Reflection # 10

      I believe that the instructional rubric is the most beneficial rubric style, at least for me. According to the article “What is an instructional strategy?” instructional rubric has many advantages for students. Students are able to visually see the way they will be graded, so they have a guide about what the teacher will be expecting. Students are able to see in which area they did bad, good and not that good since teachers provide feedbacks.  It’s also good for students because teachers demonstrate the ideal model about what they expect. During my high school years, almost all the teachers used this type of rubric and it was really successful.

      I prefer the alternative assessment instead of the traditional assessment. In my Biology class of 10^th grade, the teacher told us we had to choose a partner, then choose a song and then create a lyric based on the theme we were studying (humans  cells). After, we had to create a video using our lyrics with the background of the song we choose. After everyone did their projects, the teacher asked for feedback and every single student gave positive feedback.

*Question: Which type of rubric and assessment are best for kindergarten students? 

*Date: November 29, 2010

*Time: 6:48 pm

Reflection # 9

            The books that I remember reading during my childhood years are Corduroy and A Christmas Carol. Even though I think I didn’t read them at school, they influenced me. Corduroy is about a little girl that goes to a store and felt in love with a teddy bear that is missing a button on his overall. She wanted the bear, but her mother refused to buy it because she didn’t want to pay for a toy that was “damaged.” So the girl save money and buys Corduroy (the bear). She then sews a button on Corduroy’s overall. This story illustrates what’s happening in each scene with images, which help understand better what one’s is reading. It teaches the meaning of friendship and kindness.

            A Christmas Carol is my favorite picture book. My mother tells me that since I was little I have always liked it. Is about an elder man that hates Christmas and due do that four ghost appears to him. The first one advises him that three (past, present and future) ghosts, will appear to him. He learned from his spiritual experience and decides to change from a negative, selfish and lonely person to a positive and happy person.  The main theme of the story is that it teaches the real meaning of Christmas and to appreciate the one’s we love. It also teaches that all of us have a reason to be happy every day no matter how many problems we have. I love Christmas and maybe my love and excitement toward Christmas is influenced by this book.

*Question: Which of the two books is better to integrate in a lesson for elementary children? What activity about Corduroy or A Christmas Carol a teacher could make for elementary children?

*Date: November 14, 2010

*Time: 11: 59 pm

Reflection # 8

The Romare Bearden website Let’s Walk the Block is very entertaining. It is a very organized, creative and fun website. People can learn a lot from this website since it has Barden’s biography, various ways of understanding The Block and a variety of art activities for children.

It has a guide tour that explains what The Block is. It says that it is a panel collage that captures the life of a single block in Harlem. It says that this art is not literal, that it is based on Barden’s imagination. It also tells that Barden used different types of collages materials such as photographs and different types of fabrics, papers and writing utensils (paint, ink, pencil, markers and etc). It also gives people the opportunity to listen to jazz music while analyzing The Block. The website says that while listening to the jazz song, people need to observe the colors and shapes because the notes make up the art work. The website also has ways of incorporating The Block into fun activities for children. For example, for young children there is an activity called Fun Shapes in which children create their own collages using the shapes of The Block.

*Question: It would be interesting to know how much time it took Barden to create The Block

*Date: November 7, 2010

*Time: 11:51 am