September+25th+2013


 * Minilesson ideas**
 * 1. Lessons on commonly misused words that have multiple spellings. The sentences that are used should be pulled from whatever is being read in the class at that moment. You can take out the correct uses for the words and leave blanks for the children to have to fill in or if we do it as a group in the front of the class raise their hand and answer.**


 * 2. Minilessons on the author of a book just before we read it. Ask the kids what they know and list the correct ones on the board. Then fill in the information with the notes that I've gathered. Provide a rich background that makes the author seem like a real person instead of just some historic figure that predated the students' lives.**


 * 3. a lesson on good writing habits. Some the advice will be genre specific as in things that go well in a drama, essay, or poetry. General tips such as reading writers they admire, writing every day, keeping journal, establishing a writing routine.**


 * LEA takeaway **

The biggest takeaway that I had was the idea of language as a social event. I had never really reflected on it as such. I thought of those choices as a result of culture and how things are but did not think about them as a part of language. The truth is like the book says that though they are not written down or talked about much they are taught and if they are taught it must be through language. Language after all is the way we communicate. So through language we share cues and proper behaviors with people we encounter or that share a similar background just as someone from a different culture or language background might not be aware so some of the same social language events.