Magic Talk

Magic Talk involves writing a statement on the board and having students respond only by writing back. This can be very useful for children who are especially shy and do not enjoy speaking up in class. However, I feel that it should only be used every now and then because otherwise students would take it for granted. I think it should be a "special" activity in the classroom. It would be great to use to introduce topics. The teacher can put a picture up and have the students respond using written words. I also think that magic talk requires students to be more thoughtful before speaking. I know I found myself examining the words on the board and analyzing what I wanted to say. For some reason, words seem to have a sense of permanence when they are written down as opposed to when they are just spoken. It also can help students synthesize their thoughts. I know some students can talk in circles trying to express their ideas, so this could help them make their thoughts more concise. Magic talk is definitely something I plan to use in the classroom one day. I feel that this can even be used during younger grades, even if it was simply word association or drawing.

Listening

In language arts, there are four types of listening: discriminative, aesthetic, efferent, and critical. Before discussing this in class, I didn't realize there were four types of listening, but once you think about it- it's really obvious. I feel that some teachers do not incorporate all styles of listening into their classroom, but this should be done. I think for the sake of time and because of standardized testing- aesthetic listening is often left out. Aesthetic listening is something that I definitely want to incorporate as a daily part of my classroom.

I believe people often take listening for granted. There are so many times when I think I am listening, but when someone gets done talking I find myself having no clue what they just said. If anything could possibly distract me, it will. Actually, I was just listening to one of my best friends tell a story as I was writing this and couldn't even tell you what she said. This just goes to show that just because you hear someone, does not mean you are listening to them.

Propaganda and persuasion are two reasons we should be especially careful listeners. I for one know that I fall victim to propaganda every day. I love commercials- and I especially love infomercials, but let's be real, if every exercise program was as simple, easy, and effective as they made it out, no one would be overweight. I loved the propaganda activity we did in class. Some of those commercials I see on a weekly basis, but I never realized how ridiculous they actually are. By teaching children to be critical listeners, we will be preparing them to differentiate propaganda. I think commercials would be a great and fun way to to teach propaganda in an elementary classroom as well.

Field Experiences

I have been observing a Kindergarten classroom at Washington Elementary school for the year, and this semester I have been paying particular attention to language arts instruction. Usually, I am at Washington on Monday mornings for at least an hour and half. When I am there, the students are coming back from specials, have morning meeting, centers, and meet again before lunch. Mrs. Brown is so great to observe. She has been teaching for more than twenty years, and it shows in her natural ease when working with children.

My favorite thing about the semester had been watching students grow and developing relationships with them. In addition to observing language arts, I also help Mrs. Brown out and work with individual or small groups of students. Usually the students I work with need help in a particular area, so it has been so interesting to see how they have improved throughout the year. It has also been great practice figuring out what works and what doesn't work. I have been able to see activities I want to adopt and activities I don't particularly like.

There has not been a visit I did not enjoy. Each time I leave, I take away something positive. I am constantly seeing course applications, especially Language Arts, but also in my Child Development and other education classes. I am so excited and thankful to be getting this experience early in the game.