California Common Core Standards in Language Arts

Hello again.

Even though I will be teaching mathematics, it is really important that I understand the California Common Core Standards for Language Arts for my grade level.

Here are some of the highlights for ninth grade. Students should:

• Be able to cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• Be able to determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text.
• Be able to analyze how complex characters develop over the course of the text, interact with other characters, and advance the plan or develop the theme. 
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text and analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
• Be able to analyze how an author chooses to structure a text, order events, within it, and manipulate time.
• Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work from outside the U.S.
• Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums.
• Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work.
• Read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range for ninth grade.

In order to help my students succeed in my class and beyond, I need to keep in mind:

• I need to set an example by using correct grammar through modeling. 
• Consider my student's linguistic accomplishments, instead of focusing on the student's shortcomings. This is especially important for English-language learners.
• Help my students grow their vocabulary!
• Respect student's individual efforts in regards to language.

Reference:

Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Boston, MA: Pearson.

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/

http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/finalelaccssstandards.pdf

Thanks for stopping by! See you soon.

Elizabeth

My new student Dop

Hello there. The following is fiction....

My new student Dop is a typical 10th grader in terms of physical, emotional, cognitive, psychological, moral, and social development for his age. Here's a little more about him:

• In terms of cognition, Dop demonstrates full abstract reasoning skills. He lacks direction sometimes, but has the ability to correctly explain how problems are solved. With focus, he shows higher-order thinking skills. His point-of-view is growing more diverse.
• Rather than focusing on himself, Dop is focused mostly on peer relationships and on developing an individual, intimate relationship. His friends share similar interests, socio-economic status, and goals for the future. He has specialized interests in subjects such as music and sports.
• Dop celebrates his sixteenth birthday soon. Physically, Dop is fully matured, although he may continue to grow for a couple of years. Females his age are fully matured and very concerned with body image, but as a male, Dop is less concerned with body image except in regards to finding a personal relationship.
• Dop recognizes the social pressure to succeed and achieve. He realizes now that his grades, popularity, and success in school have an effect on his future. He feels some anxiety about his future, but tries to hide it. He is easily embarrassed when speaking in front of others, even when he is comfortable with the topic.
• Dop is developing an understanding of morality and ethics. Many of Dop's peers are experimenting with risky behaviors and substance abuse, mostly related to pressure from peers. Like others his age, Dop places a higher significance on peer acceptance than adult approval.
• Dop wishes to have his emerging independence respected. He sometimes questions authority. Psychologically, Dop is learning to be more reflective and self-aware.

This is going to be a great year for Dop. Can't wait!

See you soon,
Elizabeth

Learning Profile of an 8th Grader

Hello.

     In an interesting interview with a young man in the eighth grade, I learned that school culture plays a significant role in development.

     As the oldest brother with two younger siblings, Thanh spent his first few years of life as an only child. His environment was limited to mostly family settings until he began preschool. His birthday, in early October, put him in the position of being the youngest in his grade. His mom was given the chance to wait one year for him to start kindergarten, but she felt that he was academically ready due to his assimilation in preschool and would benefit from the increased socialization. According to Piaget, "we have a need to assimilate objects or information into our cognitive structures (Crain, 2011, p. 121)." Thanh's mother recognized the benefits of an educational, social setting. 

      Some years at home and at school have been more difficult than others for Thanh. While he has continuously demonstrated aptitude, his efforts and attitude have wavered. As Erikson explains, this stage in Thanh's life, known as "the latency stage" between ages six to eleven, is dangerous because students have "an excessive feeling of inadequacy and inferiority (Crain, 2011, p. 290)." It was also during this time that his younger brother and sister were born and there was a significant shift in the balance of attention at home.

      Moving into puberty has been positive for Thanh in many ways. He is now taking a second math class, Algebra, to prepare him for high school. As an eighth grade student taking on an additional class each day, Thanh was anxious about the additional expectations from his parents and teachers, but he was determined to show that he could excel in school. Taking this class, plus achieving good grades in his other classes, has improved Thanh's relationship with his parents and peers. Now Thanh has shown that he can be trustworthy. According to Kohlberg, "good behavior means having good motives and interpersonal feelings such as love, empathy, trust, and concern for others (Crain, 2011, p. 161)." Thanh, now 13 years old, is understanding morality and demonstrating healthy behaviors and interpersonal relationships.

Thanks for listening. See you soon!
Elizabeth

Reference

Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Social Development and Culture

Hello again!

Here's a little bit about me and the cultural experiences that helped shape the person I am today.

As a parent and future teacher, it is really important to me to help my children and students develop social skills. The culture we know growing up influences our ability to adapt socially. Crain places emphasis on prosocial behavior, such as sharing, helping, cooperation, and altruism, in order to influence students by exposure to the appropriate models (2011, p. 210). 

I am the youngest of two girls. My parents divorced when I was two and my sister was five years old. Prior to my birth, my parents moved from California to Illinois, then ended up in Texas where I was born and lived until age five. Just before kindergarten started for me, we moved back to California where we have lived since 1987. I had a very weak relationship with my father for my whole life, only seeing him every few years, and talking to him only occasionally on the phone. We grew slightly closer before he passed away in 2007.

My mother grew up with five brothers and sisters. She graduated high school, but very few people in my extended family have graduated from or even attended college. Her father was in the military for a short time but spent most of his life as a mechanic and her mother went to college, but I'm not sure if she earned a degree. My father also graduated from high school.

Since my mother was a single mom and my father did not consistently provide child support, my mom worked a lot. I remember that she worked three jobs when I was in kindergarten. I learned then about the values that are developed through hard work. My sister and I did not like that my mom had to work so much, but we understood that she was doing it to provide for us. My mom taught me about attitude and dedication. She never called in sick to work or complained about her situation, and she did not make excuses for why she couldn't do something. I really appreciate her modeling this behavior for me because I now have the same attitude in regards to my work. 

Just like my grandparents and parents, I grew up in a lower middle-class household. Growing up, everyone in my family was Caucasian, although we are more blended now. I attended public schools in a middle-class neighborhood with very few minorities. Some people in my extended family are more prejudiced towards others, but my mother is not and she taught me a lot about open-mindedness. We were never truly poor, but we always lived paycheck-to-paycheck. Growing up in this way taught me about prioritizing my wants from my needs. There were times that I wanted to be involved in more social situations, such as playing sports or attending social activities, but we could not afford it most of the time. We did take time to celebrate birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter ever year as an extended family. We love to eat lots of standard American foods on special occasions.

My mother's open-mindedness and lack of guidelines did play a part in regards to the rules of courtship and marriage in my family. My sister dated very young and was involved in some unhealthy relationships as a teenager, and I married my first real boyfriend by age 19 although that relationship did not last. Our choices were also shaped by a lack of a father figure in our lives since my mother never dated or remarried. As adults, my sister and I now have strong families and relationships but it took some work to get here.

I'll be back soon. See you!
Elizabeth

Reference

Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Boston, MA: Pearson.