Field Experience Blog

So far, my observations have been extremely enriching experiences, as I have gained insights into creative ways to actively engage students in reading and analyzing texts. One lesson in particular that I observed last week really stood out to me, as the teacher had the students analyze supplementary texts and images to draw conclusions about the main text that the class was studying. This lesson took place on a Monday, and the students had finished reading "Of Mice and Men" for homework over the weekend. The focus of Monday's lesson was on the characterization of Curley's wife. The teacher read a racially-charged passage aloud from the text that involved an interaction between Curley's wife and Crooks. After reading the passage, the teacher handed out the poem, "Strange Fruit" by Abel Meeropol, which is about the lynching of African Americans in the South. This poem connects thematically to the passage about Curley's wife and Crooks. The teacher prom...

In one of the lessons I observed, the teacher wanted the students to learn what stereotypes are and how the depiction of stereotypes are prevalent in today's media. I believe that her lesson aimed to fulfill the following New York State Next Generation Standard: " 8R9: Choose and develop criteria in order to evaluate the quality of texts. Make connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, and personal experiences. (RI&RL)." Let's trace the lesson from the end of it back to the beginning. The teacher completed the lesson by projecting photos on the SmartBoard that depicted various instances of stereotyping in media. She asked the students to analyze each photo and identify what the stereotype was that the photo was trying to portray. For instance, one photo was of a billboard showing that women are the ones who "normally" do the cooking in a household. The teacher even integrated a photo that had text in a different language. Howe...

Utilizing Scaffolding to Teach a New Skill During one of the classes I was observing in on my first day of field experience, the teacher had the students write a letter to the main character of the short story, "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. The students were instructed to, in their letters, discuss how the main character has inspired them, their "words of wisdom" for the character, and to include personal experiences of failure, growth, and overcoming adversity. This assignment reminded me of our "Echoes of Silence" reading, as the students in Freedman's class were instructed to connect with the characters on a personal level if they could, similarly to the "Flowers for Algernon" letter assignment. In regards to his students, Freedman writes, "They identified with circumstances surrounding these events and took advantage of the opportunity...Most importantly, many students exercised their ability to empathize. If in some...