Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Content Confusion
As I progress farther along in my studies to become a teacher, I'm finding it more and more difficult to come up with lesson plans. I don't have trouble for the simple fact of coming up with creative ideas. Its the fact that I feel lost as to what exactly I am supposed to be teaching. Am I missing something? How are we to know what we are supposed to be teaching? In my observations we are currently reading The Diary of Anne Frank. My question is not what are we supposed to teach in regards to the text, but how was it decided that we were to read THAT certain text. Are we told this by team leaders? I have yet to have this question answered. Even though it seems to be such a simple answer. This is why when I sit down to create a lesson plan, it becomes difficult because I don't have a basis to go off of. Standards only get you so far. Standards don't provide what texts I should be teaching. Can anyone answer such a simple question?
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Emily, what texts you teach will vary depending on what you have on hand in terms of classroom access. You might, like me, be able to order class sets of books that you choose. You might have a reader or textbook that provides you with texts. Your district curriculum might decide that certain texts are taught at different grade levels. You might be able to choose for yourself.
ReplyDeleteAs a preservice teacher, you do have a basis to go off of--your own literary loves. One of the wonderful things about not being in a classroom yet (and bound by the curriculum there) is that you can dream, so for practice units and lessons, use texts that you know and love and can use to meet the needs of students and standards. How can _Hatchet_ give students access to deep reading and thinking? How can _The Giver_ allow you to discuss language and do analysis? What short stories, poems, and non-fiction works will allow you to explore the same themes and connect to skills? As a teacher, you must be able to make good choices about texts for you students. In other words: YOU (as a scholar in the filed of English) tell you what texts to teach.