Teaching English in the Secondary School

Teaching English in the Secondary School for Dummiesa Pecha Kucha presentation by Kelsey AndersonMay 10, 2010SCED 357

Title Page: Hello everyone and welcome to my final presentation for Secondary Ed 357: Teaching English in the Secondary School. I will be providing an overview of what I feel are the most valuable lessons weve learned throughout this course. The aim of this presentation is to remind you of some topics you may have forgotten and provide ideas for your upcoming semester of student teaching. 1Introduction

Introduction: The guiding vision of the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association states that students must have the opportunity to develop the language skills necessary to become productive members of society. These skills manifest themselves in the NCTE/IRA standards, which emphasize writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills (NCTE & IRA, 1996).2Building Classroom Community

Creating a Foundation: To best prepare your students for success, you should set up a classroom community as early as possible. Your students will have differences, even in the most seemingly homogeneous schools. It is important to build a community early in the year in order to have all students feel welcome and to create a strong foundation for future learning. 3Creating a Foundation

Creating a Foundation: A student-first philosophy of teaching will help create this community of learners. Starting the year with activities such as I Am poems or taking student inventories of their interests will help the teacher get to know her students as well as introducing them to each other (Christensen, 2000 and Thompson, 2007). 4Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Creating a Foundation: By invoking a culturally responsive pedagogy in your classroom, students will be encouraged to challenge authority and tackle issues in their own communities. While it may not be possible to read a large number of texts in one year through this approach, the in-depth analyses of a few texts will help introduce students to social injustices in their own neighborhoods (Christensen, 2000). 5Practices in Teaching Literature

Reading: With new outlets of socialization becoming more and more popular, getting students to pick up a book can be an uphill battle. Creative approaches to new and old texts can help encourage reluctant readers. Tea parties and literature circles are just two of the many approaches possible (Christensen, 2000). 6Technology, Media, and Literacy

Reading: The utilization of technology and media can act as a great motivator for reluctant readers. Webquests, blogs, and chat rooms are a few options here (Christensen, 2000). Because students spend so much time with technology, they may be more comfortable expressing ideas in this format instead of in face-to-face interactions (Gilmore, 2006). 7Utilizing Technology

Reading: Of course, the possibility of using technology in the classroom depends greatly on two factors: the schools resources and the teachers comfort level. While the first of these is difficult to adjust, the latter can be increased through collaboration with other professionals such as the schools media specialist. 8

Literature & AssessmentATTICUS FINCH

Reading-Literature & Assessment: Now that your students are reading and engaged in the literature, how should you assess whether or not they comprehend the text? Many teachers will resort to traditional, written forms of assessment. On the other hand, original final projects allow students to express themselves creatively and give you a better picture of their knowledge.

9Effective Writing Instruction

Writing-Effective Writing Instruction: As with every topic covered thus far, writing is a subject best taught with direct correlation to student interests. If students are given some choice in their writing and have a distinct purpose other than youll get graded for this, they are more likely to produce exemplary work (Christenbury, 2006).

10Effective Writing Instruction

Writing-Effective Writing Instruction: As a general rule, the more revision and collaboration students participate in, the better their work will be. Peer evaluations help improve writing, especially when a clear rubric is provided ahead of time (Christenbury, 2006). Students can also create writing portfolios which they evaluate for improvements at the end of the course, showing them that their writing assignments as segments in a journey rather than simple a series of random topics (Christensen, 2000).

11Teacher Feedback

Writing-Providing Feedback to Student Writing: When it is time for the teacher to grade a work, she needs to pay careful attention to the written comments made. Comments ought to be clear and specific in order to most benefit the student. Also, the teacher needs to watch her tone in written comments in order to avoid something being negatively interpreted by a student (Brookhart, 2008).

12Grammar in Context

Writing-Grammar in Context: Thus far, Ive mostly talked about how to incorporate new and innovative ideas into your classroom. However, traditional topics such as grammar and punctuation are still very relevant and need to be addressed. Keep a log of common mistakes and address these in short, specific mini-lessons. Teaching grammar in this way is more effective than when out of context (Christenbury, 2006).13Class Discussion

Speaking & Listening-Discussion: One of my favorite things about English Language Arts, as opposed to other academic subjects, is the potential for discussion and debate. Facilitating these conversations, however, can be incredibly challenging with some groups. Here Im going to give you a few tips to make class discussions more successful. 14Types of Instructors

Speaking & Listening -Bakhtin: . First of all, let me distinguish between two common types of instructors: transmission-oriented and interpretation-orientation. The former sees her purpose as a means to provide information to students. The latter, interpretation-orientated instructor believes she is there to push students beyond the simple details and encourage them to think critically (Adkins, 2010). 15Types of Instructors, contd

FREE CHOICE Bakhtin contd: Before diving into a discussion-based lesson, every educator must ask him or herself which type of instructor they wish to be. While a transmission-oriented instructor may have a smaller work load, the classroom run by an interpretation-oriented instructor will be full of new ideas and engaged learners.

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Methods of Questioning

FREE Choice-Speaking & Listening- Questioning:Behind every classroom discussion is a series of predetermined questions by the teacher. There are a variety of ways to construct discussion questions. One theory emphasizes addressing the subject matter, students personal reality, their external reality, and the overlapping areas between these. This is known as the questioning circle (Christenbury, 2006). 17Encouraging Participation

Speaking & Listening: As with literature and writing, the most effective way to engage students in discussion is to make it relevant to their interests. Reformatting discussion into something like a talk show or mock trial allows students to express themselves creatively (Smagorinsky, 2008). In turn, student participation will increase.18Meeting Standards

FREE CHOICE-Standards: Throughout all aspects of English instruction, it is important to keep in mind the national and local standards set forth for your curriculum. While many view these standards as troublesome, they can actually provide a lot of guidance in planning units and lessons. 19Closing

Closing: I hope that you have enjoyed this presentation and have found it to be an accurate summary of topics covered in this course. I have enjoyed this class and look forward to hearing about all of your adventures in student teaching and beyond. Thank you for your time and attention.20