Feb. 7th Readings- Molly Shelton

One of the readings I thought was particularly interesting was the Almasi article. This article explained the difference between recitation and discussion. While there are positive to both, I come to think that discussion may be more beneficial for the students over recitation. I think this because discussion allows the students to become more engaged. They have the opportunities to ask questions that they don't know or bring up topics that are worth talking about. In recitation, the teacher does the majority of question asking. Through discussion students can ponder what they don't know rather than what is already known. Discussion is also socially rewarding to the students too. It gets students use to talking in big groups and organizing their thoughts when speaking. I thought it was great that Almasi posted different ways of doing discussion in the classroom. The ones I liked were those that had the students as facilitators or inquisitors. This a change than how typically a discussion goes down but once again it gets the students thinking in a new light

When reading this article I couldn't help but think of all college classes that I have had that are discussion based. It seems that most of these were the TE courses. I now see why they are structured that way. It is really good practice for using discussion in your own classroom. In my TE 348 and 448 we did the facilitator roles that was mentioned in the text.

I'm in a kindergarten class so I feel like I see literature everywhere. My CT uses literature to teach nearly all of her lessons. I have seen it used for the purpose of actually teaching reading as well as to teach science or social studies. The teacher reads a more "fun" and "enjoyable" book after lunch. She does this to get the students settled down. During centers she will have groups of students read books on the reading rug. At this time students can pick out any book they choose. I think the way literature is present in this classroom is great. I hope to use literature as often as my CT does. I think literature is a great way to introduce a lesson as well as close it.