Possible Lesson Plan

The task is to create a lesson plan where the students utilize three separate search engines.

LESSON: After reading a piece of classic or recognized literature, the student must find three separate notable analyses of the text through three different search engines. Google, Yahoo and Bing. In doing so, the students will learn different ways the search engines behave and decide which they find most effective. In order to teach safe and effective research methods, the teacher will demonstrate to students the dangers of using the internet too liberally. The most important thing to tell students is to NEVER give personal information over the internet at school unless they know for sure it is a notable website. If they are not sure, they should ask an adult. Additionally, in order to conduct the most effective search, students should use key words of titles and authors they might be searching for. They can also place quotation marks around the words they want to stay grouped together in the search. In addition, students will learn the value as well as the drawbacks of sites such as Wikipedia. The teacher should explain to students that there is certainly a time and place for Wikipedia when doing base introductory research but when it comes time to find notable authors and articles, it is not the right resource.

Possible questions to address during research unit:
- Which search engine did you find the easiest to navigate?
- Which search engine gave you the best results?
- Was there a specific search engine that ever asked for your personal information?
- Compare the articles you found and decide which is the most comprehensive.

Using RSS Aggregators in the Classroom

Having never really used a RSS Aggregator feed before, I was skeptical about how one could be used effectively in the classroom. But then I explored feedly.com a bit and realized the ease at which a teacher could create a useful and practical tool for her students. I added about seven different links that concentrated on different areas of English lessons, literature and modern examples of how these things can apply to the real world. Links such as the NPR and New York Times's book list as well as TED talks and "article of the day" seem like really useful tools to use in a middle school or high school english classroom. It would be fun to have my students explore the feed and pick out one or two links to concentrate a project or presentation on, even if it's just simply reading one of the books offered on the a best sellers list. 

The link to my specific English-oriented aggregator is here.

Prezi

It's time to make pancakes! And more importantly, time to demonstrate that I can effectively use a Prezi! So check THIS link.

citations for pictures included:
-http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-mixing-bowl-ingredients-image11101454
-http://www.shockinglydelicious.com/basic-boffo-buttermilk-pancakes-recipe/
-http://2eat2drink.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/stack-of-pancakes-p.jpg

Technological Teaching Tools

When browsing the "Free Technology for Teachers" website, it was surprisingly difficult to find resources that were applicable for an English classroom. It makes sense though, most of the new technology for classrooms we hear about are geared more toward the fields of science, math and social studies. I think this might be why I've been slightly skeptical of how technology can be realistically applied to an English curriculum. Seemingly, the best way to learn to read and write is to do just that: read and write in the traditional manner. This may just be my technologically naive side coming out again, and I do think technology has a place in the classroom, but I just question how much it can be utilized by English teachers. I'm sure I have a lot to learn and can certainly be proved wrong on this point. But for now, I'm still struggling to see that proof.

I did, however, find a pretty neat resource on the website regarding the conduction of research online. "Google for Educators" offers free posters that list some of tips on how to make most of a google search. I think this would be incredibly valuable in an English classroom, seeing as any research paper usually requires anywhere between two and ten outside sources, and almost all research is done explicitly online these days. When I was a younger student, nobody told me the tricks and tips of conducting a successful google search, so I think this would be a great thing to hang on the wall of my own classroom. The posters are organized in a well thought out manner: they start with a simple search on the left and explain how to get more and more specific as the text moves right. Even fourth and fifth graders would be able to interpret the graphic. 

The link is here, so check it out. Look at all five posters. They all seem really useful. 

Future Student Work

As an English teacher, I will, of course, will expect my students to conduct a lot of reading and writing. It is so important to me that my students learn how to think critically and therefore understand how to pick apart a piece of writing and analyze it for certain components and ultimately, be able to apply the text's themes to a real world existence. In most cases, the way they will demonstrate this capability will be through writing responses, essays and papers. But in non-tangible production, they will demonstrate their critical thinking capabilities through group discussion, answering questions in class and giving public speeches. Although at first, the intended audience of these things may seem like the teacher, in the end, it's the students themselves who learn from their own writing. The process of dissecting literature and then reformatting it into your their observations is a method that teaches the very writer something about the text and ultimately about universal truths and humanity. That's what I love so much about English; the entire development toward being able to read for both enjoyment and exploration at the same time is self-improving and builds on multiple emotional facets such as empathy, cultural understanding and problem solving. The actual process of reading and responding isn't meant for the teacher or parent or principal at all, but for the student to realize that they can discover meaning in presumably indecipherable texts.

Valuable Teaching Skills

listen to ‘Important Teaching Skills’ on Audioboo

Sad Sad News

Guys... Missoula's most beloved brunch spot is closing their doors on Sunday, February 16th. There are rumors that Food For Thought may just be shifting management and if that's the case, maybe everyone's favorite hangover-cure-spot won't be closed for long. So we're crossing our fingers that that's the case. Because if Food For Though closed forever, most of UM's population would be gravely saddened. Seriously.

Listen to this test "Audioboo" about our thoughts on the closing of Food For Thought.

listen to ‘RIP Food For Thought’ on Audioboo