Aimee's Blog

I didn't find a specific section regarding visual literacy on the common core standards site, I did look through the different standards and there a lot of situations in where a teacher might use visual literacy to introduce the curriculum to meet those specific standards. For example, the section for 8th grade Reading: Literature  under the "craft and structure" part there are standards that I think would be successful if a teacher used a graphic novel or other type of visual literacy. One standard states, "CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.5: Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style." A teacher could use a graphic novel and a regular novel and have the students compare and contrast the structure of both and the different meaning each one gives. I think another part where I found that visual literacy could be integrated is in that same age level for the standard "...

I am familiar with graphic novels, of course, but as I have gotten older I have not read as many as I should. I can say though, that from the few that I have read, I have loved every single one. I remember in middle school, and somethings high school, our discussions about a graphic novel always had more participants than when we read a regular novel, and I think that's because graphic novels are simply just more gravitating to students than regular novels. I think that when it comes to education, teachers don't implement graphic novels in their curriculum because they don't think they will be beneficial or that they are meant for younger kids. I could understand how some people may think that "picture books" are for little kids and that as students get older, they should be able to read huge novels that are purely text. But not everyone is a reader, and not everyone understands the information from reading just plain text. I think it has a lot to do with the lear...

I have looked into some of the Common Core Standards before, but I have never looked specifically into the speaking and listening section of it. I am obviously wanting to teach Secondary Ed, so I specifically looked into the Grade 6, 7, and 8 because that is around the age I want to teach. From reading the standards, It is clear that middle school is the stage where more formal discussions are starting to take place. I feel pretty comfortable with most of them and feel like I could get my students to meet these standards when it comes to speaking and listening. I think it will still be challenging, especially for middle schoolers, to make sure they are participating or feel comfortable speaking in class. For example, in the 7th grade standards under "Comprehension and Collaboration," it states "Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe an...

This week's reading was an interesting and enjoyable one. I had never really been in a classroom that was discussion-based until my senior year of high school, and quite honestly it was very nerve-racking for me because it was my first one. Most people in my classroom were comfortable speaking out but some weren't, which is why it was interesting to read about how to make a successful discussion-based classroom. I think if classes focused less of their time on just lectures early on in student's lives, the students would eventually grow out of their shell and become comfortable in future situations that require speaking up. I think this was the problem for me. I was glad to see there were so many strategies to run a successful discussion because I feel like most of the discussions I have participated in were not planned out very well, which led to nobody talking, awkward silences, and not knowing where to even start. I love how Brookfield addressed the dilemmas teachers u...

I am pretty familiar with the Common Core Standards as they have been talked about in some of my previous classes. In fact, for one of my education classes I had to create a lesson plan based on one of the standards. I can't remember what specific standard it was, but it was for 7th grade Reading and Literature. It is interesting to see all the different standards for different grades and to think about how I, as a teacher, will be able to help my future students meet those standards. Although, I had never looked into the development of the Common Core Standards so It was interesting to read about how they started. It is nice to see that they were created based upon experience and feedback from the public, which makes them pretty fair. Unlike the Common Core Standards, I was not familiar with the WA Professional Educator Standards Board. I had never read them so it was interesting to see what skills are really necessary to be qualified for the work. The standards "1.C Underst...