Germane Reflection 1

Reading Lesson Plan #1 Reflection on Comprehension:

As Chandler, Ashley, and I read the book, I noticed that Ashley is a much slower reader than Chandler. She would get stuck on sight-words, and read the text very choppy. Sometimes she would even take long pauses as if she was trying to figure out the word, even though she had successfully said it on a previous page. Chandler was a little bit better reader; he was able to decode all of the words, but still read at a slower pace than what his other classmates have shown. Despite this difference, both students were very patient with each other as they were reading. When we got to the worksheet, Ashley took a longer time than Chandler to complete each question. Since I wanted to complete the worksheet together, Chandler had to wait for Ashley to finish her answer before moving on. A couple times I caught Chandler moving on to the next question and filling in the answer before we had finished the previous one together. Although I asked him to wait, looking back on it I should have just let them complete the worksheet at their own pace. It wasn’t fair for Chandler to have to sit and wait patiently while Ashley was slowly writing out her answers. After they were done with their worksheets, I collected them and they were able to join their class again. To my surprise, Ashley’s answers to the worksheet were almost word for word from the text. I know she didn’t copy from the book because I took them away once they were done reading. This shows that although she struggles with fluency, she is still able to comprehend what she just read. Chandler’s answers were all correct, however he put them in his own words instead of word for word like Ashley did. So he too comprehends the story, but he is able to put them in his own words. As a teacher, I think I did a good job. I was able to facilitate their reading and ask questions as they were reading, as well as help each child through the worksheet even though they worked at different paces. As stated before, the only thing I would change it allowing the children to work at their own pace instead of trying to keep them at the same place.

Germane Lesson Plan 2

Reading Lesson Plan # 2

Your Name: Kati Germane Grade Level: 4^th Grade

Date lesson was taught: 4/18/2011 Number of Students: 2

1) Rationale:

From listening to the class read books out loud multiple times and talking with the teacher, Mrs. Fish, it is very clear that both Miller and Logan read significantly slower than their classmates. They often trip over words and read the text word for word, making their reading speed slower. By helping these students increase their reading speed, they will become better readers, especially when reading aloud.

2) List which reading skill/strategy is the main focus of your lesson:

The main focus of this lesson will be reading speed.

3) Objective for this lesson (performance, condition, criteria):

While reading aloud 50 Years in Space a total of three times, each a minute long, students will increase their reading speed during each read by being able to recognize the words they have previously read.

4) Materials & supplies needed:

• Two copies of 50 Years in Space By: Tyrus Cukavac
• Three different colored markers
• One pencil for each child
• Stop-watch

5) OUTLINE OF LESSON PLAN (Provide a bulleted list of ideas):

• Introduction to the lesson (3 minutes):

The teacher should begin the lesson by letting the students know what they are going to be working on. “Today we are going to be working on your reading speed. Why do you think reading speed is important when reading a text?” Wait for the student to respond. Respond accordingly. Be sure the student is aware that reading speed helps with fluency and comprehension because when people read the text slow, it is very hard to comprehend what is being said since the reader is too focused on the words. Also be sure to inform the student that if a student reads too fast that this too can hinder comprehension because it is very hard to comprehend text that is being read super fast. Let them know that an appropriate reading speed is at about the speed you talk at. “Okay good, now that you know why reading speed is important, let me tell you how today’s lesson will help you improve your reading speed. The speed at which you read something is determined by how many words you know and recognize. The more words you know and recognize, the easier the reading will be and you will be able to read it faster. All year Mrs. Fish has been talking about becoming better, stronger, faster readers. Well reading speed helps you become a better, stronger, faster reader.

• Inform students of lesson objective (increase reading speed)
• Teach the child what reading speed is and how it helps readers become better, faster, stronger
• Inform them how a person can improve their reading speed

• OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (8 minutes):

Today you will read one article three different times. You will have one minute to read as much as you can. At the end of that minute you will highlight the last word you read and write one with your pencil above it. You will then have another minute to read as much as you can and you will do the same thing, except this time you will write a two above the highlighted word and use a different color. Then for the last read you will do the same thing, but write a three above the highlighted word. What do you think it going to happen each time you read the article?” Allow time for the child to answer. Make sure the student understands that they should get faster at reading because they will be able to recognize the words they just read, thus making them read them faster. The teacher should also inform them what strategies they can use to become a faster reader. Inform them that since they are going to be focusing on reading speed, it is okay to skip over punctuation marks right now. Reiterate why reading speed is important while reading a text (previously said in the introduction). “Okay good, let’s begin.” Give the child the article now. “You have one-minute. Go.” Time the reader three different times. I expect the student to cooperate fully to the directions and if they seem confused after reading it once, the teacher should guide them; letting them know to highlight the last word read and write the appropriate number above it.

· Give the directions of reading the article

· Provide the student with the article

· Time child three different times for one-minute each time

• Closing summary for the lesson (4 minutes):

After the three timed readings the teacher should ask the student if they feel they improved. “After reading this article three times, do you feel like you’re a better, faster, stronger reader now?” Allow the student to answer and explain himself. “Why do you think you improved (or didn’t improve) your reading speed?” Give the student time to answer and explain himself. “Don’t forget, this is something you can do on your own time to help increase your reading speed. Reading speed impacts whether or not you comprehend the text as well as how long it will take you to finish the text. You’re almost in 5^th grade and you are going to be reading a lot more there. You will need to have the skills to read a text quickly and be able to comprehend it. Don’t forget to practice reading speed often because it can only help you in the future. Did you like this lesson? Is there anything that could have been different?” Give time for the student to respond and when he is done collect his article with the markings on it and the markers and walk the student back to the class.

• Allow student to explain how this lesson helps improve reading speed
• Reiterate the importance of reading speed
• Ask for questions and comments on how to make the lesson better

6) Ongoing-Assessment: During the lesson I will be able to observe how the student is progressing by noticing where they end after each timed reading. If they are not improving or only improving by one or two words each time, I would continue practicing timed readings with the student until their reading speed was up to their peers.

7) Based on what you know about your focus students, what Academic, Social and/or Linguistic Support will be needed during the lesson? Logan and Miller both have trouble understanding directions. During class the teacher needs to tell them repeatedly before they understand them fully. I will be sure to give clear and concise directions to the students, answering any questions they may have before the timed readings begin.

Reading Speed Article to be Read:

50 Years in Space, As the first human went into orbit a half-century ago, the world watched in awe, By Tyrus Cukavac | April 15, 2011

Fifty years ago on April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a 27-year-old Russian pilot, became the first human to go into outer space. He orbited, or circled, Earth for 108 minutes in a tiny metal capsule called Vostok 1—a huge breakthrough for humankind. Less than a month later, on May 5, Alan Shepard became the first American and the second human to enter outer space. The Space Race had begun. This intense competition between the United States and Russia, then known as the Soviet Union, fueled space exploration for the next generation. Shepard had originally been scheduled to launch in October 1960, but technical problems delayed the mission. The United States soon had bigger plans in mind: a journey to the moon. Since then, space explorers have reached many milestones. U.S. astronauts have landed on the moon, and robots have explored the surface of Mars. The former rivalry between the U.S. and Russia has become cooperation; the two countries worked together with several other nations to create the International Space Station—a research laboratory that orbits Earth. The United Nations has declared April 12 to be the International Day of Human Space Flight. Yet the future of space exploration has never been more uncertain. NASA, the U.S. space agency, is ending its 30-year-old space shuttle program. A planned return to the moon has been scrapped. NASA’s latest budget is $240 million lower than that in 2010. However, these changes might simply signal a shift in space development. President Barack Obama has challenged private companies to take the lead in space exploration. Some, such as Bigelow Aerospace, have launched prototype (test) inflatable habitats into space. These might someday lead to easier and less expensive ways to keep humans in space. Companies like Virgin Galactic aim to provide transportation for ordinary citizens someday and are currently selling seats for $200,000! Other companies, like Space X, plan to transport cargo to the International Space Station, picking up the slack left by the retired shuttle program. Gagarin’s historic journey took humankind closer to the stars and captured the imaginations of people from all across the planet. He later wrote of the beauty he had seen from the spacecraft: “Rays were blazing through the atmosphere of the Earth, the horizon became bright orange, gradually passing into all the colors of the rainbow . . . What an indescribable gamut of colors!” What new sights will the world’s next great space explorer discover?

Germane Lesson Plan 1

Reading Lesson Plan # 1

Your Name: Kati Germane Grade Level: 4^th Grade

Date lesson was taught: 4/18/2011 Number of Students: 2

1) Rationale:

Both my focus students, Ashley and Chandler, have difficulty comprehending text they read. When the class reads a short story aloud and the teacher asks questions based on the story, both focus students seem to have to reread part or all of the reading selection. I have watched both students during a class read aloud and they both seem to pay attention to the reading and do not do anything else that could impede their comprehension. Despite this, they don’t seem to be able to comprehend the text because they cannot answer questions that come straight from the text.

2) List which reading skill/strategy is the main focus of your lesson:

The main focus of this lesson is comprehension.

3) Objective for this lesson:

Students will comprehend a short story by reading it aloud and filling out an activity sheet of questions relating to the book on their own in an accurate manner.

4) Materials & supplies needed:

• Copy of One Day in May By: Kitty Colton for teacher and students
• Comprehension worksheet
• Pencil

5) OUTLINE OF LESSON PLAN:

• Introduction to the lesson (4 minutes):

“Okay Ashley and Chandler. Today the three of us are going to be working on your comprehension skills. Do you know what comprehension means?” Teacher should respond accordingly, making sure the correct answer is stated. The correct answer should be about understanding what the reader has just read. However, it is not only about the text. When there are pictures involved in the story, comprehension broadens to understanding and remembering both the words and the pictures. “You have been working on becoming better, faster, stronger readers all year with Mrs. Fish and comprehension is just another way to help your reading skills. Comprehension is the greatest part of reading anything because it allows you to understand what the text and words actually mean. Have you ever read a book, or a paragraph, and at the end of it you had no idea what you had just read? That’s because you were unable to comprehend the text! Reading can bring you great pleasure and knowledge if you learn to comprehend what you read. So today we are going to work on becoming better and stronger comprehenders. The book I have picked out for us is called One Day in May and it is by Kitty Colton and illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker. We are going to read the entire book aloud, taking turns reading, and at the end of the book I have a small worksheet for you to fill out. Any questions?” After the introduction, the teacher should give a copy of One Day in May to each child. The teacher should make it clear to the students that the worksheet at the end has questions dealing with what is read in the book.

• Explain what comprehension is
• Explain how comprehension helps with reading and understanding text
• Introduce One Day in May as choice of reading for lesson

• OUTLINE of key events during the lesson (15 minutes):

Since the books have been passed out, the teacher should begin by stating rules. “As you know and practice during class, when another person is reading, you should be following along with your eyes on the text. This strategy will help you comprehend the text. I do not want to see either of you playing with other things that may be around. Keep your eyes on the book. This book also has pictures. That means you will need to listen to the text and remember it as well as look at the pictures and soak it all in. Chandler, you will start reading on the first page and we will change readers at the end of each page. The reading order will be Chandler, Ashley, then me. If you find that following along with the text with only your eyes is difficult, you may also use a finger to follow along. This adds an extra tool to help the reader comprehend the text if they find they are looking away or get lost easily. Okay, let’s begin reading. Go ahead Chandler.” As the book is read aloud, the teacher should stop on the following pages after the page has been read and ask the following questions. This will help guide the students with their comprehension skills.

• Page 3 – “What month is it?” Answer, May
• Page 7 – “What is the woman sitting on?” Answer, tree stump
• Page 11 – “Where did Lin use to live before moving to the city?” Answer, the country
• Page 15 – “What is right outside of Lin’s window?” Answer, a nest of baby falcons

Once the book is over, the teacher should say “I will take your books now and I’m going to pass out the worksheet that goes along with the story. We are going to read it together, however you will answer the questions individually and silently to yourself.” The teacher should begin by reading question one, then giving the students time to answer it. Once the teacher sees both students are ready to move on, they will move to question two. This will go on until the entire worksheet is done. During this time, it is very important that the teacher do not give the students answers, especially if they ask for help. This worksheet will be used as an assessment on their comprehension. After the entire worksheet is complete, the teacher should collect them.

• Provide students with ways to help comprehension
• Assign rules for when a reader is reading aloud
• Ask specific comprehension questions during the reading
• Pass out comprehension worksheet
• Guide students through worksheet
• Collect books and worksheet

• Closing summary for the lesson (5 minutes):

“So Ashley and Chandler, how did you like the book?” Allow students to answer. “Do you think you know who the mysterious woman was?” Allow the students to answer, respond accordingly, reiterating that the woman was probably Mother Nature. “Do you feel that by following the text with your eyes and finger helped you comprehend the text? Do you think you will use that technique in the future to help you become a better, faster, stronger reader?” The teacher should again restate how important it is for them to comprehend things they read. “Did you like this lesson? Why or why not?” The teacher should take these comments and use them when making lessons in the future. Once the closing talk comes to an end, the teacher should collect the books and walk the students back to their classroom.

• Ask students what they thought about the book
• Give students time to talk about what they learned about comprehension
• Ask how the lesson could have been better

6) Ongoing-Assessment: The students will fill out a worksheet full of comprehension questions during the lesson, and at the end of the lesson I will collect them and assess how well they answered the questions. Depending on how well they do with the questions will depend on whether or not a harder follow-up lesson should be implemented. If the students do poorly, perhaps continue with a low level book until they excel at comprehending it, eventually moving the students towards a higher-level book. If the students excel right away, the next lesson can use a higher-level book with harder questions regarding the text to help them with their comprehension.

7) Based on what you know about your focus students, what Academic, Social and/or Linguistic Support will be needed during the lesson? Ashley and Chandler will need to be reminded to stay on task. Both students have a tendency to watch other students work or play with things in their desk when an assignment is handed out.

Comprehension Worksheet:

1.) Where does Lin live at now?

2.) What does the mysterious woman look and sound like?

3.) How does the mysterious woman respond when the cat jumps into her hair?

4.) How does the mysterious woman respond with the pigeon lands on her shoulder?

5.) How do you know that the mysterious woman has a special relationship with trees?

6.) Based on your answers 2-5, who do you think the mysterious woman might be?

7.) What is Lin’s brother doing when she goes inside to get him so he can experience the spring day?

Letter to a Parent

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Since the year is starting to come to a close I wanted to check in to inform you of what has been going on in the classroom and some changes that are going to be happening. As you may be aware, we spend a great deal of our time during the day with literacy. Fourth grade is a very crucial year for literacy in that this is the time when the children transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Comprehension is a huge part of this transition and many of our literacy lessons involve strategies to improve this. Sarah is a great reader but at times I am not sure if her comprehension level is where it should be. I have noticed lately she struggles when it comes to decoding and making inferences while reading. During our literacy time I am going to be making a few small changes to how the activities are presented that I think will allow for me to work with the different areas the students in the class are struggling with. Right now during literacy I use many different literacy centers. During the time the students go from center to center working on different activities related to their current reading. For the remainder of the year I am going to change from using the centers to more structured group work. By doing this I will still be able to have the students working on different assignments but I will be able to put the students where I think they need the most help. During this time is when Sarah will be able to participate in activities that will help build her comprehension level. The activities she will be working on in the next few weeks are different concept maps and character development, we will also work on retelling and building background knowledge. I am confident that with this change in instruction Sarah will be able to raise her comprehension level to my desired point. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me.


 Thanks,
Danielle

Germane Reading Lessons Overview

For my first lesson, I will be working with Ashley and Chandler. Both my focus students have difficulty comprehending text they read. When the class reads a short story aloud and the teacher asks questions based on the story, both focus students seem to have to reread part or all of the reading selection. I have watched both students during a class read aloud and they both seem to pay attention to the reading and do not do anything else that could impede their comprehension. Despite this, they don’t seem to be able to comprehend the text because they cannot answer questions that come straight from the text. For this lesson, the students will read One Day in May by Kitty Colton and after the reading they will answer a worksheet with seven comprehension questions. During the lesson, I will teach them how to follow along with their eyes and a finger when someone else is reading aloud, or when they are reading, to help improve their comprehension.

For my second lesson, I will be working with Miller and Logan. From listening to the class read books out loud multiple times and talking with the teacher, Mrs. Fish, it is very clear that both students read significantly slower than their classmates. They often trip over words and read the text word for word, making their reading speed slower. By helping these students increase their reading speed, they will become better readers, especially when reading aloud. During this lesson, the students will read one article a total of three times. They will have one minute and once the minute is over they will mark their place and read it again. Each time they should increase their reading speed. I will inform the students that being able to recognize the words in a text helps increase reading speed and they should spend as much time as they can reading books and challenging themselves to fun tests like this.

Writing Process

The classroom that I am in practices writing all the time. They just recently finished their dinosaur report, which consisted of about 10 pages that were double-spaced and hand-written. Before their dinosaur report, they wrote a report on a famous African-American for black history month. Those too were roughly ten pages of hand-written work. These students spend weeks on their papers, sometimes even a month, to perfect their reports and make them the best they can be. After they have read books and informational websites on their topic, they will start their paper by producing an outline on how they want their paper to flow. Then the students write down bullet points on what they could possibly write about for eat paragraph. Next they write a rough draft; the teacher reiterates that this particular step of the writing process does not need to be written neatly. Then they move on to the revision process. They are told to add things, insert words, delete things, and do anything they have to do to make their writing perfect. This is all done on their rough draft copy. Once their paper has been revised the class participates in a peer editing session. Each student swaps their report with someone else and the students review each other’s report. The teacher provides each student with a peer editing sheet to guide the students through the report. They are supposed to write down both things the student can improve on and things the student did very good at. I like this idea because sometimes editing can focus on only negative things, always pointing out what the writer can do better to improve their paper. Focusing on both the positive and negative things keeps the writers spirit high and reinforces to them that they are a good writer. Once the peer editing session is done, the students edit their papers one more time before writing their final copy. I think that the process these students go through will be very beneficial for them in the future because they will know and understand what the entire writing process is supposed to look like. I can’t really remember a time in my elementary childhood where I practiced peer editing. These students are out to a great start.

Writing

In my fourth grade placement the students actually do a lot of writing on their own. Recently the students have been working on an informational piece in which they research a topic and present it to the class. In chapter 12 of Tompkins they write about 'writing to demonstrate learning'. The four types of writing to demonstrate learning are reports, essays, poems, and multigenre projects. These reports the students are working on explore topics that interest them and their peers. The students started out using the writing process to do this, which consisted of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and finally publishing. In the prewriting stage, the students chose information texts from the library about animals, countries, etc. Each day my CT would give them about a half hour to look through their books to start gathering and organizing their ideas. Once the students had gathered enough information throughout the week they used their ideas to create a first draft of their composition. These drafts were usually sloppy and unorganized, but it still proved that they were expressing their ideas. As the students wrote their drafts I was able to walk around and help them. After a week of drafts the students moved into the revising stage, where I was able to help the most. After they reread their drafts they also allowed me to read it so I could give them some extra tips. Unfortunately I didnt see any type of sharing in groups or peer editing/revising which I think the students would have definitely benefited from. Making revisions took the longest amont of time because the students realized that their ideas and information needs to flow. In this stage the students might add or delete words, substitute/add/delete sentences or possibly paragraphs, and moving phrases around. This was hardest for the students because they felt as if they were re-doing their whole paper. After a while spent at this stage they moved into the editing stage which they felt was similar to the revising stage. The CT was telling the students that this would be their last time to make sure their paper was absolutely perfect. The CT didnt provide an editing checklist which I also thought was a mistake. I enjoyed editing checklists as a kid because the checklist made sure that I wouldnt forget anything. Now, the students are at the publishing stage where they have the option of writing or typing it, and also the option of making it into a book. The books cost $2 so only about 5 kids in the entire class bought them. They have yet to present their papers though and I am really excited to hear their final copies. The students feel good about themselves because the entire process is finally over and they put a lot of time and effort into their writing.