Chatper 5

I think this chapter, like many of the others, relates back to the understanding and engaging of students. This chapter is all about talking. I thought this was very strange at first. How are we supposed to teach kids how to talk? Do we even need to? It makes the point that everyone can have a short chat about something they are familiar with but a lot of students aren't comfortable having discussions about serious topics or with people they aren't very familiar with. I can attest to this personally. In my school career, the only opportunites we had to talk in class were when we got thrown in front of everyone to give a speech on a topic we didn't even care about. Most students are made uncomfortable by this and it doesn't help them learn and grow. The focus that this chapter has on group work and interractions between students to further their talking skills is really interesting and helpful. I think the student not only benefits from this academically but also socially and its something they might actually think is fun. In my experience as a student, I ususally like small group discussions vs whole classroom discussions. Students are more likely to actually talk when only 4 or 5 other people are listening rather than 25 other people. I think these are all great tools that all teachers should consider so that their students can benefit and maybe actually enjoy themselves.

Chapter 14

I connected this chapter a lot with the chapter about students truly understanding what they are learning. All of these examples of technology used in the classroom are ways of getting students involved so they actually learn. The example the author gave about the class reading The Stranger and making a wikibook to go along with them is a great testament to this idea. One student said that this is the first book he's actually read. This is probably saying a lot because I'm sure this student has had to read books for other classes. Using these technologies engages students and really throws them in to what their learning. Things like the blog or the wikibook give kids the creative control that they desire and keeps them interested unlike just typing up a book report. I think all of these are great ideas and, in this every changing tech savvy world, should be used in every classroom.

Chapter 7

I have always had a problem with remember new things that I had just learned. When I took spanish I would just memorize the meaning of words through flashcards but have no other knowledge of its usage. But this same thing also happens in our native language. When students are reading a story and come across a word they are unfamiliar with, they can always look it up or ask someone what it means but other than that small definition in that one context, they might not actually understand or be able to use the word elsewhere. This goes with the part of the chapter on what does it really mean to know a word. I think knowing a word is knowing all of its different meanings and being able to use it in your own speech or writing not just knowing what is on the back of a flashcard. But I do think that is a good first step in getting a solid understanding. This chapter gave great ideas on ways to get students to better understand words with the different charts and how to work through words. I think I would definitely use the lesson we came up with in class yesterday for future classrooms. This is honestly something I had never thought about in the context of a classroom and for my students.