Standard 1: Knows and teaches English as a subject matter
This standard involves the following:
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As a teacher, I strive to teach for knowledge and understanding, but I also strive to teach skills. Content knowledge is only the means in which we build these skills. The following artifacts demonstrate how I try to bring purpose and relevancy into the classroom while promoting independent learning.
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Tone and Mood in Music and Movies
First, I aim to teach concepts so that students can identify them in the outside world. Rather than learning about tone and mood and leaving it in the classroom, students will be able to make greater connections when they listen to their own music and movie soundtracks. In addition, though we may not go to a baseball game and think, "Woah! That was the inciting incident!" we see plot line structure everywhere. I want my students to learn and understand English content, but then use this content to make connections to the outside world.
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Plot Line Structure in Baseball |
Romeo and Juliet Picture CCRs
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Second, I want my students to be able to create larger pictures for understanding dense concepts. By allowing students to create within a parameter, we are giving them the opportunity to take learning into their own hands, and therefore making the lessons more relevant and involved. A CCR is a close and critical reading that focuses on four questions: What does the text say? How does it say it? What's the theme? and What's a connection? The Romeo and Juliet Picture CCRS take these four questions and give students more free reign. For example, rather than answering summary questions, students are creating their own summaries and adding the other elements to create one cohesive project. Character posters also offer students a larger picture because it incorporates textual evidence, symbols, and other representations of the character. Students are responsible for finding these quotes and creating the visuals, which in turn, helps them develop a more solid understanding of the concept.
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Character Posters
The Westing Game
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Romeo and Juliet
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Grammar Egg Activity
Lastly, grammar is a skill, but its lessons are often lost as soon as the day is over. Moving away from the textbook and towards something more tangible gives students the opportunity to play with the rules of English and gain a greater understanding of them. With the grammar eggs, students mix and match clauses to form complete sentences and learn how to punctuate each one correctly. The students are given the rules and the clauses, but they are the ones who are creating and applying.
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