"We Read to Know We are Not Alone" - William Nicholson
Description/Overview
Reading and writing are skills that are crucial to the learning of students. Especially in Social Studies, reading and writing is what the subject centers on. In Social Studies, reading is paramount to a students' learning. To know and to understand what you are reading is important to the subject of History. What many students find hard to accomplish is understanding. To understand the knowledge you are reading, is to create new questions and build upon prior knowledge in order for you to understand the world a little better. Students must close-read information. By doing so, they can comprehend the information better and link key facts that before, would have left them inquiring about the why? Who? Where? How? And so what?
Another crucial skill in the Social Studies content area is writing. After reading and understanding what you have read, you must inquire about the knowledge. Doing so results in other questions one can ask, which then results in the establishment of an argument. By questioning knowledge, students gain skills in research and supporting evidence to backup your claim. Students learn the art of claiming something is right or wrong due to other outside evidence. They ultimately learn to NOT take things at face value. Questioning in the classroom results in motivation in the subject and participation in classroom discussion.
Skills Gained
A required part of Education 403 is 10 hours of observation in the high school setting. Personally, I decided to change scenery. Instead, I observed at my own high school. Since this is a private school, the curriculum and student learning might be higher than those in public schools and those schools within the Bronx, but I decided that getting a well-rounded view of different types of school settings would help me in the long run. This particular school has distinguishable learning levels amongst the students. You would think that since it is a private school it would have less, but truthfully, every school has various levels unless it is a higher ranking one where they only admit a select few for their academic achievements. The skills I gained while observing in this school is guiding students in note-taking skills as well as close-reading text. I observed a 12th grade classroom, so students in the Social studies classroom were well-acquinted with note-taking as well as inquiring, creating an argument and finding evidence. It was particularly satisfying to see a set of students working productively, but there are always students who need help. In this case, several students had trouble with questioning the information they were just taught. Giving them prompts such as, "Have you seen something differently in another text? Do you find that this information can be interchangeable amongst different groups?" Questions such as these helped students to understand that questioning something will not always be efficient, but asking the "right" questions will lead to more inquiry about the topic.
Lessons Learned
Currently, I am applying the knowledge, insights and skills from my field experience to my Unit Plan. In my Unit Plan, I incorporate the different learning methods for students as well as changing each lesson plan within the Unit to be unique to its assessment. This ultimately creates student motivation and excitement to what they will be learning for the day. From my field experience I learned that surrounding my students with more contemporary textual information gives them a broader understanding to the past. It also keeps students up-to-date with current news. This keeps them both in the reality of today's world, while comparing, contrasting and questioning the historical memory.
Impact/Importances
My learning connects to goals and values way beyond the immediate experience, because of my field experience. My work can benefit individuals in the reading and writing area. My values revolve around a positive educational experience for each and every individual. For myself, I have learned the significance, value, and work ethic to understand high school students today. By incorporating my own teaching and learning skills to the classroom, students can have a better judge of how they learn. This affects the way I teach in the future, catering to all learning styles and techniques.
Reading and writing are skills that are crucial to the learning of students. Especially in Social Studies, reading and writing is what the subject centers on. In Social Studies, reading is paramount to a students' learning. To know and to understand what you are reading is important to the subject of History. What many students find hard to accomplish is understanding. To understand the knowledge you are reading, is to create new questions and build upon prior knowledge in order for you to understand the world a little better. Students must close-read information. By doing so, they can comprehend the information better and link key facts that before, would have left them inquiring about the why? Who? Where? How? And so what?
Another crucial skill in the Social Studies content area is writing. After reading and understanding what you have read, you must inquire about the knowledge. Doing so results in other questions one can ask, which then results in the establishment of an argument. By questioning knowledge, students gain skills in research and supporting evidence to backup your claim. Students learn the art of claiming something is right or wrong due to other outside evidence. They ultimately learn to NOT take things at face value. Questioning in the classroom results in motivation in the subject and participation in classroom discussion.
Skills Gained
A required part of Education 403 is 10 hours of observation in the high school setting. Personally, I decided to change scenery. Instead, I observed at my own high school. Since this is a private school, the curriculum and student learning might be higher than those in public schools and those schools within the Bronx, but I decided that getting a well-rounded view of different types of school settings would help me in the long run. This particular school has distinguishable learning levels amongst the students. You would think that since it is a private school it would have less, but truthfully, every school has various levels unless it is a higher ranking one where they only admit a select few for their academic achievements. The skills I gained while observing in this school is guiding students in note-taking skills as well as close-reading text. I observed a 12th grade classroom, so students in the Social studies classroom were well-acquinted with note-taking as well as inquiring, creating an argument and finding evidence. It was particularly satisfying to see a set of students working productively, but there are always students who need help. In this case, several students had trouble with questioning the information they were just taught. Giving them prompts such as, "Have you seen something differently in another text? Do you find that this information can be interchangeable amongst different groups?" Questions such as these helped students to understand that questioning something will not always be efficient, but asking the "right" questions will lead to more inquiry about the topic.
Lessons Learned
Currently, I am applying the knowledge, insights and skills from my field experience to my Unit Plan. In my Unit Plan, I incorporate the different learning methods for students as well as changing each lesson plan within the Unit to be unique to its assessment. This ultimately creates student motivation and excitement to what they will be learning for the day. From my field experience I learned that surrounding my students with more contemporary textual information gives them a broader understanding to the past. It also keeps students up-to-date with current news. This keeps them both in the reality of today's world, while comparing, contrasting and questioning the historical memory.
Impact/Importances
My learning connects to goals and values way beyond the immediate experience, because of my field experience. My work can benefit individuals in the reading and writing area. My values revolve around a positive educational experience for each and every individual. For myself, I have learned the significance, value, and work ethic to understand high school students today. By incorporating my own teaching and learning skills to the classroom, students can have a better judge of how they learn. This affects the way I teach in the future, catering to all learning styles and techniques.
- Developing an understanding of reading and writing skills to students learning historical content.
- Learning the importance of patience, communication, and kindness when it comes to hurdling the challenges of reading and writing skills amongst high school students.