Today I taught my second LA lesson. It went a lot better than I thought it would because the students were reading together and working together to respond to the prompts. I only had one group have behavior issues and that was because they had originally been working in the hall. As soon as I brought them back into the classroom, they were fine. The students did a good job keeping the volume low and being respectful. I was really proud of them. I did notice that my students were not using the book to support their answers to the prompts and while working on the Venn Diagrams. At the beginning of my next lesson I will be address this issue by modeling how to use evidence from the book to support our ideas. To do this I am going to give each student a copy of the prologue and a highlighter. As I model highlighting evidence, the students will be following along with me. I was relatively surprised that the students worked so well together. I do need to think about how to differentiate for one of my groups because they blew through the reading and prompts. I am not sure what I should do yet but it is something to think about. Maybe I should talk to the gifted/talented teacher to see if she has any ideas of giving this group more of a challenge.
· What did students learn and which students struggled with the lesson?
Students really struggled with using the book to support their thinking. I noticed many students reading the prologue aloud then closing the book and trying to answer the questions, instead of looking back into the book to find their answers. Also students seemed to struggle with how to fill out the venn diagram, even though I had told them that there were 3 main events and that these events are connected by one place. The students still had a hard time finding these events and place , even though the author very clearly states the events and connection. I think the students learned how to use the book because I had to explicitly teach it to each group. I guess I will find out in my next lesson when I review using the book as evidence/example again.
· What are alternate reads (interpretations) of your students’ performance or products?
I noticed that students were having good discussions about the prompt question on suspense. I think my students are very good at verbalizing their ideas but are struggling when they have to put these ideas on paper. I have noticed this to be a trend throughout the other classes I teach during the day too. I think that because my students are good conversationalists, I need to utilize this to my advantage.
· What did you learn about your students’ literacy practices that extend beyond your objectives?
My students can use discussion very well to discuss literacy comprehension. It was also nice to get a chance to hear different students read, who do not typically read out loud in a whole group setting. I learned that my students have the capability to comprehend the story but they really struggle when they have to take the next step and write down their thoughts. I learned that the students will need more support in how to get their thoughts and ideas, along with evidence/examples written on paper.
· When and how will you re-teach the material to students who need additional support?
I will be re-teaching a mini lesson on using the book as a tool to help them support their thinking. To do this, the students will be reading the prologue again and helping me highlight places of information that we could use as examples of suspense (which is related to their writing prompt). Also as I was going around to the groups I was “re-teaching” this idea with individual students. I will continue to do this as need throughout the unit.
· If you were to teach this same lesson again, what would you do differently and how do you think the changes would improve students’ learning?
I would have modeled and talked about using the book as evidence before they got started. I also think I could have done the Venn diagram as a whole group and that might have cut down on the confusion. I think I was excited to get them into their groups that I thought they could handle the Venn diagram in their groups, but they struggled. Also I would make it more clear for what I was looking for in the Venn diagram and how the students should be looking for the information. Another thing that I could do is be more clear about what the prompt question is asking-many students had trouble with the word suspense and what it meant.
· How did you limit the extent to which ethnic, linguistic, and/or gender biases occurred during your lesson?
I personally checked with my students who have IEPs and my ELL students. Also I created a Venn Diagram for one of my students who has an IEP related to writing. I will be giving him this tomorrow (if I check his Journal and see he did not complete the work). Also I will allow him to type any of the prompts if necessary and stable them into his journal.
· What did you learn so far about implementing your ‘core practice’ and what do you need to do to continue your professional learning?
My students are comprehending what they are reading and able to answer questions but as soon as they have to produce a written piece of work they struggle. I need to find a way to help my students produce what they thinking/talking about on paper.
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