Questions About Questioning?

When thinking about questioning strategies, I think of my time in school and how teachers taught me how to hold a discussion. To be honest, I can't remember much of any of that going on. What I do recall, are socratic seminars and working in groups with worksheets that provoked conversation amongst us. But what were those questions? I wish I could remember.

Now, planning as a teacher, I'm thinking- how do I ask questions? As we discussed in class, I write in my lesson plans many times to hold a "discussion" time, this turns out to be students talking to me as the teacher giving their answers and not really talking to one another. While looking online I came across one questioning strategy that reminded me of my time at Classical: Agree, Build, Challenge. 

I heard my cooperating teacher use this technique numerous times, I just hadn't thought about it until now. A lot of the work in that class was using a book called Springboard. The teacher used this as a base for her class, but didn't follow it to a T because she knew her students well and modified each lesson to the needs of the students. However, when using the book, the students worked a lot in pairs or groups so they were able to work together and talk through the questions they were being asked. She specifically asked students to share out, which gave them time to provide meaningful answers. After the group she had asked shared out, she asked other groups if they had something similar written that they wanted to share or add on to, or if anyone wrote anything different. 

I think this is a meaningful and simple way to ask students questions that get them talking to each other. It also acknowledges that some questions can have more than one answer, and there may not always be a right or wrong answer. Students will also learn from challenging ideas that they need to provide supportive reasons why they agree or disagree. As a teacher, the types of questions I ask will definitely be something that I need to constantly be aware of and check myself on, but I think after practice, this will come naturally.

Translanguaging Reading Strategies in ELA

Over the last few weeks, we have discussed many different reading strategies, as well as, different ways to incorporate differentiation and translanguaging in the classroom. When reading through Cris Tovani's I Read It, But I Don't Get It I found the reading strategies provided extremely valuable and useful for the classroom. The book provides many different reading strategies for struggling readers who didn't care to read or gave up when they struggled. However, one of the main issues I found in this book is that she left out the struggling readers that merely have trouble in their reading classes because their first language isn't English. In order, to fix this, differentiation and translanguaging are necessary to incorporate and encourage in classroom instruction, activities and assessment.

One way that I have thought of and read about in the translanguaging guide is to start off by providing a translated version of the text for the student. By providing texts that the students can read easier, they may be able to understand the material better. Providing a text that the student may be able to make personal connections with may also be beneficial.

While the students read the text in their home language, they may benefit from using Tovani's strategy of marking up the text. They may highlight or come up with a coding system for what they understand, what they connect with and what they still have questions about. Students may then partner up and discuss with someone who has the same home language as them or reflect in writing if there are no other students that share the same language.

After the students discuss using their home language, you may have them look at the English version and highlight any unfamiliar words or phrases. While this is important for students to build vocabulary, it is crucial to not make your students feel like this is the correct or only version of the text. Students should be encouraged to ask questions and go over the text so they can expand their knowledge.

Finally, Tovani also mentions retelling what you read. I think this may be an important time for students to retell what they learned in the text by interchanging their home language and new language. The teacher can then assess the students understanding of the material rather than the language they are using. This final step helps the teacher asses the students understanding and also provides a review reading strategy for the student to really embed what they learned.


Some may ask, well how can I know what my students understands if I do not know the language they are speaking? Google translate is a valuable resource not only for students learning the english language, but also the teacher to use so the students feel comfortable and valued.

Finally, I personally believe showcasing student work around the classroom helps motivate students and feel proud of their work. Having an array of work in different languages and displaying projects that represent different cultures and backgrounds is a great self esteem booster. As we have discussed in class, this display could lower the affective filter on students and encourage learning in your classroom.

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

One of my favorite YA novel is Gabi, A Girl in Pieces, by Isabel Quintero. The book addresses many of the isms we have discussed in class, race, being one of them. While this book is written in journal form, from Gabi's perspective, she writes in both English and provides background on her Mexican-American background. In the beginning of the book, I would ask the students if they thought Gabi was white, followed by a why/why not? The students would be making inferences based on the language and the descriptions used in the novel to tell what race they think she is. They could then reflect on why it is they thought she was a certain race. What are the stereotypes around people of this race?

Throughout the novel, she switches in her journal writing in both English, with a few spanish words here and there. I think it is important to encourage students to write in both languages that they speak. I think it would be awesome to ask the class what they think about the dual languages in the book and asking what the importance is of writing in two languages. This book will allow students to think critically about Gabi as a Mexican American growing up in the United States and the many stereotypes that follow her, as well as learn about the internalized oppression that she holds because she is different than some of her peers. The novel shows the growth of Gabi as a student from the beginning of the book and gains confidence to be herself, no matter where she is. At the end of the novel, the students could take the time to self reflect and consider how they felt while reading the book and why they felt that way. 

After thinking about different ways to incorporate this novel in the class, I looked up a lesson that was already provided online with discussion questions. Many of these questions focus on Gabi's cultural and racial background. This book also covers, sexuality, body type, illness and disease, teen pregnancy and more, and there are discussion questions listed around those topics also.

My Perfect Lesson

As a teacher, I have always believed in assigning a warm up writing exercise that may connect to the lesson or lead to a community builder. One of the reasons I love warm ups is because it is an informal writing assignment that can allow students to choose what they want to write about. Warm ups can be free choice, a prompt that may help you get to know more about the student or connect with the content in the class. Because warm ups are informal, students have the ability to write in their first language, if it is other than English, and work on thinking about complex topics.

The other main reasons I believe in a warm up is to build a routine so it is easier for me to have students on task in the beginning of class and prepared to work. After the warm up, I will be able to asses my students energy levels and decide how much lecture, activity and discussion they are up to. As Christenbury discusses, students will succeed better at different times of day and based on how much energy they have at the time. As much as I believe in getting students up and moving to get them engaged, sometimes it may not work with the students that are distracted and just going to be off task. Knowing your students and when and how they learn best is so important.

I also believe in activating prior knowledge and making connections to students lives. When students are familiar with the material, they will be more likely to engage and want to learn more about it. Christenbury also writes how once the students go over what they are familiar with, they may have more confidence to move on and learn about something more difficult or complex. It is important to me that my students believe in themselves and their ability to learn in my classroom.

Finally, as a teacher, I think having a formative assessment at the end of the class not only wraps up what learned for the day for the students, but allows me to see what my students took away from the lesson. I can see who is ready to move on and who still needs an extra day of review. This is so important for me to make sure I am on the same page as all my students throughout their learning process.

Technology teaches about Race/Racism

When thinking about how to approach teaching about race/racism in the classroom, I feel as though it needs to be brought up gently because of the tension that it may create at first, but also the seriousness in the lesson should be acknowledged. I have looked into and thought of different ways to approach this topic using technology and one of the activities I thought would work well is having students watch and analyze different TV Advertisements. The lesson idea came from Breaking prejudice. org where there are suggestions for possible ads and a link to discussion questions also.

I thought of breaking students into groups, for example, a class of 25, having five groups of 5 students. Each group could choose an Advertisement to view (An advertisement of choice or they can choose from a list provided), analyze and then present their finding to the rest of the class. Each group of students would look at the different social groups in the Ad and the stereotypes that surround the groups. The groups can then discuss what they could do to change the Ad to be less bias. The students can then make connections to previous readings, personal experience or things happening around the world. 

Examples of Ad:

https://youtu.be/DFkPZ8GRImo

Critical Literacy in the Classroom

After reading Ira Shor's "What is Critical Literacy", I began to look into how to incorporate critical literacy in the classroom when reading a novel. Often times, students will read a book by reading the words on the page and not really unpacking those words. Critical literacy encourages students to read in between the lines, to question the text and the meanings behind what is written, to make connections to their lives and world around them. When searching online I found a list of Books that Foster Critical Literacy.

In order to reach students, teachers can scaffold critical thinking skills by reading and thinking aloud, developing literature circles and asking critical comprehension questions, rather than a multiple choice test based on the text. While researching online, I also found a great resource for teachers to use in a lesson with students Encouraging Critical Literacy.

Pedagogical Manifesto

I AM A TEACHER

I am a teacher who stands up for the families and students I serve and against silencing and ignoring the problems of those who are most vulnerable. I am an educator who is in favor of equality and against those who look to divide us, who is a supporter of differentiated instruction and against putting my children into boxes, and who is a defender of students who feel voiceless, our minorities suffering in poverty, and our futures against those who do not see them. I am a teacher who favors the permanent struggle against negative politics and against its hurtful effects on its education system. I am a teacher who rejects the idea that everyone learns through the same methods at the same pace because it is responsible for the failure of many students. I am a teacher full of hope and passion, in spite of the current negative political atmosphere in the realm of education. I am a teacher who refuses to give up on the youth who will be tomorrows future. I am a teacher proud of of all of my education collegues who continue to fight for our youth. If I do not struggle for the rights and growth of those I serve, then I will no longer be following my true intentions.

- Adapted from a passage from Paulo Freire’s book Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage