GLT reflection

Inquiry 2- Reflection

• What did students learn and which students struggled with the lesson?

My students learned how good readers sound and how to read poetry. They learned several new high frequency words, how to make text-to-self connections, how to find patterns that will help them remember what will come next, and to notice and use rhyming words. The children as a whole successfully recited their poem in front of the class. None of them needed assistance as they orally recited it. I will discover which students need additional assistance after we give our spelling test in a week or so. The children will need to correctly spell their “snap words” alone as well as in a sentence dictation.

• What are alternate reads (interpretations) of your students’ performance or products?

Some children read the poem with inflection and excitement as they orally recited it and others read it in a monotone voice. When we discussed the meaning of the poem on Monday, some children knew the meaning of autumn and why the poem was about leaves and others was unsure of the meaning thus causing confusion about why the poem was talking about leaves. Those children who understood that this poem talks about what happens during the fall and the events that the fall brings really had a firm grasp on the overall meaning of the poem.

• What did you learn about your students’ literacy practices that extend beyond your objectives?

The children have been working on their shared poetry unit for a couple months now. Many are very aware of the weekly schedule of events (Monday they will get a new poem, discuss meaning, and find snap words, Tuesday they will make text-to-self connections, Wednesday they will find structural patterns, Thursday they will find rhyming visual patterns, and Friday they will orally recite their poem) and thus notice and comment on things that will be coming up in the coming days. They are truly taking notice of these vital elements of reading and applying them in other areas of literacy such as reader’s workshop partner reading, independent reading, writer’s workshop, and guided reading. It really surprises me how much the children are aware and eager to learn these things throughout the weeks. I am also surprised at the success rate of the children’s snap word oral test. I am very curious how the children will do spelling their snap words in a sentence dictation test.

• When and how will you re-teach the material to students who need additional support?

We do a lot of work on our shared reading poems and snap words in Daily 5 centers as the week goes on. They will read and highlight the weekly snap words in their poetry binders. I will observe the children as they perform these tasks to see who can easily identify the snap words on their own in the poem and who still struggle to read like a reader to find the word wall words. The children also use their poetry binders in the oral language center during Daily 5. They will be paired up in partners and read their poems aloud to their partner. Observing this center will allow me to see who is fluent in reading and remembering their poems and the strategies that they use to remember poems that they have learned in the past.

• 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?

If I were to re-teach this lesson, I would like to spend more time expanding each day’s lessons; especially Tuesday’s lesson. I only have a limited amount of time that I can use to cover the shared reading lesson. I have approximately 10-15 minutes to review prior lessons, read the poem a few times by myself with and without body motions, have the children read the poem a few times with and without body motions, and then teach the daily mini lesson; making sure that I discuss the importance of the lesson, and then close the lesson by summarizing the main points of the lesson and finishing with the children practicing their poem one final time with motions. This is a lot to get done in a short amount of time and I often feel that I rush through things to stay within my time restraints. I wish that I could spend more time listening to the children share their personal text-to-self connections. I want the children to know that I value their stories and give the children the chance to share with the class if they would like. Obviously, I know that this is something that is out of my control but I want to work more on how to balance and manage my time better so that I spend the most time covering the material that I deem as the most significant. I think that by slowing down the pace a little and having more time to delve a little deeper into the lesson, the children that may be struggling a little bit to grasp the daily lessons would benefit more by the slower pace.