Lesson Planning in the SIOP Model: Lesson Plan Rationale

The author created SIOP model lesson plan is an extensively researched and highly detailed outline of a possible fifth grade lesson to be conducted in an intermediate level inclusion classroom. The lesson plan describes a multi-layered, collaborative learning group project that will last approximately five class periods, but may be extended if additional completion time is required. The research project encompasses multiple content areas, and includes sheltered instructional strategies to accommodate the needs of both ELLs, and learners with special needs. In accordance with the SIOP model, the author has identified both content, and language standards that inform the content and instruction of the lesson plan (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2008)

One standard set that drives the content and application of the author’s lesson plan is the New York State ELA content standards. The New York State ELA standards that are included in the author’s SIOP model lesson plan are; Standard 1: Learners will, write, listen, read, and speak for information and understanding Standard 3: Learners will write, listen, read and speak for critical analysis and evaluation (NYSED, 2009). These standards are addressed through the lesson plan’s requirement that students effectively read, write, listen, and speak in order to present information, understand content, communicate with peers, and evaluating their own achievements. The Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) standards set, informs the author’s lesson plan by describing specific language goals that are aligned to content areas. The TESOL standards present include; Standard 1: Learners of English language communicate for Instructional and Social purposes in the school setting.

Standard 2: Learners of English language communicate ideas, information, and concepts essential for academic accomplishment in the content area of Language Arts (WIDA, 2007). Throughout the lesson, ELLs will be required to communicate information in the content areas of ELA and Science, as well as for social purposes in a collaborative learning group.

Language and Content Objectives

The primary objective of the author’s SIOP lesson plan is for students to engage in a collaborative learning group research project, in which they will identify nutritional values of popular cafeteria lunch menu offerings. Students will then make presentations of their findings in PowerPoint presentation given by each group. Throughout the completion of this research project, the teacher will outline various language and content objectives. While language and content objectives are separate entities in the lesson plan, it is important to note how these objectives are aligned with each other, and the standards that drive the lesson plans content. Language objectives within the author’s lesson plan include verbally communicating information, retelling curriculum content, and describing content with appropriate key vocabulary. Content objectives include effectively engaging in a collaborative learning group, using effective research methods to investigate and identify required content, demonstrating an understanding of curriculum content, and correctly using key vocabulary terms (Echevarria, et. al., 2008).

Comparing and Contrasting Language Acquisition Theory

Two commonly accepted and widely implement second language theories are Krashen’s Five Hypotheses, and the interactionist perspective in second language acquisition. Like many education and learning theories, there are instances where the Krashen and interactionist perspectives have similarities, and areas in which these two language acquisition theories differ. Krashen’s Five Hypotheses second language acquisition theory is a compilation of five theories that influence a learner’s ability to acquire any second language. Krashen’s acquisition learning hypothesis is the most well known and accepted of his hypotheses. Here, Krashen explains that there is a distinct difference between learning a second language, and acquiring a second language. To acquire a second language is a natural process, similar to acquiring a first language. The monitor hypothesis describes that formal study when acquiring a second language leads to an internal grammar monitor. The natural order hypothesis states that grammar is learned in a predictable, natural, order. With the input hypothesis, Krashen explains how the ELL acquires a second language through an understanding of natural communication and comprehensible input. Krashen’s affective filter hypothesis identifies the role that motivation, confidence, and anxiety, have on second language acquisition (Peregoy & Boyle, 2008).

The interactionist perspective of second language acquisition also puts a great amount weight on comprehensible input, but interactionists believe that the natural communication between native and non-native speakers is the key element in second language acquisition. The learner will engage in natural but focused communication with teachers and peers. Through this process the ELL will acquire vocabulary, and basic grammar structures. The interactionists believe that ELLs should not be forced into speaking, and that communication will occur in natural settings, when the learner is comfortable in doing so. Errors in output will be corrected naturally as language develops and comprehension and vocabulary increases (Peregoy & Boyle, 2008). Below in Figure 1 is a summary of the main points.

Figure 1.Venn-diagram

Comprehensible input is crucial.

Positive natural communication between peers and teachers. Grammar is learned naturally

Speculated Success of Author Created SIOP Lesson Plan

The author created SIOP lesson plan is standards based, differentiates for diverse learners, and applies second language acquisition theory. Within the context of the lesson plan students are encouraged to engage in natural communication with peers and teachers, comprehensible input is provided by the teacher, confidence is built, and motivation techniques are employed. The diverse range of tasks that are to be completed by all students appeals to many different types of learners and allows for students to demonstrate proficiency in both content and language objectives in a number of ways.

The author’s initial lecture builds background and activates prior knowledge, which provides students with comprehensible input. Students engage in unstructured language communication within their collaborative learning groups. Throughout the lesson, both teachers and peers model key vocabulary terms and their meanings, and ELLs have the opportunity to experience these vocabulary terms by describing them orally, and through writing. The instructor will allow for much practice time for presentations to decrease anxiety, and learners will never be forced to speak or participate beyond their comfort levels. By identifying language acquisition theories, and applying them to instruction, the chances for a successful and meaningful lesson are greatly increased (Peregoy & Boyle, 2008).

Influence of Mentor Teachers

While the theme and content objectives of the author created SIOP lesson plan were conceived by the author, language objectives and successful learning strategies that the author observed through the practicum experience were included. One specific example is the inclusion of the jigsaw method and the extensive use of graphic organizers. The author observed a very successful lesson, in which the mentor teacher implemented the jigsaw method during a social studies lesson. During this lesson, students were provided with a number of graphic organizers to record and store information. Using these strategies, students were able to better comprehend key vocabulary and curriculum content. For this reason the author included the jigsaw method in his author created lesson plan, and also planned for the extensive use of graphic organizers. The author also observed the application of the TESOL standards to instruction, in both practicum experiences. Both mentor teachers documented which TESOL language standards were being addressed in each lesson. By doing this, educators can determine which standards and areas of instruction need to be addressed more frequently, and which are being adequately implemented.

Reflections on Lesson Planning in the SIOP Model

Through engaging in the practicum experience, observing effective educators of ELLs, and identifying relevant SIOP resources, the author was able to create an effective lesson in the SIOP model. Through the implementation of the SIOP model, using effective second language acquisition resources to inform lesson planning, and adhering to content and language standards, educators can provide effective and meaningful instruction to ELLs, and promote second language acquisition for the purposes of academic and social success.

SIOP Lesson Plan for a Content Area and/or Grade Level

CLASS:

5th Grade Inclusion Classroom.

NEW YORK STATE ELA STANDARDS:

Standard 1: Students will read, listen, write, and speak for information and understanding

Standard 3: Students will read, listen, write, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

Dr. Samuel Orton is generally regarded as the foremost researcher of what is called “Dyslexia”. A current inclusionary definition of Dyslexia is one developed by one researcher,  Dr. Kahmi in 1992:

“Dyslexia”, said Dr. Kahmi, “is a developmental language disorder characterized by a life-long difficulty processing phonological information. This difficulty involves encoding, retrieving, and using phonological codes in memory, defecits in phonological awareness, and in speech production. The disorder – often genetically transmitted – is generally present at birth and persists throughout the life span. A prominent characteristic of the disorder is spoken and written Language deficiencies.”

As “technical” as some of this kind of language sounds, these types of linguistic descriptions often tend to obscure at least as much as they succeed in making clear. As a qualified Reading Specialist and Literacy Advocate  I have found, over years of teaching the English Language Arts, that, although human language production is highly instinctive, innate and “naturally” inherent, (there are no species of normal humans who can not produce language in the form of speech), Language Arts learning can always be made more complex than it has to be.

This is not to say that the process of our brain’s inherent abillity to turn sounds into a visual symbol system – and to learn to see visual symbols as able to represent specified sounds – makes Reading, Writing or Spelling “easy”. But, it does mean that any truly “natural” Language Arts learning requires an in-depth understanding of what are more, and what are less “natural” teaching methods and processes. It is to be noted here that it can be very difficult to distinguish between “poor” readers, and children with Dyslexia.

One view of the Language teaching process I have acquired is that, Dyslexic or not, a learner’s initial experiences make it more natural to begin teaching the “phonic” side of language from an emphasis on language sounds, than on it’s visual symbols. Why? There are 70 common “Phonograms” in English. these are the single letter-symbols, or letter-symbol combinations which visually represent in print the 45 basic sounds of the spoken English language. True spelling, Linguists have agreed, is writing from the SPOKEN WORD.

The method, or system which my book, “How to Spell Better Than Webster’s Dictionary…” employs in the teaching of the English Language Arts is called HOLISTIC PHONETICS. The Holistic Phonetics System is made specifically to increase, enhance and strengthen the intuitive language capabilities. In my experience, HOLISTIC PHONETICS gives any and every English user – dyslexic or otherwise – a simple, natural and reliable rule-based method and multi-sensory process by which to nearly automatically discern the correct spelling of every English word upon encountering it.

What a reader sees on a printed page is more than a mere group of symbols. What is being looked at is a SYMBOL SYSTEM, in which each symbol – or set of symbols – relates to the whole… and in which the whole is more than the sum of its parts; in a word a “Code”. There aer more than 300,000 words in the English Language – but, there are also 29 clear and simple rules which govern how all of those words are spelled. Memorizing the spellings of 300,000 different words is, of course, impossible. Memorizing 29 rules is not.

The Holistic Phonetics System is a pure, phonics-based, multi-sensory method of internalizing the 29 rules of English Spelling. The key to de-coding any form of code is pattern recognition. The fundamental, common patterns of how English words are spelled is contained in those 29 rules. The HOLISTIC PHONETIC exercises in my book simply and efficiently exercise those 29 rules and their correct use deep into the brain and central nervous system – which is where “Reading” actually takes place. I have found the method to be, in case after case, an effective way to supersede, or overcome the Dyslexia “disorder.”

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Caroline Corr- An Essay

Caroline Corr is the drummer and backup singer in her band with her three siblings called The Corrs. She can also play the piano. She has brown hair and blue eyes, born on March 17th 1973 in Dundalk, Ireland. She is married to Frank Woods.

Like Caroline, I have brown hair and blue eyes. I also once considered my younger brother, who is 2 years younger than me, to by my twin. Caroline and I both love to sing, as well, and were both, at one point, in a band with our siblings. Another cool thing about us is that she is Irish, and we were both born on an Irish holiday. Kind of cool, huh?

Unlike her, I am not famous, as you probably already know. I am not in a band with my siblings anymore, though, I used to be. I am not married, of course, and I don’t have any children.

I think that Caroline Corr was a normal girl all through her life, and faced the same problems that most of us girl do. In time, she got over her shyness, and faced the world with a smile. I think that Caroline is a smart, loving wife, sister, and mother. Though she is famous, she remains normal, she does not have any unusual things happen to her, or about her. So, in a way, she was a little boring to research, but I do think that she is a wonderful person.

by M. B. Chism, MA., Reading Specialist & Literacy Advocate

“We are left with little choice – as with so much else today – but to take personal responsibility for our literacy skills.”

        M.B. Chism, MA.

         “Fundamentally, the instructional disaster must be laid at the feet of
      the basal reader establishment, a billion-dollar industry that supplies every
      teacher and every pupil with a scheduled sequence of reading materials and
      lessons.  The per-pupil costs and profits are astronomical. As is the case  of
      many industries ( the tobacco industry, for example), profits are not tied to
      healthful outcomes, they are tied to sales, and to anything legal that promotes
      sales. The fact that most people  are not learning how to read does not deter
      basal sales.”

  S. Farnham Diggory, PhD.

Just in case you might think that "Literacy Advocate" is a vain title made up just to impress, you should know that one of the most serious issues the US faces today is the Literacy issue. And if you were to asses the seriousness of it just based on the displayed literateskill level of the country's recent head of state, you might conclude that the "issue" is more like a CRISIS!

After nearly 40 years of teaching English Language Arts to learners on three continents and at every grade level, I admit Istill had a little doubt in my mind about writing a book that could help folks to become better readers, writers, speakers andspellers.

But if all my hours of classroom experience have taught me anything, they have made one fact unmistakably clear: Once learners successfully decode and internalize the functions of the phonetic alphabet, their path to growing literacy skill and increased comprehension is wide open!

The Holistic Phonetic system I use in my self-help e-book HOW TO SPELL BETTER THAN WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY;Become a MASTER SPELLER in Just 8 Weeks! is a virtual "Rosetta Stone" for the decoding of English Spelling. Thisis why I have been able to offer GUARANTEED results.

To my knowledge, "basal readers" don't come with any such offer. 

Another problem with the academic materials known as "basal readers" is that they are as far from shining any light on decoding the phonetic alphabet as Pluto is from the Sun. Any other reasons for their ubiquitous presence in the elementaryschools of America other than the "astronomical" profits from their sale are as obscure as - well... as Pluto! 

What the heck does "basal" mean anyway? If the term means "basic" why didn't they just say that? If the inference to betaken is that a "basal reader" supplies a learner with the foundational information on which to base solid readership skills,then the word is more than misleading. Its downright deceptive. That necessary foundation can only be supplied by thecorrect knowledge of how the phonetic alphabet system works.

Just as we teach learners what mathematical numbers ARE as well as demonstrate what one can and cannot do with them,we have to teach what alphabetical letters are - and are not. "... BETTER Than Webster's..." puts well-focused time into doing just that. Part One of our e-book starts with a NEW, neurological re-definition of WHAT READING IS:

    “When a neurologist looks at reading  as it is taught in the United States, he finds confusion about  what      reading is.  Some teachers are laboring under a definition of reading that makes the task more  difficult than it needs to be – and it isn’t easy at best.
      We will not dispute that  the ultimate aim of reading is to enable the reader to obtain an idea from an author with all his nuances of meaning. But the ultimate aim of speech and hearing is also to communicate. Reading is but one means of communication, a tool by which human beings exchange ideas and information.
       Many of those who have searched for causes of reading disorders and the best methods to teach reading have neglected an elemental fact: reading is a function of the brain. It is not a  function of the eye, for a blind child can learn to read. It is not a function of the ear, for the deaf child can be taught too. Reading is a brain function, an elemental neurological process in a direct continuum of rolling over, reaching and grasping, sitting, standing, walking, climbing stairs, running, talking and training bowel and bladder.
       From a neurological standpoint, reading is translating graphic symbols into SOUND according to a recognized system. In reality the dyslexic child has more problems than translating a mark on paper into sound, for reading is the most complex neurological task a person undertakes in his lifetime. That human beings are able to read at all is a miracle. Yet most of us are able to do  it so effortlessly that we fail to realize how difficult it is.”  [my emphasis.]

                                                                                
                                                                            Reading and the Dyslexic Child  R.M.N. Crosby, M.D.

Of course, young learners are not expected to absorb the technical aspects of the above information, but ANYONE WHO IS SERIOUS ABOUT HELPING READERS NEEDS A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THESE THINGS before taking on that task.And one place they won't find it is inside any "Basal Reader"!  

I'll close the SHOP CLASS by quoting the One Page Sales Letter which introduces The Workshop's e-book:

  “You see, the important thing this book will teach you – which they never taught us in school – is  how    language WORKS inside your head!;  what reading actually IS, and how spelling does what it does in order to transform  meaningless symbols into MEANINGFUL WORDS.

   “That – and how  a unique and revolutionary technology – the PHONETIC ALPHABET – demands  of you a most peculiar and unnatural response: Substitute your eye for your ear!”

So, if you happen to be a Reading Specialist or a Literacy Advocate, or just an ordinary person who is concerned aboutThe Problem with the Reading Problem, please give our e-book a try. It comes with a full money-back guarantee. Nobodytakes any risk but us. And here is my final quote:

“THAT’S  HOW MUCH FAITH  AND  CONFIDENCE  I  HAVE IN THE  EXCELLENT  LANGUAGE  TEACHING  POWER  OF…”

                                                  THE  HOLISTIC PHONETICS © SYSTEM!

“In the Beginning Was the Word.”

pLeOaVcEe!,

Wordsmith © 2008

Both the “Whole Word” and the “Pure Phonics” approach to teaching Language Arts are incomplete unless correctly combined. The “Best Method”, Public School Reading Instructors have realized, is a more holistic and Multi-Sensory approach, reflective of the blending of the two functions of seeing and hearing.

This is exactly the “trick” that the technology of the PHONETIC ALPHABET asks our brain to perform.

To some extent, what many typically “Whole Word” biased teachers and systems could easily fail to “get” is that typographic culture and its visual bias happens to be the new kid on the evolutionary block.

Long before Herr Gutenberg mechanized little rows of symbols that could be repeated on a surface by a machine with ink in it, the species had been taught by nature to prefer to rely more on its sense of hearing for identifying and utilizing crucial information.

Tribal man/woman found out from experience that the multi-dimensional ear could tell a careful listener far more about what it had heard: How close or how far away; which direction; how heavily or lightly; how quickly or slowly and with what attitude was it moving – or, whether it was moving at all!

Ear information turned out, in most cases, to be much more thorough and inclusive – and thus much more trustworthy – than that from the two-dimensional eye… which has traditionally been considered less quick than the hand, somewhat suceptible to illusion, and limited to only the front side of the head.

Add to that the fact that the ears have no lid – cannot get caught blinking – and even continue functioning while our eyes are closed. It is not hard to see tha the Whole Word approach to early Language Arts learning had its built-in drawbacks.

Naturally, auditory learning alone has its limits too. there has to be a right combination of both approaches. Learners must master both turning what is seen into sound, as well as knowing how to make what is heard visible.

Order, fluency and articulation should easily result when both of these actions happen together. “Order, fluency and articulation”, are, indeed,  the primary gifts of literacy – to both the individual, and to society. Yet there remain those of us who are, by nature, reluctant to trust an eye to do an ear’s job.

One way to help do this double learning task more easily is to examine more closely the Phonetic alphabet. The time taken to know what it does, why it does it and HOW – will be time well spent. A teacher can’t expect a learner to spell like Webster’s Dictionary before that learner has learned to crack that phonetic alphabet symbol system wide open!

The second big mistake made by the educational profession which has contributed to literacy difficulties for learners in American Public schools somewhat compounds the first one by extension. Put simply, the American School System STOPS teaching reading as a separate, specific subject (except “remedially”) by the third or fourth grade level.

The system assumes young learners should have “gotten it” by grade three. From that point on, it is expected that the act of reading, alone, will continue to improve the learner’s reading abilities, to support the learner’s writing growth, and insure his or her spelling and comprehension development for the rest of his/her academic life. Wrong!

Mastering the Language Arts [especially reading and spelling] is not like weight lifting, where the more reps you do, the stronger you get. Especially if you haven’t gotten the  DECODING PROCESS down so pat that it has become so automatic that you no longer need to think about it. Often, before the decoding process is internalized, teachers have begun focusing, prematurely, upon “Comprehension”.

For some brains, this function (which happens in an entirely different area of the cerebrum than does “decoding”!) happens easily enough by third grade; for some brains, it doesn’t. Some elementary teachers own the classroom skills to make beginning reading, writing and spelling happen for the majorety of their learners by third grade. Some teachers do not.

Then it is like working out in that weight room with too heavy a set of dumbells – and no spotter; all you’ll get then is damaged and discouraged… and an unacceptable number of High School students who are unable to read their own names in boxcar-high letters. Speaking, hearing and seeing may be organic for most of us; reading writing and spelling – for many of us – are not.

This is why it is of critical importance for educators in the area of Language Arts skills acquisition to always look seriously and critically at the Phonetic alphabet and see it for the key technology that it is. In this hyper-speed digital age of automated mega-pixels and instantaneous texting,  this particular set of symbols should represent nothing less than literal bedrock.

Consider yourself blessed if you can gaze at the marks on this page and are clear as to what they “mean”. It is also a blessing that one does not have to be a good speller to know how to read. The essence of “reading”, after all, is getting information into your mind by a process of decoding a set of visual symbols.

The thing is, “…decoding a set of visual symbols…” is a somewhat simplistic description of an utterly complex process that goes on inside of a specific part of our brain. Learning to read isn’t easy. Teaching reading has turned out to be a whole lot harder than many professional educators had ever thought it could be.

In one sense, part of the problem of the avereage Reading Instructor working in the US school system today lies with the fact that she or he happens to be an adult. By the time most of us have reached adulthood, many of us have nearly forgotten just how strange, complex and mysterious this magical act called reading really is.

Or, at best, the complexity of the process has sunken back into our subconscious minds by the time we have become “grown folks”. From there, we may end up confusing what seems to us to be quite “natural” (and thus, “easy”), with that which we think should be “normal” for any first grader.

Granted, we can easily agree that seeing, hearing and speaking are natural functions of our normal, human biology. but the invented, mechanical extensions of those clearly organic traits – the academic subjects called Reading, Writing and Spelling – are anything but natural – much less normal. And thats true for more than just First Graders.

So, academicians and “Professional Educators” have been guilty of taking far too much for granted as to how the Language Arts are best learned. This has led to many unintentional errors as to how the self expression skills have been taught in the average American Public School system – and, consequently, to alarming levels of illiteracy today in the U.S.

Two glaring schooling errors stand out from the rest. The first big mistake in the U.S. pedagogy (the science of teaching) is the ongolig debate about the “Best Method” by which to start first graders on the path to reading, writing and spelling success.

The two sides of the argument (which ought not to have had two sides in the first place…) were the “Whole Word” approach versus the “Phonics” approach.

Clearly, Whole Worders meant well. It seemed apparent to them that the best channel to the part of the brain where incoming information is turned into what we call “meaning” ws the eye, and that Reading, Writing and Spelling were, essentially, visual skills.

They reccomended putting emphasis on the skill of word recognition, betting on the eye and its ability to make out and remember letter shapes. Thus to catalogue in the young learners minds the information needed to read, write and spell.  Then those learners would go on to build the vocabulary necessary for growing literate skill.

The Phonics folks approached the subject matter with a preference for hearing rather than sight. They considered the better channel for reaching the meaning-making part of the brain to be the ear. So they concluded that learning to read, write and spell effectively happened best through the EAR, rather than the eye.

It turns out that they were both right… and they were both wrong. Each approach was lacking a vital part of the whole. In other words, the Best Method was a much more holistic approach - reflective of the blending of the two functions of both seeing and hearing.

This is exactly the “trick” that the English PHONETIC ALPHABET asks our brain to perform. Public School Programs and Teachers not rooted and trained in this fundamentally multi-sensory appropach have unintentionally put many an elemntary learner on the path to “Special Education” classrooms.

Throughout my three years, I have been taught four core subjects mathematics, science, language arts, and social studies, I have done various projects as I went along. Being at this school I have seen my grades change from B’s to A’s.

Language Arts has been fun and I always succeed in this subject. For language arts we have always done many activities and we also learned poetry, figures of speech, and take AR books , As I look back on my days at Cortes, I remember what an impact the teachers had on my life they cared for everybody if we had good grades or if we had bad grades they will help us, (including the principal).   

During my science classes I have learned important concepts one example was when we dissected frogs and learning how the human body works in the 7 grade. Learning all this concepts is really important when you grow up. In this year we learn Solar Systems, Acid and Bases, states of matter, and much more. The education that Cortes gives us will help us for our education and our future.

Social Studies was one of my favorite subjects, I always wanted to learn new things everyday like learning different cultures or how do they live. We learn many standards so we could succeed in other schools for the better future. From 6th to 8th grade will learn many important people that change our world. We mostly learn about cultures and hard economic times. In this year we learn a lot of civil war and how it changes the world that we live in.

Math was also one of my favorite subjects. For math we learn the quadratic formula, and we graph quadratic inequalities equations and we mostly did point-slope form and we also got angles of a dimension and finding the degrees the missing angle is. This will help us to make the future easy. Since sixth grade we have done a daily math problem that is mostly called T.I.P.S. 

When we grow up this education will help us in our future such as in a job and could be well paid. That is why I think this school will help the children in a better future when they grow up, so it could make the future easy.

Well, I really appreciate the time and effort my teacher invested so show me all the contents I have to know to move on for my future. 

                The perspective is the viewing point that a piece is composed from. The theme is a message about life that is sentences long, while the topic of a piece is a few words and is the subject of a story. A symbol is something that stands or resembles something beyond itself.

                Direct quotations come straight from a speaker, like “I am made of apple pie,” said Guacamole (there will be quotation marks). Indirect quotation is not coming directly from a speaker (no quote marks), for example: He said that it would not work. Quotations can be before, after, or both in the sentence in comparison to stating the speaker. These all have different rules.

                Now you have some okay quality information to use. I hope that this guide was useful, and will publish more articles like this one later on in time. Have a nice day!

For more of my informative articles, check out these sites!

http://socyberty.com/issues/the-civil-war-conflict-takes-up-names-and-arms/

http://gameolosophy.com/games/sports/total-club-manager/why-not-to-get-black-ops/

http://scienceray.com/technology/cell-guide/

http://bookstove.com/book-talk/the-boy-who-couldnt-die-by-william-sleator/

Arts.  Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading English and

Communication. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED442138)

The following article written by Mila Stoicheva examines critical issues involving technology and the implications it can have in Language Arts classrooms.

The author begins by identifying the problem that came to light after a 1995 study conducted by the Markle Foundation.  The Markle Foundation identified what has come to be known as the digital divide.  The digital divide has been defined as the divide between the “haves” and the “have nots” when it comes to access to technological resources and has been identified as the modern civil rights movement.  Stoicheva then identifies what the plan of attack was “On April 4, 2000 President Clinton announced that over 400 companies and non-profit organizations have signed a “National Call to Action” plan to meet two critical goals:

1.      Provide 21st century learning tools for every child in every school.

2.      Create digital opportunity for every American family and community (Stoicheva, 2000, p. 2). 

Next the author examines how the government has attempted to achieve these two goals.  She begins by examining what has occurred in the school environment.  The author identified that, “In 1997, 78% of public schools had Internet access but only 27% of instructional rooms had access. (NCES, 1998) Public schools with a high-percentage of low-income and minority students were less likely to have Internet access than those with a low percentage of low-income students and minority students (2000, p. 2). 

After coming to this realization, Stoicheva, examines what children actually gain from using the internet in the language arts classroom.  She first comments since no formal research has been done on this subject, due to the short time the internet has been in the classroom, teacher’s experience is all she has to draw upon.  She then proceeds to surmise that, “Language Arts teachers perceive that using the Internet leads to student empowerment, and increased motivation and interest.  It helps at-risk and multilingual students develop literacy skills and fosters family involvement (2000, p.3). 

Examining this research closely, I found it to be not as detailed as I would have hoped.  The author, while examining an issue that needs to be researched, falls short on details to explain her research as is the case with most qualitative research.  However, this article does raise an important issue concerning the advancing world of technology.  The research does an excellent job of raising the important issue of civil rights as it relates to technology.  After reading this article, I can say that this is the next big topic in a long stemming debate over equality and education.  I look forward to the developments surrounding this issue.     

“Time4Learning is a new approach that takes advantage of today’s technology. It’s a convenient, online home education program that combines learning with fun educational teaching games.”

The Time4Learning site has an AMAZING Language Arts program. It is packed with interactive areas and fun, quirky characters that draw in students and teach difficult concepts like simile and prefixes.

The math program was a little less well done. There were a few lessons that had great energy and a fun approach but most were monotone and downright boring. During one lesson, my 5th grader had a hard time focusing because the tone of voice and repetitive nature of the lesson tuned him right out. There is also another issue with learning the material. If your student does not understand the concept being taught, the site only offers the ability to redo the same lesson. To me that is limiting as far as teaching is concerned. We found ourselves having to abandon the lesson provided in order to go into further depth on our own.

Social Studies and Science were hit and miss. There were some interactive areas but most of it was a lot of reading and quizzes toward the end. There was also no recourse to failing exams. The main circles are checked as completed and students move on-even with poor grades.

There is also an L.A. Extension area that offers more work on the above areas.

The one thing I was disappointed me was the complete lack of writing. Not typing, because there was plenty of that, but actual-old-fashioned, paper and pencil writing. My kids did not put pen to paper once the entire month. I think that is dangerous to encourage in young children. While technology is a great way to get children interested and engaged, it should not be used to replace a traditional curriculum and human interaction.

Buyer Beware: this program IS NOT a hands free comprehensive alternative.

“The online language arts and math comprise a comprehensive program for preschool, elementary school, and middle school. Science and social studies programs are provided as a free bonus for most grades.”

Here again I will state that the language arts program is the star. Math comes secondary and science and social studies seem almost a throw away to get you in the door. Many of these lessons are not well done, can be overly complicated, and left me scratching my head.  

“Kids like using the computer to learn and to develop their skills. The Time4Learning educational teaching program gives students independence to progress at their own pace.”

This fact is true. I liked the ability for my students to move up or down one grade level so if a lesson was too tough, they could click the grade level below and choose something comparable there. Likewise, they could go up a level if they found something too simple (something not possible with our textbooks).

“Parents like that Time4Learning tracks progress and helps students advance along individualized learning paths. Students master the skills and concepts needed for academic success.”

I did enjoy the learning paths. I thought the site was very user friendly even for my preschooler. As far as mastering concepts, that did not happen 100% of the time solely based on the website. I had to step in on many occasions to explain ideas and find alternatives to examples given in order for my children to understand and engage.

Overall, I think this is a wonderful supplement for any home school program. It is up to the individual family however to decide if the cost outweighs the benefits. For me I think a better fit for our family is to purchase textbooks and supplement with free content on the internet. With that said, although we have been offered another free month with sign-up, we will be passing (and I cannot wait to jump back into our books).