Classroom Discussion

In my fifth grade classroom, there is discussion led by the teacher most times. They read a chapter book after lunch and my MT will stop and ask them questions. The students will raise their hands to answer and give their opinion. She will keep calling on students without giving any feedback, and the students keep discussing the book. A few times a student will ask a question to another student or give their own feedback to them. I like this kind of discussion in the classroom because it shows that the students are engaged and excited about the material. The teacher will not only ask them questions straight from the text, but deeper questions that they have to make connections with and think a bit more. One thing I wish my MT would do more is small group discussions because often in the large classroom setting, only the few students who like to participate are discussing the book. The shy students just sit and listen. During math class, the teacher will start off with a problem on the board and call on a random student to talk through the problem to the class. Other students will raise their hands to comment or add something he/she forgot. I think it's important to have discussion in math as well as reading. In the reading they talked about how important it is to have the teacher facilitate and give the students feedback. Although for younger grades, the teacher may need to facilitate the discussions to keep the students from telling stories, I believe that in fifth grade the students are capable of keeping on task while discussing what they read. Small group discussions would give the students more of an opportunity to get their opinions out without having to do it in the large classroom setting. For each five chapters of their book, the students have questions to answer. Most of the time, after she grades them, the students have to re-do them. I would be curious to see that if they did their questions as small groups. how it would turn out and if they would be able to discuss the questions to write them down, and if they would be able to stay on topic while doing so.

Classroom talk

The majority of the talk that I see within my placement is recitation. My mentor teacher asks the class pretty superficial questions, with one specific answer, and a student raises their hand and answers. Typically the same handful of students respond while the rest of the class is not engaged in what their classmates and teacher are saying. I think that with this particular group in order for discussion to take place it would be important to keep the group on task. My students have a difficult time staying on a specific topic. I think that it would also be difficult for them to build off of other students responses. They would have meaningful contributions but they would act more as statements as opposed to opinions that build and deepen the conversation. In the reading they mentioned that it is a good idea for the teacher to facilitate this and tell the students that it is important to listen as well as respond to others responses. I think that my students would find it easy to come up with things to say in general though. They are a very talkative group and would want to contribute anything that they can. The only downfall would be that these things may not follow what the goal of the discussion is. The other thing that the reading mentioned that I think is a good idea to keep in mind when having a classroom discussion is telling your students what the main goal of the discussion is. This way they can focus down on specific comments and have an easier time making connections within the discussion. I think that my class would be able to have productive and meaningful discussion, but with some guidance with how to appropriately respond to what is being said. 

Classroom Talk

I am placed in a 1st grade classroom which focuses greatly on Math, Language Arts and Reading.  The class is very engaged and keeps students involved, however, I do not see much discussion. For math, it usually begins with the teacher teaching the concepts and demonstrating practice problems as well as the first few problems from a worksheet they have received. Once the demonstration is over with, the students are given time to finish the worksheet on their own. Here, there is not much classroom talk or discussion taking place. For Language Arts, however, I do see some discussion, but not much. I have seen a couple times where the teacher reads the same book a couple times throughout one week. For each time she reads it, the students will be asked to focus on on specific part of the book, whether it be the language used or items mentioned, and they will discuss those things afterward. It could be some things like rhyming words, or even what animals eat. The students will sit in the "reading corner," where they listen to the teacher read the story as they sit on the floor. The teacher will follow the story with questions. I do not see students feeding off of on another, like we talked about in class however. I think that because this is a first grade classroom, a discussion like that would be much too difficult for a class like mine. The students in this class would be too talkative about other things that have nothing to do with the story, and it would become chaotic. To start a discussion where the kids sort of "lead" it with their own questions would take lots of instruction and practice and it may not even turn out how it is intended to. I think involved discussions are great, but maybe not for lower elementary classrooms such as my own.

classroom talk

I am placed in a kindergarten class, where my students are focusing on learning to read words, and small texts, which do not have much plot to the stories, if at all. Even the program’s stories that the teacher reads are very focused on learning new words, or counting. This leads to very surface-based conversations with the students. One thing that I did last semester with my students was read a story about a family who lost everything in a fire. I somewhat conducted a book talk in that I first asked the students what they would grab if they could only take one thing out of the house, as well as what they know about needs, and what they would ask for Christmas. This provided the students with an opportunity to think in their personal lives about wants and needs (which was what my lesson was about) and helped my students relate to the book that I was reading. After the reading I ask recall questions, and allowed the students to ask “I wonder” questions about the text. Most of the discussions about the texts that my students read are recall the words kind of discussions that is used to check their comprehension of the meanings of the words that they are learning. My students do have book groups where they read different books for about a half an hour where they circulate through the classroom. The students rate the books based on if they liked the book, it was ok, or disliked it. This allows my students to talk critically about the book with one another, but that is the extent to their conversations. I think that in order for the Alamasi discussion to work and be successful my students would have to read stories that actually have a plot. My highest reading group has just begun reading stories like this. The roles of the discussion would also have to be clearly defined and modeled to them, and I think that an adult would have to sit in each group, or it would have to be a whole class discussion. Even with my “book talk” experience my students began telling stories that had nothing to do with my original directions and so they had to be pulled back to the discussion. An adult would need to help the students to focus. I think that the easiest role of the Amasi discussion for my students would be the role of the facilitator, because my students love being in control and making sure that they keep each other in check. My students’ groups has a coach each day, and it is like the biggest deal to my students to be the coach, and this only entails choosing which way to go around the circle to read, and carrying their bucket to each station. The most difficult role for my students would be the inquisitor and the evaluator. My students have not fully been taught yet how to think critically about a text, and as said before their books are not really in-depth. In order to be able to ask meaningful questions my students would have to have more to go off of than “Mike is on a bike” and text that help them develop their vocabulary. Also, the evaluator would be difficult, because there is little material to think critically about, and very little to have different view points on. I think that if this were to work for my students there would have to be several weeks at the end of the year, when they are better readers where my students can be walked through the process several times and see a model of the correct behavior.

Diversity in the classroom-post 3

Understanding that each student in your classroom has a unique background that they come to school with everyday is a very important thing that teachers must do. These students do not just exist within our classroom from the hours of 8am-4pm, they have lives outside of school which affect how they learn, what they like and how they interact within the classroom. As a teacher it is extremely important to understand these unique characteristics of our students. Doing so not only gives us a deeper understanding of who they are as individuals but also creates a level of trust and comfort within the teacher student relationship. In class we discussed different ways of getting to know our students such as the “Where I’m from poem”. Ideas like these are great because they allow each student to express exactly what they want and show them more as an individual. I also really like the idea of students having a personal journal that the teacher reads through and responds to. This allows a one-on-one interaction with each student that I think is really important. This is something that I would like to bring into my classroom. I understand that this can be time consuming and challenging to have each student write something separately that needs to be read through and commented on but the idea of staggering when these journals gets turned in is a nice alternative to lighten the load. We also discussed the idea of the teacher being part of the community. I think that this is a really great way to get to know students as well. Simply seeing them outside of the classroom exposes you to a completely different understanding of them. Going to extracurricular activities such as sporting events and seeing students interact with each other as well as their families is a great way to get to know them on a more personal level.

I am in my placement during breakfast as well as snack. During this time the students are all sitting at their tables eating and talking with each other while my MT organizes things for the next part of the day. I am going to make an effort to spend this time with a different table group each time that I am there, getting to know more about these students lives. I think that sitting and listening to them talk and asking them about their weekends or other things that excite them is a great way to find out more about them. I can also use this opportunity to ask them questions about assignments they are currently or have previously worked on and gain a better understanding on their attitudes towards school. This is something that I have done a few times but making a more conscious effort to do it every time I am there will really help me know my students better.

Diversity in the classroom!

It is just as important to get to know your students as learners as it is to learn about your students as people. This means getting to know who they are and what influences them. Getting to know your students helps create a special bond with your students, so you're not talking at them while at the front of the class, but engaging the students as well. We discussed in class easy and simple ways to create this bond to get to know your students. Simply knowing that you aren't the only person in the room when teaching, and making sure to include the students in your lesson. The students will in turn trust you as their educator and respect you. Knowing how the students are as people will help you to design your lessons as well. In the readings from last week, Gloria Ladson Billings talks about teachers use culturally relevant practices. The practices she discusses can help form bonds and help you get to know the diversity in the classroom. Some examples include seeing teaching as an art and seeing themselves as a part of the community. If you see your teaching as an art and come up with activities and lessons that are meaningful and exciting for your students, they will respond and you may even see the students as artists too. Seeing yourself as a part of the community is another way in which to get to know your students from a multiple perspective. Simply attending a school dance or sporting event will show you a whole other side of your student, you can see your student as an individual, or athlete, etc. You may see into their family life, why they aren't getting homework done, or why they don't understand a specific concept. Another easy way to understand the diversity in your classroom is to do writing or artwork in class. You can tell a lot about the student by what they write, or what they draw or paint. Taking time to talk to the students about whatever during recess or lunch time can be effective to understand students from a different perspective as well. 

The next few weeks, at recess, I will make it a point to talk to a new student each day and ask them questions about themselves. I will ask the students what they like about school, their favorite subject, etc. Then, I will do into more of the student's personal life by asking them about their siblings, who they live with, what they like to do after school. I will give the students an opportunity to just talk. It won't have to be school related, they can talk to me about anything. By doing this, it will not only establish trust and a rapport with my students, but I will get to know about the components that come together to make the classroom of fifth graders, (kind of like the salad bowl/diversity analogy for the world).  

Diversity in the classroom

I feel that getting to know your students as individuals and knowing their backgrounds is an extremely important tool for teachers to use which can help you reach your students and keep them interested in literacy. From the readings last week, “Putting Literacy In Context” we saw the importance in an urban setting particularly the importance in understanding where the students were coming from. For example, that piece discussed how from 8am to 3pm the students were actually children, but then from 3pm on they were adults taking care of their younger siblings, or how some of the children only got the one meal provided at school per day. You never know what kind of individual experiences your children bring to the table and those experiences influences the way they interpret different readings and activities. Many students may not understand the concept that was exhibited in the Delpit reading that fair does not mean equal and they may have to be shown that, however without getting to know the students individually it would be impossible to realize this or how to go about teaching the concept. As a future teacher I think that literacy can be used as a vehicle to getting to know your students’ diversity through the use of journaling. I think that students love to write about themselves and providing the students with a journal to write a memoir of their own lives can open the doors up to many different opportunities for the students to tell the teacher their stories. My MT also at the beginning of the year sends home a questionnaire for parents to fill out which asks personal questions for example, who does the child live with, what are the occupations of the guardians are, what does the child think about school, what activities outside of school are they involved in. I feel that this is an excellent way to get to know students and a good starting point to begin building off of. Also, during our Math section we discussed getting to know our students, and Faith discussed a book called, “Dream Keepers,” where the teacher each week would select three or four students to come in and have lunch with her where she would set up a table cloth and sit with the kids and talk about anything other than school. This would be a great way to get to know the diversity of the students.

            Learning the diversity of my students will be extremely important, because what they bring to the table affects their reading and learning. It is important to include students’ backgrounds in literature that reflect them correctly. Never being seen in literature could have a huge impact on a student growing up. Also, in the Alamasi reading it talked about how a student’s different views and experiences impact that student’s personal interpretation of the story. As a teacher it is important to be able to recognize that impact and understand it.

            I am placed in a homogeneous kindergarten classroom, however all of my students are very different and are being raised differently. I would not be able to do the journaling with my students, but I can talk one on one with each student over the next couple of weeks to further get to know my students’ lives outside of the classroom to help me see how that impacts their learning in the classroom. This will provide me with valuable information about how their diverse perspectives affect the way they perceive the stories they hear, and interpretations.

Diversity within the Classroom (blog post 3)

There are many ways a teacher can learn about their student's home life and where they come from. It is so important for a teacher to create that deeper bond with students and understand them more than just what they are at school and within their schoolwork. In class we talked about ways that teachers can understand their students deeper and in a more meaningful way. One way we talked about was "being a part of the community." When a teacher takes specific times out of their weeks or months to attend or lead extra curricular activities that students are involved in, they are given a larger chance to find out other things about their students and what they enjoy. Another way teachers can get to know their students more is by simply having confidence in them, and believing they can do things. Many teachers believe that students are blank slates, and it is up to them to teach them everything. This is an incorrect assumption because students come to school already filled with a wide variety of knowledge and ideas to contribute to the classroom. When a teacher understands this, they can dive into their student's previous knowledge and use that to the student's advantage.


I have started to really get to know my students in my 1st grade classroom in ways just like this. I really want to continue on what I have been doing, which is simply talking to my students in down times. It's so fun to hear about the activities they do at home or after school. They always have the silliest stories! If I continue to work through al of my students, and really invest thought and time in our conversations, my students will really begin to open up and respect me and hopefully feel as though they can tell me anything.