The Importance of Learning about Immigrants and Family History

         Imagine traveling hundreds of miles on the ocean, in a crowded ship with complete strangers all around you. Imagine kissing your friends and family goodbye knowing that you may never see them again, or that you may never make it to the promised land alive. Imagine what it would feel like to be heading to a new land, where the future is dim and obscure.
       Immigrants in the early 1900s, were extremely brave human beings. They had a vision in their mind: they wanted a better future (jobs), they wanted a chance to start over, to provide for their families, and to bring up their children in a world where they could be successful and could be free. Every single immigrant that took the risky step of boarding a ship to America had a reason for leaving their entire life, friends, and family behind, and these reasons vary according to the individual and the country that he/she came from. These immigrants did not know what life would be like in this new world, and how people in America would treat them. Their knowledge of America was murky, dim, and obscure. They also faced the possibility of death and tragedy on this long trip to America, but the glowing image of a prosperous life in the minds of these immigrants kept their spirits going and their hopes and dreams alive. And when these immigrants spotted the Statue of Liberty and Ellis island in the distance, immagine the thrill that must have flowed through their veins and the excitement and cheers that must have erupted on these ships among the immigrants knowing they had made it alive to America, the land of the free, and that their lives were going to change forever......
      

         Upon exiting these ships, these immigrants faced more obstacles and barriers. Not speaking the American language, being surrounded by customs and traditions that were different from their own country, having to live in unsafe and crowded appartments and tenement houses, having to work long hours in factories in unhealthy and unsafe working conditions, being made fun of and being looked down upon by many American people and people of other races, and having to deal with pangs of home sickness.                          

                 Many immigrants also, upon arriving at Ellis Island, had their names mistakenly changed by American authorities because these they couldn't speak the American language, and the American authorities couldn't speak the immigrants' language. Many immigrants were sent back to their own countries because they were sick or were not considered intelligent enough to live in America, and therefore, many immigrant families were torn apart. 

                  Immigrants faced emotional, social, mental and physical difficulties in America and for many immigrants, their image of America being a wonderful place to live, vanished. These immigrants endured all these challenges and hardships to make a better life, and yet today, many people have no idea who the immigrants were in their family lines, and have no desire to look back into their family history to learn about these people and their struggles to survive. These courageous immigrants started many of our family lines in America, and if it wasn't for these people taking a risk for a better life and future, we would not be here today.

         
             Appreciating and understanding what immigrants had to go through and what the Statue of Liberty means to immigrants appears in the children's book, A Picnic in October, by Eve Bunting. This story is about a boy, Tony, whose Italian grandparents take his whole family on a picnic to Liberty Island every year in October to celebrate Lady Liberty's birthday. Tony does not understand why his grandparents take his family on a picnic to Liberty Island, and why the Statue of Liberty is so important to the grandparents. However, on this trip to Liberty Island, he begins to realize the Statue of Liberty's significance when he encounters a new immigrant family that also makes the same trip to celebrate Lady Liberty. This story portrays the importance of understanding family history, what people had to go through to get to America, and why the Statue of Liberty is so special to immigrants and to families in America in the past and in the 21st century.
          Family history should not be deemed unimportant and should not be ignored. In order to understand our true selves and how we got to where we are today, we have to remember those in our family lines that brought us here to America, and those immigrants in our family lines that sacrificed their lives to make ours better. Knowing their struggles will help us to appreciate our lives more. And by researching our own family histories, the doors of the past will become opened and we will learn aspects of our families that we never knew existed. To be blind to family history is to be blind to your origin, where you come from, and who you are as a person.
          Immigrants, family history, culture, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty, are great topics to include in the elementary school classroom, and these topics will help children to not only learn more about themselves and others, but to appreciate the couragous and brave souls in our family lines and in our past that risked their lives across the ocean to live in the Land of the Free. These people should never be forgotten..........

Quiet Bunny and Noisy Puppy: A Story about Friendship

         White crystals gently descend to the earth, frosting the tops of pine trees, lodging inbetween the barren branches of old oaks, and transforming mother nature's colorful canvas into a winter wonderland. But it is in this winter landscape that two distinctly different animals meet, and their friendship is challenged by their different physical characteristics.

         In this story, Quiet Bunny hops merrily through the snow from one place to the next trying to find another animal in the forest to play with, but all of Quiet Bunny's friends are hibernating and she begins to feel sad and lonely.

             Suddenly an energetic barking puppy dog comes bounding through the trees toward Quiet Bunny. Noisy Puppy asks Quiet Bunny to play and at first Quiet Bunny is hesitant to answer. She had never met a puppy dog before and immediately she notices the exterior (physical) differences between them. But then, Owl flies down from the sky and tells Bunny that just because she is a forest animal, and Noisy Puppy is a farm animal doesn't mean that they can't be friends. They are both different from each other but they are both animals. Quiet Bunny and Noisy Puppy look at each other and then they start to play. They soon become best friends, and when spring comes and Noisy Puppy has to go back to the farm, Quiet Bunny is sad, but they play again together the following winter and all the other winters after that.

        The heartfelt message in this story is one that everyone can learn from and can apply to their own lives. Just because someone may seem different, does not mean that you cannot be friends with that person. Everyone is different on the exterior, but these outside differences should not come in the way of meeting new people and making new friends. Because at the end of the day, everyone has one characteristic in common: we are all human beings..... 

         By putting aside these differences, friendships can be made, just like Quiet Bunny and Noisy Puppy put aside their differences and became best friends!!!

Brave Irene: A Story of Courage, Determination, and Perseverance

Swirls of white crystals blinding perception; a tiny figure struggling against the wind's ragging breathe; small arms wrapped tightly around a wrapped package; and eyes focused on destination.
       Brave Irene, by William Steig, is a picture book that truely captivates the perseverence and determination that lies deep down within a person's soul, and also displays to readers how the keys to success lie in a person's mindset.
        The first time my teacher in elementary school read this book to me, I was captivated by the illustrations. The image of the child in the story, Irene, dressed in her red hat and scarf, her purple coat, green dress, and black boots being tugged and pulled in every direction by a strong Northern wind, became etched into my mind.
          The fact that Irene was making a journey alone, through a snowstorm, in order to deliver the dress her sick mother had sewn by hand, for a duchess who was supposed to wear the dress at a ball that evening, aroused a sense of admiration within me for Irene. I was impressed by her courage, determination, and perseverence that drove her to keep pushing through the heavy wet snow to her destination. Even when the box was wripped out of her hands by the wind and the dress was sent flying into the night sky, Irene kept trudging forward because she knew that she had to explain to the duchess why she didn't have the dress with her.
          Irene could have given up, she could have turned around and headed back home when the dress escaped her grasp, she could have froze to death in the snow, she could have let the wind and the snow win. But Irene kept going and her strong will and mindset allowed her to push past the barriers being thrown in her way. In the end, she ends up finding the dress pinned up against a tree trunk by the wind in the front yard of the duchess' house, and with a smile, she is able to present the dress to the duchess.
          After my teacher read this story, I was inspired by Irene's courage and I realized how important it is to have a positive mindset in every challenge that one faces. If Irene had become down on herself and had let her emotions cloud her mind, she would have given up and the duchess never would have received the dress that Irene's mother worked so hard to make. Because Irene kept her goal in mind, she let this goal burn through the snow and lead her to her destination and to success.
          Irene is a character that I looked up to as a child, and that I still look up to today after re-reading the story. Irene represents the true heros that are within all of us if we just keep our goals in mind and never lose sight of what we desire. Irene displays the keys to success, and she is an inspiration that can help children and even adults to persevere through the darkness.

An Original Poem titled: Forest Fire

Forest Fire

Liquid gold penetrates emerald seas

and swirls around chocolate statues.

Slicing its way through painted canvases,

it catches the slightest pigment of color,

and extinguishes the vibrant hues of life

in one explosion of crimson sparklers.

Bobbing and dipping to the rhythms of the silent whisperer,

it whips through opaque skies; disintegrating the jewels of heaven,

and squeezes the souls of gumdrops and blooms

until they shatter.

Scraping and clawing it inhales the sands of time,


spews out carbon dioxide,

                                                and evaporates the last breath

of each passing victim.

Gliding and slithering on arid grains of sugar,

it carves a channel with scalding fingers; uprooting quivering stragglers,

and obstructing the silvery gateways of liberty

that loom behind billows of ebony.

Twisting and turning,

it accelerates on parched tenderness,

snagging onto feeble arms outstretched,

erupting helter scelter,

zipping through masses of grandeur,

snaking through slender passageways,

churning up luscious spotlights,

and stamping,

its kiss of death,

in all directions,

leaving nothing but a trail of desolation.

It does not turn back,

it does not stop,

there is no escape…

Reading is a Chance to Escape, to Travel, and to Gain Knowledge......

      Reading for me is a chance to Escape, to Travel, and to Gain Knowledge.....
       Ever since I was little, I have always loved sitting outside on a summer day, my nose deep in the pages of a novel, letting my mind float off to new places and to fictional magical worlds where the impossible becomes a reality.
        Reading for me has always been a way to gain knowledge about the world and about different customs and cultures. I love to learn about other countries and languages, and through books, especially multi-cultural, travel guides, and language books, I am able to transport myself to faraway places without even having to step onto an airplane. 
        Reading also allows me to travel through time. Books,especially historical fiction/fantasy novels, are a portal to the past, where through another character's eyes, I can see what the world was like many decades ago, and the struggles people my own age faced during different time periods in history.  
               Mystery novels are my absolute favorite genre of literature to read. When I was little I used to read the Boxcar Kids Mysteries, Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Bobbsey Twins Mysteries, The Dana Girls Mysteries, and The Hardy Boys Mystery Series. Even today, every once in a while when I have the time, I will re-read one of the Nancy Drew novels I have already read, just for fun. These novels were crafted in a way where the reader is able to experience what being a detective is really like. The readers are also able to see through Nancy's eyes and are able to solve the mystery alongside her. Each book in the series is a suspense filled adventure where Nancy is able to track down and outsmart the meanest and cruelest of criminals. She has a brilliant mind and her skills in discovering clues are outstanding. Other types of mysteries I like are historical fiction/fantasy mysteries as well. I also like adventure novels too.
        Therefore, books are the key to knowledge, and reading for me is a hobby that allows me to see the world, to discover, and to use my imagination ...............
           

Nature is Inspiration for Writing

      The world of nature offers a writer so many opportunities and can provide inspiration when the mind becomes empty and thoughts run dry.
      Reflected in nature are all the emotions that humans feel every day. For example: the pitter patter of rain on the roof, the gentle whispers of a silent breeze, the silvery rays of moonlight seeping in through closed blinds, the golden rays of sunlight that stretch themselves out as the sun makes it slow climb into the azure blue sky, and the flashes of yellow light that streak across the ebony sky on stormy afternoons.
           Sorrow and happiness, anger and calmness are all reflected in the weather that Mother Nature sends to Earth. The weather can often times be the light that can help a person to start writing and to generate ideas.
          The colors displayed in nature through the petals of flowers, the leaves of the trees, the swaying blades of tall green grass, the aqua blue sky above, all stimulate the senses and offer a way to capture one's emotions, by using the elements of nature to disguise the words a person may have a hard time expressing onto paper.
         Nature is a way to escape ,and when the world is crashing down and it seems like there is no hope, a brilliant sunrise or a colorful rainbow can rejuvenate the soul, and is often times the invisible comforter of optimism and faith that can help to flip a person's emotions upside down, and make them realize that everything will eventually be alright.
         Therefore, the next time you are writing and you feel the awful sensation of emptiness in your mind, take a look outside your window. View the painting that Mother Nature has created outside, and take a moment to breathe in the fresh air and cast your eyes upon the array of colors and images that are there. Maybe the smells and images within nature will trigger the light in your mind that will help produce the inspiration you desire when you are writing.

Who is Really Benefiting From "Pink Slips"?

      The last piece of paper that any teacher wants to be given is a pink slip. Those two words, "Pink slip," create an uneasy feeling in the pit of the unfortunate receiver's stomach. Those words also send a wave of nervousness  through the bodies of the fortunate instructors that were by-passed. A pink slip can be devastating, especially for new teachers that just finished their first year teaching at a school they really enjoyed being a part of.
     
            In the past few years, due to the bad economy, more and more towns have been turning to schools as a way to cut the amount of money being spent. Teachers have been issued pink slips indicating they are being laid off, and students are losing out on experiencing young teachers who have new styles of instruction to offer them.
           Even though towns feel that schools are a huge part of the budget and that aspects of schools need to be cut, who is really benefiting from this?
           In the world of today, teacher's are more vital than ever before in the lives of children. Students have greater pressures being placed on their shoulders every day with No Child Left Behind, standardized tests they need to pass, and college looming not far down the road in their future. Students need good teachers to support them, and to help them grow and develop both as individuals and in their education.
          And with more parents worker longer hours to make a decent living in a household, many children are not practicing what they are learning in school at home. Even more children are not being taught the material and skills they should be learning from their parents before they even enter school. This makes the job of a teacher even more crucial in the lives of children. Especially for those students who live in dysfunctional families, where there are divorced parents, various home situations, violence, physical and emotional abuse etc... Students need good role models in their lives and they need someone that can lead them on the right path and provide them with the tools of success.
          With teacher's being cut and materials in school being eliminated, how is this helping the next generation of children (many of which are struggling) to become better educated? If anything, the logic behind the town's budget cuts is taking opportunities away from students and is narrowing children's abilities to express themselves and to learn in various forms.
         For example: At the end of my senior year of high school, the town I live in began to issue pink slips to many of the younger teachers in the school that weren't tenured yet. All of the students loved these new teachers because they had a style of teaching that matched the attitudes and interests of high school students. They understood how high-schoolers functioned in today's modern world. Many of the students in my school backed up these new teachers and tried to save them from being laid off, but in the end their pleas were of no use. Who benefited from this? The students certainly didn't. They lost out on teachers that had a huge impact on their education and made them want to come to school.
      Another example is: In the same year, my town also restructured the schools so that there were k-2 schools and  3-5 schools. They did this in an attempt to decrease the budget in schools. But just think about this for a minute. All of the schools are still being used. How is this helping the town budget? They still have to maintain all the schools in my town. It would be a different story if they abandoned a few schools completely. But now the children in my town are not getting the experience of being in schools with third fourth and fifth graders or with kindergarten, first, and second graders. When having k-5 schools, the fifth graders could have reading buddies with the kindergartners and the smaller students had older students they could look up to as role models. But now this notion is gone. With the split in the grades, this is only putting more stress on parents who have to drive their children to two different schools, and on the students themselves, who have to become accustomed to new bus schedules, a new school, new classmates etc..
             In today's world where there are so many "failing schools" with students who are below average in reading, writing, and in different subjects areas, and overcrowding in classrooms, how is cutting teachers and cutting materials in school helping anyone? It may be reducing the budget in towns, but isn't children's education more important? One day these children are going to grow up and they are going to be the future of America. They need good teachers and they need to be provided with materials that are going to help them to be successful and to make something of themselves.
            I feel that schools should be the last place that towns should look to cut money because they are the most vital institutions. They keep our children occupied, safe, and allow them to explore, to discover, to think at higher levels, and to be intellectually stimulated.
           Therefore, teachers are the key to the success of the next generations (in terms of education), and the "pink slip" is only eliminating children's opportunities and possibilities to be victorious in life.

Writing is like Music: It's a Gateway of Relief and of Hope....

           Writing is a special ability that provides joy and relief when the skies are dark and the world seems empty. Writing is a way to pour out one's soul, to capture a moment in time that is extremely emotional and hard to deal with alone. In a sense, writing provides comfort and is a friend that just listens and absorbs the words being written down, but never responds back.
           Just like music, everyone writes to the rythum of their own beat. This metrical rythum is unique to every individual and is created naturally as soon as the tip of the pencil hits blank paper. The words that are crafted on a page are chosen based on a person's mood and emotional state, (and are like music notes; either having a hard tone or a soft sweet sound). As words are transformed into lines, sentences, or even stanzas, the tone and voice that unfold develop musical sounds that roll off the reader's tongue and help them to understand how the writer is feeling in that moment in time.
          When people listen to music they pick styles of songs that immitate the mood they are in: they may pick a slow soothing song if they are sad, or a fast upbeat song that unearths feelings of happiness and joy if they are in need of inspiration, if they are celebrating, or if they want to be uplifted. Music for some people is a gateway of faith or a way to escape pain, problems, or situations in order to be relieved from the constrants of reality. Just like the picture above, writing helps to carry a person away and allows ideas, thoughts, and feelings to float effortessly through the sky, just like soap bubbles. Writing is truely musical and the melody of a piece of writing is determined through the pace of words written down. Short lines can create more drama and a faster tone, where longer lines drawn out can denote a slowing down of thoughts. The pace of words can be done purposely, however most of the time it is done without the writer even knowing.
         Writing for me is a portal of light, and is like the sun that rises over the mountains and paints the sky pink, orange, purple, and yellow. Writing for me is a musical song that allows me to express myself, not through instruments, but through the scratching of my own pencil on paper, and through the melody that only I can hear in my head.
           Therefore, writing, just like music, is a form of expression that rises to the surface from deep down within, and when emotions cannot be held in any longer they spill over the edge and splash onto paper, relieving the writer and offering hope that someday the skies will be clear and the sun will shine once more.

Writing Is a Way of Learning: It's Unique and Enjoyable

          Writing is a form of expression; a way to release your inner feelings; an escape from reality. Writing is one of my passions. It is a huge part of my life, and it is a hobby that I will never give up or get tired of. Throughout my life, ever since I was a little girl, I have always written stories, and I continue to write today. Creating my own stories allows me to use my imagination to come up with my own fantasies and my own world where I have the power to create the setting, the characters, the problem, and the solution. I can put my own twist on a situation that happened in my own life and disguise it through words. I can control the characters, their traits, their interests, and their passions. As a writer, you have complete control over your own thoughts and what you want to express to your audience.   
           You can also capture an audience and express yourself by writing in a variety of ways. You can write poems, diary entries, reactions etc...Each form of writing offers its own benefits and has its own way of creatively expressing your feelings and ideas to others.
           In the classroom, it is imperative for students to have the opportunities to free write about any topic of their choice. Students also need to be able to write about stories they have read or are reading in class. They need to be provided with the chance to write about their feelings toward a story, their reactions to a book, relating an event to their own life, empathizing with a character in a story etc... Through their own writing, children will be able to explore a book in greater detail and they will learn about a book (more) through their own perspective. This will help students to understand what they are reading, and will also make reading more fun for students.
         Offering students a choice with their writing is the key to making writing more fun for students; by having a choice students feel in control of their learning and their own writing.
        Pairing writing with drawing is a way for students to visually see a story and what a character or event looks like,. Students can describe what they drew in their own words.
       Most importantly, teachers should educate their students on different styles of writing and they should create units on different forms of writing. Each type of writing offers fun ways for students to express themselves and to use their creativity and imaginations, especially poetry. Poetry is an enjoyable twist on writing that offers the students chances to write about their own life or aspects of their life.
        When I become a teacher I want to teach my students to love writing and to look at writing as a fun process where they can use their imaginations to paint a picture through words. I also want them to learn that writing is a way for them to explore a story by connecting and relating a text to themselves and to their own lives.

How Collaborative Learning Supports Literacy

      Collaborative Learning is when children interact with one another; they work together in groups or pairs (to solve a problem, to complete a task, or to reach a goal together).
        Collaboration is extremely important in terms of literacy because when children talk with each other about books they are reading, they can help each other to understand the book better. They can discuss the characters in the story and how they feel about the characters. They can also come up with a list of character traits and adjectives that describe the characters in the story. The students can talk about the events in the story and share personal experiences that they had which relate to what the character is going through. The students can also work together to figure out the plot of a story, the problems in the story, they can work together on summarizing a story etc... When children work together they are able to brainstorm/ share ideas and hear another person's opinion of the book. They are also able to help each other to better comprehend the story because one partner may have grasped the story better than another partner...Sometimes a partner can have an insight into a story that another parter never thought about, this also helps a child to better understand a story through diverse perspectives of the story content.
           Through collaborative learning, children are also able to learn how to work with students from all different nationalities and backgrounds and they are also gaining skills on how to socialize with their peers, how to work as a team, how to work in pairs or groups, how to take turns reading, how to look at a story from another person's point of view etc... When children read to each other they are also assisting each other in sounding out words etc...
          Collaborative learning also helps children with their writing. The teacher could put two or three students in the writing center and their job could be to help each other to brainstorm ideas for a prompt the teacher has assigned. (Sometimes it is hard for a child to come up with an answer to a prompt on his or her own, therefore when children work together, this benefits the children that are struggling). When children work together during writing time, they can also gain a better understanding of their writing mistakes by having their partners read their story or prompt and look for spelling and punctuation errors. When children are able to pinpoint and find mistakes in their partner's paper, this helps them to avoid making those same mistakes in their own writing.
         Lastly, collaborative learning allows children to socialize with one another, with a specific purpose or goal in mind. This hopefully keeps all the group members engaged, and also breaks up the structured day.
        Collaborative learning in terms of literacy helps children to fit the pieces of a story together in both their understanding of the story and in their writing about the story (because more than one brain is working together to accomplish a goal).

My Vision of Reader's Workshop and the Role of Mini-Lessons

         I envision Reader's Workshop as being a fun, interactive, encouraging, creative, focused, and exploratory period of the day. Reader's Workshop is a chance for students to learn new skills that they can apply to their reading, and also offers time for the student's to practice these skills in fun and creative ways. Student's are introduced to different kinds of literature, and they are able to explore their passions in reading, while at the same time learning skills that will make them better readers.
           Reader's Workshop also provides a time for the teacher to work in small groups to assist children in furthering their understanding of the concept or skill being taught. The teacher can assess the students she works with, while keeping the rest of the class engaged in individual or group activities in a variety of formats that is focused on a specific skill.
          My Reader's Workshop would begin with a Sharing Time where I would gather the children on the carpet. I would then share a book or an aspect of a book or piece of literature with the class that would link to my mini-lesson and the skill I would be teaching for that day.
          Next, I would transition into the mini-lesson. The role of the mini-lesson is to provide a time where I can model and teach to the student's directly, the reading skill I am going to have them learn that day. I would use a short book (the same book I used during sharing time) to help point out the skill I am going to teach them. Then I would use the easel to model the skill and I would even interact with the students by asking them questions, and having them give an example of the skill in the book, or in previous books we have read, to further their understanding of what I am trying to teach them. The mini-lesson skill is based on a skill I have observed that the children need practice with. The skills I choose to focus on are also based on the skills my district are requiring me to teach to the students. Mini-lessons allow the teacher not to revert to worksheets as a way for the students to practice the skill. The mini-lesson also allows the teacher to teach the students directly as a whole class and to avoid putting the students into groups based on "ability" (where the students' may feel uncomfortable or unintelligent). The mini-lesson offers a chance for the students to think back to past reading experiences or previous books read in class, in order to help them to understand a new book, concept, or skill I am teaching them, through the use of story frames, schema stories, or literature webbing.
         Next I would use the state-of-the-class chart and I would go over the student's responsibilities during the workshop. I would remind myself and the class of which students I am going to be meeting with during the workshop and which students I have already met. I would also go through the chart and see which students are progressing in their tasks and which students are not.
         Next I would have the students go into SSR time. This is when students choose their own book they want to read and they read this book for about ten minutes or so.
         After 10 minutes I would start my Literature Response Group. I would take a group of children to the back of the room while the other students continue to read in SSR time. The Literature Response Group would meet with me and the students would read, respond, and discuss to a piece of literature or a book that I have chosen for them. Within this group I would encourage the students to react to the book and to share their opinions, likes, dislikes etc...I would also come up with projects and goals for the group to work on when they are in SSR time.
        The students who are continuing to read in SSR time will have 4 choices of activities they can be engaged in. 1) They must complete their Literature Response Group goal page. 2) They can try to finish their Literature Response Group project or activity (if one is assigned). This could be in the form of a reading log where they keep track of their reading by writing etc... 3) The students may make changes to their reading records. They can write down how long they have read, the title of their reading log entries, they can make changes on the state-of-the-class chart, and they can sign up for a reading conference with the teacher. 4) If the students finish the first three activities, they can then pick another book to read for fun.
         Lastly, to end Reader's Workshop, I will transition the class into sharing time. This is when I would have all the children gather on the carpet, and I would have the children share with the class the books they read or are reading, the activities and projects they completed (or are working on), their reading log entries, their discussions in the Literature Response Group etc...The sharing time will allow me to assess the students' on their work (and progress) during the Reader's Workshop.

Providing Children With Choices

    Throughout my fieldwork last Spring. I have learned how important it is to provide children with choices in school. Children are in the same classroom for 6 or 7 hours a day with only a few breaks for lunch or a special. Children need to be provided with choices for two reasons: 1) So the students feel they have control over their own learning and 2) so that the children enjoy the activities they are taking part in throughout the school day. Having choices makes learning more fun for the students.

         

            In my fieldwork, which was in a second grade classroom, during writing time, my cooperating teacher used to have all the children grab a clipboard out of a bin and a piece a paper. Then she had them find a special spot in the room where they would sit and write. When I viewed this activity, the children were at the stage where they were composing their own spring or winter poems. The children were so excited that they could go and sit anywhere in the room that they wanted. Some children sat on the floor by the area where they hung up their coats and backpacks, other children sat in corners, one child sat in the library area, and some children stayed at their desks. By allowing the children to choose where they wanted to write, the children were able to find a space in the room where they felt comfortable; this helped them to relax, to focus more on the assignment, and to enjoy writing. This activity also allowed the children to get up out of their seats, to move around the room, and provided a break in the structured school day.
          
          When I was in school, being able to pick the topic I wanted to write about, or choosing which books I wanted to read for my reading log or for a project made assignments more fun and interesting. Even now in college, when I have a choice on an assignment, I am more fascinated and engaged in the assignment, and therefore I remember more information about the topic I chose.
          
         When I become an elementary school teacher, I will provide my students with many choices because I want them to enjoy going to school everyday and to have fun with the assignments I create.
  
*** Providing choices for the students: 
= increases a child's willingness to learn
= increases a child's motivation
= helps children to remember more information
= allows children to enjoy, to relax, and to have
   fun with assignments
= provides a break in the structured school day
= allows children to feel comfortable
= makes children feel like they have control
   over their learning

My Memories of Language Arts in School

          When I was in elementary school, middle school, and high school I loved language arts. English was always my favorite subject in school and still is today because I love writing. This is one of the reasons why my second major in college besides elementary education is English. In elementary school writing always seemed to come easy to me because at home I was constantly writing. In the summers I would write stories on topics my mom would give me, and I would practice using descriptive words to make my stories create an image in the minds of the readers. In elementary school my favorite assignments were the ones in which my teachers let the students write creatively. I loved writing poems in school during poetry lessons in first and second grade. I also enjoyed the assignments where I was able to write my own story in class to practice the skills and the elements we were learning that a story consisted of. In first and second grade, I also remember having to keep a reading log. I would read a story at home with my parents, then I would have to draw a picture of something that happened in the story and write about the picture I drew. I enjoyed the reading log because it combined reading, writing, and drawing. In fourth grade, I also looked forward to the assignments where I was given the topic or beginning of a story and I would have to create the rest of the story.
                In addition to writing, I also loved to read in school. I enjoyed reading groups, where the teacher would put the students in small groups and we would take turns reading parts of a story to the teacher. Reading buddies was also a fun activity in third, fourth, and fifth grade, where me, along with the rest of my class, would read to the younger children in a kindergarten or first grade classroom.
                In middle school and high school, I always despised learning grammar. In every English class that was one of the major topics that we covered throughout the school year. I always found grammar to be confusing. But the grammar my teachers taught me, really helped to improve my writing and to eliminate the many errors I was constantly making in my papers. In high school I loved creative writing. I took a creative writing course my senior year and I absolutely loved it. In the class we were able to write poems and short stories on given topics and topics of our own choice. This class increased my ability to show and not tell, and made me enjoy the affect that descriptive words can have on others. I love using words that I have never used before and twisting these words in such a way that they create an image in the reader 's minds and desguise what I am attempting to write about.
                 Reading and writing have always been passions of mine, and the language arts teachers that I have had during my school years, beginning in elementary school, have really helped to increase this passion I have even more. In my free time I love to read and write. When I become an elementary school teacher in the future, I would like to pass on my love of reading and writing to my students. I want them to enjoy reading, and to understand that the ability to read can open their minds to new information, and can transport them to many different places all over the world. My last goal when I become a teacher, is to show my students the joys of creativity and expressing themselves, in many different ways and through different learning styles.