MY PORTFOLIO

Umut Kakeeva

Portfolio Outline

1) Who I am as a teacher? 2) Fieldwork Reflections 3) Lesson Plans 4) Strategy Sheets 5) Culture Sharing 6) RESOURCES FROM MENTOR TEACHER

Who I am as a teacher? 

As teacher I am WHO:   1) .....cares about the students 2) .....listens about the students' concerns 3) ....  cares about how to the students develop as a whole people. 4).....strive to develop the students into self teachers. 5) ....knows the material and presents it well. 6) .....is a self teacher of her. 7) ....strives to develop the students into self motivated individuals. 8)..... Challenges the students. 9)..... Stretches the students 10) ... works with others to accomplish goals (other teachers, students and parents, etc) 11) ... can help my students to develop, achieve, and maintain strong self esteem. ..... I know that each of my students is somebody's precious child. I know that every parent has high hopes, valid concerns and great expectations for that child. I hope that I can help them and gain their confidence.

Personal Reflections/Fieldwork Reflections

The school where I have my fieldworks is J.E.B. Stuart high school. The day I met with Ruth who is the leader of ESOL department. There are 11 ESOL teachers and more than 350 ESOL students. Ruth showed us their staff room and introduced us our mentor teachers.

My mentor teacher June Ba teaches literature, language and geography. She seemed very experienced teacher and what is interesting with her she was a PC volunteer in Africa and worked there for 10 years. So has experience working with international kids. Because her students are from different countries and backgrounds.

The first day she introduced me the around the school. She showed me classrooms, computer rooms, library, school cafeteria, gym and many others. I have noticed lots of differences between this school and my school. Here classrooms are better supplied students use textbooks for free, school has its own security department, also school has special department for (disabled) which works in the afternoons

Lesson Plans

Saint Valentine’s Day Lesson (lesson plan 1)

(For the students of Grade 10)

Teacher: Dear students! You know that at English lessons we try to celebrate different English and American holidays to study not only language but the life and traditions of English speaking countries.

Today we have our St. Valentine’s love lesson. You know that love is one of the most outstanding feelings. Nobody can explain what it means love. But I ask you choose of these cards, read and explain how you understand what love means.

The students choose cards with the sentences about love and comment them. For example, “Love is feeling like flying happiness” or “ Love doesn’t depend on age”

Teacher: The 14th of February is St. Valentine’s Day. This day has roots in several legends. Please. Read one of the legends. (The students read the story about the history of this day)

The teacher asks the questions to be sure they have understood the text:

What is the symbol of this day? Whom did St. Valentine send his message? What is the shape of the valentine card? What did an Italian Valentine do contrary to the emperor’s will? Why he was beheaded? What did the young men do during Roman holiday? Where do the children put their valentine cards?

Those students who answer right get sweets in the shape of hearts.

Teacher:

This day men and women, boys and girls, and friends write the cards and give presents to each other.

Sometimes they write Valentine poems for example such as:

Roses are red

Violets are blue,

Sugar is sweet

And so are you

Lilies are white

Rosemary’s green.

If you are King,

I am you Queen.

Then the students try to write their own poems using 2 words: true- you, heart- smart, kiss- miss, sky-shy etc.

At the end of the lesson the game” Love at first sight”

The students take the sheets of paper in the shape of hearts: red hearts for girls and blue hearts for boys.

Then the teacher asks them 5 questions and they write the answers. Those students who gave the same answers are become the ideal pair.

What is your favorite color?

Do you like to read?

What is your sign of zodiac?

What animal do you like?

What music do you prefer to listen to?

Etc.

The ideal pair is awarded with the souvenirs.

During the lesson the students listen to some songs: “Yesterday” “ Let me call you sweetheart”.

We love nature (lesson plan 2)

Level: Advanced

Time: 45 minutes

Participants: 15 students

Materials used: Posters, charts, markers, flipchart

Objectives: Students will design their own rules how to protect the nature

To improve language skills

Warm up: Brainstorming (what is nature?)

Presentation: 1) How will you contribute to protect the nature?)

2) Students divide into groups.3) 15 minutes for preparation ( they can present through drawing, role plays, essays, poems, it depends their creativity)4) Each group make presentations

Practice: Station Rotation

Lesson Plan 3

Intern: POE MIDDLE SCHOOL Grade Level: 6

Title: Animals Date October 22, 2007

I. Objectives: In thinking about animals the following content might be identified:

1. Kind of animals/classification2. Physical characteristics of animals,3. Animals habitats,4. Animal life cycle.

Goals:

Identify variety animals by name(this is a cat-that is dog) Describe animals according to their size, colour, how they move. Classify animals according to where they live. Label and describe the growth of animals from birth through adulthood.

II. Materials for Learning Activities: Pictures ,real visuals(as egg, baby bird,)life cycle cards.

III .Procedures for Learning Activities

Activity 1 Pair work

Bingo Children receive cards with pictures of animals and table of animals’ names on them.

The task is to set the picture on the table by the name. Which pair finishes first?

Activity2 individually work

Memory guessing game: What I have?

Teacher puts the pictures on the table. One student takes any picture and asks the others” what I have? The students ask him/her/ different questions about animals and find out the animal from the

Picture

Activity3. Classification .Group work.

Thinking about classification of animals children in groups might receive sets of cards with pictures of animals on them. Each group would be asked to put the animals into groups based on the children idea of why/how the animals go together

Activity 4

The children have received sets of life cycle cards. Their tasks are first put the cards together in groups (all of one’s that depict a bird for example) and then to sequence them. When the children completed the task, they share what they have done to see if they all in agreement or if there are differences

IV. AssessmentBy the end of every activity the teacher gives feedback and praises the children.

LESSON PLAN # 4Intern: Tasleema Begum Grade Level: IX

Title: “Save the Earth” Subject: English

Skills: Reading with comprehension, recitation

RATIONALE:I planned this lesson on environmental education for class nine. In this lesson, the

strategy, which I used for teaching the lesson, was to infuse environmental education concepts into English using a poem titled “SAVE THE EARTH” which I collected from one of my colleague. The reasons for selecting this poem was in this poem a quiet number of environmental issues and concepts are included, which I thought would be easily taught and understood by the students. Moreover, I believe the use of poem is a useful technique for developing environmental awareness among the students. Beside this, when students will recite the poem several times, they will grasp the main idea or the message very quickly and always remember it.

Objective: By the end of the lesson the students will be able to:

Understand the importance of saving the environment

Understand their responsibilities towards environment

Express their opinions through speaking

Develop reading skills

Develop social skills such as sharing ideas by using of soft voices and listening to each other.

Teacher’s Resources: Charts depicting two kinds of environment

A poem on Earth

Whiteboard, marker, etc.

Students’ Resources: Hand-outs

Task sheets

A poem “Save the Earth”

LESSON DEVELOPMENT

Activity # 1

Warm – up activity: The teacher will display two charts, depicting two different kinds of environment: clear one and polluted one. Teacher will then discuss the different features of these two environment and as questions like:

What differences can you see in these two pictures?

What is the reason for this difference?

In which of these two worlds would you like to live? Why?

The teacher will announce the topic and write it on the black board.

The class will be divided into five groups of five students in each group.

The teacher will distribute the text and task sheet based on poem “Save the Earth”

Activity # 2 Teacher will ask one student (as volunteer) to recite the poem and request others to listen

attentively. After the recitation, teacher will ask the meaning of key terms that students might find difficult to understand. Through classroom discussion teacher will explain the meaning of difficult words.

Teacher will then distribute the task sheets with questions like:

What according to the poet is our duty?

How can we save the water from being wasted?

Why doesn’t the poet want the animals to be killed?

Students will discuss with the group members and write down their findings.

Activity # 3 Teacher will instruct the students to present their opinion “How we could save our

Earth?”

Through group work teacher will activate the students.

Students will present their responses in variety of ways i.e. role play, graphic organizer, making poster, etc.

Feedback: Teacher will appreciate students’ presentation and give them constructive feedback.

Home work: Write an essay (300 words) why we need to save the Earth?

SAVE THE EARTHOh yes it’s the environment,

We are taking it towards retirement,

Just for the sake of fun,

We kill the animals with gun.

We live under the sun,

And on its land we run.

To look after its beauty,

It is our duty.

To leave this natal sod transferable,

We are to God answerable.

Since its evolution,

It has been undergoing revolution.

We must think of some solution,

For the resulting pollution.

May God grant us the sense?

To make the forest dense.

It’s the gift we have gained.

It needs to be sustained.

For one day we will die.

Under the earth we shall lie.

We must, therefore, leave some

For the others who will come.

How will they know?

That it was white as snow.

Make the springs and streams pure

For the livings to endure.

Let us not destroy the beauty around us,

As it is, surely, not just for us.

It’s time to wake up folks,

Let not your cars smoke.

Let not the water waste,

In hurry or in haste.

As a result of deliberation,

I have come to the conclusion,

That we have to bring about a revolution,

To do away with the pollution,

Written by: Nighat Jabeen

TASK SHEET

Lesson Plan # 5

Intern: Tasleema Begum Grade Level: 7 – 8

Title: Pollution Date: ___________

Strategy: Multiple Intelligences

Overview: During the past hundred years, due to new technologies the world has changed in many ways. Some changes have improved the quality of life and health for the human being. Others have affected people’s health care adversely causing different kinds of pollution that have harmed the environment.

Purpose: As the future of our country, children need to be able to identify the types of pollution, the sources of pollution, and how they can protect the environment from future pollutant.

Objectives: By the end of the lesson students will be able to:

Identify and discuss different kinds of pollution

Identify and discuss the sources of pollution

Discuss and explain why it is important to keep the environment free of pollution.

Resources/Materials: lesson vocabulary cards, photographs of water, air, and land pollution, chart paper, "Let's Stop Pollution" poster, poster board, crayons, markers, variety of sizes of cardboard boxes, poster or tempera paint, Kleenex, soap, water, variety of pollution bumper stickers.

Teacher will divide the class into heterogeneous groups of no more than four students. Teacher will make sure that each group has one student with strong reading ability, one with artistic ability, and a leader. Each group will should also have an assigned work area in the classroom where they can conduct their works. Teacher will make sure that each group should have a set of the materials listed in the Resources section.

Activities and Procedures:

Linguistic/Spatial intelligences (How can I use the key terms on pollution, How can I use visual aids/visualization/color/art or metaphor?)

1. The Teacher will begin the activities by displaying and reviewing the lesson vocabulary. (Pollution, surroundings, litter, environment)

2. The teacher will discuss the displayed pictures of water, air, and land pollution. Students will identify what is wrong in each of the pictures displayed. Teacher will write students responses underneath each of the pictures. Teacher will remind the students that pollution is anything that harms our surroundings and that people cannot survive without clean air, water, and land. Stress that pollution is a responsibility and concern of all people in every community.

3. Ask students to "Brainstorm" to complete a list of ways that they can help to stop pollution. Examples: not put garbage into the lakes and streams, walk or ride bikes whenever possible, pick up litter). List the students’ responses on a poster titled "Let's Stop Pollution".

Teacher will stress that because so many important things in the surroundings are shared by people in other communities, everyone must work to stop pollution of the air, water, and land.

Students will then have a variety of activities to teach them about the causes and effects of pollution.

1. Teacher will provide students with a half sheet of posterboard and crayons. Teacher will instruct the students to make a poster to inform others about pollution. Display the posters around the school. (Spatial intelligence)

2. Teacher will provide students with boxes and paint. Teacher will instruct the students to make "litter boxes" with labels and decorations that state why it is important not to litter. Place the boxes in areas around the school or home. (Bodily-Kinesthetic /Spatial intelligences)

3. Teacher will instruct the students wash the outside of a window that is easy to reach. A few days later, teacher will ask the students to wipe the same window with a clean tissue. Teacher will make groups and instruct the students to discuss possible reasons the window became dirty. (Air pollution) (Linguistic/Bodily-kinesthetic/Interpersonal intelligences)

4. Provide students with materials to make replicas of bumper stickers illustrating warnings and laws concerning pollution. Suggestions: NO LITTERING, NO TRUCKS, NO DUMPING, NO BURNING. (Naturalist intelligence)

OR. Teacher will take the students for Fieldtrips to local companies or industries that deal with pollution prevention. After field visit students will write 2 pages report on how to prevent pollution. (Naturalist/Intrapersonal intelligences)

5. In group students will be instructed to make jingle to raise the awareness regarding the causes and effects of pollution. Teacher will provide key terms on pollution i.e. pollution, surrounding, litter,

environment, etc). Students will present their jingle in front of the class. (Musical Intelligence)

6. In group students will be instructed to analyze the impact of “World Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Country, 1990 – 2025 (Chart)” of different countries on environment using number. (Logical-mathematical intelligence)

IV. Assessment:

Student Assessment/Reflections

Informally Teacher will assess students’ comprehension during class discussions. Teacher will monitor how well students comprehend by sharing their ideas and what they are learning about pollution based on their responses.

Assess how well students are able to follow instructions and work cooperatively during the group work with a check list.

Collect and assess the Cause and Effect Graphic Organizer (See the Attachment). Teacher will check the Cause and Effect Graphic Organizer for how well students were able to make connections

between the cause and various effects of water pollution on water systems. Extra points should be given for any responses that were not discussed in class.

VI. Reflection: After the class teacher will write the reflection.

Lesson Plan (Lesson plan #6)

Topic: Values

Level: intermediate.

Grade: 10-11.

Goals: To teach school students to appreciate different values.

Objective: Students will be able to identify values that everyone has in

common.

Materials: posters, papers, markers.

Brain storm: Ask students to give the definition for the word “value”.

Ask what do you value?

Mind map. Teacher writes on the board students give ideas.

Pre activity: student work in pair tells each other about their values.

Ask the class to rank the values in accordance with their priority(1-most important value,4- the least important value)

Activity: Divide the class into 4 groups and put 4 posters with one headline.

Ask the students to come up to the poster with one value they gave

Priority to.

Students make a project design on the including explanations and the roles of the value in their life.

Post activity: Students do presentation with the group.

Home work. Ask students to ask their parents, siblings about their values.

Write essay about “our values”.

Strategy Sheets

Choose a method or strategy that you have learned about or observed during field experience.

Name of method or strategy:

Using Prior Knowledge to Read Expository Text

1. When is this method or strategy useful?

For reading comprehension exercises or assignments

2. Why or how is this method or strategy useful?

You will learn how to use your prior knowledge to comprehend and remember some materials in the

text.

3. What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?

1) Look for the text aids and clues about the information you might find in the text. Give a question to

yourself?

What I know about the text aids?

2) Start reading

3) As you come to new information ask yourself “What do I know about the information?”

4) Ask yourself “What I have learned?”

Please write notes to each question.

4. When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?

Presenting the new text material

Useful for individual reading

Improves reading comprehension

5. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or strategy

students?

I would like them to use this strategy in their lessons.

Name of method or strategy:

PARTS OF SPEECH SCUVENGER HUNT

1. When is this method or strategy useful?

It is useful in revision lessons.

2. Why or how is this method or strategy useful?

First it is fun for students because it is as a competition game.

Then students work in teams (groups) and at the same time they reinforce their knowledge which

they get from the previous lessons.

Last it helps students to be creative, quick and friendly.

3. What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?

1) Students divide into groups (teams)

2) Teacher gives to each team a list of parts of speech questions to find around the school or in the

classroom. For example: 4 nouns in the classroom, 6 verbs in teachers’ room, 10 adjectives in the

canteen, 3 interjections in the biology classroom etc

3) Teacher assigns the time and rules as to be friendly and not to be loud in the outside

4) The team who finds the first will be the winner and get some presents

5) Each group will present their project

4. When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?

In revision lessons

5. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or strategy?

I want them to use in their lessons

Name of method or strategy:

Fun Questions with Playing Cards

1. When is this method or strategy useful?

In revision lessons

While taking quiz

For assessing the students

2. Why or how is this method or strategy useful?

First it is fun way of assessing the students.

Additionally students can practice their vocabulary (they can revise the card

signs and numbers)

3. What are the steps involved in using this strategy or method?

1) Teacher prepares questions for each card sign. For example: Queen heart- What is the opposite

meaning of day?

2) In this way each students can choose cards and answer the questions.

3) Sometimes I add some fun questions as “Say a proverb about friendship”, “Sing a song” and

others. It depends the teacher’s creativity.

4. When would this method or strategy be useful in your setting?

At the end of the quarter or semester.

5. What would you like other teachers in your school to know about this method or strategy?

I would like other teachers will use it because it is more interesting and different way of assessing

than regular ones.

Name of Strategy: Question-Answer Relationship

Question- answer relationship QAR) is strategy that helps students identify the type of questions they are being asked to answer after reading. Students learn to deal with four types of questions:

RIGHT THERE: The words used in the question and the words used for the answer can usually be found in the same sentences.

THINK AND SEARCH: The answer is in the text, but the words used in the question and those used for the answer are not in the same sentence.

ON YOUR OWN: The answer is not in the text, and can even be answered without reading the story.

AUTHOR AND YOU: The answer is found through combining what the reader already knows with the information in the text.

Teaching Tips: Reading Comprehension Strategies

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Title: Teaching Tips: Reading Comprehension Strategies

Description: These sites offer various strategies to improve reading comprehension for students at all grade levels. Includes many online stories and questions to test reading comprehension. There is a reading comprehension inventory and research articles on this topic. Many pages can be printed out and used in the classroom. Some of the tips include KWL charts, story maps, word maps, and story pyramids. There are also links to eThemes Resources on graphic organizers, guided reading, and literature circles.

Grade Level: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Resource Links:

Reading Comprehension This site offers worksheets to help students comprehend the material. Click on the red buttons to open the links. This site is for grades 3-5.

Reading Quest A variety of strategies to improve reading comprehension are included on this site. Click on the links for explanations and handouts.

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Story Map This story map graphic can be used for any story to help students better understand the material.

Reading Comprehension Worksheets Use these sample stories to help students improve their reading comprehension. Includes questions at the end of each story. The reading material targets upper elementary students and above. NOTE: Site contains advertisements.

Shuttle Photography Activity Junior high and high school students can read this article and test their reading comprehension.

Story Pyramid Students can fill out a story pyramid to help improve their comprehension of the story. This exercise can be used with all grade levels.

KWL KWL (Know, Want to know, want to Learn)is a strategy for improving reading comprehension. This activity explains how to use a KWL chart to utilize this strategy.

ABC Teach: Comprehension Exercise This is a story about George W. Bush for middle school students that includes comprehension questions.

ABC Teach: Reading Comprehension: Middle/High School

Click on the links to read stories and then answer the comprehension questions. These stories are for middle/high school students.

ABC Teach: Reading Comprehension, Grades 4-6 Choose one of the following categories: "Fictional," "Holidays/Seasonal," and "Informational." Once you select a category, click on a title to read a story and then answer the questions. These stories are for students in grades 4-6.

Reading Comprehension Worksheets This site has several handouts with short stories followed by questions that test reading comprehension. These stories are for students in grades 3-5. NOTE: The site has a pop-up ad.

Reading Online This is the official site for a scholary journal sponsored by the International Reading Association. Read these articles for the latest studies on reading.

Reading Online Scroll down to read this research article about reading comprehension and how it can be improved. A reference list is included.

School-Home Links Reading Links This page has activities for beginning readers to test their comprehension and other reading skills. The focus is on first-grade students.

Scaffolding Comprehension Strategies Using Graphic Organizers

Four strategies for comprehending reading are introduced to students through modelling and whole class instruction in this lesson for grades 6-8.

eThemes Resource: Teaching Tips: Graphic Organizers These sites have printable and interactive graphic organizers to be used in the classroom. Includes KWL charts, webs, clusters, timelines, outlines, fish diagrams, story maps, comparing charts, cause and effect charts, and more. Some sites explain how and why to use graphic organizers in the classroom.

eThemes Resource: Teaching Tips: Literature Circles These sites explain the benefits of using literature circles to have students discuss books. Includes tips and handouts on how to organize the groups, how to lead discussions, and how to assess student participation. Learn about the different student roles and their discussion duties. There is a link to an eThemes Resource on guided reading.

eThemes Resource: Teaching Tips: Guided Reading These sites offer information about guided reading for primary and upper elementary grade levels. Read a case study, plus see how teaching strategies and tips have been implemented in different classrooms. Topics include the Four Blocks teaching method with emphasis on the guided reading and self-selected reading blocks. Also learn how to assign levels to books.

Education Standards:

MO Standards: 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 1.10, 2, 3, 5

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Reviewed December 7, 2004.Copyright © 2003-2007 eMINTS and The Curators of the University of Missouri. DMCA information.Site Information: Copyright, accessibility, privacy and other information about this site.Contact emints-info@emints.org.

Teaching StrategiesThe Cornerstones Lesson Guide suggests instructional practices that will help

students benefit the most from a Cornerstones teaching unit. This supplement

explains the terms used in the Guide.

Read Aloud/Think Aloud: Make Your Thinking Visible

Comprehension Questions

Shared Reading and Guided Reading

Story Grammar

Writing

Build Word Knowledge

Teach Words Conceptually

Classroom Visual Aids

The Cornerstones Lesson Guide recommends daily reading aloud, shared and/or

guided reading, and independent reading. The purpose of read-aloud is to foster

enjoyment of a story and comprehension on several levels. Shared reading and

guided reading are ways that the teacher can give students practice and feedback as

they learn decoding and comprehension strategies. At the other end of the reading

continuum, students apply all that they know about reading when they read

independently. The ideal combination of these approaches depends on the difficulty

of the reading material and the reading skills of the students.

Read Aloud/Think Aloud: Make Your Thinking VisibleWhen you read aloud or present a video of the story, stop to model comprehension

strategies for your students. Let them see what effective readers do inside their

heads. For example, when the fox says, "Look at that beautiful bird!" you may be

thinking, Who is the fox talking to? Is the crow beautiful? Why would the fox say

that? Does the crow believe it? Would you? etc. These questions show the students

how you reflect on the story, words, pictures, or language. They show how you

begin to make predictions about what will happen next.

When reading to young children, you may want to do such a think-aloud strategy

during each reading. Each time choose a different section to open up for

discussion, following the same order that concepts are presented in the Lesson

Guide. It is best to think aloud during reading (rather than when you have finished

reading) at the actual point in the story that raises questions in your head.

Comprehension QuestionsImplicit in the think-aloud process is the use of questions. Ask the children openended

questions that start with Why and How, as well as Who, What, Where, and

Did/Do/Does. Encourage the children to ask their own questions, using a variety

of question forms.

There are three broad types of questions, and students should be exposed to all

types:

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1) The answer is explicit in the text. You ask, "What did the crow have in her

beak?" The text says, "The crow had a piece of cheese in her beak."

2) The answer is implicit in the text and requires critical thinking. You ask, "Why

did the crow drop the cheese?" The children need to think about what happened

just before she dropped the cheese and what caused her to open her mouth.

3) The answer is not in the text but is in our experience. You ask, "How did the

crow feel about losing her cheese?" The word "unfortunately" provides a clue. Also,

maybe the children have lost something or had to give something up because they

were tricked. They can remember how they felt or imagine how they would feel in

such a situation.

Shared Reading and Guided ReadingYou are aware of what the students know and you can use this information as you

read aloud. In shared reading, you invite them to apply their skills, setting them up

for success. Stop at particular points in the text and ask someone to help you read.

Emphasis here is on the print so point to what you are reading. Stop reading and

encourage children to read independently where you know they can be successful.

Also, encourage students to volunteer to participate in the reading. When students

come to a word they know, they can say or sign it aloud. Then you pick up with

reading aloud until you come to another section of text which the students or one

student can read independently.

In guided reading, the student takes the lead, reading as best he or she can until

coming to an unknown word. The teacher encourages the student to decode the

word, looking at spelling patterns, using structural analysis (attending to a prefix or

suffix, for example) or employing other strategies.

Story GrammarA Cornerstones unit is designed so that teachers and students study one aspect of

story grammar in depth each day; for example, characters, setting, problem,

solution, outcome.

Knowing the common structure that most stories follow can help students

remember the details of a story. Typically, the story takes place at a point in time

and in a certain location (the setting), there are characters, a problem and

response, a resolution and sometimes a moral. One graphical organizer that you

can use to good effect is a five-pointed star (see Graphical Organizer Section).

WritingWriting facilitates the development of reading and reading facilitates the

development of writing. The Cornerstones Lesson Guide recommends that

children write every day and suggests writing activities involving individual words,

sentences, and longer pieces, according to the children's skills. When children

write, they engage with words and ideas and explore new meanings— they

communicate. With pencil in hand, children can ponder an idea, change their mind,

and devote time to expressing themselves clearly. Writing is a tangible way for a

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child to demonstrate to teachers and peers what he or she knows. For children who

are not fluent with English, it is also a critical window by which the teacher can

glimpse gaps in knowledge or understanding.

It is important for you, the teacher, to model what you do when you write. Use

shared and guided writing (which follow the same principles as shared and guided

reading) and independent writing. Give children feedback on their writing.

Feedback sessions should be interactive so that children learn to evaluate their own

writing and put themselves in the shoes of their readers. Don't overwhelm children;

focus on some low-level skills, such as spelling, punctuation and grammar, as well

as some high-level skills, such as organization, expressive language and clarity of

ideas. Give them a chance to improve their skills, and let them know when their

written work has gotten better.

Writing templates are in the Activity Workbook of the Teacher Resources section

on the Cornerstones Web site.

Build Word KnowledgeWhat does it mean to know a word? You can know a single common meaning or

multiple meanings. A person's word knowledge is incremental; people grow in their

understanding of words through exposure over time, continually building a

conceptual field that surrounds a word. The conceptual field entails its primary and

secondary meanings, as well as nuances, usage, compond components, synonyms,

antonyms, and figurative language. Good readers know a substantial number of

words and quite a bit about the words.

The Cornerstones Lesson Guide introduces only a handful of words each day so

that teachers can spend time building children's knowledge of the words in depth.

This helps them comprehend the story as well as learn about the words beyond

their use in the story.

Children may build word knowledge in many ways:

• Learn to recognize a word in print.

• Learn another meaning of the word, if there are multiple meanings.

• Learn a new word that represents a known concept.

• Learn a new word that represents a new concept.

• Clarify and enrich the meaning of a known word.

• Use a word expressively.

Teach Words ConceptuallyThe Cornerstones Lesson Guide provides many suggestions for teaching words

conceptually. Keep in mind that conceptual fields of different kinds of words—

nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs— will be different. For example, adjectives fall

along a continuum and are relative. Beautiful and gorgeous, for example, don't mean

exactly the same thing and children should learn that people use them for different

purposes. An example of a conceptual field for bird is shown later in the

Relationship Map graphical organizer.

4

Generally, when teaching words— through discussion, reading, writing, and handson

experiences— we recommend that you include the essential features of the a

word as well as the variable features; give examples as well as non-examples; and

demonstrate the word in appropriate contexts. For example, in the case of the word

bird, all birds lay eggs, and have feathers, wings and a beak (except the beak on a

duck is called a bill). Some birds fly. Other creatures besides birds have wings, lay

eggs, and can fly. Dolphins have beaks. Feathers are unique to birds. Birds use

their beaks for a wide variety of tasks, which is why they come in so many shapes

and sizes. Beaks and mouths have many features in common and also many

differences. Through in-depth discussions of such features, the conceptual field can

grow.

Classroom Visual AidsUse Graphical Organizers

A graphical organizer can be very helpful in making abstract concepts more

concrete. Fill in the graphical organizer together with your students, rather than

present one already developed. As much as possible, students should create and

manipulate the graphics. Revisit the graphical organizer during the unit so that the

students can add their new knowledge and see how much they are learning. Active

engagement is critical to the effectiveness of these tools.

Five types of graphical organizers are illustrated below. We created them using

Inspiration (www.inspiration.com).

• Continuum

• H-Chart

• Venn Diagram

• Relationship Map

Teaching Writing StrategiesWe recommend a four-step instructional process for teaching

writing strategies.

The steps are these:

1. Identify a strategy worth teaching Identifying strategies worth teaching means looking for strategies that will be genuinely helpful. In the case of struggling writers, strategies worth teaching are the ones which will help them overcome their writing difficulties. In our research we have decided that the best way to identify such strategies is by talking with struggling writers, asking them about how they write, what they think about while writing, and what they see as difficulties. Additional insight can be gained by

studying student papers to infer where writers are having difficulty and by observing writers at work.<Video Example>

2. Introduce the strategy by modeling it. Introducing strategies by modeling them generally means some form of composing out loud in front of students. Many of the teachers in our studies prefer to do this for groups or whole classes by writing at an overhead projector. They speak their thoughts while writing, calling particular attention to the strategy they are recommending for students. Sometimes they ask students to contribute to the writing the teacher is doing, to copy the writing for themselves, or to compose a similar piece of writing in connection with the writing the teacher is doing. Teachers in our studies also frequently model writing strategies during individual conferences with students.<Video Example>

3. Scaffold students' learning of the strategy. Scaffolding the learning of a writing strategy means helping students to try the strategy with teacher assistance. This is best done in a writing workshop. The workshop setting is ideal for giving varying degrees of assistance according to individual needs. It is also ideal for conferring with individuals and for setting up partnerships and peer groups so that students can assist each other in the learning of strategies. Even when a writing workshop is not used, some amount of in-class writing with teacher assistance is necessary to make sure that writers practice using the strategy being taught.<Video Example>

4. Repeated practice and reinforcement.Helping students to work toward independent mastery of the strategy through repeated practice and reinforcement means giving them opportunities to use the strategy many times with decreasing amounts of assistance each time. The idea here is that it is better to teach a few key writing strategies well than it is to teach many of them insufficiently. Students value and master the things we have them do repeatedly. In a way, this gets back to identifying strategies worth teaching -- look for ones that are crucial to writing processes, such as strategies for planning particular types of writing, or for structuring texts certain ways. Then model, practice and repeat.<Video Example>

Content / Bahavior Strategies

Ideas for content area instruction

Dr. Christopher Kliewer, who taught for four years in an inclusive elementary school, offers the following broad outline for an inclusive classroom:

inclusive education is nothing more than good teaching for all students. students take responsibility for their education; they help create the structure of the

classroom, including helping to establish rules and academic program.

teachers have high expectations that all students will meet the rules and academic challenges.

families are involved.

curriculum is focused on humanity, on one another's worth. The students tell their own stories or other's stories and learn about things that matter in their lives.

Teachers throw out the worksheets and basal reader system; they create curriculum that involves students.

Ideas for behavior strategies

Kliewer says it's time to reconceptualize the classroom and not automatically think bad behavior is the student's problem and something that needs to be controlled. Here are some ways to begin:

Classrooms need one main rule - respect one another. After this, if students and teachers create interesting curriculum with material that matters in the students' lives, then students will be interested, involved, and focused on what they've designe d.

Teachers need excellent observational skills to determine what caused a behavior problem.

Structure the environment so students are actively engaged and motivated. That will be good teaching for all students. This will involve collaboration and networking. It also means the teacher is not always in control, but is one of a team of proble m solvers including students, parents, and other teachers.

Other common strategies for content area instruction and solving behavior problems include peer tutoring, cooperative learning, and reciprocal teaching. These are all instructional techniques that have been around for a long time and provide ways for a class to work together toward a common goal, but don't mean that everyone is doing the same thing.

Problem-Solving Approach for Behavior Strategies

A functional assessment of problem behaviors can help general education teachers deal with behavior assessment and curriculum modifications. This is a proactive, deliberative approach that involves a team consisting of the student, parents, profession als, and teachers who ask questions about the physical environment, social interactions, instructional environment, and non-school factors.

For example, questions concerning the physical environment may include:

are there too many people in the room?

what about the physical arrangement of the class?

what about the lighting of the room?

Instruction environment questions the team could ask:

is the work too hard? too easy? is the pace too fast? too slow?

is the teacher too loud?

Social and non-school factor questions:

has the student had enough sleep? enough to eat?

is the student involved in delinquent behavior?

Based on the assessment answers, the team plans a strategy to modify the environment so the child's problem behavior does not occur. Dr. Susan Etschedit points out that this is just good teaching. "If I change the material I'm using because I rea lize it's redundant for one student, all the other students who were a little bit bored also benefit and find the work more interesting."

In considering answers and strategy plans, be sure to get input from the students. Etschedit says there's also a whole list of questions to ask the student. "Students are willing to share their honest reactions if they see the whole team of peopl e is trying to help solve the problem with them."

"A broad consensus is emerging among educators that narrowly framed categorical programs have produced too few benefits." -- Wang, Reynolds, & Walberg. (1994). Educational Leadership.

This is one way to look at the variety of supports for adaptations:

TEACHING STRATEGIESInstitutions of higher learning across the nation are responding to political, economic, social and technological pressures to be more responsive to students' needs and more concerned about how well students are prepared to assume future societal roles. Faculty are already feeling the pressure to lecture less, to make learning environments more interactive, to integrate technology into the learning experience, and to use collaborative learning strategies when appropriate.

Some of the more prominent strategies are outlined below. For more information about the use of these and other pedagogical approaches, contact the Program in Support of Teaching and Learning.

Lecture. For many years, the lecture method was the most widely used instructional strategy in college classrooms. Nearly 80% of all U.S. college classrooms in the late 1970s reported using some form of the lecture method to teach students (Cashin, 1990). Although the usefulness of other teaching strategies is being widely examined today, the lecture still remains an important way to communicate information.

Used in conjunction with active learning teaching strategies, the traditional lecture can be an effective way to achieve instructional goals. The advantages of the lecture approach are that it provides a way to

communicate a large amount of information to many listeners, maximizes instructor control and is non-threatening to students. The disadvantages are that lecturing minimizes feedback from students, assumes an unrealistic level of student understanding and comprehension, and often disengages students from the learning process causing information to be quickly forgotten.

The following recommendations can help make the lecture approach more effective (Cashin, 1990):

1. Fit the lecture to the audience

2. Focus your topic - remember you cannot cover everything in one lecture

3. Prepare an outline that includes 5-9 major points you want to cover in one lecture

4. Organize your points for clarity

5. Select appropriate examples or illustrations

6. Present more than one side of an issue and be sensitive to other perspectives

7. Repeat points when necessary

8. Be aware of your audience - notice their feedback

9. Be enthusiastic - you don’t have to be an entertainer but you should be excited by your topic.(from Cashin, 1990, pp. 60-61)

Case Method. Providing an opportunity for students to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-life experiences has proven to be an effective way of both disseminating and integrating knowledge. The case method is an instructional strategy that engages students in active discussion about issues and problems inherent in practical application. It can highlight fundamental dilemmas or critical issues and provide a format for role playing ambiguous or controversial scenarios.

Course content cases can come from a variety of sources. Many faculty have transformed current events or problems reported through print or broadcast media into critical learning experiences that illuminate the complexity of finding solutions to critical social problems. The case study approach works well in cooperative learning or role playing environments to stimulate critical thinking and awareness of multiple perspectives.

Discussion. There are a variety of ways to stimulate discussion. For example, some faculty begin a lesson with a whole group discussion to refresh students’ memories about the assigned reading(s). Other faculty find it helpful to have students list critical points or emerging issues, or generate a set of questions stemming from the assigned reading(s). These strategies can also be used to help focus large and small group discussions.

Obviously, a successful class discussion involves planning on the part of the instructor and preparation on the part of the students. Instructors should communicate this commitment to the students on the first day of class by clearly articulating course expectations. Just as the instructor carefully plans the learning experience, the students must comprehend the assigned reading and show up for class on time, ready to learn.

Active Learning. Meyers and Jones (1993) define active learning as learning environments that allow “students to talk and listen, read, write, and reflect as they approach course content through

problem-solving exercises, informal small groups, simulations, case studies, role playing, and other activities -- all of which require students to apply what they are learning” (p. xi). Many studies show that learning is enhanced when students become actively involved in the learning process. Instructional strategies that engage students in the learning process stimulate critical thinking and a greater awareness of other perspectives. Although there are times when lecturing is the most appropriate method for disseminating information, current thinking in college teaching and learning suggests that the use of a variety of instructional strategies can positively enhance student learning. Obviously, teaching strategies should be carefully matched to the teaching objectives of a particular lesson. For more information about teaching strategies, see the list of college teaching references in Appendix N.

Assessing or grading students' contributions in active learning environments is somewhat problematic. It is extremely important that the course syllabus explicitly outlines the evaluation criteria for each assignment whether individual or group. Students need and want to know what is expected of them. For more information about grading, see the Evaluating Student Work section contained in this Guide.

Cooperative Learning. Cooperative Learning is a systematic pedagogical strategy that encourages small groups of students to work together for the achievement of a common goal. The term 'Collaborative Learning' is often used as a synonym for cooperative learning when, in fact, it is a separate strategy that encompasses a broader range of group interactions such as developing learning communities, stimulating student/faculty discussions, and encouraging electronic exchanges (Bruffee, 1993). Both approaches stress the importance of faculty and student involvement in the learning process.

When integrating cooperative or collaborative learning strategies into a course, careful planning and preparation are essential. Understanding how to form groups, ensure positive interdependence, maintain individual accountability, resolve group conflict, develop appropriate assignments and grading criteria, and manage active learning environments are critical to the achievement of a successful cooperative learning experience. Before you begin, you may want to consult several helpful resources which are contained in Appendix N. In addition, the Program in Support of Teaching and Learning can provide faculty with supplementary information and helpful techniques for using cooperative learning or collaborative learning in college classrooms.

Integrating Technology. Today, educators realize that computer literacy is an important part of a student's education. Integrating technology into a course curriculum when appropriate is proving to be valuable for enhancing and extending the learning experience for faculty and students. Many faculty have found electronic mail to be a useful way to promote student/student or faculty/student communication between class meetings. Others use listserves or on-line notes to extend topic discussions and explore critical issues with students and colleagues, or discipline- specific software to increase student understanding of difficult concepts.

Currently, our students come to us with varying degrees of computer literacy. Faculty who use technology regularly often find it necessary to provide some basic skill level instruction during the first week of class. In the future, we expect that need to decline. For help in integrating technology into a course curriculum contact the Program in Support of Teaching and Learning or the Instructional Development Office (IDO) at 703-993-3141. In addition, watch for information throughout the year about workshops and faculty conversations on the integration of technology, teaching and learning.

Distance Learning. Distance learning is not a new concept. We have all experienced learning outside of a structured classroom setting through television, correspondence courses, etc. Distance learning or distance education as a teaching pedagogy, however, is an important topic of discussion on college campuses today. Distance learning is defined as 'any form of teaching and learning in which the teacher and learner are not in the same place at the same time' (Gilbert, 1995).

Obviously, information technology has broadened our concept of the learning environment. It has made it possible for learning experiences to be extended beyond the confines of the traditional classroom. Distance learning technologies take many forms such as computer simulations, interactive collaboration/discussion, and the creation of virtual learning environments connecting regions or nations. Components of distance learning such as email, listserves, and interactive software have also been useful additions to the educational setting.

CULTURE SHARING

THE WHITE YURT (BOZUY)

For centuries, the superbly portable yurt has been a cornerstone of nomadic life throughout Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan. Today, it has been replaced as the main form of dwelling by brick houses of Soviet-style concrete apartment blocks, but it retains a special place in Kyrgyz hearts, as both a tangible link to their nomadic past and a symbol of their national identity. The tunduk, the circular frame with wooden batons around the smoke hole at the top of the yurt, is even represented on the national flag. During birthdays, funerals and other special occasions, people often set up a yurt and invite friends to the dastarkon or feast. And in summer the yurt comes into its own again when shepherds take their flocks high in the mountains to graze.

In Kyrgyzsan the yurt is known as the bozuy, or “grey house”, after the black or grey wool used by ordinary shepherds. Only the clan chiefs could afford to use costly snow white yurts called ak-orgo.

Yurts are believed to have been around for thousands of years and their structure has changed little over the centuries. They consist of a framework of birch poles(kanats), bent and tied with rawhide straps, around which a circular trellis wall(kerege) is a of a reed, chiy, line the walls, and the

whole structure is covered with several thick layers of felt(kiyiz), each of which is tied to strong poles dug into the ground. The top has a smoke hole (which is covered during rain) but today people use stoves with chimneys. Wealthy people line their yurts with brightly colored shyrdaks (carpets) and use richly embroidered woven strips decorated with tassels to tie the yurt to the kanats.

Inside, space is allocated according to tradition. The left hand side is reserved for men and contains horse and hunting gear, and the right hand side, where the stove and cooking utensils are stored is for women. At the back, opposite the entrance, is juk where blankets and carpets are kept, usually on top of a richly carved or painted chest; the higher the juk, the

richer the family.

RESOURCES FROM MENTOR TEACHER

How to Make a Halloween Jack-o'-Lantern

Click the answer button to see the answer.

1.

Go to the store and ___ a pumpkin.a. bought

b. buyc. buysd. buying

___ a pumpkin that has a shape that you like.a. Selectingb. Select

When you get home, ___ the pumpkin.a. washb. washingc. washesd. washed

Next, ___ the pumpkin on the table.a. placeb. placedc. placing

___ a large hole around the top of the pumpkin.a. Cutb. Made

c. Put

Put your hand inside the pumpkin and ___ out the seeds.a. tookb. take

Now it is time to ___ a face.a. madeb. makec. making

___ the eyes, nose and mouth on the pumpkin.a. Drawb. Drewc. Drawing

___ out the eyes, nose and mouth with a knife.a. Cutb. Made

c. Hole

Your pumpkin becomes a Jack-o'-Lantern when you ___ a candle in it.a. placeb. placedc. placing

Copyright (C) 1997 by Larry Kelly This quiz is part of the HTML-Only Self-Study Quizzes which is part

The History and Origins of Halloween

The holiday that we know as Halloween today bares little resemblance to it's origins. While many of the traditions of making jack 'o' lanterns, and giving out treats do come from the old European holiday known as Samhain, (pronounced SOW-ain), the origins of Halloween are different from what we celebrate today.

First, to give an very understanding to the reader of these old "pagan" holidays, one must understand the meaning of some of the old language and culture of the times. The term 'pagan', while having come to mean rudely and wrongly something like "devil worshipper” by the Christian mythology standards merely meant "country people" in the language of the times. It was used as a sort of derogatory term by the ruling class in reference to those they ruled over meaning something like 'country bumpkin'.

Samhain was one of four "fire" festivals of the Celtic calendar year. It marked the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. In the old Manx New Year festival was called Laa Houney or Hollantides Day. In the Welsh, a language still used today; it was called Nos Galen-Gaeaf or Night of the Winter Calends. In the Old World the old day ended and the new day began at sun set. The day before Samhain was considered the last day of Summer, or in the old Irish Celtic language, Samradh, (pronounced sow-rawth), and was the day that marked the end of the old year, or the Light half of the year. Just as Samhain marked the end of the old year it also marked the beginning of the new year, or Geimredh, (pronounced geim-reth), otherwise known as the Winter or dark half of the year. The Autumn part of the year, or Foghamhar, (pronounced foth-am-ar), was considered to be part of the light half of the year. Spring, or Earrach, (pronounced air-rock), was considered to be part of the dark half of the year.

Samhain was, and still is, considered to be a very mystical and magical time that was 'between' the seasons and the years. It was considered to be the time that the spirits of those who have passed on could walk among those still on the corporeal plane and the time for doing divination. The veil between the worlds was and still is considered to be the thinnest at this time of year, and therefore the perfect time to find out what the new year would bring, as well as the time to delve into the past to help solve any unresolved issues.

Samhain lasted for three days in the old times and these three days were considered the time of "no time". It was during the days of 'no time' that people were allowed to do things that normally was frowned upon by the highly structured society of the Celts. This was where the tradition of 'trick or treat' came from. The children would go from dwelling to dwelling knocking on the doors asking for food or treats of some kind, and if the those who dwelt within did not oblige, they just might find themselves at the receiving end of a possibly rather nasty trick. Adults would indulge in shenanigans like taking someone's livestock and moving them to a different field without telling the owner of the livestock, or tearing down the gates to the corral that held a particular farmer's horses, cows, or pigs and allowing the animals to get away. There would be bon-fires and dancing and, of course, plenty of mead.

While it would seem to be a holiday that promoted a form of lunacy, it had a much deeper and serious meaning. These days were very special days and seemed to have a very mystical and magical quality about them. It was this quality that was used by the druidic priests of the Celts to their best advantage. These were the days in which to contact the spirits of the ancestors on the 'other side' of the veil between the worlds.

Unlike the view that most people share today about loved ones who have passed on, the Celts viewed their ancestors not as ghosts or spirits of the dead, but believed their loved ones on the 'other side' were very much living spirits and that death had been purely on a physical level. Ancestors were viewed as guides and helpers for their family still in the mortal world and not as something evil to be feared.

By the year 43 A.D. the Romans had conquered much of the Celtic lands an over the next 400 years two Roman festivals became combined with Samhain. Feralia, celebrated in late October was a commemeration of the passing of the dead. The second Roman festival was a celebration in honor of Pomona the goddess of trees and fruit. Pomona's symbol was the apple and this may explain the origins of "bobbing for apples" in our celebrations of Halloween today.

With the rise of Christianity, the Catholic church tried it's best to stop this "heathen" festival, but as one can see they were rather unsuccessful in their attempts. So the church took the three days of Samhain and named them All Hallows Eve, All Hallows or All Saints Day, and All Soul's Day. These are, respectively, October 31, November 1, and November 2. Later the name was changed to Halloween.

It was not until Christianity came to the Isles that the Christian devil ever became associated with Halloween. There was no concept of a devil or Satan in the Earth-based religions, nor was there anything even remotely evil about Samhain, or as it is now called, Halloween.

Today, for most people, Halloween is the time for masquerade parties, and having the kiddies dress up in halloween costumes and roam about the neighborhood for trick or treat getting all the tooth decaying sweeties they can stand; And for the older kids to run amok pulling, (hopefully), harmless pranks.

So as one can well see there is nothing inherently evil or "satanic" about Samhain, or Halloween. It's the a time to celebrate the cycle of the seasons and to have good friends over for a feast and merry making. So, "Merry we meet, and merry we part and a magical Samhain and Happy Halloween to all!

The History of the Jack-O-Lantern

People have been carving jack-o-lanterns for hundreds of years. The tradition of carving jack-o-lanterns was brought to America by the Irish.

According to Irish mythology there was a man known as Stingy Jack who had tricked the Devil. One result of his trick was that the Devil could never claim his soul. When Stingy Jack finally died he found that he could not gain access to Heaven either. He found himself wondering in the darkness. The Devil gave him an ember directly from the fires of Hell to help hime see in the darkness. Stingy Jack hollowed out a turnip and placed the burning ember inside. Ever since that day Stingy Jack has roamed through the earth, trapped between Heaven and Hell.

The Irish people c

arved their jack-o-lantern

The History of Halloween

Halloween is not exactly a typical holiday. Other holidays, like Christmas and Shavuot, celebrate an event. Halloween celebrates a lot of things, including the lives of people who aren't with us anymore.

The history of Halloween is not entirely a clear one. Here's how (we think) it started:

Many hundreds of years ago, a people called the Celts lived in Europe and on the British Isles. The Celts believed that the souls of the dead visited Earth on the last day of October. They had a festival in honor of these souls of the dead, and they called it Samhain.

In time, the Roman Empire conquered the Celts and took over some of their beliefs as well. This included Samhain. The Romans combined it with their own festivals. And since the Roman Empire spread across a great part of the known world, the idea that the souls of the dead visited Earth on the last day of October spread far and wide.

Many ideas from the Roman days still survive in the United States and in other Western countries. Halloween is one of them.

On This Site

• The First Trick-Or-Treaters• The Story of the Jack-o-Lantern• More on Halloween

Elsewhere on the Web

• History of Halloween

But how did we get the name Halloween?

In the 8th Century, the Catholic Church declared November 1 to be All Saints' Day. The church calendar had a number of days honoring saints already. November 1 was picked to be the day to honor all saints who didn't already have a day named in their honor.

And the mass that the Catholic Church celebrated on November 1 was called Allhallowmas. This meant "mass of all the hallowed [saintly people.]" It was commonly called "All Hallows' Day."

And somewhere along the line, the night before became known as Allhallowe'en, which was short for "evening before All Hallows' Day." It was then shortened to what we now call it, Halloween.

One last question: Why do people dress up as ghosts, goblins, vampires, and other scary creatures? The people who started all this Halloween business many years ago believed that if they appeared scary, they would scare away the spirits of the dead who were roaming the earth on All Hallows' Eve. These people also carried food to the edge of town and left it there, hoping the spirits would eat that food and not come raid the village.

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Martin Luther King Day

(Third Monday in January)

From Celebrate: Holidays in the U.S.A.

This is a preliminary hypertext edition of "Celebrate: Holidays in the U.S.A.," published by the Office of English Language Programs, U.S. Department of State. Links with an asterisk* are non-State Department sites. Other links provide help for the learner with glossary definitions.

"We will not resort to violence. We will not degrade ourselves with hatred.

Love will not be returned with hate."

It was December, 1955, and Martin Luther King, Jr. had just received his doctorate degree in theology. He had moved to Montgomery, Alabama to preach at a Baptist* church. He saw there, as in many other southern states, that African-Americans had to ride in the back of public buses. Dr. King knew that this law violated the rights of every African-American. He organized and led a boycott of the public buses in the city of Montgomery. Any person, black or white, who was against segregation refused to use public transportation. Those people who boycotted were threatened or attacked by other people, or even arrested or jailed by the police. After one year of boycotting the bus system, the Supreme Court declared that the Alabama state segregation law was unconstitutional.

African-Americans were not only segregated on buses throughout the south. Equal housing was denied to them, and seating in many hotels and restaurants was refused.

In 1957, Dr. King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference* and moved back to his home town of Atlanta*, Georgia. This was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. In the years following, he continued to organize non-violent protests against unequal treatment of African-American people. His philosophy remained peaceful, and he constantly reminded his followers that their fight would be victorious if they did not resort to bloodshed. Nonetheless, he and his demonstrators were often threatened and attacked. Demonstrations which began peacefully often ended up in violence, and he and many others were often arrested.

On August 23, 1963, a crowd of more than 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C.* and marched to the Capitol Building to support the passing of laws that guaranteed every American equal civil rights. Martin Luther King was at the front of the "March on Washington." On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial* that day, Dr. King delivered a speech that was later entitled "I Have a Dream." The March was one of the largest gatherings of black and white people that the nation's capital had ever seen... and no violence occurred.

One year later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964* was passed. It was not the first law of civil rights for Americans, but it was the most thorough and effective. The act guaranteed equal rights in housing, public facilities, voting, and public schools. Everyone would have impartial hearings and jury trials. A civil rights commission would ensure that these laws were enforced. Martin Luther King and thousands of others now knew that they had not struggled in vain.

In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while he was leading a workers' strike in Memphis, Tennessee. White people and black people who had worked so hard for peace and civil rights were shocked and angry. The world grieved the loss of this man of peace.

The following is an excerpt from the speech entitled "I Have a Dream," delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

on August 23, 1963.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evidentthat all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama ... will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!Let freedom ring from every hill and mole hill of Mississippi.From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of that old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!"

The "old negro spiritual" Dr. King referred to in his famous speech is "Free At Last."

Free At Last

Free at last, free at last,Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last.

The very time I thought I was lost, Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last;My dungeon shook and my chains fell off,Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last,This is religion, I do know, Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last;For I never felt such a love before, Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last.

The Making of a Holiday

Martin Luther King's death did not slow the Civil Rights Movement. Black and white people continued to fight for freedom and equality. Coretta Scott King is the widow of the civil rights leader. In 1970, she established the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center* in Atlanta, Georgia. This "living memorial" consists of his boyhood home and the Ebenezer Baptist Church*, where King is buried.

On Monday, January 20, 1986, in cities and towns across the country people celebrated the first official Martin Luther King Day, the only federal holiday commemorating an African-American. A ceremony which took place at an old railroad depot in Atlanta Georgia was especially emotional. Hundreds had gathered to sing and to march. Many were the same people who, in 1965, had marched for fifty miles between two cities in the

state of Alabama to protest segregation and descrimination of black Americans.

All through the 1980's, controversy surrounded the idea of a Martin Luther King Day. Congressmen and citizens had petitioned the President to make January 15, Martin Luther King's birthday, a federal legal holiday. Others wanted to make the holiday on the day he died, while some people did not want to have any holiday at all.

January 15 had been observed as a legal holiday for many years in 27 states and Washington, D.C. Finally, in 1986, President Ronald Reagan declared the third Monday in January a federal legal holiday commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday.

Schools, offices and federal agencies are closed for the holiday. On Monday there are quiet memorial services as well as elaborate ceremonies in honor of Dr. King. On the preceding Sunday, ministers of all religions give special sermons reminding everyone of Dr. King's lifelong work for peace. All weekend, popular radio stations play songs and speeches that tell the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Television channels broadcast special programs with filmed highlights of Dr. King's life and times.

Biography

Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in

Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.

In 1954, Martin Luther King accepted the pastorale of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank.

In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated