Research Paper - Nancy Rogers

Upon entering the school, you can’t help but notice the bright, bold pictures of famous African Americans. As you walk through the brown metal front door, there is a table to the left. Here, you sign in. A man with a blue uniform and glasses is usually sitting there. When I greet him, his lips rise upward and he nods his head. To the right, a woman is usually seated in a chair. Her hands are upon a computer keyboard. You can hear the keys making clicking noises without a pause in between. She usually turns to me and nods her head. Straight ahead are examples of children’s work. They are hung up throughout the perimeter of the square shaped building. There is also a board that gives statements about the goal of the school and it’s philosophy. As you walk down the hall you will see a large open area with a very high ceiling. At 10:15 there is a group of children there with an adult male. He instructs them to jump, roll and run. Sometimes they are seated in a circle while the teacher talks. He will tell them to tag one another or switch places. There are large table standing up against the wall at this point.

I continue into the next classroom that is straight ahead of me. As I enter, four students are sitting to the left with headphones on. One is holding a book and turning the pages. She holds the book outward, towards the other children. There are four computers against the wall next to them. By the window, there is another group of four children. They are each reading a paper labeled DRP. Along the next window is another group of four children. They have a container full of brightly colored plastic letters. Children are arranging the letters into groups and writing them on a paper. The next area has a large wooden shelf with books on it. Along the wall are children laying back on pillows. They each have a book in hand. Each book has the same title and cover. Miss Oliver is sitting with them. In the center of the room are groups of desks. Above each group are signs. Each sign has a team number on it. There are four children sitting at the desks with the sign above them that says team three. They each take a turn writing a sentence on a large piece of paper. On the top of the paper it says, Topic. Next to that in black letters it says, Christmas. After each child writes a sentence, one child goes up to the board. She then points to each sentence. Several children nod their heads. One goes up to the board and points to a word. The first child then circles it and writes the word again changing the A to an E. The group then looks at it and nods their heads. To the very left of them is a desk the size of about three of their desks put side by side. There are pencils, worksheets, a stapler, rulers and scissors. The room is carpeted with a grayish color with tiny spots of red and green. The walls are a dark grayish color.

I decided I would make several visits to Miss Oliver’s class before choosing a child to observe. After the second visit I had made a clear decision. Upon entering the school on the third visit, there sat Melar in front of Principal McMullen’s office. I approached him and another child, Melinda who was sitting with him as well. I asked them why they were there. They told me they had been fighting. They told me how Miss Oliver was out that day and Miss Theodora was taking her place. When they were caught fighting, they were sent to Principal McMullen’s office. Since Melar was away from the room for so long, I could not do my full observation.

My next visit went very well. Miss Oliver was doing a lesson on math. Melar had his hand raised. Miss Oliver asked how many eggs were in a dozen. When Melar was called on, he said, "My grandmother went shopping yesterday and bought a dozen eggs!" "I helped her put them in the fridge." Miss Oliver said, "That’s great Melar." "Maybe you can bring the carton in when it is empty so we can do more work with dozens." Miss Oliver continued on with her lesson. Melar would look over at Miss Oliver for a minute and then turn his head towards the window. His eyes were looking straight ahead for quite some time. He then turned toward Miss Oliver. Miss Oliver asked another question. She asked, "How many eggs are in a half dozen?" Melar raised his hand. His lips lifted upward, his body rose from his chair and his hand waived in the air furiously. When Miss Oliver did not call on him, he quickly sank back in his seat. He placed his head on the table for a moment. He then lifted his head. For the rest of the math lesson, his body was turned towards the window. His eyes looking straight out. His eyes did not move from his point of focus. He would periodically turn his eyes towards Miss Oliver. His lips were still, straight across his face. He stayed this way until the lesson was over.

Miss Oliver announced a two-minute "talk time" for her group. The other children jumped out of their chairs and ran to various areas around the room. They congregated with their peers. Melar was the last to get up from his chair. He stood up, slowly pushed his chair in and stood still by the table. He then walked away to the far side of the room. There he stood for the entire talk time. Again, his eyes looked straight out the window. There was little movement. I wanted to go over to him, but decided to finish my observation so I could get a clearer picture of what was going on with him.

When the "talk time" timer went off, the children scrambled to their seats. Melar turned his body towards his desk. He walked over dragging one foot at a time. His feet would rub together before moving forward. The children were going over their morning journals with Miss Oliver. The children had to write five ways to make Miss Oliver happy. Several responses around the room were: give others "put ups" not "put-downs", be respectful of others, be polite and do your work neatly and carefully. At this point, Melar raised his hand. He said, "Miss Oliver, a lot of people have been gettin Rob in my neighborhood." Miss Oliver said, "Where do you live, Melar?" He looked at her with his eyes facing his desk and ever so softly he said, "Mushtard Street." Miss Oliver said, "Where?" "Mustard street?" He said, "No! Westminster!" She explained that sometimes people do bad things and end up in jail. She also stated that families should practice safety and keep their doors locked. Miss Oliver called on Melar several times more within her lesson.

Each time Miss Oliver called on Melar, he reacted in the same fashion. He would look at his desk with his head down. Miss Oliver kept repeating what he had said. Melar would either agree or repeat himself. Whenever Miss Oliver asked a question and didn’t call on Melar, he would turn his head and his eyes would be looking out the window. He would shift his attention to Miss Oliver and then to the window. If she asked the group a question, he would raise his hand continually. His body would be slightly off his chair. His lips in the shape of a crescent moon, his arm held up in the air, his elbow supported by the other hand. His hand would be spread out with all five fingers fluttering. Again, if Melar wasn’t called on, he would sink down in his seat. His eyes would return to the window, and he would look straight out for several minutes. Finally, he would turn his head back towards Miss Oliver

After the math lesson, Miss Oliver handed back a few corrected assignments. When Melar saw his first DRP grade of 56, his body slumped in the chair. He shook his head from left to right. He then put both hands on his head and hung his head towards the floor. One of his fellow classmates put another corrected DRP on his desk. His head remained in the same position.

Melar is a 10-year-old boy in the third grade. He has been retained three times, twice in the third grade. He recently joined Miss Oliver’s class, moving from one part of New Haven to another. His math scores in Miss Oliver’s class went up within one month of being in her class. I attached his Fact and Written Assessment Individual Recording form. I put two other math examples here where you can see that he did well.

I also feel that Melar’s self esteem has much to do with his learning ability. When given a "bad" test score, not called on, or reprimanded, it is very hard to get him to refocus. I’m sure being two or three years older than his peers doesn’t help. Melar is easily upset when his peers say derogatory remarks to him. He will usually retaliate often verbally, but has hit before. He also shows a great deal of remorse when conflict occurs. One day, late in the afternoon, Melar and Chris were involved in a fistfight. The next day on one of his assignments, he wrote, "I feel bad because I hit Chris yesterday." He also became upset when the other children were talking about it in class the next day.

Melar also talks a lot about his father. He was absent one day, upon his return; I asked where he was. He told me he stayed home to see his dad, but he didn’t come home. He mentioned his dad returning several times to no avail. He told me he had four brothers. His older brother had a different dad and his younger brothers have another dad also. He said, "I don’t know if my second older brother has the same father."

After Thanksgiving vacation, Melar was smiling ear to ear. He was skipping and laughing. I went up to him and said, "I’m glad to see you so happy today." He said, "My dad came from down south with his grandmother. His mother went to her daughters, but my dad came to our house. I didn’t think he would come. He’s going to stay. He’s going to stay with us!" Melar talks often of going to his friend’s house. He said, "I always leave the house at 11:00. Sometimes I stay overnight." Melar seems to be a social little boy engaging in mostly positive social relationships with his peers. Sometimes he will avoid contact with others. On those days, you can see him staring out the window frequently. He will pay attention to the lessons on and off. He has been more engaged since Miss Oliver started "centers".

I had the opportunity to work with Melar in Reading Groups. The first book was about animals in fall. I asked each child to tell me what it thought the story might be about after looking at the cover. Melar told me he thought it was about where animals go when it was cold. Then I asked him "what time of the year do you think it is?" He said, " I don’t know". I then gave examples; summer, spring, fall, winter. He said, "Oh, it’s fall!" I asked him how he knew this. He said, "Because all the leaves are on the ground." I told him, "good observation". When it was his turn to read he asked me for help with the words hibernate and migrate. I asked him to "chunk them" (meaning to sound the word out in two or three parts). He was able to sound hi-ber-nate, but just kept saying the three separately. I then asked him if he wanted help putting them together. He nodded hi head up and down. Together, he and I said the word hi-ber-nate. "Hibernate! Good, nice chunking Melar", I said.

I asked the children what they thought these words might mean. One child said, "Oh, I know. Migrate means to move." I said, "That’s right, Let’s look at it as far as when and why animals might move." Melar said, "Maybe when it is cold?" We went over some places that might be warm. Melar had now shifted his body back. He was lying on his arms, face up. We then went on to discuss hibernation. When I asked the children what they thought it meant, no one moved. They all sat with their eyes focused on me, I said, "Well if animals migrate or move to warmer places when it’s cold, what do you think animals that stay here do to stay warm?" I gave an example like bears or turtles. One child said, "They sleep." I said, "Yes they do, in a way." Another child said, "Oh, like squirrels?" Melar said. "Yes, they get nuts". I explained how animals would gather food and find a warm place to hibernate. I talked about how their body slows down and doesn’t need much food. After we read the story, I asked Melar to tell me an animal that hibernates. He said, "Bears and squirrels." I said "nice job." I asked the other children the same types of questions. It was then time to go back to Miss Oliver’s room.

The article I chose deals with helping children enhance their reading comprehension. The article struck me because it discusses how children’s’ attitudes about reading are established early on. Therefore, a good reading program needs to be implemented in order for children to develop positive attitudes towards reading. This particular plan is called K-W-L.

Here’s how the program would be incorporated: Before reading the book, children would make a list as a class, of what they know (the K) about that particular subject. Children would then make a list of things that they would like to learn (the L) once the article is read. After reading sections of the book, they would assess the Ks and Ls of the book. They would do this at stopping points the teacher has chosen for them. The children would be making an assessment chart like the one on page 262 of the journal.

After reading the book, children would create a graphic outline of information listed in the L column of the chart. Lines would be added to show the relationship between the main topic and subtopics. Children would then number the categories in order of importance. Children then use the K-W-L as a model for independent reading. These would then go into a written report.

Headley and Dunston have as second way of working with the K-W-L program using webbing. Here, the children "discuss their thoughts and responses to statements in which they agree or disagree". The goal here is to get children to "state, support, discuss and adjust personal opinions". The DL & TA method would deal with; five or six stopping points where children would make predictions. Children would discuss the main issue at length. Students would be paired to decide whether they agree or disagree with this topic. They need to come up with several reasons of why the character would interact or react in this manner. Students then form groups of four to present opinions and how they came about. Then they need to reach an agreement as a group. Each group would select a spokesperson. This person would talk about why they chose this position. Children will predict what had occurred, as well as what may occur. Children then discuss and hypothesize what the outcome might be. They will eliminate endings that are unrealistic. After finishing the book, the students compare their predictions with the actual outcome. The teacher then plays a major role as a negotiator. After each group presents these topics, teachers will ask them when and why questions.

This article uses a "metacognitive" approach. Within this program, a specific set of literature would be used. The teacher would use each book in the set as a tool to learn a specific area. With each book, the teacher models for the children and has a group discussion. They are then broken up into groups. The teacher doesn’t move onto a new book or topic until children have shown growth in that area.

Here’s how the program works: The teacher starts the instructional activities within literature discussion groups. She asks the children to look at the front cover and make a prediction of what the story might be about. The teacher begins the discussion by modeling the title and first sentence of the story. He/she then lets several students make predictions. He/she praises their efforts, then opens the book and begins reading. She then asks them to assess their predictions. After the children show proof of good prediction skills, the teacher goes a step further. He/she asks the children how to create good questions from the content of what was read. Again, the teacher models an example for them. Some of these questions would be clarification of words or phrases that may be difficult to understand. The teacher leads the children in the discussion, but they themselves come up with the answers. Again, the children are made active participants, while at the same time being helped by predicting parts of stories that may be difficult for some students. Here, the students who need help would already have these tings clarified instead of being put in the spotlight. Each child in the group comes up with a question. This helps break u parts of the book instead of digesting the entire book at one time. To take this a step further, the teacher then models specific question types by asking question /answer relationships. The types are right there, think and search on my own. Rapheal & Wonnacott, 1984).

Questions that are right there have the answer on one page, in a specific place. Think and search questions ask children to look closely at their reading and think about what was read. The answer will not be in one spot. On my own questions ask the student to relate their own experiences to come up with an answer. The teacher will then give a question and the children have to identify which type it is and why.

The final outcome of this process is to transfer this type of mental thinking to children’s other studies. Teachers would then ask students to keep a one-week record of predictions, clarifications, question generating and summarization that they used in their social studies class, for example. After a week, the teacher holds group discussions to find out how the children used these methods in their learning. Attached is an example of their sheet used in recording these methods.

Dr. Ediger Marlow has come up with an Oral Communication Cirriculum to help children with reading comprehension. Marlow discusses how oral use of language and understanding vocabulary are very important. Here again, children are active participants in their own learning. Children evaluate themselves; groups critique others performances and children actually come up with their own "oral" cirriculum.

His basic premise is "critical listening to the spoken voice". Here children learn how to make their topics appealing. Ediger lists eight ways a child can use to make his/her topics more meaningful and informative to his/her peers. Number eight was interesting. The author suggests using role-playing if children use derogatory remarks towards one another. He talks about children’s self-esteem playing a big role in the oral communication cirriculum. He says there are basic criteria that need to be followed, such as respect and caring for one another. He feels that these things help a child feel "valued and prized".

Dr. Ediger feels you can accomplish his goals using seven approaches. First is the use of puppets. He feels "shy and withdrawn" students may be more relaxed when using puppets. He also tells us to have the children make their own puppets. They should make them on the merit of a theme. They should research their theme topic to help them complete their puppet. The children would then put on a play. The students would make up their own speaking parts as well as assign roles.

Communication in the classroom is yet another way to enhance comprehension through oral language. Children read a story in a group. All children get a chance to discuss the topics equally. No one pupil is dominant. The children have the opportunity to talk about character, setting, mood and story pattern. They are also taught to be aware of their voice patterns. Children are taught to evaluate their pitch, speed, loudness and tone of their oral presentations. They are tape-recorded to self-evaluate. The last part of this idea is to be aware of one’s body language. Children will practice these areas and evaluate their performances after each presentation.

Next, children will practice oral reading in the classroom. Children would practice reading a selection until they feel it is "suitable" to be read to the class. In the practice sessions, their peers would be giving suggestions and providing "criteria for improvement". Children will then role-play their reading parts.

In the next phase, children will give and follow directions. Children will use visual aides to help accomplish this goal. A few examples are to make relief maps, dioramas, learn to play a game, work on written exercises or make an instrument. These are things that will help students follow directions. They are also taught to become better observers by "brainstorming popular landmarks". Some of these include parks, stores, bus stops, churches, streets and highways.

Children will then work on extemporaneous speaking. When children are ready they will be given three minutes to present a topic of their choosing. Children will be given time to choose topics and research and given a short time to recall what they’ve learned. Children need to quickly think about important areas that need to be highlighted.

From my observations of Melar, he doesn’t have too much trouble reading, but rather comprehending what was read. His DRPs done with the class seemed to gain him higher grades. I think that the auditory, visual and oral communication as a whole group helped him better understand the content of the lesson. With the DRPs I would use the K-W-L model. Melar could begin with a list of what he already knows. Then, he will need to focus on his reading in order to learn what he chose to learn. Last, he would list what he did learn. Looking at the list, he should see improvement from what he knew to what he learned. I feel this would give him a positive attitude about reading and himself. When he did poorly on his last DRP, you could really see how it affected him for the next hour. Melar doesn’t do as well when his DRPs are done by himself. By using the K-W-L method, it would broaden his knowledge of the subject. If he can list something he does know, he already has a jump on the topic. I have found that he does know specific things about the topics presented in Miss Oliver’s class. For example, he knew popcorn was a type of corn when I asked him about it, he knew it grew in the ground. He also knew it was different from the corn we eat and it popped when heated.

I would also use the metacognitive approach. Here the teacher focuses on one area for sometime before moving along. This would also help Melar. I feel that it sometimes takes him several attempts at something before he understands the content. Here children make their own predictions. There really is no right or wrong prediction. It’s asking the child to look at the book’s cover and analyze it. Children are asked to think of what the book may be about. Again, this is good for Melar who likes to be involved. It also stimulates his thought process. He is able to give good predictions from what I observed of him. Children then focus on clarification. Here, children come up with terms or ideas that they need clarified. This helps students learn from one another instead of relying on the teacher. This would also help Melar because I feel that this is one of his biggest obstacles. Children can break down small parts of a book. Melar does well working in a group. I feel he would listen to others and may learn vocabulary better. There is more time to discuss these questions in a group than in a teacher-instructed lesson. He definitely pays more attention in a group!

I liked the last approach the best. I feel that making children participate so actively improves their self esteem. I would use the role playing a lot with Melar. I would use it with the whole group, not single him out. This article hit on what I firmly believe in, multiple intelligences. I feel Melar is a hands-on learner. I don’t think he benefits at all from lectures and board notes. Miss Oliver has been putting the children in literacy groups. They go to various stations in a 1 _ hour period. He seems to be doing better with his DRPs and making words. His overall attitude and behavior seem better. I would use speaking activities and reading strategies in centers. I would put telephones and make a communication center. Here the children would have to come up with a setting, topic, problem and solution for their dialogue. I would also have an area for mini-plays. I would provide props. The children could add to or take away from the props. They would create and write their own play.

I would also have a library center. Children would read a story as a group and discuss character, setting, plot, problems and the like. I would then ask them to create their own books while implementing these ideas. They would have to list each item at the end of the book. I would give the children a week, maybe more in these centers. They would then have to present final products to the class. Role playing would present a conflict/resolution using puppetry, communication would present their optimum dialogue, mini-plays would present their very own play and the library center would have five or six children depending on the number of students in the class. I would then rotate groups.

To sum it all up, I would use the first two methods in Miss Oliver’s current cirriculum to help Melar. The last strategy would be what I would like to use, not only with Melar, but all my students. Not only would it be fun for them, it would allow for self-freedom; self-expression, self-evaluation and (my favorite) enhance self-esteem. Melar is a little boy with a lot of potential. I feel given the correct tools for learning he would thrive.

I can already see it in Miss Oliver’s class. This cirriculum also allows students to move around various spaces in the classroom. It allows them to converse with one another. I also feel that it helps children to make better connections from one topic to another. Again, it would help Melar to assess whether coffee has anything to do with popcorn as in his last DRP.

Melar has taught me that not all children learn the same. Some children need information repeated or explored in different manners in order to absorb and comprehend. He taught me how much more self-esteem played a role in learning. I’ve learned how to be a more effective teacher. I always viewed a teacher as someone who stands in front of the class and puts notes on the board. A teacher can be so, so much more. Melar taught me to look beyond appearances. The first few days I saw him, he was "in trouble" at the office. He taught me that children need to be understood. He helped me understand what one of my college professors once told me. Criticize the performance not the performer. To help the child with his performance and you will see a better performer. He taught me I could learn just as much from a child as an adult.

I felt the same way as Melar. When I didn’t have a good math session. I wanted to give up. I hung my head and became distant. I need to go over a problem many times in order to process the information. I feel that this is the same for Melar. When gone over as a class, visually and auditory several times, he does much better. I also feel that a good teacher who touches on various learning styles is more effective. When Ashley was really attentive, I did much better. The same goes for Melar. When he is able to learn in "centers", he does much better. In his seat he seems so distant. This is how I felt when Ashley wasn’t being attentive to my needs. Like Melar, my learning impacts my self-esteem and self-worth. I feel singled out, not as smart and "lower" than others do. I feel Melar is viewed this way, especially having been retained three times. It has taken me years to realize that I am my own person. I am what I make of myself. I have to work harder than others to accomplish my goals. I have to study or go over notes each day in order to retain information.

I feel Melar may need to do the same things. Chances are he probably won’t do them at home. I never did as a child either. That’s why I feel it is so important for Melar to learn all he can while at school, for him to have a positive learning experience in order to succeed. He told Miss Oliver after the first month of school, "I used to be bad Miss Oliver, but I’ve been good in your class." I feel that he likes her because she acknowledges him, asks for his input and she never puts him down. She is very kind and gentle with him. I think this is the key. You never forget "bad" experiences in school. In kindergarten, I used to cry a lot. The teacher used to scream at me. To this day, I still remember thinking, if she would just hug me and tell me it was OK, I would stop crying. In my later years, I remember learning that I could do only what was expected of me. I was always put in lower classes. I never studied, and did what I had to do to get by with Bs. Now, in my older years, I realize how important it is for me to do my very best for myself. I feel if Melar doesn’t have positive learning experiences he will fall through the cracks. He may not be able to pull himself back up when he is knocked down. I’ve learned through my "Klutz" that being a strong, sensitive, creative, flexible, yet predictable teacher is the key to helping students succeed. It is not so much about the student, which I always thought. It’s about making it a team effort. Teachers guiding students, students being free to create their own "cirriculum". Their learning is viewed as more fun and involved. I feel our best learning, even for the gifted student is when we introduce multiple learning aides. We can learn from them, but best of all from each other.