Similarities+&+Differences

=Read and Reflect=

P 10 I believe the purpose of asking students to compare is so they can identify specific information in the texts they are comparing. They are able to isolate the different information they are being asked to decipher and interpret by comparing two different areas or contents. I use a lot of graphic organizers in the classroom. First of all, it is a school-wide improvement strategy and every teacher in the building is required to use it several times each trimester. We were also training to use the “thinking maps” strategies in the classroom. I recently told students to create their own “thinking map”, using whichever one they preferred, and compare Chinese and American culture. It was great seeing students using graphic organizers effectively. They knew what to do and how to do it without much instruction from me. After doing it so many times with all their teachers, it has become something ingrain for these students. I know when I ask students to compare something they are not familiar with, they do not do well. It doesn’t have to be specific, but a student needs to be aware of the topics they are comparing for it to go as planned. At this moment, I do not have any questions about comparing….but that could change at any moment.

P 22 I believe the purpose of classifying in the classroom is to make the information easier to understand by creating charts or maps with the information we give the students. I don’t use a lot of classifying activities in the classroom, but when we do classification activities, it is to sort different information and make it clearer to students. In the classroom, we just classified different parts of speech and applied it to Spanish. It was easier for students to create a chart with the different parts of sentences. We did it together and they were able to study their charts for an upcoming exam. I think it worked well. It began not going well when students had to be reminded what the different parts of speech were in English, before they could identify the Spanish parts of speech. It did not go well due mostly because I had to reteach or remind them what were the parts of speech in English or their background knowledge, so that they could apply it to Spanish. I think it did not go well because I assumed they remembered. How can I use classifying in the foreign language classroom more effectively? After reading this chapter, I am wondering how can this benefit my classroom? I have them classify parts of speech, but there isn’t anything else I can think of at the moment that could apply. P 33 The purpose of creating in the classroom is so that students can understand the underlying meaning of an idea or event. I will admit, I rarely use metaphors in the classroom, and I don’t think I have ever made students create metaphors in the classroom. I know that I recently told them that verbs in Spanish were the bones of a sentence, where everything were the skin and organs to stress how important it is to know how to conjugate verbs. I do not know how to have students create metaphors in the classroom. So my question here is, “How do I use metaphors in the foreign language classroom?”

P 43 The purpose of asking students to create analogies is that they make connections with their vast knowledge and new concepts. I use graphic organizers in the classroom to help students create analogies. They chart the similarities between the new cultures we study and the one they are living. They also write about analogies, as writing is also a school-wide activity in which all classroom must stress regularly. I use analogies when comparing culture and making. Mainly, students write about the connections they make with the new culture we study and their own lives. What are some other methods to have students make analogies in the foreign language classroom?

__**Text 2 Mind Map**__

I used this website to create a classification organizer for different verbs in Spanish. It could help the visual students know the different types with examples.





__**Using bubbl.us to brainstorm in the classroom:**__

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I like this website to use as a brainstorming tool. It was easy and user friendly. Students could use at school or at home to create different study guides to share with students.