Developing Reflective Educators for a Global SocietyMSSU
Name
Semester
Year
Teresa Shelton
Spring
2012
Peer Teacher(s)
Grade level/Content area
Mrs. Parker
Third
Please complete the following information.
Describe the setting observed:
Eastmoreland is in downtown Joplin, Mo and is one of the newer elementary schools in the district. The building is in good condition. The classes are in a circle with it arranged kindergarten then first, second, third, fourth and fifth. It is one block off the main business road in Joplin and is a small neighborhood school. There are two classes per grade that I have noticed.
Identify/describe the participants: Mrs. Parker has a student teacher in her room this semester. There are around 22 students in the homeroom. When we arrive they are just coming back from specials then they usually have a basal reading exercise. Some students leave during this time. At 10:00 am many of the students leave and the room is often down to 8 students for special reading time. I have four regulars in my group. Two students that struggle with learning the concepts and two who understand the concept but have self-control and focusing issues.
Purpose of activity(s) observed (relate to the 5 components of reading):
The basal activity was practicing understanding as evidence through completion of a worksheet. In our group of four we worked on reading a small piece of text that was only two paragraphs long and be able to answer 6 questions that wanted answers that had been inferred in the text. Students were working on the comprehension component. They all read the text but two of the students were unable to comprehend what they were reading and it made it very difficult to be able to clarify texts. This exercise was all about being able to do the last component of comprehension.
Describe the literacy activity: My group of four and I go to the back of the room and sit on the floor in the reading section. They each get a clipboard , worksheet , and pencil. I read the text but made each follow along by following the text with their finger. After reading both paragraphs we then took turns reading a question and the four choices. They then had to decide which was the right answer. If they didn’t know they had to reread the text to see if they could find something in the text that gave them the answer. When they thought they knew the best answer they did a thumbs up. When everyone had a answer we would review why an answer was chosen and if the group agreed or not. They had to be able to explain their reasoning not just going along with the group or guessing. If after discussion anyone still had a different opinion about the answer but could clarify their answer then they chose different from group. Answers were circled and they turned the paper in so they could work on basal reader assignment.
Evaluate the activity. What did students do well? What was difficult for them?
Two of the students understood the concept well and were not very patient with the students who struggled with activity. Two of the students were fluent readers but had difficulty staying on task. The other two had difficulty with the fluency part of reading so the comprehension was very difficult. Their inability to infer prevented them from understanding the text.
What could you have done differently? If you are asked to help with this type of activity again, how could you improve your contribution?
I believe it would have worked better if the two fluent readers who need help focusing and working had been in a group with a couple of others like them. The two who were struggling with fluency would have been with a couple of others who also struggled with fluency. There was another group of 4 who had a variety of learners in the group. It would then been easier to help the one group focus and get their work done on the worksheet and move on to basal reader with the teacher. The next group of students who needed help reading the text and understanding it could have been helped without classmates pushing them to hurry up. The time could have been spent seeing what they did understand and where they were each losing the ability to comprehend the material. After knowing this information and helping with it then I could have helped them understand how to infer with the text.
Name
Semester
Year
Teresa Shelton
Spring
2012
Peer Teacher(s)
Grade level/Content area
Mrs. Parker
Third
Please complete the following information.
Describe the setting observed:
Eastmoreland is in downtown Joplin, Mo and is one of the newer elementary schools in the district. The building is in good condition. The classes are in a circle with it arranged kindergarten then first, second, third, fourth and fifth. It is one block off the main business road in Joplin and is a small neighborhood school. There are two classes per grade that I have noticed.
Identify/describe the participants: Mrs. Parker has a student teacher in her room this semester. There are around 22 students in the homeroom. When we arrive they are just coming back from specials then they usually have a basal reading exercise. Some students leave during this time. At 10:00 am many of the students leave and the room is often down to 8 students for special reading time. I have four regulars in my group. Two students that struggle with learning the concepts and two who understand the concept but have self-control and focusing issues.
Purpose of activity(s) observed (relate to the 5 components of reading):
The basal activity was practicing understanding as evidence through completion of a worksheet. In our group of four we worked on reading a small piece of text that was only two paragraphs long and be able to answer 6 questions that wanted answers that had been inferred in the text. Students were working on the comprehension component. They all read the text but two of the students were unable to comprehend what they were reading and it made it very difficult to be able to clarify texts. This exercise was all about being able to do the last component of comprehension.
Describe the literacy activity: My group of four and I go to the back of the room and sit on the floor in the reading section. They each get a clipboard , worksheet , and pencil. I read the text but made each follow along by following the text with their finger. After reading both paragraphs we then took turns reading a question and the four choices. They then had to decide which was the right answer. If they didn’t know they had to reread the text to see if they could find something in the text that gave them the answer. When they thought they knew the best answer they did a thumbs up. When everyone had a answer we would review why an answer was chosen and if the group agreed or not. They had to be able to explain their reasoning not just going along with the group or guessing. If after discussion anyone still had a different opinion about the answer but could clarify their answer then they chose different from group. Answers were circled and they turned the paper in so they could work on basal reader assignment.
Evaluate the activity. What did students do well? What was difficult for them?
Two of the students understood the concept well and were not very patient with the students who struggled with activity. Two of the students were fluent readers but had difficulty staying on task. The other two had difficulty with the fluency part of reading so the comprehension was very difficult. Their inability to infer prevented them from understanding the text.
What could you have done differently? If you are asked to help with this type of activity again, how could you improve your contribution?
I believe it would have worked better if the two fluent readers who need help focusing and working had been in a group with a couple of others like them. The two who were struggling with fluency would have been with a couple of others who also struggled with fluency. There was another group of 4 who had a variety of learners in the group. It would then been easier to help the one group focus and get their work done on the worksheet and move on to basal reader with the teacher. The next group of students who needed help reading the text and understanding it could have been helped without classmates pushing them to hurry up. The time could have been spent seeing what they did understand and where they were each losing the ability to comprehend the material. After knowing this information and helping with it then I could have helped them understand how to infer with the text.