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CRAFT LESSONS: TEACHING WRITING K-8

 

 

  PAGES 105-138 IN THE CRAFT LESSONS TEACHING WRITING K-8BEGINS WITH A QUESTION AND ANSWER SECTION. IT PROVIDED IDEAS OF HOW TO STAY ORGANIZED IN THE CLASSROOM AFTER YOU IMPLEMENT THE WRITING PROGRAM.THE BOOK SUGGESTED THAT STUDENTS' WORK COULD BE USED AS A BENCHMARK AND GUIDE. A LIST OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE BOOKS WERE INCLUDED IN THIS SECTION.

GRAFT LESSONS TEACHIN WRITING

 

    IN CHAPTERS 14-43, THIS BOOK FOCUSES ON WRITING IN K- 2. CHILDREN'S STORIES SHOULD HAVE A BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND ENDING. THEIR ST0RIES CAN COME FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCES.  STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO RETELL THEIR STORIES.  PICTURE BOOKS CAN BE USED TO HELP THEM VISUALIZE THEIR SETTING AND CHARACTERS. THESE BOOKS CAN ALSO ENHANCE THIER IMAGINATION IN WRITING.

    THE BOOK OFFERED IDEAS FOR THE MINI-LESSONS. THESE LESSONS ARE VITAL TO BUILD A STRONG WRITING  AND READING FOUNDATION. I THINK THIS BOOK CAN BE HELPFUL TO USE IN SECOND GRADE AS STUDENTS GO THROUGH THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF WRITING.

CRAFT LESSONS

 

  THE AUTHORS OF THE BOOK CRAFT LESSSONS ARE RALPH FLETCHER AND JOANN PORTALUPI. IN THE FIRST THIRTEEN PAGES OF THEIR BOOK,THEY EMPHASIZE HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO READ ALOT IN ORDER TO BECOME A GOOD WRITER. THE AUTHORS FEEL THAT CHILDREN SHOULD BE SURROUNDED BY BOOKS IN THEIR LIVES. THESE BOOKS SHOULD BE ALL TYPES OF LITERATURE, SUCH AS FOLKTALES, POEMS,AND SONGS.

THE AUTHORS FEEL WHEN A CHILD FIRST STARTS TO WRITE WE SHOULD BE AS POSITIVE AS POSSIBLE. WE SHOULD TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE WRITER INTENTION. WE SHOULD ENCOURAGE THE CHILD TO EXPRESS WHAT HE IS TRYING TO SAY EVEN THOUGH WE MAY NOT UNDERSTAND THE WRITING.

THESE IDEAS ARE VERY HELPFUL TO USE WITH BEGINNING WRITERS.

TEACHING STUDENT-CENTERED MATHEMATICS

 

    FRACTION CONCEPTS ARE ADDRESSED  IN CHAPTER 9. STUDENTS OFTEN AT THIS STAGE RESORT TO RULES AND STOP TRYING TO UNDERSTAND. iN THE PRIMARY GRADES THE USE OF MODELS TO EXPLORE FRACTIONS ARE NECCESSARY.

ALGEBRAIC REASONNG HELPS THE STUDENT DO LOGICAL THINKING AND MAKE GOOD PREDICTIONS. STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN A PROBLEM. THEY CAN DO THIS BY DRAING PICTURES OR USING A NUMBER LINE.

FINDING AND USING DATA SHOULD INVOLVE COLLECTIONS THAT THE STUDENTS ARE INTERESTED IN. STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW HOW TO INTEREPT THE DATA.

CHAPTER 12 DISCUSSES THE PROBABILIY CONCEPTS. EXPERIMENTAL PROBABILITY CAN BE USED AS AN ESTIMATE OF THE EXACT PROBABILITY OF AN EVENT.

 

TEACHING STUDENT-CENTERED MATHEMATICS

    

     CHAPTER 5 ADDRESSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FRACTION CONCEPT. THE AUTHORS DISCUSS THREE TYPES OF MODELS IN THIS CHAPTER. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE THESE MODELS BE USED AS MANIPULATIVES FOR THE STUDENTS. CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSED HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER SIMPLE CONTEXTUAL TASKS. STUDENTS SHOULD HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF FRACTIONS BEFORE RULES ARE STRESSED.

    CHAPTER 7 SUGGESTS THAT STUDENTS SHOULD HAVE  A CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN FRACTIONS AND DECIMALS. CHAPTER 8 DEALS WITH THE CONCEPTS OF GEOMETRIC THINKING. THE

AUTHORS REVEAL THAT THERE ARE LEVELS A STUDENT GOES THROUGH IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND GEOMETRY. THE TEACH NEEDS TO CHALLENGE THE STUDENT THROUGH WRITING. THE STUDENT NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHAT HE IS DOING. TEACHERS REALLY NEED TO INSURE THAT STUDENTS KNOW THE BASICS OF GEOMETRY, BEFORE INTRODUCTING HIGHER LEVEL CONCEPTS OF IT.

   THES CHAPTERS WERE VERY INFORMATIVE AND I FEEL MUCH OF THE INFORMATION CAN BE USEFUL

IN THE CLASSROOM.

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