Stewart+-+TOSS+Discussions

Hi, Jessica, Lauren, Lizabeth, Ashley, Adriana, and Bethany! It's been my observation that many of you are facing several common situations. I'd like for this space to be user friendly for you. As I mentioned in my email, grammar instruction and classroom management are two areas I would think you would want to reflect upon. I invite your suggestions about other reflection topics.

To get started, why don't we "talk" about what you have noticed, learned, welcomed or resisted in terms of grammar instruction in the ELA classroom?

I would like to say that I'm a little surprised how grammar is taught in concentrated doses right before the CRCT and not as an everyday part of the curriculum - with every lesson about literature or writing. Your thoughts? I'll post this first topic in the discussion section for us.

Professor Stewart,

Your final point about concerning grammar being taught/reviewed right before the CRCT is probably what has stirred me the most. With as much emphasis as schools place on the CRCT, it seems like it would make more sense to teach something like grammar all throughout the year so as to ensure that the students are well prepared. For my ten days of teaching (which will be starting on Monday, Feb. 14), my task is to review certain grammar concepts that my CT feels the students are weakest in. And while I'm glad and eager to do so, I can't help but wonder how much it really serves a group of students to place so much responsibility on their shoulders, in terms of earning high scores, but only offering them ten days of review to do so. If schools can make time all throughout the year to remind students just how important the CRCT is, then why can't we make time all throughout the year to teach the content?

In terms of what I've learned thus far, it seems like grammar instruction is, in a lot of ways, isolated, and not typically taught in any sort of context. And it seems to run counter to what we've been taught year after year. I think one of the things that I'm most interested to note during my ten days of teaching is how the students will react to grammar in the context of literature and even in their own writing. I hope that my teaching style will be welcomed by the students, but I can't help but wonder if I will face a bit of resistance in the beginning because they've been trained to see grammar as very one dimensional and by the book.

Just some thoughts! I hope everyone is having a great time engaging with their students as well as their CTs. -Adriana Vanderheyden

Hi Everybody! I could not resist your topic. Yes, I have noticed this terrible "cram" to reach benchmarks. We are doing a Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies (CARS) warm-up every morning in my TOSS. Then, the kids get another chance to take it again to increase their scores. There is so much pressure on the kids and the teachers. I will be administering some CARS practices this coming week. I read some of the examples to promote critical thinking. The questions are 'trick questions' and there are sometimes, two viable answers. This confuses and frustrates kids. Regarding the class management Yo-Yo: One day, it was "Eureka!" I found my teacher voice. The next day, as soon as I got into my car, I started crying asking myself, "What am I doing this for?" After a good night of sleep, the next day was rich with humor and confirmation. I wish you all the best and thank you for letting me know that I am "normal" in the wild world of teaching. //Jody Thomas//

//Hi Jody! Thanks for chiming in. Jumping into the Spring semester where testing is so prevalent is difficult. Try not to be so hard on yourselves. If you were teaching the students all year, you would be teaching in context and then when review time comes, you would be able to refer to previous instruction. It's a little bumpy right now, but it would be far different if you had been teaching the full year, so don't be too hard on yourselves or the CTs at this point.//