Discussions

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California State University, San Marcos *

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422

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Communications

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May 5, 2024

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docx

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5

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1. Identify some of the challenges that come with thematic or cross-content teaching. Discuss how we, as novice teachers, can address some of those challenges as we take on more responsibility in our classrooms to support the goal of unified learning that can be seen across content areas for our students. Thematic teaching is the approach of having a single theme/topic work for various subjects across the board. In the video “Why you should try cross-curricular teaching”, a teacher talks about how she uses a single book for the read aloud and has correlated activities that follow the theme of the book for math, science, art, and phonics (No Small Matter, 2016). As an aide in preschool, we would have a different letter of the week for instance the letter A. We would play the letter A song, have them trace and write the letter A, have students come up with words that start with the letter A, and during free time there were stations where the can play with kinetic sand or playdough and the tools were things that started with the letter A. This is a great technique to use because it allows the students to connect the dots by seeing how things can be seen and used in different subjects. Some challenges that come with cross- content teaching are curriculum integration by having trouble finding a way to integrate the theme/topic across the board, finding relevant themes that are engaging, obtaining resources for all students, time consuming trying to find ideas that cover the necessary information needed to understand the content within different subject and being able to connect the topic with the right measures for each section (Retnawati, 2017). Methods to address some of the challenges that thematic teachings bring to a classroom is the use of collaborative planning with the fellow teachers of the same grade which usually have a veteran teacher in the group that provides a lot of support which also plays apart in creating a professional network with other teachers that may be outside of one’s home site as well. Other methods are having the lesson be student centered by allows for engagement and for the chance of a personal connection to the theme/topic. References: No Small Matter. (2016, May 6). Why you should try cross-curricular teaching | NO SMALL MATTER & Columbia College Chicago [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYElu806gyU Retnawati, H., Munadi, S., Arlinwibowo, J., Wulandari, N. F., & Sulistyaningsih, E. (2017). Teachers’ difficulties in implementing thematic teaching and learning in elementary schools. New Educational Review , 48 (2), 201–212. https://doi.org/10.15804/tner.2017.48.2.16
2. Reflecting on this metaphor and how you learned as a student, submit an initial response in which you: -Discuss in what ways did you drink from many wells? Or did you have the experience of riding the headwaters in one strong river of knowledge? -Describe your own K–12 learning experiences considering this article. - Finally, summarize the article. What is the author's main argument? How does his argument for cross-culture teaching support or undermine equity in education? After reading the article, Deeper Learning: Why Cross-Curricular Teaching is Essential , Jonathan discussed how collaboration is key in the public education system to become successful by embracing cross-curricular to allow students to become aware of new information in various subjects (Johnson, 2014). This focus is on combining relevant contents from various subjects together to create a new gateway of knowledge. Jonathan argued that isolated instruction does not benefit children of today because they are so much more information to getting a deeper understanding rather than just a grasp of information (Johnson, 2014). Cross culture teaching supports equity in education by allowing education to create a more inclusive classroom that allows room for differential instruction for diverse learning styles and abilities. I think I had the opportunity to both “drink from many wells” and “ride the headwaters” in my educational path. In my own experience, I had the chance of “riding the headwaters in one strong river of knowledge” with certain teachers who emphasized cross-curricular connections. I got to experience a few teachers who cared a lot about the students and created connections not only with the students but their families and the surrounding community as well. This gave me the encouragement to keep learning new things in different areas because the teacher created a connection with each individual student and talked to us as individuals and not just as a body in the classroom which led me in becoming more engaged with the material and class. These teachers also integrated various subjects into their lessons, showing how concepts from different fields intersected and complemented each other by collaborating with a teacher in a different subject or from a different class that knew more about a specific subject. In fifth grade, I had a teacher that was very knowledgeable about social studies but when it came to certain subjects like science, he would merge with class with another teacher to provide insight on the material. There were a few occasions that all 4 classes of the same grade would get together in the quad area and all the teachers would co-teach the material and the students would partake in collaboration activities with their peers. Reference : Johnson, B. (2014, August 14). Deeper Learning: Why Cross-Curricular Teaching is Essential . Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/cross-curricular-teaching-deeper-learning-ben-johnson
3. Was learning to read hard or did it come easily for you? What were some elements that assisted you with the process of learning how to read? What do you hope to offer your students based on your experience? Discuss the story book or young adult book that you have enjoyed reading. Provide basic information about the story, including author, illustrator, plot, and key details. Share your favorite part or page of the story. What are the reasons you selected this book? Why do you find it enjoyable? How could you use your book selection for vocabulary or comprehension instruction? What strategies could you focus on while reading the book? Learning to read came easily to me because growing up, my parents and siblings would always read to me. I think this is where the love of reading started for me because I come from a family of readers. Reading to understand was a bit harder, I think. At school I have a hard time reading like during read aloud because of anxiety and become nervous. Some elements that assisted me during the process of learning to read were having open access to books at home, school, and the public library, and having supportive individuals who would read with me. Based on my experience, I hope to offer my students a supportive and engaging environment where they feel encouraged to explore the world of literature. I want to instill in them a love of reading and provide them with the tools and resources they need to become confident readers and critical thinkers. A book that I enjoyed growing up in was the Junie B. Jones series written by Barbara Park. It’s about a young girl who gets into different situations and has a unique perspective on the world. I selected the Junie B. Jones series because it's a fun and engaging series for young readers. The character of Junie B. is relatable, and her adventures are both entertaining and often teach valuable lessons about friendship, honesty, and problem- solving. This series is easily relatable which makes them great for fostering a love of reading. I could use the Junie B. Jones series for vocabulary instruction by discussing new words that appear in the text. Additionally, I could focus on comprehension strategies such as predicting, summarizing, and making connections to help students better understand the plot and characters.
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