My 1st Assignment...Finally!

Ok This is my 2nd attempt to post this blog! ;-p

1. What content area are you teaching? Why are you teaching this subject? My Major was English Lang and Lit, and Multicultural WMST at UMD.... Now I am Happily teaching English 3 (11th grade) and Multicultural Literature in Woodson SHS. I will be teaching Journalism next semester and I have no idea why because I have never taken a journalism course in my life!

2. What have you noticed about the students you are teaching this year? Do they have particular problems with reading or writing? What are their strengths? My students have suprised me in the way that most of them are interested in social issues like the war or voting, poverty, racism and sexism. However when it comes to writing or communicating what they want to say, they cannot articulate it, so I have started giving them vocabulary words to replace the slang that they take for granted as actual words. I have a problem with them writing the way they speak which is coloquially. The reading levels are very low in the majority of students, but they all love to read aloud and do "public speaking" assignments like debates and presentations.

3. What do you most want to learn in this course?How do I make these students better writers and readers so that I can prepare them for the SATs and College. about a third of my students are seniors and I fear that their lack writing and reading skills will be a detriment in college. They understand why it is important to improve their skills, but how do I help them improve, while keeping them all interested in the lessons?...see you all later today!