BookTalk

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Ruth is an amazing old lady, but I messed up quite a bit! Ha Ha.

Smell of Old Lady Perfume

Book talk with Macey, Ruth and The Smell of Old Lady Perfume

When Kids Can't Read-Ch.15

I think that chapter 15 had some very interesting ideas. It talked about how teachers must, at all times, remember that they don't teach a subject, but they teach children with specific needs. Teachers want their school to be a healthy environment for their students where they are safe, fed, and for a few hours of the day are free of the fear many of them face at home. Teachers should not only be concerned with what the students are learning, but also be concerned about the well being of the child. It is very difficult for an unhealthy student to learn anything in the classroom.



This chapter also said, "to be called a "teacher" might be one of the greatest compliments one could receive." This statement is true because to be a teacher also means to be the student's mom, hope, and rescue. A teacher is not just a teacher. Teachers must become more than educators, they must become a refuge.

When Kids Can't Read-Ch.13

Chapter 13 talks about some unique ways of celebrating differences in the classroom. It's hard to celebrate differences in the classroom when teenagers want to dress, act, and sound alike. Most teenagers want to conform with others around them so that they can fit it. When teachers look across their classroom and see the different ethnicities and social economic groups all in one room, teachers might need spend time making sure that their students value their differences.

One way to initiate conversation, over this topic, is to ask the students what life would be like if every student in the school was an amazing quarterback? Some may say that it would be awesome, but when they really think about they will realize that it would take away from the rest of the school's sports and activities many are involved in. Another good question to spark conversation is, "What's the advantage of having multiple languages in the school?" A student might say, " If we all spoke the same language everywhere, then, for sure communication would be easier, but life would be duller." Helping students see the different ways to celebrate diversity should be the job of the teacher.

When Kids Can't Read-Ch.12

The thing I found most interesting about this chapter was that it said that teachers should not give every student the same vocabulary to study. Students progress at different rates and should not be given the same vocabulary. Students will compare with each other's list and see what words were assigned, and it is the teacher's responsibility to inform the students that each one of them progresses at a different rate. Teachers should be looking for put-downs and put a stop to them quickly.

I never thought about giving a vocabulary list based on the student's level of development. When I was in elementary and junior-high school, teachers always gave students the same words. They probably did this because they were too lazy to make more than one test. I think that this way of teaching vocabulary will help students and teach them at the level they need to be taught. If I become a English teacher, I will definitely use this method of teaching vocabulary.

By:Ruth and Macey Minn and Jake's Almost Terrible Summer

When Kids Can't Read-Ch.11

The thing I found most beneficial about chapter 11 was the suggestion #1 on High-Frequency Words. "Automatic recognition of high-frequency words is critical for fluent reading. These words are often difficult for beginning readers or older struggling readers to decode because many do not follow the regular sound-letter relationships. For instance, consider of, have, done, said, do, been--all words that stay from expected letter-sound correspondences." It is important that students recognize high frequency words so that their reading will become more fluent.





Teachers should take mental note in which students are exceeding and which students are struggling with high frequency words. In order to have success in reading, teachers must teach students when and how to recognize important words. Students should not have to struggle with fluency because of high frequency words.

When Kids Can't Read-Ch.10

The thing I found most interesting in this chapter was when it talked about measuring fluency. When looking at beginning readers, reaserchers have measured fluency by oral reading rates. Reading rates usually increases faster during the elementary shcool years that during the middle and high-school years.

The chapter says that the more a reader reads the more her reading rate will improve. Because of this, I believe that it is very important for teachers to allow reading time in the classroom. Students should also be encouraged to read outside the classroom, because students who do so show better reading rates than those who read very little.

When Kids Can't Read-Ch.9

The thing I found most interesting about this chapter was towards the beginning when it mentioned the recipes for great vocabulary lessons. The book recommends "that if you want to see if your students recognize effective versus ineffective vocabulary instruction, ask them to write recipes for terrible vocabulary lessons and recipes for great ones."

The chapter goes on to say, "you'll probably find a wide range of recipes for great vocabulary instruction; you'll most likely discover that their recipes for ineffective learning all look the same. Turn them loose with recipe cards after you've reminded them about the vocabulary they'd fin in recipes." This is a creative way of teaching vocabulary in the classroom. I'd definiately consider using this with my future students.

Reaction to Online Book-Chat

I thought that the author book chat went fairly well. I learned a whole lot about the author's accomplishments and ambitions. I believe, however, that the chat room was a little disorganized. I thought that too many questions were asked all at once, and the author didn't have enough time to get to all of them. The order that was discussed in class was not followed, so there must have been some confusion on what we talked about in class. Other than that, I thought the Book-Chat went well, and I would definitely enjoy doing another Book-Chat! Mr. MacPherson was very informative and tried to answer everyone's questions.