ENGL 493

Dear Sean, I have had a wonderful time this quarter growing as a student and as a future teacher.  Through this class I have become aware of my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher.  Now that I am aware of some of those strengths and weaknesses I can focus on growing even more to become a better teacher. I enjoyed the book talks.  I loved learning about the different books that were presented in class and realized I had not had the chance to read most of the books that were presented.  During my own presentation, I was unsure on how to connect and expand on the points that needed to be covered.  The guidance given allowed for me to grow in my decision making skills for books to use in the classroom.  I was excited to be part of such a large class.  Many of the books presented were new material and sparked many interests. The lesson plans were a great experience.  All of the professors I have had say something different about writing ...

edTPA Lesson Plan #1 Course 493 1. Teacher Candidate Dezarae West Date Taught 03/12/18 Cooperating Teacher Stephanie Yanuszeski School/District Westwood Middle School 2. Subject ELA Field Supervisor Clive Gary 3. Lesson Title/Focus Point of View 5. Length of Lesson 20 minutes 4. Grade Level 10 th  grade 6. Academic & Content Standards (GLEs/EARLs/Common Core) CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account. CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RL.9-10.6 Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature for outside the United Stated, drawing on a wide reading of world literature. 7. Learning Objective(s) Given  Night  by Elie Wiesel and  I Survived the Holocaust Twin Experiments  YouTube video ,  students...

Honestly, I think the use of graphic novels in the classroom is important.   Many times we have students go from picture books with a few words straight into books that are only filled with words.   The use of graphic novels can help with this transition. Graphic novels give wonderful accessibility for all students.   Not only are graphic novels visually based, they are also text based.   Students will have different mediums to drawn meaning from when examining the text.   In many classrooms, there are a wide varieties of ability levels: students who struggle reading traditional texts, ELL students, gifted students, etc.   Keeping this in mind, students who have been struggling or are learning the English language would have many tools for comprehension support when reading a graphic novel.   Students who are of a higher reading level will have the additional tools to better their comprehension.   They have the text where they can look for c...

Many people know Edgar Allan Poe to be a dark author.  Many of his texts have a melancholy feel to them.  Poe, himself, may have even suffered from depression.  But aside all of the things that make Poe Poe, he was an amazing writer. Fall of the House of Usher  is a great short story.  It is even a little creepy.  With all the different aspects in the story, it may be hard to figure out what is going on.  The first time I read the story I thought the family was incestuous.  The next time I read it, I realized disease was among the two siblings.  I had to do research to figure out what diseases might be mentioned in the story.  The last time I read the story, I questioned the narrator's sanity. To know that the sister was possibly buried alive and do nothing about it, why?  While reading, I thought Roderick was simply crazy.  I have read this story twice before reading it for today in other classes.  I never underst...