Abby's Inquiry 2

Inquiry 2-Abby Vermeulen

*As I plan my lesson, some things may alter.

1.    Describe your target area for guided lead teaching.

I will be leading a fantasy unit based around the book Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit. 

2.      Approximately how much time per day is allotted for your instruction in this area?

I will have about 50 minutes to teach per day.

3.      Which Common Core State Standard(s) will you work toward?

There are 3 goals that I would like to work towards in my unit. **These may change as

1.      CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

2.      CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.1b Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.

3.      CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.9 Compare and contrast stories in the same genre (e.g., mysteries and adventure stories) on their approaches to similar themes and topics.

4.      How will teaching in this target area provide opportunities for students to learn important content and/or skills that relate to their lives?  In what ways does this learning include learning literacy, learning about literacy, and/or learning through literacy?

One of the ways that I will be teaching within this target area is through book clubs, paired reading, and jigsaw discussions.  This will approach will cause students to come up with and agree-upon rules for discussion.  The students will also have to come up with assigned roles for each member in their book club/discussion group.  Learning to function appropriately in a discussion setting is key because students will continue to have to participate and interact with others (who may agree or disagree with them) in multiple settings.  Also at the end of the unit the students will have to do a fantasy book report, in which they compare and contrast their book report book and Tuck Everlasting based on themes and topics.  Students are going to be writing compare and contrast essays through both high school and college, therefore learning techniques to write these types of essays now, will allow them a better chance of success in the future.  Throughout the whole unit (2-3 weeks), my students will have to respond to journal entries related to the book. This means that they will have to write routinely this period of time for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences).

 

5.      What types of classroom talk take place within this target area? To what extent is the talk teacher-led, student-led, or focused on higher-level thinking? What norms for interaction would you like to build within your classroom as you teach in this target area (e.g., see ideas in Chapter 6 of Strategies that Work, the Berne & Clark 2008 article, or draw from some of the readings done in TE 402 on classroom talk)?

Some norms I would like to build within my classroom is cooperation and working together in book clubs.  I want my students to come away from this unit being able to work more independently in book clubs, so that we can create groups that meet the needs and interests of my students as best as possible.  Throughout this unit I will be using gradual release, giving my students more of the responsibility of book club.  I would like my students to be able to learn to appropriately agree/disagree with each other and be able to support their opinions, using information from the book.

6.      Which ‘core practice’ do you want to work on developing/improving as you teach in this target area (refer to document “Resources for Developing Core Practices”)? How will focusing on this core practice contribute to your own professional learning?

My “core practice” will be Practices to Facilitate Comprehension Instruction, Responding to Reading.  I think learning how to run a book club and learning how to teach comprehension will be good experience for when I have my own classroom.  I think I also want to try some of the explicit instructions because I think my students can still benefit from this, even though they are in 5^th grade.

7.      What resources within the community, neighborhood, school district, school or classroom do you have to work with in this target area?

I have some great book club resources created by my MT  over the years, for this book.  I also have access to 3 or 4 copies of the book on CD, for students, who struggle reading this book.  I also have access to Kim, my MT’s team teacher’s intern.  Kim will be a great person to discuss and bounce off ideas.  The reading consultant is right next door and I know she works with many of my students, so any advice from her on how to reach my students is greatly appreciated. 

8.      What additional resources do you need to obtain?

As of right now, the only resource that I need to obtain is the movie, to use at the end of the unit, so the students can compare and contrast the book and movie for a writing assessment.  I also need to obtain the CD versions of the books, for my students who are not reading at grade level, so they can still participate in the class discussions.

9.      How will you pre-assess your students in your target area?

I think what I want to do is assess how much they know about the parts of fantasy, to do this I think I will ask them to help me create a list of what types of things we find in fantasy.  This is also something I can do at the end of the unit and then we can look at the two lists and see what they have learned about fantasy. 

10.  What else will you need to find out about all students in your class to help you develop lesson plans for your Guided Lead Teaching?

I need to find out specifically where some of my students are reading level wise, so I can make sure they get to use the audio CD when we want them focusing on comprehension.  I also need to make sure that they get a chance to read for learning decoding too.

11.  What else do you need/want to learn about the ‘core practice’ to support your planning and teaching?

I am excited to see how my unit works towards the core practices.  I think doing this book club unit, is something that goes right along with core practices.

12.  What concerns, if any, do you have about planning and teaching your unit?

I am concerned about making sure all the students get the help and support they need.  I have 29 students, some who require a lot of one-on-one support.  I know I have the support of my MT during this time and that helps, but I still want each of my students to learn at least one thing and improve their reading skills.