In Class Portfolio

Bio-Poem
Graphic Orgnazier
Lesson Cover Page
Lesson Plan
Rubric
Student Activity

The Raft

My dialog poem with Kat

Is focus taught of caught?

"Complex texts require single-tasking, an unbroken, and unbotherd focus. Digital activities foster multitasking and constant interaction." Are these two different approaches "caught" or taught?



Again, these questions really do not have binary answers do they? Is the single-tasking, unbroken, and unbothered focus that Mark Bauerlein says is required for complex texts taught or caught?  It is both taught in school and caught through our culture, or at least it should be.  Each task is different, teaching students to actually enjoy reading enough to have an unbroken focus is something that should be modeled at home as well as taught at school. 

In our overly technological American world it is difficult, if not impossible for us as adults to find time to focus on one single task.  We have students who are immersed with technology from early child hood, and this can teach kids to be constantly multitasking and to lack a singular focus.  However to imply that this is the only reason that complex texts are so out of reach by students entering collage is a little narrow minded.  Yes, to read complex texts, there needs to be a focus, however this is something that needs to be taught to students, and modeled to them as well.  Also, the complex texts need to be engaging to the students, otherwise all the teaching about the importance of focus in the world is not going to make students want to give up the instant gratification that facebook or other technologies give them.

Wikipedia, friend or foe?

 

YES!

Is Wikipedia a friend of foe to teachers?  I say yes!  You might be thinking that this questions requires one answer, you have to choose, but do you? Why is it a binary concept that as a teacher you have to feel one way or the other about Wikipedia? It has many uses, some are good, and useful to teachers, to students, and to our technology driven society in general.  However, I think many people agree that Wikipedia has its issues, especially for education.

How can Wikipedia be a friend to teachers? I think by this point at some point in our lives we have used Wikipedia, especially since many times it is the first link that comes up on searches.  Wikipedia is a good starting point, to make sure that the topic that you are going to research is really what you think it is.  It can be a good place to start, read through the article and see what you would want to know more about.  Also, since most, if not all, Wikipedia pages have sources listed, you can use their sources as a springboard for your own research.  Also, you can use Wikipedia to show students that it is not a reliable source.  One idea that was brought up in discussion was to print off a Wikipedia article and a reliable source article on the same subject.  Take out all the information that says where each source is from, and give it to your students and have them figure out which is more reliable and why.  After the activity explain to the students why Wikipedia is not a reliable source, however, it is a place to go to begin searching for ideas to research.  By explicitly teaching the students how to use Wikipedia, and explaining how and why it is not the end all and be all of information, we as teachers are able to educate our students both in and beyond our subject areas.

How can Wikipedia be foe? For all the reasons many educators (including my self) have been steering students away from it for all these years.  Because it is essentially a living document of every growing ever changing information, sometimes the information can be false, or simply too broad for educational purposes.  Even though there is an oversight process for Wikipedia, the extremely vast amount of information is not reviewed as often as it should be to be considered reliable.  There is information that has yet to be added to Wikipedia, as well as information that is simply out of date.

So yes, Wikipedia is both friend AND foe for teachers.  The most important thing that we as teachers should be doing with Wikipedia is education our students about it, telling them how it can be used, and how not to use it.

Annotated web list

Web site address: Jazz Lesson Plans
Category: Teacher Lesson Plans
Audience: Teachers
Grade Level: K-8
Subject area: Music - Jazz
Description: A list of five different units about jazz put together for the general music classroom. Each unit is also connect to other subjects (Math, ELA, or Social Studies). Each lesson on unit covers topics including the history of jazz, the contributions of Duke Ellington, and musical forms of jazz styles.

Web site address: Sphinx Kids
Category: Student Interactive Learning
Audience: Students
Grade Level: 2-8
Subject area: Music
Description: There are a variety of facts and games about different instrument, composers, and performers. Students can hear the sounds each instrument makes as well as read facts about the instrument. There are galleries of instruments and composers with interactive content as well as games about composers, pieces, and instruments.

Web site address: SFS Kids
Category: Students Interactive Learning
Audience: Students
Grade Level: 2-8
Subject area: Music
Description: There are a variety of activities for students including basic note reading, music theory, composition, and instrument families. It also includes a calendar of family friendly symphonic concerts in the San Francisco area. 
 
 




Web site address: Florida Orchestra Association Assessment
Category: Teacher Resource
Audience: Teachers
Grade Level: 5-12
Subject area: Music - Orchestra
Description: A collection of various assessment tools for the orchestra class. There are rubrics for various grade levels, ideas for midterm and final exams for high school level, as well as ready made study guides for tests on key signatures or scales.

Web site address: K-12 Resources for Music Educators
Category: Teacher Resource
Audience: Teachers
Grade Level: K-12
Subject area: Music - Choral, Instrumental, General
Description: A list of various web resources related to music and music education. The list is organized by subject area, Band, Orchestra, Choral, and General with short descriptions of each page.

Web site address: Alternative Strings
Category: Teacher Lesson Plan Sites
Audience: Teachers
Grade Level: 5-8
Subject area: Music - Orchestra
Description: A ready made unit of 12 lesson plans and accompanying materials for Rock Strings. The unit costs between $19.95 and $24.95. The unit is written by Julie Lyonn Liberman and includes hand outs and listening materials as well as lesson plans.

Web site address: Virgina Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary
Category: Student Resource
Audience: Students
Grade Level: 7-12
Subject area: Music
Description: Interactive dictionary of musical terms including pronunciation, language of origin, definition, and suggested listening examples.

Web site address: Metronome
Category: Students Resource
Audience: Students
Grade Level: 6-12
Subject area: Music
Description: Free online metronome. 

 
Web site address: 8notes
Category: Teacher and Student Resource
Audience: Teachers and students
Grade Level: 6-12
Subject area: Music
Description: Free sheet music for various instruments and small groups. The music is organized by instrument and by category.  

Web site address: NAfME
Category: Teacher Resource
Audience: Teachers
Grade Level: All
Subject area: Music
Description: National Association for Music Education home page. There is where teachers can find the most up to date research in the field of music education as well as find other resources such as books, lesson ideas, and future events.