Favorite Moment in History

My favorite moment in history that I have experienced within my lifetime is an event that is still ongoing. This past Spring I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad for 4 months in the beautiful city of Barcelona. There, I experienced the Catalan Independence Movement. Many people are unaware of this movement but it is actually very significant right now. The Catalans are a subculture in Barcelona, who are seeking Independence. Although there are several groups of people seeking independence in various places of the world, this movement is becoming very large and is the topic of debate in Spain right now. While abroad, I witnessed the several protests taking place in the streets with hundreds and even thousands of Catalonians. I witnessed Catalan holidays such as Sant Jordi and even indulged in Catalan cuisine.

 The Catalan movement has been progressing since the end on Francisco Franco's rein where he suppressed the Catalans from expressing their culture. Catalonia in short, is Barcelona and its surrounding area. It has its own language, flag, culture, food and traditions. Catalans have their own government and are fighting to be independent because their culture is very different from the Spaniard's. Other parts of Spain are against Catalonia becoming independent because Barcelona is one of the central sources of money for the country. It is a very complex debate. The famous rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is further driven by this underlying tension between the two cities.
It was very exciting to experience history as it is unraveling. Perhaps in years to come, this time period will be read about in text books.

A Central Conflict in the lives of adolescents

One conflict that I feel is becoming ever-present in the lives of children and adolescents today in America is divorce. Divorce is only becoming more popular in American families and I feel that more teachers should be more educated on how to help students dealing with divorce. 50% of American marriages end in divorce in America -we need to think of the children that this statistic affects.

Divorce affected my childhood and caused me to grow-up faster than some of my peers. I learned to be responsible for myself at a very young age. Since I was so young, I wasn't as psychologically affected as my sisters were. My oldest sister, who was in the sixth grade, had a very difficult time with the divorce. She suffered severe anxiety and was seeing a counselor. Divorce is something that is almost being seen as the norm in America. It is almost guaranteed that at least one student in your classroom will have divorced parents. With such staggering statistics, teachers must be well aware of the resources they can provide to students and parents.

What Fictional Character Do you Look up to?

I have a tendency to fall in love with fictional characters. When I'm reading a book, I often feel like I know the characters; like they're my friends. One fictional character I truly admire is Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Trilogy. I love Katniss for her bravery. I love that her bravery and strength is executed by her being herself in a world where she is not allowed to be. I love her for her flaws, how she admits to her flaws but does not let them rule her. Another character in the trilogy that I adore is Peeta Mellark. I love Peeta for the way that he loves Katniss unconditionally. His selflessness and quirks are what capture my heart. 

The last character that I look up to is Liesel Meminger from The Book Thief. Like Katniss, Liesel is beyond brave. She does not conform against her beliefs and is willing to fight for a better tomorrow. There are several similarities between Katniss and Liesel. Perhaps I admire fictional characters that resemble the qualities I'd like to have in myself.

Post Original Poetry

As mentioned in previous posts, I enjoy to write poetry in my spare time. I have a large collection of my works created in both my leisure time and from literature classes. Below are some of my favorite pieces I have composed:

Mostly Red
By Kimberly Stryker

Red headlights, dimed eyelids persuaded to shut with
Muffled hysteria, agonizing orders to ‘stay with them’. 
Can’t fight, must fight, soon to be dead.
Blackouts, shallow breaths becoming less routine
Red, blue, white, but mostly red
Lifted just shy of the heavens, away from the scene

The couple in the corner are
feeling quite guilty.
Never wanted to know the smell of beer and tar.

Up the stairs, to the Left, Surrounded by Yellow

By Kimberly Stryker

In that white house, with the red door

You’ll find what I’ve been looking for.

Up the stairs, to the left,

Surrounded by yellow.

This visit was overdue and unplanned;

You wouldn’t recognize me firsthand.

Won’t be a while, just wanted to see

The walls that cased where life used to be,

The name I carved on the window sill,

And hear the creaks of steps on that third stair.

Though I recognize, why should you care?

Forgive me, I’ve left something behind,

Something that only I can find.

For it is my youth, long forgotten and cast

Aside to rust and die.

Won’t be a while, I’ll make it fast.

It lingers apart of that room forevermore,

In that white house, with the red door

Up the stairs and to the left,

Surrounded by yellow.

Final Reflections on Folktale Assignment

This particular assignment helped me to appreciate the writing process while researching a specific form of literature applicable to the classroom. I've found that as a college student, I'm often guilty of poorly outlining my papers and only creating a single draft. This assignment forced me to take my time with writing which is something that I often have little time to do. I especially enjoyed the peer-conference element. I've learned to appreciate feedback and constructive criticism. I received great advice from my peers which really helped me to improve upon my paper.

In terms of folktales, I'm thoroughly impressed with my topic of choice. I had no prior knowledge on the elements that contribute to a folktale. I've learned to appreciate folktales and their purpose. I like how they strive to teach a moral or a lesson because this is something that I can tactically use in my classroom. I definitely plan to apply my new-found knowledge about folktales to the classroom. After my research, I've discovered numerous educational benefits that folktales present since they help to teach critical thinking skills, problem solving and attention skills. In the end, this assignment was very beneficial to me as a writer and as a future educator.

Write about Writing

I have to admit, writing has always been something I've had a passion for. I'm thankful for my interest and talent in writing because in all honesty, the world requires us to be masters of writing. Jobs require formal documents and e-mails to be written; other subject areas such as science still require a significant amount of reading and writing. The world revolves around writing, where it is fair or not.

I credit my love for writing to my elementary school teachers. I believe that they were the ones who got me excited about writing and celebrated my writing early on. Some students are not as lucky and continue on to dread writing, thus making the process much more difficult for them. In high school, I really enjoyed my creative writing class where once again my work was celebrated. I was given such praise and positive feedback that I began to realize I may have a knack for this. I then began started writing my own poetry and journal entries on my own. The activity of writing as extra-curricular may appear as pleasure for me but is also great practice. I can attribute my knowledge of writing and my writing abilities to this practice. I'm so grateful that my teachers celebrated my writing because it truly has changed my life. As a result, my second major is English. As a prospective teacher it is my goal to celebrate the writing of my students and get them just as excited about writing as I was.

Peer Conferences

Peer writing conferences are a wonderful way for students to get one-on-one attention for their writing in a timely manner. I enjoy peer conferences because I welcome any and all suggestions to help me improve my writing. Constructive criticism is a difficult yet important concept that students must learn. While its nice to hear compliments throughout the entire conference, it is important that students are actively trying to help improve the writing piece.

During my peer conference in class, Rachel provided me with several goals to consider when editing my informational piece on fairy tales. To begin our conference we switched and silently read each other's papers. Next, we took the time to make thoughtful comments and suggestions. It was nice because I did not feel pressured to rush through my feedback section. As a writer, I understand how beneficial peer reviewed paper's can be, therefore I provided Rachel with the thoughtful comments and suggestions I would like in return.

Rachel helped me understand that my paper has great content, however it could be organized more effectively. She also pointed out specific sentences that I repeat myself and therefore should eliminate. Rachel also suggested that I provide examples in certain areas to strengthen my claims. She then suggests that I connect my ideas throughout the paper more clearly. Finally, Rachel recommended that I created a concluding paragraph to wrap up my ideas.

I'm so appreciative to Rachel for her thoughtful suggestions. I think all of her suggestions are great and will definitely apply them when it comes to creating a revised piece. We set three goals for me to focus on for my next draft. These include: working on in-text citations, create more fluidity between ideas and create a concluding paragraph. These goals are excellent recommendations and I will certainly use them when it comes to revising my paper.

My Pre-Writing Ritual

As an experienced college student (with a double major in English), I have come to learn a thing or two about writing. It has become routine to produce pieces of writing(essays, summaries, responses etc.) on a daily basis for me. I'm lucky in that I enjoy writing and look to it as an outlet. Throughout my career as a student I've played with and adapted certain rituals that help me to produce my best writing.

Pre-writing to me, is the most important part of the writing process. I use pre-writing to put any and all of my ideas out on paper. In grade school, I was often subject to using graphic organizers. Although I currently don't use them in my pre-writing process, I still see the significance in organizing my thoughts before actually writing them.

When I am trying to produce my best writing, I usually like to think about what it is I am going to discuss for a day or so. I then take all of my scattered thoughts and ideas and simply put them down on paper. I've found this to be tremendously beneficial because I am able to document all of my ideas first. I then go back to this paper and organize it in a strategic way. What ideas are related? What should I keep and what should I cut? If I need to provide evidence, this is where I make note of the evidence.

Creating this small organizer is highly beneficial because it keeps my writing on task. It only takes a short amount of time, however it tremendously improves the quality of my writing.

UPDATE: In terms of my pre-writing ritual for my informational piece on folktales, I used my strategy of creating a bulleted organizer of ideas. First, I researched my topic and found the necessary information. I then combined this research with my ideas in my organizer. I found this to be very beneficial for me because I had already decided what information I wanted to use and where to apply it. When it came time to actually write my piece, I had already created an extensive outline to follow. This allowed me to focus on fluidity, grammar and other writing strategies instead of organization and content. 

Does Collaborative Learning Support Literacy?

Literature circles are a great way for students to engage in social interaction, understand that reading is transactional and to participate in more student-centered activities. While there are numerous benefits to literacy circles, there are several factors that contribute to making literacy circles a disaster.

It is not uncommon for literacy center discussions to quickly move off-task. Many students take this "unsupervised" time to bully their peers as a result of economic disparities, strong student animosity and racial or gender tensions. Many teachers question if literacy centers are right for their classrooms because they often result in verbal and/or physical altercations between students.

So how do we promote effective literacy centers? First, teachers need to establish a caring and respectful environment. For teachers in urban settings, it is especially hard to create a safe and respectful environment when students are so accustomed to solving problems through force and threats. Although it is difficult, it can be done. There are several strategies for teachers to create nurturing and caring environments.

Teachers can use a "membership grid" when creating literacy center groups where students answer questions such as "what is your favorite TV show?". The teacher will then place students with common interests in the same groups, giving each group a positive relationship from the beginning. Teachers can also implement the poker chips method where each student is handed a stack of poker chips at the beginning of the discussion. Each time a student speaks, they are to place one poker chip in the middle. Once they have run out of poker chips they are no longer allowed to participate in the discussion. This is a great way for students to have the same amount of time speaking and for students to gage their participation based on the other students'.

Next, teachers can implement a compliment system where each student must compliment another student in the group. This will deter students from focusing on the negative aspects and will start to get them to think about the positive ones. Also, students can be given the opportunity to watch their discussion on tape so that they can discuss what went well and what didn't go well. Teachers should also strategically select books that will captivate their students' interests. Keeping the students' interests is a key component in literacy circles. If the student is genuinely excited about the book, they will freely contribute to the discussion and be excited to talk about it. The literacy circle is more likely to fail once a student looses interest in the book.

Reader's Workshop and Mini-lessons

     I envision reader's workshop to be a daily block of time that students will silently and independently read. Students can anticipate this specific time everyday to relax from the set curriculum and indulge in their own personal books. I envision my reader's workshop to be a comfortable environment that nurtures student reading to the fullest. I plan to have comfortable spaces set up around the room such as pillows, and bean bag chairs for students to sit and read in. These "book nooks" will help to make Reader's Workshop something to look forward to each day. They will also help break up the monotony of sitting at a desk all day. I also plan to implement and model specific rules during reader's workshop such as: silent reading for 15 minutes, bathroom/ water breaks before or after and books will always be self-selected. Finally, I will implement a book-log for each student to track their reading. This log will serve as an easy way for me to assess each student and will also help students/ parents track their progress and accomplishments.
     Mini-lessons will play a role in how to teach my students to become effective readers. I will use mini-lessons to focus on one particular skill that I feel will benefit the entire class. These skills might include: looking for textual evidence to support a claim, using textual clues to help define an unknown word or tracking character development. These mini-lessons will provide support for students struggling to effectively and actively read. It will teach students skills to practice and apply independently during Reader's Workshop. These lessons will only be about 15-20 minutes.

How will you Create a Balanced Literacy Program?

For one, I must be conscious of the notion that all of my students are individual learners and therefore I should create lessons that cater to all learners. I will create balanced reading instruction that combines phonics instruction to whole-language which will accommodate to the individual learner. Phonics will be used as a base for comprehension and for literature-based expression. I will also implement a program where literacy is practiced in a variety of environments. Not only must literacy be practiced in the classroom, it should also be present at home and in the library. I will create a program that gets the parents involved with providing a balanced literacy program and invite frequent communication between the parent and teacher. I will balance literacy within my classroom through the use of structured literacy activities such as read alouds, guided reading, partner reading and independent reading. Research suggests that in order to create a literacy balanced classroom, teachers must implement a structured, uninterrupted time each day for reading. I will provide scaffolded instruction as well as several opportunities for reading, writing and discussion. Finally, I will find opportunities throughout my entire curriculum to implement reading and writing so the two are not restricted to just a specific time each day.

Create an autobiography about who you are as a reader and writer

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Describe a Memory from Language Arts

In reflecting upon my time in elementary school, I've certainly always loved language arts. One particular memory that I have of language arts is from the fifth grade. My teacher had a knack for making language arts exciting for us. Looking back now, she was very effective in applying language arts to the entire school day. She would assign us to work on “free-writes” during our language arts period. We then would proceed would share our stories. Several of us were so excited about the stories we had been working on we would share our stories every day and even bring them to our morning meetings for

“Show and Tell”. Our teacher made writing so exciting for us that when we had free time in the classroom, most of us would sit down and continue to write and develop our stories. Finally, this teacher also assigned us a journal. We were to get any type of journal, notebook or diary of our choosing and we were to write in it each night for ten minutes. We could write about anything that interested us, from a thrilling mysterious story to an acrostic poem. She would then collect the journals each morning, respond to them and hand them back to us for the next evening. This small assignment really helped our class to practice our literacy skills and become comfortable writing.

Design your Perfect Classroom

In consideration to designing the perfect classroom, there are several factors one must first consider. First, it is important to promote a literacy-enriching learning environment. By doing so, the students will be encouraged to read and write during free time.

            In order to create a literacy-enriched learning environment I plan to organize my classroom in such a way that my students don’t even realize that they are learning. I will space the classroom as such that each center is separated from the others using various furniture, hanging mobiles and shelves. Second, I will join organization and literacy together by creating labels. I will label each storage bin and other various classroom objects at eye-level. I will also target specific play centers for literacy enrichment. These centers may include The Library, The Kitchen or The Post Office. Each center will be provided with real-life manipulatives for the students to work with. These manipulatives may include envelopes or notepads. It is important to consider safety when providing students with real-life props. Objects such as paperclips, staplers and clipboards should only be used with adult supervision. Finally, it is important to consider the physical arrangement of each play center. The play centers that are literacy enriching will be focused away from centers that can be distracting and noisy.

By promoting a literacy-enriching environment for my students, they will be able to use their reading and writing skills more purposefully and in service of their play.