Graphic Organizers

"When the purpose of a graphic organizer becomes filling it out correctly, it is nothing more than a worksheet." I chose this quote because I have seen this in just about every classroom I have been in. It happened to me and is still being done. I think as teachers we get so caught up in teaching for the tests and giving students worksheets to fill out that are supposed to help with the tests. People are saying more and more to think outside of the box and not to teach for test. So, in turn, some people think that a graphic organizer is a cool way to use other resources and not just a worksheet. It can be, but not if students are just filling in answers. I think that there are a lot of people may be confused about what a worksheet really is. Just because the name is different, it doesn’t mean it is not a worksheet. Being a visual learner, I think that graphic organizers are great to use in the classroom if used appropriately.

Graphic organizers can be really helpful for some students but what about the students who do not benefit from them? I guess I am asking how are we supposed to get everyone on board using graphic organizers?

I kind of already touched on this above. My experiences with graphic organizers are mixed. I hated worksheets in class and that is what most of them ended up being; however, the more I learn about graphic organizers, the more I like them. I am a visual learner, so everything I can get on one page in order for me to see it altogether is great for me. I honestly would like to learn a lot more about them so that I can use them the correct way in my classroom.

Text Talk

For the record, every time I wrote something down that I wanted to say about this article it was stated in the next paragraph. Needless to say, I think they covered this topic pretty well. Growing up, I had a really hard time with comprehension and I think it had a lot to do with popcorn reading and the setting of the classroom in general. If there are people who are not reading fluently, I cannot for the life of me listen, much less understand the story. Also, if people are in the room looking around or talking I pay more attention to them than anything. With that being said, the only reason I started to develop comprehension skills and enjoy reading has a lot to do with a teacher who read aloud to me. We were in a much smaller group setting in a library and the way she read was mesmerizing the way she made the characters come to life. Stories made much more sense when she read and her questions brought out the highlighted portions of the text in order for me to stay on track with the story.

What I'm getting at is that I think reading aloud is an amazing way to get students to comprehend. This way students have a model for fluent reading as well as what questions to ask yourself and what things you should notice. Students can learn that the pictures help paint the story for visual remembrance, but they do not give the whole story and are only supported by the text. For read-alouds to be effective, the right questions need to be asked. Limits need to be pushed to think critically and formulate new questions. Reading above the level of the students also helps with vocabulary. Sometimes if I hear someone read aloud a word in a sentence that I do not know the meaning of I understand it better. I definitely think that "text talk" is beneficial for reading comprehension and helps students enjoy reading,

I noticed that a Text Talk strategy included withholding pictures after the student understand what is read. Why exactly is that? (I read about it but I just don't get it) I just think that pictures help with comprehension so much because I am a visual learners.

Also, I wonder how far to go regarding reading above reading level?

Writing to Learn

I really liked reading about the topic of using writing in the classroom. Using strategies to make students write allows not only the opportunity to assess students but for students to really think about what they have learned to put into words. It has always been hard for me to put what I know down on paper; however, it makes me think so much harder about what I know. Students will ultimately remember what they have learned if they can write it down. I never would have thought to incorporate writing in other subjects such as math. Now that it has been brought to my attention, I probably would have been a better math teacher had I used these strategies in elementary. Writing can be used to write prior knowledge before a topic is discussed and students can share with one another to prepare themselves for the topic. I enjoyed this topic of writing!