Vocabulary Instruction

I chose to do the morpheme circle exercise with my twelve-year-old daughter.  I drew a circle with eight segments on one side of the paper, then another circle with four segments on the other side of the paper.  In the first circle, I wrote the word "talking" in one of the segments.  Then, I asked her to fill in the other seven segments with words that end in "ing".  She wrote the following words:  struggling, timing, exciting, bouncing, painting, penciling, diving.  Then, I wrote the word " geography" in one of the sections on the reverse side and asked her to write three more words ending in "graphy".  She wrote:  biography, bibliography, and autobiography.  When both circles were filled in, I asked her to write, in her own words, the meaning of each respective word ending.  For " ing", she wrote: "what you put at the end of a word which makes it present tense." For "graphy", she wrote:  " sources, stories, or records of something. "

This was an interesting activity for Kelsey (my daughter).  It helped her understand the terminology in a new way, and on a deeper level.  Though her definitions weren't exactly what you would find in a dictionary or glossary, I think that she did a pretty good job of determining the meanings based on context and relation to the other words.  This activity lets the student take the lead in learning new vocabulary, and we both liked that.  It also led to a great discussion about what the words really meant, and I get the feeling that those vocabulary words will stick with her for a much longer time.

I have to laugh because about now, I'm realizing that I was supposed to do an activity from the text book, not from the e-reading.  (Remember, I told you I have dyslexia LOL). So now, I'll do one from the book too.

I decided to do the vocabulary interview with my daughter.  I told her I was thinking of a landmark somewhere in the world and told her to ask me questions to try and figure what landmark I was thinking of.  First, I had her guess the Great Wall of China.  It was cool, because in the process of guessing the landmark, she ended up learning a lot about it as well.  She asked me questions to determine what continent it was in, what country, what the climate was, the size of the landmark, the color, if it was man-made, etc., until finally she guessed it.  Then, she guessed Angel Falls in Venezuela.  After the activity, she wanted to keep playing, so I let her have a turn choosing the landmark.  I liked this method of teaching a lot and now plan on using it in my future classroom.

Comprehension Instruction

(3) On page eight, Buehl emphasizes that “the activity” and “the context” have a tremendous impact on classroom learning. For instance, if reading and writing are interwoven into high-interest activities and larger inquiries, students are much more likely to enjoy them as opposed to exercises in which they repeatedly read the textbook and answer the questions at the end of the chapter.

For this blog, please think of a person who really fostered your love of reading. This person could be a mentor, a parent, a teacher, an older sibling, and so forth. What activities and contexts did s/he provide to you that caused you to enjoy reading? How can you establish similar activities or contexts in your own instruction?
Next, please think of a person who potentially damaged your love of reading. Without naming names, please describe the activities and contexts that this person provided, which caused you to dislike reading. How can you avoid similar activities or contexts in your own instruction?

I couldn't agree more with Buehl's emphasis on activity and context in the learning process.  I have four children who attend an expeditionary learning charter school in Perry, UT.  The idea behind the EL format, is that the students spend a short time reading the text, and maybe answering or discussing some preliminary questions, but then they get outdoors and do field work to support what they are studying.  For example. my nine-year-old son was recently learning about geology.  They spent some time with worksheets with the descriptions and terminology about different types and categories of rocks.  Then, they had several field work trips to nearby areas, where they mapped out data, prepared graphs and charts, and conducted scientific research and experiments.  To finish out the expedition, they spent a portion of their class every Monday afternoon at the Brigham City Natural History Museum, helping to label, classify, and volunteer.  At the end of the unit, the students acted as docets (museum guides) for their parents, and they had the opportunity to show us what they had learned.  This whole process allows the kids to take ownership and personal interest in their own educations, and will ultimately mean much more to them than a in-class module, because it is hands-on.  I have heard that 90% of  students are hands-on learners, and will retain knowledge more effectively if given the opportunity to apply it in its real-life context.  Here is a link to a video featuring the kids in my son's class explaining their recent geology unit.

Honestly, there has never been a person who has fostered my love of reading.  I do not enjoy reading, and I never have.  I struggle with sitting still long enough to pick up a book and just read.  Every time I start reading, my mind wanders, and it is very difficult to stay focused.  Retaining information is hard for me, but over the years, I have learned some strategies that help me with studying and with reading comprehension.  I almost always read out loud when I am preparing for a class, and I often take notes.  It also helps to have someone to discuss the topics with (usually my wife or children).  In high school, and also in college, the classes I have enjoyed the most were focused more on the application, and less on textbook reading.  I think that is one of the main reasons I have chosen Trade and Technology for my educational discipline.  I want to be able to help others apply what they are learning in an active way.

As a student when I was younger, I didn't realize that I probably had a learning disability, such as dyslexia.  I hated reading because the difficulties I had with comprehension and focus just made me feel inferior to my peers, who didn't struggle as much as I did.  I spent a lot of time feeling out of place and even stupid.  The "aha" moment for me was few years ago, when I was watching a "Cosby Show" rerun.  Theo was in college and was really struggling with his grades.  In fact, he had had awful grades all throughout high school as well.  Finally, in this episode, he met with a counselor at his university, and was told that he was probably dyslexic.  A light bulb went on for me and I turned to my wife, and said, "I'm dyslexic!"  For the first time ever, it dawned on me that maybe I wasn't stupid, but maybe I had a learning disability.  Like Theo, in the show, I have been able to use this knowledge to empower me.  I have learned techniques that help me, and my grades have skyrocketed since that moment. I think the constant chorus of voices telling me that I "wasn't applying myself", or that I "was just being lazy", or my internal voice that told me that I was "stupid" kept me from loving reading.  I'm still working on it.

Introduction

Hello!  My name is Tyler Walton and I am majoring in Trade and Technical Education with an emphasis in drafting education.  When I graduate, I will be prepared to teach at a high school or ATC.  I currently work full time as a draftsman for a structural steel engineering firm in Brigham City, where I also live.  I have been married for 14 years and am the father of five children:  three girls and two boys.  Click here to have comedian Jim Gaffigan explain what it is like to have five children?

I love to play basketball with my family, watch movies, do woodworking, design homes, and cook. I have been drawn (pun intended) to the drafting and architectural industry since I took a drafting course myself in high school.  Since then, being a drafting teacher has been my dream, even though I have taken quite a detour!

I would define literacy as being able to read or interpret, then comprehend material in a certain setting.  More literate folks would be able to also think about the material presented and think about the things they are learning, then form their own opinions and act on them.  Literacy definitely applies to my area of discipline.  First, quantitative literacy is a must because math is a huge part of drafting.  Second, a draftsman is responsible for writing instructions for building fabrication, so it is necessary to have excellent comprehension and an ability to communicate the instructions clearly in writing.

I look forward to this class and will blog again soon!