Lecture Notes
Proverb: A proverb is a short, generally known sentence of the folk which contains wisdom, truth, morals, and traditional views.
Example Of A proverb: When the cats’ away the mice will play. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Allegory: a work in which the characters and events are to be understood as representing other things and symbolically expressing a deeper, often spiritual, moral, or political meaning.
Example Of An Allegory:
The Ben Franklin Story from last Thursday or Aesop’s fables / in film The Wizard of Oz
Anecdote: is a short tale that tells an interesting or amusing biographical incident. An anecdote is sometimes based on real life, or an incident involving actual persons, whether famous or not, in real places.
Example Of An Anecdote:
The violinist Dave Swarbrick was amused one day to find his obituary printed in The Telegraph. Apprised of the mistake, the paper printed the following retraction: “Mr. Swarbrick, who was reported dead in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph, is recovering well.”
Poor Richard’s Almanac contained the calendar, weather, poems, sayings, and astronomical and astrological information that any typical almanac of the period would contain. Franklin also included the occasional mathematical exercise.
What Was The Purpose Of These Inclusions?
Almanacs were very popular books in colonial American, with people in colonies using them for the mixture of seasonal weather forecasts, important civic dates, fairs, town meetings, practical household hints, puzzles, and other amusements they offered. Poor Richard’s Almanac
was popular for all of these reasons, and also for its extensive use of wordplay, with many examples derived from the work surviving in the contemporary American language.
Other Types Of Almanacs :
Old Farmer’s Almanac, The Farmer’s Almanac, The Harris Farmer’s Almanac.
Most editions of the Farmer’s Almanac include a “human interest crusade”, advocating for a change in some accepted social practice or custom. Previous crusades have included: “How Much Daylight Are We Really Saving”, a recommendation for a revised Daylight Savings Time schedule (2007); “Why is Good Service So Hard to Schedule”, recommending that service providers offer more specific time frames when scheduling home visits (2006); A Kinder, Gentler Nation”, urging readers to exercise more common courtesy (2003); “Saturday: The Trick to Making Halloween a Real Treat”, advocating that the observance of Halloween be moved to the last Saturday in October (1999); “A Cure of Doctors’ Office Delays”, demanding more prompt medical service and calling for a “Patients’ Bill of Rights” (1996); and “Pennies Make No Sense”, which sought to eliminate the penny, and to permanently replace the dollar bill with less costly-to-produce dollar coins (1989).
Assignment:
- Write 1 page of an Almanac including an Anecdote, Allegory, or Proverb that is relevant to your life today.
You may include information such as weather forecasts, sunrise sunset table for the day, practical household hints, or puzzles.
Include a human interest story that is relevant to your life today.
You are to work in pairs with 1 person acting as recorder and the other person acting as the research and idea person.
When we are through with the project we will combine the three pages from the whole class to make our own Almanac then as a class we will name our Almanac.
The Learning Objective And Assessment Of This Activity
The learning objective of the unit on Ben Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac and figurative language provided by the mentor teacher was for students to be able to interpret the figurative meaning of proverbs by creating their own. As part of this unit the teacher also used an exercise relating to allegory to help students understand how language can have a deeper meaning, something that students with disabilities have difficulty discerning. In making my adjustments to the objective for Alex, I drew upon his need to develop better social skills by assigning the project as group work which allowed him to participate at a level that was within his modality of learning. I also tried to relate the usefulness of various types of literature to Alex and the groups’ lives. The most important change made to the objective was that through the assignment students could draw upon their creative skills to make a project as a group, with each student contributing in a way that showed off their strengths. In Alex’s case, he was able to relate his ideas to his partner as they constructed their page of the Almanac, and his partner could then find the information on the internet with the aid of a computer. Alex was also paired with someone outside his most comfortable zone of learning. He tends to gravitate to one specific student when working on group projects, but this can be inhibitive to developing better social skills. I guided him towards another student that he interacts fine with in an effort to help him broaden his aspect of learning.
The students were also lectured prior to the assignment on another form of figurative language called anecdote, which related to both the teachers lesson about Poor Richard’s Almanac and my lesson, which included another type of almanac; The Farmer’s Almanac. This was used to draw inference to the timelessness of literature and its importance to the students’ daily lives.
The final project was to create one page of an almanac. Students were allowed to choose their partner and the type of page they wanted to create, based on the types of pages found in an almanac as described in the lecture. Students were to prepare an anecdote that fit with today’s morals, values and/or virtues. The class then would compare their work and combine the pages into a single unit, creating their own almanac relevant to their lives today.
The students were assessed on their participation and contribution to the project, the amount of time they spent on task and whether or not their finished project was relevant to the project goal. Students were advised of the grading criteria prior to beginning the assignment so they were prepared to manage the outcome of their success. This criterion was set up specifically for Alex, as it allowed him to stretch his goals towards being more social in the classroom and working with other students, especially those outside his comfort zone. It also allowed him to verbalize his ideas to others who are more adept at writing skills and helping others remain on task. Based upon the information the other special education teacher related to me, Alex could use additional time developing his writing skills through more repetitive practice, not only in her class but also in the class where I observed and worked with Alex. Even if this necessitated the use of a teacher’s aide, it would be beneficial to him by increasing his written wpm. This should be an ongoing process throughout the rest of the time that he remains in school (S. Hanson, personal communication, September 30, 2009).
Mentor Teachers Evaluation Of My Lesson Plan
Reflective Analysis
Working with students who have a disability is a challenging endevour at best, but one that can be immensely rewarding for those individuals prepared to take on that task. Over the course of two weeks I worked with a student named Alex who had been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum/Aspergers Syndrome at the age of sixteen. This paper is a reflective analysis of my work with him and the other members of the class during my first practicum experience.
My first day in the special education class provided me with my first opportunity to observe students with disabilities in a classroom setting and also in the computer lab as students worked on career assessment and employment goals. I had the opportunity to review the forms of an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) and discuss with the mentor teacher the student I would be working with and observing. We also reviewed his student information for which parental consent was obtained.
When I first met Alex I immediately began an assessment of this student’s modality of learning, things that seemed to help him connect with those around him and things that caused him to regress. I also noted that he really had a great sense of humor once he became comfortable with those around him.
In developing the lesson plan that I would be teaching Alex, it became apparent that incorporating the same elements into a lesson plan for the entire class would allow for a continuation of the three part lesson that was being taught by the teacher. One of the first changes that I made to the lesson was to incorporate the use of group work that would provide Alex the opportunity to work on increasing his social skills. Alex has considerble difficulty in this area evidenced by his inability to eat lunch in the school, preferring to sit in his car. He also likes to hide behind his book bag which he places upon the desktop or he puts the hood of his sweatshirt up and withdraws from his surroundings when he is uncomfortable. I elected to guide him towards working with a student who is very outgoing and outspoken, but who he is on good terms with in the hopes that through peer tutoring and having students from opposite ends of the spectrum grouped together, things would balance out some. This seemed to work reasonably well, and although the other student did tend to dominate the discussion of the project, Alex was able to relate his ideas effectively.
The other area I had hoped to focus on was Alex’s tactile deficiency. Specific textures seem to give him problems, and although I could not be sure the direction their project would take, I did make an effort to guide his group toward finding information on the computer so that they could copy it, cut it out, and then paste or glue the information to their page of the almanac.
Again this tactic worked reasonably well, and as the project progressed one student was using the computer while Alex provided ideas to locating the information that they needed. Alex’s partner in this project was content to copy the information they obtained from their research onto their page of the almanac, and although Alex suggested that they use glue to adhere the information to the page, I could not get him to take on this task despite the fact they were getting close to the end of the projects alloted time frame. This task would not have been impossible for him, because in my observations of Alex in another class I witnessed him creating a collage of things he found relaxing or things that helped him to relax. This project required considerable prodding from myself and the special education teacher to get him searching through magazines to look for pictures he could use, but he was able to complete the project during the next days class.
The inability to complete what he wanted to do with my lesson plan and project could be attributed to two things:
- First, the amount of time it takes Alex to get on task with areas that give him difficulty may have been insufficient.
- Secondly, his partner can be a bit overbearing, which could have influenced Alex into taking a more subordinate role with the need to use glue to attach the information to their almanac page.
During the lecture portion of this lesson plan, one of the things that I learned right away
was how important it is to be aware of your audience and their abilities. Many times students with learning disabilities have a difficult time drawing inferences between point A and point B (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2008). This requires the teacher to simplify the material being taught in order for students to grasp the information and reduce the content of information in order to provide time for them to internalize the information. This can be related to a lack of experience on my part and could be alleviated through additional experience and better preparation. The old saying “Keep it Simple” comes to mind and is something that I continue to work on when writing lesson plans. Another aspect of the lesson that could be changed involves writing the pertinent information on the white board sooner during the time that I relayed the information to the students. This is especially important for students with disabilities to help them draw the inferences between point A and point B when relating the information. This was very evident by the lack of meaningful learning about the content the students had been taught on the previous day by the mentor teacher. Alex, nor any of the other students, were able to relate any part of the lesson on Allegory and Ben Frannklin to the lesson that I had developed concerning figurative espeech and how it can be used to create literature such as an almanac. This problem could have been solved by a quick check for understanding at the beginning of the lesson by me which would have revealed this, making the lesson much clearer for everyone.
The last area that I could have changed would have been to take the almanac apart and make copies of a portion of the book so that each student had a copy. For Alex this would have been beneficial as it would have given him the opportunity to read the information, something that is easily accomplished and within his actual developmental level.
While observing Alex interact on this projet and during my time in the classroom the one thing that stood out to me was how low both his regular education and one special education teachers’ expectations for him were. Neither of these teachers required that Alex put forth much effort towards increasing his writing ability. Because Alex clearly exhibits an example of splinter skills with his exceptional reading ability and work, even if it is repetitive in nature, increasing his writing skills would be very beneficial in promoting better self-efficacy (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2008). When this issue was addressed with his other special education teacher, I was informed that during her class Alex is required to write when ever necessary and that she believes in setting higher goals for her students than some of the other teachers. This was evidenced through the use of accomodating Alexs’ deficiency in writing and not allowing him a pass by verbalizing the answers when he felt like it. By having him complete his assignments with a fewer number of problems to solve in her mathematics class his disability is accommodated and he still works on practicing skills he needs work on. She also related that many times he could do the work in his head and all he needed to do was write the answer.
In the text, Hardman, Drew and Egan mention the use of specialized individual programs as being a possible solution to effectively educating children like Alex, and I think this could be a viable option because of the extenuating circumstances of his mislabeling and subsequent late diagnosis at the age of sixteen (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2008). Every effort possible should be made over the next two years to prepare Alex for transition from high school into the workforce or college. With high expectations and intense instruction in things like writing and developing social skills, I don’t think college is a stretch for this child.
The Hardman text lists several tips that can be applied to students with Autism Spectrum disorder for inclusionary purposes. The most relevant for Alex include:
- Continue preparing the student for an increasingly variable environment through specific instruction and example (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2008, p. 363). This should include transitioning this student into more general education classes with more reliance in areas that Alex is deficient in. Use the special education program as more of a prop to support the student in areas such as writing and building social skills. The use of a recording device if necessary could replace an assignment journal, but only to supplement the students work in writing (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2008).
To the degree possible for children with Autism Spectrum disorders, promote involvement in social activities and clubs that enhance interpersonal interaction (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2008, p. 363). Alex has a considerable deficiency in his social skills exhibited by his inability to eat in the lunchroom and his tendency to retreat behind his book bag. This behavior should be discouraged, but would require the cooperation of his parents. The ability to interact with others will be imperative to Alex as he transitions out of school into whatever direction he chooses, so it is important to encourage him to venture outside his zone of proximal development in this area through additional opportunities in class, group work or participation in extracurricular activities.
Gradually increase the level of abstraction in teaching, remaining aware of the individuals limitations the child with an Autism Spectrum disorder has (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2008, p. 363). One of the points of the special education teacher’s lesson plans was for the students to learn to look beyond the actual information being given to them and to look for the meaning of the stories that were related to them. This is an area that many students with Autism Spectrum disorder have difficulty with because of their tendency to interpet speech literally rather than figuratively (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2008). In Alex’s case, there has been considerable growth in this area as evidenced by his sense of humor and his ability to use sarcasm (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2008).
The use of service specialists in this school district are somewhat limited by the rural
nature of the area and the large case loads these specialists have working in a four or five county area. The one area that Alex could use help with would be in speech pathology, as it could help Alex develop his ability to comfortably speak to others. But even this may be overkill because I think that a person (teacher) needs to develop a trusting relationship with him, and based upon my time working with Alex this can be done by anyone. Once this is accomplished capitalizing on his excellent reading ability could provide an opportunity for him to read to the teacher, specialist, or even a friend, thus helping him develop better self-efficacy and confidence in this area. Another approach to help Alex develop better social skills would be to incorporate direct modeling or role playing through the use of Skillstreaming curriculum (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2008). This would allow him to see and rehearse various social situations in a controlled environment, such as time that is set aside with the school counselor.
Working in the special education classroom was a very eye opening experience for me. The lesson plan that I developed for Alex and then ultimately taught to him and the other six students in the class provided me with an opportunity to evaluate areas that I need to work on. My mentor teacher, Jean Herrick, offered a tremendous amount of insight into both the areas that I did very well in and those that I need to work on. Knowing your students preferred modalities of learning and more importantly being specific are two areas that I will need to spend additional time developing better skills in.
Providing Alex and other students with disabilities the opportunity to receive an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment should be the goal of every teacher. The lesson plan and time I spent with him provided me with an opportunity to develop teaching skills I did not have and identify skills that I need to work on, but more importantly it provided me with insight as a general education student teacher to see first hand the work that goes into teaching students with disabilities. This insight will be used to help me in the future provide special eduation students in other classes with the understanding and attention they need to reach their potential.
References
Hardman, M. L., Drew, C. J., & Egan, M. W. (2008). Autism spectrum disorder. In P. Coryell (Ed.), Human exceptionality school, community, and family (pp. 346-367). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (2008). Asperger’s syndrome. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from www.mayoclinic.com
Mentor Teacher’s Evaluation Of My Student Teaching Performance
Practicum Activity Observation Log
Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education Practicum Placement
Student Name: _____________________ GCU ID: _______________
Semester & Year: ____ Summer II Undergraduate 2009 (09/SU2 UG)_____________________
Indicate the course for which this form applies (A separate form is required for each practicum course).
__X__SPE 325N- Educating Learners with Diverse Needs (15 hrs)
_____ESL 423N- SEI English Language Teaching: Foundations and Methodologies (10 hrs)
_____ESL 433N- Advanced Methodologies of Structured English Instruction (15 hrs)
_____SED 442N: Secondary Methods (15 hrs)
_____SED 443N: Curriculum and Development (15 hrs)
_____SED 452N: Reading & Learning Strategies for Middle & Secondary Schools (30 hrs) ______
_____SED 420N: Adolescent Literacy (30 hrs)
_____EDU 460N- Dynamics of Date-Driven Pedagogy (15 hrs)
