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Teaching
Follow my 9th grade English I students through a week's work of instruction in August of the 2004-2005 academic school year.
Reflections on Teaching
Document	Description
Day 1, reflections	3 Steps to Effective Teaching of Grammar with African American Students: Moore' reflections
Be honest with your students. (mm:ss) I elaborate on this advice regarding the teaching of grammar, and describe some struggles with the beginning of this particular school year. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	BE HONEST WITH STUDENTS about why standard English is necessary and why it is the "standard."
Grammar Exercise (mm:ss) Part 1: A grammar exercise from the beginning of the year. Part 2: I begin a conversation standard English with my students. Part 3: I reflect briefly on my approach to teaching grammar. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin
Take time to know your students (1) (mm:ss) I discuss getting to know students individually in and out of school, as a group, and in a pedagogical sense. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	"Take the time to know your students," Part 1
Take time to know your students (2) (mm:ss) "Getting to know students in terms of their performance..." play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Know your students well, Part 2 "Getting to know students in terms of their performance..."
"...and get to know the curriculum." (mm:ss) I reflect on how tensions between covering the curriculum v. preparing students for standardized testing affect my instruction. Also: the challenges of aligning my curricular plans with the individual needs of each student. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	"...and get to know the curriculum."
Take time to know your students (4) (mm:ss) Why is it important to get to know students? play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Why is it important to get to know students?
Who are your students? (mm:ss) The student population & school community, including role of religion and what students might face after graduation. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Who are your students?
Connecting with parents (mm:ss) I discuss connecting with parents, in particular to neutralize some community members' negative experiences with education. Also: Identifying a significant adult mentor for student support. Creating a sense of ownership. Building trust. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Connecting with parents
Don't try to cover or "fix" everything at once. (mm:ss) I discuss how I focus on a few specific skills at a time when I evaluates writing, to avoid overwhelming myself and my students. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Don't try to cover or "fix" everything at once.
Day 2, reflections	Day 2, Tape 4, Reflective Interview
Helping students gain confidence (mm:ss) Reflections on helping students gain confidence in writing. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Writing Process: Helping students gain confidence, Clip 5
Reflections: KISS Grammar Model (6) (mm:ss) "Why did you decide to use this model? What place does it have in your curriculum?" play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Reflections: KISS Grammar Model (6)
Reflections: KISS Grammar Model (7) (mm:ss) "How does grammar fit into the larger context of your curriculum?" [Longer video; may take some time to load.] play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Reflections: KISS Grammar Model (7)
Reflections: KISS Grammar Model (8) (mm:ss) "Is your teaching of grammar representative of your teaching in other curricular areas?" play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Reflections: KISS Grammar Model (8)
Assessing student writing (mm:ss) I discuss assessment of student writing in general. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Assessing student writing samples
Assessing student writing (2) (mm:ss) I discuss student essays 1-5, above. Includes a discussion of how standardized testing affects how I approach the teaching of writing. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Assessing student writing samples #1-5
Assessing student writing (3) (mm:ss) I continue discussion of student essays, including how to address "errors" when students try to venture into new territory as writers. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Assessing student writing samples #1-5, cont'd
Assessing student writing (4) (mm:ss) I discuss a piece of student work that is particularly problematic (#5) because the work is still in a very early stage. This particular type of writing tends to trouble new teachers because they may make the mistake of trying to "polish" a draft that is really a piece of free-writing that needs more work. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Assessing student writing sample #5
Day 4, reflections	Day 4, Tape 2, Reflective Interview
Reflections (1) (mm:ss) I reflect on individual conferences during Writers' Workshop. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Individual conferences during Writers' Workshop.
Reflections (2) (mm:ss) I reflect on setting up procedures for successful Writers' Workshop. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Setting up procedures for successful Writers' Workshop.
Student Work
Student Letters
Assessing Student Work
Draft "influence" essays
Writers' Workshop conferences
Intellectual Context and Materials
Document	Description
	Circles of Influence: My Research Journey Into Culturally Engaged Instruction In this paper, I chronicle how my struggle with teaching Standard English in the Mississippi Delta becomes the impetus to develop “culturally engaged instruction” for African American students. Related Link: Going Public with Our Teaching
	Between a Rock and a Hard Place: African Americans and Standard English WARNING: It is extremely hazardous to attempt the use of any teaching method or technique without careful consideration of the theory(ies) upon which that practice is based. Between a Rock and a Hard Place is the product of my initial research into the issues surrounding the teaching of standard English to African American students. What I learned from the review of literature and from my own classroom investigations inform everything else I do in my teaching. Although my focus was on Black students, many of the findings apply across cultural lines.
Journal excerpt	Notes from My Teaching Journal, 9/9/97 - 2/21/01 I have kept a teaching journal from the time I started student teaching.  Here are some excerpts from my journals that are particularly related to my research and some of the discoveries and struggles related to it.
School Context: Perspectives from the school community
Document	Description
Mr. Ford, Clip 1 (mm:ss) Hear Mr. Ford's perspective on Broad Street High School and the school community. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Community Perspective: Talking with Mr. Ford, School Principal, Clip 1 --Introduction. --Comments on Mr. Ford’s dual role as administrator and pastor --About the school district & community: economic conditions, athletics and academics, and more --Priorities & concerns of the parent community --Mr. Ford’s 3-step plan for increasing student scores
Mr. Ford, Clip 2 (mm:ss) Hear Mr. Ford's perspective on teaching and new teachers. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Community Perspective: Talking with Mr. Ford, School Principal, Clip 2 --What makes a good teacher? --What would teachers new to the community need to know to teach effectively? --Closing thoughts
Dr. Hawkins, Introduction (mm:ss) Talking with Dr. Dennis J. Hawkins, Introduction play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Community Perspective: Talking with Dr. Dennis J. Hawkins Reverend Hawkins provides his perspective on Shelby's community in the clips that follow. Talking with Dr. Dennis J. Hawkins, Introduction
Dr. Hawkins, Clip 1 (mm:ss) Clip 1: job prospects for students, the role of religion and faith in the community members' lives; economic conditions. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Talking with Dr. Dennis J. Hawkins, Clip 1: job prospects for students, the role of religion and faith in the community members' lives; economic conditions
Dr. Hawkins, Clip 2 (mm:ss) Clip 2: economic conditions; the church's emphasis on the importance of education; encouraging students of color to pursue teaching. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Talking with Dr. Dennis J. Hawkins, Clip 2: economic conditions; the church's emphasis on the importance of education; encouraging students of color to pursue teaching
Dr. Hawkins, Clip 3 (mm:ss) Clip 3: changes that took place in the schools during the time of integration play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Talking with Dr. Dennis J. Hawkins, Clip 3: changes that took place in the schools during the time of integration
Dr. Hawkins, Clip 4 (mm:ss) Clip 4: more about the "academies" of the South; advice for white teachers teaching students of color; comments on racism in the present-day South. play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Talking with Dr. Dennis J. Hawkins, Clip 4: more about the "academies" of the South; advice for white teachers teaching students of color; comments on racism in the present-day South
Dr. Hawkins, Clip 5 (mm:ss) Clip 5: more about the Shelby community play Quicktime Player high • low get plugin Windows Media high • low get plugin	Talking with Dr. Dennis J. Hawkins, Clip 5: more about the Shelby community