The questions teachers ask students can vary. I often see questions regarding knowledge, such as “who is Benjamin Franklin?” on exams or when reviewing material. However, I think some of the best questions are those that dig deeper into asking questions of analysis and evaluation of material, such as comparing or contrasting content. Although questions based on knowledge and then questions that extend and apply that knowledge are important,  I also like to see when teachers ask students questions that they can’t necessarily get wrong because it is an opinion. An example of this may be “what do you notice?” or “how do you feel about…?” I like these questions because I feel like the teacher can get a better understanding for their students and the students can feel comfortable answering knowing that it is based solely on their own observations or feelings. 

 In my classroom, I find that my co-op teacher has a very soft and calm voice. Her teacher talk tends to be positive, even when needing to redirect a student she will do so with manners and a stern but soft tone. I find that she uses the strategy of pointing out which students are demonstrating on task behavior and she often asks questions regarding what the students notice. My co-op models behaviors she is expecting to see, especially reading strategies. The way she talks through the steps of a strategy are verbalizing exactly what she expects students to do, in a clear and authentic manner.

 

 Student talk is the way students communicate in the classroom. Student talk is the way students communicate with each other and with their teacher. It involves the time they are able to share their thoughts, work, question, debate, and collaborate. In many classrooms I’ve observed, including the one I am currently in, teachers tend to formulate specific questions for students to answer during whole group time rather than allowing them an open floor to discuss with their peers or pose questions in less they are in need of clarification. However, students work in pairs and small groups from time to time. I’ve seen them do a buddy reading system, where they read to one another and briefly discuss. They also get grouped homogeneously for literacy centers and sometimes work in small groups. During this time, I find that students often follow the instruction of the teacher, not posing their own individual ideas or questions. 

The students in the classroom I am currently in are very quiet. There are only about four students who constantly participate without the teacher having to use the name-calling sticks. Due to this, I find that student talk is very limited in this classroom. The times I see student talk flourish the most is when students are in small groups or partnered with a peer they know and feel comfortable with. I feel like this classroom would benefit from growing together a little more to a point where students would feel more comfortable with all of their classmates as opposed to a couple. They may also feel more inclined to share to the whole group, allowing the teacher the potential to ask questions that analyze and evaluate the content deeper.

 In my own teaching, I want students to be able to have opportunities to communicate and discuss. I have been trying to implement this so far when communicating with students in my practicum classroom. When conferencing with students, especially during their individual reading time, I ask them open-ended questions. I asked them questions like, “What is your book about? Have you been using any reading strategies? Which ones and how have they helped you? Do you like your book? What do you like about it?” I have found that many students enjoy telling me about their books and how they are implementing skills learned in class. 

I have also interacted with students during writing conferences. When editing their papers, I like to ask the students “what were you trying to say here?” so that I know what exactly they were trying to convey before editing it to convey the incorrect meaning. By doing this, it allows the student to take ownership and share their voice with me rather than me assuming their voice when proofreading.

 In small groups of two or three students, I am able to create discussion among students in terms of questions and answers. For example, when completing a worksheet assignment together, the students were disagreeing on the correct multiple choice answer. I allowed them time to talk about why they felt their choice was correct and, after listening to the arguments, they were able to come to a conclusion on the right answer. This allowed the students to explain themselves and practice supporting their statements. 

The biggest challenge is encouraging student talk in whole group instruction. As previously mentioned, this class is very quiet. Even if the answers to questions have already been mentioned and have even been written down in front of them, students still do not volunteer. Getting students to share their thoughts or ask questions as a large group is difficult. I think that moving around to the different tables and asking if there are questions or even creating small groups and pairs would help communicate discussion. However, speaking to the whole group would definitely foster community and social interaction among peers. 

I feel like the talk that I have been using in the classroom has allowed for a lot of inferencing and openness. It allows students to express themselves and use their own voice. I find that I am best at this when I am speaking “off-the-cuff” but find it harder when I am following a scripted lesson so I hope that when I actually teach my lesson, I do not forget to incorporate this open-line of communication.

 One of the concepts from Choice Words that I have seen in my field classroom and have personally been trying to implement is making sense of what children say and do. For example, as previously mentioned, I have been asking students during writing conferences what they are trying to say in their writing. 

Another concept from Choice Words involves pattern recognition. A quote from the book reads:  “pattern recognition is very powerful… once we start noticing certain things, it is difficult not to notice them again” On the first day I was in the classroom, my mentor teacher explained to me that they use Words Their Way to teach vocabulary. She emphasized to me that she prefers this way as to other methods because it allows students to find patterns in spelling and apply it to similar words. I thought that this quote on pattern recognition fit perfectly with her concept and ideas on the Words Their Way curriculum. Once students start noticing patterns in words, they will have difficulty unseeing it, such as long CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) patterns. 

Lastly, I’ve noticed the idea of noticing, naming and confronting has been displayed in my co-op’s classroom. She starts every morning with a reading strategy, such as visualizing, and then independent reading. While students are reading, she circles around the room to ask students what strategy they have used when reading today. By doing this, they are able to recognize whether or not they have used a strategy and be able to name what it is and how/when they have used it. I have seen many ideas discussed through Choice Words implemented into my field classroom but these are just 3 big ones. 

Teacher Talk: Do to me being in a kindergarten classroom, I notice how upbeat and bubbly my teacher is. He is full of energy and is all over the place. When interacting with the students, she is positive, most of the time. She tells the students to “kiss your brain” when the respond to her questions, and always calls them “smart-es”. She reassures the students that she loves them, by telling them so. I have noticed that there can be a switch though, when the students are misbehaving/getting loud and out of control, which is not a surprise to me due to their age, she will yell, very loud, and always threaten the student with a lunch detention. There is one student who is not diagnosed, but has tendencies of a student with ADHD, and she often snaps on him the most. I sat down with him once, while he was sitting alone in lunch detention. I asked him how his day was going, and whether or not he knew why he was in trouble. He told me he knew why and told me it was because he hit a friend. When I asked why he hit his friend he responded, “I don’t know, sometimes I can control myself.” And it broke my heart. I think my teacher does interact positively with most of the students, most of the time, but I also think she needs to be a little more patient. It has only been a month or so that they have been in school and I believe they have only day 3 full weeks of school. They are still trying to get into the routine. 

Student Talk: It is hard for me to describe student talk in my classroom as a whole. My class is very diverse, and a group of kids mainly only talk to each other in Mandarin, and it is frustrating to me, because I want to so desperately communicate with them or know what they are saying. Students have opportunities to pose questions during readers workshop, if we get to it, and if the teacher reads the stories. Students talk in pairs/small groups when at their table working on writing or creating a project. They do a lot of turn and talk when on the floor if we are reading a story. 

Your Talk: I have not hand a chance to teach, but in my lesson, I have created, and will be teaching I have a lot of opportunities for students to discuss. They have an opportunity to in whole group when we are reading about our five senses, and in small group, when they share their ideas/writing with each other. I anticipate timing and prior background knowledge could be challenging. I wrote this lesson assuming the children know their five sense, my teacher has not given me an answer of whether they do or do not. I am nervous that they may not know what I am talking about, but still feel that my lesson will help guide them if they do not know. I am also nervous about timing, because I want the student to have an opportunity to share and talk to each other about their writings. Benefits I think could be sharing their writing with each other, allowing them to take ownership of their ideas and being proud of their writing. 

Connections to Johnston: Connections I can make from the Johnston text and in my field classroom is most certainly how language influences teaching. I noticed, specifically with one student who is a little behind, my teacher is very encouraging by working individually with him to become more literate. She is positive with her language and wants for the student to succeed. Also, my teacher asks the students “Did anyone notice” a lot. She asks the students when talking about letters and saying “did anyone notice that this letter sounds like this word” she use this to help students with spelling and learning to pronounce words. My teacher is also big on identity when the students write. She is always encouraging them of their work and making sure they take ownership in what they do and letting them know how proud they should be of their work.