Literacy Project
Amanda Kaczynski
Table of Contents
Reading Comprehension LEP (pages 2-5)
Writing LEP (pages 6-10)
Writing LEP (pages 11-15)
Phonics LEP (pages 16-19)
Bibliography (page 20)
Final Summary Reflection (page 21)
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Amanda Kaczynski First Grade
Literacy Reading Comprehension
10:30 AM -11:00 AM 10/9/2013
Purpose: For students to critically think about a story and it’s parts.
Curriculum Standards: Taken from Common Core Reading State Standards and New Hampshire Curriculum Framework Standards
Strand: Grade 1 Key Ideas and Details for Literature (Common Core)
2. Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
Strand: Analysis and Interpretation of Literary Texts/Citing Evidence (LT:2)
R:LT:1:1.3: Generating questions before, during, and after reading.
Objectives:
-The students will be able to retell the beginning, middle, and end of A Party for Bob.
-The students will be able to answer questions based on the text to show their understanding of the story.
-The students will be able to recognize words with short o and short i vowel sounds in the story.
Background Knowledge Needed: Before hearing the story, students must know some of the key words that will appear. Students will review words such as “box”, “got”, “gift”, “kid”, “big”, “dot” (and other short o and short i vowel words) before starting the story.
Materials Needed:
By teacher: A Party for Bob written by Angela Shelf Medearis & illustrated by Nathan Jarvis; whiteboard and marker
Student Grouping: large group (entire class with the exception of some students who will be in small group with another teacher). All students will have the opportunity to participate and students will raise their hand to be called on.
Preparation for Experience: Students will sit on the reading rug while the teacher reads the story aloud. Students will stay seated during the story.
Outline of Experience:
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Introduction: Students will stop what they are doing in small group and come over to the reading rug. Before telling the class about the story A Party for Bob, I will review some words that the students have been learning and will appear in the story. I will remind children about the short o, i, vowel sounds and ask them for some words that they know. As the students tell me words such as: “got”, “hot”, “big”, “box”, etc. I will write them on the board. I will call on students to try to make sure that everyone has a chance to say a word. I will motivate students by asking them for rhyming words and helping them to sound out words if they are having trouble.
Body of Lesson: After I have reviewed short vowel words with the class, I will introduce the story, A Party for Bob. I will read a couple sentences about the author and illustrator to emphasize who wrote this book. Next, I will read the story pausing half way through to ask the students why they think the kids are getting into the box. After one or two students have made a prediction, I will continue reading. When the story is over I will ask the class questions.
1. What happened at the beginning of the story?
2. How many kids fit in the box?
3. What happened at the end of the story?
4. How old is Bob?
5. What are some of Bob’s friend’s names?
6. Have you ever been to a surprise birthday party?
I will make sure that each student elaborates on their responses to the questions and that each student has an opportunity to participate.
Conclusion: After the students answer questions and retell the story, I will tell them what we are doing next. I will tell them what work they will be completing in their small groups for the last half hour of reading time. I will instruct the class to get back into their groups and tell students what group they are in if they are switching. The students will then quietly go to their group.
Assessment Plan: I will know that my objectives have been met by listening to the responses and questions that students have during the lesson. I will record observations on students’ behavior, comments, and questions to determine if the objectives were met. Since there is no written work, I will have to be sure that every child participates in some way. If a child is hesitant to participate or does not understand a question or part of the story, then I will know that he/she has not met the objectives.
Child Guidance/Classroom Management Plan: Students are familiar with this portion of reading time and know to be quiet and listening while the teacher or another student is talking. If it is obvious that a student is not listening to the story I will stop reading and remind him/her to be
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paying attention. If students are talking over other students or talking over the teacher then I will stop reading and wait for the class to be silent. If a student is being disruptive to the point where other students are distracted then I will have him/her remove him/herself from the rug until he/she is ready to re-join the group.
Adaptations and Modifications: If a student is having trouble answering a question, I will give hints. However, because students with lower reading levels will not be a part of this whole group activity, the students should be able to successfully understand the story and retell it.
Extension Plan: Students will use the words with short o and i vowels to complete their work in small group.
Reflection:
Once students left their small group and came over to the rug, I told them that I would be reading a book to them using our short o and short i vowel words. I reviewed the sound of short o vowel words by first asking for an example. Many children raised their hands and gave responses such as “box”, “ox”, “pot”, “cop”, “got”, “hot”, etc. I wrote these words on the board while asking the student to spell it for me. After we went over about ten words, I told them that some of these will be in the story and that they now already know them. Next, we reviewed short i vowel words. I asked for some more examples and students said “pig” and “hid”. I articulated the word h-i-d and sounded it out for students to hear the short i sound. I wrote down about 10 words on the board “dig”, “big”, “lit”, “fit”, “it”, etc. and told the class we were ready to begin the story.
Next, I passed out books and told some children that they might have to share because there are not enough books. While passing them out I told students to search through the table of contents to find the starting page of A Party For Bob. During this transition students became a little noisy talking amongst themselves. I asked the class if everyone was on the right page and ready to begin. A group of students were still talking and not paying attention so I called their names and told them we are beginning. I began reading the title and a little information about the author and illustrator. I reminded the class to point with their finger to each word as I read to help them follow along. While reading, I asked a few questions and had the children make connections to the text. When the story was over, I asked the class questions about the beginning, middle, and end and guided them to use their books if they needed some support. During this time, some students flipped through their books and got off task so Mr. M collected some of books which lead to me to collect the rest. I asked students to spell and sound out some more difficult words in the story such as “gift” and “party”. Then, I told the group that we will be going back to our small groups to do some work with these words and other vocabulary about the story. The students stood up and went back to their groups.
I was able to assess children by noticing who responded quickly and more often than others. However, I made sure that each child answered at least one question or thought of a short
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o or short i vowel word to include everyone in the activity. Because these words are review for the class, it was not difficult to make sure that everyone participated because everyone was fully capable. All of the children seemed to be engaged in the story, but the books were somewhat of a distraction. To alleviate this distraction, next time I will immediately collect the books after the reading. Another change I will make in the future is in management. Rather than calling on only a few students to stop talking, I will work on my teacher voice to instruct the whole group to listen and pay attention. I thought that overall the lesson went well, but ran a little short. The students had a firm grasp of short o and short i vowel words as well as the content of A Party For Bob.
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Amanda Kaczynski First Grade
Literacy Writing
10:30 AM -11:30 AM 10/16/2013
Purpose: For students to make connections and write about a studied topic.
Curriculum Standards: Taken from Common Core Writing Standards
Strand: Grade 1 Text Types and Purposes
2. Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
Objectives:
-The students will write one or more sentences using proper grammar and punctuation.
-The students will recall factual information learned about pumpkins to write informative text.
Background knowledge needed: The students will need to know the life cycle of a pumpkin as well as other scientific facts about pumpkins to make a sentence (or more). The students also need to have an understanding of sentence structure to create a proper sentence.
Materials Needed: by teacher- The Pumpkin Patch by Margaret McNamara, 22 writing worksheets, pumpkin vocabulary words.
By students: crayons, a pencil.
Student Grouping: During the reading of The Pumpkin Patch and demonstration of Writer’s Workshop, the class will be seated on the rug. While drawing a picture and making a sentence, students will work independently at their desk. If any students need additional support, my cooperating teacher and other adults will be seated at tables to help children complete their work. Students may go up one or two at a time to a table.
Preparation for Experience: The students will not be working in groups while writing their sentence. They will be sitting at their desk working independently, but may talk to their classmates seated near them. If a student needs guidance they can raise their hand or go over to a teacher for additional support.
Outline of Experience:
Introduction: As students finish eating their snack, I will invite them over to the rug. Once everyone is sitting on the rug, I will read The Pumpkin Patch to remind students of our
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pumpkin unit in a non-scientific way. This will get the children thinking about pumpkins before explaining the writing activity.
Body of Lesson: I will then tell students that we will be starting something new: a “Writer’s Workshop”. In this Writer’s Workshop students will be given the chance to write their very own sentence(s). I will tell the class that I want everyone to write at least one sentence about pumpkins. I will emphasize that the students must think hard about what they will write about, because it should be scientific. The sentence should be about the pumpkin life cycle, if applicable. I will show the class the writing paper they will be getting to show them that first they will be drawing a picture and then writing. The picture should be scientific and realistic; I will make it clear that this is not a Halloween drawing. There should not be bats or ghosts with pumpkins and pumpkins should only be orange or green. I will then show the class the writing lines underneath the picture to explain where they should be writing. I will review the format of a sentence (starts with uppercase letter, ends with a period) and show them where the sentence begins and ends on the paper. Next I will say, “What are some words that we might need to know in order to write our sentence(s)?” I will hang up my vocabulary words that are usually stationed on the “science” table on the white board for students to reference (pumpkin, green pumpkin, seeds, sprout, blossom, vine, life cycle, jack-o-lantern). I will then ask if there are any other words that student’s think they will need to complete their sentence. I will ask the students to help me make a practice sentence to demonstrate before sending students to their seats. After carefully showing them the sample sentence, students will go to their seats and beginning drawing their own pumpkin picture. As students are drawing, I will remind them to be realistic and take their time. Once some students are ready for their sentence, I will tell them to sound out words as best as they can because a teacher or other adult will not spell any. If any student needs additional support, they may go over to my cooperating teacher or another adult for guidance. Students will go only a few at a time and will remain working at their desk until a teacher is ready for them.
Conclusion: If students finish early, they may read a book from their book box after a teacher has checked their work. Teachers will check work by making sure that the sentence is constructed properly and describes something scientific or meaningful about pumpkins. Once it is time to clean up for lunch, students will hand in their work and begin washing their hands and lining up. If a student has not finished, he/she can finish after lunch during choice time or at another point during the day.
Assessment Plan: I will know the objectives have been met after looking at each child’s completed picture and sentence. I will collect every student’s worksheet and will determine their understanding of a sentence and writing abilities by looking at the sentence. If a child had trouble with writing a sentence, I will assess their ability to draw a meaningful, realistic picture and look at their attempt for a connection between the picture and sentence.
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Child Guidance/Classroom Management Plan: During the story and teaching of writing a sentence about pumpkins, students will raise their hand to participate. If students shout out I will tell them to please raise their hand and wait to be called on. If students are talking over other students I will tell them they need to be quiet and listening in order to hear comments from others as well as instruction from the teacher. If a student is being disruptive to the point where other students are distracted then I will have him/her remove him/herself from the rug until he/she is ready to re-join the group. During the writing portion, students will have access to their materials because crayons/colored pencils and the worksheet will be on their desks. There will be multiple teachers monitoring and supporting students while they do their work. Students may need to work one on one with a teacher or in a small group (2 or 3 people) in order to create their sentence. If students become very noisy while doing this work, I will remind the class to lower their voices because some students are working in groups and cannot hear the teacher.
Adaptations and Modifications: Because students within the class are at different developmental levels for writing and literacy, everyone’s work will be different. If students finish writing one sentence quickly, I will tell them to challenge themselves and try to write one more sentence. If students are struggling writing one sentence, I will have them keep it short and brief. The most important thing is that the sentence starts and ends correctly, it does not matter how much children write. I, and other teachers, can sit with children one-on-one who need the extra support.
Extension Plan: Students who finish early can try to write another sentence if they chose. Students should also make sure their picture is neat and done to the best of their abilities. After students feel that they cannot add anything else to their picture, they can read from their book box independently.
Reflection:
While the class was eating snack, I hung up the pumpkin vocabulary words I created that are stationed on the back “science” table. As children finished up eating their snack, I instructed them to meet me on the rug. Once all of the children were seated, I told them that I will be reading The Pumpkin Patch by Margaret McNamara. I read the story aloud and asked the class some questions about the story to keep them engaged. The teacher in the story’s name was Mrs. Connor which excited some of the students because there is a child in our class named Connor. When the story was over, I told the class that we will be doing a writing activity today about pumpkins. I announced that each student will have to write one sentence about something they have learned about pumpkins this year. I pointed to each word that was hung up on the board (pumpkin, green pumpkin, vine, blossom, seeds, sprout, life cycle, jack-o-lantern) and asked the class if there are any other words they think they need to create their own sentence. One student, B.W., raised his hand and said, “Can you write round?” so I wrote “round” on the board under the other words. Another child, K.P. asked, “What about Pumpkin Fest?”. I told the class that they are welcome to write something about Pumpkin Fest and wrote it on the board. I wrote “Pumpkin Festival” and told the class to write “Festival” because that is the formal name of the
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event. I also told the class that the “P” and “F” should be uppercase because it is the name of the event and names are always uppercase. Other children appeared to be thinking of words and some said words that were already on the board. The title 1 teacher, Mrs. A said, “Ms. K, how about the word orange?” many children shook their heads yes and I wrote “orange” on the board.
Next, I held up the worksheet that each student would be using to make their sentence and drawing. I told the class that in the big square they will draw a realistic picture relating to pumpkins. I told them that this should not be a Halloween picture which means there should not be bats, ghosts, or other Halloween creatures in their drawing. I also reminded the class to use realistic colored crayons and children shouted out, “green, orange, yellow, and brown”. I told them that after they have completed their picture, they should start writing their sentence. “What should your sentence start with?” and several students shouted “An uppercase letter!” Then I said “Yes, good. It starts with an uppercase letter and ends with…” and I called on a child who said, “a period”. I told the class that there sentence should not end with an exclamation point or a question mark because they are writing a simple sentence. Then I asked, “What is an example of a sentence?” Some children raised their hands and I called on one student who said, “A pumpkin is big.” I wrote the sentence on the board while reminding the class to start with an uppercase letter and end with a period. I underlined the “A” and period for extra emphasis. My cooperating teacher then reminded the class that no one should be writing “A pumpkin is big.” because first graders know more about pumpkins and can write more than that. I then told the class that Mrs. A is right and that I expect to see everyone being thoughtful and working hard on their sentence.
I told the class that if anyone needs extra help they are welcome to see myself or another teacher. Mrs. A is seated at one table and Mrs. B is seated at another table to help students one or two at a time. I made sure to tell everyone that teachers will not be spelling words and that it is your job as first graders to sound out words as best as you can. Then, I told the class to get a worksheet from me and begin drawing and coloring your realistic pumpkin picture. The children stood up and one by one grabbed a worksheet from me to take to their desk. As children were working on their drawing I walked around and guiding/watched children. I told the class to take their time and use their best first grade coloring because we have a lot of time. Once children were ready to start their sentence, they approached me and/or another teacher. I asked individual children to think of what they want to write before they start to write then once they have a sentence in mind to begin. I also reminded students to use the board as a guide when writing the word “pumpkin”, etc. I allowed students to move to the back table if they could not see a word from their desk. There were a few students who wrote one sentence quickly, so I encouraged them to write one more sentence. There were also some children who I knew could write a longer sentence then they did, so I instructed them to think of more ideas. Some children went over to Mrs. B or Mrs. A for more support in the structure of their sentence. When students thought they were finished they checked in with me and I looked over their work. If I felt that their work was complete then I gave them the option of taking out their book box or looking at a
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pumpkin/Halloween book from the shelf. If I didn’t think their work was complete I helped them to add more, put a period at the end, change a backwards letter, etc.
My cooperating teacher and I thought that it would be fun idea to have the students share their work when everyone was done because we had about 5 minutes left before lunch. I announced to the class to finish up reading their last book and to meet me back on the rug. Some children began to finish up their stories and walk over to the rug. I instructed students again, because many were still reading, to clean-up books and come to the rug for one last activity before lunch time. As the class sat down on the rug I told them that because they worked so hard on these, that I wanted them to share their picture and sentence with the class if they would like to. I told the class that K.A., would go first because he asked me to and was very excited about his work. The children stood up one by one to share their work and read the sentence to the class. I chose the students and always asked them to share if they wanted to because I wanted it to be clear that they didn’t have to if they felt uncomfortable. One child had me read his sentence to the class and he help up the picture. Because it was getting close to lunch time, Mrs. A tapped children on the back (who had already presented) to go wash their hands and lineup. Before the last child shared I said, “Okay boys and girls, D.C. is our last sharer let’s all listen to him and then we can all line-up”. D.C. shared his work and then I said, “If you are wearing blue you can line up, and called out more colors until no one was left on the rug.” I collected everyone’s work and brought the class to the cafeteria for lunch.
During this lesson, I learned that students in my class all have a variety of different literary and writing levels. I set different goals for students based on their previous work and knowledge that I have observed or from assessments given by my cooperating teacher. I thought that this writing activity went really well and that each student worked hard and had fun while doing so. Although children were up and down from their desks, the movement was organized and the children were able to get support from teachers at different or overlapping times if necessary. The next time I do a writing activity I might make the topic of the sentence more specific to avoid confusion. Some students had trouble creating a sentence because of the broad topic of “pumpkins”, so next time I will broaden the topic. Overall, I enjoyed implementing this lesson and was able to see and determine each student’s writing skills clearly and effectively.
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Amanda Kaczynski First Grade
Literacy Writing
12:30 AM -1:00 PM 10/30/2013
Purpose: For students to make connections and write about a general topic.
Curriculum Standards: Taken from Common Core Writing Standards
Strand: Grade 1 Text Types and Purposes
2. Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
Objectives:
-The students will write one or more sentences using proper grammar and punctuation.
-The students will use their knowledge of Halloween safety to write informative text.
Background Knowledge Needed: The students will need to have knowledge of Halloween safety from their own experiences in order to write a factual sentence. The students also need to have an understanding of sentence structure to create a proper sentence.
Materials needed: by teacher: white board, marker
By students: journal writing book, pencil
Student Grouping: The students will be seated on the rug for the beginning of the lesson to discuss Halloween safety. When it is time for students to write in their journals they will work independently at their desks. If any students need additional support, my cooperating teacher will be seated at the back table to help children complete their work. Students may go up one or two at a time to the table.
Preparation for Experience: The students will not be working in groups while writing their sentence. They will be sitting at their desk working independently, but may talk to their classmates seated near them. If a student needs guidance they can raise their hand or go over to a teacher for additional support.
Outline for Experience:
Introduction: As free choice comes to an end I will tell students to clean up and come over to the rug for journal writing time. Once everyone is seated quietly I will introduce the writing topic of Halloween safety. I will begin by asking the class what they do on the night of Halloween and things they need to think about in order to stay safe. I will call on many children
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in order for them to develop their thoughts and ideas that can be used in their independent journal writing. I will not give the class ideas or suggestions about Halloween safety to be sure that they are doing their own thinking. I will draw a jack-o-lantern on the board and ask children if there are any words that they might need to know in order to write productively and affectively. Some words that may be suggested are “Halloween”, “costume”, “flashlight”, etc. Words that will not be accepted are ones that students are familiar with and can sound out on their own. I will remind the class that journal writing is independent work and that they should take their time writing the sentence. I will tell everyone that teachers will not be spelling out words, but Mrs. A will be sitting at the back table for students to go to if they need additional help. I will tell the class that when they get to their desk they can begin drawing their Halloween picture that will describe what they are writing about. I will remind the class to work hard on their picture and do their best first grade drawing and coloring before starting the sentence. I will then instruct the class to go to their seats and begin their journal work.
Body of Lesson: When students are working at their seats, I will circulate to watch and help children complete their work. I will remind students to do realistic and thoughtful drawings. I will remind students to sound out words as best as they can because teachers will not help with spelling. I will also instruct students to sit with Mrs. A if they appear frustrated or are having difficulty writing.
Conclusion: If students finish early they can read a Halloween book from the shelf or books from their book boxes. Teachers will check work by making sure that sentences start with an uppercase letter and end with a period. Teachers will also check sentences for meaning and make sure that they describe the picture drawn by students. Once it is time to clean-up for recess, I will instruct the class to put away their journals, pencils, etc. and put on their jackets to line up. If a student has not finished by this time he/she can complete it the following day.
Assessment Plan: I will know the objectives have been met after looking at each child’s completed picture and sentence. I will collect every student’s journal page and will determine their understanding of a sentence and writing abilities by looking at the sentence. If a child had trouble with writing a sentence, I will assess their ability to draw a meaningful, realistic picture and look at their attempt for a connection between the picture and sentence.
Child Guidance/Classroom Management Plan: During the discussion of writing a sentence about Halloween safety, students will raise their hand to participate. If students shout out I will tell them to please raise their hand and wait to be called on. If students are talking over other students I will tell them they need to be quiet and listening in order to hear comments from others as well as instruction from the teacher. If a student is being disruptive to the point where other students are distracted then I will have him/her remove him/herself from the rug until he/she is ready to re-join the group. During the writing portion, students will have access to their materials because crayons, pencils and journal books will be on their desks. There will be multiple teachers monitoring and supporting students while they do their work. Students may
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need to work one on one with a teacher or in a small group (2 or 3 people) in order to create their sentence. If students become very noisy while doing this work, I will remind the class to lower their voices because some students are working in groups and cannot hear the teacher.
Adaptations and Modifications: Because students within the class are at different developmental levels for writing and literacy, everyone’s work will be different. If students finish writing one sentence quickly, I will tell them to challenge themselves and try to write one more sentence. If students are struggling writing one sentence, I will have them keep it short and brief. The most important thing is that the sentence starts and ends correctly, it does not matter how much children write. I, and other teachers, can sit with children one-on-one who need the extra support.
Extension Plan: Students who finish early can try to write another sentence if they chose. Students should also make sure their picture is neat and done to the best of their abilities. After students feel that they cannot add anything else to their picture, they can read from their book box independently. If time permits, the class can share their journal writing. If there is not enough time then Mrs. A will share student’s work on Thursday.
Refection:
While students were playing during free choice I announced that there is only three minutes left until it will be time to clean up for writing time. I let the class play for a few more minutes and then instructed everyone to stop playing, clean-up all of their materials, and then sit down at their own desk. I decided to teach the writing lesson with students at their desks rather than transition from the rug to desks to save time. I also wanted students to practice listening and learning from their seats. Once everyone was sitting quietly at their desks, I asked “Who is going trick or treating tomorrow night?” The whole class raised their hands excitedly. Then I said, “Since all of you will be trick or treating for Halloween tomorrow, what are some things that you have to think of in order to stay safe?” I waited for several seconds and then began to call on students. One child, B.W., said “Make sure you stay with your mom and dad.” I said “Great! It is important that you stay with your parents or another adult while trick or treating.” S.H. said, “You can bring a flashlight out with you since it is dark out.” A few more children raised their hands and said to stay with an adult, I told them to think of something else that they can do to stay safe. S.P. raised her hand and said, “Me and my brother both have costumes that glow up so that people can see us.” I then said, “It is important for people to see you in the dark.” I asked the class, “Which houses should you go to when you are trick or treating? How do you know that a house wants to give out candy?” Many students raised their hand and I called on M.H. who said, “When someone is outside with candy!”, “That’s right, but how else can you tell?” M.F. raised his hand and said, “When their light is on!” Mrs. A also joined in and reminded the class that cars will be out on Halloween night which means that you must be safe crossing the street.
After discussing ways to stay safe while trick or treating, I held up the journal books that everyone will be using to write in. I told the class that they will be using their very own journal
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book throughout the year to write their own sentences and that today will be the first time using them. I reminded the class that because each child has their own journal, they will be using them independently. I also said that it is important to use your very own thoughts and ideas to draw and write about in these journals. I then told the class that their task today is to write one sentence about Halloween safety and to think about how you can stay safe or help others stay safe while trick or treating. I reminded the students to try their very best to sound out words on their own, but that teachers such as Mrs. A and Mr. M will be at two of the tables to help students work, but teachers will not be spelling out words. I also told the class to draw their picture first this way they will know what to write about. I reminded them that pictures must be realistic and thoughtful which means there should not be scribbles on the page. Then, I told the students to come up to the table and find their journal to bring back to their seat.
While the students began drawing, I went over to the white board and asked if there are any words that students think they might need to know in order to write a sentence. K.P. raised his hand and said, “costume” so I wrote down “costume”. S.P. raised her hand and said, “glow up!” I told her that I am not going to write “glow up” on the board but I will help her with her work individually. Mrs. S raised her hand and suggested “Halloween” many of the students agreed so I wrote “Halloween” on the board. R.O. raised his hand and said, “flashlight” so I wrote down “flashlight”. I told the class that I will only take one or two more words. Lastly, A.L. raised her hand and said, “trick or treating”, I then wrote it on the board. I drew a pumpkin around the words and reminded the class that these words will be up here to look at if you would like to use them in your sentence. After about 10 minutes past, I told everyone to finish up their drawings so that they can have enough time to write their sentence. I circulated the room and watched students work independently as well as at a table with another adult. I reminded students to try their best to sound out words and to remember what a sentence starts and ends with. When students felt that they were finished they checked in with me by showing me their work. If I thought that the student had done their best, I told them to take a Halloween book from the shelf to quietly read at their seat. I had to prompt some students to add a period or sound out a word to complete their sentence before getting a book. Once it was almost time for recess, I instructed students to stop reading their book and get their coats, gloves, and hats on to line up for recess. I told students who were still writing to finish up their final thought before lining up. I helped students put on coats, etc. and stood at the front of the line until everyone was quiet and ready. Then, I led the class outside for recess.
I thought that this lesson went very well. It was nice to see students become more comfortable with writing and willing to try writing by themselves before getting help from a teacher. The class enjoyed having their own journal to write in as well as having the chance to draw themselves in their Halloween costumes. I learned that the students in my class are at a variety of reading and literacy levels, and that each student has their own goals for writing a sentence. I saw definite progress in some student’s writing from my last writing lesson even though it there was only a 2 week difference! I also felt more confident giving instructions to the
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class and guiding them through the transition from writing to recess. Through my assessment, I was able to determine each student’s individual writing skills and clearly see who was able to meet the objectives and who was not. Overall, every student met the objectives in a different way, some needed support from a teacher and some were able to write completely independently. I was proud of all of my student’s work!
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Amanda Kaczynski First Grade Literacy Phonics/Phonological Awareness
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM 11/13/12
Purpose: For students to identify initial clusters.
Curriculum Standards: Taken from Common Core Writing Standards
Strand: Phonics and Word Recognition
2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
b. Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.
3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
b. Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
Objectives:
-The students will identify initial clusters with r.
-The students will use knowledge of clusters with r to read Let’s Trim the Track and complete the worksheets.
Background Knowledge Needed: The students do not need to have prior knowledge of clusters with r because this is a new concept. The students will have knowledge of words with short vowel sounds which will help them to blend and segment phonemes.
Materials Needed: by teacher: Let’s Trim the Track by Rafael Lopez, white board, marker, picture cards, practice book pages 153 and 154
By students: pencil
Student grouping: During the lesson on clusters with r, students will be sitting on the rug as a whole group. When it is time for students to complete the practice book pages, students will work independently at their desks. The teacher will circulate the room to make sure that each student can complete the worksheet correctly.
Preparation for Experience: The students will transition from whole group to their desks through instruction by the teacher. Once a student receives the worksheet from the teacher he/she can go to their desk and begin working. Students will raise their hand to have a teacher check their work before handing it in.
Outline of Experience:
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Introduction: As students finish up their reading work, I will invite them to the rug to begin the lesson on clusters with r. I will tell the class that this will be new for mostly everyone, so it is important that they pay close attention.
Body of Lesson: To begin, I will have students say bed and have them repeat the sounds and blend to say the word. Then I will have children say bread and notice the different sounds that are the beginning of bed and bread (/b/ and /b/ /r/). Next, I will repeat with more words such as: dip/drip, cab/crab, go /grow, tap/trap, and fog/frog. Once it is clear that the students are seeing the pattern, I will call on individual students to repeat a word and say its sounds. For example, I will say crib, and have the student sound it out. Then, I will say grow, train, brag, trip, etc. Once students can blend the phonemes, I will tell them that that some words such as these, begin with two consonants and that we can have to blend the two sounds together to read the words. I will display some picture cards on the board and have children name each picture and ask them what they think the word starts with. Then I will call on students to sound out the spelling of each word so I can write it above the picture. I will explain that all of these words start with a consonant and r. I will have students think of words that have the same beginning sounds, trap and train, brush and bread, etc. I will write the words on the board and underline the beginning consonant and r (bread) to emphasize the beginning sound and show students how the words are written.
Next, I will tell the class that we are going to read a short story called “Trim the Tracks”. I will have a large version of the story on the board so that students can clearly see the print and be engaged as a whole group. I will call on one student to read each page until the story is finished. Then I will ask students to look at each sentence to see which words start with a consonant and r. I will have students come up to the board and circle each word. We will sound out each word as a class as the student circles the word. Then I will tell the class that they have a worksheet to complete that will show me that they understand clusters with r. I will explain the directions on the worksheet and tell students to complete the worksheet independently at their desks. After passing out the worksheets, I will circulate the room to help students who are having difficulty.
Conclusion: Once it is getting close to 11:00, I will tell students to finish up their work and get with their “teams” for the last part of reading time. I will collect students’ worksheets and check their work to make sure that they have a clear understanding of clusters with r. Children who finish early can get their book boxes to prepare for silent reading time.
Assessment Plan: I will know that the objectives have been met by collecting students work and checking to see if they completed it correctly. I will also look at students’ participation of circling clusters after reading Let’s Trim the Track to determine who understands clusters with r and who needs more instruction/support.
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Child Guidance/Classroom Management Plan: Students are familiar with this portion of reading time and know to be quiet and listening while the teacher or another student is talking. If it is obvious that a student is not listening to the lesson and story I will stop and remind him/her to be paying attention. If students are talking over other students or talking over the teacher then I will stop talking and wait for the class to be silent. If a student is being disruptive to the point where other students are distracted then I will have him/her remove him/herself from the rug until he/she is ready to re-join the group.
Adaptations and Modifications: If a student is having trouble completing the worksheet, I will give him/her extra support by working on it with him/her. However, because students with lower reading levels will not be a part of this whole group activity, the students should be able to successfully understand clusters with r and complete the worksheet.
Extension Plan: Students who complete the worksheet early can get their Phonic’s Library book to quietly read Let’s Trim the Track or reread another story in the book. This concept of clusters with r will also continue to be taught and reviewed for other phonics lessons during the week. The classes’ spelling words for the week also consist of words with initial clusters with r.
Reflection:
As students completed their reading tasks and other students came back into the room from (speech, resource room, etc.), I instructed everyone to come sit on the rug for a lesson on clusters. I reminded the students that they need to be quiet and listening during this lesson because it is very important and will continue to be taught throughout the week. I asked the students if they heard anything different between the words bed and bread. Many students shouted out “the letter r!” I told them that they were correct and repeated with more words such as go/grow, dip/drip, cab/crab, and tap/trap. Then I asked the class to think of some other words that begin with a cluster with r. B.W. raised his hand and said, “My name does!”, S.P. raised her hand and said, “dress”, Z.A. raised his hand and said, “brown”, and S.H. raised her hand and said, “crown”. I acknowledged that all of these words do start with a cluster with the letter r and had the children repeat the sounds.
Next, I put up five pictures on the board (frog, brown, gray, prize, and train). I called on students one at a time even if they were not raising their hand, to name the picture and tell me which letters the word starts with. The students were familiar with these words and were able to help spell them for me to write on the board. I made sure to underline the beginning of each word (br, tr, fr, gr, and pr) to emphasize the cluster. Many of the students wanted me to write more words with clusters on the board so I wrote “crown” “tree” “bread” “crab” and “truck” with the help from the class to spell them. Then I told the class that we are going to read the story Let’s Trim the Track which will have many words with clusters. I called on students to read each page of the story out loud while the rest of the class read along silently. When the story was over, I asked the class if they could find any words with clusters and many students raised their hands. I
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called on students one at a time to come up to the board and circle a cluster. After they circled the cluster I had them read the word out loud to notice how the cluster both looks and sounds. Lastly, I told the class that I have a worksheet for them to do (front and back) to show me that they understand clusters with r. I explained both of the worksheets and passed them out to each student. I reminded the students that I would like them to do their work independently at their desks. I circulated the room and gave some students guidance while they completed the worksheets. As students finished up, I told them to get a Phonics Library book from the back table to reread Let’s Trim the Track or another story. I checked students’ work and told them that we will continue to practice reading and writing clusters with r. Students were done with the worksheets fairly quick and spent the last 5 or so minutes reading quietly. Once it was 11:00, I told the class to get together with their reading “teams” for the last part of reading time.
I thought that this lesson went very well because the students grasped the concept of clusters with r quicker than I had thought. Originally, this was supposed to be a brand new lesson for my class, however on Tuesday my cooperating teacher had to do a very brief version of clusters with r in order to give the class their spelling words for the week. Mrs. A told the class that I would be doing a more in depth lesson on Wednesday, which gave students a second look at clusters with r. During this time period (10:30-11:00), a large portion of the class is out of the room for various intervention and supports. Out of 22 students, I taught this lesson to 9 students who are all on level (or slightly below level) readers. It was fun to teach this lesson to students who were enthusiastic about clusters and able to comprehend this phonics lesson quickly. I also did not have to manage behavior as often as I typically would during lessons with the entire class. Overall, I enjoyed teaching this lesson and look forward to implementing more phonics lessons in the future.
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Resources
Lopez, R. (2012). Let’s Trim the Track! Phonics Library: Houghton Mifflin.
McNamara, M. (2003). The Pumpkin Patch: Robinson School NY: Simon Spotlight
Shelf Medearis, A. (2012). A Party for Bob Houghton Mifflin.
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Final Reflection:
Throughout my experiences planning, preparing, and implementing four literacy LEPs, I
learned a lot about my students as well as myself as a teacher. My cooperating teacher and I have
had to create and revise literacy student groups over the past few months to determine the most
effective way for every student to achieve success in reading and writing. It has been challenging
for my cooperating teacher and I to teach developmentally appropriate literacy lessons to the
class as a whole because of the large amount of children who are below reading level for first
grade. I have enjoyed implementing literacy lessons and watching my students’ progress over the
past few months in reading and writing. It has also been really interesting to help my cooperating
teacher create groups and the reading schedule for such a challenging group of children. By
observing and assisting my cooperating teacher implement literacy lessons, I have been able to
successfully teach my own lessons that include every child in my class despite the various
academic and developmental levels. I enjoy helping children learn how to read and see the
happiness they feel when reading and writing new things for the first time. I am looking forward
to having my own classroom where I can create a literacy rich environment and curriculum that
encourages children to have a true love for reading.
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