Literacy Observation Journal-Hope Darcey-Martin

Observation

Date: 9/3/14

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Prep for Writing
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Ms. D. asks her students to stand up at circle to

get bodies ready for writing cursive.

1.
2.
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Stomp feet.
Push hands together/pull hands apart.
Hug yourself
Raise Shoulders/drop shoulders

Ms. D. then demonstrated proper pencil grip by

picking up the pencil with two fingers then using
the pointer finger of the other hand to flip the
pencil around into position. Most students were
able to follow the motion. A few students asked if
they could hold their pencil a different way and
Ms. D. said that she wanted everyone to try to
model this grip at circle but that if their writing is
legible they can write however they are most
comfortable.

During the pencil grip practice, Student G. was

having trouble with the hand motion (fine motor).
Without prompting, Student A. turned to Student
G. and gently helped her until she was able to
complete the motion.

Theory

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It was interesting to see writing treated as a whole

body experience. I had never observed this before.
This prep honors the different learning styles and
multiple intelligences that students bring to the
table. Students who need to physically do in order
to fully understand (kinesthetic learning style) might
benefit greatly from this activity. This relates to
Gardners multiple intelligences.

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Student A.s instinctual guidance is powerful. Their

second grade teacher mentioned that this occurred
last year as well. It will be interesting to take note of
how often this happens and if the help is ever
resisted. I could see this happening and being
encouraged in Stephanie Terrys class. The teacher
does not reign and is not the only individual who can
teach effectively. Student advocacy and sense of
efficacy can broaden when students interact amongst
themselves.

9/8/1

Read-to-Self
Students learn about Read-to-self and good fit
book (book that is interesting and comfortable for
the student to read).
Ms. D. explains that during read-to-self they will be
expected to:
1. Stay in one place.
2. Start right away.
3. Work of stamina.
4. Read the entire time.
Students will be responsible for their own read-to-self
practice. If one person in the class is not practicing
rules 1-4, the entire class will stop and try again. Each
time the class will chart how long they were able to
read and will work on increasing this time each day.

9/9/14
I noticed that there is very little time to socialize in
class including snack time. However, as Ms. D. was
organizing herself side conversations during snack did
occur. I didnt hear the beginning of the conversations
but I heard the students talking about how long it
takes to get to Washington DC and where Washington
DC is located on a map.

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9/10/14
I was asked to do a read aloud on the spot five
minutes before recess of a book that I had never read
before. I paused a few times to check for
understanding and asked a few open ended questions I
told the students that they did not have to raise their
hand (something that Ms. D. does not do).

Self-efficacy, internal motivation and reading for

aesthetic purposes can all foster literacy development.
While this read-to-self format is structured, students
have a relatively wide range of books to choose from
(at other times in the day they can read any book they
want, regardless if it is good fit). Giving students
opportunities to become invested in what they are
reading and extended opportunities to read at their
own pace support life long interest in reading and
literacy. Rosenblatt and Smiths writing supports these
arguments. Miller also emphasizes the importance of
allowing students to follow their interests and explore
their own inquiries. If students enjoy what they are
reading their fluency will increase.

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It was fascinating to hear this discussion organically

develop. Although the students have other times to
socialize (gym, recess, lunch) this opportunity to
socialize at snack provided the opportunity for
interdisciplinary conversation. Even though this
discussion did not tie into the days curriculum, it
might be advantageous to keep this conversation in
mind and see how it can be tied in to future lessons
(geography, mapping, math, etc). This is not to say that
student led conversations must have a particular focus
or objective. Socializing with peers has value in and of
itself. This ties into Vygotskys social theory that
argues that academics and social life do not exist in
isolation. Vasquez also writes about the importance of
dialog among children. If children are given this
opportunity to talk about what matters to them, it can
lead to a literacy task. Students also make connections
between previous learning/discussions and current
inquiries. Social literacy is a meaningful skill to develop
in school.

After this experience I realized that I am not sure how I

feel about raising hands. My instinct tells me that
during a book discussion a fluid conversation where
children can interject and that unfolds naturally seems
effective to allow meaningful critical thinking.
However, I am wondering how effective this would be.
Would some voices be drowned out? Would it be
unproductive chaos or controlled chaos? I have more
reflection to do and will keep track and note if I gain
some more clarity. Trial and error may have to be
employed! I am finding it difficult to determine or to
find the balance between structure and freedom.

9/15/14
I observed one of the first teachers read aloud in the
class. Todays book was The Lorax. There were a few
checks for understanding during the reading but not too
many. At the end Ms. D. asked What do you think this
story is really about?

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9/16/14
Students E reverses his bs and ds. I pointed this
out and he became very defensive and said, I know, Ive
been doing that forever!

9/17/14
I observed student Gs writing. She is working on many
skills. It was very hard to read because of her spelling
development. She was able to sound out some words but
I couldnt detect her spelling process. She was unable to
read the writing back to me.

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9/22/14
Ms. D. told the class that they will be using writing
journals this year that will act as a diary of sorts.
Students will collect different mementos and pictures
that will decorate their journal. Ms. D. showed her
decorated journal and explained some things that are
important to her such as family, books, and her dogs.
The students began to chatter about what they love and
what is important to them.

This style read aloud seemed to resonate with the

students (as much as can be qualified and assessed!)
Students appeared engaged and focussed. I think the
last question was really powerful. It wasnt a correct
answer type of question. It honored their own
individual interpretation. Ms. D. asked what they
thought not the author. This related to Smiths idea
about comprehension and how he believes that
comprehension cannot really be measured. Every
individual has had a unique life experience and
therefore their comprehension will be unique as well. If
this style read aloud was put on the spectrum from
complete efferent to complete aesthetic (according to
Rosenblatt) it would be closer to aesthetic. A question
was asked but it was very open ended however, Ms. D.
was in a way looking for a certain answer.

Student E. felt stress concerning his letter reversals.

However, this doesnt necessarily have implications for
his future spelling/writing. Smith states that this is
often developmental and will change on its own.

Student G. has an IEP that I have not seen yet but she
has many academic challenges. I was able to look at her
writing again and noticed that much of her spelling
does not fit the typical spelling development stages.
However, one of her strengths is her story telling. She
is able to express what she wants to say through oral
language when it comes to personal narratives. I believe
she is going to receive speech and language services
and I am curious if she will be able to dictate some of
her writing. There are multiple literacies and oral
expression is one of them. Although writing is
important it is not the only way students can share
knowledge and learning. Rose talks about the
importance of oral storytelling as seen in Stephanie
Terrys classroom.These accounts were taken seriously
as contributions to the linguistic environment.
Children's oral stories were celebrated, analyzed,
incorporated into discussions of written
stories (Rose, 1995, 115).

I absolutely want to do this in my future classes. The

care put into personalizing the journal will give the
students a sense of pride in their work and interests.
This isnt just any journal, it's your unique treasure in
which your important life moments are documented in
a creative manner. A quote from Vasquez comes to
mind that I want to remember; I want my students to
ache with caring over their writing (Vasquez, 2004,
106). What a great way to set the stage for this!

9/23
Student N. began his diary today. He wrote a story about
his cats waking him up at night. (Ms. D. previously
modeled a story by talking about her dog waking her
up.) He wrote about his 5 cats and wrote their names
which included Cosmo and Incognito. At curriculum
night his mother read the diary, laughed and said that
they only have one cat who's name was not written.

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I was stunned by Student Ns creative capacity.

Incognito? Now neat! While I believe it is important
for students to understand the difference between
fiction and non-fiction, his creative impulse
definitely trumps the directions for the assignment
in my mind. It will be interesting to monitor and see
how many times he adds fanciful embellishments to
his true story writing. Storytelling is wonderful
way to experiment with language and to improvise.
Storytelling is given different values in different
cultures and is not always valued in the modern
American classroom. I was able to download Anne
Haas Dysons book, The Need for Story: Cultural
Diversity in Classroom and Community. Dyson writes
about the need that many students have to tell
stories and importance that, Children use narrative
to shape and reshape their lives, imagining what
could have or should have happened, as well as what
did happen (Dyson, 1994, 2). Student N. would in
this case be referred to as a social actor by Dyson.

9/24/14
Students were given a booklet of commonly used words.
They are encouraged to use this book to help with their
spelling during journal writing. Student K. uses it often
but needs help finding the correct page to look for
whereas Student E. uses to book independently as a
quick reference.

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9/29/14
Morning message asked the question, Do you have a
yellow shirt at home?. They were then intersected to
put a tally mark under yes or no. At morning
meeting Ms. D. discussed the question (shirts are for the
school assembly). They turned it into a math problem by
asking if everyone could add up the tally marks. Students
then shared that strategy they used and compared with
their peers.

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The students seem to be continuously given

resources to help with their writing. One has many
options for spelling help and during the first draft,
spelling is not checked or corrected. The most
popular strategies are to underline a word they aren't
sure about and just do their best, try to sound it out,
ask a teacher, and now they can use their common
word booklet. Ganske discusses the use of visual
representations of words the students might want to
use. Spelling does not always have to be a test.
There is a benefit of seeing the words repeatedly.

Content subjects do not need to be taught in distinct

blocks of time. In fact, interdisciplinary curriculum
can foster meaning making and deeper
understanding. The math/communication example
demonstrates how easy it can (sometimes!)be to use
this approach to make content more relevant to the
students. We have had many class discussions about
the benefits of multidisciplinary approaches to
curriculum. Like many things, it ties back to the idea
of interconnectedness and relevance. Smith
discusses authentic tasks. If there is no connection
to some prior knowledge students will got gain
much from the task. Rose also writes about this
concept when describing Stephanie Terrys class.
Terry incorporates authenticity whenever possible by
creating (and allowing students to create)
opportunities to explore topics that are relevant to
her individual students.

9/30/14
Today I helped students record their poems using an i-pad
application to create a slideshow. I had a different experience
with every student. Some students were very nervous, some
did one take and were satisfied and some wanted to record
several times.
Student G. was having difficulty reading her poem. She
recorded a few times and then started getting frustrated. I told
her its ok if its not exact or perfect but she really wanted it to
sound right but was embarrassed that she had to try many
times. She loves singing and often sings during the day so I
made the analogy to a singer in a recording studio. I asked if
she thought that a famous singer is always satisfied the first
time they record the song. She answered, yes! and I
responded, No way! Artists make mistakes, thats why they
can erase the recording and try again. She laughed and read
through one more time to no avail. She simply could not read
what she wrote. I made the executive decision to give her the
option of just responding to the pictures and telling what she
wants to say.
10/1/14
The class has been writing stories based on a snapshot or
moment in their lives. They have also been comparing a
reporter voice and an interesting, engaging voice. A reporter
voice just describe in a dry and matter-of-fact manor whereas
the engaging voice gives detail, uses dialog, describes what
they see, hear, taste, smell, feel. Ms. D. demonstrated the two
voices through a story of her own. Then she asked if anyone
wanted to make up a story on the spot and tell it to the class
about a moment in time. She brought up a game that they play
in gym as a subject. Students took turns storytelling with the
class. Student E. volunteered first.

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10/2/14
Student N. has not been writing during writing time. He ends
up having to finish during recess (5 minutes at the most),
during choice time or before school.

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This was such a neat experience for me. It was really the first
opportunity I had to work with each student independently out
of the classroom. Every student responds differently to the
process of recording their own words but no one resisted or
chose not to record. Ms. D. was initially hesitant to take this
next step with the poem with the i-pad but was changed her
mind when she saw how much pride the students took in the
slideshow and how excited they were to have their parents see
them at curriculum night. Miller discusses the benefits of
projects that extend learning. These technology presentations
allowed the students to showcase their work in a creative and
engaging manner.
Student G. needed to proceed her own way. It seemed more
important for her to be able to feel that she completed the
project then to read the exact words of her poem. Although
writing is a huge part of 3rd grade and the common core, as I
have noted previously with my comparison to Dysons work,
oral expression can be a way for students who are emerging
readers to participate, (even if the writing is her own).

This observation has many connections to literacy development

and instruction. This story telling allowed students to take
ownership over their own creative ideas and thoughts. It also
gives students who may be prolific storytellers but struggling
writers, the chance to express themselves. Rosenblatt argues
that engaging experiences that honor and allow creative
freedomlay the foundation for linguistic development. This
observation is a strong example. Student E. often exhibits signs
of anxiety, especially about his work. It was surprising that he
volunteered first. Although his voice shook, he stood tall and
self confident enough of his own creativity to share with the
class. Dyson also writes about the power and importance of
storytelling for both emerging readers/writers and adults as
well of story telling. Storytelling can also foster a sense of
identity and place in the world.

He has shown that he has the ability but it seems that he loses
interest and that motivation might play into it. This student
has a 504 plan and needs support staying on task. He is writing
a personal narrative and he definitely is not at a loss for ideas.
His parents recently have decided to implement a behavioral
plan where he loses points every time he has to be redirected
or if he is disruptive. If the redirections decrease, he will get to
go bowling with his dad. He seemed pretty interested in being
responsible for keeping track of his behavior but it seems to be
losing its effectiveness. I am not sure how I feel about this type
of behavior plan personally but it is not something
implemented so my personal opinion does not come into play
here. I would love to figure out how to support his writing. I
am honestly not sure what some of the authors we have read
would say about this since the writing was about something he
had a high interest in. I almost feel that I should have more
strategies in my back pocketIt seems that the educators and
theorists that we explored would all say that a lack of writing is
usually a result of a lack of relevance or because the task is
developmentally inappropriate. I have had more time to think
on this and was inspired by Riefs writing conferences. A daily
or weekly individual writing conference with him might be
useful if that can be scheduled.

10/6/17
The students have been using a chart to map their story
progression. They can physically move their name if they
move from editing for example, to re-reading for clarity.

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10/7/14
Students are encouraged to keep what Ms. D. calls a
comfort book in their desk that they can read if they
finish tasks early or have free time. This can be any book
they want, as opposed to the good fit books that are
read during the daily 5. A student asked when can we
exchange our comfort books? and Ms. D. answered,
Anytime you want!.

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10/8/14
Ms. D. introduced geography and map making by first
having the students think about their place in relation to
the rest of the world. She read the book Me on the Map
then did an exercise with the students where they each
got a card with a word or phrase on it such as
Classroom, Earth, Tompkins County, Ithaca,
etc. Students had to physical order themselves from
small to large starting with Me.

This chart encourages transparency of their storys

development. Everyone can see what everyone else is
working on. This is not a competition and its made
clear that every stage is valuable. The whole process is
cyclical with no clear start and finish. Its an
example of students being responsible for their own
progression and progress as well as fostering respect for
different paces. The importance of creating a classroom
environment where students understand and respect
each others process is valuable. If this climate can be
created, differentiation does not have to be hidden or
have a stigma attached to it. Rief explains how she sets
up writers workshop and her emphasis on process
rather than product. Students are not only allowed to
work at their own pace but are evaluated on different
goals that honor their different strengths and
challenges. I appreciated Ms. Ms (the reading teacher)
analogy she shared with the students, You are the
captain of your story.

Its interesting to see how student choice is connected

to what books are read. I think students are given a fair
amount of choice in general. The good fit books can
be problematic (Smith would say, who is a teacher to
tell a student what book is a good fit?!?) but I
understand wanting students to challenge themselves
appropriately. I still have mixed feelings. However, I
appreciate that students can read whatever they want at
certain times during the day. Smith, Rosenblatt,
Vasquez, Riefpretty much all of the readings this
semester emphasize the importance of students choice
both to promote critical literacy, critical thinking,
motivation, fluency and self esteem. However, the
question remains, when and if you should limit or
guide their choice. Smith says that students learn to
read by reading but if they only expose themselves to
one type of text, arent they limiting themselves to a
certain extent? I think that is where the teacher can
come in and suggest books that will be of interest but
may be a different type of text (informational, poetry,
historical novel, etc.)

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I think Stephanie Terry would try an activity such as

this. It honors the fact that students have multiple way
of making meaning and that physical movement, that
opportunity to learn kinesthetically, can be one of these
means. Its also a great way to use a book as a
springboard to talking about a new concept. We have
talked in many classes about this benefit.

10/20/14
Student K. chose Word Work (word sort) during the
reading and writing dailies. She did not remember
how to do the sort independently so I sat with her to
model and help guide. The class is working on Long
A and the sort headings were Ai, Ay, VCE and
oddball. We started taking alternating turns but
Student K. ended up taking over without my
assistance. When she was done she asked if she was
correct. Instead of telling her right or wrong, I asked if
she could figure out a way to check herself. She was
unclear of what I was asking. I then asked if she could
read each list and maybe that would help determine if
the lists make sense. Each time we got to a word that
didnt seem to fit she was able to adjust.

10/21/14
During dailies today Student C. and Student J.
started a reading group with the reading specialist Ms.
C. The book was a collection of true stories in which
animals saved their owners lives. They started the
group by reviewing some strategies to use when you
come across an unknown word. The strategies included
chunking sounds and using the context around the
word (there were more that I didnt have time to write
down). They took turns reading back and forth aloud.
When one of them stumbled over a word, Ms. C.
allowed wait time before assisting. In many instances
the students would self-correct. They also use the
chunking strategy. Student J. sometimes used
alternative words that did not change the meaning of
the sentence. Ms. C. did not stop him in those cases.

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10/22/14
Students took a photocopy of few pages from a book
that was previously read aloud. The task was to, in
pairs, put a sticky not on certain words or sentences
that really made the story come alive in heir mind.
Students had the chance to discuss in pairs and meet
again as a whole class to discuss. I observed Student K.
and Student J. who debated and discussed
enthusiastically.

This student seems to be making the transition into

the Within Word Pattern Stage according to Ganske,
where simply trying to sound out is going to cause
confusion. This student struggles in school and has an
IEP. I can see this activity becoming an independent
endeavor for her which might be really self affirming
even though she is below grade level. Independent,
meaningful work can be done regardless of your level
of mastery as you are not comparing yourself to
others. Johnson notes how students need to be given
the opportunity to make meaning for themselves as,
We often assume that students know things, or know
them in particular ways, when they do
not (Johnston, 2004, 7). Student K. was given the
chance to work at her own pace and be persistent with
her efforts to work it out for herself.

Efficient readers do not look at every word on the

page. Their prior knowledge greatly influences their
ability to read and understand what they read.
Although I have mixed feelings about students
reading aloud to each other in class, this seemed to be
interesting and effective for the participants. Students
were not stopped at every mistake which led to the
substantial self correcting. They were extremely
interested in the content which helped hold their
attention despite the lack of fluidity. Smith
emphasizes the fact that stopping children and
correcting every mistake is detrimental to reading
development and fluency. Smith also touches on short
and long term memory. The frequent corrections
without meaningful connections made by the student
will remain and quickly dissipate in their short term
memory.

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Once again I am finding the power of honoring

student opinion and thought process. When students
act as literature critics, they can gain insight to use in
their own writing. Smith echoes this sentiment when
he talks about the connection between reading and
writing and how authors teach readers about
writing. It also relates to Rosenblatts aesthetic vs.
efferent reading. The first time the students heard the
book they were not given any questions to answer nor
did they have to respond. When they were given the
pages to look at they examined the text from a more
efferent stance and discuss how the author used
words and imagery to create an enriching experience.

10/27/14
When I was walking around checking in on students
during cursive writing I noticed Student G. concentrating
very hard. She was working on lowercase h. I asked if
Gabby could show me how she made the h since it had
been a long time since I had learned cursive. She modeled
it for me and explained as she wrote.

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10/28/14
Students have been reading Because of Winn Dixie during
read aloud. Today, a character in the book was telling a
story about their great-great uncle who fought in the
Civil War. After the chapter Ms. D. asked some questions
to check for understanding. She then stated that war is
something many that many people protest against or
have strong feelings about.
Students began to talk amongst themselves (something
that there is little space for during ELA). Ms. D. was
ready to transition but she made eye contact with me and
let the students talk for another minute. I couldnt hear
everything that was said because these were multiple
quiet conversations but Student M. said, Yeah, war is
happening now and Student H. was talking about
someone who was in the Air force.

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Student G. does not seem to show much confidence

about her school work and academic abilities (I know
this is a subjective observation). However, her face lit up
when I asked if she could be the teacher, the expert hmaker. If students are always given task that are
inappropriately difficult for them, they will not succeed.
This is not to say that most educators do this but I have
observed student G. shut down on a regular basis
because she is unable to feel that she accomplished her
work independently. Again and again I struggle with the
concept of having the same objectives and standards for
every students for every lesson. Should we also honor
following the students where they are as we are
supporting them to push themselves? Student G. needs
to have moments where she feels accomplished, feels
like the expert and it is a teachers responsibility to
fascinate these moments. This is reminiscent to my
observation of Student K. and her word sort where she
was able to feel a sense of independence. It also
connects Stephanie Terrys philosophy about the fluidity
of teacher/student roles as written by Rose.

I found this moment to be one most profound. I

appreciated that Ms. D. realized that this was a unique
opportunity that the students took to discuss a topic
that they had some knowledge of and opinion about. It
seemed as if she was torn between moving on and
letting them talk. I think I would have let them keep
talking and then asked if anyone wanted to share for the
whole class. The students rarely have this type of
conversation naturally and it almost dealt like a missed
opportunity to make deep connections between the
book and themselves. I can envision Stephanie Terry
clearing out the rest of the day to expand on the student
led discussion (lesson plan be darned!). I often wonder
what the students can handle emotionally. War is one of
the hardest realities of which to speak. If I used this
minute conversation as a formative assessment, I would
conclude that this class could have a meaningful and
thoughtful discussion about war and conflict that could
tie into so many other concepts and disciplines. An
educator such as Vasquez would probably find a way to
encourage students to keep exploring this topic through
meaningful discussion and authentic inquiry. Smith
would say that these students have vast funds of
knowledge (or as he calls, non-visual information)
that shape how they interpret and respond to this text.

10/29/14
Students are writing an opinion essay. They have been
developing more supporting arguments and I was able
to hear a few of their final thesis statements.
Aiyana-Opinion essay about dance
Nico-Opinion essay about his cousin Nate whom he
talks about constantly
Max Opinion essay about chickens

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11/3/14
During my social studies lesson I used the book We are
All Born Free in three different ways. 1. Movie from
Amnesty International summarizing the book with
animated images from the book. 2. Teacher read aloud.
3. Students analyzed one page (blown up color
printout) from the book in groups and presented.

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It was really interesting to see which idea they chose to

write about. Throughout the semester I have been
learning about the students likes, dislikes, strengths,
worries , etc. While I was not able to make a complete
interest inventory for every student it is something that I
will try to continue doing in the upcoming months. I
have found that I am able to learn about students
interests not only through informal and formal verbal
sharing but also through their writing (particularly
narratives and opinion essay). The more you know about
your students the more you can support and foster their
individual inquiries. It can also help you find and
understand their actions, words, behaviors, when their
reasons are not apparent. Ballenger argues that children
are always making sense and it is our job to truly believe
this. In the Rose chapter Stephanie Terry would say that
you must follow your students interests to make the
curriculum relevant and obviously you need to be aware
of these interests! It can also hep you suggest books if
students say they dont know what to read. Students
know when a teacher is invested.

This book was an incredible resource. It is an adapted

version of the Declaration of Human Rights. I wanted to
introduce human rights in a positive and approachable
manner. This book (and short video clip) helped engage
the students about a topic that is relevant not only for
themselves but for all people. The lesson started with the
students sharing what they know about human rights and
we built from there. Although I wrote a detailed lesson
plan I could never have planned for some of the questions
that the students had concerning human rights. A few
times I had to make the decision whether to let every
student question lead the conversation or bring it back to
the plan. At one point a student had many questions
during the read aloud and another student complained
that she couldnt concentrate on the book when we kept
stopping every page. It is something I will continue to
grapple with since I wanted to honor both students
needs. Millers wonder boxes would have come in handy!
I did tell the student I could talk with him further later in
the day because his questions were so in-depth and
complex. I was able to meet with him during the reading
daily and we looked at the book together and discussed
some of his questions. Vasquez and Cowhey both try to
honor student interest surrounding complex subjects and
both use literacy to help unpack difficult issues. Vasquez
would say that students are innately interested in equity
and can be supported to explore these ideas through
discussion, reading, writing and action.

11/4-Student As journal
During math sprints, Student A. (strong in math) got one
answer wrong. She asked if she could mark it right and I
suggested she mark it honestly since this is not a test but
just lets the student know what they might need to
revisit. She seemed a little annoyed but continued to
participate. After the math station she was writing
furiously on the bottom of her sheet, making sure I could
sort of see her paper. I saw that is read, I hate math. Its
so stupid, I haaaaaaaate it. I asked if she could talk to
me for a minute and reiterated she was doing just fine
and that we just learn form our mistakes. She then
dropped the paper and went to her desk to transition to
writing. I noticed her writing furiously in her journal,
leaving it open when she went to sit at circle.
During lunch I read the journal. One page was about the
math interaction and she wrote, I will not be ok with
mistakes I hate it. DO NOT READ. If you read this you
will regret it. I then read back a few pages. She wrote
extremely violent hate filled statements about students in
the school (using pseudonyms). She also wrote that she
couldn't believe how stupid people in this school were. I
brought this to the attention of the classroom teacher
who hadnt observed any of this.
The classroom teacher and I decided that I would not be
included in the initial discussion with the student since
the classroom teacher has more experience with this
student. They spoke and the student did not say much.
The classroom teacher then spoke with the counselor and
they decided that it didnt need to be taken any further
and the student would not be asked to speak with the
counselor. The classroom teacher then had a whole class
discussion about being kind and that it is ok to write in
your journal but that it must be kept at home.

There have been some updates. This student has been

increasingly secluding herself from her peers and
displaying extremely defiant behavior at times. The other
day she refused to participate for anyone and ended up
walking out of the classroom. The classroom teacher
spoke with her and again didnt get much information
but the student started to cry. The classroom teacher
asked if she wanted to stay in from special and help out
in the classroom. The student said yes.

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I am really puzzling over how to interpret and proceed. I

believe students should be able to express their opinions
orally and through writing but feel like a line must be
drawn when the writing included threatening behavior
towards students in the school. The classroom teacher did
not seem as concerned about this as I did but I really think
its a red flag. Not to say I assume this student will act on
this, but she is definitely struggling with a lot of anger.
There was a marked difference to the beginning of the year
when Student A. was very social and participated fully. I
probably would not have thought it needed to be taken any
further if it was just about math as I think her parents put
a lot of pressure on her relating to academics. However, I
believed that the threatening nature of the other entries
needed to be addressed. Since the classroom teacher was
going to speak with her, I decided to just leave the student
a little post-it of encouragement. I wrote that she has so
many strengths, math being one of them, and has so much
to be proud of. I ended by wishing her a good weekend. I
left the post in her desk. I noticed that she moved the post
it to the side of her desk and kept it there. I am not sure
exactly how to connect this experience with discussions or
reading this semester since this topic hasnt really come. I
think it was a good decision to ask students to keep their
journals home, a decision that I agree with especially since
I observed Student A. manipulating other students by
daring classmates to read it but then getting mad. She has
also been saying unkind things to another student.
Students deserve to be in a stress free environment where
they feel safe and supported. In my mind that trumps the
choice to write in a personal journal at school.

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As soon as Student A. walked back in the room I asked if

she wanted to help me grade math papers. She nodded her
head and we worked, mostly silently together. I thanked
her for her help and she smiled. When the class came back
from art she seemed disappointed that she missed making
paper snow flakes. When the classroom teacher and I
spoke about this incident she told me, Well, you were
right, you knew something was brewing. If fact the
teacher admitted that sometimes she missed some of the
nuances and interactions that happen during class and that
its really helpful to have another person in the room who
can key into these sometimes subtle dynamics. I am feeling
a lot of compassion toward this student and am going to
continue to try to meet her needs the best way I can.

11/10/14
Ms. D. asked me to apart a writing lesson centered on
opinion essays from Lucy Calkins Breathing Life Into
Essays. She often uses lessons written by Calkins. I did
not have time to read the entire book but I was able to
skim through several lessons.

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11/11/14
I administered the DSA to 6 students who are at varied
stages of spelling development. Ms. D. picked the 6 six
students based on wanting more information so we
know how to support the students with their spelling. I
sat with 3 students at a time at the roundtable in the
back of the room.

Ms. D. loves Calkins work her but finds faults with some of her
lesson formats. Ms, D. feels that the students need more direct
modeling then Calkins sometimes provides. This has been
something that I continue to wrestle with. How much direct
instruction is needed. Students need to explore but with
support. Johnston reiterates this dilemma when she writes,
There are hidden costs in telling people things. If a student can
figure out for him or herself, explicitly providing the information
preempts the students opportunities to build a sense of agency
and independence (Johnson, 2005, 8). When I taught the
lesson I realized that Ms. D. was correct in thinking the students
needed a little more structure since most students needed
additional individual support when they wrote on their own.
Calkins does have some incredible insight and some of her side
notes in the book are really powerful. She believes that students
are authors and should be treated and named as such. This in
part blurs the line between teacher and student resulting in
more of a partnership, which I believe is really powerful. I think
there is most definitely a time and place for those lines to be
concrete (classroom management, discipline) but with the
writing this concept of writers learning and growing together is
empowering for both teacher and student. I could see Stephanie
Terry agreeing with this statement as her respect for her
students potential was always high.

It was interesting for me to reflect on both the results of the

analysis and the process itself. I have not yet had the chance to
provide spelling support for these students individually based on
the analysis, but plan to in the coming year when I will be in the
class all week. (I really look forward to this aspect of the spring
semester. It is so difficult to feel like things are sometimes left
hanging because I am not always able to follow-up and I miss
half of what they do during a given week. I am sure that
students who often miss school have similar challenges!)
Rosenblatt and Smith-stress affects assessment and
learning tasks-for racing but really across disciplines and literacy
tasks. I made it very clear that this was away to help me help
them! It was not a test and not graded. I had some side
conversations based on the sentences I used and I changed the
names so they were included in the sentence. Maybe that was
not the best choice because we got a little sidetracked but I
really wanted it to be a positive experience and I dont believe it
affected the analysis at all. However, I ran out of time and was
not able to have the students who got 12 or more right to move
to the next stage. So this limited that analysis to a certain extent
(but doesn't make it invalid) I would like to continue the DSA in
the new year with the students who spelled most of the words
right to analyze their accurate stage.
Ms. D. has word sort as an option for the Daily 5 but she
has everyone work on the same concept. I think looking at the
DSA would allow for students to move at their own pace and do
word sorts that pertain to their personal spelling stage and
individual concept.
We have had many class discussions about authentic and meaningful
assessments. I think the DSA is less problematic than others since it is
somewhat put in context for the students since they hear the word in a
sentence. It would also be interesting to compare the DSA with their
journal writing to see if they follow the same spelling patterns in their
writing as well.

11/12
Ms. D. and I decided that I could lead a reading group
with four students that Ms. D. thought could use a little
motivation to push themselves with their reading. She
left it really open ended and just suggested that I give
them a choice of books to vote on. I worked with the
librarian to come up with some options (I was limited to
level P and O books which I found a little frustrating) but
was able to find some really great choices.

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11/17/14
Middle school observation. I observed a social studies
and a language arts class (same teacher). The reading for
language arts was a two page information text about the
pyramids. Students were given steps to follow for the
reading. First they would take turns reading it aloud in
their table group. Next they would summarize the gist
of each paragraph. Then they would circle the details that
related to the main ideas of each paragraph.

Choosing a book was a really interesting process. I definitely

wanted to honor student choice. Smith, Rosenblatt, and
Johnson all stress the importance that choice and relevance
effect how a student reads and comprehends. Harvey Daniels
writes about the importance of choice in lit groups
specifically. Daniels stresses that choice is crucial and that
students must have experience going through the process of
finding and choosing books (Daniels, H. (2002). Literature
circles: Voice and Choice in book clubs and reading groups. Portland
ME:Stenhouse. (He does say however that variety is key and
there must be a balance between teacher and student choice).
There was one book in particular, Stone Fox that I was really
excited about due to the complex and interesting issues that
are raised in the book such as socioeconomic inequality. (The
portrayal of the Indian was a little problematic but that
could be discussed as well!). I have been thinking about ways
to bring issues of equity and social justice into the classroom
and this book would be a great vehicle. Yet, I once again
found myself in a dilemma. Student choice is important,
however, when is it appropriate for the teacher to override
student choice in order to foster critical thinking and critical
literacy surrounding issues of equity (especially since we
recently had a social studies lesson about human rights). In
an article by Lewison, Flint & Van Sluys (Lewison, M., Flint,
A.S., & Van Sluys K. (2002) Taking of critical literacy. The
journey of newcomers and novices. Language Arts, 79(5),
382-392.) They write about the importance of choice when it
comes to developing critical literacy. Students need to be
invested. I asked Ms. D. about this and she thought it was
fine to sort of play up Stone Fox but still give a few choices. I
ended up offering 3 books and, low and behold, two students
out of the four already read Stone Fox! They ended up voting
for Akimbo and the Elephant which does get into some ethical
animal rights issues.

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This would be an extreme example of efferent reading

according to Rosenblatt. Students were practicing the
skill of finding the topic sentence and details. While I
think this is an important skill to have, this was really
the only type of reading they did in class over the three
days that I observed. The teacher lamented this reality
and said the common core really stresses informational
text and students take a lot of time grappling with
them. Therefor there is little time for things like read
alouds let alone aesthetic reading. However, this
teacher made it a priority to read at least 10 minutes to
her class every day if possible. When I observed she
was reading a novel about a girl discovering Egyptian
curses. If students are limited to just information text,
there reading development with not flourish to the
extent that it would if they are exposed to a variety of
text and genre. Smith would agree.

11/18-19
I attended two team meetings during my observation
week at a middle school. Teachers used phrases such as
idiot, pain in the butt, crazy parent, etc. to talk
about students (and there parents).

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12/1
I was able to observe students developing their opinion
essay outline. I had taught a previous lesson related to
this concept. Students are developing their arguments
further in a template with a more formally constructed
thesis statement. Student M. kept his chicken theme and
this thesis was Taking care of chickens is hard. His
first reason was They keep dying because of other
animals. Then his first supporting sentence was, They
are not so smart so they just wander off . He told me he
was having trouble continuing. I asked him to look back
in his journal and find what reasons he gave for them
dying. He found that they got sick and died a lot, they
were eaten by animals and they were not so smart so
they wandered off and didn't survive. I asked him if he
thought he should adapt his reason sentence. We worked
together and he decided to change his first reason
sentence to Chickens often die as one of the reasons
that it is hard to raise chickens. Then he was able to
write the three additional pieces of information
concerning how they died.

This was not an observation of kids but an observation of

teachers talking about kids. I was kind of astounded by
the language used. Upon reflection Johnston immediately
came to mind. Words carry so much power and weight
speaking is as much an action as hitting someone with a
stick, or hugging themLanguage, then, is not merely
representational (though it is that), it is also
constitutive. It actually creates realities and invites
identities, (Johnson, 2004, 9).
I believe that this is true whether you are speaking to the
children or not. I know teachers feel frustration and also
use different levels of sarcasm and different relationships
with their students (Im pretty sarcastic and definitely
share in humor with my students) BUT there are certain
words that I feel teachers should not use, ever, when
talking about children (even if they dont mean it the way
it sounds). This language can become ingrained and I
truly believe can affect the way you see your students. I
think there are alternative ways to vent frustration and
that speaking about children in this manner is especially
inappropriate especially given the presence of two
student teachers.

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This lesson too is based on Lucy Calkins book. However,

Ms. D. said that she adapted it by creating one large
template instead of multiple folders for each argument.
Ms. D. is very in tuned to student need for clarify and
organization, especially since several students in the class
benefit from extra support with executive functioning. It
was really need to see how ideas had developed and
changed since my lesson. It was great to have the
opportunity to workshop with Student M. Every writer at
every age can benefit from workshopping with a peer or
teacher. Rief and Miller write about the many benefits of
conferencing with students about their writing. While
this wasnt a formal set meeting time, I was able to
spend time this student to help organize their ideas.
There wasnt any focus of spelling or grammar etc. since
the purpose was to get his ideas on paper. Students
cannot focus on too many concepts at once, nor should
they be expected to. Thats where clear objectives can
really come in handy. What skill are they really working
on? The final essay will be assessed but the process is
just, as, if not more, important. If students can develop
these writing skills and find what works best for them
they can apply it to all kinds of writing. Rief emphasizes
the importance of process and insures that her students
know this as well through her assessments.

12/2/14
The students chose the book for reading group (see
11/12/14). I gave them each a reading group folder with a
stapled Self-Assesment sheet that they will fill out every
week. I asked if they had ever had specific jobs to do for
reading group. They said no. I explained each job
(Investigator, Word Wizard, Director, Connector,
Illustrator). There were a lot of questions about what was
expected. I then let them choose what they wanted to do,
telling them that they would switch next week.
Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain enough copies of
the book in time. However, since my time was limited I
gave the students the option to start reading silently or
take turns reading around the circle. (The group in
general will read during the week, discuss during the
book group). Reading group-students chose to read
aloud.
Student Q. struggled over certain words more than others
and Student A. kept correcting her right away which did
not seem to bother her.
After the reading Student H. asked, Wait so Akimbo is
an elephant right?. Akimbo was the name of the boy and
the section that Student H. read talked about how his
father worked on a nature reserve and fixed trucks.

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12/3/14
During one of the math rotations students were asked to
find some patterns in a list of multiplication equations
(the 2 times tables). Students had to identify some
patterns that they noticed and write in complete
sentences on the bottom of the page. This was one of the
first instances where the students were really asked to
write in math (other than word problems). I was
supporting Student G. and she was really focussed and
open to my support. We talked through a few things she
noticed and was able to tell me that there were lots of
even numbers in the answer. When she went back to
write the sentence she could not recall this pattern that
she found.

This process was very interesting. I am not sure if they

are totally clear about their roles but I told them to please
ask throughout the week (I would check-in with them
too) if they were confused. It was too bad that we didn't
have enough books in time but they chose to share one
and pass it around. I was surprised by Student Hs
question since he had read the beginning page that
introduced Akimbo and his father. This fact might
support Smiths assertion that reading aloud is more
difficult than reading to yourself. Even though student
read fluently he did not understand that Akimbo was the
name of the boy not an elephant. I wonder if he had read
it aloud if he would have been as confused. I asked if he
remembered what Akimbos father did. He said, Fix
trucks on the reserve. Then I asked if it would make
sense if an elephants father would have that job. He still
looked a little confused and said, Oh ok, but sometimes,
like, an adult will call themselves the parent of a dog or
something. Talk about needing to assume that students
are always making sense (Ballenger)! Even though I
thought it was obvious that Akimbo was a boy, given his
description etc., the information that Student H. recalled
had to do with the father. Perhaps Rosenblatt would not
be so surprised given her view that you never can assume
what students are retaining and how they are
comprehending.

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I was once again reminded of Johnsons quote, There are

hidden costs in telling people things. If a student can
figure out for him or herself, explicitly providing the
information preempts the students opportunities to build
a sense of agency and independence, which in turn,
affects the relationship between the teacher and student,
(2004, 8). I felt torn between wanting Student G. to have
the opportunity to retrieve something she had figured out
and stated previously and just reminding her of what she
said. This student tends to shut down when she is
confused and I thought it could be a really empowering
moment for her to answer the question on her own. She
ended up starting to shut down (I cant remember, I
cant do it putting her head down). I decided to remind
her, that the pattern was that they were all even numbers.
I obviously did not intend for her to get frustrated I just
know how excited she gets when she owns an answer and
can come upon it independently. Its sort of like a tight
rope walk. You want to support just the right amount
without going too far either way.

12/8/14
Often the Morning message asks what fun things
students did over the weekend. They use a specific
format. 1. They answer Over the weekend I. 2. They
say, I am ready for questions and call on three
classmates. The student then says, Thank you, thats
three.

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12/9/14
We had our first official reading group session. All of the
students read. One student forgot his folder and the
book. The illustrator and researcher completed their jobs
and the connector and discussion director had to work
on their job during the day in order to be ready for the
meeting. Once we all sat down the discussion started.
Everyone had something to say but there was a lot of
confusion about the roles. The student who did the
research was not in school today but instead of doing
further research he just picked a line from the book to
paraphrase.

While I know many children really enjoy this opportunity

I have always wondered about equity of this practice. On
one hand students want to talk about their life outside of
school and this is both appropriate and relevant. Smith
says that you cant separate your funds of knowledge and
your experience from comprehension, understanding and
learning. However, students have such varied home lives,
some of which are more difficult than others. If students
constantly hear all of the fun things their peers do with
their friends and family, may that negatively affect the
students sense of self worth? Some students dont have
enough food to eat at home or do not have a safe, secure
home. Not to say that these students dont experience
joy but to be expected to share in a whole class setting?
At the same time, I believe that inequity should be
addressed but not at the expense of a student in this
situation. I think morning message is much better suited
for inquiry, for posing a question that asks children to
think critically about something, preferably related to the
curriculum or connected to previous conversations. I
envision Vasquez, Cowhey and Terry using morning
message in this way to promote critical literacy and
critical thinking.

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I realized that I had to be much clearer and the concrete

examples of each role I gave did not seem sufficient. One
student also said that it was hard to have to write for book
group and that they were not used to having to do a job. I told
them that was ok! New things take some time to get used to.
Ms. D. suggested that next time I just have everyone do that
same job. This might limit discussion but I think its more
important for the students to understand the expectations
clearly. I tried to model the book group off of Daniels (see
11/12) suggestions by letting each student choose their role
but I think more modeling was needed. I think as the group
progresses they will be more motivated to complete their roles.
One student has had trouble remembering his tasks and he
filled out his self-assessment honestly. I hope to continue
working with the group since I felt that it could have been
facilitated by me a little better. I also wasnt there everyday to
give reminders, which will be different next semester. I think
students are still figuring out that my expectations are the
same as the classroom teachers. Its a matter or relationship
building, which I think is one of my strengths and something
that will continue to grow. I am hoping to eventually be able to
have the students really drive the conversation once they
become more comfortable and create an atmosphere of
wonderings that Lindfors was able to create with her
students.

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12/10/14
The Beauty and the Beast storytellers performed for
grade 3-5 this morning. They introduced themselves,
shared about 5 stories and told the students that they
would be coming in January to work on storytelling
with each class. You could hear a pin drop when they
were telling the stories, other than laughter at the funny
parts and participation when asked.

The students seemed to incredibly engaged during the

40+ minutes assembly. That is a long time for students
to sit still! They all participated in calling back the
punchlines of certain stories. Afterwards Ms. D. said,
Ah, the arts. She loves storytelling (background in
drama) and wished there were more opportunities for
students to watch and participate in the arts. Its
interesting because most of the students I have talked to
dislike music class but loved the storytellers. I think they
just appreciated sitting back and relaxing, listing to
stories that were funny or had an interesting plot. Some
educators might argue that there wasnt any higher level
thinking going on or that their experience could not be
assessed but I would say, good! I am glad they had the
chance to experience something purely aesthetically.
There were no comprehension questions, no what was
the theme?. They just enjoyed. I dont remember
Rosenblatt discussing storytelling but I think it could fit
into her efferent and aesthetic reading stances.
Storytelling is also such an important format in which to
express identity (Dyson). Students who have challenges
with written narratives can share their ideas through
storytelling which give them a platform for their voices
to be heard.

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10/6/14

11/3/14!

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11/11-DSA

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12/1-Opinion Essay Outline

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