What did you notice about your students’ participation and learning in relation to your objectives?
Initially, I was a bit hesitant to teach this lessons, since it seemed like a cookie cutter lesson that just uses worksheets and did not necessarily engage the students. However, with the two students I took out in the hallway and had participate in this lesson were very engaged and interested in the material. The students I took out, are in the lower 30s of the Directed Reading Assessment (DRA). They were very interested in the tasks, they also worked well together and collaborated. My main objective was to show a few students how to recall and look for details in a text. Additionally, I wanted to introduce the students to new ways of taking notes on the side margins to assist in my objective. My students actually wanted to continue working, reading more stories and finding the answers to questions. This desire to learn and practice really inspired me and was one of those moments that reminds us that beyond the lesson planning, beyond the struggles, teaching is not a career path but many moments filled with rewards!
What were the strengths and limitations of your lesson for supporting your students’ learning?
For the students I chose, I really think they were engaged. The material chosen by my mentor teacher was perfect for their reading level. I was not working on fluency or accuracy, so those factors were not focused on, but rather the content and the ability to locate the appropriate information. Between the three short passages we read the some of the passage questions scaffolded them and followed the text, while others challenged them to look deeper into the passage. Additionally, we read all of the passages in various ways, as a group and by taking turns. By using these different reading strategies we were able to pace one another as well as keep that consistent equality among one another.
There were two possible limitations, but I hesitate to even call them such. The first is normal in my placement, the activities the whole class is involved in plays a crucial role in the involvement of the students I am working with. Although, the students I work with are typically more than willing and enjoy the one on one time. This time was no different, the students were excited and engaged while working with me. The other potential "limitation" would be the inclusion of prior knowledge and looking ahead techniques the students already know. When introducing the story and reading the questions before the whole story students would predict the answers, try to guess them or look for them in the text, prior to reading. That just opened the door for me to clarify the reason for the activity, to be sure we are reading and finding accurate details. This was important to clarify and with repetition I think the students will see it better. Although it was nice to see the students light up if a prediction or guess was correct!
What did you notice about yourself as a teacher? What questions do you have?
As a teacher, I look forward to knowing my students as well as my mentor teacher knows hers. I believe that will come with experience and being around the children everyday. Additionally, having enough background for all of the text to know what exactly to throw at some students have where to throw it is the challenging part. I know I have had a lot of classes discussing and analyzing books and text, but having and holding that knowledge is a bit overwhelming to think about. I have a lot more to learn but my students continually remind me that this is the path I need and want to take and although I have a lot to learn still it will be worth it! I learn everyday, and I hope to inspire others to do the same!
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