Blog 2

Article:
I have never heard of the term "writing to learn" until i read this article.  In high school, it was shoved down your throat to learn to write because of the writing test you have to take in the tenth grade.  As long as i can remember throughout school i never felt like i was writing to learn...i was writing to pass. Students anxiety when writing is high enough, i think it is import to teach them to write but present it as an opportunity for a learning experience.  Make it relaxed. Don't make the student think that whatever they put down on paper is going to be graded or critiqued. The strategies the article talked about where strategies i know my teacher and professors have given to me as a student.  The one that is my personal favorite is the Quick Write.  That is when i felt i could say whatever i wanted to about a topic and not have to worry about it.  If i didn't get what it was saying i could say that or talk for days and days about the topic.  Once the students feel comfortable writing that will lead them into being comfortable in writing something that is getting revised and published.  The best part about a Quick Write- you can use it in ANY subject. From English to Math a Quick Write is beneficial to not only the teacher (so they can see where the students stand with a topic) but also for they student ( so they can self assess themselves and see what they need to work on or what they already know).
Reviewing and Summarizing is a hard idea for students to grasp at any age. The strategy that i thought would be very 'user friendly' for any age would be the formed paragraph. They help break down what is being looked at for the student to better understand and in return comprehend better.  This article was very beneficial to me not only as a future teacher but also a current student. The strategies and methods will definitely come in handy!

TED:
I was grateful enough to serve as a student leader this summer for the University as a member of Southern Style.  One of our main jobs as hostess of the University is to make sure the students are comfortable and are being helped if they need it.  Listening was a skill that was drilled into our heads.  You have to listen to not only the students, but the parents, the mumbling, to noise...everything. Because of that experience i would like to say that I actually do use more than just 25% of my listening ability. In a classroom, i would have to say one of the five strategies i would use would be silence.  He said just 3 minutes a day is basically like giving our ears a reboot for listening.  It is a strategy that not only will help the students get prepared to listen but also gives the teacher time to collect her thoughts before beginning any subject.

Classmates:
I really enjoyed reading Allison Coons blog.  she said that when she was little she would play school all the time.  She wants to teach math just like me also! Not only that, but the Elizabethtown project is what stood out to her on the syllabus-- I was basically reading her blog thinking i wrote it?  The other blog i read was Kadi Bishops.  Her love for the lord was something that i immediately grasp onto and it stuck with him.  After all, we are going to be teachers..we have to have the lord on our side to get through some of the hard days ;)

Questions:
1) I am still a little fuzz on what Listening Position is?
2) From the article, How can some of the strategies be incorporated with students with disabilities.

Hello All,
    My name is Whitney Sasser and I am twenty-two years old.  I am originally from Jackson, MS but currently live in Hattiesburg, MS while i attend the University of Southern Mississippi. I am a senior in the Elementary Education program. My family is very dear to me and probably the most important. My moms name is Tracie and my dads name is Ronnie.  Together they had me and my youngest sister Cassidy who is seventeen and a senior is High School. We have dog that is one of us, his name is Lucas.  He is a Maltipoo and the sweetest dog you will ever meet. It was a hard adjustment when I had to move away for the first time when I came to college.
    Dance is one of the reason i came to Southern Miss.  I love to dance and hope to one day own my own studio. Southern is the only school in MS that has a fine art program where i could get a minor in Dance. I was also on the dance team her at Southern Miss last year. Another thing i am also involved in here at Southern Miss is Kappa Delta Sorority, Southern Style, and Phi Theta Kappa Alumni Association.  I love music! any and every kind from christian music to country to oldies. I am 'that person' who read all the Twilights books and they are still one of my favorites. My favorite movie is Pretty Woman! However, i have a lot of other favorites such as Cruel Intentions, Friends with Benefits, etc.  My all time favorite tv is Smallville.  I am extremely sad that the show has come to an end because i have been watching it for ten years. That is just a little about me.
     I am very anxious to get this semester started because it is my last semester of actual classes.  I am very ready to get out into the school and get a feel for being a teacher. This semester we are going into an upper elementary school which is the grades i am more interested in teacher.  My ideal grade would be third grade.  I am also very excited we are working in a class where we are wanting to teach. I hope to teach math and also hope i can get into a math class this semester during observations. As i read the syllabus for CIR 411 trying to figure out what exactly this class is suppose to be about i decided that this course is obviously about literacy. I think that in this course we will explore different ways to use language and literacy in any classroom setting or subject. While reading this, I noticed it said we were going to be focusing a lot on adolescents. I am interested to see what all this adolescents has to offer since all we have been focused on right now is primary grades. One thing I am excited to learn about but at the same time a little nervous is the Elizabethtown Pennsylvania Project. I love the fact we are going to collaborate but then again i am nervous to see how different our schools are.
    Overall, i am very excited for this semester and can not wait to get started and more than that can not wait to finish. SMTTT!