Blog Topic 8

This week, my students completed a VTS of the following image:

So far, I think I am doing a nice job at a few things.  One positive aspect of my VTSing has been my positivity.  I have great relationships with my students, and this makes for a really happy and easygoing atmosphere.  The sense of trust that provides definitely enhances our VTS discussions.  I also feel that I am getting better at listening to what my students are saying.  This makes it easier to paraphrase what they have said.  I can see vast growth since the beginning of the semester with my peers, especially in regard to listening and paraphrasing.

I still feel surprised at how uncomfortable I was doing VTS at the museum yesterday.  I think the acoustics of the room and my difficulties hearing definitely played in to that a lot, but I would like to continue working on being able to do these lessons in any situation.  As I move forward in this course, I would like to continue to work on paraphrasing and determining when to use the second question.

Some interesting things my kids noticed about this photo were:

• a sense of old vs. new due to new clothing, old house and furniture
• a sense of destruction due to the peeling paint
• a sense of loneliness due to lack of a decorated space
• the possibility of a flood or water damage due to the peeling paint and clothesline (drying out)

I was surprised a how long we talked about this image.  When I first saw it, it seemed a bit one note, and when our discussion went on for about fifteen minutes, I couldn't believe it.  One student who has yet to participate said something this week, so that is something to be proud of.