Developing a Student’s Identity
I will guide student-driven and authentic experiences through the
support of classroom activities and parent communication.
As part of an extra credit assignment, I had students create a replica of DNA to help them understand
the structure of DNA just as Watson and Crick did half a century ago. Each student provided a different
approach and amount of detail into the project. The student above allowed me to keep his work as an
example for future classes because he wanted other students to know how much work you could put
into a project. I personally found his DNA model interesting because he was not a student that
maintained a constant performance in my classroom. But, by doing this project I was able to learn more
about him and his understanding of the material. Where I had thought he did not understand the
material in class, he displayed that he needed the material rearranged to be more visual.
Developing a Student’s Identity Artifacts
Learning Strategy: Readers’ Theatre
Not every student likes to read or be read too, but there are other ways to reach a variety of students.
In my literacy pedagogy class, I found out about Readers’ Theatre. As seen in the step by step part of
the artifact, students break down the reading into sections and act them out to the class or read the text
with emphasis on important points. In applying this in my classroom, I found that students were better
able to retain information when they had read the material and were required to develop a “scene” of
how they understood the material. This provided greater memory retention on tests and developing
class discussions afterwards because students were able to apply oral, visual and kinesthetic strategies
to the material. They were students teaching their peers and a majority of the time provided deeper
insight than a first reading of the material because they were in a position where they were forced to
use the vocabulary and make material real to them.
Readers’ Theatre
Functions
This is used as a during or after reading strategy. It provides repeated reading practice which helps to
build fluency with the subject. Using this strategy repeatedly aids in student confidence and builds a
taste for reading by helping them to comprehend the material.
Step by Step
The scripts can be scripted by the teacher or borrowed from a textbook for the students to work in small
groups. The students rehearse their portion of the script to perform dramatically later in the class. They
are to emphasize important points of their text by highlighting main points or key ideas using more than
one person to say that information.
Application
This strategy can be used in any classroom environment. A couple suggestions would be in an English
classroom to make a play more understandable and relatable. In a history class, this could be used to
emphasize the important points of the unit or a way to read artifacts such as letters aloud so that the
students connect with the topic. For a biology class, this would be used to insert some excitement into
the boring material that is being covered, but provides an outlet for the students to grasp the main
concept of the lesson.
Bibliography
“Fisher, Douglas B., William G. Brozo, Nancy Frey and Gay Ivey. 50 Content Area Strategies for
Adolescent Literacy (50 Teaching Strategies Series). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.
“Reader’s Theatre.” Literacy Connections: Promoting Literacy and a Love of Reading. 2001-2009. Web. 5
October 2009. <http://www.literacyconnections.com/ReaderTheater.php>.
“Reader’s Theatre.” International Reading Association. 2002-2009. Web. 5 October 2009.
<http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=172>.
The Fall of Rome (from classzone.com- the teacher’s CD guide to the textbook)
Handout
A Century of Crisis



Historians generally agree that the end of the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180
c.e.) marked the end of two centuries of peace and prosperity, known as Pax Romana.
The ruler that followed in the next century had little or no idea of how to deal with giant empire
and its growing problems.
As a result, Rome began to decline.
Rome’s Economy Weakens







During the third century c.e., several factors prompted the weakening of Rome’s economy.
Hostile tribes outside the boundaries of the empire and pirates on the Mediterranean Sea
disrupted trade.
Having reached their limit of expansion, the Romans lacked new sources of gold and silver.
Desperate for revenue, the government raised taxes. It also started minting coins that
contained less and less silver.
It hoped to create more money with same amount of precious metal.
However, the economy soon suffered from inflation, a drastic drop in the value of money
coupled with a rise in prices.
Agriculture faced equally serious problems.



Harvests in Italy and Western Europe became increasingly meager because overworked soil had
lost its fertility.
What’s more, years of war had destroyed much farmland.
Eventually, serious food shortages and disease spread, and the population declined.
Military and Political Turmoil









By the third century c.e., the Roman military was also in disarray.
Over time, Roman soldiers in general had become less disciplined and loyal.
They gave their allegiance not to Rome but to their commanders, who fought amongst
themselves for the throne.
To defend against the increasing threats to the empire, the government began to recruit
mercenaries, foreign soldiers who fought for money.
While mercenaries would accept lower pay than Romans, they felt little sense of loyalty to the
empire.
Feelings of loyalty eventually weakened among average citizens as well.
In the past, Romans cared so deeply about their republic that they willingly sacrificed their lives
for it.
Conditions in the later centuries of the empire caused citizens to lose their sense of patriotism.
They became indifferent to empire’s fate.
Parent-Teacher Communication
During my ecology unit, I decided to show the movie, The Cove, that was rate PG-13 (above the
students’ age), but the movie has a great deal of blood and scenes where people were malicious to
dolphins. This is not something that I wanted parents to hear about in passing at the dinner table so I
sent a letter home explaining the reasoning and content of the movie. Only about half of every class
had the slip signed. So on the day of the movie, I had each student that did not have a signed slip call
their parent. I spoke with the parent about the content and my desire to have them aware of what was
going on in my classroom. Practically every parent I spoke with appreciated the fact that I was keeping
them involved in their student’s education and of course wanted to check in on how their student was
doing in my class. I told them that I had a website that they could contact me on at any point and I
would get back to them as soon as possible. This later helped me reach some of the students I was
having some difficulty with because I was able to have the parents and I on the same page when
handling their son or daughter. Parents usually are the ones that know your students best. It is
counterproductive to leave the parents out of the developmental and educational experiences of their
son or daughter.
The Cove Consent Form
March 30, 2010
Dear Parent/Guardian,
The last two weeks your student has been studying ecology and its
relationships. They are now at the point where they must consider the
negative impacts humans are capable of causing on the environment. With
that, I have selected the movie The Cove (2009), which is rated PG-13. I
understand the majority of the students are above the age group, but I
wanted to make you aware of the fact that there is a scene where the cove
observed is completely red from blood and another where a dolphin dies
from the aspects of being caught.
This movie has been approved by Mrs. Pauli for the course. I have no fear
that the material provides a great example of one way humans cause
negative impacts, but I wanted you to be made aware of a possible
discussion at home. If there are any desires to have your student not see
this movie, an alternative assignment will be provided in the movie’s place.
Thank you for your time!
Best,
Rebecca Denison
My student, ________________________, is (see below ) to watch the move The Cove.
Please circle one:
ALLOWED
NOT ALLOWED
Signature:_________________________________________________ Date:____________________
Doodling in Class
Towards the end of my student teaching experience, I had a new student arrive in my class. She was
really quiet and reserved, but when she spoke she knew exactly what she was talking about. In addition,
I began to notice her doodling on the worksheets, as seen beside, and notes taken in class. They were
always filled with phrases like “broken promises,” “country babe,” “baby j.,” short for baby joker, and
“Georgia.” I came to realize that she really was not adjusting to her new environment from these and
spoke with her on the side about them. She told me she was bored because this was material she had
covered at school in Georgia and that she found Jackson too city-like. I asked her if there was anything
she would like further information or detail on in class. She provided me with a list of things she really
did not understand and I was able to adapt the list into my lesson plans. She was already sure of what
she wanted and how she defined herself, but by supporting her in those beliefs I was able to develop a
positive environment for her grow and fit in because there was no need to change who she was.