being a special education teacher, I find … More Reflections of Language and Naming of “Choice Words”

I’m beginning to implement a classroom routine of pulling small groups for different leveled group instruction for Corrective Reading and Guided Reading. Over the weekend, I was thinking and preparing each group’s materials and rotations. I have two leveled groups in my class for Corrective Reading being B1 and B2 Levels. Also, I have four … More Giving Students’ Choice: Using a Reading Response Menu

After my ELA resource students completed their personal narratives last week, we are going back to building our weekly routine of Corrective Reading and Guided Reading strategies. I’m excited for my students to continue this routine again and that we can begin to see more consistency each week. With focusing on this week. I’m thinking to … More Back into a “New Routine” of Corrective Reading and Guided Reading