EDU 512 Reading Notes:

Name _KATHRYN WOON_____________

Book Title: Teaching Literacy in the Visible Classroom
Chapter Number and Title: Chapter 2: Teacher Clarity
1.Clarity of Organization:
Clarity of organization connects tasks, assignments, and actives with the learning objectives.
It is imperative for teachers to be organized prior to teaching lessons so that their students
will be more successful in the engagement and retainment of new concepts.
Application:
As we continue to write lesson plans, I see the connection between my performance in
teaching and the organization of my lesson plans. The clearer my lesson plans are, the clearer
my teaching becomes. When my lesson plan is organized, I can more easily manipulate the
concepts in order to be adaptive to my students’ needs.
2. Connecting Learning Intentions to Prior Knowledge:
This concept involves activating the background knowledge of a student with a learning
intention. Rather than using class time to establish management rules and expectations at the
beginning of each class, teachers can save time by having their students work on an
assignment to focus the class on learning.
Application:
At the beginning of class, I allow my students to review concepts with each other using flash
cards. While allowing social interaction has created a bit of chaos, I will continue to adapt my
activities to focus my students rather than wasting time taking role call in order to gain
control of my class.
3.Social Learning Intentions:
Social Learning Intentions focus on the social skills that foster effective collaboration and
communication. These intentions are inclusive to teach social concepts rather than rules of
the classroom. Learning intentions allow students to be successful in their interactions rather
than simple code-switching in the classroom alone.
Application:
I have learned that every opportunity to teach is also an opportunity for students to learn
social norms. Rather than pointing my students to strict rules, I allow them to see how their
actions affect others in the classroom. Rather than telling my student that they cannot talk
during lesson time, I was able to explain that when they talk, they are disrupting me as a
teacher and also the students around them.