For my first cooperative teacher observed lesson I taught the ELA block (approximately two hours) and in that block I taught a mini lesson on the prefix “un,” modeled how to use vocabulary from a text in a text dependent question (TDQ), and did a mini lesson based off of the shared reading for the week on character traits. If I taught this lesson again to the same group of students, I would have made an anchor chart of the three things that we must include in a TDQ response. In my lesson, I modeled an example based on the question we answered the day before and I could feel eyes glazing over (about 15 minutes in) The three things that we include in a TDQ response (part of the question, text evidence, and vocabulary) are things that we refer back to daily. If I had changed gears and worked with them to create an anchor chart, I think that would have been more successful than modeling an example and the students would have a concrete material they could refer back to. I was surprised at how engaged the students were during our word work mini lesson (about 5 minutes in). We had introduced the prefix “un” the day before in a word sort and I had learned after reviewing their ticket out that most of them had a solid understanding of what the prefix “un” meant and how to apply it to their reading. For this lesson, I had students work in cooperative groups to brainstorm as many “un” words they could come up with. They really got into this activity. I framed it at a race so they worked in teams and pushed each other to come up with new words. One student came up with the word undetermined another student came up with the word unscramble. I was really impressed with the level of enthusiasm that my students brought to the table. Teaching this lesson made me think about some of the information that has been taught in our coursework. My class is comprised of many students who are involved in sports. Our shared reading was based on a biography text on Roberto Clemente, a famous Puerto Rican baseball player. In both of my literacy courses as well as in my teaching children’s literature course we discussed the importance of choosing not only literature that is developmentally appropriate but also use material that the students find engaging. The students that I suspected (my reteach group) were the students that struggled the most with this material. For shared reading and extending it to respond to the TDQ, I pulled that group to work together with me to read sections of the text that included different examples of character traits. By the end of our session, the students were starting to understand and construct their answers. However, working with students who need to be retaught is an area where I need support in and is a goal for me moving forward. Another area that I struggled in was in pacing. In our ELA block, I need to fit in four mini lessons in word work, vocabulary, shared reading, and fluency. I am currently only planning for three of those aspects. In my lessons I have a tendency to talk too much or push a discussion past when we need to move on. Doing this, my students do not have adequate time to practice their skills with each other, independently, and with a book of their choosing. This is one of my goals for this semester. I have invested in a timer and I am using it during every lesson that I teach, in the hopes that I will improve. Modeled TDQ response. CT observation notes.
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Mrs. randolph*For the purposes of this blog, all student and faculty names have been changed to protect their privacy. All identifying information has been removed.* Archives
March 2017
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