My classroom is in the midst of working out beginning of
school jitters and my role is determining how students work together,
separately and as a class. One of my classrooms first assignments was a class
reading of “Rules of the Game”, by Amy Tan, and “Almos’ a Man” by Richard
Wright. From this assignment I got a good look of what students are
self-motivated and what students are more likely to talk than work. Randy
Bomer, in his book; Building Adolescent
Literacy in Today’s English Classrooms,
talks about the characteristics and provides an insight to the
importance of whole class teaching strategies and their relationship with other
styles;
“So it’s important, but it must
always be at the service of the other structures, particularly
independent
work, in order to make a difference in people’s literate life.”
I couldn’t agree with him more. There were several instances
when the class reading of the stories took a turn from engrossing to boring and
the students were not being held accountable for their work (which can be a
problem with whole class teaching methods). At that point it was obvious that
individual work time was required so that the students felt some sort of
accountability.
Bomer, R. Building Adolescent Literacy in Today’s English Classrooms. 2011. Portsmouth, NH. ISBN: 9780325013947
Gage,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that students working independently is extremely important. It's wonderful that the school environment gives students the opportunity to build their social lives; however, I feel that you can build independence through "independent work". My cousin who is an elementary teacher has always told me you hold a students' attention for the span of their age. I can see where a group of teenagers can feel restless after 15-18 minutes of a single assignment. I'm looking forward to reading more about your teaching journey - and there's no doubt you will make an amazing educator! :)