Resource Post 1

I have provided a video from textbook company McGraw-Hill all about how to improve literacy within any classroom. I'm a little torn on choosing a video from a textbook manufacturer, because textbooks usually are related to some of the most boring experiences in the classroom and sometimes make students feel less motivated to strive to learn. However, the content of the video is good and has some good points. It talks about 7 different ways to positively impact literacy outcome in school: reach all learners, teach relevant content, use evidence based approaches, use responsive tools and platforms to drive achievement, assessment and monitoring to speed along proficiency, use reflective practices to integrate literacy in all content areas, and be a ready teacher.

I think this video is an important resource for content area teachers because it shows different ways to both improve content area learning while also improving literacy. The strategies outlined in the video are general enough to use in any classroom with any subject, but also focus on improving literacy. I especially like the strategy of teaching content that is relevant to the students--it is important to do that in order to keep the students' attention and make sure that they want to learn and improve their literacy skills. The strategy of using reflective skills emphasizes the importance of metacognition in the classroom, where students are becoming aware of their own thinking processes in order to achieve more.

Word Count: 240

Subjects Matter Chapter 2

While reading Chapter 2 of Subjects Matter, I began to realize a lot about the way I think from a literary perspective. The authors do a great job of catching you where you feel uncomfortable with a passage, and then using that feeling of uncomfort to highlight what exactly is going on in your head--so that you can understand what is going on in the heads of your students. The section about "clicking" was particularly interesting to me, because I had always wondered why sometimes reading felt like a breeze, while some other times it felt like I needed to read the same page four times in order to actually understand it. Now, I know that one's ability to understand the text comes from a variety of reading skills that happen subconsciously (at least for a college-aged reader).

One thing that stood out for me was the authors' ability to create worthwhile analogies for the processes that happen while reading. I thought that the analogy of driving a car to a friend's house (and promptly daydreaming the entire way there) versus driving to somewhere completely new and constantly looking at the GPS did a great job of highlighting exactly how subconscious these processes are. I also like how the authors made sure to show how different professions, such as mathematicians, scientists, and historians, all look at text in different ways, and how that can relate to different kinds of students acting in a similar way with a classroom text.

Overall, I thought the chapter did a great job of explaining different ways that people interact with text while not being repetitive or boring. The reading was interesting and constantly had me analyzing my own actions, and I will keep that in mind when comparing my reading strategies with that of my students.

Word Count: 302

This is a video of me reading Dr. Seuss's critically-acclaimed ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book. I grew up on Dr. Seuss books and it was nice to return to read something my parents had once read to me. My favorite Dr. Seuss book growing up was Green Eggs and Ham. Maybe one day I'll get to read that one too!


Word Count: 60