Ms. Kenesha Allen's Georgia State University Graduation Portfolio

 

Brown, Dave F. and Knowles, Trudy. What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know 2nd Edition. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Heinemann. (2007). Print.

This work encompasses things that middle school teachers need to be aware of such as the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and identity based development that adolescents undergo, ways to design curriculum with students to engage them in thinking critically and deeply about their learning, ideas for using assessment to encourage learning rather than merely measuring it, and significant recent research that supports vital middle level practices of advisory program, teaming, flexible scheduling, exploratory experiences.

 

Burke, Jim. Classroom Management. Broadway, New York. Scholastic, Inc. (2008). Print

As a first year teacher, I think many of the most valuable resources in which I can refer to lie within the realm of classroom management practices. This book provides evidence and instructions on how to establish positive discipline of students, organize the classroom, and how to manage teaching time. This book also begins with a self-assessment checklist to help you identify the management issues that may be most persistent in your personal classroom.

 

Friere, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder. (1970). Print.

This work has a plethora of ideas in which I will take into my classroom. One idea in particular is Friere’s opinion on the various ways knowledge can be assessed instead of multiple choice, or standardized tests. Instead of confining students to scantron answer-sheets, judgmental observations can be conducted by teachers. Developmental charts or profiles can accompany cumulative student records so that patterns of progress can be interpreted with reference to other events in a student’s life. “Personal control, efficacy, ownership, and self regulation are critical constructs for achievement and deserved to be assessed”. These improved tests will measure more than what students “know”. They will assess students’ perceptions of their own abilities, their own effort and goals, their interest in material, and their relative satisfaction with their own performance.

 

Genzuk, Michael, “Tapping into Community Funds of Knowledge”. In Effective Strategies for English Language Acquisition: Curriculum Guide for the Professional Development of Teachers Grades Kindergarten through Eight. (pp. 9-21). Los Angeles, California. Annenberg Metropolitan Project.

This selection gives advice and idea of how to discover and address student funds of knowledge. This article talks learning your student’s cultures a step further and supports the encouragement and validity of student’s cultures and how they acquire knowledge and insight about the world around them. This reading is useful because it gives strategies backed by research of how to better connect with the diverse students that may be within your classroom and how to be the culturally responsive teacher that they need.

 

 

Kohn, Alfie. What Does it Mean to Be Well Educated?. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press. (2004) Print.

Kohn’s stance on punishment is one that I will take to my own classroom so that I maintain good classroom management practices. Kohn stated that punishment is based on the premise that making people suffer for doing something wrong will lead them to see the error of their ways. On the other hand, accolades and incentives could be based on the premise that praising people’s efforts would lead them to seeing the benefits of acquiring knowledge. It can a tactic used for motivation for excellence. For this reason of varying notions of punishments and incentives, I have elected to allow my students to create their own list of punishments and incentives for different behaviors.

 

Mason, John. Graham, Alan & Johnston-Wilder, Sue. Developing Thinking in Algebra. Thousand Oaks, California. SAGE Publication, Inc. (2005).

This book integrates mathematics and pedagogy. It is filled with the ‘big ideas’ of algebra and what it means to understand the process of thinking algebraically. I really like this book because tasks are offered for the reader to think about themselves, and after possible modifications such task may be extended to the classroom students. This book also provides other books to refer to when looking for something fresh to offer and engage learners.

 

 

Pogrow, Stanley. Teaching Content Outrageously. San Francisco, California. Jossey-Bass. (2009). Print.

This book provides techniques for common classroom issues in learning that may seem inevitable to adolescent students. Such classroom issues include: what to on those days when students seem board, uninterested, and uncooperative. What to do when required content objectives seem too abstract or too difficult for most students. There is also information on how to teach the new technological generation, and what to do when the best instructional practices fail to work. This book also provides extensive examples of teachers using the various techniques in different content areas.

 

Van de Walle, John A. Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teaching Developmentally 6th Edition. Boston, Massachusetts. Pearson Education, Inc. (2007). Print.

In this work, perspectives on trends in mathematics education and the process of doing mathematics and developing the core ideas of learning, teaching, planning, and assessment are discussed. This book also covers every major content area in the K-8 curriculum. Numerous problem based activities to engage students are interwoven with a discussion of the mathematical content and how children develop their understanding of the content. Finally, this work provides ideas for incorporating children’s literature, technology, and assessment.

 

Wong, Harry K & Wong, Rosemary T. Excerpt from How to Be an Effective Teacher for the First Days of School. Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc. (2002).

This excerpt is probably one of the best resources for myself being a first year educator. It is especially helpful because it explains the importance of the first impression that your students perceive of you in setting the tone for the remainder of the year. It gives advice on positive expectations for student and classroom management. It also give as very detailed play be play of activities, procedures, and organization of the first days of school.

 

Zemelman, Steven. Daniels, Harvey. Subjects Matter Every Teacher’s Guide to Content- Area Reading. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Heinemann. (2004).

This book provides practical classroom activities that help students understand and remember what they read in mathematics, science, social studies, English, and more. This is a great feature of the book because I can use it no matter what discipline I choose to teach. The book also provides ideas on how to use textbooks more effectively as opposed to teaching form the textbook blandly. Finally, this work is useful because it gives a list of 150 books that may interest young teenage readers that are appropriate for school.