Molly Zwisler

Recitation
Case Study
24 April 2013
Case Study
Throughout my experience at Blevins Middle School I never expected to gain the
amount of knowledge and experience I did. I had not been in a classroom in an actual
teacher role and that was a very uncomfortable feeling at first. Throughout the semester
I embraced the role and feel as though my experience has taught me a lot about who I want
to be as a teacher, as well as who I do not want to be as a teacher.
Part 1:
The quote All teachers are teachers of reading resonates with me in a surprising
way. For so long, I have been taught that reading is simply of text. When I read something,
it was a text sitting in front of my eyes that I could analyze and destruct however I was told
to do so; until this semester, when I learned a great deal about literacy and the many
different forms of literacy. The definition of literacy is the ability to read and write. In this
definition, there is no discussion of what it is that needs to read or written in order for it to
be considered literacy. And I think that is a big idea of this quote.
In any content area, we teach students to read different types of texts. In a Math
classroom, students are taught how to read math equations and determine the important
aspects of that in order to complete the math equation. In a Science classroom, students
obviously read reports and studies, but students are also taught to read chemical equations
and how to make sense of the different elements and how they work together. In a Social
Studies classroom, students are taught to read maps and timelines. In an English
classroom, students are taught how to read different kinds of texts: biographies, fiction,
non-fiction, expository, narrative, and many other types of writing that require students to
think in different ways. Teachers create a type of reading within their classroom and as
students learn and grow, they are able to integrate these different types of reading and
literacy into other areas of their education.
One example from this semester in Ms. Lind-Tufftes class was when students were
required to work through a workbook regarding financial literacy. On this specific day
students were learning about the debit and credit card system, most students did not know
the difference between the two. 75 students were put into a combination of two
classrooms with a number of teachers from different content areas (I believe one teacher
was an eighth grade Math teacher). But all the students needed to be taught how to
balance a checkbook and most adults have this skill. All of the teachers, including
numerous CSU students, helped students work through a series of steps in order for
students to balance a checkbook of their own. These teachers were not typically teachers
of financially literacy, but were capable of teaching students this necessary skill and did so
with ease. These students may not have realized that the teachers who typically teach
them different kinds of literacy were teaching them math skills but teachers were able to
work through math problems with students. These teachers taught students financial
literacy, which is a form of reading.
A different form of reading I witnessed Ms. Lind-Tuffte utilize was the use of music.
As she started the poetry unit within her classroom she used song lyrics to demonstrate the
different forms of figurative language. She first went through the definitions of different
kinds of figurative language (simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, and hyperbole). She then
used a YouTube video that went through numerous music genres and explained the
different forms of figurative language within the lyrics of songs. Students seemed to enjoy
this type of learning, as they were able to connect with the figurative language in songs
they commonly listen to. Students were unaware of the fact that they were still using their
literacy skills in order to identify the different kinds of figurative language.
Teachers teach reading regardless of what they are teaching. This is because
students are continuously examining a text and are asked to think critically about that
text in order to write or speak their understanding of that text. Reading can no longer be
defined as simply reading type on a piece of paper, but the idea that students are able to see
something and critically analyze the text.
Part 2:
Although I was not able to use many of the ideas that I had throughout the semester,
I do think I was able to think through many good ideas to use in a classroom when I have
the opportunity. We learned a great amount of skills and strategies to use in the classroom.
I believe I had an advantage because literacy most easily relates to an English classroom,
but I was really pushed to think beyond that idea and consider other options of literacy that
can still be used.
One of the first strategies that I will utilize is Costas Levels of Questioning. The
website Costas Level Questioning as a form of inquiry and how Inquiry-based learning
focuses on the student as learner, developing skillful, open-ended questioning skills. The
website then gives numerous examples of how to create the different levels of questions.
The first level is the surface level questions. The second level is just under the surface level.
These types of questions dig a little deeper to the how and why of a concept. The third
level is the bottom level and the most critical thinking questions. These questions try to get
students to think in the most critical manner of the how and why of a concept. I could,
obviously, use these different types of questioning to ask students questions about a
certain novel or text. This would allow students to have a guided study of the text, as the
questions would help students work through the text critically. Another way I could utilize
Costas Levels of Questioning is to have students write their own levels of questions. I
thought I could do this by giving each student a bookmark with examples of questions.
Throughout the study of the text student will need to keep a journal of many things but one
of the most important will be to create multiple questions, utilizing all levels of questioning,
for each chapter or section of the story. I know that when I was in school I struggled with
the third level of questioning the most because it requires the most critical thinking which
most students do not want to do. But I think this aspect is important because it allows
students to ask their own questions they may or may not have the answer to in a non-
pressured situation.
A really wonderful strategy I experienced and learned about this semester is the
RAFT. RAFT stands for role, audience, format, and topic. In this activity students take on a
role, they are able to chose who their audience will be, they are able to chose what format
the activity will be written in (a letter, a speech, or a poem), and they are able to chose
what their topic will be. Obviously, this could be adapted in any form and the teacher could
chose certain aspects of the raft for students in order to get to a certain point. We were
told students really seem to enjoy this activity as it allows them to be really creative. The
activity that I derived using this activity is relating to the book To Kill a Mockingbird. I
initially thought about having students write a letter as a colored person to a white person
during the Civil Rights Movement. I thought that I could start the unit this way, as we
would have to discuss the multiple concepts regarding the Civil Rights Movement in
correlation with the novel. But then after thinking about this concept a little more, I
thought that I could have students write a RAFT from the views of different characters.
Students would be able to write in any form they wanted, but would have to use
information from the text to choose their audience and topic. I think that this would be a
good way for students to demonstrate their knowledge about their understanding of the
different characters and their relation to the story.
Another, less creative, activity is Cornell Notes. In using Cornell Notes, students will
split a piece of paper into two sections. The Learning Toolbox website, in relation with
James Madison University, created directions for students to use in creating Cornell Notes.
On this website, it directs students to review notes as soon as possible after class and
write a summary at the bottom of the section; I think these are good ideas for students to
concrete their ideas while using Cornell Notes. In the right section, students will put
information and other aspects of the story that are important to know. This is where
information such as setting, character, and important events would go. In the left section
students respond to what is in the right section. Students are able to put questions,
emotions, thoughts, or ideas in this section. I think that these could get monotonous for
students if they are repetitively doing it. So, I thought I would utilize these with a content
that needs a little more guidance and students need a place to keep things straight. I
thought I could use this type of notes with the book The Crucible. I would use a journal for
students to use throughout the entire unit and throughout the journal students would use
the Cornell Notes. As we discussed the different characters, events, settings, themes, and
other important information students would utilize the right side of the notes. Because the
topic is so heave and dense for students, especially at younger ages, students would be able
to use the left side of the notes for asking questions, making connections, and comment
about how they feel about the events of the story. I think this would be good because
students would all have similar notes and it would give me as a teacher something to check
to make sure students are keeping up on their reading, making connections throughout the
story, and thinking critically about the events that are unfolding in the story.
A more recent strategy I was introduced to is character mapping. I thought that this
idea is really interesting and helpful because I tend to struggle to keep characters straight
as I am reading a novel. I, also, think analyzing characters is important in analyzing a plot
because a characters action can and will influence the events that occur within a novel or a
story. The website ehow describes the advantage of character mapping is that it
facilitates the students ability to organize fragmentary character information into a
coherent easy-to-understand visual arrangement. I would especially use this strategy
with a story that has a large amount of characters, like Lord of the Flies. In order for
students to use character mapping I would create a worksheet with all of the characters
names in the middle of the page on both the back and front. Students would then need to
create a map for each character. I would have students first draw what they believe each
character to look like; I think this would be good because students will be able to get
creative and many different versions of the characters will appear. I would then have
students branch off different aspects from the characters name. The first topic students
would need to consider would be the different aspects of the characters description in
writing, to describe what they drew. Students would then have to work through how the
character acts, how the character interacts with the other characters in the story, and why
this character is important to the overall story. Students will be able to work through the
worksheet as the novel progresses in case characters interactions change as the story goes
on.
The last strategy that I find significant in an English classroom is connections. The
three different types of connections are text-to-world, text-to-self, and text-to-text. In
regards to using this in my classroom is difficult because I ultimately want to teach in a
high school space. I feel as though students at the high school level are already proficient
in creating those connections and it would be difficult to stretch the connections to a point
of critical thinking. So, I thought that one of the best ways to utilize this in a classroom is
helping create the connections in regards to a specific unit. Such as, if the unit is the
Holocaust, I can create numerous connections within my students. I can create text-to-
world connections by having students think about the society they live in and how there
are similar aspects as those that existed during The Holocaust. Text-to-self connections can
be made through helping students realize and consider their own actions of stereotyping
and racism. And text-to-text connections can be made through utilizing secondary texts
within the unit, and connecting it back to a primary text.
My experience at Blevins has taught me a lot about different strategies that I will be
able to utilize within my classroom, at some point in time. It was helpful being able to see
the strategies we learned in recitation in an actual classroom.


Works Cited
"Costa's Levels of Inquiry." Costa's Levels of Inquiry. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
"The Learning Toolbox - Cornell Notes." The Learning Toolbox - Cornell Notes. James Madison
University, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
Levesque, Dawn R. "How to Use a Character Map Graphic Organizer." EHow. Demand Media,
27 Oct. 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.