Chrisi Kerley

I am Blackbeard.

chrisikerley — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:15:23 +0000

I am harsh and dangerous.

I wonder who consumed the last of the rum.

I hear waves crashing against Queen Anne’s.

I see enemy ships in the distance.

I intimidate by lighting cannon fuses in my hair.

I am harsh and dangerous.

I pretend to accept the governor’s pardon.

I feel my stomach grumbling.

I touch long, stringy pigtails in my beard.

I worry about life in 1718.

I cry at the thought of life on land.

I am harsh and dangerous.

I understand the difficulties of pirate life.

I say I will one day retire.

I dream of seeking revenge with Lieutenant Maynard.

I try to conquer enemies throughout the Caribbean.

I hope to be remembered.

I am harsh and dangerous.

Pirate Documents

chrisikerley — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:33:55 +0000

Buccaneers DRC

Blackbeard DRC

Double Entry Diary

Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter

chrisikerley — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:45:44 +0000

Jake Carpenter was a young man, about ten years old, who decided to embark on an adventure with his Uncle Will. The diary includes many descriptions of day-to-day pirate life. The diary is easy to read and would keep students interested. Students will be interested also to hear what life at sea was like for a child close to their age. It was interesting to me that Jake made what seemed to be a small mistake–losing a bucket overboard–and Uncle Will took his flogging for him. Not only was Will flogged, he was also sent overboard on a small boat, never to be seen again. This book’s approach to providing piratical information was intriguing, yet informational. I plan to use Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter in my future classroom.

I Poetry

chrisikerley — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:06:25 +0000

After reviewing the “I Poetry” powerpoint, I see more in depth the benefits of using poetry, specifically the “I am” format, to transfer ideas. Students can read many texts, but unless they can connect and transfer those ideas, reading is not as beneficial. The quote at the end of the powerpoint sums this process up best:

“Students understand and remember ideas better when they have to transform those ideas from one form to another. Apparently it is in this transforming process that author’s ideas become reader’s ideas, rendering them more memorable” (Pearson & Fielding, 1991, p. 847)

The goal of teachers should be for students to understand and retain ideas, not simply memorize facts for an upcoming test. I want my future students to be able to apply what they are reading and transfer those ideas to writing. This powerpoint shows step-by-step the method to accomplish this goal.

I am Blackbeard.

chrisikerley — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:30:40 +0000

I am harsh and dangerous.

I wonder where the Queen Anne’s Revenge will take me next.

I hear prisoners pleading.

I see enemy ships in the distance.

I want others to fear me.

I am harsh and dangerous.

I pretend to accept the governor’s pardon.

I feel the pain my crew endures.

I touch long, stringy pigtails in my beard.

I worry about life in 1718.

I cry at the thought of life on land.

I am harsh and dangerous.

I understand the difficulties of pirate life.

I say I will one day retire.

I dream of seeking revenge with Lieutenant Maynard.

I try to conquer enemies throughout the Caribbean.

I hope to be remembered.

I am harsh and dangerous.

(Rough Draft)

What If You Met a Pirate?

chrisikerley — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:06:11 +0000

What If You Met a Pirate? is a wonderful book for the classroom. I love the question and answer format. This format makes the book a great resource for kids. Students do not have to sit down and read the entire book, they can look at the question headings and read just the information that is relevant for them. I also love that the questions in the book are real, practical, interesting questions that kids would actually be interested in knowing. Where could you find a pirate if you needed one? What did pirates do all day? How did pirates attack? All of these questions spark students’ interest in the study of pirates. The language and answers in the book are also easy to read and understand, which is another benefit of this book. Terms are explained in an easy to understand and interesting way.

Image from: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/pirate-9.jpg

Internet Workshop

chrisikerley — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:53:58 +0000

After completing the internet workshop on pirates, I believe implementing this workshop into the classroom is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom. I like that the teacher has bookmarked sites for students to go to so that they are not using a search engine and pulling up random information which may or may not be accurate. I also think it is great that students can use the DRC to compare websites information. There were some discrepencies between the websites and it is important for students to learn how to evaluate those. I plan to use internet workshops in my future classroom.

Image from: http://www.plu.edu/~ashcracn/computer.jpg

The Not-So-Jolly Roger

chrisikerley — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:40:48 +0000

The Not-So-Jolly Roger is a fun story of three friends who traveled back in time and had an adventure with Blackbeard. Using this book in a classroom is an exciting way to introduce students to Blackbeard and a unit on pirates. This was not a difficult read and would keep students interested. Using books like The Not-So-Jolly Roger in a classroom setting is important so that students can be engaged in social studies and learn to enjoy reading about history and reading in general. I am excited to see what the rest of the piratical unit holds.

Image from: http://home.eduhi.at/teacher/rausch/mystuff/wreck.lg.map.jpg

Shared Readings: Modeling Comprehension, Vocabulary, Text Structures and Text Features for Older Readers

chrisikerley — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:48:24 +0000

Shared readings are a common practice among classroom teachers. Many associate shared readings with younger readers in primary grades, but older readers actually equally benefit from shared reading experiences. The most common shared reading practice among teachers is comprehension. Teachers model comprehension by sharing their thinking while reading through the book. Comprehension strategies include: “activating background, inferencing, summarizing, predicting, clarifying, questioning, visualizing, monitoring, synthesizing, evaluating, and connecting” (p. 551). The second most common practice is vocabulary. Teachers did not simply give students a list of important vocabulary words and tell students what the words meant or ask students to look up definitions. “Instead, they modeled solving words using one of three systems: context clues, word parts, and resources” (p. 551). Context clues use surrounding words to figure out the unknown word. Word parts use prefixes, suffixes, root, etc. to figure out the unknown word. Resources use peers, dictionaries and the internet to figure out the unknown word. Text structures such as compare/contrast, problem/solution, cause/effect, etc. help the “readers organize information” (p. 553). Text features such as “headings, captions, illustrations, boldface words, graphs, diagrams, glossaries”, etc. help readers “determine meaning and importance in texts” (p. 554).

For students to learn to experience texts and get the most out of reading, it is important for teachers to use shared readings in the classroom. Prior to reading this article, I knew the benefits of using shared readings in primary grades but had not considered the benefits older readers could receive. I believe for students to find enjoyment in reading, these skills should be taught and modeled throughout elementary school.

Internet Workshop and Blog Publishing

chrisikerley — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:20:58 +0000

I believe that it is becoming even more important for students to be technologically literate. Technology continues to expand in our world. Students that we will be teaching will have more access to technology than we ever dreamed possible, which is why it is important for teachers to keep up with new technological advances and take advantage of using these in the classroom. Integrating technology into the classroom is imperitive and internet workshops assist with this. I also like the use of blogs in the classroom. My favorite classroom blog I have viewed is Mrs. Cassidy’s classroom. I like that there is a main classroom blog and students have their own blogs that they contribute to. It is amazing how much students know about technology at such a young age now. I plan to use internet workshops and blogs as much as possible in my future classroom.

Image from: http://informedvoters.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/blogging.gif