Chapter 1 and 8: FIsher and Frey

     The more elements of language we use to process information, the more we learn. I think chapter one illustrates this point very well. In this chapter I learned that no matter what we are doing, it requires language to learn. I love English, but sometimes it is hard for me to explain to others why I think that teaching Language arts is so important, especially when talking to those who intend to teach high school. Many high school teachers have the mindset that there are no other options to teach students other than lecture. They look at elementary teachers and think that the only thing that keeps us from lecturing is playing games. They automatically assume that their students are too old for anything other than a lecture. This is just not the case! This chapter explains that listening, speaking, reading, writing, and viewing are all elements of language that we all must use in order to learn. It is the job of the teacher to help students apply these modes of language in other content areas in addition to English. Own its own, explicit English teaching will do no good. Students must be able to see how knowledge relates to their life and how they can apply it. The Titanic lesson was a great example of the many ways that teachers can help their students learn and apply their knowledge. This teacher not only made the story interesting to them, but also taught them how to expand their thinking on the subject and prepare for a more in depth lesson. We have talked about many of the strategies mentioned in this chapter, and I think that all of these strategies can be used even up until adulthood. Eventually, some may become a natural process. Using these strategies to teach students how to use the different forms of language is a great way to teach students how to learn on their own. The strategies that were used in this charter will help create individual and independent learners.
   Chapter 8 talked about writing to learn. I liked how the difference between the writing process and writing to learn was explained in this text. I notice that it was very clear that writing to learn involves students discovering their own writing process. I also found it interesting how the authors mentioned three types of learning that must be used in writing to learn. I never thought about it this way, but it makes since that all three levels of knowledge must be used at some point when writing in order for students to fully develop their learning ability. While it is important not to simply focus on writing as a process with a finished result, modeling is still a strategy for teaching writing to learn. Writing models are a way for students to learn how different authors write, as well as the different types of writing that is out there. Just to sum up my thoughts, writing to learn is important in all content areas, regardless of the age, subject area or ability level of the student. When students learn to make writing a habit and see it as a thought process, they are well on their way to becoming independent learners.